Anyone interested? I'll be the commish, we need players. Last year we didn't have enough to fill a league. Hopefully we can get enough support for a league this year.

With all those rumours flying around about the Blue Jays sending Alex Rios to the Giants for Cain/Lincecum, I have been thinking about the pros and cons of each pitcher and can't decide which of the two I rather have. Both can potentially be front of rotation starter, but I can't help but feel that Lincecum's ceiling may be higher than Cain's. However, the stature argument also concerns me, will he break down in the near future? If you are the GM of the Jays, who would you rather have, Cain or Lincecum? Discuss

Poll

If you are the Blue Jays GM, who would you rather trade for?

45%

Matt Cain

93 votes

54%

Tim Lincecum

113 votes

206 votes | Poll has closed

Although the sample size is small, I can't help notice that a sizable number of you believe John Gibbons is doing an ok job and should be allowed to stay and some of you even believe his contract should be extended. While I wholeheartedly disagree with you, I am interested in your reasons for such a selection. What are everyone's thoughts on John Gibbons?

A month into the season, although the big club has not been doing too well thus far, I can't help but feel a sense of optimism because of the performance of two of our top pitching prospects. Dustin McGowan and David Purcey have always had the stuff, but have never been able to piece it together for their talents to show up in the box score. However, they have both dominated their respective leagues this year. Here is their line thus far this year.

                                  Record    ERA    K/9    K/BB    WHIP    Opp .AVG
Dustin McGowan (AAA)    0-2    1.69    13.5    4    1.19    .220
David Purcey (AA)         3-0    0.89    10.6    12    0.44    .111

Although it is only a couple starts in, but the results are nonetheless encouraging. The stuff of either pitchers have never been questioned. Their biggest question is whether they can locate their pitches often enough to have success. Historically, both pitches have had problems with their control. Although McGowan is still giving up walks at a higher than ideal rate, his ability to generate swing and misses more than compensate for his walks. His K/BB ratio is still at a very healthy 4/1. Purcey, on the other hand, looks like a completely different pitcher this year. Throughout his minor league career, Purcey has averaged over 5BB/9, with a K/BB ratio just a tad under two. Those are ugly numbers; it is nearly impossible to have any sustained success with control (of lack thereof) like that. This season, Purcey has only issued 2 free passes in 20 1/3 innings. Purcey's improved control has clearly shown up in the box score. The big left-hander is finally becoming the pitcher J.P. Ricciardi envisioned him to be when he drafted him in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft.

McGowan and Purcey are both projected as front-end starters. If they continue to dominate the minors over the next few months, don't be surprise to see one or both of these pitchers up with Toronto mid-season. Teams that takes it to the next level usually have some young players break out during contention (think Josh Beckett '03). Toronto is long overdue for breakout rookie performances. Hopefully McGowan and Purcey can push them over the edge.

Anyone interested? We didn't have a great turnout last year but hopefully we can get a full league going. Let me know if you are interested and if we have the numbers, I'll set up a league on Yahoo.

Although it is becoming increasingly difficult to find bargains in free agency these days, it doesn't mean Juan Pierre deserves $45mil/5yrs. Seriously, what has the world come to. Looking back at the offseason thus far, which contract do you think is the worst deal?

All in all, I think Catalanotto at $13mil/3yrs might end up being the biggest bargain of the winter.

Poll

Which of the following has been the worst use of money thus far this offseason?

23%

Juan Pierre @ $45mil/5yrs

12 votes

33%

Gary Matthews Jr @ $50mil/5yrs

17 votes

1%

Alex Gonzalez @ $14mil/3yrs

1 votes

1%

Jamie Walker @ $12mil/3yrs

1 votes

11%

Carlos Lee @ $100mil/6yrs

6 votes

3%

Danys Baez @ $19mil/3yrs

2 votes

0%

Other (please be specific)

0 votes

13%

Alfonso Soriano @ $136mil/8yrs

7 votes

9%

$51.1mil to talk to Diasuke Matsuzaka

5 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

Here is an idea, albeit a ridiculous one.

Sources say that the Dodgers are willing to let Eric Gagne go as they have Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton in the wings ready to take over as Closer.

