12:55 AM Eastern
Turns out it was less than a 24-hour stay back in last place in the A.L. East, and now the Jays have a chance to put some serious room between themselves and the Orioles with the four-day trip to Baltimore.
Is the bloom off the John Parrish rose just yet? Parrish showed why he hasn’t been able to keep a regular job in the big leagues with his three-inning stint this afternoon. He was all over the place - a pair of wild pitches, several others that Gregg Zaun had to almost separate a shoulder to snare well above his head, a couple of walks and a throwing error - and when he was around the plate, he didn’t miss all that many bats. Also, Parrish had a pretty big mental lapse on Akinori Iwamura’s leadoff grounder in the 3rd. It got past him and he stopped running for a second, then realized that Lyle Overbay was going to grab it and he should probably try to get to first base for a play, but didn’t make it.
I don’t think Parrish pitched himself out of the rotation, he deserves one more shot after two pretty good starts preceding this one, but a leopard doesn’t often change his spots, especially not after he hits 30. Shaun Marcum will be back Tuesday, and if it turns out Dustin McGowan will miss the rest of the season (not unlikely) then that fifth spot in the rotation will be handed over to David Purcey pretty soon, I think.
The bats and the bullpen did a phenomenal job. It’s funny, I come out and say that Marco Scutaro is in the line-up for all the wrong reasons, and he goes out and hits the three-run homer that puts the Jays on top for good. Since Cito took over and pretty much installed Scutaro as the everyday shortstop (I know he played second today), he’s hitting .278/.343/.378, which isn’t great but isn’t awful, and certainly not good for a top of the line-up hitter. But in 23 games he has scored 18 runs. That makes an impression on a manager, and that’s why he’s in there. I’m not saying it’s right - because it isn’t - I’m just saying that I’ve figured out why he’s hitting second every day.
It was great to see Alex Rios heat up, as well. The mercurial centrefielder-by-injury hit a no-doubt homer in the 3rd to break a 1-1 tie and added a pair of doubles. Yes, he’s having a disappointing season, but can we please cut it with the hand-wringing? For all the rending of garments, Rios is hitting .285/.336/.411 - nowhere close to where we believe he should be, but still above average in all categories. He’s also on pace to hit 43 doubles and steal 40 bases.
As for the ‘pen, Cito had it working, using six relievers who combined to throw six innings of two-hit shutout, allowing the Jays time to come back and win it. I’m not sure I’ve ever used that phrase before this season - time for the Jays to come back and win, interesting concept. Anyway, all six were terrific, and they wound up retiring the last 12 Tampas in order. Everyone but Brandon League and Scott Downs got in on the fun. It was nice to see them all, because there’ll be one fewer there on Tuesday, when Marcum is activated off the D.L. My money’s on League, though it’d be too bad to hand him another ticket to Syracuse after he stepped up and drilled Dioner Navarro Saturday night.
About that, I know I said yesterday that I didn’t think that League hit Navarro intentionally and made a crack about his lack of control, but it turns out that he did. Gaston said as much in his pre-game interview with Jerry. Cito didn’t like that Navarro dropped down a bunt with a five-run lead two batters after Evan Longoria hit his slam off Roy Halladay. I forgot that the Jays were being run by an old-school manager, that five-run leads used to be really big, and that there’s an unwritten rule against bunting with a big lead.
Personally, I’m of the mindset that so long as the opposition is still trying to score, I’m going to try to score as well, but Cito made it quite clear that he didn’t respect Navarro’s play, and that if he kept it up, he’d keep getting drilled.
Here’s this afternoon’s edition of The JaysTalk:
Rational, reasonable comments are always encouraged!
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A couple of things:
1. I was surprised at that blog post yesterday. You really shouldn’t have needed Cito to tell you the obvious.
2. I don’t care if Scutaro hits random home runs at the right times. He still doesn’t deserve the playig time over Eckstein at this point.
3. Lind should be batting atleast #5. Make sure the guy atleast gets over 4 AB a game. Enough with this whole Cito thing about preventing pressure from being on a hitter.
MW: 1 - Sorry to disappoint you, I’ll try to do better. 2 - It really doesn’t matter that you don’t care. I don’t think Scoot deserves the playing time, either, I was just explaining why it’s happening. 3 - Cito mentioned yesterday that he may bump Lind up all the way to the 2-hole.
- SteveMike,
Today and for the forseeable future a five run lead is MASSIVE. You said it USED to be really big and thats plain wrong.
This is something you have got to wrap your head around. We are in a new era in baseball now. Post-Mitchell Report, you can not just go out and get a bunch of walks and wait for the home run anymore. Scoring is down and you have to manufacture runs.
So, get with it Wilner. You should sit at Cito’s knee everyday and get rid of your old way of thinking about things.
