10:55 AM Eastern
Sorry for the lack of bloggage on last night’s win, but here’s last night’s edition of The JaysTalk:
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I have time to say one thing: How bizarro is it, relative to the Jays’ season as a whole, that not only could they come back from 3-0 down against the league’s ERA leader with five straight two-out hits to take a 4-3 lead, but then that after Oakland came back to tie, the Jays put the winning two-run rally together without getting even one hit? Losing pitcher Jerry Blevins faced five hitters, four of whom reached, and not a single one put the ball in play.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome.
57 Responses to “Last Night’s The JaysTalk”
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First off, props to Johnny Mac. The Cabinet is proud.
I was at the game last night, sitting in section 536, near the right field upper deck, and from my angle barajas was out at 2nd, which would have nullified the jays’ 2-out 4th inning rally.
Shoddy media coverage failed to highlight this play.
Do you believe he was safe or out?
MW: There is no question that he was safe. Mark Ellis never stepped on the bag. Shoddy media coverage?
- DanHey Mike,
With Wells set to return soon and Shannon Stewart presumably not far off (I heard he’s starting a rehab assignment soon as well?), is it safe to assume that both Wilkerson and Mench will be gone upon their returns? I certainly hope Wilkerson isn’t kept around based simply on the merit of being left-handed (or because JP “likes him,” which has gotten him this far).
MW: I think Mench probably goes when Wells comes back, I’m not sure if the Jays would rather have Stewart or Wilkerson.
- TyMike, is Cito letting this declaration that he’ll be back next year get to his head? I dont see how any manager trying to prove his worth for next year would put Brad Wilkerson in the two hole. The logic behind the following comment…and i’ve heard it a few times…defies me.
“we have brad here because we’ve liked him for a long time and he became available”
you know who else is available? hank aron, willie mays, Paul Oneil, Bert Blyleven. Everyone on earth apparently except the Jays staff realizes the dude cant play anymore. Not only do the jays play him, they put him in the two hole. the excuse that vernon is coming back soon is lame. do we not put our best team out there because we dont care about the short term?
MW: Wilkerson hitting second is mystifying, indeed.
- sammy jalalzaiHi Mike,
Since AJ is just getting better and better this year, do you think the jays should trade him at the end of the year to get a very useful player?
MW: They can’t trade him at the end of the year. Well, they can if he doesn’t opt out of his contract, but he will.
- MikeyGood to see everyone is getting in the way as they fight for space back onto the bandwagon :-)
I don’t want to sound like the half-full or pessimist kind of guy, but my prediction is the Jays will cut the wild card lead down to 4 games and then everyone will be saying how they are a contender, and then at that very moment they’ll lose 7 of 8 and head back to obscurity. The thing about pretender’s is when the pressure is off, they play they’re best ball, but when the pressure is back on, they show everyone why they were pretenders in the first place.
MW: Why did you use the apostrophe the first time but not the second? And “they’re” best ball? Really?
- BobbyHey Mike, a certain toronto sportswriter claimed that the Pirates were offering Travis Synder and Brett Cecil for Jason Bay. Would you have made this deal?
MW: No.
- smThought you may want Billy Beane’s trading history. Keep up the good work.
http://mlbtr.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/8691437/9064668
Love the blog, listen to Jays talk every day.
- RahilFor any semblance of miracle to happen, the good vibes are going to have to continue through this weekend series before they hit the road.
31 – 16 the rest of the way to reach 90 wins. Looks more and more like 90 wins is the magic number. Tampa Bay doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. They have the #3 ERA in the AL.
Jays might be on the outside looking in right now, but still being on the fringe with this pitching staff gives us a chance to win every night. Not much else you can ask for.
I saw that Burnett was scheduled to pitch again on Sunday afternoon, was that a misprint, or are they going to run him out there at home on short rest again?
AL Cy Young – who are the front runners, and is Burnett starting to creep into the conversation, now having 14 wins, or is the ERA just a bit too high?
MW: Scott Richmond is pitching on Sunday. Cliff Lee, Joe Saunders, Francisco Rodriguez and Roy Halladay are the front-runners for the A.L. Cy Young right now, but it’s still early.
- Aaron KerTook my son to his first night game (he’s only six and the games go too late for him) and it was great to see the comeback, and for Johnny Mac to have a great game. A bunch of kids from East York got tickets from the Jays to see the game, and all had a great time. It’s good to see Cito giving Johnny Mac a shot at some regular playing time, and even better to see him making a strong case to close out the season as the starting shortstop.
Mike: can you give us an update on Accardo? Haven’t heard how he’s doing.
MW: He pitched an inning for Syracuse last night, and continues to rehab. The Jays would like to see him pitch in back-to-back days before bringing him back.
