The Blue Jays - 2013 & Beyond

[Willard76]

Ok, here I go at my first Dynasty Thread. After years of building rosters for the game and sound packs to make it as real as possible, I have loved following ACMilan's Blue Jays Dynasty so I have decided to do something similar and share my experiences on here.

Hope everyone enjoys - it may be rough at first but I promise it will be fun to follow once I get everything up and going.

[Willard76]

Rosters: OSFM Hybrid Update
Schedule: 162 games, will SIM as I feel
Team Control: Full control for 2012 Sim, now only Manual control for Blue Jays and CPU Lineups for realism
Sliders: Custom
Injuries: On
Sound Pack - DJ Will's Sounds of theShow, my own Sounds of the Show


The Blue Jays scuffled through 2012 fighting the loss of several key players to injury for large parts of the season yet still managed to finish with an 83-79 record - good enough for 2nd in the tough AL East, but not good enough to earn the lone Wild Card spot.

While rumours surround the game of talk of a second Wild Card being added to each league and the possibility of the Houston Astros moving to the AL West to join their State rivals the World Champion Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays enter the 2012/2013 offeseason with many decisions about how to attack 2013 and become a serious playoff contender.

Fans are growing tired of Rogers Communications low spending ways and with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and TFC struggling to come close to even sniffing at a playoff race in their respective sports, the Blue Jays Management realize this could be their chance to become the #1 sport in Toronto.




2012 in Review

The Blue Jays finish 2nd in the AL East at 83-79, the team BA is a palty .256 while the team ERA spikes to 3.92

Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, Adam Lind, Brandon Morrow all miss great deals of time to injuries and up and coming prospects Kyle Drabek, Drew Hutchinson are both lost mid summer to Tommy John Surgery and are not expected back until August 2013.

Sergio Santos is traded for only to miss almost the entire season with a serious shoulder injury, and being released at the end of season and Dustin McGowan was lost yet again for the full season.

The injuries give a look into the future for fans with prospects Anthony Gose, Adieny Hechavarria and David Cooper all getting early calls to the majors and showing that they are not far off being ready to be Future Stars.

Club President Paul Beeston announces the opening of a new Ballpark to be built on the Downsview Aiport site in the northend of the city. The New park will be called Franco Park, named after former Toronto mayor Steve Franco.

2012 also saw issues arise in Boston with the hiring and later firing of Bobby Valentine and a lot of speculation the the Red Sox wanting to hire Blue Jays manager John Farrell who served for many years as pitching coach to take over for Valentine. Farrell is under contract for the 2013 season but there has been talk of the Blue Jays giving him an extension or possibly letting him walk if he does not feel inclined to commit to the club past 2013.

In the minors the Blue Jays key affiliates in Las Vegas and New Hampshire showed why every scout and most GM's in the game envy the Blue Jays farm system with New Hampshire winning it's second straight Eastern League Title and the Vegas team winning the PCL only to lose the AAA title to the Bisons in a 1 game playoff in Buffalo.

What will this offseason and Spring Training offer? Stay tuned, it should be interesting.

[Willard76]

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SPORTS

John Farrell Let Out Of Contract, Butterfield to Take the Helm

Nov 5 2013 - The Toronto Blue Jays annouced today that John Farrell has decided not to extend his contract past the 2013 season. Alex Anthopoulos announced that after several weeks of discussions with the Blue Jays manager, that the Blue Jays will allow Farrell to explore other opportunites. It is expected that the Boston Red Sox will be a favoured destination for Farrell who was previously the pitching coach in Boston and has relationships with both players and senior management. Anthopoulos wished Farrell all the best in future endeavours and preached that Farrell was a very important piece of the Blue Jays the past 2 years in rebuilding a club that had a Homerun only approach. Under Farrell's direction the team had a 164-160 record and became a team known for it's defence and running ability along with the ability to hit the long ball.

With Farrell's departure the Blue Jays announced that vetern coach Brian Butterfield will take over as skipper of the Blue Jays with new 4 year contract. Torey Lovullo will move to the role of hitting coach with Dwayne Murphy leaving the organization. Glenallen Hill will return to the Blue Jays organiztion as the new 1B/outfield coach and Garth Iorg also will return to take the role of 3b/infield coach. Bruce Walton will remain as the pitching coach and Ernie Whitt returning as the new Bench Coach and will also work with the team's catchers - all coaches on 3 year deals.

Anthopoulos spoke on a local radio yesterday afternoon regarding the moves. Said Anthopoulos "We hate to see John go, he brought a level of respect and teaching to this organization that has helped the Blue Jays become a possible contender moving forward. We felt moving into 2013 that we wanted to build on our success and wanted a commitment from John for a longer term and he was unable to give us that. We felt at this time that we should move in a direction that would provide 3-4 years stability with the Management of this club".

