Friday, July 20, 2012

Enough to make a guy emerge from a summer hibernation


I mean, it's been a month, so I truly & honestly have no clue whether there are still folks who will bother to click the link here... but if nothing else, it's online therapy for this guy to talk it out, right?...

Words on the Trade

The first tweet that emerged (after a tense evening awaiting news on the fate of Travis Snider (more below)) was along the lines of "Blue Jays announce 10-player trade..." aaaaand there goes my work day.  At least it was on a Friday.

I suppose I don't get the opposition to the deal.  I don't care for the "junk for junk" label so conveniently attached, even if we can all agree it's probably not a trade of tremendous future consequence.  The Jays received some pitching help now in J.A. Happ and Brandon Lyon (and maaaaybe a useful arm for later in David Carpenter), a fact and need too easily dismissed by many, in my estimation.

Those aren't sexy parts (in a baseball sense, guys.. c'mon) but they are roster requirements.  They aren't likely to be the players to push the Jays nearer playoff contention, but an unpopular truth is the club has to compete it's way through the remainder of the schedule.  Treading water it may very well be, but nobody wants to see the club drown in waves of Robert Coellos and Jesse Chavezs. 

And hey - not many clubs have rotations consisting solely of ones and twos, and Happ's multiple years of control mean that maybe the team has a player who can slot into the back of the rotation for multiple seasons.  Time will tell if the new fella can cut it in the big boy division, but competent arms are needed more than ever in Blue Jay land with effective seasons lost from the likes of Drabek, Hutchison et al.  We (ok, ok..."they") could probably do worse.

The flip side of any trade coin - what did the team give up?  At the major league level, it's addition by subtraction in saying goodbye to Francisco Cordero and Benny Francisco, whether by ineffectiveness or a largely unused roster spot.  Benny Fresh, we hardly knew you.  No, literally.  What did he get, like 30 at-bats?  And Coco, well.... let's just pretend this half-season didn't happen.

But it's the prospect talent loss that seems to have drawn the most gnashing of teeth.  But what exactly is lost here?  A-ball arms deemed by management to be back-end starters at best, with middle relief a more realistic outcome, and no assurance at all of ever seeing the bigs.  Sure, there's value in upside and control, but loss of control of a probable marginal outcome isn't a loss worth losing sleep over.  There's also value in the sure thing, and both Happ and Lyon are major leaguers right now, even if they aren't going to set the baseball world on fire.

In this day and age of internet-promoted prospect porn (hey - we're all guilty), it's a natural reaction to hold our breath and gasp as the future Blue Jays of our dreams are dealt for kinda sorta blah guys today.  But neither Asher Woj nor Joe Musgrove were anywhere near the top of the Jays prospect rankings, sure to be leapfrogged in the years ahead by the Sanchezes, Syndegaards, Nicolinos, Norrises, et al (I could go on) of the system.   Carlos Perez is an interesting young player, but in a system stacked with catchers, an average defending backstop with limited power was always likely to be squeezed out.  And neither Asher Woj nor Joe Musgrove would be seen as bright enough prospects to headline deals bringing back impact talent. 

So if they were neither likely to emerge as future star-level Blue Jays nor bring back the same in trade, what's a proper use of the asset?

Trades like these.  And here we are.

Words on Travis Snider

There's nothing wrong with having an unusually strong attachment to the once and future savior of the middle of the order.  Safe to say you can count me among the hordes.  Snider did his time in Vegas with nary a peep of discontent uttered from his meat-loving lips, and did about all a player could do to prove he was "fixed" in the offensively inflated PCL.

And now he's back and past grievances can be forgotten. 

Just make it work, Lunchbox.  For all of us.

21 comments:

JP said...

Good stuff!

I can see both sides of the reaction of the trade but what I don't get is the extremes of both sides. Those lauding AA as a genius are being as silly as those touting that he failed horrible and gave up way too much.

It was a good baseball move, filling a (very big) need for depth in the here and now while still allowing us actual major league depth in the future. I don't know if I want Happ in the starting rotation next year but the thought of him being able to potentially fill in if, god forbid, we have another injury-riddled season or to be a lefty longman/spot starter.

What "major" prospects did we give up? A chance at a middle reliever (Woj), a pitcher with a lot of question marks as to what his projection will be (JoeMus), and a catcher who was 4th on our catching depth chart and, if I'm correct, would have been exposed to the Rule 5 draft in the offseason. I'm OK with that, considering the talent already in the system and the talent that was just drafted. Keith Law said it best in his Insider piece, essentially saying that we gave up our 3rd tier prospects to a team that would consider them 2nd tier. It doesn't truly impact our future roster from a minor league standpoint and helps our current roster going forward.