- VavaSorry for the double post, but wondering if Marcum is healthy, that Cito considers a 4 man rotation for the rest of the year to get Doc, Burnett and Marcum as many starts as possible?
MW: Not a chance.
- Aaron KerI think that too many fans here are irrational. They want a world series and NOW! They’re sick of the rebuilding and the 5 year plan. The Blue Jays have been successful lately, but fans still find negative comments. It does seem odd that there are way more comments after a loss than a win. Why is that?
MW: The majority of fans really seem to love to have something about which to complain.
- MarkLooks like someone is FINALLY smiling on us…
Go Jays!
- LukeI’ll try once more, Mike.
When will you be convinced that the changes in manager, hitting coach(es), and philosophy are making the difference (and this should have happened MUCH earlier)? It cannot be a coincidence that the players suddenly started to hit better after these fellows came in. Think of the Jays typical injury excuses. Well, the hitting has been better without Hill and Wells AT ALL. Cito and Gene Tenace have referred to changes they needed to instill and the players themselves have said the same thing. OK, you want to dismiss their comments as biased. Why not check some statistics? What proportion of hitters on the Jays wind up with 2 strikes before Cito and after Cito? And how do these results compare to league averages? I’m willing to bet the players are getting more hits now because they are not defensive as often hitting with 2 strikes so much as before these changes were instituted. This DOESN’T mean they’ll hit well every game – no team does, but averages well over a month are absolutely telling especially compared to the previous regime (back to 2007, I might add).
As one last shred of evidence, I was at the game when they came back against Huston Street on Wednesday. The line drives hit that inning were on first pitch fastballs, or at least before there were 2 strikes. It’s only one inning of one game, but I’m certain the players were discouraged from doing that before the regime change.
MW: Players were never discouraged from swinging at the first pitch under Gary Denbo.
- Lorne CohenHi Mike,
Your comment about Lyle Overbay getting out the least is unjustified because he is also the team leader in double plays (gets other people out with him when hes out) and fielder’s choices (ground balls where he gets the person ahead of him on base out and he isnt) Overall he is not a good player.
MW: Fielder’s choices count as outs on Overbay’s record, so that has nothing to do with your argument. Where did you get the fact that he leads the team in FC’s, by the way?
- FrankMike,
Are you reconsidering putting back the “Down on the Farm” minor league scoreboard back on the post-game after last night’s fiasco?
Again, I enjoy your work but I don’t enjoy some of the idiot callers. Honestly, I feel dumber for listening to their dumb** comments such as “Fire Billy Beane” or “Trade Jason Frasor and a draft pick for two 20 HR hitters.” Are you kidding me? To think, SI.com rated Jays fans 25th out of 30 in a recent survey for their knowledge of the game. More like 125th! David Wells said it best, “The fans here stink!”
MW: What fiasco?
- A.D.Hi Mike
I am a regular reader/listener
Do you think the Jays will make an offer to AJ in the off season?
Also, Scott might like to play for Canada in the world Basball Classic. Do you think the Jays will let him?
MW: I’m assuming you’re talking about Scott Richmond. Him pitching for Canada may hurt his chances of making the Jays’ rotation, since I think he’ll be in a tight battle for the 5th spot. Much like Russ Martin with the Dodgers in 2006, it’ll likely be in Richmond’s best interests to be in camp in the spring. I think the Jays will work with A.J. to try to extend him before he opts out, but once he does, they’ll likely not be in it.
- RichardHi Mike,
It was good to meet you outside Rogers Center last monday, with my entourage of nephews and brothers (i picked a bad year to be trying to get them all into Baseball)
Sadly that was my last Jays game of the year, had to fly back to Scotland on wednesday, but i got to go to Yankee Stadium before it shuts, and saw the Jays a bunch of times. Despite coming every year monday was the first time i’ve gotten to see A.J. pitch live, glad i got to see him before he opts out. By the way the Yankee’s are far easier to admire than they are to like, in my opinion. Great city though.
A couple of quick questions for you.
Do you agree with J.P. that shortstop is an offensive position? i would have thought defence is the main priority at short, and it’s only been highlighted by the Jay’s lack of production elsewhere this year.
How close do you feel Doc is to a possible 2nd Cy Young award right now?
Thanks
MW: It was nice to meet you and your brood, too. Thanks for stopping by. I don’t agree that positions need to be offensive or defensive, I think the whole thing works as a unit. I don’t think Halladay is all that close to a 2nd Cy, simply because he has eight losses and Cliff Lee is 15-2.
- ukJayOkay, I guess you and I will not agree on John McDonald – though we did for much of last season until you suddenly changed your tune. He can’t hit plain and simple. Over the last 3 seasons, he hasn’t had an OBP above .280. That’s an automatic out. Perhaps the fact tha you know him personally prevents you from looking at him from an objective standpoint.