MW: That’s funny. My “old” way of thinking, old being a year ago. We are in a new era of baseball now, are we? That’s interesting, because I thought I saw nine different teams score at least seven runs yesterday, and that doesn’t include the one that scored five in the 9th to come back and win.
- ProkopecPost#39 in the previous thread:
Quote:
Nice job this year. Can you give me an example of a baseball GM that has kept his job after seven years without playing a meaningful game in the last six weeks of a season? I thing the end of the JP era is a pretty sure bet.
~unquote
A: Dan O’Dowd
- WillRainHi Mike, I’ve noticed on the blog here, that when you refer to how people are hitting, for example, in today’s post, you said that Rios is hitting 285/.336/.411. When it’s talked about how people are hitting on the broadcast, only one number is used. Could you explain what the three different sets of numbers mean here? Hope this isn’t a dumb question. I’ve often heard it said that a player is hitting .289 for example, never three different numbers like that.
MW: No problem. Rarely will you hear me refer to only a player’s batting average (unless the other stuff isn’t easily available and I don’t have time to look it up) because that stat really doesn’t give a good picture of what the player is actually doing at the plate. The three numbers are batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage.
- DanMike - I’m with you that at all times teams must try their utmost to score - even ahead 30 -0 drop a bunt. Baseball is about individual performances. No matter - League did what was right! Why, under Gibbons, did it take an eternity to hit A- Rod? Cito has got the right idea. The bigest weapon a pithcer has against a hitter is FEAR - pitch inside. Bean ball, bean ball, bean ball, - a good brawl may be what the team needs.
MW: A pitcher should never throw at a batter’s head - ever, so I’m completely opposed to the beanball. Why did it take an eternity to hit A-Rod? Because the umpires came in to the Jays’ clubhouse before the first game of the series and said that anyone who hit A-Rod was going to be immediately tossed, which is ridiculous.
- DanielYikes! I went to listen to “The Blue Jays This Week” and all I got was the last few minutes of a CFL game. What would be a good alternate site to check in the event the flagship isn’t carrying “TBJTW”? I have no clue where to look as I’m not familiar with your network affiliates. Sorry I missed the show.
MW: You didn’t. There was no TBJTW this week because of the early Sunday night baseball game.
- Jim BranscomeWhich trade would you make if any, any other team likely to consider them?
To ARI-Inglett & Burnett for Hudson who’s batting 306 with 7 HR and you can move Hill to SS.
To CIN Halliday, Burnett, Rollen, Scutaro, Inglett & Rios for Dunn, Encarnacion, Volquez, Cueto & Phillips.
Not likely but would great long term wouldn’t it.
To NYY Rios & Burnett for Cano(7 HR) & Ramirez. Hill to SS & Ramirez bolsters the bullpen.
To NYM Rios, McDonald & Burnett for Reyes(batting 300 with 10 HR) & Chavez.
Reyes fills the need at SS & leadoff.
I personally like Arizona trade as I was againgst trading Hudson in the first place. Then the Cinc one as it helps long term.
The good thing is Hudson, Cano & Reyes all have more HR then Rios so no matter who you go with it improves the teams power.
MW: Except that at the end of the season, Rios will likely have more homers than any of them. Arizona wouldn’t do the first one, the Jays wouldn’t do the second one. The third one is interesting, though Endy Chavez isn’t anything terrific. It winds up being Rios and Burnett for Jose Reyes. Very interesting, but I don’t think it’s enough back for the Jays.
- DMillsHey Mike,
I agree with you about the “new” school mentality on leads and how with the uprising of power in the modern game, a lead can never be big enough.
You gotta be the hardest working man in the Toronto sports scene, thanks for the good coverage.
MW: Thanks.
- Frank the TankA couple of interesting notes from the newspapers:
- According to The Sun, Ricciardi has disclosed that no one has called him about any member of this year’s Jays. That, I assume, would include Burnett.
- According to The National Post, Ricciardi says that Marco Scutaro will be the everyday s/s next year. They have a guy in the minors who they like as s/s in the future.
S/s is one of these positions that kind of lends itself to lead-off hitters. So I wonder where our lead-off guy will come from. As of right now, this year’s team looks like it will carry over to next year. If Hill comes back and performs as well as he has up to now, he could bat second. But I don’t see him as lead-off…
MW: I don’t think a “this position has to hit here” mentality is helpful at all. I haven’t seen that in the Post, when was it in there? I’d be surprised and disappointed if that were the case.
- reyesHi Mike,
I was stuck listening to the TV broadcast (I usually watch the TV but listen to you,Jerry and Alan) and while Rance and Jesse were hammering on Rios’ lack of weight transfer he, of course, smashed his HR to left!
At the exact time, I was noticing how Rios’ stance and Wells’ stance are, strangely,
very similar now and how they
(sort of) sink down in the middle of a pretty wide set-up
and my question is:
Are they mentoring each other and/or are the hitting coaches supporting this? I agree that it’s harder to get weight transfer through the ball from such a very wide set-up. Is this part of why both their power numbers are lower?
