1) Rumors about Jeff Samardzija being available and the Jays perhaps considering making a play if they are in contention near the end of July. The reported price for the Jays was Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. Would you make that deal? The Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East. Read that again! The Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East!! I have visions of thousands of people outside of Rogers Centre just like there were for the Raptors outside of the Air Canada Centre. How much fun would that be? The AL East will be won by a general manager; not by players or managers this year. Who will make the moves that will give his team the advantage to separate from the pack? When is the last time we saw the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays as vulnerable as they are this season? This is the best chance in the last two decades that the Jays have to win the division. When I was in the front office of the New York Mets, John Gibbons was a manager and coach in the farm system there. When I got the Mets GM job it was Gibbons who made a statement that impacted me tremendously. He said, "Go for it. You dont know how long these jobs last or how many opportunities you will get to win, So Go For It!" That stuck with me and when I had chances to be a playoff team I did what I needed to do to get there and win. That included trading away some very good prospects to bring in winning players. I never regretted trading away prospects in years I made the playoffs. I searched "Toronto Blue Jays" online and went to the Jays Wikipedia page. Interestingly, the chronology of the Jays history is broken down by the era of the general manager. There is the Pat Gillick era, Gord Ash era, JP Riccardi era and now we are in the Alex Anthopolous era. It is time for Alex to write his legacy for his era. Go For It Alex! Prospects can get general managers fired. We all have waited for top prospects to impact our major league team and have seen many of them fizzle away. This is the year to go for it. Trade away what it takes to get Jeff Samardzija. He is darn good. If it takes both Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez then so be it. Do it now. Dont wait. Get Samardzija for as many starts as you can. He is still young and in the prime of his career and you control his contract next year as well. Dont wait until the trade deadline. Be the team that people are trying to catch at the deadline. This is the year that will define the Alex Anthopoulos Era. I hope he goes for it! 2) Did you like the decision to send Stroman back down to continue starting in AAA, or should the Jays have kept him to help the struggling pen? It was definitely the right decision to send Stroman down to the minors to assume his spot in the starting rotation. It is the best thing for Stroman and the best thing for the Jays. Stroman pitched like a youngster in his first stint in the majors. He got knocked around a bit coming out of the bullpen. He isnt an obvious solution out there. He has more value going back to AAA as a starter in case he is needed in Torontos rotation. The main reason he needs to go back to AAA and start though is for marketing purposes. He is a chip for Samardzija or any other starting pitching deal that the Jays will consider. Toronto needs Stroman to go down and pitch successfully at AAA so another teams scouts and general manager can dream about him in their rotation. It is not a matter of IF Stroman will stick in the big leagues, it is just a matter of WHEN and with WHOM. 3) The Jays swept the Red Sox, who fell to 20-26, 4th in the AL East. Whats wrong in Boston with the champs? This is an interesting question because in some way it means that we are surprised that the Jays could sweep the Red Sox. The Sox clearly have issues but in detailing those I dont want to take away from the Jays who outhit, outpitched and out defended the Sox. The Jays won by playing Blue Jays baseball the way the team was built to play. The Red Sox are struggling and those struggles are indicative of some serious issues. They are not nearly the team they were a year ago. In 2013, the Red Sox led the AL in runs scored by a wide margin (+57 runs on second place Detroit). They also were in the upper half in pitching with their starting rotation ranked fourth in the league. This season not much is going right for the Sox. They are ranked a respectable sixth in the league in pitching but only because their bullpen is significantly outpitching their rotation. The starters have a combined 4.50 ERA which is ranked 12th among the fifteen AL teams. The Red Sox find themselves trailing in games quite often since their starters give up early runs. That ultimately impacts the quality of the at bats of the hitters as they feel more pressure to produce. The offence is the biggest issue for the Sox. They average 5.26 runs per game in 2014 and just 4.04 per game this year. That tells you all you need to know. The Sox won 97 games in 2013 because they could score in any number of ways. They had great team power (fifth in HR) and great team speed (third in stolen bases). This season they are 10th in HR and 14th in stolen bases. This is a team wide struggle and is most prevalent against right-handed pitching. They are just 10-20 against right-handed starting pitching whereas they were 65-43 last season. Certainly the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees couldnt have been this substantial or is it? Consider that Ellsburys stat line last season vs. right-handers was .328/.374/.489. Plus he stole 39 bases in those games. The Red Sox are barely on pace to steal that many bases as a team this season. Ellsburys replacements in CF, Grady Sizemore (.233/.307/.344) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (.209/.313/.279) are not doing much to make Red Sox fans forget about Ellsbury. It is not solely the loss of Ellsbury that is hurting the Red Sox against righties: Davis Ortiz is significantly less as well but that may be tracked back to Ellsbury too. Without Ellsbury on base in front of Ortiz he is getting much different pitches to hit. The Red Sox need much better starting pitching if they are going to win the division. They are also going to have to find a catalyst offensively (and it wont be the recently signed Stephen Drew) and they are going to need David Ortiz to have his best season ever. I thought Ellsbury was significantly overpaid by the Yankees but maybe he was worth it….to the Red Sox!!! 4) When we were kids growing up, we all played baseball and at times imagined ourselves as major league players. I have four boys and love to ask them what they want to be when they grow up. "I want to be a baseball player," says one. Another says, "I want to be a football player." During basketball season I get, "I want to play in front of Raptors fans." Another son says, "I want to be a baseball analyst." He is my favorite. Most