As a Jays fan, totally agree that we should be on this list.
How many star players do we have to be in on, offer the most money to, only to be a bridesmaid, never a bride? How many times are we going to hear "oh, it's a different country" or something about taxes?
A good team finds ways to get past those problems. A good team doesn't allow a generational talent to twist in the wind without a contract or allow another star player to be constantly rumoured to be traded.
Ownership, the Canadian cable giant Rogers, only seems interested in keeping the team just competitive enough to get butts in the seats and eyes on their TV channels, the only place to watch the Jays. They brought in Shapiro from Cleveland, where he did exactly that, keeping the Indians just competitive enough to keep people interested, but never actually made a winner. He brought in Atkins, who spouts out word salad whenever he is asked anything. Both of them inherited a team built by Anthopoulos that first year and then the wheels fell off. Both managers they have chosen, Montoyo and Schneider, are cheap options that fall into line with spending as little as possible. Yes, they made a big investment in Skydome and the spring training site, but they don't seem to use it to attract players.
For any one who remembers the mid 2000's up until the two years they made ALCS runs, the Jays are going to be back in an empty stadium while the Yankees and Red Sox pass them by.
www.espn.com
