Jay’s Making Noise

While many in Canada are fixed on the start of the NHL season, with the new up and coming stars of tomorrow, others are focusing on the 112^th edition of the 2016 World Series.

While we have a pro ball team in Canada, namely the Toronto Blue Jays who dropped the ball in the post season only to be eliminated by the Indians in five games.

The first round saw the Jays defeat the rivals Rangers in three games outscoring them 22-10 to advance against the power-house Indians.

One would think that with four full days off their bull-pin would be rested and set to continue on the winning streak.

Fact of fiction they were simply out-played in five games being outscored 11-8 in what some might call extremely defensive play by both clubs.

Jay’s ace pitcher Marco Estrada was simply out pitched by Indians starter Corey Kluber, who at times found himself in early jams, shutting down any offense the Jays had in 6 1/3 innings.

Being down three games to none the Jay’s bats finally came to life in game four managing five (5) runs allowing one to cross the plate.

The win seemed (at times) to give the Jays some “life” but whatever they had at the start, it was short lived seeing the Indians pulling off a 3-0 win in game 5 taking the series and advancing to the World Series.

Jay’s GM Ross Atkins reportedly is set to offer qualifying offers to both Bautista and Encarnacion and it’s expected that neither will accept it.

It ensures that the offer guarantees the club would receive a compensatory Draft pick for each player, should they depart via the free agency route.

The value of qualifying offers is set by the collective bargaining agreement and is determined by the average annual salary (AAS) of the top 125 Major League contracts in the league.

The figure for this off-season is expected to be $17.2 million, listed as an 8.9% increase over last year’s salary.

It’s also reported that the decision is far less certain for Victoria’s Michael Saunders (29) who was selected 11^th round (333^rd overall) by the Mariners in the 2004 MLB Draft.

It’s reported that Saunders annual salary is $2.9 Million (US) and apparently this decision is not as clear as the one for Bautista and Encarnacion.

Saunders a BC native attended Lambrick Park Secondary School and made his MLS debut at the young age of 22 on July 25^th against Cleveland.

With the Jay’s looking to improve it’s hoped that they can and will send some strong talent back to the “Nat” in hopes of helping the Vancouver Canadians Single A Team.