sports fans at one point or another dreamed of playing professionally. When we grow up we all want to be general managers. We call in to talk radio shows with opinions about players and trades and free agents. It seems like such a great job doesnt it? The first two months of this baseball season has made me remember the pain of being a general manager. John Steinbeck wrote in his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Well isnt that the truth. You all want to be a general manager but there are days that I would have rather been raking the field than making decisions about the team. So often in baseball you can have the right design and configuration of your roster but stuff happens: injuries, underperformance, marital problems, etc. There are so many unpredictable variables that can impact a teams results. The Dodgers started the season with the best one-two punch in baseball with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, but Kershaw hurt his back and has missed time. The As and Rays started the season with great young starting pitching depth but both have two starters out from elbow surgery. The Pirates and Indians both made the playoffs last year with very young teams. They came in to 2014 expecting their young players to take another step forward and to be competitive again for a playoff spot. Both clubs are struggling. Werent those fair expectations? Heck the Red Sox won the World Series last year. Even though they lost a player here and there they should still be among the best in baseball…right? The Nationals were a very popular pick to represent the NL in the World Series this year. They have been just mediocre, but who would have predicted that Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman would miss weeks of the season and that Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez would spend time on the DL. It is the most frustrating part of being a general manager. Your thinking and decision-making can be spot on yet the results can completely collapse. So much happens that cant be predicted. Stuff that is completely out of your control. I am breaking out in hives just thinking about it. Having been in the room when my kids were born I have always wondered why women go back for more after having one. It hurts so much why would anyone want to do it again. Women say they have "selective memory." They have the ability to move away from the pain and only remember the joy of childbirth. I guess being a GM is kind of like that too. The anguish of seeing your plans blow up before your very eyes can be painful. Yet GMs go back for more year after year. As for me…no more kids please! Charlie Blackmon Jersey . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. DJ LeMahieu Jersey . - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night with warmth and humour. http://www.rockiesgearproshop.com/Rockie...ids-Jersey/.com) - Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of 16th-ranked Sooners 48-14 loss to No. Ian Desmond Jersey . The former world No. 1 Djokovic, who is the top seed here despite being ranked No. 2, snuck past 35-year-old Czech showman Radek Stepanek in four high- quality sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), on Centre Court. Djokovic appeared relieved when he converted on his first match point by swatting a cross-court forehand winner that just caught the line to end an affair that featured only two service breaks. Custom Colorado Rockies Jerseys . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line.CHARLOTTETOWN -- Valentin Zykov capped off a come-from-behind victory on Sunday with the shootout winner as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar edged the host Charlottetown Islanders 5-4 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Baie-Comeau trailed 4-0 heading into the third period before scoring four unanswered goals to force overtime. Zykov had two goals and an assist in regulation for the Drakkar (3-2-2) while Denis Gorbunov and Frederic Gamelin scored the others. Danile Sprong, Yan Pavel Laplante, Deverick Ottereyes and Matej Beran scored for the Islanders (5-0-1) and Troy Vance, Julien Leduc and Alexis Pepin chipped in two assists each. Simon Lemiex made 29 saves for the win as Antoine Bibeau stopped 40-of-44 shots in defeat. After a scoreless first period, Beran made it 1-0 Charlottetown with a goal on the man advantage 3:13 into the second. Laplante and Ottereyes added power-play goals 28 seconds apart and Sprong tacked on one more at 13:13 to give the Islanders a commanding lead after 40 minutes of play. Zykov finally got Baie-Comeau on the board at 9:08 of the third and Gorbunov made it 4-2 with less than three minutes to play in regulation. With Lemieux on the bench for an extra attacker, Zykov made it a one-goal game at 18:47 and as the clock was ready to expire Gamelin put one past Bibeau to force extra time. Baie-Comeau went 0 for 3 on the power play while Charlottetown scored three times on five chances with the man advantage. --- Phoenix 2 Mooseheads 1 HALIFAX, -- Francis Desrosiers made 22 saves as Sherbrooke earned its second win of the season by defeating the Mooseheads. Daniel Audette scored for the Phoenix (2-5-0) while Jeremy Roys goal stood up as the eventual winner.dddddddddddd Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Halifax (3-4-0) as Zachary Fucale made 18 saves in a losing cause. --- Armada 8 Wildcats 4 BOISBRIAND, Que., -- Emil Aronsson scored twice and Christopher Clapperton had a goal and four assists as the Armada doubled up Moncton. Ryan Tesink and Daniel Walcott each had a goal and two assists for Blainville-Boisbriand (6-0-0) while Samuel Hodhod, Guillaume Beaudoin and Frederic Bergeron scored the others. Christopher Caissy scored once and set up two more for the Wildcats (2-5-0) and Conor Garland, Ivan Barbashev and Christophe Lalonde had a goal apiece. Etienne Marcoux made 17 saves for the win. Alex Dubeau took the loss after giving up five goals on 18 shots. Graham Hunt replaced Dubeau and stopped 11-of-14 shots in 38 minutes of relief. --- Sagueneens 4 Voltigeurs 2 CHICOUTIMI, Que., -- Laurent Dauphin had two goals and an assist as the Sagueneens downed Drummondville. Samuel Roussy and Nicolas Roy scored for Chicoutimi (5-1-0) as Domenic Graham made 31 saves for the victory. Georgs Golovkovs supplied the offence for the Voltigeurs (4-2-0) as Louis-Philip Guindon stopped 18 shots in defeat. --- Oceanic 4 Screaming Eagles 3 (SO) RIMOUSKI, Que., -- Jean-Francois Lavoie scored the winner in the shootout as the Oceanic edged Cape Breton. Jimmy Oligny had a goal and two assists for Rimouski (5-2-0) while Peter Trainor and Scott Oke scored the others. Matthew Donnelly scored two goals for the Screaming Eagles (3-2-2) and Charles-Eric Legare scored once. Philippe Desrosiers made 14 saves for the win while Alex Bureau stopped 28 shots in a losing cause. 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