Saturday 19 November 2011

Uniformly Pleased!


Okay sure, it's not news. I, like every other Blue Jays fan on the planet, am still swooning over the new unis. I didn't even particularly dislike the last ones (the only ones I ever hated was the hideous T-Bird design) but these come very near to perfection. My favorite choice is to use the stripped down logo (as opposed to the one with the baseball behind it) on the cap and jersey. The darker, brighter coloring on the logo is a vast improvement over the pastels of the original.

There's not a lot more to say about the biggest event of the day, but it wasn't the only event. There was also roster movement as November 18 was the deadline for teams to finalize their roster in advance of the upcoming Rule 5 draft. The choices on who to add were obvious this year, as the Jays added Travis d'Arnaud, Mike McDade, Nestor Molina, and LH reliever Evan Crawford. Meanwhile they announced that the had removed Brian Jeroloman, who was lost on waivers to Pittsburgh (you'd think they would have learned by now!) and Cole Kimball (who they'd just claimed on waivers a few days ago) who was lost back to the Nationals from whence he came. Also added to the 40 man roster was another waiver claim, one Andrew Carpenter who played for the Phillies and Padres last year. The roster now stands at 38.

for those of you wondering about the shortage of slots given the needs the team has, having only 2 or 3 (or even less) open slots heading into the R5 is not unusual. Teams simply make their arrangements and announce the deal formally after the draft. And when the time comes other players will be outrighted to the minors to make room (such as Alan Farina, who's recovering from Tommy John surgery, or Darin Mastorianni as examples)

If you are wondering if any Jays prospects are at risk of being drafted - no one you should worry about but here are a few players who might temp teams, particularly in the minor league portion of the draft:

1. Jon Diaz - ceiling is John McDonald 2.0
2. Matt Wright - LH reliever who had good ratios
3. Mark Sobolewski - under-achieved his scouting reports coming out of the draft
4. Balbino Fuenmayor - one time bonus baby, never got out of low-a ball.
5. Jon Talley - C/1B/DH with emerging power potential

I'd be stunned if any were taken in the major league portion of the draft.

Coming soon, the Top Prospect list.

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