My Toronto Blue Jays Wish List

With Christmas only two days away I guess that I should stop slacking and get my wish list done before it’s too late. So without further adieu, here are my three wishes for the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays.

Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

1) Sign Ubaldo Jimenez to a four-year, $60 million contract

All I want for Christmas is a starting pitcher. Jimenez is my target of choice for a couple of reasons. He takes the ball every fifth day and despite a bit of up-and-down performance he’s made at least 31 starts for six consecutive years. The Blue Jays need a reliable starter who can eat 180 innings to go along with R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle‘s assumed 200+. He’s had success pitching for the Colorado Rockies who play in one of the most home run friendly environments in baseball, which was largely facilitated by a very high ground ball rate. He had a rough year in 2012 but it appears to be an outlier as it was the only season his FIP was north of four in the past six years. He comes with a compensation pick attached but with two protected first round picks the Blue Jays may be more eager than most teams to give up their pick (which would be a second rounder) for his services. He turns 30 in January so four years would be an ideal length but I would assume that he’s holding out for five or more. If the Blue Jays do lock him up for four years at $15 million per I would assume most fans would greet the addition with resounding joy.

2) Scrap awkward hat week from the promotional schedule

Okay, I guess that I slightly get the sun protection theme. You can catch a nasty sunburn at Rogers Centre nee SkyDome with the roof open and it looks like the Blue Jays are looking to address the issue through their July 29th and July 1st promotions. A quick Google search was required since I couldn’t remember the last times bucket hats were considered cool and according to “sources” their popularity peaked in the 90’s. And what is with the visors? Did I miss the memo that 90’s fashion has returned? Or when they ran the budget for 2014 did they suddenly realize there wasn’t enough money for full hats? Whether or not this is a backhanded attempt at reviving memories of the glory years remains unknown.

3) Close the dome for Dickey’s starts

Jon Hale over at the Mockingbird already gave us some convincing research back in October about how Dickey’s knuckleball proved to be much more difficult to hit in a controlled environment. So why not take advantage of the retractable roof more often, especially on potentially windy days? It might make for some increased air conditioning bills and a few unhappy fans if the Jays start closing the dome on beautiful summer nights in Toronto but it’s something that should at least receive some consideration for next season.

What are your wishes for the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays?