Building for the long haul

Despite the angst and disappointment that has emanated about the lack of signings or trades this off-season, Alex Anthopoulos is sticking to his long-term blueprint for success.

We all know the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have stayed, for the most part, on the sidelines this off-season. In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays have also been relatively quiet as they prepare for the 2012 season. This has led a lot of you to opine that the time has never been better for the Toronto Blue Jays to make a big splash and close the gap between themselves and the three teams that are annually ahead of them in the race for the post-season.

The rumour mill ran rampant, linking the Jays to Japanese pitching star Yu Darvish and free agent slugger Prince Fielder, who now find themselves preparing for their first springs with Texas and Detroit respectively. For a team with self-proclaimed 'payroll parameters', the money spent on those two players were realistically never in the Blue Jays' budget, no matter what you've heard or read.

Anthopoulos and team president Paul Beeston made that clear at the team's annual 'State of the Franchise' get-together with season ticket holders at the Rogers Centre. While the tension amongst those assembled that night was clearly evident, what they heard from the men who run this franchise made a lot of sense and, for the most part, the fans bought in.

In fact, more of a buzz was created by the news that the organization is looking into finding a way to put natural grass into the Rogers Centre. That's not likely to lead to any more wins but, for some unexplainable reason, fans were fascinated by the idea.

Anthopoulos should be applauded for sticking to his long-term vision, something that was sorely lacking during the J.P. Ricciardi years where flip-flops were more than just cool summer footwear. Toronto's third-year general manager, who has been universally praised for his rebuild of the the team's farm system, has never wavered in his approach to return the Jays to sustained contention. That's something that Jays' fans have not seen since the 1985-1993 era where the team made the playoffs five times, winning the World Series twice. Free agent spending was a finishing point, not a starter. But those halcyon days are now a generation removed and patience from the public is growing thin.

I like to read various opinions around the blogosphere, usually from those who have not made an emotional investment in the franchise. The best write-up I have come across came from ESPN.com's Keith Law in a recent article ranking the league's top farm systems. He had the Jays pegged at third with two comments that stuck out for me. He praised the Blue Jays for "grabbing high-ceiling high school players and Latin American prospects by stockpiling picks and paying whatever it took to sign those players". That is certainly high praise for a franchise that has been called "cheap" more than once this off-season by those not in the know.

Law, who used to work for the team as a special assistant under Ricciardi, also stated that the Jays are the organization that's most likely to be No. 1 on the list next winter. For those who take stock in the number and quality of prospects, these should be welcomed words.

As it stands right now, the waves of these prospects making climb onto the Major League roster should be annual migration. While the closest appear to be position players -- centre fielder Anthony Gose and catcher Travis d'Arnaud -- the number pitchers on the fast track is a sight to behold.

Drew Hutchison, Aaron Sanchez, Justin Nicolino, Noah Syndergaard, Adonis Cardona, Deck McGuire, Chad Jenkins and Asher Wojciechowski represent a depth of pitching that few organizations can claim. Not only will they stock the Jays' roster over time, but they will allow Anthopoulos some flexibility in trades, something that he's not been afraid to do to acquire potential impact players such as Colby Rasmus (Zach Stewart) and Sergio Santos (Nestor Molina).

While the climb back towards contention hasn't been as quick as many would have hoped, Alex Anthopoulos will soon be able to get exactly what he wants to fill the holes on the Major League roster . Building for the long haul doesn't have to include ten-year contracts to bring his vision into focus.

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 19th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.