Kuzul

Heading into the 2013 season, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis wasn’t a well-known star in the Baltimore lineup.

Within four games, that’s changed.

Davis is off to a torrid start for Baltimore, helping the Orioles jump out a 3-1 record. Coming off a 33-home run season in 2012, Davis’ power is no secret around the league. His ability to harness it into superstar status may no longer be, either.

Despite a .501 slugging percentage in 2012, consistent playing time and a steady everyday position weren’t guaranteed to the Orioles slugger until Baltimore made the decision to let Mark Reynolds leave in the offseason.

That decision will be prescient if Davis continues to build on his early-season success, which is truly a continuation of his late-season surge in 2012.

The four home runs in four games to start 2013 is remarkable, but even more so when looking at his game logs from last September: Over his last 11 games, Davis has hit 11 home runs.

A September power surge leading to star status is reminiscent of what Toronto star Jose Bautista did in rising from obscurity to leader of the Blue Jays lineup in the blink of an eye.

Before dissecting whether Davis can be anything close to the next Bautista, as opposed to the new Chris Shelton, let’s compare their respective career numbers before the star-level breakouts occurred.

Jose Bautista was a below-average slugger from 2004 to ’09. There was a reason he bounced around from Tampa to to Kansas City to Pittsburgh to Baltimore to Toronto: He couldn’t hit consistently.

Sure, the swing and power were there, but Bautista struck out 434 times in just over 2,000 plate appearances. In other words, more than 20 percent of the time.

Unlike now, he wasn’t hitting for enough power or walking enough to offset the strikeouts. His 91 OPS+ and .729 OPS were both below average.

Davis, despite never receiving consistent playing time in Texas or Baltimore, is a more accomplished hitter heading into 2013 than Bautista was heading into his 2010 breakout.

Despite a strikeout-to-walk ratio that was significantly worse than Bautista‘s pre-breakout form, he has been a better home-run hitter and slugger throughout his young career.

The comparison becomes truly interesting when looking at the September numbers each put up before their breakout on the national stage.

In September of 2009, Bautista was unstoppable for a Blue Jays team that few bothered to watch. His .257 average and .339 on-base percentage weren’t eye-opening. The .606 slugging percentage and 10 September home runs were, however.

In September of 2012, Davis posted even more impressive numbers than Bautista did a few years back. The fact that he slugged 1.057 with 10 home runs in the midst of a pennant race should have received more attention than it did at the time.

Heading into 2010 few believed Bautista was truly a star in the making. The same can be said for Davis now.

In terms of raw power, the case can be made for Davis bringing more to the table than Bautista. His ability to flick his wrist and send the ball out to all fields is a weapon for Buck Showalter’s order.

There is a precedent for predicting bigger and better things for Davis.

Of course, there are the pitfalls in the Chris Davis 2013 MVP Campaign.

Although his body of work, power and big start lends Orioles fans to believe he can become that guy Bautista became for Toronto, he hasn’t yet corrected his biggest flaw: strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Bautista did. Much was made about Joey Bats changing his swing, but that didn’t tell the full story. He changed his swing and his approach at the plate. Not only did he hit for power; he made pitchers come into his wheelhouse, the same way Joey Votto does it now. It’s the way Barry Bonds did it for so many years.

In 2010, Bautista walked nearly equal to the amount of times (100-116) he struck out. In 2011, the year he finished 3rd in the AL MVP voting, he walked 21 more times than he struck out (132-111).

Until Davis shows major growth in that area, pitchers will generate easy outs by inducing bad contact and taking away his aggressiveness in pitchers’ counts. 

Last year, the Orioles slugger walked in 6.6 percent of his plate appearances. He struck out in 30.1 percent of his plate appearances.

Davis has great power, but it’s going to take a considerable leap in plate discipline to become the next Jose Bautista.

For Baltimore fans, enjoy the 30-plus home runs, but don’t expect to chant “MVP!” during Davis at-bats this summer.

Is Chris Davis baseball’s next star?

Comment below, follow me on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports or “Like” my Facebook page to talk all things baseball.

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Over the past several years, baseball has proven with multiple reports and documents that it still has further to go in order to rid the sport of performance enhancing drugs. 