Even though he’s (obviously) pretty pumped up,Barry Bonds is/was very good at getting weight through and power from his lower body.
With respect to Scutaro ,and Mighty Joe, on most other teams they would be a very good #8 and #9 duo. The problem with the Jays is
they have no one else to lead off or who are a solid #2
I was reading that a few teams are looking at Hank Blalock
(now that he’s finally back from a few too many injuries) and wondering if he wouldn’t be an interesting DH/3rd/1st
fit for the Jays? He was to
be forced to 1st base this year because of the emergence
of Velesquez (sp?) and now Texas has a desire to give Chris Davis a really serious
shot at staying on the team,
taking away Blalock’s shot at first. Texas has Bradley at DH but likely would want to re-sign him as a free agent.
Blalock could spell Rolen
and Overbay and be the DH
for Toronto.
Now my idea of trading
Wells and one of the middle infielders is for Boggs, Byrd and Blalock. I know you don’t want Bradley, but I’d look at him if JP did nothing before this year’s deadline.
A Boggs,Byrd, Rios trio would be a great group in the O/F for the next 3-5 years, and they would probably be a pretty good #1,2,3 in the order.
Wells would be the perfect fit with Murphy and Hamilton and would lock down Texas’ O/F as
they have lots of depth there but need infield depth and very serious bullpen help.
Jays could help them with pitching too but that is, probably, just too many bodies for a Toronto/Texas deal all at one time as you’ve noted before!
MW: I admire your persistence, I really do, but I don’t get the serious man-love going on for Brandon Boggs, and especially for Marlon Byrd. Byrd is pretty much the dictionary definition of “nothing special”, and Boggs has fallen back to earth pretty nicely after his hot start (now hitting .251/.335/.404). I like Blalock, and if healthy he could be a nice little left-handed power plant in the middle of the line-up, but do the Jays really need another player who has issues staying healthy? I’m also kind of hesitant about smaller power guys who haven’t been able to repeat their power this year. And you’re thinking of Ramon Vazquez, by the way.
- BRick in OakvilleFrom the WayAhead machine:
Jays Talk July 16, 2032
MW–Billy from Bayfield
Caller–How are you, Mike?
MW–Old
Caller– It’s been 40 years–
MW– That is factually incorrect. It will not be 40 years until this season is over and 17 games behind is tough, but not impossible. Please have your facts straight!
Caller– Sorry. Do you think it might be time for the Jays to consider a change at GM?. J.P. on his 9′th 5 year plan—
MW– Don’t you like Lyall
Overbay? I gotta go.
J.C.
Mississauga
MW: Yeah, that’s exactly how most JaysTalks go. Glad to hear you’re such a keen listener.
- jchenryjason frasor looked like an animal last night - holy smokes! when is he arm going to fall off?
- Paul OMike,
Do the Jays have any other starters that have the ability to come up as spot starters right now. Obviously there is Purcey but do they have anyone else they ciuld count on if say, Marcum is not quite ready yet? Because if not, can you really afford to give up AJ and risk burning out a young arm thats not ready for prime time yet?
MW: There’s Purcey and if they need it, they could always give Bill Murphy a spot start or two.
- Brandon FJust got back from NYC, spent the weekend there with 3 buddies. Great weekend, did all the sight seeing and spent Saturday at the park. That was the extra innings game in the 98 degree heat but it was worth it! Couldn’t get into monument park, to busy and they only had it open for 20 minutes at 11 o’clock? Did get to see a few players after the game, David Cone was laughing his head off at the Canadadian’s cheering for him while everyone else was cheering for the players. He corrected us when we yelled for the 93 championship! I was off by a year he said!
It was a great trip to a legendary field!
MW: Glad you had a good time!
- BartMike:
Listening to the post game show the other night I couldn’t believe how adamant you were that League didn’t intentionally throw at Navarro. The TV commentators knew it, the umpire obviously knew it and I think everyone watching on TV knew it as well. Navarro doesn’t exactly crowd the plate up there and if you watch the replay he actually jumps backward and still got hit. If that was just poor control on League’s part then he should be sent down to your softball league to play and just end his major league days. I guess the umpire wasn’t necessarily trying to be the star of the show on second thought.
MW: I’ve already said I was wrong, what else do you require, a pound of flesh?
- Peter B.Sure wish others would stop comparing Rolens’ year thus far, to that of Glaus. It just makes no sense to go on an on about Troy Glaus - he plays elsewhere and circumstances for the most part dictate results. He is in another league, another ball park, with another team. Who’s to say what his stats would be if he was still a Jay. He wanted out, he had health issues with his foot while playing on the surface at Rogers Center. Anyone with issues concerning a foot, leg or back know only too well the difference from being on a surface that has some “give” to it for any extended period of time vs a surface that doesn’t makes a heck of a difference as to your mind set, hence, performance, no matter what your doing.
