Toronto

In any endeavor in life, the leap from the No. 2 person to being the No. 1 man or woman is tremendous.

Until you go through it, you will never know how big the actual leap is.

Going from a Director of Sales to a VP of Sales is a huge step. Coaches will tell you going from an assistant basketball coach to the head coach is the longest eight feet in their lives.

In baseball, going from the seventh or eighth inning guy to the closer is a big step.

New Toronto Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor found out how big that step was yesterday.

Any real fan of the Toronto Blue Jays knows that this year is going to be a long one. The first year of a rebuild always is.

As spring training comes closer to the end and the roster cuts keep piling up, it becomes clearer that the Jays are looking thin.

We've already covered Brandon League, and I've tried to soothe Seattle's uncertain ego by establishing his rising value.

But what about this other guy, Johermyn Chavez?

Chavez is a 6' 3", slugging outfielder whose 220-pound frame will turn 21 on Jan. 26, 2010.

Kid can't even buy a drink yet.

An undrafted righty, Chavez was signed into the Toronto organization in 2005.  In four years in the Blue Jays' farm system, the young Venezuelan has demonstrated developing power.

In 2009, Chavez batted .283 with 21 homers and 89 runs batted in for Class A Lansing.

Six months ago, no one ever thought there would be a time in the near future where anyone but Roy Halladay would be starting on Opening Day.

Unfortunately, the Blue Jays will find themselves in that predicament on April 6 of next year when they decide who their Opening Day starter will be, and essentially who will be the new ace of the starting rotation.

So who will it be? As far as I'm concerned, the proverbial torch has been passed on to Shaun Marcum to steer this pitching staff in the right direction.

First, a recap of the supposed three-four team deal that is supposed to take place once all the i's are dotted and t's crossed:

Well...another year of Baseball's Winter Meetings is officially in the can.

Alex Anthopoulos and the Toronto Blue Jays essentially left Indianapolis as the same team as they arrived as. No trades, no free agent signings, and no crazy statements from the general manager.

The Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, or Phillies could have started laying the groundwork for a Roy Halladay trade, but we won't know for sure until the official announcement comes down from AA himself.

Type A free agency must be an incredible power that changes a man because it sounds like the temptation of playing for big money with a perennial playoff contender might be going to Marco Scutaro's head.

MLBTR recently reported that Scutaro's preferred destinations are the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers because they give him the best chance of playing in the postseason.

Are you as confused as I am?

If you're thinking, sure, the Toronto Blue Jays “can” contend in 2010, but they likely won't, well, you're probably right. The odds are much greater that the team finishes 2010 in last place than second place and in the playoffs.

Good management in any business or sports organization dictates that personnel are slotted in where they have the best chance to succeed.

In a somewhat surprising move today, the Toronto Blue Jays have cut ties with former All-Star relief pitcher B.J. Ryan.

The Blue Jays signed Ryan to a mammoth five-year deal, which was the largest ever for a reliever at the time, following the 2005 season.

Ryan, who was the Blue Jays' closer as recently as this year, has struggled mightily this entire season. In 20.2 innings pitched, Ryan posted an ERA hovering near seven, which is more than double his career ERA (3.37).