First time offenders in baseball currently receive a 50-game suspension, second-time offenders receive a 100-game suspension, and a third-time offender is banished from baseball. 

While this may deter a handful of players, it definitely does not deter all players.  With the different masking agents and assistance of personal physicians, athletes are slipping by the current testing methods.

The risk of being caught currently does not outweigh the benefits that are reaped from performing at the Major League level.  Contracts for everyday players are in the millions, and if you are an all-star you could be looking at anywhere from 10-20 million a season.   

Melky Cabrera gets caught on a one year deal with the Giants where he was arguably the mid-season NL MVP and was looking like he was in line for a mammoth contract extension where he would have seen more than $10 million per season over the next 5 years, and still came away after his drama with a 2-year, $16 million deal from the Blue Jays. 

Last off-season, Ryan Braun had a positive test, fought the system, and avoided his 50-game suspension.  With the recent Bio-genesis reports that are being released, it appears he is deeper in the PED underground than previously thought. 

I believe MLB could handle this ongoing issue with some of baseball’s best players by trying a few different things.

Blood Testing During Season

The most recent collective bargaining agreement from the Players Union and Major League Baseball will include blood testing for human growth hormone only for spring training and offseason. 

While this helps, HGH is not going to be used during this time frame.  HGH is being used to help players recover from injuries and stay fresh during the long season.  Players during spring training are already fresh from the off season. 

Baseball is not jumping two feet into this new testing to study the effects on the players, however if you aren’t willing to be all in, do not commit yourself to the pot. Baseball will be the first of the four major U.S. sports to incorporate any blood testing into their testing program. 

Why was the Players Union so headstrong as to not allowing it during the season? Because that’s when players will be using the HGH. You do not go to the store unless you know it is open. 

Major League Baseball is taking baby steps in getting their end result which is full testing, but the owners should be pushing this harder in order to protect their investments and know what they are actually investing in.  If you knew a stock was only worth 40 bucks and it is on the market for 50 bucks, you wouldn’t buy it—just like you wouldn’t pay a 40 HR player the same as a 10 HR player.

2.)  Increase Testing

Going hand in hand with the blood testing, the athletes need to be tested more often. 

Athletes in their contract years and rising through the minor leagues especially need additional testing.  The main reason the players are cheating is for a huge pay day, and the athletes that are the closest to that money will break the rules in order to break the bank. 

Players at the AAA level in 2012 earned slightly over $2,000 a month assuming that it was not their first year in AAA and did not receive large signing bonuses. A major league minimum salary in 2012 was $480,000 per year. 

The fact is, the borderline “4A” type players and utility players look to make huge gains just by getting onto the major league roster and sticking there.  If you show promise in the upper levels of the minors they will generally give you a shot, and the longer you stick around the longer you make nearly a half million dollars per year. 

The players in the top levels of the minor league system and especially guys in the final year of their contract should receive additional testing.  Testing is not cheap, but Major League Baseball is a billion business and the way to keep fans in the stands is to protect their brand and catch players. 

The worst thing for the MLB brand is to let superstars like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens get through their careers without a positive test, and then be caught from lab documents and testimonies.

 Terminating Contacts

Through the recent years, baseball has shown that the suspensions are not a big enough deterrent to eliminate PED use.  However, what if these teams were able to completely null and void these massive contracts upon one of their players failing a drug test?   Braun in 2011 signed a $105 million, five-year contract extension that added onto a seven-year deal he signed in May 2008, which resulted in $145.5 million dollars through 2020. 

What if once his positive test was revealed, the Brewers could void his remaining contract, say “see ya,” and waive him without having to eat his “guaranteed contract?”  The owners and general Managers are signing for the “enhanced” player hitting 40 home runs player and not the actual real life player that may only hit 25 home runs.

Teams are taking the risk by signing these players, and the fact of the matter is they are getting burned.  Att the time of his extension, Braun was the face of the Brewers franchise and a media darling. 

Fast forward to today. 

Braun is regarded as one of the least-liked players in all of sports.  He went from being a marketing asset for the Brewers to an alleged cheater using PEDs and then lying about it. 

The point is, these teams will sign these great players to long term deals dump all this money on them, the player will get suspended, and while they are without pay during the suspension, they come back and make their guaranteed salary for the rest of the contract. 

