Being Dumped by Anthopoulos Hurts - It Hurts A Lot

This hurts, Canada, it hurts a lot. For such a long time, we forgot we cared about the Blue Jays. We forgot how much fun we had when Joe Carter hit that home-run, and how great it felt to be watching baseball in October that we actually cared about. And then we were reminded, and it was wonderful. We were relevant again. We mattered. It was our GM wheeling and dealing and it was our team turning heads. It wasn't about the bottom line or term limits, it was about character and winning games. But now, after October 29th, a week after Donaldson grounded out to end the ALCS, no one knows what it's about anymore. Jays fans are left in a daze and to speculate after Anthopoulos has left the nest because it wasn't a good "fit."

Being in Western Canada, I woke up to this news and was devastated. My initial reactions were angry, and to be honest they still are angry, but my anger has evolved. I've rationalized and gone through the logic in my head many times, and despite my good sense telling me that I shouldn't be, I'm mad. I mean, it seems that AA has abandoned us, not the other way around. My normal reaction would be "screw him, we don't need him." And while part of me feels that way, I'm still devastated. It's like being dumped when you were expecting a proposal. It hurts.

Let's be honest, despite a good 3 months in the magical season of 2015, the 6 years spent as GM of the Blue Jays was relatively fruitless for AA and fans. While he's left the Jays field in good shape, their pitching staff is in a near state of emergency (and last I checked, pitching is pretty important in baseball). They are left, basically, in almost the exact same position they were to start the 2015 season: a bunch of rookies and youngsters as a pitching staff complimented by strong fielding and powerful bats. Where did this formula get them in 2015? Nowhere for a long time until a few bold moves by Anthopoulos at the trade deadline changed that. And yet, despite all of those moves, they still couldn't win with less than 5 runs to their name.

So, did you need Tulowitzki's bat? Not really. You perhaps needed his defence in place of a terrible Jose Reyes, but you already had that in Ryan Goins. Don't get me wrong, I love Tulo, but did the Jays really need him? To start the 2015 season, they needed one thing: pitching. But they traded some top prospect pitchers to get Tulo, a shortstop they didn't really need, to prevent the runs that were being allowed by sub-par pitching.

Now I was thrilled when they traded for David Price. Thrilled. No one was jumping higher than I was. But again, trading their top pitching prospects in Norris and Boyd will be costly, especially since Price will likely part ways with Toronto after the gong show just created by management. So AA filled a need, but, well, gave up a tonne for it. And they are still left in need of pitching for 2016, only now, their youthful potential is depleted making trades tough to make.

Let's go back a little further. R.A. Dickey. He seems like the nicest guy in pro sports and one of the best teammates, but yikes. I'll take the predictability of Noah Syndergaard any day over Dickey's knuckleball, especially in the AL East. Plus, while I love Russell Martin, Travis D'Arnaud is pretty damn good too. How about Mark Buehrle? Also, a really nice guy and a pretty good pitcher, but, did the Jays win anything with those two at the helm of the Jays rotation? Until this year, no, and until AA went and got some help in the name of Price, they weren't going to win anything again.

So all of this begs the question, if the Jays were just a little more patient, a little more diligent in developing their homegrown talent, would they be in the position they are now? For as long as I can remember, the Jays have always needed pitching, "right now." But in their attempts to get that pitching, they have constantly wagered their own.

Consider this, the Jays, just through the draft, could be going in to the 2016 season with a pitching staff that includes: Noah Syndergaard, Sam Dyson, Daniel Norris, Kendall Graveman, plus all the youngsters you have now in Sanchez, Osuna, Stroman and Cecil, and, oh ya, Hutchinson. You still need to makes some moves and sign some veterans, but those are some strong young arms that the Jays would have for a long time.

Currently, free agency is the only way the Jays can fill the gaping holes they have. Unfortunately, free agency has not been kind to the bluebirds. Throw in this recent front office gong show and how appealing do you think the Jays are now to a free agent?

So Mark Shapiro, who hasn't even spent a day in the Jays front office, is starting in a difficult, if not impossible position. Hence, anger. It is likely this was a forgone conclusion months ago when they started talking to Shapiro, and again, based on AA's track record, can you blame the Jays ownership for wanting someone else? Someone who is known for being patient, for growing talent and making smart trades that don't mortgage the future?

With the release of the news from ownership that the contract offered to Anthopoulos was basically the same position, with the same amount of freedom to mortgage the future (except he would have been reporting to a different person in Shapiro), the anger takes an unexpected turn. Like all pro teams, there is only one sandbox and Alex couldn't share his toys. Yet another twist in this soap opera, the agony of Jays fans is being tortured with speculation and brief comments. Hints to why this happened but no real explanation. I've seen this before. It's called The Young and the Restless and it's ridiculous.

Yet, despite his track record, despite his unwillingness to play nice with the other execs, despite his selling of the farm, despite all of the evidence, I'm still mad Anthopoulos is gone. Finally all was right in the Jays' nest, finally. Why this year? Why at this critical juncture have we been abandoned by our leader? He could have given it a season to see how things were going. He could have continued things as status quo. Thus we are left to speculate, left to ponder...just how much does Alex Anthopoulos hate Mark Shapiro? Meanwhile, Jays fans are left hurt and jaded; dumped and left with the bill, but still hoping for a proposal that we cannot accept will not come. This hurts.