9:53 PM Eastern
Sorry, busy day with the afternoon game and T.B.J.T.W. and a day game tomorrow, there will be no real, hard-hitting bloggage today.
It was great to see Dustin McGowan throw seven innings without walking anybody, and B.J. Ryan continues to defy all logic by converting his 11th save in 11 chances barely 54 weeks post-Tommy John.
If you listened to the pre-game show (and if you didn’t, shame on you) you may have been surprised to hear that in this month’s edition of the R.R.T., all of Jeff Blair, Jordan Bastian and Rob MacLeod thought of Jesse Litsch as little more than another Gustavo Chacin waiting to happen.
How amazing is it that we got to witness Blue Jays’ history twice in one weekend? First Saturday, with Litsch running the consecutive innings without a walk streak to 38 before issuing a free pass to Mark Teahen with two out in the ninth. Today, it was Lyle Overbay fighting back from an 0-2 count to draw a second-inning walk off Gil Meche, reaching base safely in a club-record 12 consecutive plate appearances. He’s now fourth in the league in Overbase percentage, and third in Overbases on balls.
Major kudos to Alex Rios for a phenomenal play to throw out Jose Guillen at the plate. It was a ground single up the middle with Guillen at second, and Rios charged it hard from the get-go. A lot of outfielders seemingly wait for a ball to get through the infield before taking off after it, but he was on his horse pretty much from contact, then made a great throw. And Shannon Stewart nailed a pretty quick Tony Pena, Jr. tagging up to go to third, as well.
Here’s the JaysTalk:
Comments are welcome, sorry I couldn’t get to them all today, but these quick turnarounds are tough and I occasionally do enjoy spending time with my family.
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Watching Sunday night baseball, and I wanted to let you know that I have a man crush on Carlos Quentin. Do you know if the Jays were interested in him?
MW: They weren’t, much to my chagrin.
- JohnThe offense has to get better. The Jays offense is putting too much pressure on the pitching staff to be nearly perfect. Im not sure the pitchers can sustain this, particularly Litsch. JP needs to get a big bat somehow by offering Litsch/Purcey and Lind.
MW: Don’t hold your breath, it’ll take until at least mid-June, if not much later, to make a deal like that.
- aviHey Mike, have you seen Bengi Molina’s numbers today? UNREAL!! Thank god I have him on my fantasy.
How about:
Adam Lind
Brandon League
David Purcey
for
Adam Dunn
OR
Matt Holliday
I’m not giving up on Purcey, I just think we need a really big bat to contend
MW: Bengie is definitely killing it by his standards, and he’s even hitting righties well. Good third of a season for him. I’d probably do those deals, but I’d prefer Dunn to Holliday.
- Osman OThe more I see Scutaro at SS with his great arm, the more I want him keeping the job until he doesn’t deserve it anymore. His arm is way better than Eckstein’s and he’s hot at the plate too. I hope Gibby doesn’t go with the “Eckstein is our guy” nonsense. I’d even consider platooning them and giving McDonald the late innings.
MW: How do you platoon them? I caution all the Scootwagon jumpers to consider his entire career, as opposed to just the last 17 days.
- ShawnCarlos Quentin is ok.
MW: Yeah, he’s got a chance to be a big-leaguer someday.
- BrettHey Mike, really enjoy the blog and the responses to comments.
I like yourself defended Overbay during his slow start to this year and it’s nice to see him finally starting to hit like he did back in 2006.
Which brings up my question/comment. Back in 2006, when the Jays offense was really rolling, Overbay was hitting in the fifth hole. Over this modest winning streak the Jays have put together, Overbay has been hitting fifth with stairs out, save today. I was wondering what your opinion of Lyle in the five hole was. I think hes the perfect fit there as he’s a guy who can put the ball in play consistently and handle that bat, skills i like in a five whole hitter.
MW: I like a five-hole guy to hit me a bunch of home runs, as well as draw walks and hit the ball really hard a lot of the time. I love Lyle Overbay, and I’d be fine with him hitting 5th, but I think Stairs is a better fit. Of course, I think Overbay should be a two hitter. I want that bat up as often as possible and I want him on base for the big guys.
- Brian BDid anyone else notice the play when Stewart grounded into the force out at second to score a run in the 5th inning? Barajas was forced out at second on the throw from Pena Jr. at short to German at second. Except, German was not even close to the bag when he received the throw. I know umpires give the benefit of the doubt to the player sweeping across the bag but in the replay German was a good 1-2 feet off of the bag when he caught the throw. Was it obvious to anyone else? I know I have the benefit of a PVR satellite so I could rewind and watch it in slow motion 10 times but even the first time I noticed. NO one mentioned on the TV broadcast, was it mentioned on radio at all Mike? Just thought it was weird that a pretty obvious bad call was not disputed or even discussed. Did you catch the play MW?
On another note, good to see that Mcgowan is re-growing the chops. I noticed his recent slump prior to today was directly in relation to the shaving of his facial hair…shame on him for doing that and here’s hoping he doesn’t let that happen again.
MW: I’m sure the facial hair has nothing to do with it, but if it works for him, it works for him. Your comment about the neighbourhood play at second illustrates perfectly why you should listen to the radio while watching the game on TV. Of course I mentioned it - right after it happened. Brutal call.
- B-rad from CalgaryI think Listch might regress some because he still allows a lot of contact BUT I think the Chacin comparison is unfair because last year, his IP?K ration and BB?K ration were, well, Chacinian….but they are not thins year.
