Buchstabensuppe History &'nd about us » hurler can improve on the

It was on the 19th of November last year that the Blue Jays pulled off their massive 12-player deal with Miami that was supposed to set the table for a playoff season in 2013. Of course it didnt work out that way, but I suppose the point of this is, the deal came right out of nowhere. There were no hot rumours, no build-up. It just happened. This years Winter Meetings are being held from Dec. 9-12 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando. This is the third time the meetings have been held at this facility. The last time was in 2010. Its interesting to look back now at some of the rumours involving the Blue Jays back then and what actually went down. One of the hottest rumours had the Jays offering a package that might have included right hander Kyle Drabek, outfielder Travis Snider and a couple of other prospects to Kansas City for right hander Zach Greinke who was fresh off winning the American League Cy Young Award. There was also talk the Jays were going after Arizona outfielder Justin Upton and even Manny Ramirez. None of those deals came to fruition. Alex Anthopoulos did pull off the first major swap of those meetings though, sending right-hander Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee for Brett Lawrie. Again, though, there were no rumours surrounding that deal. It just happened. Arguably, the Jays most significant deal of that offseason didnt come until the New Year. They sent Vernon Wells and his huge contract to the Angels for catcher/1B/DH Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera. Four days later they flipped Napoli to Texas in a deal involving closer Frank Francisco. Wells incidently will be heading into the final year of his contract next season. Though Vernon will earn $21 million, the Yankees are only on the hook for $2.4 million of that. According the Baseball Reference.com, the Angels are paying the rest, some $18.6 million. Rumours and Deals There was actually a trade this week, with the Dodgers getting outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and cash from Boston for outfielder prospect Alex Castellanos. The rumour mill really figures to start heating up at the Owners and GMs meetings running from Nov. 11-13 at Orlando. Usually those meetings are where the ground work is laid for the bigger deals and free agent signings to come through the fall and over the winter. This brings us back to the two big rumours of the past week or so, put out by ESPN contributors. One had the Mets possibly offering right-hander Jon Niese, outfielder prospect Cesar Puello and another prospect for Jose Bautista. The Mets really need a power bat to offer some support for David Wright, and J.P. Ricciardi who now works in the Mets front office acquired Bautista for the Blue Jays in the first place from Pittsburgh. Puello is supposed to be the key in the deal for the Blue Jays. Hes supposedly a top-notch right field prospect who plays the game with boundless hustle. Some have compared him to Yasiel Puig, without the hotdogging. Trouble is Puello was suspended for 50 games for using PEDs in connection with Biogenesis. But again its only another rumour. Another hot one had the Blue Jays being in the thick of the race for Cincinnatis out-of-favour second baseman Brandon Phillips. Though some say he had an offseason and caused some friction for the Reds by comparing his contract to that of Joey Votto and for getting into a beef with a reporter, Phillips is still one of top second basemen in the game. Even in an "off year" he knocked in 103 runs. If new Reds manager Bryan Price moves closer Aroldis Chapman into the starting rotation as has been rumoured, maybe Anthopoulos can offer some of the Blue Jays bullpen depth and a prospect or two for Phillips. But as a cautionary note, Phillips will be 33 next season and is owed $50 million on his contract over the next four years. If the Blue Jays are truly going to go "all-in" again next season, this is the deal that they might actually pursue. Still, its just another one of those rumours you hear this time of year, and most of these rumours as we learned from 2010, dont ever turn into reality. Tampa Bay, Oakland and Pittsburgh are three of the teams that proved this season that you can win with a lower-echelon payroll. But of the final four teams that were alive in the post-season, three were in the top five in money spent, and St. Louis was number 11. Marvin Williams Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. PJ Washington Hornets Jersey . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Glen-R...Edition-Jersey/. Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. Cody Martin Hornets Jersey . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game. Malik Monk Jersey . Louis Cardinals won the World Series last season, but after losing first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to retirement, they opened the 2012 season in 12th spot in the TSN.The Toronto Blue Jays will send left-hander J.A. Happ to the mound Wednesday afternoon looking to beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the finale of a quick two-game series. Happ is 2-1 over his past three starts, charged with eight earned runs over that time. However, seven of those came in an 11-1 loss at Cincinnati on June 21. Happ then rebounded on Thursday to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-0 behind 7 2/3 scoreless innings of four-hit ball. The 31-year-old struck out eight, moving to 7-4 with a 4.29 ERA on the year. "The goal was to be aggressive, to force contact early, use all four quadrants and just be aggressive," noted Happ, who is 3-3 with a 5.93 ERA in his career versus the Brewers. The Brewers meanwhile, hope that starter Wily Peralta can get locked in on Wednesday afternoon. Though Peralta has won five consecutive starts, he has posted a 4.22 earned run average over that span, one in which Milwaukee has scored at least seven runs four times. The right-handers past two wins both came against Colorado, including Thursdays 7-4 decision at home. Peralta gave up all four runs on eight hits and two walks over six frames, striking out seven. While he improved to 9-5 with a 3.20 earned run average on the year, manager Ron Roenicke still thinks the hurler can improve on the mound. "I thought the last three outings, (Wily) has pitched well, but hes not locked in," said Roenicke. "Now hes sttruggling to get through the lineups.dddddddddddd." The 25-year-old Peralta has never faced the Blue Jays, who send left-hander J.A. Happ to the mound today. The Blue Jays halted a three-game skid by taking Tuesdays opener 4-1. Drew Hutchison yielded just one run over seven innings while striking out a season- high 10 batters in his first victory since June 13. Jose Bautista, starting for the first time since June 22 due to a strained left hamstring, and Colby Rasmus each homered for the Blue Jays. Starting as the designated hitter, Bautista hit his 16th homer of the year. Ryan Braun drove in the lone run for the Brewers, who have lost two in a row after winning four straight. Marco Estrada started for Milwaukee and suffered the loss, allowing two runs on six hits over six-plus innings of work. He struck out two and walked one, losing for the first time since June 15. "Things just started going south for me," Estrada said. "I just wasnt really locating. I really didnt know what I was doing, how I was missing and the way I was missing. I was just out there throwing the ball around." Milwaukee could be without outfielder Khris Davis today as he injured his left shoulder on Tuesday diving into second base. The Brewers, who are making their first trip to Toronto since 2005, are 7-3 against the Blue Jays since moving to the National League in 1998. ' ' '