This team is so very frustrating to cheer for, yesterday they hit into 3 double plays in the first 3 innings, then in the sixth in a 2-2 game they get men on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and don't score. Reyes drives me crazy, today his stats are going to say 3-5, 2 rbi's and a stolen base, you would think it's a great day. The first 2 hits were bloop hits that were lucky to fall in, the second one he gets tossed out at second in a tie game because he doesn't run out of the box. He has one throwing error andcould have had another if not for a good play at first. The 21 million dollar lead off man came into the day hitting .26X and .27X on base average, 0 home runs. When he does get a base hit you have watch all the hand motions to the dug out. Big F'ing deal you got a base hit, play hard and forget the BS.
Then due to injuries we have watch Colabello miss play normal fly balls. His hitting has been great but play in the field certainly off-sets some of the offense.
Yeah it pisses me off to see Donaldson gun a strike on the fly all the way from third and Reyes side arms weakly from 2nd bouncing the throw in the dirt. Pathetic.
Got to give Buck and Pat credit for saying absolutely nothing for several seconds allowing the viewers to drink in the win tonight with the rest of the fans at the game.
Strangely it's been Pat with the miscues lately. Hilariously stating that Ramos had to now face Bautista and Encarnacion right after Bautista struck out. WTF?
Alex Rios is hitting .197, has played 18 games this year and is fourth in voting to start in the outfield for the ASG. The Royals ballot stuffing is ridiculous.
The voting is online only for the first time. You can vote up to 35 times per email and it's pretty painless to resubmit your votes once you have filled in your ballet.
I know everyone's horny for Alex to make a big move and get a solid starter (or two), but given what they'd have to give up and they still wouldn't be a serious contender for the pennant, is it worth it for one playoff series?
I'm thinking I'd rather see them sell off some of our aging assets and get younger guys in return and look at building something more sustainable over a 3-5 year window.
We don't have the best offence in the league, IMO. The best offence in the league is an offence that gets you the one or two runs you need, when you need them the most. Ya, we can beat up on weaker pitching and score a crap-load of runs in those games, but can we get those extra one or two runs in a 4-3 game against a better pitcher? Doesn't look like it.
Also, the pitching is so bad that a cueto or hamels is not enough to put us over the hump. We need more than that and we'd have to completely empty the farm system to do so.
It's pretty clear that Bautista and Encarnation are no longer your cornerstone players. They've been replaced by Donaldson, Strohman, and Martin. So the window is not necessarily only now, it's also next 2-3 years. The window to make the playoffs is today, but the window to really contend is tomorrow and the next day.
Blue Jays lead the league in RISP with .298. Not sure what else you want? Seriously WTF?
I haven't yet found the AGABP (against a better pitcher) stat, so your comments are anecdotal at best.
Bautista is tied for 3rd in the American league in RBI with Donaldson and Edwin is tied for 11th. Sell now because they clearly are in decline. God knows how terrible they would be if they both haven't been fighting injuries. Probably 1 and 2 in the league. Terribad.
Stroman has one season in MLB and hasn't pitched this season, so he is your cornerstone player? You can predict HoF from one season?
I disagree with your assessment that the window to really contend is 2 -3 years out.
You have Bautista and Edwin and Reyes that are decent this year but on a declining pace and getting old. Buehrle is done after this year. You also can't even project with any accuracy if any of the pitching prospects like Norris or Hoffman or Castro will really work out. There is also no guarantee that Stroman with his injured knee and missing a year will ever be the same pitcher as last year. Even Sanchez is a bit of an unknown coming back from injury.
Also check out the AL East records over the past 30 games.
A top of the rotation arm like a Cueto or Samardzija or Shields could be as much as a +5 games the rest of the way. Plus if they can land a competent outfielder and 1 decent reliever as part of the deal the Jays have no choice but to mortgage the future.
The window is right now to make the playoffs and take a shot to go all the way to the WS! There are way too many unknowns 1 to 3 years down the road. Hope AA can prove himself and find a deal!
Of course they have a good RISP stat - it gets padded in those blowout wins and 11-10 losses. I'm not saying it's meaningless, but stats always need context.
Yes, my ""better pitcher" point is anecdotal, but I have not the patience or computer savvy to put metrics to it. However, I watch most games and I know what I see.
Here are some simple stats that are worrisome:
* Record in games where winning team scores 5 or less runs: 10-27
* Record in 1 or 2 run games: 10-26
These are the kinds of games that contenders find a way to win more often than not, and pretenders find a way to lose more often than not. Which group are the Jays in?
The fact that the rest of the AL East also sucks, doesn't mean much to me. So we mortgage the future and get a Cueto and a Chapman, maybe. We win the division and get into the playoffs. I don't see this team going any further than that. Then we're left with nothing except a playoff series and a couple of great players on an island - no prospects, no Buerhle, no Cueto, no Travis.