Rolen will come around there’s no doubt about it. He is too smart and skilled a player as to this game not to. To say he is finished etc. is just pure ignorance of the game and what’s involved as to playing it.
Dissapointed, I missed you calling the end of the game the other night Mike. Is that the first time you have done play by play? According to comments, you did a great job! I may have missed it also as to the reason you were called on to do it - or was it just to give you a shot at it?
The Jays do a good job when it comes to sweeping a 4 game set - time for another one.
Thanks.
p.s. I believe, Vito & Bruno are one of the same - using two different IP addresses! Either that or they take turns sharing the same brain cell.
MW: I’ve done play-by-play before - lots of Spring Training games and a couple of big-league games (Buck Martinez’ final series in Detroit when Jerry was working TV; Tom Cheek Day), and tons of minor-league work. I was pressed into action Saturday because we lost power in the booth at the Trop.
- BobHere’s hoping the Jays can get on a roll with a big series in Baltimore. It’s not unrealistic to be 5 games back of the wildcard by July 31.
Are the Jays actively shopping Eckstein to try to get some prospects? Or have they let it be known that he could be had and are waiting on phone calls? I don’t know why they are keeping him around since he was originally brought here to be the starting SS and leadoff man.
Who would you want from the Dodgers for Eckstein?
MW: It’s pretty unrealistic to imagine the Jays will be able to pick up three games in the wild card race in a week and a half, even though they’re playing Baltimore and Seattle for the first seven of those games. Not to say it’s impossible, but it’s certainly not realistic. I’m not sure they’re actively shopping Eckstein, and I’m not sure what his market would be. He’s the kind of guy who has had to fight a label his whole career, and now that he’s lost the starting job on what’s basically a last-place team, other GMs may be saying that it’s finally caught up with him, though I would hope not. I don’t know that you could get more on the trade market than what the free agent comp will be.
- Aaron KerMike,
You probably mentioned 4 times on the air yesterday that Rios hit his 4th homerun yesterday when it was actually his 5th.
Also, it was quite obvious that the hit batter was intentional.
MW: Oh, crap. I make mistakes?
- ChrisMike buddy,
Missed your blogging during the AS break. You do a great job man.
You mentioned in the post-game how some fans have a “fantasy like mentality” in terms of trading when you are losing…I think we are at a point where fantasy baseball has spawned a whole new breed of fan, perhaps for the good of baseball (attendance/tv ratings/internet coverage).
Question in regards to the all star game and selection of venue… Godfrey was saying on OTR that the Jays would put a bid in for the 2012 game… How far in advance is this decided? What is the decision based on?
PS. The Jays are not the Leafs, stop trying to draw comparisons people.
MW: I’m not sure what the criteria are for the decision-makers. They seem to decide 2-3 years in advance. The 2010 game was awarded to Anaheim last month.
- Andrew (Guelph)mike, can we hear your play-by-play from saturday? those of us that missed it sure would love to hear the future half of ashby-wilner calls!
MW: It wasn’t that impressive, no background and me with a sore throat.
- andrew - kwWas talking with some friends about Travis Snider, and we can’t think of any 5′10” 250 outfielders in the majors.
Do you know of Outfielders the same size as him and why isnt he playing 1B in AA?
MW: Kirby Puckett and Tony Gwynn came close, no? He’s not playing first because he can play the outfield.
- ChrisHi Mike,
It looks like Mark Teixeira is out of Atlanta either by the trade deadline or by the end of the season. What would you think of a trade sending Lyle Overbay and a few prospects to get Teixeira as the Jays new first basemen?
He would be a great offensive upgrade (solid 30+ HR and 100+RBI hiter) and he’s pretty solid defensively too. I think he’d fit in great as the new cleanup hitter. Your thoughts?
MW: He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, why give up prospects when he’ll be freely available in October?
- IanAnderson Silva - if only the Jays batters could hit like that dude does - WOW!
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is freshly dried concrete and 10 is a lush green meadow, where would the current baseball turf at the venue previously known as Skydome fall?
Aneez
MW: I don’t know anything about MMA. I’ll say a 6.5.
- AneezWith regard to all the trade Burnett talk, I’m trying to understand the situation. Apparently you say that if the Jays were to trade him they would be looking for 2 major league ready (or very close) prospects which is understandable. However, if they keep him and he walks at the end of the year the Jays get 2 first round picks. I’m assuming that these 2 first round picks aren’t high in the first round and so chances are that they won’t exactly be major league ready.
Therefore, these 2 situations seem very different to me. Does JP feel that if he gets 2 first round picks that he will be able to pick a better player than what any other team would offer him? Also, although he’s had 2 consecutive good starts I thought it wasn’t a slam dunk that Burnett would garner 2 first round picks after walking since no one knows how Elias ranks the players. Isn’t there is a chance that they get less when he walks?