MW: Last year I changed my tune because of the fake stat I made up – I can’t even remember what I called it. This year, I’m on the fence.
- AndyMike, great show and blog.
A “modest proposal” for the blue jays (i like to play GM instead of completing assignments at work):
Trade B.J. Ryan in the offseason, just try and get someone to take his contract. I love the guy but wouldn’t our bullpen still be amazing without him?
With all the money we would have off the books with that trade plus the lack of Zaun, Eckstein, Thomas, and possibly Burnett couldnt we make a serious run at Manny Ramirez and try and bring Orlando Hudson back as well (convert Hill to shortstop since the market is so thin)?
If that did happen, our line-up could possibly look like this:
Rios
Hudson
Wells
Ramirez
Lind
Overbay
Rolen
Hill
Barajas
I think Rios would be a good enough lead-off hitter (considering speed) if we had a replacement for him in the middle of the order (Manny). Also, maybe Wells would return to form with Manny protecting him in the lineup.
Also i hope we get to take a look at J.P. Arencibia this september so if he does well we could phase him into being the starting catcher next year. Also it would be nice to see Travis Snider come up at some point next year if he does well at AAA (maybe trade Overbay at the deadline and replace him with Snider?)
I know rushing prospects is dangerous, but i feel that we need a shake up!
Also, even without going after a starting pitcher i feel we would still have a pretty good rotation with options like Litsch/Cecil/Richmond/Purcey for the final two spots. Heck, who knows, maybe even Romero could surprise us considering his recent success and get into the mix.
Am I dreaming?
MW: You’re definitely dreaming, but it’s not a terrible dream. I think they need to add to the rotation, though.
- TimWhats the word on Brian Wolfe? He threw 5 innings last night in Syracuse; he has been pretty lights out down there this year, and he has been solid with the big club. I’d rather see him than Parrish or Frasor.
MW: It seems they’re trying to turn him into a starter.
- BrettHey Mike,
The Wilkerson situation continues to astound me. The end is in sight though.
Another thing that I find troubling: JP seemed resigned to Overbay being the guy at first next year. For the offence to improve measurably how does he expect to do it and yet not upgrade at first? Rolen is unmovable with his injury/contract, so that leaves SS and DH and I would be shocked if the Blue Jays can sign two guys in those positions who will be sufficient to help turn around the offence. Not that guys won’t be available but the Jays will be outbid for the top guys.
Among AL first baseman Overbay ranks 3rd in strike outs and yet among the worst in slugging pct., 12th in HR, and NO first baseman in the AL who has as many AB’s as Overbay has fewer RBI’s or HR’s. Also, only 3 AL first basemen with at least 200 AB’s have a lower avg. with RISP, and one of those guys has been put on waivers, another was demoted to platoon duty and then there’s Giambi who has superior HR, OBP, SLG. and total RBI numbers, and has stuck out 20 fewer times. Some might argue that Overbay isn’t a slugging / run producing guy, but if he’s a contact hitter then he shouldn’t be on pace to strike out more than 100 times.
Now I don’t believe in “offensive” positions but I do know that statistically Overbay is one of the worst first basemen in the league. Mike, I know you’re an Overbay guy and this isn’t an attack against you, I just think Overbay does not help this team score runs and he needs to be upgraded. His career numbers before last year were good, but I don’t want to have to cross my fingers and hope he reverts back to that form – that’s what I did this year.
MW: He’s a lot closer to his career numbers this year than he was last year. I don’t think Ricciardi is “resigned” to keeping anyone at any position, he’s always looking to upgrade. But Overbay isn’t nearly as bad as so many people seem to think he is.
- JeffYou know what, the jays needed a break. Every team recieves some sort of bloops, errors commited by opposition, balls that carry out of the yard, etc. It might seem as if they have been getting some help from the opposition of late but fans should not forget what we went through during the unbearable first half in which every fluke was agaisnt us. It seemed like that every game, day in and day out. I still feel we are overdue on offense and more games like this(when the opposition gives us the win)I would love to see something like what we did to cincinatti earlier this season when we had like 20 hits and 14 runs? I just want an outburst from this team. Would’t that be nice? Oh yea one more thing, haven’t you notice every wednesday when JP takes phone calls, 90% of the callers are positive and they suddenly believe in what jp is doing but when it is a regular jays talk session, around 50% (sometimes higher) of the callers refer to Jp as if he is trash and not qualified to be a big league manager. I kinnda find that sad. say what you have to say about JP right to him, whats wrong with that?
MW: I couldn’t agree with you more.
- JaysFanMike,
No need to appologize!
If you where the fantasy GM in this offseason who would you target with the same budget the jays have?
