11:45 PM Eastern
It’s so strange to be posting a blog entry after a win, I had almost forgotten what that felt like. Jesse Litsch was extraordinary, the line-up was all upside down, John McDonald got an extra-base hit, the top three hitters in the order reached base seven times, and both times the Jays got a runner to third with less than two outs, he scored!
A lot of other great things happened, BlueJayically, in the first win of the road trip: Scott Rolen hit his first home run as a Jay, Vernon Wells snapped an 0-for-15 with an 8th inning single, Aaron Hill broke out of a 3-or-26 with two hits, Alex Rios scored from first on a single, and from second on a ground ball that was thrown wild to the plate, but only got away about 15 feet, Jesse Carlson got through the 2-3-4 hitters for his first big-league save, and B.J. Ryan threw another 1-2-3 inning.
Almost enough to make you forget that the Jays didn’t get a real hit with runners in scoring position. To be fair, if you’re scoring guys from first base on singles, the whole RISP thing doesn’t matter that much anyway, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence. Officially, they were 1-for-7 in that category, but the one hit was a Rios pop-up in the 9th inning just behind second base. The KC middle infielders, Tony Pena, Jr. and Alberto Callaspo, played “I got it, you take it” and the ball dropped safely between them. But a hit is a hit, and like I’ve been saying, they were bound to get at least one of those sooner or later. Just plain dumb luck. So that “double” makes the Jays a whopping 12 for their last 104 with RISP. Wow.
The continued inability to get a hit with a man on second or third or one of each is still troubling, but bound to change. Who hits .115 for an extended period? Nobody who actually belongs in the big leagues.
Credit where it’s due, and John Gibbons deserves some for a couple of reasons. First, he turned the line-up upside down. There was reason to think he might have waited it out, having only had Rolen for two games and Adam Lind for one, but he blew the damn thing up for this game, leaving no one in their “regular” position in the batting order. Rios went from third to leadoff, Overbay up to second from 7th, Rolen up from 5th to 3rd, Stairs up a spot into clean-up, Wells down one to 5th, Hill dropped from 2 to sixth. Lind, Rod Barajas and John McDonald don’t have regular spots, though Mac always hits 9th, and he was still there.
The shake-up provided immediate dividends with Rios leading off the game with a triple and Rolen going deep two batters later. It’s enough to make one wonder what Gibby will do when David Eckstein gets back into the line-up, which may not be until Wednesday. No knock on Eck, but McDonald should play shortstop whenever Roy Halladay pitches. The need for offense is lessened, so the difference between Eckstein and McDonald’s bat doesn’t hold as much sway, and with Doc being a SEVERE ground ball pitcher, the glove man is more necessary. Especially since Halladay will take a 2-3 record into the game.
When Eckstein gets back in, be it Tuesday or Wednesday, I have a feeling he’ll be hitting second, though I’d still like to see him ninth.
I’m assuming Rios will stay up top, given that he had four hits, but I don’t like it. Rios is arguably the team’s best hitter, and should be up in a position where he can have the opportunity to drive in runs. By leading him off, it’s assured that at least once a game, he’ll come to the plate with nobody on, and the rest of the time he’ll be depending on the team’s worst hitters to get on base in order to have a chance to drive in someone other than himself.
The other kudo to the manager is for putting the hit-and-run on with Wells at the plate in the 8th inning after Stairs’ lead-off walk. Something that Gibby often does is put the hit-and-run on with a hitter who’s struggling, and it often helps them out of it. He says that it focuses them on doing nothing but getting the bat on the ball (because otherwise the baserunner is meatcake), and gets them to stop out-thinking themselves at the plate. Wells was 0-for-15, got the sign, got a hit. Nicely done.
There was question as to why B.J. Ryan threw the 8th inning of a one-run game instead of the 9th, especially since (as I heard on The JaysTalk and read in the comments section) the TV guys were speculating that Ryan was coming on to get a six-out save. First of all, I doubt we’ll even see B.J. coming out for a four-out save at any point this season, never mind six. It’s just not something that’s going to happen, given that he’s still recovering from his Tommy John, just doing it at the major-league level.
The only reason I can figure for Ryan’s 8th-inning stint was because he hadn’t pitched since Thursday, and had he not pitched today, he would have either had to throw a side tomorrow, making him unavailable for Tuesday’s Fenway opener, or he would have been forced to be used on Tuesday, whether the Jays needed him or not, making him unavailable for Wednesday, when they might, in fact, have needed him. Hope you could follow that, I’m not even sure I can.
Anyway, in order to make sure Ryan pitched in the game today, he had to pitch the 8th. If Carlson/Downs/Tallet/Accardo/whoever had come on to pitch the 8th had give up two runs, there might not have been a bottom of the ninth, and therefore no opportunity to pitch Ryan. So he had to throw the 8th. These are the kinds of things we’re going to have to get used to while Ryan is still in the earlier stages of recovery. He can’t sit around too long. And please don’t come back with the “you have to have confidence in your relievers to get the lead to the 9th.” Sometimes you have to be pragmatic, and the bullpen gave up six runs in the 8th on Friday night.
It can’t be all happy smiles, despite the win. Rios made two very serious baserunning errors in the game, and they were errors of laziness. In the first inning, he hit a line drive to right-centre that David DeJesus made a diving/sprawling attempt for, and actually caught before the ground knocked it loose. Instead of simply running until he heard otherwise, Rios pulled up at second, and a few steps past the base, actually stopped, with the ball still out there, on the ground. He finally either picked up a screaming Marty Pevey or noticed that the ball was, in fact, on the ground, and scooted over to third. Could he have had an inside-the-parker if he hadn’t stopped? Maybe. It probably would have been foolish to try, though, given the game situation, so it didn’t cost the Jays anything, and he scored on a wild pitch very shortly thereafter.
In the 9th inning, Rios popped up, as mentioned above, and he did the typical big-league “damnit, I just popped up” thing, probably slamming down the bat (I didn’t see that part) and jogging down the first-base line. When the ball dropped, Rios was still at first, and he only made it to second because no one was covering the bag. He should already have been at second by the time the ball dropped, or at least within a couple of steps. Again, it didn’t cost the Jays anything, because he wasn’t going to get any farther than second with Mac on base ahead of him.
Still, I thought Rios was getting past this stuff. It has to stop. Trouble is, everyone gets their shorts in a knot if he sits out a game – how else do you change the behaviour, though?
And, to his credit, Rios made up for both of his slack-offs (not mistake – a mistake is unintentional) – he scored from first on the Rolen single in the 5th on which Jose Guillen threw to the wrong base, and he scored from second in the 9th on the bad throw by Pena. But does the first make-up count if you screw up the same way a couple of innings later? I’m not sure.
We close with good news! The Boston Red Sox are not going to make the playoffs. It’s outstanding, and finding out something so early in the season about one of the teams in your division is a wonderful thing. It turns out that even though the Sox are the defending World Series champions and are stacked with arguably the game’s best starter, closer, DH and clean-up hitter along with a bunch of other very, very good players – they suck. How great is that? Good teams don’t get swept by Tampa Bay, playoff teams NEVER get swept by Tampa Bay, and the Red Sox just got swept by Tampa Bay. Awesome. And one less team for the Jays to worry about as they try to overcome the odds.
Tomorrow is an off-day, so there will be no blogaggeness, but I’ll pop on every so often to respond to comments – let’s see if we can do a 48-hour JaysTalk!
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“Good teams don’t get swept by Tampa Bay, playoff teams NEVER get swept by Tampa Bay, and the Red Sox just got swept by Tampa Bay.”
- So you don’t believe the Jays have a chance to make the playoffs since they were swept by TB last week? Confused if this is some late night humor its been a long day…
MW: Just a shot at all the callers to JaysTalk who have written off the Blue Jays this year based on the fact that they got swept by the Rays. Now that Boston has been swept, too, either the argument is null and void or the Red Sox are out.
- ScottMichael of the Ballyard:
I must say, that Spirit of Radio song is borderline addictive. Any similar RUSH songs you’d recommend?
Or is it Rush?
MW: I highly recommend all Rush songs. Most of the catalog is pretty awesome. Grab the two retrospective albums and give a listen. If you want some specific tunes I like: Freewill, The Trees, Red Barchetta, Closer to the Heart, Bastille Day, Fly By Night, Subdivisions, Time Stand Still, Distant Early Warning,Tom Sawyer, New World Man, The Big Money, Show Don’t Tell, Roll The Bones. Of course, there’s Limelight, which is Gregg Zaun’s walk-up music, and the tremendous instrumental, YYZ.
- JCLHey Mike,
A few days late, but I haven’t been at a computer for a while. After seeing Barajas’ foul ball put a hole in that computer on Friday, I started wondering: what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen happen in a broadcast booth? I don’t imagine there are too many freak incidents like that, but I’d be interested to hear if you’ve ever encountered any.
MW: Nothing huge. I’ve seen some laptops destroyed, and there are a couple of holes in the wall of the booth behind where Jerry, Alan and I sit. The only foul ball that I’ve ever caught in the press box landed right in a cup that I had just emptied and blew it to smithereens.
- TyHey Mr Wilner
What do you think the chances are that one JP Riccardi will resign me in the offseason once i opt out, assuming I have a solid season. I trust your insight Mr Wilner, so I will be planning my offseason strategy based on your opinion, so do not let me down.
MW: I don’t think there’s any chance you’re back with the Jays, since someone will offer you at least 5 years and $80 million, and the Jays won’t. Congrats, though.
- AJ BurnettMike
(1) I like your work very much, on radio and in this blog and
(2) ‘kudos’ is a singular, an ancient Greek word for, ‘glory’ — there is no such word as ‘kudo’.
MW: Nice!
- mark golden“and both times the Jays got a runner to third with less than two outs, he scored!”
I think they led off a late inning with first and third, Vernon got caught stealing and Hill and Lind got out.
Jeff Blair quoted Gibbons after the game saying Eckstein will be batting #2. This has serious trouble written all over it, I can just see him sacrificing himself every time he comes up with Rios on base. What’s even worse is that most of the time it’s going to be masked because he’s going to just try to hit choppers to the right side.
MW: You’re right, I didn’t mark that 8th inning one down on my list, good catch. I’ll go fix it. Eckstein will be a decent #2 hitter, he’s a good bat-control guy, doesn’t strike out a lot and can hit-and-run. He’d better not just be bunting Rios over all the time, though, that’d be awful. I’d rather have him hitting second than first, but I’d still rather have him hitting ninth.
- AriJust reading through Blue Jays blogs and was directed to Joe Sheehan’s article in Baseball Prospectus about clutch hitters. He mentions a 15 year study by Ron Johnson that concluded that just 2 players (Paul Molitor and Tony Fernandez) met the criteria to be considered clutch hitters. I remember the year Tony came back to Toronto and it seemed he hit about 370 with risp. It was amazing what he could do with the bat. I see some of that in the way Eckstein handles the bat especially the at bat on Saturday where he was trying to hit the ball to right field to advance the base runner on first.
Looking at todays game we were 1 for 7 with risp and that hit didn’t produce a run. One of yesterdays hits with risp didn’t produce a run either. If we count only the hits that actually produce a run the Jays would be 10 for 102 or maybe worse.
Thanks for your good work helping to keep us sane through these trying times.