Even if the blood testing and additional testing does not catch all the players in their “contract year” it would still hopefully eliminate their use from then on knowing the players could lose their huge multi-year deals.

4.) Increase Suspensions

Currently the first offense for a 50-game suspension does not seem to do justice when that is less than 1/3 of a season. The first test should result in a minimum of being suspended for the year in which you tested positive, but also be a minimum of 100 games.

If you get popped in Spring Training, well, you just missed the entire season to your positive test.  If you get popped in September, you will miss the rest of the season and into the next season totaling 100 games.

A second positive test should just result in being banned. 

These players testing positive have to realize by now the severity of the testing.  As Jose Bautista mentioned in an interview this spring, there are many different resources and outlets to these players to verify if what they are putting in their bodies is allowed or not.

The fact you can get popped at the after the all-star break like Melky Cabrera did last year, and potentially could have come back for the playoffs, is not right.  Any stats or awards that were won in a season which a player tested positive should be forfeited.

While I do believe Major League Baseball is trying to push stricter testing and clean up the sport, I believe it could be accelerated greatly.  If the Players Union is serious about protecting its players—and by players, I mean “clean” players —they should have no issues with anything in this article.  Playing baseball for a living should be an honor and a privilege, not a right.

The fact that greedy players are able to cheat to get ahead of “clean” players should be dealt with an iron fist.

I will leave you with this scenario.

Suppose two men walk into a gas station and each purchase a lottery ticket.  The first man scratches off his lottery ticket and almost won, but missed on his last two numbers.  The second man scratched his off and WON the half million dollar jackpot!  When the first man found out the second man won the jackpot, he stole his ticket, he cashed the ticket in, and he received the grand prize.  Once the first man found out what happened he finally caught up with the second man getting out of his new Ferrari, and asked, “What the hell are you doing with the winnings from my ticket? That was my dream to win the lottery,” the second man replied, “Sorry, man. It happens all the time. It is called baseball.”

The above scenario would actually be illegal and make headlines.

It’s commonplace in baseball. 

Major League Baseball and the Players Union need to do all they can do to protect their clean athletes, and stop caring about the cheaters. Baseball had the blinders on when it came to drug testing over the past 25 years, but hopefully in the next 25 years it will set new standards in protecting the blue collar athlete and lead other sports into the next era.

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In the latest sports scandal, Toronto Blue Jays 2012 first-round draft pick Marcus Stroman has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.

Stroman released the following statement shortly thereafter:

“Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the minor league testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement. Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and the Blue Jays fans everywhere. I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates.”

The 21-year-old Duke alumni was viewed as one of the more advanced minor league pitchers. Stroman compiled a 3.26 ERA with 23 strikeouts and a .219 opponents batting average between Class-A Vancouver Canadians and Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. 

This is a major blow for the Blue Jays in an already disastrous season, as Stroman was projected to make an impact with the big club as soon as next season.

The news was released on the same day as that of Jose Bautista‘s season-ending wrist surgery. The Jays’ slugger will miss 4-5 months, but is expected to make a full recovery by spring training.  

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With the fantasy trade deadlines coming up this week and next (I have four red-letter dates this Friday), it’s time for owners to make one last pitch for baseball’s elite categorical contributors.

AccuScore, a company that specializes in thorough game simulations, has made a few on-the-fly revisions to its seasonal projections.

These 46 hitters, based on AccuScore projections (not mine), will register at least nine home runs from this point forward (Aug. 7-Sept. 30):

Part I
1. Adam Dunn, White Sox—14
2. Ryan Braun, Brewers—13
3. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers—13
4. Curtis Granderson, Yankees—12
5. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs—12
6. Josh Hamilton, Rangers—12
7. Albert Pujols, Angels—12
8. Mark Trumbo, Angels—12
9. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays—12
10. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays—12
11. Matt Kemp, Dodgers—11
12. Mark Teixeira, Yankees—11
13. Paul Konerko, White Sox—11
14. Josh Willingham, Twins—11
15. Corey Hart, Brewers—11
16. Prince Fielder, Tigers—11
17. Mike Trout, Angels—10
18. David Ortiz, Red Sox—10
19. Robinson Cano, Yankees—10
20. Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins—10
21. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies—10
22. Jay Bruce, Reds—10
23. Adam LaRoche, Nationals—10

