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Not saying I'm pleased with him leaving but many people were screaming for Anthopoulos' head prior to July. He was a .500 GM at best before that. Two to three months can change much in perception.
Nevertheless, this couldn't have happened to a better owner. Rogers hasn't done anything to assuage the fact that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing in owning a sports team. Mark Shapiro would be wise to not treat this market like it is Cleveland.
What I read on the SB Nation e-mail this morning is that new incoming president Mark Shapiro was irate that AA traded Norris, Castro & Huffman among others. When I read that I posted these 2 tweets and I'll leave it at that:
Anthoupolos is obviously torn up about this. Reading between the lines, my sense is Shapiro wanted more say in personnel decisions than Alex was willing to cede. It's the only thing that makes sense in turning down a 5-year, multi-million dollar contract with an organization he clearly loves.
The irony meter went to full-tilt yesterday when the Sporting News named him Executive of the Year.
I don't envy Shapiro on Monday. He'll be facing a hostile media.
I would not say that Shapiro is facing a hostile media. Those of the Rogers media arm will do their best to deflect some of the criticism away from him. Certain Sportsnet (Rogers) and TSN (Bell) personalities spent much of yesterday throwing pot shots at one another over coverage of the the Alex Anthopoulos news.
Don't kid yourself. AA has a lot of fans in the media too. He has a well-earned rep as a fair-minded, straight-shooter who doesn't indulge in bafflegab. They genuinely like the guy and are sad to see him go.
Shapiro is going to face a lot of sharpened knives on Monday. He almost HAS to name current assistant GM Tony LaCava as the new GM. That may deflect a bit of heat but would also lead to immediate suggestions that LaCava is a Shapiro puppet.
I didn't see the presser but caught Shapiro's interview with Tim & Sid. He seemed sincere. He was effusive in his praise of Gibby which resonated with me because I think Gibby didn't get near the credit he deserved for steering the on-field ship.
As expected, he named LaCava interim GM but made it plain he was going to assess all available candidates.
All in all, he made a good first impression.
Congrats to KC for winning all the marbles. With all due respect to the Mets, I think the Jays were the 2nd-best team in MLB this year.
The chants started sometime in July, I think, maybe earlier. But as his very special season unfolded they got longer and louder at every game.
Congrats to Josh Donaldson. Mike Trout is a special talent and if he remains healthy will be an All-Star for a decade+ but JD didn't back into this one. The numbers that matter were all his.
About 10 days to go before playing for real. The team is pretty well set. The only roster spots in question are the 5th starter, 4th outfielder and maybe a couple of slots in the bullpen.
Aaron Sanchez desperately wants to be that 5th starter. He added 20-some pounds of beef over the winter which he believes will help him weather the rigors of a long season and pitch later into ball games. His main competition seems to be from Gavin Floyd. I have a hunch Gibby would prefer using Jesse Chavez as a long man/spot starter. And the other main candidate, Drew Hutchison, seems to be trade bait.
With Dalton Pompey sent to the minor league camp, the 4th outfielder job seems to be between Ezekiel Carrera, Junior Lake and Darrell Ceciliani.
Since 2B Devon Travis won't be ready to start the season, it looks like Darwin Barney will back up Ryan Goins and Tulowitzki in the infield.
A lot of the preseason scuttlebutt has been about the contract status of Bautista and Encarnacion. Both can declare free agency next season if not extended by the Jays. Most pundits think it unlikely the Jays will keep both. Edwin has declared that if he hasn't signed an extension by the end of Spring Training, he won't negotiate one during the regular season.
Should be another exciting season. The Jays will score a ton of runs and hopefully the pitching will be enough to get them into another post-season.
It starts for real today in Tampa when Marcus Stroman takes the hill against Chris Archer. Aaron Sanchez will begin the season as a starter. Chavez and Floyd will be the long men and Hutchison will start the season in Buffalo.
Las Vegas ranks the Jays as 2nd choice behind the Cubs to be World Series champs. I certainly hope they get to the big dance but expect them to win the always-tough AL East.
Stroman looked very good against my Rays.....can't believe how many early games we have vs Toronto and it seemed like the entire Spring Training was against the BJs. About sick of seeing them right now.....
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Mvp!