Thanks
MW: I’d go after Manny Ramirez on the free agent market, and maybe an Oliver Perez/Derek Lowe type as well. I might take a cheap flier on Carl Pavano. Then I’d work the trade lines.
- SeanTHe Jays are still a bad team.
When are you going to acknoledge that fact.
MW: They’re 59-56, leading the league in pitching and defense. If they were in the NL West, they’d be in first place. By no objective evaluation are the Jays a bad team.
- Bob WalshMike,
I am trying to be rational….and reasonable. I think that if you go through other teams injury situation this year you’ll find the jays are pretty much in the middle of the pack. I sucks when players on your team get hurt, but it happens to everytime. No team has 9 players making 162 starts.
I enjoyed the comment about being able to carrying J-Mac’s bat if you can carry Bad Brad’s. Maybe there is room for all the middle infielders if you play Scutaro in the OF.
Lastly, do you think that money is A.J.’s only factor in deciding to leave or opt out? And what are the odds of the Jays upping the anti and paying him to stay?
MW: I don’t think you’ll find the Jays in the middle of the pack as far as injuries as concerned. Maybe in number of players injured, but certainly not in injury length to important players. Scott Rolen – 1 month, Vernon Wells – 2 months, Aaron Hill – 4 months, Dustin McGowan – 3 months, Jeremy Accardo – 3 months, Casey Janssen – all season. Does anyone else stack up to that? Maybe the Indians, but they’re 15 games under .500. I don’t know if money is the only factor with A.J., term probably matters a lot, too.
- JWThis is the oppurtunity to have a nice long winning streak with the struggling Indians coming to town. I’ve been watching the Tribe down here in Ohio and save for Grady Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta the Indian’s offense is in tatters. The biggest disaster is their relief pitching. Occasionally the two Rafael’s (Perez and Betancourt) are decent but the rest of the relief pitching is horrendous. Cliff Lee has been hot all year and I figure he will keep them in the game the day he pitches. Like all Blue Jay fans, I’d like to see Roy Halladay win the Cy Young award, but I figure if they voted today, he’d finish third behind Cliff Lee and Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels. Fausto Carmona has been having control issues since his return from the DL and has given up a lot of walks. Paul Byrd is 6-10, but don’t be fooled, he’s won three straight and has pitched very well in those 3 games.
In the final analysis, don’t let Sizmore beat you and find a way in to the Indian’s bullpen and the Jays should have a good weekend.
MW: No matter how badly your opponent is going, you can’t count on a sweep. I think I’m going to have to use a whole blog post as a lesson on how to use the apostrophe.
- Jim in OhioIn your conversation with the young caller who had difficulty grasping how Billy Beane’s financial constraints drive his trade decisions, you employed a little hyperbole suggesting that Tim Hudson had never done anything in Atlanta to match what he had done in Oakland. While he has certainly never matched his peak years in Oakland, he has given Atlanta three seasons of a 120+ ERA, on level with his final season with Oakland. While many of Beane’s trades rightfully deserve plaudits, the Hudson trade in particular was a flop. But that happens. You can’t win them all, especially when it’s prospects coming your way.
On the subject of McDonald’s total value being impossible to measure, I’m wondering if impossible isn’t too strong a word. While measuring defense continues to pose the biggest challenge to sabermetricians, many of whose defensive metrics are often not in agreement and sometimes even contradictory, broad stroke estimates can be made about McDonald’s defensive contributions averaging out the various metrics. One analysis that I saw last year (sorry, I can’t cite the reference) actually had McDonald as a league average shortstop overall. I was shocked that his ceiling could be so high, believing, like you, that his glove good simply not carry his bat. That leads me to believe that he could likely slot in, one year later, at around the 25th percentile, good enough to be a major league starter but below average at his position.
Now, does such a player deserve to start ahead of Eckstein and Scutaro? It’s probably a close call. Certainly from an aesthetic perspective, I’d sooner watch McDonald play than the other two.
Now, with Wells out, a reasonable argument can be made to start McDonald over Wilkerson (with Scutaro/Eckstein playing 2B and Inglett playing RF). Wilkerson is playing at a replacement player level, nowhere near the 25th percentile of starting right fielders.
MW: But McDonald isn’t playing near the 25th percentile of right fielders, either, and that’s the change you’d be making.
- Chuck VHey Mike, just a hypothetical question about next year.
Say Riccardi was to stay on and did not dip into the free agent market next year for starting pitching, could you see him getting a solid reliever to help strengthen an already strong pen ?
Im thinkin someone who could pitch well and for more then two innings like having another Scott Downs. This would allow for more growing pains with the kids pitching, sorta the way Oaklands doing it this year.
