Tonight is the Toronto Blue Jays State of the Franchise event at the Rogers Centre. For the first time ever, thanks to some generosity, I will be in attendance. Judging by the current case of the shakes that I have contracted, I am pretty excited.
Part of the gala is a Q&A with Alex Anthopoulos, John Farrell, and Paul Beeston. Below are some early betting lines for what types of questions will be asked by season ticket holders.
If only you could actually bet on these things….
Subject: Yu Darvish, and the failure to sign him
Will it be Asked:Yes, a 500 Level Fan guarantee
Why: Most fans were pretty upset the night that Texas won the posting process, and most remain upset, especially with AA’s refusal to confirm if the Jays were actually even in the running.
Subject: Prince Fielder, and the failure to sign him
Will it be Asked: Absolutely
Why: Similar to Darvish, fans wanted Prince. They wanted him batting behind Bautista. They wanted him at first instead of Lind. They wanted him in a Blue Jay uniform for many, many years. They didn’t get him.
Subject: “Payroll Parameters”
Will it be Asked: 100% yes
Why: Some believe the Jays should have a $120-million or higher. I think at least 80 of them will want to ask about it.
Subject: Future at the Catcher Position – Travis
D’Arnaud or J.P. Arencibia
Will it be Asked: Likely not
Why: Not to say that that isn’t an important subject – just not tonight.
Subject: LF – Thames or Snider?
Will it be Asked: 60% sure
Why: Snider continues to be a hot topic amongst Jays fans, and Eric Thames suddenly grew 38-inch Hulk Hogan-esque biceps this offseason….
Subject: Tony Fernandez and his future with the Jays front office
Will it be Asked: Only would be asked by me…
Why: Nobody cares about Tony, my hero, and nothing has ever been said about him joining the front office. Still, if I have just the right amount of beers…
Subject: Edwin Encarnacion
Will it be Asked: No, not at all.
Why: Similar to the Tony question, I’m not sure that anybody really cares that much about Edwin. But for some strange reason I continue to have an odd fascination with the man. I want to know if AA envisions Edwin as a front-of-the-order hitter and a 30 HR threat like I do…
Number of times AA gets away with a coy “non-answer” to a challenging question with a sly smile and a laugh.
Over/Under: 38.5
Bet: Over
I think Anthopoulos could actually get out of any situation he wanted to, all while making whoever he was arguing or speaking or debating with think that they won.
I’ll have the results to the betting above, as well as a full recap of the State of the Franchise, tomorrow on 500 Level Fan.
Perhaps tony will be a special unveiling! I predict a particularly stunning lady will ask if the jays plan on changing their team name to ‘horsefeathers.’