Beeston Speaks, Fanbase Freaks

So Paul Beeston was on Sportsnet radio with Jeff Blair yesterday or today or something (audio here).  And my god, did people lose their shit about payroll again, or what?  Seriously folks...

Before I get in to what Beeston said, I want to address a perfect example of that shit-losing: Gregg Zaun was on PTS with Mccown and Blair (video) at some point recently, and all I really got out of it was a whole bunch of bad attitude that I'd have been sent to my room for as a child.  He said that he'd go ahead and sign Fielder now, since that kind of talent doesn't just make itself available every year, which is fair, I suppose, but again, kind of misses the point.

The Jays didn't really have a problem scoring runs last year, and that was with the OBP sinkholes of Corey Patterson and Aaron Hill taking up valuable spots at the top of the order, so combining that elimination with full seasons from KJ, Lawrie, Rasmus.....  Zaun also sounds like he's ready to give up on Travis Snider and tell Eric Thames to go fuck off, claiming that Lind should be in LF everyday, in the same breath as saying that Lind couldn't physically handle the least strenuous position in baseball, and that "he's a hitter, not a fielder", despite taking like 2 walks in the second half of the season (ohhh, he's a hitter, not a walker).  Give me a fucking break.

Anyway, some of the things Beeston said weren't exactly forthcoming and on par with some of AA's comments of recent months, especially stuff about the plan going forward for this team and payroll.  Seriously, if people would just listen to them (them, in this case being AA and Beest) when they actually do speak to the media and read between the lines, they might finally understand that the Jays' current business model doesn't appear to be "Go out there and buy a team".  Well listen, people: they clearly don't want to pay out the ass and buy a team who can contend for 3 years, only to turn in to the [insert team who contends for three years, only to have an absurd payroll and a team full of losers for the next 5 White Sox].  The Jays aren't going to go out there and outspend the Red Sox and Yankees, so they need to find another way.  The Rays figured it out, and all it took was a brilliant GM, some draft picks/improved scouting and farm system, and a few years of patience. *Gasp*, we have some of those things!  And the Rays can only afford to pay their guys $45MM, whereas the Jays can double that in their sleep, if necessary.

Now, I didn't think it was really all that bad, but apparently there's been some outrage at the lack of "big move" with regards to the Jays' offseason.  I'm thinking that maybe it's been a long offseason, combined with the Leafs and Canadians both being out of playoff contention right now (right?), and people are getting pissy or something, but it just kind of snowballed overnight to the point where all of the twitter jumblings are just vitriol in the direction of Jays management.  One of the things Beeston kept repeating on that interview with Blair was that fans just constantly want a "fast-forward", Beeston included, but they just feel like it doesn't make sense, because THEY WANT A SUSTAINABLE FUCKING PRODUCT THAT CAN HANDLE OTHER TEAMS SIGNING IMPACT FREE AGENTS TO INEFFICIENT CONTRACTS.

Basically, if I can sum up my thoughts on the Beeston interview as quickly and succinctly as possible, it would be as such: Fuck off, we still don't talk to the media about anything important, we don't like 6 year free agent contracts because players peak before they become FA's, and have some patience, because we're going to be awesome from 2013 through 2021.  The 3-year window will be followed by two more 3-year windows.

From Keith Law's chat today:

Bill (Toronto): As a frustrated Jays fan I ask your opinion, does Alex Anthopolous's lack of significant movement this offseason lead you to believe he believes in the core group on this team, or is he hamstrung from making significant moves by Rogers Cable?

Klaw  (2:10 PM): I don't get the idea that he should have made moves just to make them. The guy is a value whore. If he can make his club better, he will do so. I don't think he's seen great value this offseason, except the deal he did make for Santos, which everyone I've talked to in the business thought was a steal for Toronto.

So yeah, he makes his moves whenever he sees them, not whenever 300-pounders are free agents.

Stuff
Fausto Carmona isn't really Fausto Carmona, according to Domincan authorities, and I would hazard a guess that he isn't really 28 years old, based on that information (as I was searching for the link that I originally read that on, I found this).  It seems unlikely that he'll be available to start the season in terms of work Visa's and whatnot.  Leo Nunez has found himself in a similar situation towards the end of this past season.

The Jays have signed Nelson Figueroa to a minor league deal.  He was dogshit with the Astro's last season before being released, so uhh... three cheers for depth moves!  Speaking of which, the Indians have signed both Jeremy Accardo and Fred Lewis to minor league deals.  Both are formerly Blue Jays and kind of useful, but it's been a while for both.

Bruce Arthur of the National Post had a similar rant to mine this morning/last night, but I'm pretty sure this was before the Zaun/Beeston stuff.