MW: It’s not a slam dunk that the return will be two first-rounders, you’re right, but if Burnett pitches to his career numbers in the second half, it should be. The picks definitely won’t be major-league ready, but there’s likely a good chance that they’ll wind up better players (potentially) than what J.P. is currently being offered.
- Peter B.Mike, what qualifies a player to be a lead off hitter? Is it just hitting ability, speed? And would a player like Adam Lind be able to lead off?
MW: There’s nothing that really “qualifies” a guy to be a lead-off man. Most managers like speed first and the ability to get on base second, which seems counter-intuitive to me. You don’t really want a big power hitter in that spot, because you want him at the plate with runners on as often as possible.
- Victor KovariYikes, can’t say I like those thoughts from Cito, but oh well. I never understood how professional teams that in relative terms are on the same playing field as everyone else being worried about getting beat too badly. If you can’t stop the other team from scoring in garbage time, you deserve to be embarrassed, suck it up. I guess we’ll have to live with things like that though.
Just a heads up, if we’re talking mean, Rios is .003 above the league average in OBA and dead even with it in SLG. If you only consider RF’s, which you probably should, he’s slightly below the mean in OBA and way under in SLG.
MW: Nah, I looked at everything. And yes, he’s barely above average in OBP and bang-on in slugging. I’m with you on your first point - if you don’t like that I’m scoring runs, stop me.
- Dan WMW: “a leopard doesn’t often change his spots, especially not after he hits 30″… LOL. great analogy there.
Oh yeah the friend who has a man-crush on Kyle Farnsworth says he just likes the way he stands on the mound and goes about his business. He has been boasting about Kyle’s recent streak of 8 shutout innings non-stop. He thinks Kyle is the best fireballer in the history. What should I tell him?
MW: Tell him he’s not even the best fireballer in the history of the 2008 New York Yankees.
- Beburg aka The relief pitcherQuick questions:
1) Are players allowed using corked bats at the Home Run Derby? If not, are their bats inspected prior to the derby?
2) If Mariano Rivera finishes with an ERA under 1, do you think that he will win the Cy Young Award just because he’s a Yankee?
MW: 1 - I’m sure the bats aren’t inspected, and it really doesn’t make a difference to me if their bats are corked. 2 - It depends on what the other elite pitchers do, it’s very difficult for a closer to win a Cy Young, but if he does win, I’d suspect it’d be because his ERA was under 1.00, as opposed to the fact that he’s a Yankee.
- Phil C.MW: The bats and the bullpen did a phenomenal job. It’s funny, I come out and say that Marco Scutaro is in the line-up for all the wrong reasons, and he goes out and hits the three-run homer that puts the Jays on top for good…..
I was thinking of your comments Mike, when he belted that 3 run moonshot. It was nice to see a multiple run homer for a change too. Mike, if you ride ‘em, they’ll perform.
- Vito From HamiltonHey Mike,
Nothing to do with your summary, but I have to bring it up again as I am scouring some stats on the web. Do you still feel JP keeping Zaun over Molina was the right move and that Zaun is a superior option to Molina? I always felt that was the wrong move and Molina wanted to stay here which also hurts. In terms of last year and this year they are not even in the same galaxy in terms of overall production at the plate and in terms of defense, Gregg “shorthop” to 2nd Zaun is not really gunning the batters out, I mean I am not sure I could honestly say who is better defensively. This lineup with Molina would be much better. Not to bash JP but what a horrible decision with the C position. .238 with 19 RBIs, yowzers! And please no excuses for Zaunie, he is a backup at best and I glad Cito is leaning that way..
MW: Given the way they’d both performed the season they were both here, I thought that Zaun was slam-dunk to keep, especially since the Jays’ option on Molina would have paid him $7.5 million. Molina is having a good year in San Fran, no question, but he didn’t have a good year last year (.276/.298/.433) and was awful defensively in his season in Toronto.
- MatthewMike, what do you think about Mel Queen being rehired to evaluate the farm system? I see this as a slap in the face to J.P and I think J.P is almost certainly gone after this year.
Any ideas on who could be behind this move?
MW: I’m not sure what I think yet, and it’s only on hearsay that we think his job is to evaluate the farm system. If J.P. is definitely gone after this season, then why is he still here now? As for who could be behind it, I’m not sure. Why would Paul Godfrey go to Queen, if it was because he’s Cito’s guy, well, Cito doesn’t have a contract beyond this year. It’s really interesting.
- Chris JonesI see that the Jays have hired Mel Queen to start assessing the farm system.
Since I don’t believe that JP is going to hire someone to check up on his work, who do you think hired him?
Is this a sign that there is someone new running the show for the Jays now? Or will be shortly?
