The city of Toronto has boasted some pretty impressive sports teams on occasion, including the 1991-92-93 Blue Jays, the 2000 Raptors and of course the famous Toronto Maple Leafs have been good, but not great (except for maybe 2003...fricking Carolina...) and even more mediocre-crappy teams. For a casual sports fan, it sucks, for a hardcore sports fan...it's hell.
Point is, the greatest sports fans in Canada, and the world have been deprived of the success of champions for more than a decade. Last time we won anything, I was still in diapers! Therefore, that doesn't count!
Looking at the sports landscape now, from a Torontonian perspective, the Raptors are...young, and that's about it for us. Sure we have a decent core of complimentary/secondary guys, but we are lacking the real star power, it's not too bleak though. The Leafs on the other hand are thriving off a speed game and their outlook is looking much better, especially having missed the playoffs for 6 straight years! Hopefully we can snap that streak this year, but I'm not going to hold my breath for too much more, immediately anyways.
Yes, both these teams are doing better now, but who I really want to talk about is Alex Anthopolous, the Toronto Blue Jays and the man that they should be chasing with a large contract, benefits and a life time supply of fried chicken and donuts: Prince Fielder.
I'm a baseball fan, a big Jays fan, from the Gord Ash era to JP and now to Alex A. We've gone from meh, to crap to actually quite decent. Of course the Jays have to tough it out in the AL East, with the Red Sox and Yankees who are always paying for the top players from every direction. The Jays on the other hand, have always sat on their hands. This...until Anthopolous came along.
In a few short years, he's turned the ship around, and the Jays are probably the best team the city of Toronto has. Sad because not many people notice! We have a stud pitcher in Romero, a star in the making in Brett Lawrie, and quite easily the best player in the game, Jose Bautista. The team is talented beyond those 3, but in the division that we are in, additional fire power is definitely needed. I'm not talking about randoms, but real stars! Guys that are thumpers...and for the first time in a LONG time, maybe ever, the Jays would not have to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox for the services of the best players out on the free agent market; these players just happen to play the position that the Jays need to fill, and that their rivals have no business looking at.
Enter Prince Fielder. He's an MVP candidate. He's got power, he's got charisma and he's got the bat that would put the Jays on the map as contenders. Bringing him aboard would also show the city of Toronto that the Blue Jays are for real. That they're more than just a business run by Rogers, and that they are in it to win it too. Making this type of move puts a smile on all the faithfuls and even draws more fans!
The inability to spend in prior years has been worrisome, as Rogers always fields a half decent team, but with no real light. That light is finally here, and it's coming from the shiny teeth of Prince Fielder. Sure offering him a contract would be a large sum of money...but hey, I'm not paying for him...and neither are you. In fact, it's barely a dent in the armour that Rogers wears as well. If we don't make a move now, I'd be hard pressed to think that we EVER will. Plus, if it doesn't work out PERFECTLY...the Blue Jays have a genius working for them, one that dumped the albatross contract of Vernon Wells for something more than a bag of Doritos. But even then, we're talking about bringing in a potential MVP candidate here...I mean he only hits 40 home runs, drives in over a century, sports a nice batting average..and lets be honest, watching him run is a treat too!
The time is right, the time is now. Prince is waiting!
And Jays fans, you want to drive a point home, you want to win? You want to see the best lineup in baseball, featuring Bautista-Fielder-Lawrie? I can see opposing pitchers shivering in their tights already! Sign this petition, and let Rogers know!
http://www.jaysfanswantfielder.com/
Come on Rogers, get me to the ball game!
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