Jay
- JayWilnowski,
I’m writing you too much. I’ll stop I swear. I get this odd, bizarre, weird feeling that you don’t like Rios. True or false. Please explain your position either way and not walk out with a “yes” or “no” answer.
Thanks Wilnowski! (HAVE TO GET MORE SUPPORT ON THIS NICKNAME!!!)
MW: I actually like Rios a lot. He’s a good guy, grounded, down to earth, nice. It’s tough to get to know people when they not comfortable in the language you speak, but I definitely like Rios. I don’t like that he can be lazy on the field, though.
- RyanMW…agreed 100 percent on Rios. he needs to just play the game and not mouth off/throw stuff at umps, lolligag around the bases, etc. etc.
ironically, turns out that BJ Ryan was 100 percent, properly used by the manager yesterday. no he didnt get the save. but as if turns out, he pitched in a higher leverage situation by coming in an inning early. he faced a KC team down by one run and promptly shut them down. by the ninght inning, the lead was three and no longer as high a leverage situation.
this shows a change in tactics by john gibbons, properly brining in your best reliever in the highest leverage situation, even though he doesnt technically get credited a save. this combined with the revamped lineup tells me that gibbons was reading some bill james last night and it finally clicked. (of course i jest)
as far as the batting order is concerned, eck batting ninth and rios batting first functionally works out the same as eckstein batting leadoff and rios batting second (except in the first inning). what it would do is get eck fewer at bats which is alright by me. i loved the lineup today (barajas getting the occasional start a necessary evil). if you run that lineup out there on a regular basis (but switching zaun for barajas) it just SEEMS to be a lineup harder to attack and harder to match up with in relief situations. remember, with the pitching, we dont need the lineup to be great..just decent…not to get ahead of myself, but our rotation is set up as well we could want going into boston, our 1,2,3 starters and we miss beckett and buckholz, arguably boston’s two best pitchers.
MW: Don’t get ahead of yourself, and it doesn’t matter, because Boston sucks, remember? Anyway, as to the Ryan thing, it’s very debatable as to whether the 8th was a higher-leverage situation. I’m going to say it wasn’t, for two reasons: One, you obviously don’t have the benefit of knowing that your offense is going to tack on two extra runs in the 9th ahead of time; and two, Ryan was brought in to face KC’s 8-9-1 hitters, with 2-3-4 coming up in the 9th. And as I explained in the post, the leverage of the situation had nothing to do with why Ryan came in in the 8th.
- sammyMike, thanks for drawing attention to Gibbons’ decision to put the hit and run on with Vernon up, and the rationale behind it. I know you’re not a huge believer in the impact that managers have on their teams, but this is a perfect example of how there’s more to it than what a lot of people (many of whom think they’re quite qualified to be a major league manager) realize. Can you think of any other examples of things Gibby (or another manager) has done, whether they worked out or not, that might have passed right over a lot of fans’ heads?
MW: Pretty much everything he does goes over the Gibby-haters heads, because they think all he does is sit there in the dugout looking lost all game.
- darrenI always think it’s pretty tricky to judge fielders just by watching them, but in this case, the common observation that Vernon is not getting to nearly as many balls as he used to seems to be spot on. From 2003 to 2007, Vernon’s Zone Rating ranged from a low of .905 to a high of .919 – pretty consistent. This year, he’s at .815, a massive dropoff.
I know it’s a small sample size, but fielding isn’t generally subject to the same streakiness that hitting is, so I think it’s fairly reasonable to wonder what’s going on. At the very least, if his #’s are still this far below his usual performance later in the year, it will be hard to argue that nothing has changed.
MW: True, but let’s wait until later in the year.
- darrenMike, I love your blogs and your Jays’ talk! Long time reader and listener, first question and comment:
It has been reported that Downs has “tenderness in his shoulder”, and was unavailable on Sunday. Have you heard how serious the injury is?
Also, what is with the Jays’ infatuation with Eckstein? Gibbons has said that Eckstein will bat 2nd upon his return to the lineup. There’s no excuse putting a guy with a career 88 OPS+ in the two hole, getting more at-bats than a guy like Hill who will likely bat 6th or 7th.
MW: I don’t have any further detail about Snakeface, and won’t be able to get it from the source, since he doesn’t talk to the media. It’s pretty ballsy that a set-up reliever can get away with not talking to the press, but such is life. The infatuation with Eckstein is part of the myth of David himself. He’s scrappy and gritty and makes things happen and therefore must hit at the top of the line-up.
- TimLoved to read the good news! terrific stuff Mike. Are you convinced that Johnny Mac will get the start on Tuesday ? I didn’t watch Sunday’s game but had seen the box score afterwards and noticed that Adim Lind is still on the 0 for. Is he hitting the ball well but just having some bad luck or does he look like he needs to still be in Triple A ?
I still don’t agree with putting Ryan in the 8th. If he’s pitching just for the sake of him getting some work, then let him get it in the 9th, regardless of the score. Carlson could have easily pitched in the 8th and kept the lead as well as he did in the 9th. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a big deal but that’s the way i would’ve done it.
Also, since benching Alex Rios hasn’t seemed to work why not try slotting him 9th in the batting order so it can possibly embarrass him ? For a game anyway.
MW: I’m not at all convinced that Mac will start tomorrow. I said McDonald SHOULD start whenever Halladay pitches, not WILL. Don’t get on Lind yet, it’s only been two games, you can’t tell anything from that. He’ll be fine.
- DilsonThe problem with your wanting Ryan to get his work in the 9th is that there might not have been a bottom of the ninth if he hadn’t pitched in the 8th.
I don’t know that hitting Rios 9th for a game will have any effect. Then again, I don’t know what will.
HEY BROTHER
FIRST OFF, THAT WAS A GOOD WIN TODAY DUDE. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING MEAN GENE, 1 WIN DOES NOT FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS TEAM BROTHER. THIS OFFENSE WITH THIS CORE, HAS HAD 1 GOOD HALF SEASON IN THE LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS, AND THE EARLY PART OF THIS YEAR. NOW YOU MAY POINT TOWARDS INJURIES BROTHER, BUT IN THE 2ND OF 06 THIS TEAM WAS COMPLETLY HEALTHY BROTHER DUDE, AND THEY WERE ONE OF THE WORST OFFENSES IN THE LEAGUE. AND LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING MEAN GENE, THIS AINT ABOUT TO CHANGE BROTHER. WE WILL BE LEFT WITH A GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT PITCHING STAFF, AND A BELOW AVERAGE OFFENSE. THE OFFENSE MAY BE SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN LAST YEAR BROTHER, BUT THE PITCHING WILL NOT BE AS GOOD. AND LET ME TELL U SOMETHING MEAN GENE THAT EQUALS ANOTHER 80-85 WIN SEASON BROTHER, AND IF U ASK ME, THAT DOES NOT CUT IT DUDE. IN CLOSING I JUST HAVE 1 QUESTION, WATCHYA GONNA DO WHEN HULKAMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU!?
MW: Yup, these are my readers.
- TerryNice to win Sunday. I was sweating it out to the end. Did you think Wells steal attempt in the eighth inning was a good move? He was thrown out and that could have led to a big inning. I’m not being critical as I’d prefer that they be aggressive rather than passive.
Okay, okay, you’re right about the whole Tampa Bay thing. Seeing them sweep the BoSox takes the sting out of losing to them last week. Maybe the Jays did not lose to them because the Jays were bad, but because the Rays were good.
You’re also right about the Leafs destroying the psyche of the Toronto sports fan. Since I’m an outsider this had never occurred to me. All those years of Harold Ballard would take their toll on anyone. Good thing he did not own the Jays. I can’t bear the thought of my beloved Blue Jays being owned by the anti-Christ.
About Ryan’s eighth inning appearance- you’re too young to remember, but back in the seventh game of the 1972 World Series, the Oakland A’s brought in Rollie Fingers to relieve “Blue Moon” Odom in the sixth inning to protect a 3-1 lead. The Reds had the bases loaded and one out. Fingers worked out of the jam without allowing a run. He also pitched a perfect seventh inning. The A’s brought in “Catfish” Hunter to work the eighth inning (he gave up a run) and Darold Knowles worked the ninth to preserve the A’s 3-2 win and W.S. victory. The point is, teams were not afraid to use their “closer” earlier than planned back in the day. The logic was “if you don’t use him now, you might not have the lead later on”. I understand this was not the reason the Jays used Ryan on Sunday (your logic was easy to follow). Closers today make too much money and have to much pride to “take one for the team’ and come in early.
This might be a good time to play the Sox. Lowell is out and Ortiz got hurt sliding head first into first base Friday night. The Sawx might be vulnerable. They too should have to experience a six game losing streak. It will serve to keep them humble.
Go Jays!
- Jim BranscomeJay’s can’t make the playoff either Mike they got swept by the Rays last week remeber.
MW: Well, someone’s gonna have to make the playoffs!
- Dan M.Not to say that Gibby should be fired for this reason alone Mike but when you say “Trouble is, everyone gets their shorts in a knot if he sits out a game – how else do you change the behaviour, though” In regards to Rios. there is something to be said about players wanting to play hard for their managers. Maybe if there was a different coach who was alittle more of a tight bum (family blog) Rios wouldn’t make these lazy mistakes.
That being said players make these lazy plays all around baseball for every manager I bet.
MW: Yes, they do.
- Dan M.Mike I disagree with you on the Mcdonald should be the shortstop in Halladays starts because offence isn’t as important. Truth is scoring a run and stopping a run are always equally important in any game no matter who is pitching. So if your going to make the argument that Mcdonald should be playing because Halladay is a ground ball pitcher then you have to say Mcdonald should be playing when the other two ground ball pitchers are on the mound as well.
MW: I don’t get the thing about three comments in a row. Why couldn’t you get everything in at once? Not that you’re the only guy who does it, but I don’t get it.
- Dan M.Woo-hoo, Jays win. Break up
the Blue Jays. Okay, enough
of that.
There’s one thing that really annoys me, sports fans
who use the pronoun “we”.
We didn’t get any hitting today, or “we” can beat them if our pitching holds up, etc.
You didn’t do anything. As Jerry Seinfeld would say,
“you just watched”. That’s
all. You’re not the owner,
you are not the pro-athlete,
you’re not the manager.
So please, when you call Mr. Wilner after the Jays game,
don’t use the pronoun “we”.
You sound like Leaf fans.
I find this almost as annoying as the bunt annoys MW.
I just had to get this off my chest.
MW: I appreciate that. It bothers me, too, but then again, why shouldn’t people feel that strong an association to their team?
- LoboMike,
I hope that last good news statement was made “tongue in cheek” as the Jays also won’t be making the playoffs following that logic as they also got swept by Tampa Bay, Texas (2 gamer) and Oakland.
MW: They did? Damn, I didn’t realize.
- CJFHello again Mike. This is from Kevin Goldstein at baseball prospectus just hoping I could share it with all the other Jays fans on your blog.
High-A Florida State League: J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays
A first-round pick out of Tennessee last June, Arencibia hit just .254/.309/.377 in his pro debut after a disappointing showing in his final college season, but he’s responded well to an aggressive full-season assignment to High-A, batting .260/.289/.479 in 18 games. He’s showing plenty of power even as he adjusts to wood bats, as well as much improved defense, but clearly his approach still needs work. That said, it’s hard to find catchers without some holes in their game, and Arencibia still projects as a potential starter, of which there aren’t really even 30 in the big leagues in the first place.