The question is, what is Eric Gagne going to make in the open market these days, after 2 injury riddle season? Another question is, would he be interested in settling for something less than being a closer?

If Gagne is at all interested in playing in his motherland, the Jays might be able to sign him to an incentive based 1-year deal that will let him serve as B.J. Ryan's setup man. If healthy, he is certainly an upgrade over Speier and will probably come cheaper than Speier this offseason.

How feasible/unfeasible is this idea? And who do you think would be some potential suitors for Gagne? I think the Red Sox can be potential suitors for the Red Sox since they are currently closerless with Papelbon moving to the rotation. A healthy Gagne will do more than enough to fill that hole.

Regardless, Gagne will be a player I will be tracking during this offseason, no matter how little press he is getting.

According to various reports (mlb.com, espn.com, Globe and Mail), the Jays are about to sign Frank Thomas to a 2-year deal worth between $20-$30million dollars with a club option for a 3rd. After not hearing much news from the Blue Jays camp thus far this offseason, this is certainly a huge splash. A healthy Thomas would certainly add a huge presence in our lineup that already inclues Glaus, Wells, and Rios, and would add the the murderer's row of hard hitting righties in the middle of our lineup.

What are everyone's thought on this? Personally, I think if Thomas can stay healthy, $10-$15mil/yr might actually be a bargain. Thomas has been a hitting machine all his life and I feel like he will continue to be into his 40s, his certain will certainly be felt in the Blue Jays' lineup. Kudos to J.P. for acting early and making a big splash in the free-agent market.

Now, we just have to wait for the official news. More on this later.

Update [2006-11-16 13:9:11 by Alpheus Chan]:

Latest report from The Globe and Mail says that the contract is $18mil/2yr with an option for a 3rd year that makes the contract $30mil in total. $9mil/yr sounds a lot better than $12mil/yr, this deal sounds better by the second.

I thought Brandon League and Dustin McGowan are no longer prospects due to playing time in the majors, but they have recently been named the #13 and #15 prospect in the International League by Baseball America.

Despite how low everyone is on McGowan these days, and how badly he pitched this year, obviously there are people who still thinks he can be a star in the big leagues.

I am very interested in the Arizona Fall League this year as it might be make or break time for McGowan's chance to succeed as a Blue Jay. If McGowan can harness his potential, he would fit in nicely behind Halladay and Burnett as the #3 starter in the rotation, but that is a big if...

What do you guys think of McGowan and what holds for him in the future? Bust or Late-Bloomer?

Why do every Top Jays prospect in recent memory either bust or blooms late? Chris Carpenter, Kelvim Escobar, Roy Halladay, Josh Phelps, to name a few, and now McGowan.

Travis Snider                                                   Adam Lind

Although this news does not concern the immediate future of the Toronto Blue Jays, it might be a harbinger of things to come a couple years down the road. Travis Snider, the Blue Jays' 1st round draft pick this year, had a huge season in short-season low-A ball with Pulaski in the Appalachian League, and was named to the All-Star, named the league's Player of the Year, and was ranked by Baseball America as the Appalachian League's number 1 prospect. Although he is still a couple years away from the show and who knows what his future entails, it is nonetheless exciting to hear success stories from a system that has seen a lack of fanfare in the past couple years.

On the other hand, the news regarding Adam Lind may have an impact on the Blue Jays roster as early as next season. Lind, a third round draft pick from the 2004 entry draft, out did his successful 2005 campaign with a MVP season in AA Eastern League with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. What is even more impressive, is that he won the award despite spending nearly a month of the season in AAA, where he also enjoyed success. As a reward for his season, Lind was called up to the big club and has continued to hit the ball with authority. Lind also joined Carlos Delgado and Luis Lopez as the only Blue Jays player to win 3 Webster Awards, which is given annually to the most valuable player in each Blue Jay minor league affiliate. Lind should be in contention for the starting/platooning LF job as early as next season. With the success he has had thus far, Ricciardi might be inclined to let Frank Catalanotto to walk as a free agent and hand the LF job to Lind. All in all, I am excited about the future of these two young sluggers. Hopefully their minor league success will translate into success in the big leagues.