This year they look not unlike some of Doc’s recent years. Which is to say he’s not doing it with mirrors like has was last year. He deserves better than comparisons to the likes of Chacin or (in some quarters) Josh Towers.
Of not te ye doubters: the Jays are hitting .330 w/RISP since the second game of the double header.
MW: You already mentioned that. I think your “n” key is stuck, too. Please remember, we’re barely seven weeks into the season. I like Jesse Litsch a lot, but he’s closer to Chacin than he is to Halladay.
- WillRainMike:
I just noticed that Tampa Bay has taken over top spot in the AL East and are tied with Arizona for the best record in the majors. I find it funny that you continue to tell anyone that believes the Jays aren’t good enough “it’s too early and this is a good team that just needs to hit”. However, when anyone speaks of Tampa Bay all you can say is “they’re not good enough” and so they won’t be in the playoff mix late in the season.
I’m not sure if you noticed but Tampa has achieved their .600 record while playing 33 of their 50 (66%)games against AL East opponents and gone 21-12(.636). The Blue Jays on the other hand have only played 17 games against the AL East and gone 7-10 (.412). Now seeing as you have always stated that the AL East is the toughest division in baseball (which is always used as the main excuse the Jays can’t make the playoffs) it looks as though Tampa has played a pretty tough schedule so far compared to the Jays and they’re almost half way through their AL East divisional games.
I’m sure this won’t change your opinion of Tampa Bay at all but I just thought I would point that out to show that they may be a lot better than you’re giving them credit for.
MW: I hadn’t noticed that about the A.L. East, and good for the Rays. They’re off to a terrific start to the season, but it’s early. I don’t believe that their pitching will stand up over 162 games, and I won’t change my mind unless they prove otherwise over a full season.
- Peter B.Hey Mike,
Recently, the main topic of discussion on JaysTalk have been focused on the Jays picking up a “big bat” for the middle of the lineup. Wasn’t that exactly the purpose of the Frank Thomas signing? We overpaid for a “big bat”.
I know financially, it’s a bad move to guarantee him two years. But, all hitters go through these kinda dry spells. Dunn, Soriano, Texiera Braun, Fielder, Ortiz, Howard, and a bunch of other power hitters started off the season ice cold. You even said Thomas was the most consistent player on our team. Had we kept Thomas, we don’t have to give up a piece of our farm system and we won’t be in a situation where we pay a player playing on another team.
Looking back, if JP knew Wells would have been gone for 5-6 weeks, would he still have released Thomas?
MW: I never said that Thomas was the most consistent player on the team. Yes, J.P. still would have released Thomas if he’d known that Wells would be gone. I said at the time that Thomas would start to really hit in mid-to-late May, but I supported the release both because the Jays couldn’t afford to wait the month for Thomas to get going, and because Thomas was in the process of making his situation untenable.
- JamesYou sugggest that there is nothing in Tampa’s history that can lead one to believe that they can finish ahead of anyone in their division,A greed. Well I would say that there may not be anything in Tampa’s history to suggest they can contend, However this year they have jumped out to a fight with Boston for top spot in their division and six weeks in they are ten games over five hundred, alot more than say the Jays have ever done in the early going of a season in J.P’s tenure, This gives me more faith in Tampa then the Blue Jays, who are notorious slow starters. Not to mention, Tampa has shown their ability to develope a full team through their draft during their losing seasons, All J.P has done half his Tenure is complain about the division and payroll and come up with three decent picks that are now in the league, Ironic that he spent alot of time complaining about payroll being that J.P has come from a Billy Bean system. If I was Mr
Tony Riner, President and CEO or Rogers Media, which oversea the Blue Jays, I would definitely clean house if the Jays don’t make the playoffs regardless of how close they get. We’ve lowered our standard too long. If the leafs ownership can decided after three years that their standard of management is low. Why haven’t the Jays decided the same thing, after seven years of no playoff under one regime, Our standards were already set in 92 and 93 with the back to back titles under Gillick.
J.P made it sound like a payroll increase would allow the jays to run through the east, Ironic that a team with the lowest payroll is better off in terms of record, When we we’re the ones that got an increase,What does that say about our GM.
MW: You’ll have to go back through the last few posts, because I’ve answered these arguments about 800 times. If you were Tony Riner, I’m not sure what kind of power you’d have. Tony Viner runs the show at Rogers Media.
- NeilWhat do you mean by “how do you platoon them” (Scutaro and Eckstein)? It’s not the definitive L/R platoon but you can just split their starts some other way. Point is, Scutaro is hella streaky and right now he’s on the hot side (.318/.408/.394 in the last month), so it only makes sense to ride him as long as possible.
MW: If Scoot’s hella streaky then you don’t want him in, he was 0-for-10 going into today’s game. But what I meant was how do you platoon them, since they’re both right-handed hitters. You want them just to split time?
- ShawnMike
How can people compare Litch to Chacin? The latter’s success had alot to do with his funky delivery and eventually was figured out by teams. His control isn’t (wasn’t) close to that of Litch. Besides, is this the first time a non-overwhelming type pitcher has had success even though his name never made people salivate while coming up through the minors?
He’s just a very good finesse pitcher.
MW: You’re right - there’s no comparison between Litsch’s ability to throw strikes and Chacin’s. I think people are comparing the stuff and the out-of-nowhereness of the two of them.