Low-A Midwest League: Justin Jackson, SS, Blue Jays
To many observers, it was a bit of mystery as to how Jackson fell to the 45th overall pick last year. Some teams saw him as a bit of a project, but few denied his tremendous athleticism and upside. Jackson put on significant weight (in a good way) during the offseason, and he’s recovered from a tough pro debut to get off to a .323/.425/.516 start in 16 games for Lansing, showing gap power, excellent plate discipline, and a knack for stealing bases while committing just one error at shortstop. So much progress over a single winter has many teams with a sinking suspicion that they’re going to be sorry that they let him slide.
MW: Thanks. And people who are interested in finding out more about these prospects and others should check this very website’s “hot audio” section to listen to my interview with Dick Scott, the Jays’ Director of Player Development.
- Dan M.Mike,
With the departure of Frank Thomas, are you concerned with teh lack of power in the middle of the lineup. Vernon does not have the power he used too and Rolen is no Troy Glaus. In a division that arguably has the most power in the league I worry that there is no bat that scares any team.
Thanks,
Greg
MW: It’s not an unreasonable worry, but all recent results aside, the line-up is as balanced with good hitters up and down the line-up as any, and Stairs, Wells, Rolen and Hill will probably combine to hit at least 100 home runs. Rios could add 30, Lind and Overbay 20 each and Zaun/Barajas 15. I know that’s not great, power-wise, but with the pitching they have, it should be enough. They should still sign Barry Bonds, though.
- Greg GayRolen’s been a hero the last few games. I realize his numbers aren’t sustainable over the long haul, but he’s able to maintain this level of play, he’s going to put up some huge numbers. What makes me even happier is that he’s still not 100% with the finger, so he might even have a little bit more improving to do before he’s all healed up. I think numbers very similar to his 2006 can be expected, would you agree?
MW: Yes, I think he’ll be a lot closer to ’06 than ’07 when all is said and done.
- JasonMike,
When I heard Johnny Mac recieved a 3.8 million dollar extension I was exstatic. I love this guy. Then came the news of the Eckstein signing. I guess my question is WHY? With a lineup that has loads of hitting power was it really that bad to use Mac(who isn’t that bad of a hitter)as the everyday guy. It is a damn shame that the possible #1 defensive SS sees no action. I just think his defense makes up for his slight lack of offense. Any chance he earns the spot back?
MW: I don’t think he gets his spot back, because Eckstein is Eckstein and that’s just the way it goes. It’s been pretty obvious so far this season that the team needs as much offense as it can get, and McDonald is more than just slighitly lacking. Still, I’d love to see him play more.
- Scott M.Mike I would appreciate your comments regarding the Jays payroll situation more specifically to the contracts for non-pitching players. If you were running a business you would pay the most money to the individuals who have the greatest impact on the outcome of the business. In baseball there are two positions which have the greatest impact on the outcome of the game (pitcher and catcher).They control every play (defensively) that occurs on the field and if they do their job (quality pitches and good pitch calling decisions by the catcher) you have a chance to win every game (think of the Red Sox without their pitching and perhaps even more important think of the Red Sox without Veritek).
As an example Vernon Wells is being paid a ton of money. Vernon is a good player but not a great player but more importantly his impact on the outcome of a game is minimal at best. I think someone should start to take a close look at some of JP’s business decisions ($10 million to a guy who is no longer with the team. Just like in hockey, if you get a good goalie (Brodeur comes to mind) pay him a lot because his impact on the outcome of the game far exceeds what other players bring to the table.
MW: It’s more about market forces than about what people are actually worth, and the Blue Jays are playing their post-arb players salaries according to what the market dictates. Is Roy Halladay worth less to the team than A.J. Burnett, Scott Rolen or Vernon Wells? Of course not, but Halladay locked in longer before he became a free agent than Wells and Rolen did, and Burnett was out on the free market. I don’t know about catcher, though, the Blue Jays won two World Series with Pat Borders behind the plate, and he was below-average both offensively and defensively.
- mike glattHere’s my comment, since 2002 these are the number of wins it has taken a team to win the wild card in the A.L: 99(02), 95(03), 98(04), 95(05), 95(06) and 94(07). If the same holds true this year, that will mean the Jays will need to play the following (wins in parenthisis) the rest of the year: .647(99), .640(98), .632(97), .625(96), .618(95), .610(94), .603(93). Not to sound like a cynic, but if you think the Jays are going to play .600 ball from now until the end of the season, then you’re even dumber than I originally thought. This is from a team that hasn’t won more than 5 games in a row for more then 3 seasons.
Once again I repeat, I know you’re employed by this team so you need to stay positive and hope fans continue to come out and cheer this team, but the fact is, the way the current team is built chances are very slim. Stick a fork in em Wilmer, they’re done like dinner.
MW: Since you started (even though I cut out your first obscenity-laced insult), I’ll say this: You’re an idiot. Even with this horrible, horrible start, the Jays are just 3 1/2 games out of first place as I sit here. With 138 games to play, I think it’s possible to overcome that deficit.
- BobbyReady for some truth now? Because here it comes. Here are the ACTUAL number of wins it has taken a team to win the wild card since 2002: 94 (02), 94 (03), 92 (04), 94 (05), 91 (06), 89 (07). Note that those aren’t the actual number of games the wild card team won, but the number of games they needed to win in order to finish ahead of the next-beat team in the wild card race.
It’s easy to get caught up in the “since they’ve done this, they now have to do this”, but all it takes is one five-game win streak to throw all those numbers out the window, and it’s way too early to play that game.
Hey Mike,
I think I know why everyone misses Reed Johnson: the high socks.
High socks = grit. This team needs more grit. Ergo, more players on the team should go out there wearing high socks.
If eckstein wore high socks I’m pretty sure the universe would implode from all the grittyness.
What are the chances that the team reads this and everyone shows up in Fenway with the knee-highs?
This will bust their RISP slump. It is fool-proof.
MW: Truth is, I think that if Eckstein wore high socks, the Jays would win every game by forfeit.
- DougHi Mike:
- Kevin HuberOK! I can admit I was wrong about Scot Rolen. He did get some important key hits this weekend. Normally I hate to be wrong, but this time I enjoyed it. Now, just wait until his hand is 100 percent. Won’t that be fun. Its too bad Johnny Mac can’t hit around .300. Then we, Oops! the Jays, would have him in the lineup every day. But, that being said, I like what Ec is doing, even though he is not the fielder that McDonald is.
Mike, beautiful way to close out the post. It’s always good to know that the Red Sox are finished before May begins. People get all riled up for nothing. Way to put em in place!
I was going to ask about Downs’ shoulder but saw that someone already has, so I’m going to ask how it’s possible that Downs is allowed to NOT talk to the media? I know he did this last year, but how did it go down? Did he gather all the media types and say “I will not be speaking you to. Ever. Thanks.” Or did Jays PR break the gut-wrenching news? I think it’s weird, I mean, isn’t he obligated to talk to the media? Why didn’t Bonds ever just shut the hell up and say “I’m not talking.” Guys, especially guys like Downs, shouldn’t be allowed to pull crap like that.
And I was listening to The Bullpen this morning and a caller said the Jays have 2 homeruns out of first and third. I know Rolen just came back, but we’re a month into the season, and that’s ridiculous.
Sorry for the rambleage. Peace out.
MW: That’s hardly ramblage, compared to a lot of the comments we get here. The reason that Downs is allowed to pull crap like not talking to reporters is because no one calls him on it, it’s just a joke. And the truth is, he’s not important enough to chase down on a regular basis. If he blows a game and won’t talk about it after, then no one will go talk to him after a great performance anyway, because he’s Scott Downs. If he was Halladay or Wells or even Burnett, it’d be a lot different. You just hope it doesn’t rub off on the other guys, and so far it hasn’t.
- Navin VaswaniMike – I could not get through on JaysTalk yesterday so I’m glad you mentioned the point I wanted to make – Gibby deserves some credit for the moves he made to help the team win. I think all the Gibby-haters should agree – but I know they won’t.
Regarding JP – I also think he desrves credit for handling the “Thomas Frown Affair” so quickly even though it meant crystalizing a bad financial loss. It was surprising to learn he was going to be a “problem” with the demotion, so best just to cut the cord and move on.
I did not watch the game on TV but I did listen as always to the broadcast. Jerry figured out the logic of using Ryan in the 8th within minutes of their observation he was heating earlier than usual. I appreciated that insight and it made total sense. Just another reason we are fortunalte to have such a tremendous team calling our games.
Finally – I agree with your comments that we should see more of Johnny Mac than we are now. I want to see him more in late game defensive substitutions and more than 2 starts every 14 days. I made a post before about a comment JP made to my friend and I at the State of Franchise event. He indicated we could expect to see Mac making more starts behind Doc this year. It was not a public statement but something I’m keeping my eye on.
- Ian CHello there Mike, just thought I’d make a comment and ask an out in left field question. (I do mean that literally.)
First, the comment. As one of the rare female Rush fans, I completely agree with you about Spirit of Radio, it’s probably my favourite Rush tune. Also, for people new to Rush fandom, check out behind home plate at Skydome (Oops, gee, did I say Skydome? I meant Roger’s Centre, of course.) We always get a kick out of seeing Geddy Lee sitting there, and my hubby daydreams about getting to sit next to him. Not that he’d say anything, he’d likely be stricken speechless by his rock god.
Now, my question. I know this is not going to happen, but with Matt Stairs moved to the DH and Adam Lind as the starting LF, what do you think of letting Stewart go (trade would be best, obviously.) and giving Travis Snider a shot at the fourth outfielder gig? I remember in Spring Training there was discussion about whther he was wasted in AAA, and whether he could handle a steeper learning curve in the Majors. I really value your opinion, what do you think?
MW: I really want to get Geddy Lee on the JaysTalk one day, I just haven’t worked up the nerve to ask him yet. Snider isn’t close to ready for that opportunity yet. He’s having a hard time with his first taste of AA right now.
- kitaMike I asked (3) straight questions because you usually answer all three that way instead of just one. However it didn’t work for me today.
- Dan M.Hey Mike,
With Downs now experiencing some shoulder soreness and the possibility of a DL stint what move would the Jays make? What ever happened to Benitez – is he still in the picture?
MW: Benitez has a hamstring thing, and though the Jays said at the time that it was no big deal, he hasn’t pitched in 2 1/2 weeks. Which is probably still no big deal. If Downs were to go to the DL, he might actually talk to the media then, the Jays would just move Jesse Carlson into his spot, and maybe call up a Tracy Thorpe or bring League back.
- Cameron“We close with good news! The Boston Red Sox are not going to make the playoffs. It’s outstanding, and finding out something so early in the season about one of the teams in your division is a wonderful thing. It turns out that even though the Sox are the defending World Series champions and are stacked with arguably the game’s best starter, closer, DH and clean-up hitter along with a bunch of other very, very good players – they suck. How great is that? Good teams don’t get swept by Tampa Bay, playoff teams NEVER get swept by Tampa Bay, and the Red Sox just got swept by Tampa Bay. Awesome. And one less team for the Jays to worry about as they try to overcome the odds.”
