The Turf

Before I get into what I think about the moves that were made recently, I want to talk about the carpet that the Jays have to play on, and the possibility that it’s having an impact their ability to acquire and / or keep some players. It seems players are reluctant to speak candidly about the turf, be it the guys currently on the team, recently signed, or the ones no longer with them. I understand why players may not want to discuss the issue, but we all know it is real thing so I’m going to talk about it.

Is possible that the Jays have to pay more for players because of the turf? I’m not sure. It does seem that they have paid more for less in the past. That may not be a direct result of the field but it’s not hard to believe that it could have been a factor. Melky Cabrera for example at this moment is unsigned. The White Sox and the Orioles are reported to be looking at him. If we were to take all things as equal as far as winning goes, do the Jays have a chance of keeping Cabrera without offering way more than what the other two can pay him? Melky has come out denying that the turf has anything to do with the decision in a tweet on Nov 28 saying “I want everyone to know that I am a baseball player and it doesn't matter to me what surface I play on. I will be the best player I can be” but how can it not matter to him when it is obviously an issue for the players here?

A recently traded Bret Lawrie did have something to say about getting off the turf in a recent interview saying “(It) treats my body kind of silly and throws it off,” and then referring to Oakland saying “It’s grass and dirt. I’m excited.” For a guy who has had the injury problems that Lawrie has had in his still young career to say even that much says a lot when reading between the lines. Anthopoulos on the other hand claims the turf is not to blame for the Jays injuries. At a metting with reporters in August he said, “I don’t know that the injuries we’ve had have been linked to this.” He also brought up the question, “Is there a wear and tear component to it? Sure. I’m not denying that. I just think it’s too easy to say everything relates back to the turf.” I’ll agree with AA in that last statement that it is too easy to blame it all on the turf, but just because it’s not the whole problem doesn’t mean it’s not part of the problem. And even if it’s just a small part of the problem, that will be enough sitting in the back of a free agents mind to tip a scale hanging in balance. If any other team (other than the Rays) with the same winning potential, (which seems to mean nothing before the season starts) were to offer roughly the same contract to any UFA, I can’t help but think they are not coming to Toronto, and I can’t help but feel that the turf has something to do with it.

The best thing the Jays can do to combat this issue is to some way some how put together a contending team. The best way to get players to want to come here, without having to pay above the prime market price, is to win. So for now, in order to build that team that players want to join, the Jays just have to build up through the farm, make smart trades, and spend their money wisely until they can, hopefully soon, figure out how to grass the field.

In the next few posts I’m going to look into the moves the Jays have made lately. I’ll start with the most recent and move backwards focusing on the more “blockbuster” deals and then come back to some of the smaller ones. I’ll also look at some of the players who seem questionable to be on the roster come spring, and what might happen to them in the coming weeks.

So stay tuned and I look forward to the discussions to come!