Towers, 28, has won 22 games for the Blue Jays in the past two years after being jettisoned by the Baltimore Orioles and running afoul of former Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca.

"Running afoul"? Would that be last year when he was sent down and said he was pitching for the other 29 teams? That's not really against Tosca specifically, though...and I can't think of what it could be.

For example, if I read in three years that David Bush ran afoul of John Gibbons, I'd know what happened, even if I don't think the specific event was significant.

What did Towers do?

I sadly kind of agree with this. And that's not a knock on Josh or the great year he had. It's just we keep finding ourselves eating more and more of the payroll with Shea Hillenbrands and Josh Towers...players everyone seems to like but who cannot lift this team beyond a third place position behind Boston and New York.

Do we know what we'll get out of Josh? I don't think he'll wash out of the rotation but by the same token just because you pay him about $2.5 million a year doesn't mean he'll come close to another 130 ERA+ either. I think you have a solid average 4th or 5th starter who seems durable. And it's very possible he could be surpassed by younger guys when 2007 rolls around.

And yet the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers had only one pitcher amongst them who accumulated a higher VORP than Towers in 2005. All of them would have been much better for having Josh Towers as their #2 starter... enough of this "decent #4" garbage.

Sorry Flex - go back and re-read my comments. I congratulated Josh on getting thhe contract. I stated that I liked his bulldog attitude. I have nothing against Josh Towers, the man. I have a serious problem with the Blue Jays accepting mediocrity, and overpaying through the nose for it. Like I said, this isn't an isolated incident - we've been dealing with mediocre players for years. The fact that most on this board are willing to accept that this is a 'great' signing is just an indication that there's more Kool-Aid drinking going on than I realized. Plain and simple.

So, here's an NFH CHALLENGE for you, Kingsley: if Towers is still in the rotation after the All-Star break, will you purchase and wear a Josh Towers jersey to a game, approach Josh during warm=up and ask for his signature on it, and then hand it off to me?

No, I do not accept the terms of that challenge, however I do accept some sort of challenge. Perhaps I go to the game wearing some sort of 'I Love Josh Towers' T-shirt with accompanying Tiger-Beat'ish homemade sign? I get them both signed: "To Hank, you are one of a kind. Love, Josh Towers" for you?

JP simply went overboard here. Sorry, I know you're all JP lovers, but this was just a bad bad bad fiscal decision.

It's 2.5 million dollars a year for two years. Even in the worst case scenario (Josh Towers doesn't pitch a game in the majors) it's hardly anything to worry about.

This contract is in no way "exorbinant."

And you don't run a successful baseball franchise by non-tendering players who pitch as well as Josh Towers did, and certainly not over 3% of your payroll.

That's all fine and dandy, but it's easy to forget that in the process of salary arbitration, Towers probably would have rejected an offer such as that. I can't think of any players comparable to Towers at this moment, but I would imagine that he would have been awarded a much higher guaranteed salary than the one you suggested.

When I'm a general manager you can bet that I won't run my team that way. But until I get hired I am only a fan and therefore express my happiness that something good has happened to someone deserving.

The idea of non-tendering a pitcher who had an ERA around 4 is, frankly, silly. At the very least you sign him and try to trade him.

Arbitration would have likely resulted in a higher salary than the contract he was awarded. By non-tendering, and resigning to a lower base with incentives, you avoid the high guaranteed cash outlay.

Bonuses in MLB are only permissable based on playing time, not on performance metrics (homeruns, saves, wins, etc.).

I know you're new around here, but generally we find that specifics are much more convincing than throwing around 'anecdotal guesses'.

Here's what I found searching BBRef just now. Note, AERA+ is the average ERA+ the past two years prior to the year 4 season (with the breakout of the two years to the right, which would be year 3 and year 2 of service time). Players chosen were comparable players based on the BBRef comps, and comps of the comps. I came up with 10 similar players since 2003:

Year	Player	         Team 	Salary	AERA+	Yr3     Yr2
2003	O Perez	         LA	 $3.40 	108	126	90
2005	J Marquis	 StL	 $3.00 	94	113	75
2004	J Pineiro	 Sea	 $3.00 	124	117	130
2004	V Padilla	 Phi	 $2.60 	115	114	116
2004	K Wells	         Pit	 $2.58 	125	129	121
2005	B Lawrence	 SD	 $2.38 	96	97	94
2005	R Lopez	         Bal	 $2.38 	104	133	75
2004	T Ohka	         Mtl	 $2.34 	125	119	131
2006	J Towers	 Tor	 $2.30 	108	120	95
2003	M Redman	 Fla	 $2.15 	100	100	100
2004	A Eaton	         SD	 $1.93 	84	97	71

After looking this up at that I have a hard time seeing how Towers' salary is out of line based on his numbers compared to other pitchers and their corresponding salaries.

The teams that win don't need to 'settle for' a given player...they simply go out and get the best (see: Boston/NY).

Personally, it's all well and good to say that they should cut Towers and used the money toward's signing a star/near-star player.....except that those type of player's don't usually choose to sign with Toronto.

My inital reaction to news of this signing was: That seems to be a bit too much money for a player that has only had 1 'good' year. However, I can just see the 'wildcard' in this being a conversation behind the scene's:

J.P. - Hey Arny, has Josh turned the corner?

Arnsberg - Yup

J.P Dials Towers agent

MLB's main page has a link to a story that claims the Mets are after Delgado.

Stay tuned.