State of the team

The press conference was pretty tame, Vernon Wells really looked appreciative of the commitment made by the Jays and seemed awestruck of the money given to him, although his agents had predicted this type of market. Ted Rogers had an interesting comment and one that I think was directed not only as a general message about Canada but also to Jays fans who think that they overpaid Wells. The comment's point was to the fact that Canada as a whole needs to start the necessary price to acquire the resources we need and to keep them around, including what the Jays did with Vernon Wells. Other interesting points during the conference:

• The figure seems to be exactly what Wells and his agents had identified back in October
• Ricciardi stated that there was some wiggle room to be creative for pitching
• Rogers admitted to not being the baseball man of the organization and then went on to make comments that he felt comfortable with the pitching staff and what not.
• The Jays are pushing this commitment thing, Godfrey went on about it, think it will be the slogan? "Committed to winning?", I would probably prefer "You know we're not winning the division but we're committed to trying"
• No one asked about trade rumors or Rios/Johnson's status...

This move by the Jays is actully being met with positivity even with writers who aren't usually Ricciardi fans such as Dayn Perry. Dave Perkins also likes the deal but then goes on to state that the Jays have lost ground because of the starting pitching. The rumors have started to come out that Rios would be the trade bait...Buster Olney, who also liked the deal, reports that the Jays are shopping him. He mentions Penny, Blanton and an interesting Rios/something(like a young starter maybe?) for Heilman and Milledge. That would be interesting because it would be a downgrade in the OF but an upgrade with the pitching where the Jays need it.

Possibly dissapointing news as JD Drew's physical has raised a red flag and the deal may not happen with the Red Sox. I think this would kill what could have possibly been the worse deal this off-season, and that's saying a lot. And finally, I'm finishing up Feeding the Monster, and it is a great read, i'll do a review in the next few days if ever I sit down long enough.