If so, i’d think Riccardi signing Dan Wheeler would really help a bullpen which is already strong, but would need to be stronger if the Jays were going to have more young guys pitching. Juan Cruz would be nice to, but Wheeler seems like a legit reliever that could pitch multiple high leverage innings like Downs. This is all if Riccardi is not going to sign any of the less then impressive FA pitchers not named Sabbathia or Garland.
MW: I don’t think there’s going to be a major arm added to the bullpen in the off-season, other than Casey Janssen.
- DaveSince you seem to be on the fence about the shortstop issue, I’ll try to convince you.
J.P.’s comment that shortstop is an “offensive” position is one of the bigger loads of nonsense that I’ve ever heard from him. Just one look at the hitting statistics amongst shortstops reveals the utter falsity of his remarks. It might be more common to see good hitting shortstops today than, say, 15 years ago, but by no means is shortstop now an offensive position.
There is no formula for winning that requires a good hitting shortstop. If you look at the good teams in the league (playoff spot or contending), you’ll find that some have good hitting shortstops and some do not. The same is true about last year’s playoff teams, and so on and so forth. Go tell the reigning World Series champion Red Sox that Julio Lugo’s .237 average last year wasn’t good enough.
Okay, so Mac’s average right now is only .200. With increased playing time, though, his average would probably go up to around .250 where it should be. Cito said it best: as long as the other players are hitting as they could, having Mac at short doesn’t hurt the team; on the contrary, defense wins championships too. J.P.’s comments unambiguously suggested that even if the rest of the lineup was producing, the Jays need more offense from shortstop. Sorry, but that’s completely absurd.
I won’t go into Mac’s range or arm which are far superior to Eckstein’s, and which certainly have won some games for the Jays, because they can’t be quantified. Even with the only quantifiable data we have, i.e. errors, we can see that Eckstein’s 8 errors in the first 30 games cost the team a few wins.
MW: You haven’t pushed me off the fence one way or the other, though I love that compelling arguments are being made by people on both sides. My opinion has nothing to do with position, I don’t believe a team needs a good-hitting shortstop to win. I do, however, believe that a team needs to hit in order to win. McDonald is a career .240 hitter, so I don’t know why you’d think that he’d hit .250 with regular playing time. As for the Eckstein thing, the Jays are 2-5 this season when he makes an error. That doesn’t mean his errors actually cost the team those games, but they certainly didn’t help.
- ShmuelMichael of the Ballyard:
MW: [paraphrasing of how you took first year linguistics and didn't like it]
Oh no! That’s exactly what I will be taking. Do I remember you mentioning somewhere that you were a U of T boy? I’ll probably wind up with the exact same class that you had.
MW: Could be, could be.
- JCLI think it’s hilarious that AJ Burnett is actually having his worst year in ERA and WHIP but his best year in Wins and Winning Percentage! What are his “.500 pitcher” critics going to say now?
MW: It’s obvious – they’ll say he’s a winner.
- Jim BIn the Oakland 5th inning, Thomas had to return to second after not being able to tag up when Brown flied out to Wilkerson (at the warning track!). Alan’s comment was classic – “That’s just embarrassing baseball, Jerry, we could have carried eachother to third base on that fly ball.” That’s the best I’ve heard in a long time.
MW: True is true.
- JoelI cannot believe all the blue jay fans saying that they have a good chance of making the playoffs. I know they are only trying to be optimpistic but if they really knew anything about baseball then they would be able to accept that althought the Jays are currently playing “well” that the playoffs is like climbing mount everest. I hate to think in a negative way but unfortunately the Jays have not been consistent enough to stay within striking distance of the wild card or division crown. Hopefully these vile fans can get it mushed into their heads soon, that the jays dont have a chance this season. Let’s just hope that the Jays can come with a better attitude into next year and hopefully compete for a playoff spot. Once again, another waste of time season for the Jays which has frustrated me for a very long time. Too many seasons in a row without making the playoffs.
MW: Vile is a pretty strong word. I don’t think that the Jays have a good chance of making the playoffs, obviously, but to say they have no chance is simply not correct. Also, do you really think that the Jays’ collective attitude into the season has anything to do with why they’re in 4th place?
- AdamMike,
Quick question? I am on the fence on this one but would like your opinion.
Would the Jays look at moving Hill to SS when he returns. I realize fully it could be next year but feel it deserves strong consideration. My reasoning is as follows:
-obvious lack of talent at SS in MLB
-an Inglett/Scutaro/MacDonald combo could make it work in 2009
-Scott Campbell seems to be highly regarded as indicated by his inclusion in the future’s game
-35 million to spend in the off season if their number remains the same.. 15 to an arm and 20 to spend on DH/another offensive upgrade. I see no point in dropping 8-10 of this 35 on a SS without trying this.
Thoughts?
MW: It’s been discussed several times here. I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen.
- Jody MattieI once knew a girl named Maria Bizarro, but she wasn’t even half as exciting as last night’s win.
