Looking Ahead The next 16 games are going to be huge for the Blue Jay

What would you think of a general manager whos had a losing record everywhere hes been? Would you forgive him for making arguably the worst trade in franchise history? Would you hire him if you had the chance? Of course you would, in a "New York" second! At least if his name was Dave Dombrowski. Let me explain. Dombrowski was hired to be the Montreal Expos GM back on July 5, 1988. At 31 he was the youngest general manager in the game. At that point in their history, the Expos had only made it to the postseason once back in the strike split 1981 campaign. The pressure was on to get back to the "promise land" and it was believed the Expos were just one ace pitcher away from getting there. Less than a year after being hired Dombrowski pulled the trigger on a five-player deal with the Seattle Mariners on May 25, 1989. He got his ace in lefty Mark Langston along with a prospect for pitchers Gene Harris, Brian Holman and some guy named Randy Johnson. You might remember him, a flame throwing lefty, a 610" tower of power who had trouble finding the strike zone. Though Langston pitched well going (12-9) the rest of the way, Montreal didnt make the playoffs and Langston signed with the Angels as a free- agent after that season. Johnson, meanwhile, blossomed into a superstar and went on to a Hall of Fame career. Making trades like that can dog a guy for the rest of his career, but Dombrowski was only getting started. In September 1991, he became general manager of the expansion Florida Marlins. By 1997, the Marlins had won their first World Series thanks in part to the open vault approach of owner Wayne Huizenga, who just as quickly ordered Dombrowski to dismantle the team after the 1997 triumph. Dombrowski was gone by the time the Marlins won their second World Series in 2003, but it was organization and the team he helped build. The Blue Jays were interested in hiring Dombrowski in 2001, but he chose the Detroit Tigers where he became club President as opposed to GM. But that didnt last very long. After the Tigers dropped their first six games in 2002, he immediately fired GM Randy Smith and manager Phil Garner and assumed the general managers title for himself. The next couple of years were rough, especially 2003 when the Tigers lost a Major League record 119 games breaking the All-time mark of the woeful 1962 New York Mets. By 2006 though, the farm system was flourishing, the right deals were made and Tigers made it to the World Series for the first time since 1984. Though they lost the Fall Classic in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Tigers were back as a team that would be factor in the American League for the foreseeable future. They made it again to the World Series in 2012 under Jim Leyland but lost again, this time to the San Francisco Giants in four straight. But its not just the World Series appearances that intrigue you about Dombrowski. Its the way he constructs the "monster deal." In less than seven years, he has pulled off four career defining deals, that are arguably four of the biggest completed over that time span. It started on December 4, 2007, when he picked up Miguel Cabrera, who would become a two-time Triple Crown champ and lefty Dontrelle Willis from his old club in Florida for six prospects none of whom are with the Marlins now, though one lefty reliever Andrew Miller was dealt by the Boston Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles at this years non- waiver trade deadline. Two years later on December 8, 2009, he may have pulled off the biggest trade of the bunch in a three-way swap with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. The haul: a former first round draft pick of the D-Backs Max Scherzer who would go on to win the Cy Young award four years later, pitcher Dan Schlereth, reliever Phil Coke and centre field prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees. Detroit sent right hander Edwin Jackson to Arizona and centre fielder Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. The Yankees completed the swap by sending right hander Ian Kennedy to Arizona. This past off-season, Dombrowski was able to pull off a more modest one-for-one deal with the Texas Rangers. This one allowed the Tigers to send the onerous contract of Prince Fielder to the Rangers for second baseman and top of the order hitter Ian Kinsler. Dombrowski had no way of knowing Fielder would break down and require neck surgery that would knock him out for basically all of the 2014 season, but it turned this deal into a steal. That leads as to this years non-waiver trade deadline. After Oaklands Billy Beane had acquired ace lefty Jon Lester from Boston along with Jonny Gomes, for slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Dombrowski played his trump card and picked up former Cy Young winning lefty David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-way swap with the Rays and the Seattle Mariners. The price tag, no pun intended wasnt nearly as steep as you might have expected. Seattle got centre fielder Austin Jackson from Detroit. The Rays wound up with Tigers lefty Drew Smyly, Mariners middle infielder Nick Franklin and a prospect. You could argue Dombrowski won all four of those blockbuster deals. As mentioned off the top, Dombrowski has had a losing record with each team he has been the GM of, though there were extenuating cash flow problems at times in Montreal and Florida. His career record as a general manager is a meager 905-975 with about eight weeks to go in the 2014 season. But who would argue that he hasnt put together a Hall of Fame resume and maybe this will be the year he joins the elite group of general managers whove won World Series in both leagues. *** Interesting stat in the Buffalo News this week; the Bisons have made 194 roster moves this season, and that was before the Blue Jays called up reliever Chad Jenkins this week. That is a modern franchise record. The Bisons are in an all-out playoff push and last made the post season in 2005. This will give you an idea of how important that 21-9 month was to the Blue Jays. They are only (27-26) since June 1st. Still the Jays are holding down that second Wild Card slot and are just a 1.5 game back of first place Baltimore in the AL-East. The upcoming home stand starting Tuesday night against Baltimore and continuing through next week versus Detroit is the most important August stand in two decades. Thats where the real playoff push begins. Air Max 97 Australia Cheap .com) - Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was named the National League Player of the Month for April. Cheap Air Max 97 Australia . The Sochi organizing committee said in Fridays statement that the torch relay reached the North Pole on Oct. 19. Russian Polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, who led the mission, lit a special bowl at the North Pole sign. http://www.airmax97cheapaustralia.com/ . