Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Jays cut Thomas, cut down Tigers

JEFF BLAIR

From Monday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 10:33 AM EST 21/04/08

Toronto remains on hook for roughly $6.7-million of slugger's salary, but beat Detroit 5-3 ...Read the full article

This conversation is closed

  1. Mike McElhone from Kitchener, Canada writes: I agree with the decision to dump him. It was a dumb decision to sign him.

    I disagree with the termination decision.

    He was close to useless.

    If they had sent him to Syracuse they woud have had real negotiating strength. His huge ego would have pushed him to get out of his contract....certainly at much lower than the termination clause. Instead they paid him the full amount.

    This doesn't do much for clubhouse morale.

    It say that if you are a subperformer you are rewarded.

    You can underperform, get fired, and go somewhere else and collect more cash.

    Doesn't seem right!!!
  2. Lorne Carmichael from Canada writes: Thomas is gone and the Jays are better for it . Too bad it still falls into John Macdonald's and David Eckstien's lap to get clutch hits while the $20 million man acts like a goof and strikes out 3 times. Wells needs to get serious about this game .
  3. Mac - GLG from Canada writes: Yup - Cut a FUTURE Hall of Famer POWER HITTER -
    Jays will find out where mediocrity really is. Put the extra bucks into executive salaries -
    Why sign him to insult him?
  4. John Stanton from Canada writes: right move...move the player who only cares about himself. That's the message here. Excellent move.
  5. Mr. Coffee from Victoria, Canada writes: Thomas needed to go. The Jays can't waste a great young talent in Adam Lind at Syracuse. I can see Lind & Shannon Stewart platooning in left. Matt Stairs will be a good DH replacement. A younger team will only get better.
  6. Fred Draper from Kingston, Canada writes: The baseball bloggers out there seem convinced Thomas gets picked up by Anaheim, Seattle, Texas, KC or Oakland.

    They also are convinced AJ will opt out of his contract at the end of the year.

    My two cents? Appearances don't deceive. Thomas is cooked. If somebody figures he's worth a gamble at the major league minimum, they'll find out that's a overpayment and he'll get waived again. No happy ending.

    On the second point, doesn't AJ actually have to have a good year first? When does 'paying for potential' run out as a justification?
  7. L M from TO, Canada writes: Finally Ricciardi makes a move that makes sense.
    Say what you want about Thomas' recent performance - he's a first-ballot HoF'er and demoting him would be classless. The team's stuck with his salary anyway, so let him play somewhere else if he can sell his .167 average.
    More importantly, this shows that, unlike past years, this team can't wait 60 games for someone like him to start producing.
  8. THE LAKEMAN from N.S., Canada writes: I admire the speed and efficiency with which the Blue Jays handled the Thomas affair. He was simply at the end of the line for the Jays and had to go to allow someone else a chance. On the subject of A.J.'s contract renewal I personally would not be dissappointed if he moved on. He has good stuff but he never seems to know how to control it. In post season play I thing he would beat himself with little effort from the opposing team. You can never count on him for a nice comfortable win; you never know what he is going to do next. Right now he is down to basically one pitch, his fast ball. The curve is among the missing and the change up is forgotten. I feel we have a good team this year but we are still where we always are at .500 ball so I expect as the season progresses there could be some trades in order. Left handed batters and pitchers are badly needed. If Stuart does not shake the charlie horses soon he could be outside looking in. This is supposed to be our year but it will only happen if some chances take play; some of these chances will be big and some just small adjustments such as bunting the runner around.
  9. Allan Wexler from Canada writes: What this really says is that the Jays believe they have what it takes to win this year and they are not going to wait until July for Thomas to get hot. They need a bat like Thomas swings WHEN he is hot, but when he's not he is an automatic out who clogs up the bases when he does hit. The Jays look to be more aggressive in their base running this year and hopefully Rolen will provide some power when he returns to the lineup. I'm still not convinced that the Jays offense will provide enough runs. Vernon Wells needs to hit in key situations more than he does. If David Purcey can become a staple, AJ willl be redundant, so losing his salary will enable the Jays to reload next year without Thomas or Burnett. Things still look decent for a competitive year.
  10. Celine Brown from Canada writes: I also fail to see the logic of cutting him and then eating all of his salary.
    This is one thing I've never understood about pro sports. You're essentially fired and still get 100 per cent of your salary.
    This would never happen in the real world.
  11. Popeye Dillon from North Vancouver, Canada writes: I said it when the Jays signed Thomas: He won't help this team and he's selfish. His stats from last year are a farce too. He got hot in the second half when the Jays were already falling out of the race. Too little too late. If they sign that idiot Bonds they should fire Riccardi instantly. I'm a Red Sox fan anyway so this is working out well anyway.
  12. Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: Celine - Almost all CEO's that are ousted get a package for the duration of their contract, so it actually does happen all the time outside of baseball. Ironically, it seems to happen only to people who make seven digits. Go figure.

    The Thomas Clown Affair is over and I couldn't be happier. It was the worst signing I've ever seen from the Jays. For a guy who can only play in the AL who has had one good season in the past five - it was way too much to pay him. Ricciardi has moved too far away from Moneyball, so I think the attraction to him is, for the most part, gone. After that signing and subsequent ousting - if the Jays do not make the playoffs, I would expect that him and Gibbons are gone at season end.