Thankfully, Vernon returns on Monday so we won’t have to depend on Bizarro.
Both Scutaro and Inglett are swinging hot bats.
I’m a big fan of John McDonald and I am aware of the Jays’ record when he starts. But, won’t his starts be diminished as Wells returns?
MW: Neither Scutaro nor Inglett are swinging hot bats. Going into Friday’s game, Scoot was hitting .175/.313/.200 over his last 12 games and Inglett was at .206/.206/.265 over his last 9 games. I don’t think McDonald and Wells have anything to do with each other, it’ll be Wilkerson who loses playing time when Wells returns.
- Dave from MississaugaIt seems that the debate around MacDonald revolves around playing an expert defensive SS at the expense of a hole in the lineup. Some callers have compared his glove to old school SSs with a lighter bat and their contributions to their team’s success. It has been your response Mike that you could afford a hole in the lineup in the old days but no longer in the new game.
I am not very knowlegeable about the statistical side of the game but it seems to me that the consensus is that offensive numbers are down this year across the board, not only with the Jays. If this post-Bonds/Clemons theme is to continue maybe we are under-valuing MacDonald’s worth in the new (or 15 year old) model.
With less juicy power around the league there may be 2 cases for a more defensive SS being a starter:
1) more balls through the infield.
2) lower scoring games with tighter score spreads
Personally I would like to see this happen because with players like John MacDonald great defense can be even more exciting than a 3-run HR.
What do you think?
Alex
MW: You make a very good point, and I’d considered that in my fence-sitting. That’s the thing, if the overall offensive drop-off continues, that might be the biggest factor in my landing on the “play Mac” side.
- alexMike, this is the second truncated Jay’s Talk in a week. You should know that your legion of followers is undergoing severe withdrawl symptoms. My questions are these: What is the Jays’ record when Rios starts in CF? Does he stay there when Wells comes back?
MW: What was truncated about The JaysTalk? The Jays are 29-19 with Rios starting in CF, but he more than likely moves back to right when Wells comes back.
- KiplingAs a fellow stickler for the proper use of the apostrophe, I am sure that you too have been grimacing this entire Oakland series whenever you see one version of the Athletics’ logo. For example, on their cap, they’ve got that big “A’s” front and center.
Not that I’m happy to have the As leave town, as the BJs beat up on them quite nicely, for a change!!
Stan
MW: What’s wrong with the apostrophe on the A’s cap? The team’s name is the Athletics.
- StanHey Mike,
Great bloggage as always, but for the love of beef jerky and moonpies, can we PLEASE have a softball update???
Please? Pretty please???
MW: When I don’t play, I don’t update.
- Kyle in ThornhillThe Bobcat said on Prime Time that he be willing to get into a fight with JP. How compelling would that be?
MW: Sounds like good radio.
- andrewI had to listen to this one on the radio. But it was great to hear Frank Thomas–in a position to put the Big Hurt on his former team–line into a double play to end the game!
MW: Grounded into a double play, actually, but glad that you had the radio going!
- reyesWith all the hit batters, bases loaded walks, home run stealing in the outfield, etc., one might think all of the Jays’s (style guide, please) good luck, absent for most of the first half, is coming in a big bunch in the second. Or is it the As’s (again, style guide).
MW: Style guide would say A’s's, I think.
- MoyashiDamn I hate being right but what the heck are they doing still playing WILKERSON, give me a break this a joke everyone from the blind guy in the last row can see this guy is done!
Hurry Vernon this is a joke!
Cle 3 Tor 0 4th inning.
Ya ya Wilner I know he USED to be a good player come on pal wake up!
WilKerson you are done pal, please just don’t show up tomorrow or Sunday all jays fans just can’t watch u anymore!
- tonyMMPathetic pathetic lineup only these fools could screw up a sweep with a dog of a showing against some minor leaguer Reyes, can’t we build on anything???
- tonyMMMike,
One point for you, some for others:
(1) Wednesdays With JP scooped today’s local papers. Two days ago JP gave a clear endorsement of Cito for next year and guess what the top local baseball story is today (Friday) in print? Cito being lined up for next year. Good thing a wise caller asked JP about it on the radio.
(2) Agreed that you don’t need your first baseman to hit 30 HRs, but you definitely *want* him to do it. By tradition, the first baseman is the least skilled fielder on the diamond…the guy who can’t get in front of a slow-rolling shopping cart. If he isn’t doing very much with a glove, he should be doing something with a bat.
(3) I don’t think getting JP into a round table with McCown et al. would be highly useful. Everyone’s positions on things are well known, with McCown’s perhaps exaggerated slightly for the purpose of keeping ears beside the radio. Surely JP knows that the goal of radio is to sell air time; would he offer himself for skewering for that cause? Unlikely, and I would not fault him if he did not. It’s just fodder for a mill that he won’t be running after he leaves the studio. I would not be highly interested in hearing it.