Hey four-eyes…its April 28th…
MW: Four-eyes? Seriously, that’s the best you can come up with?” Dude, read the dripping sarcasm.
- The Rathey Mike! I try to listen to as many Jays Talk as I can. And my brother recently turned me to your blog. Nice stuff. Sometimes I agree with you. Other times I think you’re out to left field!
But then I found a book called “The Last Nine Innings.” Have you read this book. It is AMAZING!! I’m almost done and I can “hear” you in this book.
Any comments about this book? Do you recommend any other books similar to this?
Thanks!
Karim
MW: You can hear me? I’d better read it, then. I haven’t gotten to it yet.
- karim kanjiMike, with reference to you mentioning Scott Downs does not speak to the media- Does he at least chit-chat with you guys off the record or does he avoid all interaction with media types entirely? ManRam says he cant speak English so what gives with Downs?
MW: Which is weird, because Manny grew up in the Bronx, I think. Downs doesn’t chit-chat, at least not with me, although he was polite in his refusal to do any sort of interview last season under the excuse that he’s “superstitious.” There’s a sign on the field before the game down the left field line that says “no media or photographers allowed beyond this point”, and Downs moved it to right in front of the dugout before batting practice every game. He thinks it’s hilarious.
- CKBDont you feel like Gibbons is overworking Halladay so early in the season. Halladay’s performance has been okay, but not good. I dont understand giving Halladay so many innings if hes giving up 5 runs a game. For example, last game at TB. Was that necessary? Bottom line is Halladay is not the dominant pitcher he used to be and giving him so many innings is foolish b/c he will give up runs.
MW: It’s about pitches thrown, not innings, and his pitch counts have been fine.
- aviHi Mike,
While I agree with you that Barry would help this rather feeble (flacid?)offense – I’m not sure signing him would be a wise move. Simply put, Barry or no Barry this team isn’t ready to win, Barry won’t be around when they are, and playing him over a prospect will not help the organization get to that ‘next level’. Yes, I know he would be slotted into the DH role, currently occupied by another 40 year old, but don’t worry I disagreed with his signing (and the Big Hurt’s too). At this point, and yep it’s early, but give as much time to the kids as possible.
OH, and I suggest a ‘Play Mac’ campaign of some sort…it’s in the works.
MW: Why is this team not ready to win, especially with the addition of Bonds?
- AdamMike, I was intrigued by Darren’s comments above. I actually didn’t know they had a statistical measure of outfielders’ coverage range (silly me! It’s baseball for god’s sake). But I have certainly had the impression that Wells wasn’t getting to balls I’d have expected him to reach, on the basis of past play. I’m wondering, engaging in a little speculation (half the fun of being a fan, no?) to what level/extent of diminished performance would Wells have to continue playing, do you think, before Gib would flip him around with Rios? I’m assuming that would be the solution if it was decided that for whatever reason Wells couldn’t any longer catch up to the more difficult balls.
MW: It’ll be at least three to five years before Wells gets flipped with Rios, weaker zone rating or not. That’s just the way the game is.
- MikieHey Mike,
Kyle Ginley has been off to an awesome start in Lansing.. If a guy is a picthing that well for a month in low A how long do you feel a system should wait to hold him back before sending him to high A? Is there a real benefit to leaving a guy in a league where he is dominanting? (I have never seen him pitch, I’m just going on the stats)
I was just wondering what your policy on player development would be…
MW: I haven’t seen him pitch either, and don’t know anything about the guy personality-wise, so I have no clue about the time frame. He’s only 21, and the Midwest League isn’t that easy (though it seems to be for him – 30 1/3 IP, 30K, 5 BB but 33 hits), if he keeps it up, he’ll be in Dunedin soon enough.
- SteveIf barajas continues to hit in high 100s or low 200s could we see him DFA’ed by late May? Sorta like what the Jays did last year with Phillips.
Also, since it seems like next year the Jays might have Diaz and Thigpen as their starting catchers/ So it makes sense somewhat for them to start the growing pains now instead of next year.
MW: I’m not sure what the utility is in having Diaz up in the majors for half a season as the back-up, and remember, Barajas was hitting .300 a week ago.
- tercetHi Mike, I guess it’s not as fun to just straight agree with you, but I often do and you are totally right on this one.
Eckstein should be hitting 9th and McDonald should be in when Halladay pitches. In fact, I think that if he went full games in the 9th spot when they are tied or behind and came out for Mac in the 8th and 9th when ahead, AND McDonald was almost always in for Halladay, their shortstop problem would be completely solved. But until those moves are made, I really think there is a BIG problem at short in my opinion.
Who should be the leadoff if eckstein is out is a big question, but not big enough to just simply put him there and, as I see it, hurt the team.
I promise to disagree in the future (!), but since this is my first post…
- Darren PuscasHi Mike;
I was listening to Wednesday’s with JP last Wednesday and just missed JP’s reply to someone who said something about Reed Johnson. I still believe that JP is a very good GM who has done much good for the Jays. I have trouble understanding why he let Reed go when he is so obviously better than Shannon Stewart at this point in their respective careers. Johnson is batting .324 for the Cubs and making superb defensive plays. The Jays could really use him right now. What rational did JP give for letting him go?
MW: The rationale is the same now as it was in March. In the overall, Shannon Stewart has been a much better hitter than Reed Johnson over the course of each of their careers. That’s still true, despite Reed’s hot April.
- Marc Nicholson“…..Stairs, Wells, Rolen and Hill will probably combine to hit at least 100 home runs”
I find that statement really optimistic.
MW: It might be optimistic, but I can see Stairs and Wells hitting 25-30, Rolen hitting 25 and Hill 20.
- Dan M.Why doesn’t Scott Downs speak with the media? What’s up with that? Are there team/league rules about such a thing?
Also, how’s Glaus playing in St.Louis? I see he hit only his first homer of the year Sunday. So far I really really like the Rolen for Glaus deal. Rolen doesn’t seem like as much of a rally killer as Glaus was, but perhaps that’s just how it felt with Glaus.
MW: I would think you’d like Rolen more, given his great series in KC. Ironically, Glaus (who has been playing all year) hit his first homer of the season on Sunday, same day as Rolen did. Glaus is hitting .258/.346/.416, with 11 doubles so far, and remains a sinkhole against right-handed pitching (.238/.324/.413).
There are no team rules stating Downs has to speak with the media. I think if people really needed him on a relatively regular basis, they’d make a bigger deal about it, and we’d see what the PR department would do about it.
- CamMW
Rolen, wells, and HIll combine to hit at least 100 homeruns? I dont see it. I see it more like wells 28, rolen 25, hill 20. and to be honest, I’d take that production in a heart beat.
having seen rolen for a few games now, it would appear to me that he has a very quick bat. he can turn on high inside heat, which is what according to st. louis observers, is what he had not been able to do the last couple years (due to injury it would seem now). this is great news at it lends credence to him being healthy and might at least come within 80 percent of his golden years numbers. its nice to have some guys in the lineup that can crush heat. in the last few years we have seen a few jays hitters that cant do much of anything with a fastball right down the middle, but crush breaking balls. one of them is gone now thankfully. this is what worries me about lind, im just not sure he can hit the fastball well enough at this level. im not sure if in the minors he’s crushing mediocre breaking stuff or because the breaking stuff is middling he can sit fastball, but up here (and this isnt an observation just based on this year for sure) it seems he cant consistently hit the number 1.
MW: Give Lind more than two games before you write him off. It’s not uncommon for players to struggle mightily in their first go-round in the bigs before coming closer to fulfilling their potential as hitters. And I didn’t say Rolen, Wells and Hill would combine to hit 100 homers – I threw Stairs in there as well, and if you think those three will hit 73, then I’m thinking Stairs will finish off the century.
- sammy jalalzaioh, i see i misread your post..you included stairs in there as well to get to 100..that is more like it…why not just go for 300? and declare the jays SPARTA!
MW: I’ll let Bastian do that.
- sammy jalalzaiRe: Lobo
Why does this bother you? If you have no intention of associating yourself with the team you cheer for, that is your decision.
If others feel a connection to a team they cheer for and support by purchasing merchandise and tickets, I believe they have the right to vocalise that association.
Sorry for using your blog as my personal soapbox, Mike.
Go Jays!
MW: S’ok. This blog doesn’t just have to be communication between me and you. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.
- Dan HComment #15, from Jim B., reminded me that I’ve always thought it would be fun to survey fans regarding their favorite baseball nicknames. Maybe this would be an idea for a blog, someday when Blue Jay news is in short supply.
Personally, I think my favorite “brother” nicknames were the Grant brothers, Jim (“Mudcat”)and Julius “Swampfire”.
MW: My favourite nickname is “Snakeface”.
- NormGood teams that get swept by the Rays get a mea culpa when it proves to be an anomoly, which it obviously is (although I’m starting to think differently about this Rays team…Play with a lot of gusto). I’d probably have to give them a mea culpa for winning a couple of WS in 4 years as well…..yeah that sounds about right.
To suggest that the Bosox getting swept by the Rays is the same as the Jays getting swept by the Rays (then losing the first two in KC) is ridiculous.
Oh yeah, you were ‘trying to be funny’
MW: I defy you to explain to me how the Bosox getting swept by the Rays is different than the Jays getting swept by the Rays. As far as I’m concerned, I saw two teams each lose three straight to Tampa Bay. Hard to argue that it was a different Rays team, too, since the series were consecutive. And I wasn’t so much trying to be funny as I was trying to jam it back in the faces of the people who called and wrote after the Jays were swept that “playoff teams don’t get swept by Tampa”.
- Chris MarinoniPlay Macdonald, forget Eckstein. Anyone putting either Eckstein or Macdonald in any other position than batting 9th should change their medication. Forget Bonds. Recall Diaz, dump Barajas and pray these guys start hitting with RISP, because the schedule is damn tough for the next 4 weeks.
- GerryRios should stop worrying about his mohawk and start earning his paycheck.
- Brett VMike do you have facebook?
MW: Nope.
- Dan M.What is up with Wells’ glove so far?! Don’t say it’s the cold weather because I seem to recall some other seasons he has played in cold weather. There is just no excuse for all the bobbles (by my count, at least 4). He has 2 errors (dis)credited to him already. He has also not been reading the ball off the bat as well as he usually does. I remember some very catchable balls he has let drop because of bad jumps. If this keeps up, he can say bye bye to a 4th Gold Glove.
MW: He didn’t win a Gold Glove last year, either.
- ShawnDo you think the Jays way over-paid for Wells? I recognize the fact that if the Jays didn’t ante up, someone else would most certainly have. Do you feel potentially that his best days are already behind him?
MW: I do think the Jays overpaid for Wells, but the price was fair given the market. He would certainly have gotten the same somewhere else, and I think there’s utility in keeping your own guys. I don’t think his best days are behind him by any means.
- CamHey Mike, I enjoy your work and perspective, this is my first time commenting.
A question about Lind…we are having a discussion on the ESPN boards about his speed and were a little concerned that he couldn’t beat out that groundball to Pena the other night in KC. From what you have seen, does Lind have less than average speed? He strikes me as a guy who should have decent speed for a young, corner outfielder…am I wrong?
MW: I would say he’s got average speed. Tony Pena has a hell of an arm.