- SimonI know I will never convince you Barajas should be starting over Zaun, but I’ll post these two points anyways. First of all, when the Jays start Rod Barajas at C, they are 13-5. When they start Gregg Zaun, they are 14-20. Secondly, Mark Grudzielanek is the only player in MLB with 125 PA that has less RBI than Zaun, and he’s had 20 less runners on for him in more AB and in general as the KCR #2 HITS behind the worst 7-9 in MLB. His inability to drive in runs is sickening.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting?sort=RBIs&split=0&league=mlb&season=2008&seasonType=2&
;type=reg&ageMin=17&ageMax=51&minpa=125&hand=a&pos=all&startDate=null&endDate=null&qual=false&count=195
MW: Try to keep your food down.
- AriMike, you suggest that there is nothing significant to suggest that Tampa Bay will finish on top of the division or wild card. However at least Tampa is showing signs by junping out to a great start being ten games over five hundred and really battling with Boston for Top spot in the division. Alot more than I can say for the Jays, This season or the previous two seasons. If the leafs ownership has held their management accountable for three seasons of finishing outside the playoffs by cleaning house, Why have we been so passive with a regime that has been in place for several years with no playoff appearance to show? It’s sad that we have come to this, when clearly a very high standard for Blue Jays Baseball was set by the Gillick Blue Jays. All we have been since Jp has gottn here is a five hundred team not much better than a record Ernie whitt would obtain as a Blue Jays GM. Im seriously Hoping As a passionate Jays fan and for others who hold a high standard for the jays, That Mr Tony Riner (President & Ceo of Rogers Media) will clean house if Jays don’t make the playoffs regadless of how close they get.
J.P Richardi made it sound as though a 90 million dollar or more payroll is the be all and end all. Apparently that isn’t the
case for the 500 jays or the yankees. Just ask Tampa or florida or Oakland. By the way wasn’t J.P hired on the same Day as Tigers GM Dombrowski? Tigers may not be doing well a t this point, however they have a World series appearance in less than seven years of Dombroski’s tenure.
MW: You just said that, but I posted this one, too, because of the hilarity of the Ernie Whitt comment.
- NeilWow, this team was 7-16 and fought it’s way back to .500. They had a stretch where they had outstanding pitching and gave up 1 run in 4 games. This is your Texas Rangers! Just goes to show that it’s very easy to look good while you’re beating up on bad teams. The Jays need to show they can actually beat some good teams before I’ll believe this. After all if Texas can do the same thing then ANYBODY can. And they beat up on Oakland and Cleveland, something the Jays couldn’t do. Oh and did I mention that they beat up the Jays too?
MW: The Blue Jays, in getting back to the .500 mark, swept two teams that were in first place when their series started and took 2 of 3 from the defending NL East champs. For years, the knock on the Jays has been that they can’t beat up on bad teams, and now they’ve swept the Royals. You can’t have it both ways.
- roccoThe line up has to change. It makes no sense to have four righthanders in a row followed by two left handers in a row, not to mention the low OBP of hill battingin the two hole. check his records…even when Hill is hitting in the 290’s his obp isnt so hot as to be that high up in the order. rios has never been an obp machine despite his lofty averages. overbay has always been a high on base guy save for his injury year and he needs to flip flop with hill. with the guys they have, i like stew, then overay, then rios, rolen, stairs. hill..
thoughts? and finally, i would rather see wilkerson and mench go before inglett goes. what direction do u see them going?
MW: Hill’s OBP isn’t pretty, and it never has been, but I feel that he will ultimately be a productive two-hitter in the majors, and they don’t seem to be suffering for having him up there. I wouldn’t mind seeing Overbay there, but they’re winning. I think that when Vernon Wells comes back, it’ll be between Inglett and Wilkerson.
- sammyoh by the way..josh banks 6 ip 0 runs 5 k’s in an extra inning win for the padres?? weird..
MW: Nice to see Josh do well up there.
- sammyI wasn’t a big baseball fan during Stewart’s first stint here. They say the guy could run like a bullet. I still like him as a base-runner. I’d pick him over Rios for a 100m dash anyday. so how do you compare the young Stewart to some of today’s fast runners in baseball?
MW: If you’re still willing to take him over Rios in the 100 metres, I’ll bet you my house. The young Stewart could fly indeed, but guys like Rios, Joey Gathright, Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury are faster.
- BeburgNothing wrong Mr. Wilner and no apologies needed for a short blog or lack of comments to responses - you do above and beyond in this realm for sure as is. Time with a young family far outweighs the time on the job and with greater rewards. I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you decided no Sunday blogs or very short ones with no respones to postings during the summer season. “Cats in the Cradle”
What a great weekend for baseball. Lot’s of sunshine - you just can’t beat baseball on the radio while working in the yard or just relaxing outside on the deck. You 3 amigos Mike do a fantastic job calling the games and supplying other info from what’s happening around the league.
The “Scootman” for sure has done an amazing job stepping in for Eckstein but your right Mike - keep it under control fans and in perspective, Scutaro was brought here as an insurance policy and when one or both of the other two are ready to go they should and will be in there - no matter what Scutaro is doing! Big tip of the hat though for sure as to the job he has done.
I looked at the standings today for only the second time this season - the Jays and their record is not a whole lot different from most of the other top 3 in each division - so why all the “nay-sayers”.
Oh yea for sure wasn’t it great to see a little history being made with Litsch and Overbay - and yikes I think Rios is on his way back slowly but surely - a play at the plate like that will do wonders for his confidence. Great to hear him being more aggressive and anticipating a play (moving on the ball while it is still in the infield).
Just think how much better we are going to be when all the guys start playing up to their potential!
I can hardly wait - stay positive!
