Toronto Blue Jays Tickets - Can Arbitration Streak Strike Out?

It's not news, well, it is news but no new news that there's still arbitration going on in the Toronto Blue Jays camp again this year. Although the last 10 or 12 years have been the scene of arbitration between the Blue Jays and the powers that be, one can hope that, as in the past that Toronto will come up with a way to dodge the court rooms as they have done before.

Currently there are six Blue Jays who have made arbitration filings in time of the recent deadline. This means Toronto will be exchanging figures with those who have filed soon. If resolution can't be reached in time, arbitration hearings will begin on February 1 and could last all the way through February 21, guaranteeing a cut into this year's Spring Training, which will be held in Dunedin, Florida.

Should arbitration hearings become necessary, a panel will be elected to select from the suggested contracts for this upcoming season. Jason Frasor, Brandon League, Jeremy Accardo, Shawn Camp, Brian Tallet and Jose Bautista are all eligible for arbitration this year. Thirty-one year old Frasor is starting his sixth season with the Blue Jays and thanks to last year's arbitration, he earned $1.125 million.

Accardo, on the other hand, is a newcomer to arbitration and attained eligibility for the first time this year. Accardo played 16 games and then went out back in May from a strain to his right forearm. Bautista may be in a class by himself when it comes to arbitration. Originally acquired in exchange for Robinzon Diaz last season, Bautista has filed for arbitration after being paid $1.8 million last year. Bautista, unlike the other filers, is capable of playing multiple positions7 both in the outfield and infield.

The 28-year old multi-faceted Bautista hit 15 home runs, .238 and 54 RBIs while appearing in 128 games during last season.

Fortunately, time has not run out to continue the negotiations between both sides. That means that an agreement can be reached on all six players who have filed and it can happen before February 1. And it wouldn't be a moment too soon since Spring Training is just around the corner.

Another change around the corner for the Blue Jays is the loss of broadcasting their games on CBC. Scott Moore, head of CBC Sports, recently revealed that the cost of television rights and the decrease in revenue are the reasons that CBC will be leaving their agreement with the Blue Jays, which expired in 2008.

For inquiring fans who may be wondering about the change, 125 of the 162 games will still be aired but the transmissions will be on Sportsnet and 20 additional games of the 162 will be transmitted on TSN. "We weren’t able to make a deal that made financial sense in these economic times,” Moore said. "So we have no games, nor do we have plans to do any games this year."