Lately, I'm agreeing with this little bit from Jeff Sullivan of SBNation.com:
...you'd think that a dedicated baseball blogger would eagerly look forward to the start of the year, in reality that couldn't have been further from the truth. Pitchers and catchers marked the start of Spring Training, but Spring Training was a time for media fluff. Six straight weeks about how this guy is in great shape, or how this guy's trying to beat the odds, or how this team has a positive new direction. Spring Training was all talk with little substance, and in my mind, the regular season never seemed further away than it did on the day of pitchers and catchers.
That's where I am right now. Yes, I'm quite willing to believe that each and every Jay player is in the best shape he has ever been in. No I don't want to read about it or write about it. I know I saw Jesse Litsch and he looked like he was in great shape and beyond that one sentence, I have nothing more to say about it. Yep, I'm sure every Jay pitcher is working on a new pitch. That happens every spring. I am sure Kyle Drabek (and every other young Jay pitcher) is working on his change up. After watching the success Marcum, Romero and Cecil had with the pitch, last year, I'd be working on one too. Now if one of those pitchers starts working on a knuckleball, then I want to hear about it.
It is tough coming up with things worth saying in February. We've pretty much said everything we want to about Jose Bautista's contract until it gets signed. As my son so nicely commented, I must be leading the league in fluff pieces that last few days. Trouble is that by this time, we've finished with all the off-season topics we planned.
Anyway, Albert Pujols deadline with the Cardinals has come and gone without a deal, making it look likely that he will be a free agent after this season. MLB Trade Rumors had a story up yesterday handicapping the possible destinations for Albert. The story seems to have disappeared today, or I'd link to it. I'm not sure why it would be taken down. The Jays were listed as a dark horse, following behind favorites: Rangers, Nationals, Cubs, Angels and Cards.
Do the Jays have a shot? Sure. We have rich owners. We aren't paying anyone a ton of money to play first at the moment. I think Adam Lind will do a decent job there this year, but we still would have the DH spot open. Adam and Albert could share 1B and DH. If we are trying to win, after this season, Albert would go a long way towards that.
Could we after $25+ a season over the next 7+ years. The Jays keep telling us the team would have the money if and when needed. Rogers is rich. They could find interesting ways to make him extra money: give him his own Poker show on RSN, sell Albert Pujols ring tones and/or feature him in ads for Sportsnet radio and TV. Heck, name the next Sportsnet channel after him.
The real problem with signing him would be that we have a lot of players who will be making more money in the next few years. Brandon Morrow, Brett Cecil, Yunel Escobar, Travis Snider and, very soon, Jose Bautista will all be making more money after the next couple of years. Our payroll will be going up with or without Pujols.
I know it is the longest of long shots, but wouldn't it be great to have Albert on our team?