Part II
24. Trevor Plouffe, Twins—10
25. Nelson Cruz, Rangers—10
26. Adrian Beltre, Rangers—10
27. Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics—10
28. Adam Jones, Orioles—9
29. Kevin Youkilis, White Sox—9
30. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates—9
31. Mike Napoli, Rangers—9
32. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates—9
33. Dan Uggla, Braves—9
34. Mark Reynolds, Orioles—9
35. Alfonso Soriano, Cubs—9
36. Ryan Howard, Phillies—9
37. Josh Reddick, Athletics—9
38. Will Middlebrooks, Red Sox—9
39. Michael Morse, Nationals—9
40. Aramis Ramirez, Brewers—9
41. Matt Holliday, Cardinals—9
42. Carlos Quentin, Padres—9
43. Nick Swisher, Yankees—9
44. Joey Votto, Reds—9
45. Carlos Beltran, Cardinals—9
46. Brandon Moss, Athletics—9
 

Breakdown

• The prediction that immediately stands out is Anthony Rizzo (9 HR, 23 RBI, .301 BA) clubbing 12 homers from this point forward. To date, he’s averaging one homer for every 14.78 at-bats. Extrapolating that figure over another 49 games (sitting out six) with four daily at-bats (conservative estimate), that’s another 196 at-bats for the season…or 13.26 home runs. AccuScore’s right in that ballpark.
• I’ll reluctantly buy the “under” on Adam Dunn’s prediction of 14 homers from this point forward. For the season, Dunn (31 HR, 74 RBI, .205 BA) has a sterling trend of one homer for every 12.26 at-bats. But in the last 30 days, Dunn’s rate has regressed to one homer for every 15.2 at-bats.
• Noticeably absent from this list: David Wright, Evan Longoria, Chris Davis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Lind, Alex Rios, Ryan Zimmerman, Startling Marte, Ian Kinsler, Jason Kubel, Ike Davis, Brian McCann, Carlos Pena, Carlos Santana, Buster Posey, Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Morneau, Hunter Pence, Dayan Viciedo, Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon.
• I’ve seen approximately 12 of Paul Goldschmidt‘s 16 homers on live TV this season, via MLB Extra Innings. And that somehow led me to believe Goldy was belting bombs at a more prodigious rate than one homer per 21 at-bats (seasonal)…or one homer for every 16.1 at-bats (minus a shaky April). If he maintains that May-August pace, he’ll clear double digits.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It was a good news, bad news day for the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

The good news was that Jose Bautista‘s wrist injury does not appear to be that serious. Despite being placed on the disabled list, X-rays and an MRI revealed no structural damage, according to Chris Toman of MLB.com.

That means Bautista may return as soon as he is eligible to return to action on August 1st.

“It’s all about pain tolerance since there’s no structural damage,” Bautista told Toman. “As long as you can tolerate the pain, I’m not going to make it any worse unless I do too much, too soon. I’ll let pain dictate what I can do, and hopefully two weeks is enough. I’m thinking it will be.”

The bad news is that the Blue Jays lost their second straight game to the Yankees, 6-1, on Tuesday night. The loss drops the Jays 11.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East standings and one game under .500 at 45-46.

While the Blue Jays are still only two games out of the second wild-card spot, currently shared by Baltimore and Oakland, one must wonder if Bautista’s injury will put any realistic playoff hopes out of reach.

With three starting pitchers already on the DL, Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison, along with closer Sergio Santos, the Blue Jays may not have the resources to stay in the race until Bautista’s return.

The next 10 games are all against fellow playoff contenders.

After one more game with the Yankees, the Blue Jays travel to Fenway for three against the Red Sox before a homestand with three games each against Oakland and Detroit.

Bautista would be eligible to return in the final game of a series at Seattle. If the Jays can’t manage to go at least 6-6 in those 12 games, it might signal the end of another frustratingly mediocre season for Toronto.

Ben Francisco started in right field for the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Highly regarded prospect Anthony Gose took Francisco’s spot in the lineup in the seventh inning and got two at-bats, including his first major-league hit on a bunt single in the ninth.

With Bautista’s 27 home runs and 65 RBI out of the lineup, everyone on the Jays is going to need to chip in to pick up the slack.

