Toronto Blue Jays

[Ballstothewall]

Buying a winner refers to a team going out and spending huge in free agency. The Jays did not do that. The Jays made trades.

But even with the FLOP as you put it. They still put more butts in the seats than the Argos do. So Argo fans have no moral pedestal to throw down ha ha's from.

yeah, thats great and the Jays will still lose 30 million this year

Pro sports also appeared on Rogers’s radar, despite the fact that Rogers himself wasn’t a sports fan. He bought the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000 and later the SkyDome stadium where they played, renaming it the Rogers Centre. Again, it was despite the better judgment of some board members and close advisers. Though the team continued to be a massive money-loser—roughly $300 million in losses by 2008—he would later explain it was about more than the bottom line. “Don’t get me wrong: $300 million is a lot of money,” Rogers stated. “But I take a broader view. We would have paid the same money just for the equivalent branding opportunity.” From his Interview with MaCleans

[1argoholic]

Baseball lost me years ago. Too many drugged up fools and fat guys.

[294life]

Say what you will about Les Jays de Bleu, the fanbase that they seem to have attracted (young) is part of the fanbase that the Argos need. Don't deny it, I've seen people complain about the age of Argo fans.

ok clearly you are practicing for your trip next thursday. It's actually 'Geais Bleu'.

and yeah when i went to the argos' home opener I thought they were filming a Cocoon remake.

[ArgoGabe22]

Say what you will about Les Jays de Bleu, the fanbase that they seem to have attracted (young) is part of the fanbase that the Argos need. Don't deny it, I've seen people complain about the age of Argo fans.

Maybe going back to the boat logo will bring in the same crop of fans the Jays got after going back to the classic Blue&White Jays.

[argolio]

the Jays will still lose 30 million this year

Unless maybe you add a zero to that, Rogers obviously doesn't care.

[Mulder]

Pro sports also appeared on Rogers’s radar, despite the fact that Rogers himself wasn’t a sports fan. He bought the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000 and later the SkyDome stadium where they played, renaming it the Rogers Centre. Again, it was despite the better judgment of some board members and close advisers. Though the team continued to be a massive money-loser—roughly $300 million in losses by 2008—he would later explain it was about more than the bottom line. “Don’t get me wrong: $300 million is a lot of money,” Rogers stated. “But I take a broader view. We would have paid the same money just for the equivalent branding opportunity.” From his Interview with MaCleans

Regardless of what Macleans or anyone thinks. Ted Rogers was a Blue Jays fan. My wife used to work for TheFan590 and bumped into him on multiple occasions either in the office or at the Dome and chatted baseball.

[Ballstothewall]

Regardless of what Macleans or anyone thinks. Ted Rogers was a Blue Jays fan. My wife used to work for TheFan590 and bumped into him on multiple occasions either in the office or at the Dome and chatted baseball.

He said it himself in the interview. That he was not a sports fan.He owned the team, of course he would say he is a Jays fan to people he met.Talk to John Tory. He will tell you what can of sports fan Ted really was behind close doors.

[Mulder]

He said it himself in the interview. That he was not a sports fan.He owned the team, of course he would say he is a Jays fan to people he met.Talk to John Tory. He will tell you what can of sports fan Ted really was behind close doors.

Thanks. Buts I will take the word of my wife who worked for the man and had personal conversations with him over anything published an interview.

[ArgoRavi]

So, will the Jays hit 75 wins this year? What changes will they make after this season? Will the fans come back next year after an extremely disappointing 2013 season?

[Ron]

So, will the Jays hit 75 wins this year? What changes will they make after this season? Will the fans come back next year after an extremely disappointing 2013 season?

Well ... nobody knew what the GM was going to do last off season and we don't know what he'll do this off season. History has shown he's not one to sit around and do nothing. I expect some off season trades again.

As for the fans next season ... again we'll see. There's a lot of fans still showing up and that's for a crap team this year. And most of these are not people who bought tix in March.

[jerrym]

One of the major problems the Jays face in the future is that most of its better players are 30 or older. The following Blue Jays will be 30 or older before the start of the next season: Buerhle 35, Dickey 39, Janssen 32, Johnson 30, Reyes and Delabar almost 31, Bautista 33, Encarnacion 31, and Lind 30. While it is certainly possible for a player over 30 to have good seasons, it is highly unlikely that a team with many of its best players 30+ is going to improve significantly.
In other words, the chances that the Jays will make the playoffs or even have winning seasons is very likely to decline next year and become much more remote with each successive season without a major rebuilding job, which takes time. The gamble of picking up Buerhle, Dickey, Johnson, and Reyes, as well as Cabrera (who turns 30 later in the season) in order to achieve short-term success, has been a failure and is even more unlikely to work out with each successive season. One only has to look at what happened to the Phillies, who won five successive National League East titles from 2007 to 2011, before declining over the last two years to fourth and a losing season in its division this year to see what happens to aging teams. It couldn't have happened to a nicer owner.

[gilthethrill]

ok clearly you are practicing for your trip next thursday. It's actually 'Geais Bleu'.

and yeah when i went to the argos' home opener I thought they were filming a Cocoon remake.

