Friday Night Lights

It is not often that MLB can take the spotlight away from the NBA and NFL in the months of January and February, but for one Friday night people were talking baseball.

On Friday, there were 3 major transactions. The first was the Toronto Blue Jays trading former all-star and face of the franchise, Vernon Wells to the Anaheim Angels for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. Before the blogs and tweets could analyze that deal, the Tampa Bay Rays made a splash by signing not one, but two former AL East rivals - Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon.

The Ramirez and Damon deals seems to smell like a little bit of desperation on the Rays part. The Rays want to be part of the great rivalry conversation in the AL East and what better way to do that then by adding two former rivals to your roster. The Rays don't want to be looked at as third fiddle in the division and by adding the centre of attraction that is Ramirez they will certainly be featured more often in the national media.

What the Rays probably considered before signing the two players and then dismissed the idea was that they have built their team based on draft picks, young talent and smart trades that brought more young talent to Tampa. Signing two veteran players who are on their last legs seems very odd. Ramirez will only be able to DH for this team. His legs won't hold up on the turf at Tropicana Field and the past couple of seasons his hitting hasn't made it worth while to put him in the line-up everyday as the DH. Damon has struggled in New York and Detroit since leaving Boston and that is because what made him dangerous, his speed and recklessness in the outfield are no longer there for him. Damon is not going to be able to replace Carl Crawford and Rays fans should be worried that even though they will get the media attention, they are falling further from the conversation at the top of the AL East.

The "other" team in the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays seem to be going in the opposite direction. After a surprising 2010 season, Jays fans are hopeful that the team is moving in the right direction and the pieces are in place to make a run at the division or at least the wild card title.

Lots of stars in the making seem to be peppering the Jays line-up, but one position was being held down by a former star - Vernon Wells. Wells and his bloated contracted was holding the Jays hostage. He was deemed un-tradable by many publications, not because of his performance, but because of how bad the contract was. Although, his recent performances didn't help his cause any, Toronto GM Alex Anthopolous still found a trading partner in the Anaheim Angels. The Angels were interested in the inconsistent Wells because they lost out on the big name free agents this winter and apparently have money to burn. The Jays got catcher Mike Napoli who will fill the void as a veteran catcher while JP Arencibia becomes more comfortable in the big leagues and utility man Juan Rivera will be able to play a number of position (OF, 3B, 1B, DH) and wouldn't be considered a liability if he has to play everyday due to injury.

The trade of Wells also opens the door for several other moves. Recently acquired Rajai Davis (from the Oakland A's) will take over in centre field and fans are now anticipating the rapid development of prospect Anthony Gose who was acquired last year from the Astros.

The Jays are on the path that made the Rays successful for the past couple of seasons. Develop your young players, let them mature at the major league level (even if it means some losing) and it will pay off. Now it seems the Rays have forgotten what got them into the conversation in the AL East and it is the Jays who are following the blue print that they created to make themselves into contenders.