MW: See above.
- sandyHey Mike
A fan suggested promoting Arenicibia the other day on your show. I had a look at his numbers, and since being promoted to AA, he has not walked even once in over 100 ab’s (.290 batting average). Arencibia looks like a good prospect, but he would get picked apart by major league pitchers at this point in his developement. After watching the regulars on the Jays stink it up over and over again, it is tempting to rush kids like Arencibia, Cecil and Snider, but i think its the wrong move.
Also, some have suggested dealing Doc Halliday. If the Jays are ever going to make the playoffs, they need an ace to anchor the staff. Its doubtful that management will shell out the cash to get Sabathia or Sheets, so please, lets keep Doc in Toronto. He is the only legit star we have.
sign Bonds.
thanks,
- rickSo let me get this straight. If your team has a 5 run lead you can no longer try to get on base and score more runs. That is completely and utterly ****. Somebody should throw a ball at Gaston’s head and see if he likes it.
All of this Cito adoration in Toronto is really irritating. So he was the manager of a team that won 2 titles. Big freaking deal. He had two very good teams that just happened to win back to back playoff lotteries despite him sitting on his a** looking like he was in a coma.
Bob “freaking” Brenly won a world series, and he was probably one of the worst managers in the history of the game.
MW: I’m sure Cito had plenty of balls thrown at his head back when he played, though he was only hit by 9 pitches in his 11-year career.
- GregJPI am not buying the argument that home run derby messes up your swing, so much that you can’t correct it even after more than a year. For me HR derby is just a glorified BP and 20,30 swings that you take during the derby should have no impact on your swing at all. If taking thirty 55mph pitches off the mound in a fun environment can destory your HR hitting abilities so much that you whine over it for more than a year, then you simply don’t deserve to play in MLB. Sour grapes in Rios’s case. Dozens have participated in HR derby and have continued to hit bombs after that.
MW: Did Rios say that the HR derby messed him up?
- Beburg aka The relief pitcherWhile it could be any Mets outfielder to replace Rios in RF. Maybe it could be Chavez & an prospect who plays the outfield.
I wouldn’t mind Hanley Ramirez but I think Reyes would be more available, also I don’t think Flordia would want Burnetts salary.
Who would you perfer? & which would be more likely?
MW: I’d prefer Hanley Ramirez. Neither is even remotely likely.
- DMillsHere’s the link:
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2008/07/20/jays-notebook-ricciardi-expects-gaston-to-return.aspx
Also, what is your reaction to Mel Queen being brought back to ‘evaluate the farm system’? The Sun sees this as the first domino for Ricciardi.
MW: Thanks for the link, I couldn’t find it on the website. J.P. didn’t say that Scutaro would be the starting shortstop next year at all - here’s what he said: “We’ve got Scutaro for another year. We’ve got Johnny (McDonald) for another year. We can hold the fort down with those guys, and you never know what you’ll get in the way of a trade or something else.”
- reyesBy the way, I don’t suggest that the s/s has to hit leadoff. But the attributes of a s/s are such that they can meld with the attributes of a lead-off. Fast, agile, reactive.
In all honesty, I don’t know where they are going to get a lead-off, and if the Post’s article is correct, then it’ll likely be Inglett or Scutaro next year. I hear that Cito is thinking of batting Rios lead-off, and he certainly has the speed and the reactions should he choose to use them.
To me, the real problem is that this is next year’s team. Eckstein won’t be there. Zaun won’t be there. All the other underachievers will. Matt Stairs is on a 2-year contract so he’ll still be with the team. The outfield is 2/3 under long contracts, and we need Lind. Overbay is still under contract and probably unmoveable. There’s not a lot of room to move here, and no takers even if the front office want to do some horsetrading. All I can say is that we need to find a mondo dh, otherwide I’m afraid next year will be a carbon copy of this one. Wells hit best in front of Delgado. So maybe he’ll hit better with a dh who can connect with power. I suspect Rios will hit better in that situation as well.
MW: I don’t get why everyone thinks that Lyle Overbay is untradeable, he’s most certainly not. He’s an average first baseman making reasonable money. Stairs will be on the bench next year. Wells had a great year in front of Delgado in 2003, but he also had an outstanding year with Delgado in New York in 2006.
- reyesHi Mike I wanted to know who the jays could trade for. I would love to get some young talent if they could trade Eckstein
MW: What sort of young talent did you have in mind? Not names (unless you want to give me names), just type of player.