I was at the Argos home opener too...not to fond of the "Cocoon Remake" comment...I will run over your toes with my walker if I hear that again from you sonny....

[294life]

I was at the Argos home opener too...not to fond of the "Cocoon Remake" comment...I will run over your toes with my walker if I hear that again from you sonny....

if you host a playoff game in november i'll make sure to bring plenty of Geritol to pass around.


but back to the Jays. I know it's frustrating for Toronto but you might have to give this team a couple of years to find some chemistry. The horses seem to be there they just need to pull in the right direction.

[ArgoRavi]

if you host a playoff game in november i'll make sure to bring plenty of Geritol to pass around.


but back to the Jays. I know it's frustrating for Toronto but you might have to give this team a couple of years to find some chemistry. The horses seem to be there they just need to pull in the right direction.

In a couple of years, an already old team will be two years older. This team seems to be an awfully long way from contending status.

[gilthethrill]

Oh, no doubt there will be a playoff game at RC this fall!!!!!

[jerrym]

As I noted previously, the following Blue Jays will be 30 or older before the start of the next season: Buerhle, Dickey, Janssen, Johnson, Reyes, Delabar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind and Cabrera will be 30 later in the season. Therefore, as a group they are not likely to show much improvement during the rest of their careers, although an individual player could have a spike in production in the next year or two. In addition, they represent most of the best players on the team and, with the exception of Janssen, all were drafted and developed by other teams. The following players on the 40 man roster were developed by the Blue Jays: Cecil, Drabek, Loup, Romero, Arenciba, Goins, Lawrie, Lind, Pillar and Sierra. Of the Toronto-developed players, only Janssen can be considered a first rank pitcher, and only Arenciba, Lawrie and Lind are regular position players, while none of these three can be considered a first rank regular at his position.
What this screams is that the Blue Jays farm system is weak and no amount of clever trades and free agents is going to rescue this team in the short-run because all of the best teams, even the very wealthy ones, develop a fair number of their best players. This aging team, in other words, is going to be mediocre for a while.

[D-Gap-Willie]

The concensus ( average of reputable sources) ranking of the Blue Jays farm system sets the quality of the Jays system somewhere between 23rd and 25th out of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball. This compares with a ranking in the 9 to 12 range before Anthopoulos traded off so much talent last year. What does this say ? -- the Blue Jays have a woeful farm system, and it was never very good. For all practical purposes, there is little hope on the farm, other than the occasional utility player.
Note to jerrym: Kyle Drabek was drafted and developed by the Phillies, and Brett Lawrie by the Brewers.

[1argoholic]

As I mentioned on page 3, "Different names brought in to see the same results". Actually I was wrong the results seem worse. Great jobs Rogers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess Toronto really does love the losers with all the suckers running around in Jays gear. You've got something to be proud of Rogers.

[jerrym]

As I noted previously, the following Blue Jays will be 30 or older before the start of the next season: Buerhle, Dickey, Janssen, Johnson, Reyes, Delabar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind and Cabrera will be 30 later in the season. Therefore, as a group they are not likely to show much improvement during the rest of their careers, although an individual player could have a spike in production in the next year or two. In addition, they represent most of the best players on the team and, with the exception of Janssen, all were drafted and developed by other teams. The following players on the 40 man roster were developed by the Blue Jays: Cecil, Drabek, Loup, Romero, Arenciba, Goins, Lawrie, Lind, Pillar and Sierra. Of the Toronto-developed players, only Janssen can be considered a first rank pitcher, and only Arenciba, Lawrie and Lind are regular position players, while none of these three can be considered a first rank regular at his position.
What this screams is that the Blue Jays farm system is weak and no amount of clever trades and free agents is going to rescue this team in the short-run because all of the best teams, even the very wealthy ones, develop a fair number of their best players. This aging team, in other words, is going to be mediocre for a while.

Note to jerrym: Kyle Drabek was drafted and developed by the Phillies, and Brett Lawrie by the Brewers.

Your comment about Drabek and Lawrie is correct. However, I decided to look at the Blue Jays in as kindly a spirit as possible.
In the first group of players that I mentioned (the 30+) I used the words "drafted and developed". For the second group I only used the word "developed" and decided to be as generous as possible in the use of the definition in order to give the woeful Jays a break. If a player spent roughly a half season or more in the Jays farm system before coming up to the MLB team, I decided to allow that the Jays some part in their development. You are right that Drabek and Lawrie were drafted and began their developments with other teams. However, after Lawrie was traded to the Jays by Milwaukee, he spent some time with Las Vegas and Dunedin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Lawrie) Drabek spent most of the 2010 season with the Jays New Hampshire affiliate after being acquired from Philadelphia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Drabek)

Thus, even with the generous application of the word "developed" the Jays have done a poor job of developing players over most of the last decade. With the definition of "drafted and developed", their record is truly dismal.

[D-Gap-Willie]

" the Jays have done a poor job of developing players over most of the last decade. With the definition of "drafted and developed", their record is truly dismal"

I very much agree with you about "dismal", but I feel that this has been going on for much longer than "most of the last decade" Something is very wrong with their evaluation of draftable talent and/or their development of that talent.