Certain Toronto Blue Jays were so intent on bringing in free agent pitcher Ervin Santana as a teammate that they were will to defer some of their salaries. First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages. Rosenthal says that a pair of agents had heard word of the plan, but that they were never approached by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Santana turned down a one-year, $14 million offer from the Jays and signed with the Atlanta Braves on the same deal after the Braves lost Kris Medlen for the season with Tommy John surgery. Whether or not the actual deferral proposal would fly in practice is another discussion altogether, as there would likely have been significant hurdles from the MLBPA, who is normally loath to allow its players to concede any sort of contractual edge without commensurate compensation. "I never took it that seriously," an agent told Rosenthal. "No way it would have ever passed the (union) unless there was some gain for the players who did that." In an interview with Matt Galloway on CBCs Metro Morning, Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston confirmed that such discussions took place, but maintained that payroll was there if needed. "There was discussion about that and, to be very honest with you, I think, had it gone that way, it would have been fine, but we are at $140 million [in payroll] right now," said Beeston. "The one thing that we do have is a very generous owner from the point of view of what they have committed to try to build the team. I think that the Rogers people, more importantly [former Rogers Communications CEO] Nadir [Mohamed] last year and carried on this year with [current CEO] Guy Laurence and the Rogers family, have given us the dollars weve wanted, that we need to put a contending team on the field. Its up to us to bring them together." For his part, Anthopoulos believed the deal was done. He would not, however, get into the specifics of how the pact would have been structured. "The takeaway for me is we felt that we had an agreement in place," Anthopoulos told reporters prior to teh Jays Friday home opener. "He was prepared to come here. We had the dollars. How we choose to structure those dollars, those are things that we keep in house. "But I believe if Kris Medlen had not been hurt, Ervin Santana would be here today." Not that Anthopoulos was about to hold that against the 31-year-old. "He had a lot more interest going into the NL, which is his right," he said. When pressed on whether or not the teams spending was capped, Beeston insisted that it wasnt. "Were a business, so the answer to that is that we have a budget," said Beeston. "Its not a cap. If we can increase our revenue, we can increase our expenses, but we run it as a business." With the Jays only signing catcher Dioner Navarro during the offseason, Beeston said that free agency is not the only avenue to improve his team and that trades could be made over the course of the season. "You have to organize it in manner that you might have to make some trades," Beeston explained. "You may have to look at different ways of bringing your players along, but I dont think from the point of view of money, money is our problem. One of the issues that we have is that we had to build our farm system up and we have done that over the last three or four years, but its not like hockey or basketball, where you come right out of the colleges or out of the minor leagues and move right into the Majors. So some of the pitchers that we have down there like [Marcus] Stroman and [Aaron] Sanchez, theyre just ready to come, but those are the guys that you will want to have introduced into your organization because they have to play three or four years before they make the big dollars. So you need a mixture of the players who are at the minimum, as well as your stars. But you dont win without stars." While Beeston acknowledged that teams can win with smalled budgets, free-spending teams are the ones most likely to find success. "Lets be realistic about it," said Beeston. "You can do it, but youre gonna get lucky and have everybody pop at the same time. Ultimately, teams like the Dodgers and the Yankees and Boston, that are spending all kinds of money, are basically the teams that have star players at every position." The Jays open a three-game set with the New York Yankees on Friday night at the Rogers Centre. Pedro Martinez Jersey . - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed. Babe Ruth Jersey . THE MICHAEL JORDAN FLU GAME First this famous basketball moment. The story goes like this. “Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordans most memorable. http://www.theredsoxteamshop.com/Customized/. These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena). Ted Williams Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Dustin Pedroia Jersey . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mario Chalmers scored 19 points with eight assists to help the Miami Heat in a 78-75 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Hassan Whiteside continued his strong play with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for Miami, while Chris Andersen supplied 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the win. Dwyane Wade scored four points with five rebounds and five assists in the first half for the Heat before exiting in the second quarter with a strained left hamstring. He did not return. Kobe Bryant, Jordan Hill and Ed Davis each deposited 12 points for the Lakers, with Bryant going 3-of-19 from the floor. Jeremy Lin scored the final five points of a 7-0 run to begin the fourth quarter for the Lakers, the last of which a transition three-point play that cut their deficit to 61-60. Miami responded with five straight, but Ryan Kellys corner 3 trimmed it to a one-possession game with under nine minutes left. The Heat built their lead to six in the closing minute when Bryant dialed one in from deep to close to within 78-75. Luol Deng was denied at the other end, but Bryants tying effort was short as Miami held on. Each team traded a basket to open the third quarter, then Los Angeles ripped off eight straight points to cut its halftime deficit to 46-44 following Hills shot from in close.dddddddddddd The Lakers couldnt quite get over the hump, though, as Shawne Williams 3- pointer put the Heat up 56-48 minutes later. Miami led 61-53 entering the fourth. Miami methodically jumped out to an 18-0 lead, holding the Lakers without a point for the first 7:37 of the game. Whiteside made a pair of alley-oop dunks during the surge before Bryants jumper ended the drought for the Lakers. Los Angeles inept offense managed to close the gap to 22-12 after the first, its lowest-scoring quarter of the season. Bryant knocked down a pair of free throws late in the second to cut the deficit to eight, but Chris Bosh followed with a dunk and Miami held a 44-34 lead at half. Both teams combined to go 1-for-16 from beyond the arc over the first two quarters. Game Notes Miami shot 42.3 percent from the floor and limited LA to 31.5 percent shooting ... There were six total 3-pointers made in the game ... Bosh went 4-of-17 shooting and finished with eight points ... The Lakers scored 22 points off 19 turnovers ... Miami had a 58-40 advantage in the paint. 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