Inconvenient Truths and the Shape of Things to Come

Baseball's version of the New Deal is nearly upon us. The good men at Mop Up Duty lay the awful truth on the table, exposing the Jays sudden interest in Ricky Romero as a cynical way to keep from starting the clocks of Messers Cecil and Mills. The money quote from Kman:

In-fact, I’d say that Mills would have made the team if he was LESS impressive. Brad upped his stock so much this spring that the Jays want another year of control.

Ugh. You pitched well, congrats. We're sending you to Vegas for two months to get knocked around in the hot, thin air when you're hung over and haven't slept for three days. PS. Don't get robbed. (h/t Iracane Sir)

The ever-informative Bart Given posed this question with regard to Travis Snider as well. While I agree that maintaining that extra year of control is a good idea, I think that ship has sailed. Why wouldn't they have called him in September, rather than on August 29th? That started his clock, while waiting three days would have spared the Jays those 30 days of service time.

While he seems like a pre-arb Sizemore/Longoria deal candidate, some think this isn't a sure thing. With these extra years of control being so valuable, agents recognize everyone is trying to weasel a below market deal. Sometimes they work out, like Sizemore. Sometimes they end up like Manny Corpas or Troy Tulowitzki, good ideas at the time that beging to look less attractive as the injuries mount. Attractiveness is of course relative; and an $18 million bust is certainly preferable to a $60 million dollar one.

Sad and Unfortunate Update: Best regards, Mr. Brattain. You'll be missed.