So last Friday I decided to go out with some close friends and have a couple festive ciders and just enjoy some good ol’ fashion rock n’ roll times. I left my iPhone at home so I could actually immerse myself in the moment and not be distracted – it was my counterculture move of the night and everything was just fine.

We decided to bar hop along Queen St. West and we eventually ended up at The Dog’s Bollocks. The bar was full of young hipsters - actually most of the Queen West bars were – and people were drunk, merry, and right into the karaoke, singing Meat Loaf, Queen, Notorious B.I.G., and Josh Grobin *barf*. The point being that I had a great night, one too many ciders, and ended the night with a teen burger and sleep.

But since I didn’t have my phone with me, I had no clue to what was happening in the baseball world, which is what usually distracts me from my friends when I’m out with them. So I woke up to the not surprising, yet surprising Stanton-to-the-Yankees news and it kind of made me feel uneasy and maybe a bit pissed off too. I even tweeted about it and I don’t usually tweet:

And ever since the New York Yankees did what they always do, a lot of Blue Jays fans have been acting like this is the goddamn end of 2018, and guess what? It’s not – not even close.

So, of course, since the Shohei-to-the-Angels thing and the Stanton-to-the-Yankees thing, more than a handful of Blue Jays writers and fans have come to the conclusion that the FO should blow up the mothership. It’s time to trade Josh Donaldson and whoever else, commit to the long-term and abandon the now. And while I get what’s shaping this thought process, I don’t agree with it.

If the team trades Josh Donaldson, who only has 1-year left on his contract, then they should trade Happ too? No? And they should probably trade Estrada as well, right? I mean, what’s the point, really? If the Yankees sign Stanton, then the Blue Jays should just trade everyone and turn into the 2013 Houston Astros, don’t you think?

Now, clearly this is some hyperbolic trash that I’m typing up here, but this is pretty much the noise that a lot of Blue Jays fans have been howling into the void lately. And, I think, that these same fans should probably really think about what the return on Josh Donaldson would be, since he’s in the last year of his contract. Other teams are going to be wary of giving up too much for the possibility of just one service year, no?

It just might be better for the Blue Jays to extend Josh Donaldson and keep him around because the team will never be a better team without him – prove me wrong if you disagree.

This team is going to get younger, more athletic, and faster in the future, but it’s not going to happen over night and though I am excited for when this future 2020 Blue Jays team arrives, it’s not going to be today or tomorrow – that’s for sure.

Also, back to this Stanton thing, how the hell does this surprise you? It’s the New York Yankees – they’re not some evil empire that parades down the streets of Manhattan whenever they win the World Series to Darth Vader’s Imperial March. And don’t get me wrong, I think they are trash and I dislike them more than I dislike vegetarians who try to tell me that I’m a shitty person for eating meat, but were the Jays donning the black cape and sinister helmet when they were hoovering up the likes of Cone, Henderson, Molitor and Winfield. No, they were just doing what any aspiring champion does, picking up the best players available.

Unless the league decides on a salary cap, rich teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are always going to be able to sign (or trade for *cough* Miami’s) big free agents. And don’t fool yourself with Rogers, Toronto is a big market team with one of the highest payrolls in the league too.

So if the Yankees didn’t get Stanton this year, it would be Machado next year, or whoever else the following year and it will always be this way with big market teams in the MLB. And the Blue Jays just so happen to share a division with two of the biggest market teams in the league, so what. This is what Atkins thinks about it, and his response is pretty rock n’ roll if you ask me:

The Blue Jays need to stay on course with their 2018 plans and this Stanton thing shouldn’t change the direction of thought set in place by the Toronto FO. It’s not like after the Stanton trade, Atkins called up Shapiro and said, “Hey Mark, the Yankees did it again. I think we should trade everybody now because what’s the point.” With Mark promptly responding, “Ross, this is exactly why I hired you, so that we base all of our decisions around the transactions that the Yankees make year-after-year.”

Of course, this conversation didn’t take place, but the reality is that the Blue Jays play in the A.L. East and that’s not going to change anytime soon and the current ball club will have to figure out ways to play, at least, .500 ball against teams like the Red Sox and Yankees. And so will the future Vlad and Bo Blue Jays too. The Yankees and Red Sox aren’t going anywhere and neither are the Toronto Blue Jays.

One thing I know, a lot of other teams out there won’t be getting back a possible Cy Young candidate like the Blue Jays will if Aaron Sanchez’s blister problem is taken care of and he pitches a full season. And if you add in a healthy season of Donaldson too – this is something that the FO can build around, so just trust what they’re doing and don’t fret. Everything is just fine, am I right?