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1 – Forget about the bid money

It doesn’t apply to the yearly contracts you’ll see on the Cot’s Baseball Contracts site, and is something that is completely owner vs owner. Who wants that player more, and who wants to flaunt their money more. That’s it, that’s all. Rogers has been saving up for a rainy day for quite a few years and make up one of the wealthiest ownership groups in all of MLB. If you ask me, it’s about time that they start to act like it. Without ownership saying “go get him”, no team could “afford” a bid for the best international talent available, and that’s what Darvish is, the best international talent available.

Also, how much money did AA save for Jays ownership when he dealt Vernon Wells to the LAA? I’m pretty sure that covers the bulk of the bid.

So, if we agree that 51.1 million or more, the reported highest bid for Darvish, should be ignored as a “sunk cost”, the real question is whether or not Yu Darvish is worth the $8 to $12 million per year his salary will dictate? That brings me to the next point…. (more…)

Even though the Fighters themselves don’t even know the identity of the highest-bidding club, that hasn’t stopped a variety of media outlets from speculating that the Blue Jays are indeed the victors in the Darvish sweepstakes.

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If links aren’t your thing, at least check out the four-minute Yu Darvish video clip embedded below.

Should the Blue Jays Buy or Trade for Franchise Players? | The Blue Jay Hunter
Ian over at BJH offers an awesome take on how buying or trading for franchise players usually isn’t the answer; inspired by a neat post over at Some Thoughts About Baseball.

Marc Rzepczynski joins Cardinals at perfect time | The Good Point
This one is a bit old, but it’s an interesting interview with former Jay Marc Rzepczynski, who talks about his time in Toronto and playing for a playoff team in St. Louis.

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In case you missed the telecast or were at the game, here’s a complete rundown of everything Anthopoulos touched on, to get you through until tomorrow.

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image courtesy of TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

“Anthopoulos added that the savings from the Wells deal — even after the Blue Jays apparently included US$5 million in the trade to the Angels — can potentially be used this year on international free agents and in the draft, further strengthening a farm system he described as the “lifeblood” of the franchise.”

…and it got me thinking… Japanese uber sensation pitcher Yu Darvish!

And here’s why:

The Jays and Alex Anthopoulos just saved a massive amount of cash. We’re not talking $1, $2, $10, $20, or even $50 million here, we’re talking over $70 million when all is said and done. I don’t care how much talent is in the 2011, 2012, and 2013 drafts, the Jays are extremely unlikely to spend anywhere near that amount on all of those drafts put together. The Jays spent $11.6 million on the 2010 draft even while exceeding the recommended bonus amount made by MLB and were one of the biggest spenders in that draft (3rd, courtesy of Baseball America, only behind the Nationals and Pirates who handed their top picks in the draft massive deals). It was more than what the Jays spent on both the 2008 and 2009 bonuses added together, and a significant shift in club policy. And there’s more… (more…)

There is a possibility that some people may not be aware of how phenom like Yu Darvish is in the baseball world, so I’ll add his skills and performances, as well as possible impacts.

First of all, Yu Darvish (23 years old) is a big thin guy at 6’5″ 190 lbs. He was born in Osaka, Japan, is half-Iranian,  and bats and throws from the right side. He has pitched for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters since 2005, when he was only 18 years old. In his first season (short), he was able to end the year 5 – 5 with a decent 3.53 ERA over 94 IP (52 Ks).

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