- B-rad from CalgaryMike;
I was wondering if you could do me a favor, being the BJ’s stats guru. Can you tell me since 2006, the Jays record when they have scored 4 or more runs?
I thinking this will be well over .600, but then again, I could be wrong.
Thanks!
MW: Geez, and on an off-day, too! It is well over .600. Since Opening Day 2006, the Jays are a whopping 154-62 (.713) according to my quick calculations, when they score at least 4 runs.
- Andrew NMike;
In your professional opinion, what kind of $ do you think Barry Bonds is looking for?
Do you think he has had any offers from any other teams, (Aside from the minor league team in San Diego) and turned them down because of financial reasons?
Do you think he would be open to and incentive based contract?
MW: I think he would be very open to an incentive-based contract, but one that will likely earn him close to eight figures if he has a typical season for him.
- Andrew NMike,
When rumours were flying in the winter about JP trying to swap Rios for Tim Lincecum I was somewhat queasy given that the Jays would be giving up an all-star bat for an unproven arm. I know its still early in his career, but so far this year, Lincecum looks like he’s for real. On a bad Giants team, he’s currently 4-0 with a 1.23 era. Rios is a good player, but imagine what the the Jays staff would look like with Lincecum slotted in there, and Marcum pushed to the number 5 spot. Maybe JP deserves some credit for at least trying to get this deal done.
MW: Maybe? I thought it was the thing to do at the time, still do, and that’s no knock on Rios.
- SakamatoMike,
Another weekend, another handful of reasons John Gibbons is a joke as a major league manager. And don’t confuse yourself with the fact that its just Jays fans who are frustrated. Fans of other teams just sit back and laugh as the Jays continue to embarrass themselves employing this clown.
Friday:
#1. The obvious. Not bringing in John Mcdonald as a defensive replacement with a 2 run lead late in the game.
#2. Intentionally walking Tony Pena …. yes Tony Pena the guy with the .149 avg and .365 OPS. The Tony Pena who is probably the worst hitter in all of baseball.
Saturday:
#3. After finally getting another lefty to put in the lineup he puts them all within 4 spots in the lineup. He makes the decision making really difficult for the opposing manager when the middle-bottom of the lineup comes up late in a close game. Especially when your only right handed bats off the bench are Scutaro, Mcdonald and Barajas.
#4. Instead of learning from mistake #1 from previous night he brings John Mcdonald in as a pinch runner for the DH making him completely unavailable to field a position should the Jays take the lead.
Sunday:
#5. Its a draw between this one and the intentional walk of Pena for the move of the weekend. Sending Vernon Wells with 1st and 3rd and no out and a one run lead. I don’t think this needs any explanation. Gibbons himself said it wasn’t “sound baseball”.
This is where you insert your list of excuses about why John Gibbons does not deserve to be fired.
MW: I’ll debate the Pena thing, because I gave his numbers with a 2-0 count earlier in the comments section (of the post before, I think), and they’re pretty bloody good. The not-substituting-McDonald argument only works once, and sending Wells doesn’t mean “you have to go”, it means “go if you get a good jump”, which he thought he had, and it was a cloud of dust pay at second. Shame Gibbons didn’t do anything right over the weekend, huh?
- MattI’ll eat my hat if John McDonald gets the start tomorrow because tomorrow is not Sunday. All of the logical things that fans and media people try to apply to figure out when JM will play just don’t work. The only time this year that McDonald played when Halladay pitched was on a Sunday.
- Debbie“By leading him off, it’s assured that at least once a game, he’ll come to the plate with nobody on, and the rest of the time he’ll be depending on the team’s worst hitters to get on base in order to have a chance to drive in someone other than himself.”
Of course, the beauty of this lineup is that even it’s “worst” hitters who should be in the bottom 3 spots (Eckstein, Zaun, Stewart/Lind platoon), are all high-OBP guys, who should have no problem getting on base plenty for Rios even if he stays in the #1 spot.
Heck, those are the guys that have been hitting in the #9, #1, and #2 hole ahead of him in the #3 hole so far this year anyways!
If Rios is our best hitter, then all we’re doing is getting him more at bats by moving him up in the order, which is always a good thing, no?
MW: No, because the PA difference between first and third isn’t that big. He should be in a position where he has as many chances as possible to hit with men on, and leadoff isn’t that.
- MarkMr. Wilnerator,
Since you started it with Rush, what about “Anthem”, (once it gets rockin’)? for a song to introduce you on the radio???
Another good tune would be “The Ocean”, by Led Zeppelin…
What about “Blitzkrieg Bop”, by the Ramones….
C.B.G.B
Cool Blog, Get Barry!
Also, is it you we hear laughing in the background at the Jerry/Alan banter during games?
Just curious whether it’s you or someone else in the booth?
MW: The laughter you hear in the background is that of our new engineer, Tom Young. If I laugh, you won’t hear it in the background, because I have a microphone on.
- DJJAYHey Mike,
I saw in the Globe and Mail about a week ago that the Jays had designated Josh Banks for assignment. What does this mean? I thought he, along with David Percy, was supposed to be one of their brightest pitching prospects. Is he still on the team? I thought designated for assignment essentially meant the player was released, but I’ve never fully understood that whole process. I’m hooked on this blog, keep up the good work.
MW: Thanks. When a player is designated for assignment, he’s removed from the 40-man roster and the team then has 10 days to either trade, waive, or release him. Banks was placed on waivers and claimed by the Padres.
- ChrisMike
I fully realize that TV distortes the play and that makes it hard to spot movement clearly.
It seems to me however, that Lyle Overbay is staying on his back leg weight wise and little weight shift or transfer is happening as he swings. What do you see from watching the actual player live.
paul
MW: I haven’t picked that up, I’ll look closer on Friday. I do think, though, that if the problem was that apparent, Overbay would have picked it up by now. He’s a video freak, and so is Gary Denbo.
- Paul A.Hey Mike,
Are there are photos of Downs’ new tattoo? I want to see the snakeface! I can’t make anything out on tv.
MW: I haven’t seen a photo yet. It’s really tough to make out on TV.
- JasonJ.P. Ricciardi, Blue Jays. They’ve been painted for years as a major threat. And they still aren’t really that. Ricciardi has developed what appears to be a pretty good pitching rotation; but the combination of a killer division, debilitating injuries, an unusual number of uncomfortable breakups and a few free-agent mistakes has resulted in a regime that specializes in the average.
- brunoEveryone now, together:
1 – 2 – 3 your fired J.P. Richardi.
MW: My what fired J.P. Ricciardi? Nothing I own has that kind of power.
- brunoOff day, so an off-topic question: what’s your favorite baseball movie?
I know it’s low-brow comedy, but Major League is tough to beat if you ask me. There are just a lot of laughs to be had no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
Just to prove I’m not a complete lunkhead, if you include non-fiction, then Ken Burns’ Baseball series (one of the jewels of my DVD collection) would be at the top of the list.
MW: Major League and Bull Durham are my two favourites. The Slugger’s Wife was a disappointment.
- darrenHey Mike, (The Wilnowski attempt is NOT taking off)
I read on “The Mockingbird” website that Burnett was throwing cutters Friday night in the 8th inning, something he has never thrown once prior to that inning. Is this true? If so, do you know the deal on that?
MW: I haven’t talked to him, but anything is possible. I’ll try to find out when they get back to town.
- RyanHey Mike I’m of the firm opinion that baseball is the sport best designed for radio.
I don’t know if this opinion is based on the fact that I have had the honour of seeing (hearing) the game through the eyes (speech) of Tom, Jerry and now Alan but listening to baseball trumps any other sport by a country mile, in my opinion.
Do you agree or is it simply the wonderful team we are fortunate to have in Toronto.
Also how many play-by-play teams from the other 29 clubs do you think is in Jerry and Alan’s league.
P.S. You’re alright too I guess….. Actually you rock I love the blog its the best thing to read on the net (along with the Drunks) as far as I’m concerned.
P.P.S. SIGN BARRY JP!
MW: As I’ve often said, I haven’t had a real chance to listen to a lot of other teams’ broadcasts, but I do think that what we’ve had here in Toronto from day one pretty much onward has been something special indeed.
- AdamHow do these idiots not pick up the sarcasm in your blog, it doesn’t take a genius.
Are the Jays worried at all about Snider’s start in AA, is he still being bothered by the elbow or is it strictly the adjustment to better pitching which is causing him troubles?
MW: It’s a big jump from A-ball to AA.
- PeeWeeThe Slugger’s Wife? That is funny. What about that one movie where George of the Jungle was a relief pitcher signed by the Yankees and they helicoptered him into the stadium as a Rookie for the playoffs. Im not sure how they got him on the active roster since no way he would have been on the 40 man roster in the first place . (I think it was called The Scout)
The Monty Stratton story was a good one, I saw it on reruns when i was a kid on TBS.
Well the yanks just scored 4 runs on 3 infield singles, a hit batter, and two ground outs….some teams get all the luck.
- sammy jalalzaiReading the comments here I am surprised by how many did not get your sarcasm regarding the “Boston won’t make the playoffs because they got swept by the Rays” comment.
I am sure at least another few will call you a tool because in covering the jays everyday you seem to have overlooked the fact they the Jays also got swept by the Rays 4 days ago.
Anyways – I digress. Here is my question, if Rios or Eckstein should not be the leadoff hitter, who should?
The only other options I see are Hill, Overbay or Stewart.
I think Hill is too aggressive to lead off, and should remain down in the order where he can use that to drive in more runs.
Stewart wont see too much more playing time, with Lind being called up.
And Overbay… do you see him in that role.
What do you think, who should bat leadoff?
MW: I’ve said it a few times here, and nobody takes me seriously. It should be Overbay, until he starts with the extra-base hits again.
- BWMike,
When will Vernon Wells play like a $126,000,000.00 man?
MW: The day he makes $126,000,000 a season.
- brunoFIRE JP!
Too many mistakes! Stewart can hardly make a throw to the cut off man!
Reed Johnson is playing great in Cubbyland!
JP’s plan is not coming to completion, unless it was to miss the playoffs every year. He should of went to Boston when he had the chance – go screw up the Sox for a while. The curse of the Bambino may still be alive.
TS
MW: Yup, evaluating moves is all about April.
- TimHere’s a review of that book mentioned above. It looks great.
http://redsoxrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2006/03/last-nine-innings.html
Another great baseball movie is Eight Men Out by John Sayles. It’s about the 1919 White Sox throwing the World Series. Fantastic. I highly recommend it.
Does Snakeface really have the tatoo? Did he hear the guy who called about him not looking intimidating enough to throw out lefties? Maybe the media’s too intimidated to talk to him!
MW: That might be it. I really liked Eight Men Out, too.
- michael sFor a decent baseball movie, check out “The Final Season”, based on the true story of an Iowa High School team, from a town of 500 people, that won something like 20 State Championships over a 21 year period. It was never released in theatres in Canada, but is available on DVD. Quite well done.
- GregHMike,
I’m watching the A’s game tonight and Frank looks happy. He’s joking with teammates and coaches etc.
Is it possible that he was just the wrong fit on the Jays’ roster, but overall is not a terrible guy?
MW: I don’t think he’s a terrible guy at all.