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. Cheap Air Max 97 Sale . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. Air Max 97 Cheap Australia . 1 Pete Sampras. Speaking ahead of an exhibition match against Andre Agassi in London on March 3, Sampras said on a conference call Wednesday that he is impressed by Federers longevity.There were plenty of critics who thought the Blue Jays gave up too much to the New York Mets for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. But you just never know with young unproven players. Both Syndergaard and DArnaud have have had their problems over the last few weeks. They were ranked the Mets top two prospects coming into this season. However a couple of weeks ago, Syndergaard, who can get it to the plate in the 95-97 mph-range, developed a flex strain in his pitching arm and had to shut it down at Triple "A" Las Vegas for a week or so. Fortunately, the MRI showed it had nothing to do with his elbow. As soon as he returned though, Syndergaard got bowled over in a homeplate collision as he was covering home after throwing a wild pitch. He suffered a sprained AC joint in his left (non-throwing shoulder) and once again has had to shut it down for about a week. Its nothing career-threatening, but it is a setback and will delay his anticipated call-up to the Mets this season. DArnauds problems are more troublesome. He was sent down to Vegas by the Mets on Sunday after hitting just .180, and only .113 over his last 41 at bats. Worse than that, his defence which was supposed to be a strength was the worst of any catcher in the National League. A concussion suffered earlier this season may have factored in, but Mets skipper Terry Collins said DArnaud wont be called up again until he starts hitting and dominating in the Pacific Coast League like the prospect he was supposed to be. Whatever you may think of Dickey, he already has 20 victories over his brief stay in Toronto, hes an innings eater and has helped put them in first place in the AL East. If you were wondering why teams seem so reluctant to trade starting pitching at this point of the season consider this; only two teams in the Majors, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are further than 6.5 games out in the Wild Card chases. The Rays are 10 games out and the Phllies are seven back. Ever other team, including the Cubs, Astros and Diamondbacks, who got off to horrible starts, are within 6.5 games of a Wild Card spot or closer. If you are that close, even if your overall talent isnt that good, its not easy to tell your fans you are trading for the future with almost 100 games left. Even Boston with a 10-game losing skid and then a five-game win streak is still only five games out of a playoff spot. It only makes sense for the Rays to deal their ace lefty David Price but I cant see him being moveed to any other team in the American League East.dddddddddddd. Texas might make sense, but I have a hunch Price could end up with the Mets. They lost six in a row and are in danger of tumbling into becoming a mere afterthought in New York and the National League. The Mets are loaded with pitching prospects like Syndergaard, Zach Wheeler, Rafael Montero and Jake deGrom. These are the kinds of young arms that should entice the Rays. New York is seven games under .500 heading into Mondays play, but they are only five games back of Atlanta, Washington and Miami, who are locked in a virtual tie for first place in a winnable National League East. Price to the Mets makes sense, if only to upstage the Yankees who have pitching issues of their own. If youre going to trade for pitching prospects, though, you still could get burned. When the Blue Jays dealt David Cone to the Yankees in 1995, they received three young righthanders in return, in Mike Gordon, Jason Jarvis and Marty Janzen. Gordon and Jarvis never climbed higher than Double "A", and Janzen had only a brief stint with the Jays. Over parts of two seasons, he went 6-7 with a 6.39 ERA. He was ultimately claimed in the expansion draft by Arizona after the 1997 season and then was traded back to the Yankees. However, Janzen never saw the light of day in the Majors again. Cone helped the Yankees win four World Series (1996, 1998-2000) to go with the ring he won with the Blue Jays in 1992. Looking Ahead The next 16 games are going to be huge for the Blue Jays. Over that span, they play 10 games against the Yankees and Baltimore, starting with a four-game set at Camden Yards later this week, then a road series with the Yankees on the same trip followed by a three-game set at Rogers Centre June 23-25. Show of Respect I dont know if it was a one-off or just the "Cardinals way" but it was impressive and classy when the St. Louis players lined up in front of their dugout Sunday for the anthems. Home, Not Sweet Home One of the oddities of this season is the L.A. Dodgers home record. For all their starting pitching and their talent laden lineup, they are only 13-19 at Dodger Stadium. The only team in the Majors with a worse mark is Arizona at 11-23. The timing couldnt be worse for the Dodgers, since the Giants are starting to run away with the division at 42-21, the best record in MLB. Luckily for the Dodgers, they are still just a half game out of a Wild Card spot, battling it out with the likes of the Braves, Nationals, Marlins and Cardinals. If this continues, the Dodgers figure to be one of the more active teams by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. ' ' '