- DavidMike I’ve heard your comments on the makeup of the team and I have to agree, the team seems to just be missing a few crucial parts but other than that in good shape. Slumping bad right now but in good shape. Overbay or Hill at the 2 spot, Rios if he can get all aspects of the game working at once would be a perfect number 3 with speed and power, Wells at 5 and Lind at 6 and who ever isn’t 2 is 7 all we need is a legit leadoff guy and power number 4. So couple quick questions, if we replace Overbay with a comperable power hitting 1st baseman would he make a good DH? Would moving Wells to DH and getting a speedy CF with good D skills be a good idea? Finally is there a lefty free agent pitcher out there that can be had in the offseason that would fit as a 3 or 4 guy? I’d love to see a lefty in the Jays rotation.
MW: Why would you want to have Overbay or Wells DHing? They’re both superior defensive players. The best lefty starters on the free agent market will be C.C. Sabathia, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Randy Wolf and the Perez brothers (no relation) Odalis and Oliver.
- NickHey Mike,
I know it’s a bit early but who do you foresee as the September call-ups?
Also, would you shut down McGowan for the season even if he was physically able to pitch again this year?
Lastly, both catchers in Double A seem to be having solid years - in your opinion are both Arencibia and Jeroloman ahead of Diaz and Thigpen on the depth charts?
Thanks as usual.
MW: I think we’ll see Coats, Arencibia, Bill Murphy, Thigpen and Diaz as September call-ups. I wouldn’t shut McGowan down if he’s healthy enough to pitch. I think Arencibia is at the top of the young catcher depth chart.
- CameronHi Mike….just wondering what the rule is for earned runs. When Parrish gave up the 3 run shot, the two runners on base reached because of an error to MacDonald and one by Parrish yet were scored as earned. Why?
Thanks.
MW: Nobody reached because of the errors. The two errors in the inning resulted in extra bases for a runner who was already on base, but wouldn’t have been out if the errors hadn’t been made. So the home run made the extra advancements moot.
- MikeIt is strange to read quotes that Alex Rios has no idea where his power has gone. Does he seriously have no idea? Cito mentioned something about swinging off his back foot.
Does Rios really have no idea, or is he just saying that for kind of dramatic effect, like to show frustration?
Thanks!
MW: I’m sure he thinks he has no idea why his power is gone - he has some ideas why it might be gone, though.
- RoryI don’t know if you saw this video of Travis Snider winning the Eastern League’s home run competiton — but it is awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nd11Wgd0gY
Hope for the future of the Jays!
- Jim BMike,
Thats funny. Your suggestion that we’re not in a new era because some teams scored a bunch of runs on a humid Sunday afternoon is a fine example of the specious logic patterns which pock many of your other arguments.
If I told you that on September 25, 1951 the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 14-2 in the second game of a double header (look it up) would you then conclude that that decade, generally regarded as a “pitching dominant era” was in fact a period of tremendous offence? I hope you wouldn’t.
Any reasonable person knows there will always be aberrations, but an era is defined by the general trend.
Anyway, I compare post Mitchell in MLB to post lockout in the NHL. Both periods will represent a return to the era previous. In the new NHL that means more scoring (they hope), and in the new MLB that means less home runs and less offence and a return to emphasizing fundamentals.
MLB just doesnt tout it as much as the NHL because they dont want to highlight that during the second half of the 90s and beyond they knew their players were on steroids and did nothing to stop it.
So anyway, rather than cheapshotting Cito, if you want to stay current, I suggest you learn from him.
MW: It’s awesome that you would criticize my “pock-marked logic” and then bring up one game from 1951. That’s awesome. I might have pointed out that over 60% of the teams that played that day scored three runs or fewer - but that wouldn’t have supported your argument. I didn’t cheapshot Cito (cheapshot isn’t a verb, regardless) - if he thinks a five-run lead in the 6th is insurmountable, then there’s an issue there.
- ProkopecKeep posting the irrational, unreasonable comments — some of them are pretty funny!
MW: They keep coming.
- Johnleopards dont change their spots but apparently they can kill crocodiles…
Back to baseball,
If we lose this series to the O’s, all i ask is that we dont let Aubrey Huff or Kevin Millar, beat us…hate those guys…worst starting players in the in human history
MW: Wow, that’s saying something.
- slobberfaceMike,
heard that Cito had a closed door meeting with Rolen, is he wearing out his welcome already?
MW: Cito came out of the meeting saying that Rolen is the best third baseman he’s ever seen, so I’d say no.
- jwHey Mike,
I’m currently watching PBS’s ‘Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns’. It’s a ten DVD set that covers the game from the 1840’s to 1994. So far (and I’ve only made it to the 1919 Black Sox) it’s fantastic. If you haven’t seen it, Mike, I’d strongly reccomend it, though I’d wait until the off season, when your work load is a little lighter.
- Matt#35. No Rios didn’t, but it was one of the subjects today in bluejays.com. Do you believe in the theory that HR derby has such a massive impact on swings? It might disturb your timing for a week, at most, but people still blame the 2005 HR derby for Abreu’s lack of HRs. I think it’s a crappy analysis.
MW: I’m with you.