(4) Earlier this week someone asked about Jays’ player-games lost to injuries. You did not know a source for it. It can be roughly estimated using the daily transaction log that is available in a variety of places, MLB’s web site or Slam, but not easily. As it happens, I am collecting those data into a database for a different purpose. I will be able to produce some figures for MLB teams in 2008. I would be willing to share the results here.
SABR might have it too.
MW: 1 – How do you think the print media knew to ask about it Thursday? 2 – Overbay does a lot with the glove. 4 – It’d be swell of you to share those results.
- NazzerSpeaking of that fake stat, one thing bothered me about it in particular. You have stated that the only way to judge defence is through watching and that defensive statistics do not mean much. Yet the stat you created that said McDonald was the 4th best SS in baseball last year relied heavily on defence, didn’t it? Did you watch every SS last year?
MW: No, I didn’t, just most of them, but that’s the essence of why I called it a fake stat, because I knew it was impossible to actually define one way or the other. But that was why I threw out all the “one-star” plays I saw McDonald make.
- AndyHey did anyone notice the Sportsnet HD feed has been “off” the last two nights. I have been getting a lot of graininess and pixelation, particularly on crowd shots and during motion.
I hope it’s not my TV acting up. A buddy mentioned the same thing.
Has anyone else noticed?
MW: Wouldn’t this comment be better placed on one of the Sportsnet blogs?
- KieranI know everybody is obsessed with getting offense into the lineup, but I think when you consider defense McDonald/Hill is a more valuable combination than Hill/Inglett (or most internal options, besides an FA like Hudson).
MW: The whole debate considers defense – that’s the only reason people think that McDonald should be playing every day.
- AriPost #26:
Sweep??? Where did I mention a sweep there. I only assesed the current situation the Indians were in. If you read my post I said that Lee and Byrd would be good and they were both outstanding. Lee threw only 104 pitches today, with 83 of those being strikes. Byrd threw 94 pitches with 69 being strikes and zero bases on balls in his complete game effort. I felt the Jay’s pitchers held the Indians offense in check but I never dreamed the Jay’s offense would stink that bad against Cleveland pitching, as the rest of the AL has been hammering them.
After the game, Cleveland’s radio broadcast team of Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan both agreed that anyone in the Jay’s organization who thinks this club is a playoff contender is dreaming as they described the Jay’s offense as “awful”. If you don’t agree with that comment, don’t tell me, take it up with them. They’re the one’s who said it.
MW: You said “nice, long winning streak”, which to me infers more than six games, so that would mean a sweep of the Indians. And they’re the ONES who said it!!
- Jim in OhioMr. Milner-For some raason you do not realize that statistics alone do not make the success of a team.First example,You kept reapeating how the big hurt was better in the last part of the season and you had no doubt he would do the same and you kept saying what a great hitter he is and you had confidence he would come around as you know he was no benefit to the team whatsoever.Second reason you claimed Johnstons record of hitting was not as good as what we replaced him with but as you know our replacement is injured and if he was playing would sure not be the energetic player johnston is and is doing very well with Chicago. it was a very bad move and did not help the team whatsoever.NEXT you kept saying how Rolands statistics were much better than Glaus but as you can see even with them both having injuries Glaus is performing much better.Next you keep saying that Overbays statistics are exellent but you fail to realze that with all those figures he does not hit when it really matters like hitting in to a double play with the bases loaded.So what i am really getting at statistics are for the birds!What matters is players earn there large salarys by hitting when it counts.what would be better getting four hits in a row with no one on base or getting two home runs with men on base?Even though his statiscs would be higher it just did no good.you will never convince me that your figures will produce a good ball club the way the blue jays are going.Ever since Wells And Rios were given large contracts they have both gone on a downslide-They both had great past statistics but look at them now.So we had better improve the way our managment is going with the team bacause if the do not this team will continue to go right in the house that is waiting for them . Thank You. H.GROBERMAN bathurst@live.ca
MW: You’re welcome. Excellent use of hindsight, by the way.
- herbert grobermanMr. Milner you still did not answer any of the topics i mentioned to you in my last message exept stating i had marvelous hindsight. I do beleive that the proof is in the putting and this team and managment have showed me no proof whatsoever!I really would appreciate if you could answer my questions to you either by email or if you have the courage live on the air.Thank You HERBY-bathurst@live.ca
MW: The courage? That’s a great way to get your question answered.
- herbert grobermanNo answer from you seems to indicate that you do not want the public to know that sometimes you could be wrong and it might damage your image .Mike- be brave answer my points as i relatrd them to you exactly. I T WILL ONLY HURT ONCE I PROMISE . Thank you . HERBY -BATHURST@LIVE.CA
MW: There’s no one who doesn’t know that I can be wrong, and am wrong a lot. Bravery has nothing to do with it.