“You just have to grind it out, suck this up and hope this gets better,” third baseman Brett Lawrie told Toman. “You can’t dwell on it. You have to take a big deep breath, and now we have to rely on some other guys to step up. We have to keep on going out and playing—that’s all we can do.”

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The Home Run Derby is arguably the most exciting part of All-Star weekend. There are eight players participating in the derby this year which pits team Kemp against team Cano. 2011 Home Run Derby champion Robinson Cano will be looking to repeat this season.

Each of the players participating in the Home Run Derby has shown off their power stroke this season, but not all of them have gotten a chance to play a game at Kauffman Stadium this year.

All of the players have their own strengths and power alleys that have worked for them this year, but that might just lead to some long outs in the Home Run Derby this year. Each graph of home runs hit by Home Run Derby participants from this year will also show an overlay of Kauffman Stadium to show if the ball would have left the park there as well.

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The signing of Vladimir Guerrero comes as a low-risk/high-reward move for the Toronto Blue Jays.  He was signed to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million, which will be prorated based on his time with the club this season. 

At 37 years of age, it remains to be seen how much Vladdy has to offer.

He is probably Hall of Fame bound as he is a career .318 hitter with 449 home runs and 1,496 RBI. 

Adam Lind will likely be most affected if Guerrero can play his way onto the Blue Jays’ roster.  As of May 15, he is batting just .184 with three homers and 11 RBI in 31 games.

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The sun is shining and the birds are chirping, which of course means it’s time to sit on our computers and play fantasy baseball.

If you haven’t had your draft yet, you’ve come to the right place. With Opening Day less than one week away, now is the time to build your foundation for the summer.

We all know that stars can propel your team to the title, but which one should you select with your first pick? Just scroll down to find out.

1. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers

With Albert Pujols’ numbers declining, Cabrera is the best option for the first overall pick.

He won’t be stealing many bases (2 SB last year), but he’s going to produce some monster power numbers. Last season he drove in 105 runs, hit 30 homers and and posted a ridiculous .448 on-base percentage.

You can expect similar numbers from him in 2012.

2. Albert Pujols, 1B, Anaheim Angels

Although his numbers have been dropping off, Pujols isn’t going anywhere. He’s still the most dangerous slugger in the game, and judging by his career interleague numbers (.348 with 39 homers in 541 at-bats), he shouldn’t have any problem adjusting to the American League.

3. Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

After winning his suspension appeal, Braun should be one of the first three players taken in any draft. Last year he went for 33 home runs and 33 stolen bases while hitting .330.

If he has similar success this season, he could easily be the MVP of fantasy baseball.

4. Matt Kemp, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

In 2011, Kemp became just the third player in history to steal at least 35 bases and hit 35 home runs while batting .320 or better.

I think his numbers will drop a little this year, but he’s still a great pickup in the top five.

5. Jose Bautista, 3B/OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Bautista cranked 43 home runs in 2011, while also driving in 103 runs and posting a solid .302 batting average. However, his post-All-Star Game slump (.257, 12 HRs) is a bit concerning.

6. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees

Cano is unquestionably the best second-baseman in fantasy baseball. He’s already batted better than .300 in five seasons, while hitting 25-plus homers three times. Expect more big numbers, as he’s just now entering his prime.

7. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies

Tulowitzki is pretty injury-prone, but he’s still the best option at shortstop. You can expect another 30-home run season from him in 2012.

8. Justin Upton, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

I wouldn’t be surprised if the 24-year-old Upton is the best player in fantasy this season. Last year he hit 31 home runs and stole 21 bases. Look for him to improve on both numbers this season.

9. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston Red Sox

I wouldn’t expect Ellsbury to hit 32 home runs again, but he’s guaranteed to steal at least 30 bases and hit in the .300-.320 range.

10. Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds

Votto is one of the most well-rounded hitters in baseball, and with the hitter-friendly stadium in Cincinnati, he should put up strong numbers in 2012. He’s definitely worth a top 10 pick.

11. Roy Halladay, SP, Philadelphia Phillies

This is a bit of a reach for a pitcher, but I think Halladay’s worth it. Last season, he set a career high in strikeouts per nine innings (8.47) and posted a 2.35 ERA.