Later on the same radio show Anthopoulos spoke of the upcoming offseason. "We plan to be active both in the trade market and Free Agent market. If the right situation comes to our attention and it is a viable move that will not restrict the club's future we will be very interested in making that move to make our club better. We feel that we are at a point of contending and some parts that may not have been movable in the past we may have our ears open to discussion."

It will be interesting to see what the next steps taken by the Blue Jays are, but right now it seems to be an exciting time to be a fan of the club.

[Willard76]

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PEAVY BUILDS NEST EGG - BLUE JAYS MAKE SPLASH IN FREE AGENT MARKET

Dec 5, 2012- The Toronto Blue Jays made a serious impact in the Free Agent market today signing big name pitcher Jake Peavy to a 3 year $22.5 mil/year deal. Peavy who was not re-signed by the White Sox at the end of the season. The officail announcement will be made tomorrow at a press conferance to be held at the Blue Jays new field Franco Park.

[Willard76]

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Blue Jays add 4 players for Spring

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Jan 3,2013 - The Toronto Blue Jays announced the signings of 4 players today. Inf Ian Stewart (pictured above), OF Michael Saunders and OF Michael Brantley were all signed to minor league contracts with an invite to Spring Training. Stewart is expected to challenge for a bench postion on the team after hitting .262 9/54 with the Cubs last year while missing time with various injuries. Saunders and Brantley are expected to battle Anthony Gose and Rajai Davis for the LF spot with at least 2 of those 4 expected to end up starting the season in Las Vegas with the Blue Jays AAA club.

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Also signed was LH Relief Pitcher Andrew Miller who spent last season in Boston used mainly as a Lefty-specialist posting a 3.18 ERA with 11 Stikeouts.

These 4 signings add to what has been a busy offseason for Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos who had to hire a new manager to begin the offseason and also added veteren Jake Peavy during the Winter Meetings in Phoenix. When asked if there are any other signings to come Anothopoulos replied " we are always open to discussion with other teams and agents, but at this time we are very happy with the team with have going into the Spring Training in a few weeks."

Spring Training opens in Dunedin, Florida for the Blue Jays the first week of February.

[Willard76]

With my Spring Training now beginning, feel free to post on this thread, ideas, questions, suggestions etc. with my franchise.

[AC]

Glenallen Hill is a name I haven't heard in..... I can't even remember.

New ballpark? How're you gonna work that one in?

If the Jays sign Peavy IRL, I'm gonna get hyped.

Looking real nice thus far.

[Willard76]

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SPORTS

The Doctor Will See You Now! Roy Halladay Is Coming Back To TO!

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March 15, 2013 - Alex Anthopoulos continues his ninja like stealh moves as he bring back one of the most celebrated pitchers in Toronto Blue Jays history. Everyone knew he was availible as the Philidelphia Phillies have been working on staying competitive but getting younger at the same time, nobody actually thought Toronto would spend the money or give up what it would take to bring Halladay back to the organization that he grew up in. Toronto did give up a lot of talent to land it's former ace back, Ricky Romero, Yunel Escobar and Michael Saunders go back to Philly with Halladay and Tyson Gillies, an outfielder from Vancouver coming to Toronto.

Halladay comes back to Toronto after spending 3 years with the Phillies where he threw 2 no hitters in 2010 - 1 of them in the NLDS Game against San Francisco. Halladay when he left Toronto was quoted as saying he always wanted to win here, but the opportunity never arose. The samething happened in Philly, a team that for 2 seasons boasted what looked like an unbeatable starting rotation, but injuries and age began to take its toll there, and veterens Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and Joe Blanton were shipped out last season and rumours about Halladay and Cliff Lee began to surface at the end of the season - a season where long time manager Charlie Manuel decided to step down after. Gillies comes back as a prospect who 2 years ago represented the Phillies at the Future's Game but has floundered the last season and a bit. He will more then likely start the season in New Hampshire with the Jays AA affiliate.

Going to Philidelphia is Ricky Romero who began 2012 as the Staff Ace but pitched to a very disappointing 11-11 season with a 4.89 ERA and 189 strikeouts. Also going are Yunel Escobar and Michael Saunders, Escobar who had his struggles last season and by the end of the year people were questioning his dedication and Saunders who was picked up as a Free Agent this winter. Escobar was hitting .341 this spring and Saunders was hitting .306 with 3 HR while battling for the Left Field spot. Both players are expected to step into starting roles with the Phillies, Escobar moving to 2B and Chase Utley moving to 3b.

This trade also opens the door for Jays prospect Adeiny Hechevarria, a highly touted SS who fans in Toronto have been waiting to see play everyday since he was signed in 2010.

For those fans who thought Rogers and Anthopoulos would never spend the money or make the right moves to contend it looks like they are giving it everything they have to make 2013 something special. With 2 weeks left in Spring Training everyone is starting to get excited for Opening Day when the Blue Jays will host the Kansas City Royals at their new stadium located in North Toronto.