- GregJPHey Mr Wilner
I’m just here to say that the fans of the jays shouldn’t lose hope (even though they should be rooting for the Jays in good and bad times). In ’93 the Jays were below .500 in May, but they still finished with over 90 wins and won the fall classic. Also can you tell me where you get your stats form Mr Wilner? ‘Cause I would love to know.
MW: I get stats from all over the place – espn.com, yahoo.com, baseball-reference.com, mlb.com, retrosheet.org, The Bill James Handbook just to name a few sources.
- gregHey Mr Wilner just one more thing. P.S. I heard sometimes on the radio when you were saying goodbye to Jerry and Alan, you said Tom instead of Alan. No complaining, I’m just sayin’.
MW: I think I probably say goodbye to Jerry, Alan and Tom.
- gregjust extending on comment you made to a previous question. Exactly how big is the jump from A to AA to AAA to the big leagues?
MW: There’s no way to quantify it, but it’s commonly accepted that A to AA is way bigger a leap than AA to AAA, but the leap to the bigs is the biggest of all.
- Sam McLeanHell has frozen over. Frank Thomas just tripled.
- CavanHow much blame should be on Wells for the Jays offensive woes. I read an article in the G&M about wells needing to step up. I could not agree more. He is our highest paid player, but at times appears so nonchalant and lazy. I think he is overpaid for a player with 2 or 3 good offensive seasons and 4 bad ones. If the Jays are going to make the playoffs, Wells has to have a big year and show the fans hes actually producing.
MW: By an objective analysis of the numbers that most players and teams use in deciding who gets what kind of money, Wells has had two good seasons, two outstanding seasons, one average, injury-shortened season and one bad season in his six full years in the majors. He got the money he did because of the timing of his impending free agency and the market at the time. I’d certainly like to see him have more 2003/2006s than anything else, that’s what got him the big bucks, and I think the true Vernon lies somewhere short of that, but well, well, well ahead of the 2007 version.
- aviMike,
Who else on the Jays (or notorious ones elsewhere) refuses to talk to the media? Is it more common than we think? Some fans think that every player has some sort of contractual duty to speak to reporters. Is this just not true?
MW: It’s definitely not true. Players aren’t contractually obligated to speak to the media, but those who know what’s good for them do. Being media-friendly helps raise a player’s profile and spreads the word that the player is a good guy, as does simply being media-accessible. Players who run and hide from the press tend not to be thought of very highly by both the media and the fans – the media because they know that the guy doesn’t want to be held accountable, and the fans because they never hear what he has to say. I’m not sure players realize this. Some of them think that the media is just there to dig up dirt and ruin their lives, some of them think the media is an annoyance, some of them think members of the media are beneath them. If they understood that, plain and simple, the reason we’re there is to be a conduit to the fans, they might be more co-operative on the whole.
- AlexThat’s not to say the Jays as a group are unco-operative, they’re not. Downs is the only one who doesn’t talk to reporters, and unless they’re in the throes of a long losing streak, you can usually find a lot of them in the clubhouse after the game (though some make you wait), and they’re pretty much all accessible pre-game.
Something I’ve always wondered about, ‘the pitch count’..
For example: Yesterday, Vicente Padilla threw 121 pitches en-route to a complete game shutout.
During the warmups in between innings, pitchers usually throw @ least 5 balls to the plate, and even if they’re not ‘full speed’, they’re still gassing them @ around 85-90MPH. 5 X 9IP is an extra 45-pitches, not to mention whatever he threw BEFORE the game. That’s roughly 166 pitches for his start.
How come when ‘pitch counts’ come into the mix with injuries etc, do you NEVER hear talk of these ‘extra’ pitches? Is it really neccessary for, say A.J. Burnett to toss 5 extra pitches after a quick 1-2-3 Jays’ batting inning, when he’s already thrown 100+?
I don’t think it’s a ridiculous theory by any means.
Great work, Mike. Hell of a show.
Cam
MW: Thanks. It’s not ridiculous to include those seven or eight pitches between innings in the count, it’s just that they’re a constant, same for everyone, so they’re not included. It’s a good thought, though, when talking about how a guy does with, say, pitches 90-105 or something, to figure out a way to adjust for how many warm-ups a guy has thrown, because getting to 90 pitches in the 5th is different from getting to 90 pitches in the 8th.
- CamClarification on Manny – he grew up in Washington Heights which is in northern Manhattan. I go to university in the area and work for the literacy program at the local elementary school, and trust me, it’s not a stretch that Manny doesn’t speak English. That being said, it’s just Manny being Manny.
- AriMIKE
Why are Jays fans panicing? Calling for heads?. Frustrated? Perhaps. Calm down people. Listen to Mr. Wilner when he continually repeats “ITS APRIL”. “WIN LOSS RECORDS for Pitchers means nothing if they have a quality start”. Sunday Jesse Litsch pitches 7 innings with 1 earned run. If the Jays lose this game 1-0. Do you fire Gibbons and send him Litsch to the minors. Hell No. Even if it was a loss, that is a top quality start and any starting pitcher as much as they hate the loss will look at it a very good quality start. Mike will agree. Listen to the post game show when the next time a Jays pitcher loses a game 1 or even 2 nothing. First words are. I had my stuff, I was locating well etc. Just couldnt score runs.
- Big MikeWake up Jay fans. ITS APRIL. MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER. LOts of Baseball left.
Eckstein batting second in the order would be one of the more stupid things Gibbons has done. I dont understand how it makes any sense. I assume if he’s batting second, it could only mean Rios is batting first, which is also suboptimal. The only thing i see happening with this move is Rios getting getting on, maybe doubling, maybe singling and stealing, and then Eck comes up and we hear the announcers talking about what a smart player Eck is as Eck tries to “hit behind the runner and get him to third” which is one of the dumber concepts in all ove baseball in the first place. if you are so concerned about getting the runner over, just bunt him there. trying to hit behind the runner is a bad idea for a few reasons for a right handed hitter (unless its your natural stroke like a derek jeter),
you are likely going to be facing inside pitches to prevent you from just doing that
you are altering your normal approach to hitting
you are settling.
over the course of a year, thats a whole lot of missed opportunity. late in games in playing for one run, by all means move the runner over, but just bunt him there. hitting behind the runner is like trying to kill two birds with one flawed stone, and sometimes when you try to kill two birds with one stone, you kill neither.
MW: I agree with you about the whole concept of “moving the runner over”. I want every hitter to move runners when he’s at bat, but I want him to move them over with a hit. I never want a guy up there thinking “I’ll just hit a ground ball to the right side, and if it gets through, cool, but if it doesn’t, at least I moved the runner.” But Eckstein hitting second is better than Eckstein hitting first, just not as good as Eckstein hitting ninth.
- sammy jalalzaiYou mentioned Johnny Mac has played in every Sunday game this year. Hmmmmmm……the Jays are undefeated on Sunday thus far. A pattern is developing. Someone start keeping track.
- Jim BranscomeBaseball Baseball Baseball. I really love this game I really do. I’ve always felt sorry for people who don’t like baseball they are really missing out. People tell me how boring baseball is and I tell them if they only knew half of what was going on in a baseball game they wouldn’t find it boring at all. If Mike Mussina were pitching in college right now I doubt a team would even take him with a 50th round pick because his stuff is terrible, yet last night he pitched five innings and gave up just two runs by changing speeds and good pitch location. That was a beautiful thing to watch and I hate the Yankees.
Mike where would you consider the Arizona Fall League compared to double A?
You never answered my question from yesterday in regards to Mcdonald starting at shortstop for Halladay so I’ll ask again. If your going to start Mcdonald for Halladay don’t you have to start Mcdonald when your two other ground ball pitchers are on the mound? You can’t just say offence isn’t as important when Halladay is pitching because thats not true. A run scored is worth one and a run prevented is one run prevented it doesn’t matter if it’s Halladay pitching or anyone else.
MW: A run scored is always worth a run prevented, it’s true, and it can’t be argued that the Blue Jays need to score runs more than they need to prevent runs. However, they’re far better at preventing runs than they have been at scoring them (at opportune times) so far this season, so I don’t have an issue with going with the better bat for now. I think the Fall League is a notch or three higher than AA, because it tends to involve only the best of the best, prospectically.
- Dan M.Dan H. …msg. 48
Quite simply, you (fans in
- Lobogeneral) are NOT part of the team. You’ve never struck out with the bases loaded,
faced a high heater from Burnett, hit a walk off home
run etc etc. You watched.
That’s it. You bought the tickets, the merchandise,
and called MW after the game.
Do you think the players consider you a “team mate” ?
When they hear a fan use the pronoun “we”, they must roll their eyes. You are NOT one
of the players. You watched. Anyone can do that.
Go Jays.
Mike off topic:
I have these friends that are idiots that say it doesn’t make sense that there is no regulation outfield size in MLB.
I say it’s part of heritage and lends strategy to the game. They contest that that still doesn’t make any sense and that individual records (HRs) are meaningless.
Should I get some new friends?
MW: You shouldn’t get new friends, but the fact that something is “tradition” or part of “heritage” isn’t a good argument. After all, not allowing black players to play is also part of baseball’s “heritage”. I like the fact that each field isn’t a cookie cutter, and that there aren’t stringent regulations to the size of a field, or of a stadium’s foul territory. Sometimes things don’t have to make sense.
- PittAlso if TB sweeps every team in the AL – who then makes the Wild Card?
MW: Sadly, no one.
- PittFor anyone interested in the Frank Thomas “saga”, here’s a link to a story written by Scott Miller concerning his time here in Toronto, and the outlook for him in Oakland.
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10803580/3
Obviously, the jury is still out, but it appears that Miller basically agrees with the BJ decision to cut him loose when they did.
MW: Most people seem to, but again, because an opinion is prevailing doesn’t mean that it’s correct.
- NormMike,
I’m surprised you haven’t read that book yet. (The Last Nine Innings) You can quote it at length when callers or bloggers disagree with you. (I can’t beleive I’m taking your side!)
Anyways, I just wanted to let the rest of THIS community know about this book. It’s filled with tons of insights and stats on baseball that will help ALL of us understand why and why not managers and players do certain things. When WE complain about stolen bases and bunts (too much or not enough) this book provides the analysis and reasoning.
For example, hitters have a better batting average with a runner on first with no outs than a runner on second with no outs. So, is stealing second that big of a deal?
Karim Kanji
MW: I’ll read it, but I have to say that stealing second (successfully) is still a good thing. I have a hard time imagining that batting average goes up significantly (statistically significantly or otherwise) enough with a man on first to take out all the double plays.
- karim kanjiIt’s early, etc, but the Jays are 6-1 in day games and 5-14 at night. Maybe they just need to have an afternoon nap.
MW: Maybe they need to change the schedule. It’s not too late!
- Jason MDo you think JP is the laughing stock amongst Major League GM’s for the Frank Thomas contract?
I recognize there are lots of bad contracts out there in the Majors.
Also, speaking of bad moves by the Jays, whatever happened to Mike Sirotka? Did he ever throw a pitch for the Jays?
MW: Mike Sirotka never threw a pitch for the Blue Jays. Torn labrum, I think – what an awful trade that was. And considering that the Pirates just swallowed $11 million in cutting Matt Morris Sunday, a guy they actually gave up two flesh-and-blood players for, along with paying him all the cash, I don’t think JP is a laughing-stock. Stuff like this happens more than you think. The Orioles are paying Jay Gibbons $11.9 million not to play right now, and the Diamondbacks are still paying Russ Ortiz his $22 million buyout.