You can expect him to continue his dominance this year.

12. Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays

His batting average dropped last year (.244), but his power was excellent (31 HRs). If he can bring his average up this season, Longoria will be one of top 10 or 12 players in fantasy.

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Remember when there was hope on the banks of the Allegheny River in 2011?  The Pittsburgh Pirates, after suffering their 18th losing season in a row, hired manager Clint Hurdle before the start of the 2011 season.  

That season began with great promise: On July 4 the Pirates had a record of 44-41 and were only 1.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Pirates even went as far as to be buyers at the trade deadline, where they acquired Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres and Derrek Lee from the Baltimore Orioles. 

As the cynical Pirates fans might have predicted, the moves did not pan out and the team dropped to 62-75 by September 1. The Pirates were 18.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and the franchise headed to their 19th losing season in a row.  Without A.J. Burnett in the rotation to start the season because of a facial fracture, it is unlikely that the Pirates will repeat the 2011 magic. 

Every year in Major League Baseball there is a team (or two) that gets their fans excited and then fades in the dog days of summer.  Ordinarily, this occurs with young teams or teams where everyone starts off with a career year but peter out once they start playing teams for the second or third time.  Occasionally, these teams that surprise the baseball world keep it up through vernal equinox and end up making the postseason. 

Here are six teams that could start off well this year but will likely fade after the All-Star break.

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Tampa Bay just signed slugging first baseman Carlos Pena to a one-year contract for $7.25 million. In the eyes of Jays fans, this is another transaction that will make people ask, “why not Toronto?”

Alex Anthopoulos has been running the club for approximately 2.5 years and for the first time is beginning to hear the rumblings of impatient fans.

All teams in the AL East have made significant improvements. The Yankees just traded for a possible No. 1 starter in Michael Pineda. They also gave up a future franchise superstar in Jesus Montero. The Red Sox, still rife with a powerhouse lineup, lost their All-Star closer, Jonathan Papelbon, but replaced him by signing Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey.

The Jays did make some waves by trading for Sergio Santos in exchange for Nestor Molina and added journeyman reliever Darren Oliver. They also brought back reliable late-inning reliever Jason Frasor. These transactions will strengthen the Jays’ already solid ‘pen. Except perception is reality, and right now the reality in Toronto is that the Jays have not done enough to make a difference.

With one of the premier sluggers in Jose Bautista leading the way as team captain and Ricky Romero, the Jays’ ace, as the face of the franchise, this team is relying on the promise and talent of multiple players to lead it back to the playoffs. Brandon Morrow, Brett Cecil, Colby Rasmus, J.P. Arencibia, Eric Thames and Adam Lind will be key.

At baseball’s winter meetings, the buzz surrounding Yu Darvish was that the Jays were serious contenders in signing him. It turned out they lost out to the Texas Rangers and their $51.7 million bid. At the same time, the AL West has turned into a mirror image of the East with the Angels and Rangers throwing around substantial amounts of money. Albert Pujols ($254 million) and C.J. Wilson ($77.5 million) joining the Angels.

Perception is reality and right now the status quo is average and fourth place.

With the big three in the AL East wheeling and dealing, it does become frustrating to the fans and viewers at home when they can almost guarantee where this team will finish next season. I, for one, feel that way. I wrote many times last year that Toronto was in a position to contend for the wild-card spot, but things changed dramatically and the hope for that has been washed away.

I don’t say this as a fan who is angry that the hometown team hasn’t made the playoffs in almost 20 years. It comes from someone who knows baseball and gets frustrated when I read something like this from the National Post.

“But if you want to be impatient, here’s what you need to be impatient with. Rogers Communications, the Jays owner, has clearly given this team specific payroll parameters, and they won’t move much until the revenues move first, and Anthopoulos can’t do much to control either one. All he can do is this: he can scrimp and save and wheedle his way to a team so good that when he goes to his bosses and asks for the money to make a good team a contender, he has pushed the parameters of what Rogers will give. That’s it.”

Instead of getting annoyed and frustrated with the state of your team, maybe there is nothing to get upset about. Baseball is a business, right? And if a business is not making any money, you cut costs until you create the right formula.

Perception is reality. In this case, it’s dead on.

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

Devon is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals & Gateway Grizzlies, and is now an independent scout.

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