Big Guns

I haven't written since Yu Darvish didn't happen.  But it's not like much has happened, except people moaning about penny pinching and lame duck GMs.  But AA has been quietly making moves.  Not splashy (ie expensive) moves, but moves.


Before they moaned about the cheapness, moaners moaned about the bullpen.  AA went out and stocked the bullpen.  Sergio Santos (new closer), Darren Oliver (octogenarian south paw) and Jason Frasor (once and future Sausage King of Chicago) came back from the White Sox.  


“It felt like I was never coming back. (His July 27 trade) was an emotional day. I think it was the first time I'd cried since I gave up five runs in Atlanta a couple of years ago,” Frasor said, laughing.  Aw, don't cry Sausage King. Especially not about Atlanta. Unless you have to hang out with Chipper Jones.


I understand the feelings of malaise some fans have with the off season.  I mean, it's hard to blog when there is nothing to blog about.  And if I don't blog, there isn't a blog.


The new uniforms and the Yu drama were ups, but the fall out from the lost bid and perceived non-action brought the energy down. "There's a lot of things that we could have done this past off-season just to say that we did it.  But I don't ultimately believe that it would have been good signings or good trades for us.  I think it would have been bad."


Also, the Sergio Santos deal was pretty amazing. As Frasor said, "I think you guys are really going to like him. I can't believe Alex pulled him away from Chicago first of all, and for me to go back there and hopefully set him up again, it's great.”  Plus, Santos' contract is very team friendly. 


I want another starter to increase depth, and I want another bat.  But if Escobar, Lawrie, JPA, EE, Johnson and Rasmus, not to mention Lind and Snider, can pull themselves together and perform either as well or better than they did last season, that should be enough to cover Bautista in offensively protective deliciousness.


I took a question from Twitter: 


@james_in_TO asks: Do longer games mean better records, if so, will you happily endure it?

The Yankees and the Red Sox have great teams and usually have great records.  However, watching those two teams is awful.  It's slow, it's drawn out and deliberate.  Red Sox pitchers are ponderous while pitching and Yankee batters are clearly encouraged to grind out at bats. It's effective, but incredibly irritating. Sunday Night Baseball games featuring those two teams are awful, because it invites blather from the commentators and games of no import get drawn out into the early hours of the morning.  It's technically good, because both teams feature good players, but there is no joy in it.  

The Jays play an up tempo style and are a very fun team to watch.  A Jays/Yankees game can often be very, very fun. So while better records are clearly desirable, but I would not happily endure the drudgery. Watching the Red Sox just makes me militant. 

The Jays Winter Tour has rolled on from Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal and now Halifax.  The boys excitedly tweeted along the way and alienated Toronto Maple Leaf fans by wearing the Habs and very nifty Senators jerseys at hockey games. They spoke French, visited Parliament Hill and saw some sick kids at the hospital.  Eric Thames' arms are alarmingly awesome. Wasn't he wiry like Bautista before? 

Mr. Big Guns is also in love with Halifax, according to his tweets. He seems like a bit of a city slut, though.