- CamA little off topic, but what do these players do with all of this money they earn? It’s unbelievable what they get paid. (Yes, I’d take it too if someone offered it to me, don’t worry.)
I looked it up the other day, and found that Frank Thomas has earned in the area of $122 Million over his entire career. Brings up the question, who is the all time career Salary earner in the Majors? Clemens? Bonds? Kind of curious.
MW: I’m pretty sure it’d be Alex Rodriguez, but don’t quote me on that. And what do they do with it? Whatever the heck they want!
- RickRe: Lobo
You made all those points in your first post, among others.
No, I do not think the players consider me a team mate, and neither do most other fans, I’m sure.
Consider this: JP will never strike out with the bases loaded, and Gibby will never hit a walk off home run. Do you not allow them to say “we”?
Can the trainers say “we”? The batboys? The vendors in the stands? All of these people are contributing to the franchise in some fashion or another. Where do you draw the line?
Of course anyone CAN watch. But not everyone does. That’s the difference between a fan and someone who is not a fan.
And that’s where I draw the line.
-Again, sorry Mike. For the length as well.
MW: I think anyone who plays for or works for the club can feel free to use “we”.
- Dan HAnd Barry Zito is now a $126 million middle reliever.
- MarkHi again Mike. I looked it up, and Bonds is the career Salary leader at $188 Million. However, A-Rod will pass him by the end of this season, and then pretty much lap the field after that with his new 10 year deal for $270 Million. Makes the $300k per year you’re making look pretty small doesn’t it!
MW: Who’s paying me $300K per year? That’d be awesome!
- RickMike, Check this out:
With a runner on first and no outs, teams can expect to score .9227 runs. with a runner on second with ONE out, teams can expect to score .7026 runs. Charles Euchner says, “It’s easier to move a runner a longer distance with fewer outs than a shorter distance with one out.”
And no, I’m not the publicist! LOL!
Have a great day!
Karim Kanji
MW: Absolutely true, but why does that detract from the utility of the successful stolen base? Unless that’s not the point you’re trying to make.
- karim kanjiWhat do you mean by the Toronto Maple leafs ruined toronto sports fandom in toronto?
MW: I’m not going over that one again, you’ll have to read up in the archives.
- andrewMike,
what do you think of batting Greg Zaun 2nd? when he is going well he gets on base a lot and has a bit of power. He is a switch hitter, which doesn’t hurt. Generally he can be a tough at bat even if he doesn’t get on. obviously is speed isn’t great but i don’t think he’s so slow that it’s an issue. Who would you rather have lind or lofton?
MW: I’d rather have Lind than Lofton, unless you’re specifically looking for a lead-off guy. I don’t mind hitting Zaun second at all, when he’s going well.
- jeremyHey Mike,
Sorry for putting you to work on an off day.
So what you are telling me, is that the jays win 7 out of 10 games when they score more than 4 runs since April 2006. Ok, so we have a solid staff, thats obvious, but I don’t think 4 runs a game is out of the question. Even if we decide to start hitting with RISP, do you think we could even average 3 runs a game with this current line-up?
Would you mind forwarding this on to JP, as he obviously has not seen this stat. Hmmmm, 30HR 100RBI doesn’t sound so bad now, no matter what kind of baggage he has!?!?!?!
MW: Of course the current line-up can average 3 runs a game. That’d be 486 runs over the course of a season, which is historically awful. The franchise has failed to score at least 700 runs in a full-length season only twice since 1982. This season, they’re averaging 4.42 runs/game.
- Andrew NDid Frank Thomas hit a triple last night?? I must of read the box score wrong. It can’t be true.
MW: I haven’t seen it, but I heard Vladdy Guerrero kicked it around in the right-field corner. Generous scoring.
- Michael KrimmerSo if Rios starts batting leadoff and continues to keep his OBP high and Eckstein starts hitting second, what do you think the odds are that Eckstein sets the record for grounding into double plays?
I’d say he has a pretty decent shot.
MW: I doubt it, he’s never grounded into more than 13 double plays in a season in his career.
- Peterpost # 98
- Dan M.Another horrible contract the 126 million dollars the Giants gave Barry Zito who will now be pitching out of the bullpen.
FYI for you Mike – comment #67 is a direct copy & paste from Jon Heyman’s article about managers on the bubble.
MW: Oh, well. I expect more from Bruno, but sometimes it’s better to let others write for him. It’s more than a little cheap to do it without attribution, though.
- DavidIn regard to message #92 (Dan H. and Lobo), this whole “we” discussion reminds me of something I heard on the radio back in 1977 before a Reds – Giants game. This was on a Saturday afternoon and the night before the Reds had rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Giants, Marty Brennaman, who was and still is the Reds lead play-by-play man on the radio was interviewing pitcher Jack Billingham on the pre-game show before the next days game. Brennaman said to Billingham, “Jack, we really pulled out a tough game last night didn’t we? Billingham replied, “We? What do you mean WE Marty? The guys on our team swung the bats, caught the balls and scored the runs. All you did was sit there in your easy chair and watch while you stuffed your face and ran your mouth.” (Can you imagine Roy Halladay saying that to Jerry Howarth?) The radio went silent as Brennaman struggled to find a response as Billingham had clearly humiliated him on the air.
About five years ago I heard Brennaman talking about the incident and recollected that although his feelings were hurt, Billingham was right to say what he said as Brennaman was only a broadcaster and not a player. It may seem pathetic for a fan to say “we” in referring to their favorite team. I suppose they are only trying to find success and failure vicariously through the success and failure of their favorite team. As long as that does not interfere with other areas of their lives, I consider it an innocuous pursuit.
MW: Great story, but pretty boorish by Billingham.
- Jim BranscomeI get it, and all the power to ya to tell those naysayers that write off the Jays cause of the sweep to go to you know where. My point is not based entirely on this recent block of games. Just saying that going back to last year (and everyone knows it) the Jays major achilles heal (aside from injuries) was getting up for games against teams they should beat, granted last years team was not nearly as good as this years. And I’m not sure houw much more I can prove my point with the following.
2007
Jays vs. TB – 9-9
Jays vs. Bal – 10-8
Jays vs. KC – 4-3
Jays vs. Tex – 5-5
Total – 28-25
2007
Bos vs. TB – 13-5
Bos vs. Bal – 12-6
Bos vs. KC – 3-3
Bos vs. Tex – 6-4
Total – 34-18
Jays Sweep = Not far from the status quo
Res Sox Sweep = Clearly an anomoly…they’ll do what they always do and win…..unless my hex upon the Sox actually works.
Thanks Mike
MW: So what you’re saying is that last year the Jays had trouble with T-Bay and the Red Sox didn’t. Because if you look at the other teams in your chart besides Tampa, the Jays were 19-16 and the Red Sox were 21-13, or 2 1/2 games difference. Last year’s Yankees were 10-8 against Tampa and 9-9 against Baltimore, same overall record as the Jays against those two teams. They did clean up against KC and Texas, though.
- Chris MarinoniEvery GM has their mistakes. Look at Brian Sabean, GM of Frisco. Talk about a God awful trade. How about Sabean’s trade of Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, and Joe Nathan for A.J. Pierzynski
MW: That one was pretty bad, yeah.
- sammy jalalzaiFor those interested in the Jays hot prospects;
http://unionleader.com/blogs/gray.aspx
The above link has news that Brett Cecil is now at AA New Hampshire. I suspect this means his shoulder is well enough.
- JJHey Mike,
What do you think of the Oakland A’s now that they have Thomas ?
Do you feel like Beane will continue to rebuild, or try and go for it now that he seems to have a good blend of power / bullpen / and starting rotation / and minor league depth ?
MW: I think that they’re still in rebuild mode, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Thomas (assuming he has the last 2/3 I expect him to) is traded at the deadline.
- DaveUsing “we” as a fan is kosher in my books, as long as it doesn’t turn to “they” as soon as the team starts playing badly.
In the end, it’s the fans that make a team what it is. Players come and go – the fans are the franchise.
- MarkYeah I see your point but I think it’s a little nit-picky. Yes the Yankees had comparable numbers against TB and BAL, but as you said, they cleaned up against the other teams. You have got to clean up against at least some of the underdogs if you want to compete in this division. I really hope the Jays can turn that trend around and do so. 2 1/2 games in this division is incredibly different then in others, at least I think so.
Just wondering how long you think Gibby’s gonna leave Rios at the top of the order. Personally I agree with the move (not from a baseball perspective and only if it’s temporary). It go’s to my earlier points that I think Gibby is doing a poor job of lighting a fire under his players butts. Maybe this will do it?
P.S. I want BONDS BONDS BONDS, not the financial securities but the baseball player.
MW: I want the financial securities, but I’d like to see the baseball player in a Jays’ uniform as well. I don’t know how long Rios stays up there, I’m guessing until they lose a bunch with him leading off.
- Chris MarinoniThis will be the last post
- Lobofrom me on the subject of
fans who think they’re part of the team & insist on using
“we”.
Where do I draw the line ?
Mr. Wilner summed it up perfectly in msg. 100.
I also agree wholeheartedly
with Jack Billingham in msg
111. However, he shouldn’t
have embarassed Marty live
on the air. That
conversation should taken place in private.
Now, let’s get back to the
Jays. As Fergie would say,
“How about them Blue Jays” ?
Regarding ealiers comments it was a genuine triple..if you like, see it and listen to the commentary about how hard Vlad went after it.
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200804292606463
Geren said the triple “gave the dugout a pretty good lift,” and Gaudin said Thomas gives the team a lift at all times with his mere presence. “In the lineup, obviously, it’s great. At any time the guy can leave the house,” Gaudin explained. “But in the clubhouse, off the field, he’s just as good. … He’s just so positive. “When I heard he was coming back, my day, my whole year, got a lot better.”
MW: That’s good to hear. They did love him in Oakland in ’06, for sure, and he’s had a very good 20 PA for them so far. Doesn’t mean the same thing would have happened here.
- Skip“We” fans are part of our team our whole lives. “We” pay the players’ salaries. Without us, it’s just a bunch of dudes playing baseball in an empty field.
They are priveleged to be paid millions of dollars to spend a couple of years with our franchise.
The thought that Benito Santiago has more right to say “we” when referring to the Jays than I do makes me sick to me stomach.
MW: He definitely has more right to say it when referring to the 1997 Jays. I know where you’re coming from, but as much as the fans have invested in the team – and it’s a ton, both financially and emotionally – it’s the guys who are actually playing the game who are doing the winning and losing.
- MarkIn regards to the “we” talk on this blog I used to work with a guy who was a huge Yankees fan, I’d ask him how the Yankees were doing and he’d say something like “we’re in tuff tonight we got Clemens takin the ball for us so hopefully he pitches well so we can get the W before we fly off to Seattle for 3 against the M’s” and I thought him saying that stuff was just hillarious anways I don’t think theres any harm in saying “we” when refering to your favorite team.
