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Long time BB reader Ryan Adams passed this one on, from the Corpus Christi (TX) Caller-Times, one of Craig B.'s favourite papers. It's a reprint of an article from the Knoxville News-Sentinel, where ex-Jays Woody Williams and Chris Carpenter contribute to Nick Gates' premise:

The bar has slipped for the Blue Jays, whom the Smokies severed ties with last fall after a 23-year affiliation. Once considered a first-class organization, Toronto is in a state of flux. Payroll has been slashed and winning the World Series seems unrealistic.

Fans in Knoxville are happy with the Smokies' change in affiliation from Toronto to St. Louis, because the Cards emphasize winning throughout their farm system. It's too bad they don't play New Haven. Carpenter (apparently a Gord Ash fan) proves again he isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Most of us wouldn't use "disarray" to describe the J.P. Jays, yet that's the impression some people have. Geography can change perception; this is an interesting look at how others view the Blue Jays.

Posted by Coach on Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 10:59 AM EST.
Knoxville Doesn't Miss Jays | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
robertdudek - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 11:31 AM EST (#91620) #
There was a lot of change in the organization after Gillick left. Ownership wasn't willing to invest in the team until Rogers bought the team (we'll see how their budgets pan out in the future). A lot of the stuff referred to in the article is ancient history.

J.P has certainly cleaned house (most of those changes were made last year) and there is only one pre-J.P. player remaining who the GM is anxious to get rid of (we all know who that is).

The writer wrongly assumes that the Jays couldn't afford to sign Carpenter; it would have been foolish to spend multi-millions on an injured pitcher like him.
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_Cristian - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 01:30 PM EST (#91621) #
The obvious question after reading the article for me was:

If the Cards care only about winning, why would they sign Carpenter?

I'm sure the people in Tennessee will not be thinking the same thing in a few years when New Haven's roster is full of prospects. At the same time, I predict that every year Tennessee's best players will be traded for another lefty reliever to clutter LaRussa's St. Louis roster.
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_Ryan - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 02:25 PM EST (#91622) #
Carpenter's opinion of the Jays changes from day to day. Contract negotiations didn't go very well last spring so he supposedly wanted out at the time. Then during the summer when he was aiming for a long-term deal (while being injured and ineffective), he started saying how much he liked the direction of the club and wanted to stay. He gets outrighted in the offseason, signs elsewhere, and now he says the team is in disarray. Next week he'll probably say he wants to retire as a Blue Jay.
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_Gwyn - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 03:00 PM EST (#91623) #
"There was disarray at the big league level," he said. "We went through so many different coaches and managers. There was no structure, no plan or sense of direction. It's tough to win like that.

That doesn't sound like such a bad description of the Jays 1998 - 2001 era to me. As Chris is using the past tense I am gonna be kind and assume that is what he was talking about.
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_Jacko - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 03:19 PM EST (#91624) #

J.P has certainly cleaned house (most of those changes were made last year) and there is only one pre-J.P. player remaining who the GM is anxious to get rid of (we all know who that is).


Escobar or Delgado?

jc
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_Wayne H. - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 03:43 PM EST (#91625) #
Since when is the Cardinals" farm system a good one? Their prospect list reads like a medical log of ruined young pitchers. While nothing new for young pitchers, the Cards seem to have more than quota. They have few, if any hitting prospects. Maybe Carpenter has a better eye for talent, as he certainly could recognize a "great" GM in El Gordo.

Wayne
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_DS - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 04:05 PM EST (#91626) #
Jacko,

I was thinking the same thing. Of course, JP has always said that they need a guy like Carlos in the middle of the lineup. He's never squat about Escobar.
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_DS - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 05:20 PM EST (#91627) #
Sorry, that should read never said squat about Escobar.

"I failed English? That's unpossible!"
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_DS - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 06:13 PM EST (#91629) #
I have been soundly corrected, and now I'll retire from this thread while I still have my dignity.
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_DSs dignity - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 07:05 PM EST (#91630) #
That's it - I'm outta here.
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_DSs pride - Wednesday, April 02 2003 @ 11:23 PM EST (#91631) #
Hey, wait for me!
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