    The Jays could use Burnett - I don't think they should part ways. That would be a mistake. The Jays can't be known to for signing good players to big contracts and ending their careers. Its a dangerous path.

    The sad part of yesterday's game was that the runs come from McDonald and Eckstein. I love Eckstein who has the intangibles that this team badly needs. But our 'big hitters' need to produce. Wells has become a streaky enigmatic player that has little to offer day to day. He definitely isn't the rock that they need him to be.

    Kudos again to Toronto pitching which truly seem to be looking like the most promising in the AL. I hope they don't get discouraged by our anemic offense.
  13. boom boom from Canada writes: Bye Frank, don't think you'll make the Hall but you might.
  14. Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: Bonds is awesome. He hasn't been caught using steroids unlike more than 20 people playing in the league right now. He IS, by far, the best player available to any team. There's no doubt that he's a distraction but he's worth it.

    Please don't regurgitate everything you hear from the sheep-like sports media. He's the most accomplished player in the league right now.
  15. Dwide Schrude from Canada writes: Adios Frank.

    I don't know what I'll miss the most. The way you couldn't hit, couldn't run, couldn't play in the field or the way you felt entitled to an extra 10 million dollars next year because he used to be a good hitter back in 1994.

    This team still has some major problems. They have their 7-8-9 batters all hitting firmly in the sub .200 batting averages. They have a coach who seems to think he's coaching the last place team in an old timers beer league and a bunch of million dollar stars with all the intensity of a bunch of drunken frat boys getting ready to play in an afternoon bikini beach volleyball tournament at Wasaga beach.

    This is a good start and kudos to the Jays for drawing blood. It was a good first message to send to the team that they're serious about winning this year. It won't fix everything, but it's a first step.

    Go Jays Go!
  16. Bobby S from Toronto, Canada writes: "Flinton Rice from Toronto, Canada writes: Bonds is awesome. He hasn't been caught using steroids unlike more than 20 people playing in the league right now. He IS, by far, the best player available to any team. There's no doubt that he's a distraction but he's worth it.

    Please don't regurgitate everything you hear from the sheep-like sports media. He's the most accomplished player in the league right now. "

    And almost as importantly, it won't cost the Jays a thing (except cash). They don't have to trade anyone off their current team, nor take anyone out of the starting line-up as The Big Hurt is now gone.

    The quicker they go out and get Barry, the quicker they have a shot at the playoffs.
  17. Ryan Hickman from Canada writes: Agree with the assessment of Burnett and his cashing in on "potential". With the way he's pitching this year and with his track record, the team would be better off if he opted out and left. It would give someone else a chance in the rotation and the team has proven that they've got some strong arms in the system. Add Jansen to the mix and you certainly don't miss a guy who goes maybe 5 innings tops in most games.
  18. Popeye Dillon from North Vancouver, Canada writes: Bobby S: So if the Messiah Barry Bonds comes to TO with all his baggage do you seriously believe the Jays become a playoff contender? He'll be a worse cancer than Thomas was. How many times has wonderful Barry played post season? Check out his stats he's below average. The Jays should suck it up and go with what they've got. I don't see playoff contender anyway: "Again."
  19. Bobby S from Toronto, Canada writes: "Popeye Dillon from North Vancouver, Canada writes: Bobby S: So if the Messiah Barry Bonds comes to TO with all his baggage do you seriously believe the Jays become a playoff contender? " Yup, he will make them a playoff contender immediately. He will become the left-handed bat they sorely need, and will protect either Rios (in the 4th spot) or Wells (in the 5th spot). "He'll be a worse cancer than Thomas was" What exactly does this mean? I realize it's easy to throw the word 'cancer' around as it relates to sports, but exactly how is Bonds going to be a cancer? In their current state, the Jays are not good enough to compete with the likes of the Yankees or the Red Sox. They also have to compete against the Indians, Tigers and possibly Mariners for the wild card, and they couldn't beat any or all of those teams. So what is he going to ruin? If they're currently slated to be a 3rd place team, then bringing him onboard can't make this team any worse. The fact is they need to do something in order to help with their biggest issue right now (ie) hitting, especially hitting with runners in scoring positon. So if you're asking me if getting the greatest home run hitter in the history of the game and the greatest player to have ever played the game, then your answer is a resounding YES. "How many times has wonderful Barry played post season?" Barry has played in the post-season six times, three times with the Pirates and three with the Giants. In terms of his overall numbers, I would need to do a google search which I don't want to do right now, but I do remember that if the Giants did not collapse in the world series in 2002, he would've been the MVP hands down. Not sure how his playoff performance relates right now, as I see it, the Jays are still a long way away from even worrying about the playoffs right now, let alone how someone might compete once in it.
  20. G. Sky from Canada writes: To all those who think Bonds should, could or might join the BlueJays: Godfrey and AJ have both said recently that they discussed Bonds joining the Blue Jays over the winter and decided that there would be no situation that would occur that would make it necessary to have Bonds in the line up. End of story, done, finished, forget it, bye bye.

Comments are closed

Thanks for your interest in commenting on this article, however we are no longer accepting submissions. If you would like, you may send a letter to the editor.

Report an abusive comment to our editorial staff

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Back to top