Thanks
- BobHi Mike,
A gentleman wrote an interesting question/essay/blurb the other day about J.P.’s perceived (by the gentleman)difficulty in developing young players. You asked to be reminded about it because you didn’t have the time to fully respond. I thought that it was an astute observation, and I’m really interested in hearing your response.
Personally, I have to agree. I think that some of our young players have been mishandled.
MW: Some have, it’s true, but some haven’t.
- peteMike,
Hypothetical question …
If you could take any Blue Jay from any era and put them, in their prime, into the 08-09 Jays lineup, who would you choose? Ie. Who do you think would benefit the Jays most in this season’s playoff push?
MW: Great question. Carlos Delgado.
- ColeMike, just a quick note to say I love listening in to JaysTalk after the games. I’ve called a few times, most notable being on the way home from NYC last July after seeing Josh Towers blow the lead twice in one game… sigh. Anyhow, was able to attend both games this past weekend, and the pitching we have is almost unbelieveable. I’m curious to see how the next month or so pans out, at it will almost definitely determine the rest of the season.
Thanks, Mike!
MW: No one month determines a season, but thanks for the compliment!
- JeffI compare Litsch to Woody Williams, who put together a very effective MLB career. While he may not be Halladay, he is certainly not Chacin. Litsch also has tremendous make-up and poise. You never see him rattled and I think he will be in the big leagues for a very long time because of it.
Regarding Hill and Rios. I think it is time to drop them from 2-3 from the order. You look at the scoreboard at the Rogers Centre and scratch your head at the lineup. You have been absolutely right all along about Overbay, he should be hitting 1,2, or 3. Hill’s OBA is terrible!
MW: Both Rios and Hill went through a long rough patch, but Rios hit .333 on the homestand and isn’t looking so bad in that 3-hole. I wouldn’t mind seeing Overbay up at 2, but see what I said about Hill above.
- Jim B10 - 3 since the Indians triple play!!! Jays need the sweep before heading out on a tough road trip on the coast and NY.
I think Scutaro should be in the OF once Eckstein is back, if Eck is the committed starting SS.
I believe Marcum is on the hill, so the best #4 in the MLB on the bump. Hopefully he gets to benefit from some of the offensive explosion.
This has been a great month of May record wise, but have the Jays gained or lost ground in both the divisional and wildcard races?
Keep it up MW. When is the next roadtrip you get to go on? Going to try to see at least one more game at Yankee Stadium?
MW: I’ll be at Yankee Stadium for the all-star game. As I sit here, the Jays are three back of a playoff spot, so they’ve gained ground.
- Aaron KerMike, one day last week I asked about finding “unusual” statistics, and your response was “what do you mean by unusual”. I now have an example of the kind of thing I mean.
I’ve reviewed the Jays’ Home Run pattern this year, and find that they have hit 14 Solos, 9 x 2Run, and 4 each of 3 Run and Slams. So only 45% are Solos, which my “feeling” says is lower than the “normal” ratio — but I’m wondering where one could find similar stats for all teams, without going through individual box scores and toting them up (for which not even an old retired guy like me has enough time)!
Another example that comes up quite often is the breakdown between Starters ERA and Bullpen ERA — all I’ve been able to find is “Team” ERA — where do you find the “splits”?
Thanks, Mike, for your work on this blog — I can only imagine how much time it must take you.
MW: It does take a lot. There are a lot of websites out there that offer all kinds of ways to split up stats, I’m sure that you could find bullpen and rotation ERAs there. You could probably find the homer stuff there, too, if you look hard enough.
- NormOK, MIke. Put yourself in JP’s position. We’re all suggesting trades. Which trade would you make?
MW: I’d sign Barry Bonds.
- reyesHi Mike, I really enjoy your pre and post-shows and the blog. I have really enjoyed the hard-nosed play of Rolen since he’s been in the lineup. I think that this guy will be very crucial to the Jay’s success with Wells gone right now. He brings real presence to the lineup and a sense of dependability to both the field and the batting order. Speaking of Chacin, what is in store for him and even Parrish for that matter? I heard you discuss League as a potential starter on the radio show. Does this foreshadow a potential deal at midseason for Burnett? Thanx Mike
Jason
MW: Chacin is getting his head handed to him in A-ball, he’s not in the picture, nor is Parrish or League as far as a potential Burnett trade. I don’t think the Jays will deal any of their major-league starters.
- JasonMike…
Can Scutaro play RF? I would like to see him and Inglett platoon there, left bat, right bat. Is this possible?
Can Johnny Mac play SS every time Doc throws, plus late inning leads? That would be great, since Gibby could pinch-hit Mench/Inglett/Scutaro/Eck/
Barajas if need be in tight situations.
Will the Jays pitchers or Big Frank have the advantage in terms of knowing weaknesses of their opponnent this coming series with Oakland, due to the former teammate situation?
MW: Scutaro can play the outfield, but he’s hitting righties better than they’re hitting lefties. I’d love to see McDonald play short everytime that Halladay pitches, at least, but he’s still a while away from coming back.
- andrew - KWIt appears that BJ Ryan is recovering faster than expected. I noticed he consistently hit 93 on the gun yesterday which is about where he was in 2006. When he first came back he was 88 to 91.
If he follows others, that still might improve a bit in the next 3-4 months. Imagine him winging it at 95-96.
It certainly has been an amazing recovery.
MW: I didn’t see any 93s, I saw a lot of 89s. An amazing recovery nonetheless.