- Beburg aka The relief pitcherWhere is Shannon Stewart and is he coming back at all this season?
Matt Young
P.S. I’m confused over your comment to me in a previous post where you said “You’ve have been a great pitcher if only you knew where the plate was” :)
MW: Stewart is still a ways away at last word, but there’s no real place for him on the team anymore anyway. As for the P.S. - go to baseball-reference.com and search yourself.
- Matt YoungHey Mike,
My friend and I argue quite often over who the best player in baseball is today. I say A-Rod, he says Pujols.
Who do you think is. Is it one of these two? And if not, who is? And if not, could you please pick who you think is better of these two, just so we can stop arguing.
Thanks Mike!
MW: I think it’s Rodriguez, but you could certainly make the argument for Pujols.
- MattHorrifying is right, Mike!
- Vito From HamiltonCito sees a 5 run margin as large. Any person aware that this exceeds the average number of runs the Jays score a game this season sees it as large.
The only issue that I can see is, why won’t Cito drink the Wilner Kool-Aid?
MW: Did you notice that the Jays scored four runs in the 9th inning of that game?
- ProkopecMW “2 years ago this was a great group of hitters and that’s something that can’t be debated”
HUH? 2006 the jays were 7th in runs scored in the AL. that is the only offensive stat that matters. avg, obp etc dont matter because the GOAL is to score runs. 7th in runs scored is NOT GREAT. the problem with you mike is you keep repeating things that are simply not true because it makes you feel good to keep saying it, but just because you keep repeating it over and over and over again doesn’t make it true. your philosophy is “stay the course” where have we heard that before???????
MW: Wow - first ever comparison of me to George H. W. Bush. Congrats.
- roccoMike, do you have any conructive critism for the Jays GM?
MW: Sure.
- andrewTrade Travis Snider now! He was in a homerun derby for crying out loud. He may never be the same again.
All kidding aside how likely is it that he gets called up come September ? There’s alot of hype about him, i’d like to see his potential. Finally, why has Gaston not yet moved Adam Lind up in the lineup ?
MW: I think we may see Snider in September, and we’ll probably see Lind move up in the line-up by August.
- Dilson“About that, I know I said yesterday that I didn’t think that League hit Navarro intentionally and made a crack about his lack of control, but it turns out that he did.”
MW: I deleted the rest of your comment instead of simply deleting the whole thing, because honestly, they don’t pay me enough to deal with utter crap like that. Now I’m going to go steam-clean your excrement off my living-room rug.
- roccohey Mike thought you and other bloggers would be interested in these.
David Cooper, 1B, Low-A Lansing (Blue Jays)
With Travis Snider ranking as the entire organization’s only prospect who projects as a middle-of-the-order force, to compensate Toronto focused on advanced college bats with their first-round pick this June, and selected Cooper with the 17th overall pick. A first baseman whose only tool is the bat, Cooper has had zero issues in translating his skills to the pros, and after batting .341/.411/.553 in 21 New York-Penn League games, he’s now tearing apart the Midwest League. The former Cal star slugged his first two full-season home runs over the weekend, and is batting .386/.438/.614 in 11 games overall for the Lugnuts, looking very much like the kind of hitter who could rocket through the minors. Seeing him in Double-A at some point in 2009 could be a reasonable expectation.
Zach Cozart, SS, Low-A Dayton (Reds)
A second-round pick last year, Cozart entered pro ball as an outstanding defensive shortstop with little offense to offer. The first part of that equation hasn’t changed, but the offensive aspect of his game has taken a shocking turn. After hitting just two home runs over 184 at-bats in last year’s pro debut, Cozart just slugged his 11th and 12th home runs of the season over the weekend, and is now hitting a shocking .269/.330/.470 in 70 games for the Dragons. The on-base skills are still lacking, but the power development is downright shocking, and all he needed was some kind of offensive upside to project as an everyday player in the big leagues, because the defense really is that good.
and its free week at baseball prospectus if anyone is interested.
MW: Why would we be interested in a scouting report on Cincy’s A-ball shortstop?
- Anothony“MW: No problem. Rarely will you hear me refer to only a player’s batting average (unless the other stuff isn’t easily available and I don’t have time to look it up) because that stat really doesn’t give a good picture of what the player is actually doing at the plate.”
Then why do the radio broadcasters (who are paid to discuss baseball) never or rarely mention OBP, SLG, or OPS?
MW: A lot of the older broadcasters aren’t yet comfortable with those stats.
- GregJPIt’s time that the unwritten rules are left behind. Five runs was not a big lead on Saturday, evidenced by the mini-comeback in the bottom of the ninth.
It’s good “clean”, “hustling” baseball to take someone out at second base to break up a double play or run over a catcher in the name of scoring a run but bunting for a hit with a five run lead in the sixth inning is somehow “dirty”??
Maybe this guy isn’t the answer.
- Rob M