Toronto Baseball Guys
Saturday, January 22, 2011
  Farewell Vernon
I always liked Vernon Wells. He was quiet, and a little dull as an interview, but he was a great centrefielder and a pretty productive hitter. Yes, he battled injuries and yes he had the GIANT contract, but was that his fault? How many of you would say "NO, I don't need all that money." if somebody pulled up with a dump truck full of it and offered it to you over the next 7 years?
That said he had the annoying habit of whiffing on three pitches outside of the strike zone when the tying runner was on third, or popping the first pitch up when that same runner was on second, but he was a professional who always conducted himself as such.
On the flip side kudos to AA for getting rid of the contract; it will give the team the flexibility it will need to sign Bautista to a long term contract.
I also like that AA doesn't fall in love with players, he is sticking to the rebuild plan and is not straying from that course. From a purely business perspective that much money for one guy on a rebuilding team made no sense.
Not sure how Rajai Davis and Corey Patterson will produce, but the Gose era will begin in a couple of years, so it may be a moot point.

Final thought.
Farewell Vernon, you will be missed.
 
Comments:
You're right Rob! Too many people are celebrating this trade like the Leafs just won a opening round playoff series. Last time I checked, there was no rule about large payroll resulting in win deductions. Otherwise the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets (ooh ignore that last one) would end up in last place every year. Wells was a very good player, he just didn't produce at a level equivalent to his salary. That didn't make him bad. The team is weaker after this trade.

We can all say "Now we've freed up some dough for Pujols!"...but
a.) He's not coming
b.) That's just an indication that Rogers is concerned about how much they're spending.

If b.) is actually the case, then we should be crying in our baby blue Henkes, because it's this is an indication that Rogers might not be that interested in opening up the purse strings.
 
This offseason was terrible for A.A. Coming off 85 wins, why not add a few pieces and go for an extra 7 more and the playoffs?

Clearly the Yankees are in decline, Tampa is moving on down, and Baltimore is Baltimore.

So we had a shot.

Now, we wait. And wait. And the Yankees rebuild with free agents for 2012. And we wait again.
 
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