- GerryMike, I didn’t get to listen to the pre-game show yesturday becaujse I went out somewhere and I heard you had a writers roundtable and you were talking about Jesse Litsch? I wish you had the audio for it but what things did you talk about with Jesse Litsch?
MW: Whether or not he’s for real, whether this is the best-ever time to sell high on him, whether he’ll keep this up, that sort of stuff.
- andrewI’m glad you mentioned B.J. Ryan. It seems to go unnoticed, but it is truly amazing how well he is pitching, let alone pitching at all!
Nice to see us taking advantage of a team that is really on the ropes. A win today will set us up nicely for a challenging road trip.
If Cliff Lee is the best 5th starter in the league, then Marcum has to be the best 4th(based on how the rotation set up at the beginning of the season). Is there a better 4th starter out there?
I’d rather see us get rid of Mench than Inglett when JMac returns. Possible?
Thanks as always.
MW: Marcum is easily the best 4th. I like Mench, he rakes lefties. Hasn’t yet this year, but he will.
- Rob H.Hey Mike.
love the show/blog and all that but saying Eckstein shouldn’t lose his job because of injury sounds like something dumb Richard Griffin would say. I’m not saying Scoot should keep the job but if you play in the major leagues get hurt and someone proves they are better then you, you should lose your job! and if you don’t lose your job just because theirs an old saying that “you don’t lose your job because of injury” when someone is clearly better then you then every coach on that team should be fired.
MW: Rich Griffin isn’t dumb. He just has a different opinion about things than you do, I’m assuming. Used to be that people could disagree without calling each other names. You’re right, though, if someone proves they are better than that someone should get to keep their job. Scutaro has not even come close to proving that he’s better than David Eckstein.
- Dan MOverbase! LOL
- USELESS MANPS, I’m sure you’re going to laugh your head off and pour scorn all over this, but could we trade for Carlos Delgado? He is having a bad season and is currently hitting 219. But he’s got 8 HRs, and he’s always hit well at Rogers. A DH who could play 1st base?
MW: Who can’t hit anymore? Sign me up!
- reyesI was listening to the riters (righters?) round table and someone suggested exactly what i was thinking. Sell high on Litsch. I see him as a chacin/towers type pitcher (i don’t hate either of those pitchers so don’t take the comparison the wrong way). He’s good but, at absolute best, a number 4. Number 4/5 pitchers are not that hard to acquire. So, if you can get value for litsch, you have to do it. Obviously Litsch alone doesn’t get you a ton but it’s a start.
I think the pitching is so special this year you have to improve the offense. Having an offense that relies on excellent pitching is not a good game plan in my mind. Even healthy and productive this is just good enough. As has been evidenced so far it can’t sustain slumps from key individuals.
MW: It can’t? Aren’t they 11-3 with Brad Wilkerson hitting under .200 in Vernon Wells’ spot? Didn’t they sweep the White Sox with two hits from Scott Rolen? Didn’t they sweep the Twins with Alex Rios going 1-for-13? And they just swept the Royals with Aaron Hill going 2-for-13.
- jeremyMike, can you or one of your “followers” help me out, please?
Just for fun, I’m trying to build a Major League Roster of Canadian players, and I’m a few men short. Here’s what I have so far:
C — Russell Martin
1B — Justin Morneau
2B — ??
3B — Mark Teahen (or could also be in the OF)
SS — ??
OF — Joey Votto, Jason Bay, & ???
DH — Matt Stairs
SP — Jeff Francis, Eric Bedard, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster & ???
RP — Jesse Crain, Eric Gagne, and 3 or 4 ????
Anybody help fill in the ???’s
MW: Joey Votto’s not an outfielder. Put him at DH and Matt Stairs in the outfield with Adam Stern!
- Normhi mike
I would like to send my condolences to the family of ex-jay(albeit for a short time) Geremi Gonzalez who was struck and killed by lightning in his home of Venezuela. Gonzalez appeared in 131 games, 83 of them starts, and compiled a 30-35 record. Pretty decent pitcher.
MW: It’s amazingly sad. He was 33.
- andyMike i miss having Glaus. We need another one of those types of guys. The Jays just don’t have that guy who will strike out 180 times and will either walk, hit a homerun, or strikeout. I like to know what im getting with my hitters: grounding out sucks, strikeouts are sexy.
What do you think our chances are of getting Adam Dunn ?
If we did trade our farm to get him, what kind of contract do you think we’d need to offer him to sign him long term ?
MW: I don’t want to sign him long-term, I just want to get him here for the rest of this year.
- T.A. CheekThe Jays have 4 (four!) off days in June…I’ve got a great idea! Let’s give Aaron Hill an off day just as the Jays’ bats are heating up and as they try to cap an impressive homestand with a 4-game sweep! Brilliant, no?!?
MW: You did notice that Hill was 6-for-26 on the homestand, right? And, ummm, it worked out just fine.
- ShmuelThis is a little off-topic, but I don’t see why Joe Inglett’s name hasn’t been thrown around for a starter’s job, or even as a full-time utility player (if that makes sense… sorta like Marco Scutaro). Sure, he hasn’t had much experience, but he has never been a bad player at the major league level. Hell, his worst OBP is better than Ivan Rodriguez’s has been in four seasons.
MW: There are a LOT of people who’s obp stands up to Ivan Rodriguez’.
- LarryYeah, those Zaun bashers are all together correct. They’re right. He can’t hit. 4-0 Jays.
- Vito From HamiltonLet me prove you wrong…
In the last blog I said Jays are perfect on Sundays, then you say “And Tuesdays or Thursdays too. Or something”.