- herbert grobermanWell if bravery has nothing to do with it-WHY DO YOU NOT ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE STATED?No answer from you plain and simple is you cannot accept the fact that i might be right and you might be wrong so please do not avoid as you have done up till now and please answer my stated facts one by one. Thank YOU .HERB-bathurst@live.ca
MW: No, it’s because I only have so much time to do this, and your comments aren’t worth my time. You have just regurgitated the same old arguments that I’ve been answering all summer.
- herbert grobermanMike, with your permission I’d like to answer Mr. Groberman’s points, just to “shut him up”. Feel free to comment if you think I have not presented your position fairly.
Herby, here are the answers to your “questions”, point by point:
1. Difficult to answer, since you are not too clear on what it is you are trying to say, but as I recall at the time of Thomas’ release, Mike said it had to be done, because he was not willing to accept a diminished role on the club, BUT he (Mike) also said he expected Thomas to have improved numbers over the balance of the year, as had been his pattern. All of this proved TRUE, as (prior to his injury) his numbers in Oakland were much better, and on pace to have one of his better years (Oakland pre ASG .319/.417.516 vs Tor .167/.306/333).
The fact he was injured for two months obviously means his totals will not match last year, but who could have foreseen that?
2. For a final summary of the Johnson/Stewart controversy, see Mike’s latest blog (Aug. 11, re Marcum). (Incidentally, I also thought the move was wrong at the time, because I liked Reed’s defense, but Mike explains the Jays’ reasoning, and it makes sense, so it really boils down to a difference of opinion as to the direction they should take).
3. Not sure what you mean by saying “even with them both having injuries” — Glaus has played in 117 of the Cards’ 121 games this year, so obviously if he has been “injured” it has not caused him to miss much time. OTH, Rolen (not ROLAND) is now on the DL for the second time, and played hurt for at least the last three or four weeks.
Sure, using hindsight you might say that the Jays should not have made that trade, but given the fact that Glaus wanted out, what would YOU have done? The Jays got good value back for Troy — a Gold Glove 3rd sacker, who (when healthy) will come close to matching Glaus in all hitting areas except (probably) HR’s.
4. Overbay — Mike has answered this one many times; suffice to summarize with one of Mike’s favorite lines — “Overbay gets out LESS than any Jay player”. In my opinion, if all the Jay hitters were doing as well as Lyle, they would be leading the division — even with the lack of power!
5. Wells and Rios, and their contracts — ridiculous point!
Wells has been injured for all of last year and 2 months of this year, and Rios (except for HR’s) is having a “decent” year — not up to last year’s numbers, and certainly not in line with most fans’ expectations, but not that bad — .281/.329/.420. Now that Wells is back in the lineup, look for both Rios and Wells to start cranking up their totals!!!
6. “The house that is waiting for them” — ??? What does this mean???
- NormJohn Hattig is playing for the Reno Silversox of the Golden State League, which is independant.
http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Reno/PlayersBio.aspx?PlayerID=1475&SecID=393
MW: Cool.
- tomas sliskovicMr. Milner if as you say you do not have the time to answer my questions than please pass on to your managment that i will make sure none of my friends and i have many of them not to ever sponser anything on the Fan radio station or ever bother to listen to your program specificly as they should not ever find the time to listen to a person such as yourself.I hope when you look in the mirror that you are very proud of yourself talking to an elderly fan that has spent much time and funds towards making this city well known accross the world for being kind and respectfull which you certainly are not by your remarks. Maybe when you grow up you will learn sometime to have respect for other peoples comments youcertainly should be ashamed of yourself so please once again pass these remarks on to your managment and get there thoughts as to the way you answer questions and if it really is valuable to the success ofthe Fan radio station!Thank you HERBY-bathurst@live.ca
MW: Why don’t you read over your original comment and then come back and talk to me about being kind and respectful?
- herbert grobermanMy friend i have read my comments and there is no question that you did not have the courage to answer very simple questions,all you came back with is you do not have time but i beleive you are paid to respect your audience in a much better way than you have showed.Perhaps it still would be a very good idea if you are not afraid to do so is show all my comments and yours to your senior managment to get their response in this matter because i am sure you are not the boss in making decisions so let your supervisor comment directly to me.HERBYbathurst@live.ca p.s.-if they prefer i would be only to happy in explaining why the Fan is going to loose all kinds of buisness because of Mr. Milners lack of respect for their customers.
MW: You’re more than welcome to forward any complaints to anyone you like at the Fan or Rogers or anywhere. This is the last comment of yours that will be posted on this blog.
- herbert groberman