If AA can make some moves without giving away the farm, then sure, but that's a lot to pay for one playoff series.
Well one thing I think we can all agree on is the Jays first 91 games have been pretty sad. The offence has been great however lots of bad pitching and defence and mental errors are killing them especially in close games.
All the more reason to bring in new blood, re-energize the team and finally play to your potential! And if it works Rogers can always back up their Brinks truck and sign Cueto or whoever to a long term deal.
Well one thing I think we can all agree on is the Jays first 91 games have been pretty sad. The offence has been great however lots of bad pitching and defence and mental errors are killing them especially in close games.
All the more reason to bring in new blood, re-energize the team and finally play to your potential! And if it works Rogers can always back up their Brinks truck and sign Cueto or whoever to a long term deal.
You are correct we need new blood to give us a jolt. In talking with Beeston on Sunday at the Pan Am games, the first name that comes up for a deal with the White Sox involving Samardzija, is Stroman or Sanchez, one for one. Samardzija you get for two months, Stroman you are guarantee to have him for 5 years. Same is true with Cincinnati. There is no way any logical thinking baseball person can think this would be good for the franchise. I asked Beeston if he has a moral obligation to worry about the future, this being his last year, or does winning trump future. He turned red and said “You always have to be concerned with the future when making any deal.” I brought up the Cone for Kent deal. His response was “Exactly.”
Having said all this he said “I assure you, something will be done before the deadline”. Let me ask all you who think we should give up Stroman, Sanchez, Hoffman, etc. Is it really worth for two months? Oakland gave up a bunch of guys for Samardzija and their starting left field for Lester and they were in first place. Today they are in last place. To correct the situation Bean trades Donaldson for three pitchers and Lawrie. I think AA has to walk a fine line here. Pitching in the minors is getting thin because of the Donaldson trade. I think AA should follow Pat Gillick model and trade two stars for two stars and see what happens in order to change the culture. I don’t want to make the playoffs this year, if it means missing them again for the following 20 years.
They already changed the culture by dumping Lawrie, Lind and Janssen.
And they are below .500. THe culture needs to change with how this team is managed on a day in and day out basis. After the trades with Oakland and the Mets, we have lost to many pitching prospects. If we lose more at the deadline, we are only hurting ourselves in the future. AA and Beeston won't trade a guy who we control for 4-5 years for a guy for two months. It is not worth it. Better to trade Joey Bats for a some help whether it be in the present or future.
One thing I will never understand is why people seem to value established major league star players less than prospects who may never play a single inning at the major league level.
We last made the playoffs in 1993. How many years do we need to build to get back to that level? I think a generation is more than enough 'building'. Every team in the league has made the playoffs at least once except the Jays since 1993. We don't need to build to contend for years to come, we need to contend once. Enough waiting.
Comments
Brett Lawrie's slide and the fracas that followed - SBNation.com
According to baseball-reference.com they are 3000-3061 as of last night and about to go to 3001 as I watch this afternoon!
Holy Crap!
4/9 who didn't make the team out of spring training, 3/7 who didn't make the bullpen and a SP who didn't make the rotation...what a clusterfuck.
They have it right though, with that lineup, all Seattle needs is Hernandez, the rest don't matter......
Major-league man caves - The Globe and Mail
Then due to injuries we have watch Colabello miss play normal fly balls. His hitting has been great but play in the field certainly off-sets some of the offense.
Arrrgggg
Blue Jays' streak at 7 with walk-off over Miami | bluejays.com
Strangely it's been Pat with the miscues lately. Hilariously stating that Ramos had to now face Bautista and Encarnacion right after Bautista struck out. WTF?
Anyways stop winning Yankees...
win is a win though
Yep, pretty good football game, wonder how they missed that convert though....
They haven't been winning pretty, but they have been winning.
Fixing the American League's All-Royals All-Star team - MLB - SI.com
Alex Rios is hitting .197, has played 18 games this year and is fourth in voting to start in the outfield for the ASG. The Royals ballot stuffing is ridiculous.
This is the link you are looking for:
2015 All-Star Game Ballot | MLB.com: Events
The voting is online only for the first time. You can vote up to 35 times per email and it's pretty painless to resubmit your votes once you have filled in your ballet.
I'm thinking I'd rather see them sell off some of our aging assets and get younger guys in return and look at building something more sustainable over a 3-5 year window.
Discuss.
The window is now.
WTF?
Also, the pitching is so bad that a cueto or hamels is not enough to put us over the hump. We need more than that and we'd have to completely empty the farm system to do so.
