At least that is what Gerry Fraley is reporting.
As we stated earlier today, this needs to be taken with a degree of caution since John Deere and Massey-Ferguson may as well have held trade shows in Las Vegas to demonstrate the effectiveness of their manure spreaders.
On the bright side, Bud Selig’s head must be near critical mass by now; first he spoke at the G.M. meetings (through a video feed), then he had Paul Volcker address the owners and other executives regarding the economy and, despite a slow start, it appears not to have slowed teams down a whit. First C.C. Sabathia signs a record deal for pitchers and wrung an extra year and $21 million (plus an opt out) from of the New York Yankees without anyone else being close to the Bombers original six year/$140 million package, then Derek Lowe is reportedly getting a shorter version of the contract the Giants gave to Barry Zito as the pinstripers are seemingly close to a four year pact averaging somewhere between $17-18 million.
Argh…I hate it when Scott Boras wins.
Well, I hope that the Yankees up their offer to Burnett--may as well land the trifecta of top starters.
Sure it’ll reek to follow the Blue Jays next year but at least I can enjoy a bit of schadenfreude in about three years when the Bronx Bombers may have close to $60 million tied up in 3/5 of their rotation and Lowe is old, Burnett is out and C.C. will have the infield orbiting his mid-section with nothing due to come up in the farm system until 2015.
In the short term I can take a degree of solace in knowing that Brian Cashman will have as much to do in the amateur draft as J.P. Ricciardi does right now in Vegas.
If money is so tight for the Blue Jays, why didn’t they save a few bucks and keep Ricciardi at home? Heck, J.P. himself said "Personally, I think (the winter meetings) are kind of antiquated," Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said. "There's so much communication that's done (other ways). If we decided we were going to change it one year, it wouldn't bother me." (Hat tip to the Drunks)
That’s not to be taken seriously but it’s really frustrating to hear what other teams are doing in Vegas and having to listen to what Ricciardi isn’t doing there.
Still, there might be some wisdom in what Ricciardi says about the Winter Meetings; Scott Boras for one revels in that environment since it makes it easier for him to play one club off the other with all the decision makers in one place. All he has to do is take an offer, go a few doors down and ask the other interested team if they’re willing to top it.
It would certainly make bidding wars more logistically difficult.
The thing is, if the Jays’ attendance takes a significant dip in 2009 they only have themselves to blame. Without a doubt, Ricciardi and Co. have been an absolute buzz-kill to the fan base; they’re doing everything in their power to make sure that the fans approach next season with a profound sense of dread and hopelessness.
It would be like Rogers Communication putting out ads informing consumers what their products cannot do and pointing out why the competition’s product is so much more desirable.
One person that has been conspicuously silent through all this is Cito Gaston. I’m guessing he wants to be a good company man but I cannot think he is happy with all this industrial strength inertia.
One would think that at the very least the organization would be extolling the wonders of Travis Snider, David Purcey, Brett Cecil, Davis and Ricky Romero etc. Why not let it be known that the future is now and the kiddie corps will dazzle us as they go mano a mano against the big bad AL East?
Right now, it’s hard not to get the feeling that the Toronto Blue Jays are marketing 2009 as “Come watch our bums get a good kicking.”
This is salesmanship? I would love to hear the sales pitch the club is going to give Roy Halladay to stay onboard. If he leaves for greener pastures I will personally take to task any writer that blames Halladay, greed, disloyalty or any other such nonsense for his moving on. If the Jays are not committed to winning then why should a winning athlete commit to them? Doc has given the team his very best--can the organization say the same thing to Halladay?
Other stuff…
- The BBWAA just added four internet writers: Will Carroll and Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus and Rob Neyer and Keith Law of ESPN.com. Congrats to all!
- My latest offering at SMSN Sports is Against his will? where I wonder if the long arm of the MLBPA played a role in the Yankees acquiring C.C. Sabathia. One of my favourite parts of my weekly column is waiting to see what my boss Matt Parkinson has planned for the photo, caption, and lead-in for the article. When you check it out (and any earlier pieces) be sure to see what Mr. Parkinson has cooked up. He's as demented as I am and that ain't easy.
- Just some props for The Drunks for their tireless coverage and takes on the Winter Meetings; it has been an ordeal as a Jays' fan but at least I know I am not suffering alone.
- It's nice to see Joe Gordon finally take his rightful place in baseball's Hall of Fame. I have been stumping for Flash for almost a decade now. I did a post at my previous blog about Gordon's worthiness. Hopefully that opens the door for Bobby Grich but it's a real shame Ron Santo was again excluded--c'mon guys...enough already. Other Hall of Fame wishes for this year include Tim Raines, Bert Blyleven, Rickey Henderson, Alan Trammell and Andre Dawson.
Best Regards
John
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