I know I’m in the minority on this topic but I could careless if a player (Scott Downs) talks to the media. I really don’t like interviews with players they are asked dumb question and respond with stupid answer. Then what makes this worse is when a player doesn’t talk to the media or is hard to deal with the media complains about it. I could careless if AJ Burnett is in a mad mood once and awhile or Barry Bonds calls a reporter an A-hole. Everybody is different and just because these guys aren’t polite to the media doesn’t make them bad people Just the same as the fact that we’ve been short with people befor in our lives doesn’t make us bad people. I’m so sick and tired of the Toronto media making AJ Burnett look like a baby/a-hole/waste or money/bad teammate just because he isn’t always nice to them, I’m sick of of media outlet making Barry Bonds into someone that should burn in hell for what he’s done to the game of baseball reporting all the bad of Barry. My cousin who was five at the time (four years ago) got his picture taken with Barry Bonds my Aunt said Bonds was polite and waited patiently while she tried to fiqure out how to work her camrea. I’ve also heard what a good and devoted father Barry Bonds is sadly none of this stuff is ever reported.
I’m not knocking for the fact that you said Downs doesn’t speak with the media Mike but if your upset about I disagree with you. I don’t think its a big deal and I could careless I can’t remeber the last time a player had anything interesting to say anyways unless you count Greg Zaun saying “everyone of Halladays pitchs are design to get you out” as if other pitchers pitchs are designed to get hit our ot the park or when he says “hitting is contagious” but like I said I’m sure im in the minority on this one.
MW: I don’t think you’re in the minority. You’re right – players rarely have anything earth-shattering to say. Fans still want to hear from them, though. I’m not upset with Downs for not talking to us, though I think his little trick with the “no media” sign is incredibly childish – but if he should ever need me for anything, want to get on the air for any reason, that’s not going to happen.
- Dan M.MW: That’s good to hear. They did love him in Oakland in ‘06, for sure, and he’s had a very good 20 PA for them so far. Doesn’t mean the same thing
Mike, I didn’t say FT would have done that here, did I?
Only God knows what FT final numbers would have been here.
If he does good, you know people will say he wouldn’t have done it here. If he does bad with the A’s, the same people will be be so happy because with their superior baseball analytical skills they possess, they KNEW he was done.-:)
I know you think he will do well.
Go Jays, Go A’s.
- Skip“MW: I want the financial securities, but I’d like to see the baseball player in a Jays’ uniform as well. I don’t know how long Rios stays up there, I’m guessing until they lose a bunch with him leading off.”
That’s really funny….I agree
- Chris MarinoniI couldn’t agree with you more about playing McDonald when Halladay is on the hill. I’ve thought that since the beginning of the year.
But I coudn’t disagree with you more about baserunning and Alex Rios. If managers benched every player who didn’t run out a groundout or popup, not one team in the Majors would have enough players on its active roster to fill even half a line-up. I mean that completely seriously. Not playing hard on every play is a disease widespread throughout the league, so if you’re going to complain about it, you can’t single out Rios. And if a team wants players who will run out every play, that team shouldn’t get rid of a guy named Reed Johnson. But I told myself I wouldn’t start argung about Johnson, because if I do I’ll never stop; I’ve lamented his departure ever since Stewart showed up at Spring Training.
MW: That was the right time to start lamenting his departure. But there are a lot more players than Reed Johnson and David Eckstein who run most balls out hard. Nobody runs out every ball – for sure – and I hate it, but it does tend to show up more with Rios than it does with others. Maybe he just picks the wrong times.
- ShmuelThis is the last thing I’ll say about “we” and I’ll drop the subject too. Whilst Biilingham made himself look like a jerk for castigating Brennaman on the air, the whole episode did make Brennaman a better announcer in my opinion. Marty went from being the Rah-Rah type to being a very objective broadcaster who was not afraid to say a player stunk if he thought that player stunk. In fact, during the summer of 1982, Brennaman and broadcast partner Joe Nuxhall were both so critical of the Reds that both were nearly fired. Today I have to listen to Indians announcer Tom Hamilton, who is what Brennaman was. Case in point: Saturday he spent two innings ripping umpire Derryl Cousins, calling him a scab because he crossed the picket line during an umpires labour dispute and saying Cousins could not have gotten a job as an umpire any other way. Personal attacks by a broadcaster are unprofessional (you ought to hear Hamilton’s attacks on Milton Bradley). When I listen to Jerry and Alan I get nothing but objectivity and professionalism. Until you listen to other announcers, you don’t appreciate how good they are.
- Jim BranscomeMike:
Re: FT’s triple:
I don’t think that it’s sour grapes on my part, but how can the official scorer call that double-plus-an-error a triple? The same thing happened for The Cat when Texas played here. Doesn’t anyone lodge a complaint?
Keep up the good work….love this blog!!
Jack
MW: Official scoring isn’t that big a deal in the overall, and a lot of people get really, really worked up about it. It doesn’t seem as though it would be too hard to get good official scoring everywhere, but it’ll never happen. It doesn’t affect what actually goes on on the field, so it is what it is, as far as I’m concerned.
- JackSkip,
Thanks for the clip! That’s awesome. I wonder if Frank needed oxygen after the inning?
- Michael KrimmerMW, whats the word on Scott Campbell, 2b man and new zealander in AA? He’s been tearing the cover off the ball in AA to the tune of .417 avg/ .470 obp/ .517 slg (albeit in only 60 or so at bats) but also had a solid year last year (.279/.390 ob) in lansing. He might be a bit old (22) for his level, but he does bat from the left side and i havent heard anything bad about his defense. Is this guy a legit prospect or is he just another organizational soldier?
MW: He’s 23, which isn’t old for AA, and certainly isn’t old enough to be an organizational solider yet. I haven’t really seen him play – he was a call-up from the complex for a couple of Spring Training games, but when he got in, he only got in late. The numbers are very impressive, though. You should call in tomorrow and ask J.P. about him.
- sammy jalalzaisince you were waxing poetical about Rush earlier, I was sitting with my highschool physics teacher listening to a Jays Game on one lazy day, and she told me about the time she was at a Jays game and saw Mr Geddy Lee there. Having bought a beer, she offered it to him, only to have him turn it away. I dont blame him, I wouldnt have drunk ball park beer either, but have you ever spoken to Geddy Lee at a game? has he ever been in the booth?
MW: I have never spoken to Geddy Lee ever, at a game or otherwise, though I’d love to. He’s never been in the booth as long as I’ve been up there. I’m going to try to change that, though.
- Sam McLeanHey Mike,
Very Hypothetical question,
If the Bluejays are out of it before the trade deadline, would you think they would/could trade Burnett, *If* he was healthy, to a contending team ?
Im sure he’d get at least as much as Gagne got at the deadline last year. Gabbard, to me, is a quality pickup.
This in no way means i think the Jays will be out of it — for that to happen, Marcum would have to get injured — But if the situation did arise would you think JP would try to cash in Burnett ?
MW: They would absolutely trade Burnett in that situation, if they could. But seriously, the only way the Jays aren’t in it is if Marcum gets hurt? That’s the only scenario?
- DaveMike, do you think john Gibbons is a puppet for JP, pulling the strings?
MW: If Gibby was a puppet OF J.P.’s, J.P. would be the one pulling the strings.
- andrewHey Mike ,
When will we start seeing BJ Ryan start making pitching appearances on back to back days? Also I was wondering, why do you never make the road trips along with Jerry and Allan ?
MW: I think B.J. might start going on back-to-back days by mid- to late-May. I don’t travel with the team because, so far, that’s not part of my job.
- AndrewMichael Krimmer you are welcome.
FT didn’t look out of breath. I thought he was not running full out though. Did anyone else notice that slight limp? He’ll probably always have that. The A’s coaches have been quoted as saying he’s running noticeably better than back in ’06. If FT is kept by the A’s the rest of the year, I think the games between the 2 teams will be like playing the Yankess or Boston in my humble opinion.
Your thoughts on those games Mike?
MW: They’re going to be a lot of fun to watch, that’s for sure, and there are seven more of them. The Jays will be in Oakland for three at the end of May, and the A’s come back here for four in early August. I’ll wager Thomas does some serious damage. Thomas probably is running noticeably better now than when he was just coming off the ankle surgery in 2006, but sheesh, imagine how bad he must have looked then.
- SkipHi Mike,
I have one simple comment to make: the Jays need to be more agressive at the plate, in my opinion. They need to start swinging instead of working the count and taking alot of pitches. Tonight against the Red Sox, Rolen got a double on one of the best in the AL, Papelbon, on I believe the third pitch of the at bat. The Jays hitters just need to hit their pitch, and be the hitters that we all know they are. This team should be posting at least 5 runs a night, in my opinion.
MW: I agree with you, they should be scoring more, but I think they need to find that mix of aggressiveness and patience that teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and A’s seem to have down so well.
- RyanThey’re killing me, Mike.
I think I need to not watch the team for a week or something. It’s too frustrating.
I know it’s early, but I’m really starting to wonder if this team isn’t the contender I thought it would be. I’m just not sure they have the hitting.
Ugh.
MW: I think they have it – the question is, when will the hitters hit?
- JamesHey J.P, don’t sign Barry Bonds! After all, this offense is good enough to compete, right Doc?
- RenegadeMW: But seriously, the only way the Jays aren’t in it is if Marcum gets hurt? That’s the only scenario?
No no, my name Dave, not seriously. Fair mistake.
Thanks for everything Mike. I hope if they do trade Burnett, they trade him to Boston for Lowrie ! Take care.
MW: I’d make that trade.
- DaveWell, Gibbons blew another one tonight. Haladay is rolling, but gets into trouble. Gibbons is too terrified of Haladay to yank him, and look what happens.
BTW, Lester was pitching a 1-hitter, with less than 100 pitches thrown, when he was yanked. Oh yeah, our staff had a day off yesterday so the bullpen was rested.
The Butcher of Pitching Staffs blows another one for the team.
I will state it again. Haladay will be on the DL by the all-star game. Only question is he on the DL from overuse before Gibbons is gone.
MW: Yeah, those 130-pitch outings that Gibbons is making Halladay run up are going to kill him.
- PaulHey Mike,
I am getting a touch nervous that this lack of hitting is quickly becoming a trend. Last year it was injuries – this year no excuses. I think a good manager is going to lose his job because of a team that has somehow lost its way.
I agree with your blog tonight and will add that the whole team seems to be wound up tight as a drum and it is very evident in how Vernon is playing the ball in the outfield – I will relate the Jays to a hockey team that can’t score. Everyone starts gripping the stick tight and it only compounds the problem. He does, however, need to start leading this team and coming up with that ball in the 9th cleanly and throwing out Papi at the plate would have been a big step forward.
I don’t think he’s lost a step though as he still seems to be tracking the fly balls well enough.
Of course if not for that “sick” play by Pedroia in the top half he’d be a hero.
Frustrating to say the least.
MW: To say the least. I think it’s too much to expect Wells to be a leader, though. He never has been before, why should he change who he is just because he’s making a lot more money now?
- CameronMichaelangelo: You paint a great picture, but these guys made Lester look like a Hall- Of-Famer tonight. Poor Doc deserves better support. He wasn’t a happy camper going to the locker room. How many times did they look at a first-pitch strike? Their lack of enthusiasm has spread to the batter’s box. Hopefully they’ll surprise everyone, including themselves, by swinging the bats. Too early to light a candle?…maybe not. GO JAYS!!
MW: Right – then they’ll swing the bats and everyone will complain about them being too aggressive and always swinging at the first pitch.
- Jack