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The MLB Thread- 2014 Season


gmen81

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I'm not so sure. Tim Wakefield managed to hang around long after his "best before" date, all the while pitching in those very parks. A full half of them at Fenway.

Tim Wakefield was nothing more than an average pitcher at best.

Dickey's stats against an AL East team proves my point, albeit it's a small sample size.

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Tim Wakefield was nothing more than an average pitcher at best.

Dickey's stats against an AL East team proves my point, albeit it's a small sample size.

Perhaps, but Wakefield was also a key cog on two World Series winning teams. A knuckleballer can be a particularly valuable asset in the playoffs too, because the low strain on the arm means they can eat up innings like no one else. I remember some of those extra inning Yankees-Red Sox games where they'd bring Wakefield in in relief for 5 innings when the bullpen was starting to strain.

Also, R.A. is an obvious late-bloomer, so it's a little unfair to use his early career stats in the AL to compare to his more recent ones. Granted, one might say he's benefited from playing in the NL, but he's also been playing in the toughest division in the NL, and he's 7-0 in 10 interleague starts as a Met as well. I also think that the "aging" issue is less in play with him, because knuckleballers can still be effective at a more advanced age when more conventional pitchers are in decline due to dropping velocity, Wakefield pitched until he was 45, and Phil Niekro pitched until he was 48. R.A. probably isn't as good as Niekro, but he's arguably more reliable than Wakefield.

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Oh man I hate this trade so much. Your top hitting/position prospect and your top pitching prospect for one aging guy seems like way too much, especially when the Jays are already in a pretty good spot in the AL East it seems. I'd pray that it falls apart but I just don't see the Jays going that far to not meet his contractual demands now.

They may be "in a pretty good spot" but that doesn't cut it these days. AA sees the window to win open right now, not a few years from now. This trade, while sacrificing on a great deal of potential, makes the Blue Jays the likely favorite to win the AL East. Sure, it's risky, but AA obviously felt that playing it slow and safe wasn't good enough, especially considering that the Jays are sitting on a few superstars in their primes (Bautista, Reyes) and in general a collection of players who are ready to win now. It might not work, but it's the first time I can recall (maybe even since the acquisition of Alomar and Carter in 1991) that the Blue Jays came straight out and indicated that "the time is now".
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Like many have said, the time is now the the AL east. I'm for one glad that AA is willing to trade pieces to make this team competitive.

Dickey

JJ

Romero

Morrow

Buehrle with Happ, Cecil, and Drabek on deck

Reyes SS

Cabrera LF

Bautista RF

Encarnacion DH

Rasmus CF

Lawrie 3B

Arencibia C

Lind 1B

Izturis 2B

That is one sexy lineup if you ask me

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Fun stat.

When pitching indoors over the last 3 years Dickey's ERA is 1.72.

/ Love this move. It moves Morrow-Romero down to the 4th and 5th spot in the rotation meaning they should be able to eat up wins against the bottom half of the league. Also, for the first time I can remember, the Jays should have the upper hand on inter league games with so many players familiar with the NL.

// The rotation now has two power pitchers, two control pitchers and a knuckleballer. That's going to be hell to adjust to.

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They're saying Dickey extended for $25 million for 2 years, which is actually lower than the $26 mil he was wanting from the Mets. I was thinking by default they would have to be going up with their offer, rather than down. That's great news, and a hell of a bargain with the way the market is.

I'm still disappointed at giving up d'Arnaud of all players, but it is what it is. Now's the time to get excited about what Dickey is going to bring. Doesn't need to be said that bringing in a reigning Cy Young winner puts them in a better position than if they tried to half ass it with a free agent signing.

They can still use improvements at 2B and DH/1B (over Izturis and Lind), but I don't think there will be anymore major moves coming along after this one.

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I don't know, I'm just not sold on Dickey as an elite starter and beside I didn't really think the Jays needed another top of the rotation starter. Their rotation, without Dickey, has to be one of the best rotation in the AL and certainly in the AL East. I would have been happy if they just signed Marcum as a 4th/5th starter and upgrade on their 2nd base position via trade.

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I don't know, I'm just not sold on Dickey as an elite starter and beside I didn't really think the Jays needed another top of the rotation starter. Their rotation, without Dickey, has to be one of the best rotation in the AL and certainly in the AL East. I would have been happy if they just signed Marcum as a 4th/5th starter and upgrade on their 2nd base position via trade.

Exactly, but who cares I'll be laughing when the Jays don't make the playoffs.

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Wow, the Jays are looking almost like a fantasy team! So stacked in every position from those moves

Good to see A.A. take the Marlins' cap dump of star players (see a trend here with Florida-based sports teams?) and then sweeping in to get Dickey. Reminds me of what M.G. does to plug holes on the team, if you ask me

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I don't know, I'm just not sold on Dickey as an elite starter and beside I didn't really think the Jays needed another top of the rotation starter. Their rotation, without Dickey, has to be one of the best rotation in the AL and certainly in the AL East. I would have been happy if they just signed Marcum as a 4th/5th starter and upgrade on their 2nd base position via trade.

You mean, you dont want a #1 or #2 as your 5th starter? How terrible of AA!

The Jays have proven that they can keep up with the big boys' bats the last 3 years. Pitching on the other hand has been shat for however long.

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Actually, he's had three good seasons. And he's improved in every one of them.

Agreed.

Not only that but he's moving into what should be a better situation for him to succeed, for several reasons.

1) Most batters in the AL are not very familiar with his arsenal

2) Pitching at home in the dome means his knuckler won't be affected by wind. He should be lights out at home.

3 ) He will be pitching for a much better lineup that can score more runs than the Mets

4) His $10 mil salary means he doesn't need to be better than a .500 pitcher to earn his money.

I'm not suggesting he will match or better his numbers of last year but ,even if we consider that he will have an adjustment time to a new team, he could raise his ERA a full point and still finish with a record of, say, 16-11 and still be a good value for his contract.

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I don't know, I'm just not sold on Dickey as an elite starter and beside I didn't really think the Jays needed another top of the rotation starter. Their rotation, without Dickey, has to be one of the best rotation in the AL and certainly in the AL East. I would have been happy if they just signed Marcum as a 4th/5th starter and upgrade on their 2nd base position via trade.

27 of 32 first place Cy Young votes isn't enough for elite status for you? Not even a down year for pitchers either, he smoked pretty solid competition in the voting. And as has been mentioned, he was pretty good the previous two years too.

The Blue Jays are obviously not content to be "good enough". When the World Series champions can bring a two time Cy Young winner out of the bullpen behind a four man rotation with 14+ wins each, I think a pretty well-understood mantra for winning at the major league level gets reinforced: you can never have too much quality starting pitching. If you really want to win, you have to hoard top level starters, and that's what AA is doing. I think one might also read into this that he wasn't super confident in the holdovers from last season either. Romero had a rotten 2012, and Morrow is always enigmatic. He wants those guys to be 4-5, not 3-4. I personally don't know how well Johnson and Buehrle will work out either (both have a history of greatness and potential to be so again, but neither blew anyone's socks off in Miami last year), so frankly, Dickey pencils in as opening day starter in my books.

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OMG WOOOOOW JAYS SIGNED R.A. DICKEYYY!!!!

Jays looking unstoppable now!! Now if only they got Doc back..... :(

Wouldn't that be something? I wonder if AA could grab Halladay back? The only thing is that he's making 20 million in 2013, and will be getting another 20 in 2014 if he goes over 225 IP this season. 2012 Doc was a shadow of his previous self though, so caveat emptor.
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