I enjoy your stuff - don't wait for the next big crazy trade news to write up another post (unless there's another big crazy trade in the next week+).

The Ack said...

Thanks for the words.

I'd like to think I'm not really a comment whore, but feedback and discussion is always nice...otherwise, I could just scribble it out with pen & paper, y'know?

BananaBelt said...

Don't forget: many more people read than comment. Good post. Please continue...

Anonymous said...

Straight to the point and well written! Why can't everyone else be like this?

Anonymous said...

Whenever we go through the concept of the term like, with relations to a close marriage by using one more, although as a sensing that is engendered in case you have miltchmonkey an improved association with yourself far too - as well as being a sensation of higher oneness family members or perhaps humankind * this gets a lot more really clear that each one any individual is looking for in daily life is certainly love.

Anonymous said...

Woah! I'm really digging the template/theme of this website. It's
simple, yet effective. A lot of times it's hard to get that "perfect balance" between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you've done a fantastic job with this.
Additionally, the blog loads super fast for me on Firefox.

Superb Blog!

Review my weblog - just click the following webpage

Anonymous said...

Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you
knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form?

I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm
having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!

My web site - helpful resources

Anonymous said...

finasteride 5mg buy propecia no prescription - generic propecia brands

Anonymous said...

Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers?

I'm kinda paranoid about losing everything I've worked
hard on. Any tips?

my site - related resource site

Anonymous said...

Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more
than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable and everything.
Nevertheless imagine if you added some great visuals or videos to
give your posts more, "pop"! Your content is excellent but with pics
and clips, this website could undeniably be one of the most
beneficial in its niche. Superb blog!

Feel free to visit my weblog - Clicking Here

Anonymous said...

Do you have a spam problem on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was curious
about your situation; many of us have developed some nice practices
and we are looking to trade methods with others, please
shoot me an e-mail if interested.

Stop by my web site: Full Post ()

Anonymous said...

Hey administrator, I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that your Domain name: http://www.
blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6039665329084961589&postID=2737328837625222029 is
being flagged as a potentially malicious web page in my web browser chrome.
I'd highly suggest having someone look into it. You can certainly lose a lot of guests due to this kind of issue. Very best of Luck.

Also visit my web blog :: buy backlinks

Anonymous said...

I'm curious to find out what blog platform you're working with?
I'm experiencing some small security issues with my latest website and I would like to find something more safe. Do you have any solutions?

My webpage click reference

Anonymous said...

Hey would you mind letting me know which hosting company you're using? I've loaded your blog
in 3 completely different internet browsers
and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
Can you suggest a good hosting provider at a reasonable price?

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

Also visit my homepage :: Full Record

Anonymous said...

Hello. I was contemplating adding a backlink back to your blog since both of our web sites are based around the same
topic. Would you prefer I link to you using your website address:
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6039665329084961589&postID=2737328837625222029 or web site title: Blogger: Pen of the Ack.
Be sure to let me know at your earliest convenience.
Many thanks

Feel free to visit my web-site other

Anonymous said...

Hey just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you
know a few of the pictures aren't loading correctly. I'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I've tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same results.

My webpage backlink building service

Anonymous said...

Please let me know if you're looking for a writer for your site. You have some really great articles and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I'd absolutely love to write some material for your blog
in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested.

Thank you!

Here is my website - just click the up coming internet page

Anonymous said...

Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I
could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
I've been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

Also visit my webpage :: site link building (http://gokhalemethod.com/forums/8_steps_%E2%80%93_questions_and_discussions_related_book_%E2%80%9C8_steps_painfree_back%E2%80%9D/8_steps_general__949)

Anonymous said...

Hello! It appears as though we both have a passion for the same
thing. Your blog, "Blogger: Pen of the Ack" and mine are very similar.
Have you ever thought about authoring a guest article for a related blog?

It will certainly help gain exposure to your blog (my site recieves
a lot of traffic). If you happen to be interested, contact me at:
joannmattox@yahoo.de. Appreciate it

Review my homepage seo backlink service []

Anonymous said...

I know this if off topic but I'm looking into starting my own weblog and was wondering what all is required to get setup? I'm assuming having a blog like yours would
cost a pretty penny? I'm not very internet savvy so I'm not 100% positive.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it

Also visit my web blog ... get backlinks

Anonymous said...

ӏf you are tгying to wߋrk around tɦіngs like chilɗren,
work or school, үou might find that piano
lesѕons will fall by thе wayside. But lots of people are finding this not only a hսge
inconvenience, but very expensive as well. Piano teaϲhing software is
obtainablе for newcomers and еven advanced ѕtudentѕ.


Also visit my weblog :: rocket piano pdf download