What is that supposed to mean?They lost like every second Tuesday and Thursday.
MW: I thought they were perfect on either Tuesdays or Thursdays. Oh well, I’ve been wrong before.
- AndrewAs we are now roughly 1/3 of the way through the season, who is your pick to win the Cy Young Award? I’m looking for a prediciton, not analysis of who has been the best so far (without question Cliff Lee).
Lee would still have to be considered. Matsuzaka looks good, but slumped badly after the ASB last year. Saunders is all smoke and mirrors and should crash down to earth any minute now. Do you think Marcum has a decent shot? Roy?
BTW, “Blogaggeness” should be spelled “Bloggageness”. Like “Baggage(ness)”. Everyone knows that.
MW: You are correct, I did misspell bloggageness. I don’t know how that got past me, I’ll fix it. It’s WAY too early to be talking Cy Young.
- James FiremanI really can’t see how you would want Barry Bonds but not Milton Bradley. I thought you didn’t put a lot of stock into that whole “clubhouse cancer” thing. Sure, Bradley isn’t Barry Bonds, he’s an injury risk and a jerk, but a .446 OBP and a .585 SLG? Yeah, I think I’ll take that in the 3 hole.
MW: He’s also a very disruptive influence, a guy who can’t stay healthy and a guy who has never sustained that level of performance.
- JohnHeard one of your callers today bemoaning the fact that the Jays would probably get swept in Oakland and be out of the race.I guess that means that Boston is now out of the race since they got swept by Oakland.Of course he’s not a pessimist?????Thanks for preaching patience with some of the hitters-no one seems to be complaining about Overbay now and Shannon Stewart is hitting for a better ave. than Reed Johnson and actually threw out a base runner.Keep up the great work.
MW: Thanks.
- DennisI heard that the Oakland A’s have Toronto number when /oakland play at home. Is this true? Also, do you think Lance Berkman will win the triple crown in baseball?
MW: Over the last five years, the Jays are 11-15 in Oakland, that’s not bad enough to say the A’s “have their number”. The Jays went 4-2 in Oakland last year. It’s too early to think about the triple crown, and Berkman is, like, 30 points behind Chipper for the batting title, no?
- andrewIf the Argos can attract an average of 30,000 fans to the SkyDome last year, then it’s a shame on the Jays Marketing Department that the Jays don’t average that much more per game.
Jays are seen as Major League while the Argos are seen as “just a notch below the NFL.”
You’d think with the muscle of the Rogers empire behind the Jays that they could bump up the average attendence a bit. When the Jays give away second rate tickets as a promotion to Rogers Cell Phone Users then why would someone buy tickets?!?
Come on Mr. Rogers! Get it together already!
Thanks Mike for letting me use this forum. It’s just that I didn’t agree with your “It’s Toronto” answer.
Have a great Memorial Day!
KK
MW: You didn’t? Toronto fans only seem to be loud at Rock and Toronto Football Club games.
- karim kanjiI’m just a fan but I’ve always
liked having effective switch hitters, the #2 slot with a left side batter and a left then right alternating batting power (in the #3,4,5, and even 6 slots) order as it can be adjusted to suit a pitcher or
platoon if needed,it uses up more of the other team’s relievers for managers who focus on same side match-ups and it’s good for overall hitting balance.
The Jays are a stable team even without Vernon in the
line-up and Rios is patrolling centre field very nicely.
The Jays have pitching,infield
depth but still could use some
left power and running speed
Is it time for JP to maybe
seriously look at Texas for
a 2 for 1 with their deep young and left loaded outfield and maybe get one or two of Josh Hamilton,Boggs, Murphy or even Milton Bradley? Wells
gives them right power and
the gold glove and it’s home.
Or,even if JP gives some pitching (Texas is at or near the bottom for team ERA) in a
package?
Nobody’s talking now but
Vernon has the opt out after
year #4 and going home will
never be out of his mindset.
Even Jerry Howarth was talking
trade with KC today during the game re: upgrading the Royal’s infield (the Jays have lots)
I wouldn’t mind watching
Joey Gathright’s speed
as a perfect #9 or #2
but I didn’t see anything
else the Jays could use from
KC.
Does any of that make sense?
MW: It makes sense, except that the Rangers won’t trade Hamilton, and I’m still in wait-and-see mode with David Murphy (who wouldn’t address the lack of power issue) and Brandon Boggs, who could yet be something. I don’t think the Royals would be interested in John McDonald to shore up their shortstop issues, as Jerry posited. McDonald fits with a contending team who needs that one extra piece, not a young team that’s going nowhere for a couple of years. Gathright’s speed is spectacular, but he needs to be able to get on-base better. The Jays should be looking for hitters with pop, not the Gathright’s and Murphy’s of the world. As for Vernon’s opt-out, the market would have to change dramatically for him to exercise it. It’s not likely he’ll walk away from $63 million over 3 years.
- BR in OakvilleMike,
How do you see the Jays finishing off the upcoming road trip? Does this KC sweep and offensive outburst have any substance going into these next three series and a sign of things to come or is it just a matter of winning some games that SHOULD have been won against a week team.
MW: It’s a good thing to win games that should be won. I think fans should be very happy if the Jays go 5-4 on the trip.
- GregHey Mike,
Just throwing in a defense of Dan up in Post #33.
I’m pretty sure he didn’t call Richard Griffin dumb, I believe if you grammatically correct his comment, it would be “That sounds like something dumb that would be said by Richard Griffin.” Or whatever.
