Scott Carson

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 17th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.

Alex Anthopolous has shown that finding quality on the cheap still exists in baseball.

If in this age of getting the scoop first trumps getting the story correct, then the Blue Jays are on the verge of signing former Cubs closer Kevin Gregg.

This signing comes right out of left field, but it's not shocking with the stealth-like manner in which Alex Anthopolous continues to shape and mould his team. With the Blue Jays in full rebuild mode the Jays rookie G.M, the team has seen its payroll drop from $80.5 million in 2009 to somewhere in the mid-$60 million range in 2010 (including the $6 million sent to the Phillies in the Roy Halladay trade and the $10 million owed to former closer B.J. Ryan).

Team president Paul Beeston has stated in the past that when the time is right, ownership has no problem coughing up the money to bring in top talent to round out a contending roster. The team exercised the option prior to the championship era when Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Paul Molitor and Dave Stewart were brought in to solidify a team on the verge of winning it all.

The Blue Jays, in its current form, are well shy to being a playoff contender. In fact, with the Orioles bringing in closer Mike Gonzalez, starter Kevin Millwood and infielders Garrett Atkins and Miguel Tejada, it has added enough veteran talent to force the Blue Jays into the basement of the ultra-competitive American League East. But the Orioles have also added a significant amount of salary for players who are, quite frankly, on the downside of their careers. Basically, what you see is what you get.

The Gregg signing, if and when it goes down, will provide the Jays with an interesting closer competition in Dunedin this spring. Gregg is coming off 23 saves last season and has saved 84 games over his last three seasons with the Marlins (2007-08) and Cubs. He'll be joined by Jason Frasor, who saved 11 in 14 opportunities, and Scott Downs, nine for 13 after Ryan was sent packing in the first of week of July.

What would give Gregg the edge is the fact that he's been a full-time closer his last three seasons and, at 6'6, he's a much more imposing figure on the mound. Nothing against Frasor or Downs, but they aren't likely to give opposition hitters "happy feet" when they step in with the game on the line. After watching major league closers for my 17 years in the booth, I've always thought "bigger" closers provide a certain intimidation factor that can't be quantified by stats. You look at the likes of Boston's Jonathan Papelbon, Minnesota's Joe Nathan or the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton and they strike an imposing figure as soon as they open the bullpen door. Frasor and Downs never gave the impression that they making hitters shake in their boots. Both are more valuable in set-up roles.

What the Gregg signing will also show is that GM_AA continues to try and shore up his roster and likely will right up until the Jays open its 2010 season in Texas on April 5. With several unsigned free agents still out there, bringing in reinforcements on incentive-laden deals makes this a buyer's market. The remaking of the Blue Jays, after eight years of spinning its wheels, continues.

MAYBE NEXT YEAR... AGAIN

First of all, congratulations to veteran announcer Jon Miller for being named the recipient of the Ford C. Frick award, given annually for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. Unfortunately that means that for the fifth straight year Tom Cheek was passed over for this honour. And as every year goes by, the odds of Cheek winning the award diminish. Not that his stature as one of the great broadcasters will diminish, but it's a classic case of out of sight, out of mind. It's been six years since Tom was in the booth on a semi-regular basis and five years this October since his passing at age of 66. And it also doesn't help that his long career with the Blue Jays was north of the border, far away from those who vote on the award, the highest honour for baseball broadcasters. Here's hoping that Cheek will one day make it to Cooperstown, the sooner the better.