Anyone who doesn’t think that competition raises performance levels would do
well to take a look at the American League East. For the last decade, the
division has housed the two best teams in baseball. More recently, with the
ascent of the Tampa Bay Rays, it’s seen three highly successful
organizations in close competition, not just for the division crown, but also
the American League Wild Card. In fact, the consolation prize for the best
team not to have won a division has been collected by a team other than the
Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees only once in the last eight years.
有竞争才有进步，美东分区可以说是最佳的例子。
过去十年来，美东有全联盟最好的两支队伍。最近几年Tampa Bay的兴起更是造成
三强鼎立的局面；这三队不只是问鼎分区冠军，同时也在角逐外卡名额。
事实上，最近八年AL的外卡资格，有七次是被洋基跟红袜包办。
And now, the Toronto Blue Jays, with the acquisition of Colby Rasmus from the
St. Louis Cardinals at the cost of some young pitching and spare parts, have
signaled to the rest of the division their intention of joining the elite of
the league.
现在，借由丢出一些年轻投手跟多余的球员换来Colby Rasmus这笔好交易，蓝鸟也宣告
要加入美东前段班的竞争行列。
It’s almost enough to make you pity the Baltimore Orioles.
金莺:(默...)
In a little less than two years, general manager Alex Anthopolous has
drastically improved the Blue Jays organization through a willingness to
spend large amounts of money on elite talent in the draft and the
international free agent scene and by including cash considerations in trades
to increase the team’s return in prospects.
最近两年之内，AA借由砸钱在农场体系、签下潜力新秀以及优秀的年轻外国球员或是交易
获得，现在蓝鸟的农场焕然一新。
While building a highly-ranked system, Anthopoulos hasn’t ignored the active
roster. When not collecting potential Type-A and-B free agents like a dog
catcher bringing in strays, the Blue Jays GM has bought low on potential star
players in Brandon Morrow, Yunel Escobar, and now Rasmus, right after they
had fallen out of favor with their old organizations.
同时，AA也没有忽略active roster的重要性。
Brandon Morrow、Yunel Escobar 还有新同学Rasmus，都是AA用便宜划算的交易搞来的。
这些球员在母队都没有爱。
It’s not merely thrifty spending—it’s also proving to be, perhaps
surprisingly, the fastest way to build a team capable of competing in the
toughest division in baseball. Maybe even scarier than the organization’s
quick rise up the rankings is that this type of financial discipline is being
practiced by a team owned by the wealthiest ownership group in the game, in a
city that ranks as the fourth biggest major-league market, and in a country
where they’re the game’s only representative.
AA不只是在打精算野球。这套建军模式，也许是条最快能够让蓝鸟重回美东列强的捷径。
当我们对AA能如此快速的提升蓝鸟农场排名感到吃惊的同时，或许更该讶异的是:
虽然用这种财务纪律的操作手法，但是蓝鸟的拥有者可是加拿大最大的电信业公司，
这支球队坐落于北美第四大城，并且是全加拿大唯一的MLB球队。
(暗示蓝鸟也是财力雄厚的大市场球队，可以花钱不手软??)
http://ppt.cc/4bw;
从facebook上看到的转录文章。
蓝鸟终于要一飞冲天 一鸣惊人了??