MW: You may be right. Still, as you say, whatever.
- BrandonI’m totally calling for Toronto to have Smith’s number on tuesday.
He hasn’t done well second time around with teams and his stuff just isn’t that good. Ditto for Eveland.
Though i could be forced to eat my words.
- DaveMike:
How long have you been doing this blog, and has here been an increase in its popularity this season?
That Overbay guy can’t play at all, he’s washed up, eh?
MW: I started this blog at the winter meetings this past December, and I don’t know what the numbers are, except that they’re kicking a**. Thanks to all of you, by the way!
- andrew - KWAlthough the offence hasn’t been great and the Jays could use another bat, I don’t think they should give up the few good prospects they have(i.e. Lind,Purcey,League).If anything they should trade a catcher which they seem to have an abundance of.
MW: I think good, young catching is just about the toughest thing to develop.
- Steven W.Hi Mike, love your work.
What about trading Wells,to the Rangers for two of their left
side depth outfielders?
I don’t want to listen to his
“opt out” issues after this year when there’s two more to go! Will Texas look at it?
MW: Check out an answer above.
- RickDelgado’s .244/.303/.476 in May would represent a big upgrade over Wilkerson/Mench. I’d much rather have him around than those two, with Stairs, Scutaro, Inglett manning the OF until Vernon gets back. Obviously the Mets would have to swallow some salary, but don’t mock someone else thinking Delgado would be nice to have here.
MW: We always pine for those who have been here before and not won here before.
- AriFor clarification, I don’t think Litsch is remotely the pitcher Doc is, I was just noting that his ratios this year are the sort of ratios that other pitchers have succeeded with in the past - as opposed to last year when his secondary numbers indicated he SHOULD have been getting slammed.
One other argument in his favor is that the guys who make the most obvious comparisons as a middling back-of-the-rotation RHP (guys like Byrd or Williams) did not enjoy such success at such an early age.
But I do agree that if some other GM is seduced into thinking he’s a potential 20 game winner (which I would think very unlikely) then yeah, you have to take advantage of that.
MW: Yeah, but most big-league GM’s aren’t like fantasy players - they tend not to get fooled too easily by hot starts. You never know unless you try, though.
- WillRainWhat do you think about this oakland pitching staff? Do you think this staff is this good or are they playing way over their heads?
MW: I don’t think the staff is this good, but strangely, I think Joe Blanton is a lot better than he’s been.
- samDid you listen to Prime Time Sports today? Because on the roundtable, Jeff Blair mused about the possiblility of Roy halladay being traded, but later said the possiblility of him being traded is remote. Would trading Roy Halladay be a francrise killer and would that signal the blue jays are rebuliding?
MW: It depends what they get back, but I don’t see it happening.
- samWere the jays thinking about the possibility of bringing in Carlos Quentin this off season..My friend told me that he was a free agent. That guy looks like the next star in chicago…for get the cubs go SOX(white not red)
MW: He wasn’t a free agent, he was traded. The Jays weren’t interested, but they should have been.
- TomMike. At the beg. of the year I wrote you telling you to be more polite to callers and readers of your blog.
It appears to me that you’ve been nicer to callers and ppl on here.
Good boy Mike good boy for listening to Jamma.
MW: I don’t know if I have been, I think I’m just more tired.
- JammaWhen Overbay’s single got through to cash in Rolen and then the next hitter got one over the first basemans head I could not help but think of the cleveland Series where you said that they hit rock bottom. In that series Overbay grounds out on that play and the the jays come up empty handed. Nice to see thngs even out a bit.
Just wondering if we did sign a guy like bonds would you be concerned wiht the negative press and would he be a distraction? I’ve heard he is a nightmare in the locker room, but having not been in a locer room myself it makes me curious if this is actually true.
MW: Not many people who have played with Bonds have complained about him.
- kevinMike,
If you could put Barry Bonds as DH in the #4 spot for the rest of the year tomorrow, but it meant Vernon Wells was done for the year with his wrist injury… would you take the trade off?
MW: Yup, but does it have to be Vernon?
- JakeRegarding BJ Ryan, something I’m still not clear on is what exactly happened last year wrt his injury. Why did it take so long for the Jays to realize he needed the TJS? It seems usually a pitcher has some kind of soreness or whatever, they run a few tests, and depending on those an MRI is done. That determines whether TJ is needed. Yet, they knew Ryan was hurt in spring training last year (which they officially called a ‘back injury’). Then they let him start the season until, a few weeks in, finally realizing he needed the surgery.
I’ve had this weird thought. Maybe it’s crazy, but I have this feeling the Jays knew exactly what was going on with BJ in March. They knew he would need TJS, but also knew he would then have to miss the entire season. Could it be that they were pushing him to pitch, to see if he could perform anyway? Then when it was clear he couldn’t, they bit the bullet. That would seem grossly irresponsible. Is this crazy? Tell me I’m crazy.
MW: You’re crazy. They still had $36 million invested in him at that point, why would they do that?
- Flaming MoeMike, can you name me any player that had a opt out clause in his contract and decided not to exercise it and stay with his current team?
MW: Nope.
- andrewHi Mike,
Two things about the Jays pop out at me in the most recent Sports Illustrated article, The Bizarro Supermen by Tom Verducci:
1. The Jays rank as one of the three oldest clubs in the majors
2. “Since 2002 every team in baseball has been in first place on May 15 with only four exceptions: Toronto, Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Washington.” I’m not sure what the last point really means seeing Colorado made it to the World Series last year.
