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Last edited by bravosfan; 11-20-2006, 03:55 AM. -
Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Me likey. I was shocked at the season he had. I thought coming into 2006, he was finished. -
Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Yay. Auburn alums = autographed stuff for me.Blue Jays, Blackhawks, AuburnComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
would be a good pick up, but shouldnt the jays be more focused on spending $ on pitchingCarolina Panthers
Wake Forest
ATL Braves
It all started back in '99 when time was hard, North Carolina Central but we called it the yard...Comment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Ken Rosenthal reporting its official. Supposedly, 2 years, 20 million with incentives taking to about a potential 23 million.
Every free agent hitter just added JP Ricciardi to their christmas card list. What a ridiculous contract.Comment
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“Nobody in the history of the game tried what I just tried. We’re talking about on the biggest stage, in New York, playing out of position and asked to hit fourth for the New York Yankees. I mean, that’s never been done.” - Sheffield on SheffieldComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
20 Million WTF. Considering we only have 1 starting pitcher who is worth a **** why is he wasting our budget increase on a 38 year old D.H.. What the hell is wrong with J.P.? It was bad enough he threw all that money at A.J. China Doll and now the Big Hurt, who lived up to his name the last few years and last year's relatively healthy year was more of a fluke. The only reason the Jays offense sputtered in the 2nd half last year was Rios was hurt, lost all that weight and conversely some power and Gibbons totally misused him in the lead off spot. When he was batting 3rd he was a catalyst on the offense. The only big hurt we're taking now is in the standings.
I guess that means so long to Lilly and they must be planning on trading Wells but knowing J.P. he'll probably trade Wells for a D.H. just in case Thomas goes down. Well at least we'll be comforted in the fact that Gibbons will be too scared to pick a fight with Thomas.Comment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Considering the crappyness of the FA pitching market this year, I'd rather have the Jays set the market standard than sign someone like Tony Armas Jr. for 7 million/year.Blue Jays, Blackhawks, AuburnComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
What a joke of contract.
Thomas can now go back to having a bad attitude and slacking off.Comment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Yeah, dumb move by the Jays if this goes through. I really dont think he'll hold up on the fake surface there in toronto, but we'll see. So much for the loyalty he said he had towards the A's.Comment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Hmm...the money scares me. I wonder if this means the Jays will have a 100 mil budget THIS season.
1. The "fake surface" is FieldTurf. We wouldn't have gotten Troy Glaus if we had kept the astroturf. Glaus did have nagging leg injuries but it wasn't to the point that you can point to the FieldTurf being the cause.
2. I have a feeling Thomas will be 85% DH for this club. He certainly fits the mold of what the Jays have needed in a DH since Paul Molitor left over a decade ago.
3. I'm a little scared that Thomas will be a bust. I would've preferred a cheaper, more incentive laden contract. At least you can't deny that JP is agressive when he wants things done.Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
"Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. ParkerComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
Loyalty is not a word that should be associated with professional sports.
The A's had the chance to keep Thomas but their best offer was between $13-15 million over 2 years, Thomas had an MVP caliber season and obviously thought that the A's did not offer enough.
The Blue Jays are going to have to dish out money to fill other needs, not just the pitching staff. They have no Catchers, no real leadoff hitter and no bench. they will need to sign at least one starting pitcher and could fill out the rotation with one of the young starters they have (Jansen, McGowan, Taubenheim, etc...).Comment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
I'd be very surprised if Gregg Zaun doesn't come back and catch this year, and the bench (Phillips, Adams, Lind, Johnson/Cat) is decent. The main problems are the other two. Rios can leadoff, but I think the Jays want him either hitting out of the 2 or 6 hole. With Thomas here, he's not hitting 6th, so that means that Catalanotto (who I'd love to see hitting first against righties) and Reed Johnson would take over the leadoff spot, which is fine by me. Of course, JP has to re-sign those two first. As for pitching, well, we're screwed. There's no mid-level guys we can go after, and since Matsuzaka had a dump truck with $51 million land at his house, the market just went up considerably. The Jays need to re-sign Lilly at 7.5 per, and then take their chances on a Tony Armas Jr. type player, or maybe even give Josh Towers another shot next year.Blue Jays, Blackhawks, AuburnComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
To back up theaub, I agree that it would be quite surprising if Zaun isn't catching next year. I think Lind has a good future in the Big Leagues as I like what I saw of him in September. He could be a valuable bat off the bench.
As for pitching, yeah we're screwed big time. Yesterday Ken Rosenthal was talking about how Justin Speier is looking at 2 yrs/10 mil from the BoSox! "sigh"
Even tho I think Lilly isn't any great shakes they have to sign him and make a gamble with a 4-5 starter.Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club
"Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. ParkerComment
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Re: Jays closing in on deal with Frank Thomas
At first I was set back a little by the contract, until I did a little more thinking. Number 1, we are back to the days of 2000 when contracts were sky high and a .500 pitcher will be worth at least 12-13 mil a year.
Number 2, the Jays obviously set their sights on this guy and what we DON'T know is what the other teams pursuing Thomas, like the Rangers, were offering. If it was 8 mil per, right away you have to add 1 mil to pretty much any free agent these days to get them to sign north of the border. Add another mil to outbid the Rangers and you have the 10 mil per number they have thrown at him.
Am I upset? If this is the only move of significance they make this off-season, then I am pissed off. But I get the feeling there are more moves to come (Barajas from Texas is what some people are reporting here) and the urgency to sign Wells isn't as high as people here are making it out to be.
Do they need pitching? Absolutely! But so do 29 other teams. Lilly is going to command a salary of at least 10-11 mil a season. So are alot of the other second tier of free agent pitchers. But the numbers Toronto got from the DH spot last year was good enough for 12th in the AL. They needed an upgrade and like everything else they're going to need to address, they had to overpay for it.Comment
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