Congratulations Marc.  As payment for your story do you get to attend a photo shoot for the sunshine girl?

The second base depth is complex.  With Campbell, Emaus and Tolisano you have three players who can hit but whose defense is questionable.  If you want to get a regular job in the majors, and your defense is not so good, you better hit like Dan Uggla.  So the challenge for each of these players is to take their hitting up a notch, or improve their defense.  If they can't do one of those then the 2B depth might disappear quickly.

Second base is a tough position for tweeners. Odds are that they don't have enough bat to survive further down on the defensive spectrum.

Tweeners at shortstop can at least try to salvage careers as second basemen. But if you've already long proven unworthy as a defensive shortstop and have questions surrounding your defense at second, you could be trapped in purgatory. As Gerry said, the team's second base depth may prove illusory.

Great work, Marc.  I was wondering if you will be updating your encyclopedia of Jays Prospects that you had started last year and made available at the now deceased Bluejayway.ca?

As for what I'll be looking for from prospects this year - a quick advancement by Zip through A+ and AA; Justin Jackson's emergence as our top prospect (I think he'll rake this year); and a successful conversion to the bullpen by Brandon Magee.

I think one of JP's greatest weaknesses is not trying to sell high. It is very difficult to say how much this affects the team. None of us know what deals were out there or not (who knows what the Jays could have gotten for AJ before the deadline, we just don't know). He holds onto players until there is nothing left  (except the strange Brandon Lyon release and Reed Johnson). Despite Toronto needing pitching at the beginning of the season, it is the perfect time to try and match up with a team for Scott Downs. Teams don't want BJ's contract. Downs had a career year, and you have to try to take advantage of that if possible. The team has written off 2009, so now is the time. If Downs has a bad month before the deadline, his value could be significantly less. You won't be able to exactly replace his season last year, but with Tallet and other young pitchers that could begin in the bullpen, he could be covered for. His contract makes him an attractive asset for other teams.

This is just an example of an opportunity for the team to get younger without taking a big hit. Last year, the Jays should have taken one less pitcher out of spring training and kept Stewart and Johnson (like I advocated). The Thomas release and Stewart breakdown could have been less detrimental to the team if Johnson had still been around. They wouldn't have had to pick up Mench and Wilkerson (or got rid of them sooner). Why did the team need the extra guy out of the bullpen at the start of the year? JP should be ready to spring a deal for any player (not named Halladay or Snider) when the price is right.

I know JP has to find a trading partner to make moves, but Beane always manages to find a taker when he is ready. I think JP needs to be more aggressive in getting the trade done. I don't think that JP is a bad GM, I just don't think he can get it done in the AL East as long as he continues as he has (despite his increased learning curve). He needs to be a far less conservative GM if he wants to have a shot at the division title.