Are these be points of concern for you?
MW: Those aren’t be points of concern for me, not at all. Since 2002 none of those teams have made the playoffs except for last year’s Rockies, but neither have Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Texas, Seattle, Milwaukee or Cincinnati. Does it matter that they have all been in first place on May 15 at one point or another? I’m surprised that the Jays are one of the oldest teams in the majors, though that average age has dropped with the release of Frank Thomas, but I don’t see age being a factor in anyone’s performance - the only key players on this team who are over 32, pitchers included, are David Eckstein, Scott Rolen, Matt Stairs and Gregg Zaun, and Eckstein and Rolen are 33.
- DAWGMike, when you speak, you talk as though these Blue Jays and the past several Blue Jay teams have proven a heck of alot over the past few years, and as though they have made the playoffs each of the following years after the two world series titles. In fact in case you haven’t realized each of the years following the two world series have been extreamly dissapointing, because we haven’t made the playoffs,
I heard the caller that called in regarding jays being swept by Oakland. Your not a realist, because you can never acknowledge the lack of consistancy with this team Over the last few seasons and this season especially. The caller was trying to implie that we don’t know which Jays are going to take the field
and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays are swept, Was that any reason to try to humiliate him and get other callers involved. The inconsistancies of the Jays has been clearly obvious over the past few years. I guess all you want people to do is focus on player stats. What has th stats done for us this year. After multiple seasons of finishing outside the playoffs losing two out of three to KC earlier, getting swept by Oakland and swept by Texas, do you think people are going to call and be all happy go lucky about the upcoming series, Lets be real and a little more sensative to the hard core fans. You may not show tough love for this team,
but others may, and there is nothing wrong with that because this is not the leafs.
By the way you can say What you want about Pat Borders our 92 or 93 world series MVP, Greg Zaun has not achieved anything even close to an MVP and likely won’t befor his career ends.
MW: You’re right, Gregg Zaun likely won’t go 9-for-20 over six games in October and drive in three runs. The Braves also stole 16 bases and were caught only three times during that World Series, but Pat Borders was the MVP. Anyway, I feel as though you have completely missed the point about everything I’ve said. I know the Jays haven’t made the playoffs since 1993, but it’s really hard to make the playoffs in baseball - especially when the team was adrift and directionless from 1994-2001 and then the Yankees and Red Sox started spending craploads of money. The caller was NOT trying to imply that we don’t know which Jays are going to take the field, because they’re so horribly inconsistent, he said he knew the Jays were going to get swept in Oakland. That there was no need to even watch the games because he KNEW they were going to lose all three.
- NeilRiddle me this, though. Let’s say the Jays play ten games and go win-loss-win-loss-win-win-loss-win-loss-win. And they do that EVERY ten games throughout the season. Would that just be more horribly inconsistent baseball for you?
This is a laugher but out of nowhere i thought of this question - faster runner?
bengie molina, frank thomas
MW: I’m going with Frank.
- SunkenDPr0Mike,
Can you explain why you’d rather trade for Dunn over Holliday?
Love the blog and I support your quest to be play-by-play man for the Jays - ditch Campbell, he’s just too….fancy.
MW: Who said it was my quest? I’m very happy doing what I’m doing, but who doesn’t want to reach the pinnacle of their profession? I’d rather have Dunn because he’s a lefty and because of the Coors Field effect.
- LeeIf David Ortiz keeps his performance up the next couple of years, do you think he will start to be considered a hall of famer?
MW: I don’t know, but I hope so. You can’t exclude a player from the Hall just because of his position, but I guess there’ll be a good test soon when Edgar Martinez comes up for election.
- andrewHey Mike,
Just wondering you opinion on Ryan Howard. Do you think an immobile mvp caliber hitter like him could be traded for a bounty like Mark Tex ? Or, does his defensive shortcommings, age, and future large contract make him somewhat immovable ?
Thanks Mike ! Keep up the great work ! Boo Jaime Campbell !
MW: It’s not nice to boo Jamie Campbell. Ryan Howard was rookie of the year one year and MVP the next. Despite his current struggles, I don’t think the Phillies would consider trading him, especially for a rental player like Teixeira.
- DaveSomeone earlier was complaining about how the Rays are clearly doing a better job of scouting and drafting young players than J.P. I’m not the biggest J.P. fan in the world, but come on, when you have picks in the top-five of the draft for a solid decade, of course you’re going to come up with more gems.
- Alex PI thought you’d agree with me about Zaun, but I guess you’ve picked up your ball and gone home.
MW: Huh?
- Vito From HamiltonRe Hill’s off day: I think it’s inappropriate to assess the reasoning behind a decision based on whether it “works out,” especially if the working out is dependent on other, unrelated factors.
MW: I agree, which is why I pointed out how poorly HIll had been hitting the six games previous.
- ShmuelWell you’ve commented on just about every post except my fecetious, or mock agreement with the Gregg Zaun bashers. Anyway last time I looked, I don’t think disappointage is a word in the English dictionary, and check out this entrance music I have picked out especially just for you should you have been a closer for the Jays: He may not be your cup of tea, but this song sums up the feeling you’d want to project as a fearless closer. Thanks Mike.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=U7dR8-3Nc0M&feature=related
MW: Soon enough, we’ll get disappointage in the dictionary.
- Vito From HamiltonI’m going to submit the word extendo for the consideration of the fine people at Webster’s Dictionary to add to the English vocabulary. That’s a good Wilnerism.
- Vito From Hamilton