Jays Journal » A.J. Burnett

Jays Journal Series Preview: April 19-20 vs. New York Yankees

Jared Macdonald — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:09:18 +0000

After a brutal four game series against the Red Sox that saw them win the first game but score just one run in each of the next three games — and make Daisuke Matsuzaka look like a Cy Young candidate on Monday — the Blue Jays finally head home after a 3-7 road trip to face the New York Yankees for two games.

Joining me for the series preview is Andrew Corselli, Lead Writer on FanSided’s great Yankees site Yanks Go Yard, and he’ll be adding everything on the Yankees after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Comprehensively Breaking Down Jose Bautista’s 5-Year/$64 million Contract

Jared Macdonald — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:37:57 +0000

Shortly after completing his first year as Blue Jays GM, Alex Anthopoulos mentioned how in order to be better than teams like the Yankees and Red Sox, the organization must be willing to take risks.

Image courtesy of Yahoo!

“We’re going to have take chances at times and make moves that may open us for criticism, but we also have to look at the upside of the moves. They may backfire and may not work, but if they hit, we’re going to do really well.

“And that’s how we’re going to get better.”

Anthopoulos took his biggest risk since taking over as GM, signing Jose Bautista to a 5-year/$64 million contract with a $14 million club option for the 2016 season. Bautista will be paid $8 million in 2011, and $14 million from 2012-2015.

Considering Bautista’s track record, his extension is about as unprecedented as his arbitration hearing would have been, so it’s no wonder it’s the talk of the Blue Jays fan base right now.

As a result of the significance of the deal, for the first time ever here on Jays Journal, both Mat and I have contributed to one article in an effort to effectively break down all aspects of Bautista’s contract.

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Top 50 Jays Prospects, Jays Journal Edition: #22 Darin Mastroianni

Jared Macdonald — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:16:14 +0000

After Shane Opitz at #23, comes the player who easily benefited the most from last week’s Vernon Wells trade at #22…

Image courtesy of MLB.com

#22: Darin Paul Mastroianni

Center Fielder / 25 years old / 5′11″ 190 lbs

Born: August 26th, 1985 in Huntersville, North Carolina

Bats: Right Throws: Right

High School: Fox Lane H.S.

College: University of Southern Indiana

Drafted By: The Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round (505th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft

Jersey Number: #23 for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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