It's pretty clear that Bautista and Encarnation are no longer your cornerstone players. They've been replaced by Donaldson, Strohman, and Martin. So the window is not necessarily only now, it's also next 2-3 years. The window to make the playoffs is today, but the window to really contend is tomorrow and the next day.
I haven't yet found the AGABP (against a better pitcher) stat, so your comments are anecdotal at best.
Bautista is tied for 3rd in the American league in RBI with Donaldson and Edwin is tied for 11th. Sell now because they clearly are in decline. God knows how terrible they would be if they both haven't been fighting injuries. Probably 1 and 2 in the league. Terribad.
Stroman has one season in MLB and hasn't pitched this season, so he is your cornerstone player? You can predict HoF from one season?
Jesse Litsch
2008
TOR
AL
13
9
3.58
Gustavo Chacin
2005
TOR
AL
13
9
3.72
Marcus Stroman
2014
TOR
AL
11
6
3.65
You have Bautista and Edwin and Reyes that are decent this year but on a declining pace and getting old. Buehrle is done after this year. You also can't even project with any accuracy if any of the pitching prospects like Norris or Hoffman or Castro will really work out. There is also no guarantee that Stroman with his injured knee and missing a year will ever be the same pitcher as last year. Even Sanchez is a bit of an unknown coming back from injury.
Also check out the AL East records over the past 30 games.
Yankees 15-15
Rays 14-16
Orioles 16-14
Jays 14-16
Red Sox 15-15
A top of the rotation arm like a Cueto or Samardzija or Shields could be as much as a +5 games the rest of the way. Plus if they can land a competent outfielder and 1 decent reliever as part of the deal the Jays have no choice but to mortgage the future.
The window is right now to make the playoffs and take a shot to go all the way to the WS! There are way too many unknowns 1 to 3 years down the road. Hope AA can prove himself and find a deal!
2015 MLB Team Batting Stats - Major League Baseball - ESPN
how much better can the offence get ??
Yes, my ""better pitcher" point is anecdotal, but I have not the patience or computer savvy to put metrics to it. However, I watch most games and I know what I see.
Here are some simple stats that are worrisome:
* Record in games where winning team scores 5 or less runs: 10-27
* Record in 1 or 2 run games: 10-26
These are the kinds of games that contenders find a way to win more often than not, and pretenders find a way to lose more often than not. Which group are the Jays in?
The fact that the rest of the AL East also sucks, doesn't mean much to me. So we mortgage the future and get a Cueto and a Chapman, maybe. We win the division and get into the playoffs. I don't see this team going any further than that. Then we're left with nothing except a playoff series and a couple of great players on an island - no prospects, no Buerhle, no Cueto, no Travis.
If AA can make some moves without giving away the farm, then sure, but that's a lot to pay for one playoff series.
All the more reason to bring in new blood, re-energize the team and finally play to your potential! And if it works Rogers can always back up their Brinks truck and sign Cueto or whoever to a long term deal.
You are correct we need new blood to give us a jolt. In talking with Beeston on Sunday at the Pan Am games, the first name that comes up for a deal with the White Sox involving Samardzija, is Stroman or Sanchez, one for one. Samardzija you get for two months, Stroman you are guarantee to have him for 5 years. Same is true with Cincinnati. There is no way any logical thinking baseball person can think this would be good for the franchise. I asked Beeston if he has a moral obligation to worry about the future, this being his last year, or does winning trump future. He turned red and said “You always have to be concerned with the future when making any deal.” I brought up the Cone for Kent deal. His response was “Exactly.”
Having said all this he said “I assure you, something will be done before the deadline”. Let me ask all you who think we should give up Stroman, Sanchez, Hoffman, etc. Is it really worth for two months? Oakland gave up a bunch of guys for Samardzija and their starting left field for Lester and they were in first place. Today they are in last place. To correct the situation Bean trades Donaldson for three pitchers and Lawrie. I think AA has to walk a fine line here. Pitching in the minors is getting thin because of the Donaldson trade. I think AA should follow Pat Gillick model and trade two stars for two stars and see what happens in order to change the culture. I don’t want to make the playoffs this year, if it means missing them again for the following 20 years.
And they are below .500. THe culture needs to change with how this team is managed on a day in and day out basis. After the trades with Oakland and the Mets, we have lost to many pitching prospects. If we lose more at the deadline, we are only hurting ourselves in the future. AA and Beeston won't trade a guy who we control for 4-5 years for a guy for two months. It is not worth it. Better to trade Joey Bats for a some help whether it be in the present or future.
We last made the playoffs in 1993. How many years do we need to build to get back to that level? I think a generation is more than enough 'building'. Every team in the league has made the playoffs at least once except the Jays since 1993. We don't need to build to contend for years to come, we need to contend once. Enough waiting.