11:25 PM Eastern
As much as last night’s game was a laugher in favour of the Jays, this one was the same from a paler hosiery point of view.
It’s the first time this season that the Jays have been blown out of a ballgame, but the funny thing is, it didn’t have to be.
It’s easy to measure pitching, and easy to measure offense, and now that it’s getting easier to measure defense that part of the game isn’t getting as short a shrift as it used to, but defense was the difference tonight.
Two incredible plays made by the White Sox on D helped keep the game a 2-2 tie going into the bottom of the 5th, when the Sox’ patience finally paid off and Brian Burres fell apart.
In the top of the 4th, Aaron Hill was absolutely robbed by Chicago second baseman Brent Lillibridge on a hot smash that was headed up the middle for a tie-breaking single. Lillibridge, who was playing centre in the original starting line-up prior to Chris Getz coming up lame, broke hard to his right, made an incredible diving stab, and threw out Hill to end the inning and preserve the tie.
Just as an aside, Hill once again lunged for the bag with his final stride towards first. He does that all the time, and I can’t stand it. I’d even prefer if he dove head-first. Lunging slows you down almost as much as sliding into the bag slows you down, and one of these days, Hill is going to blow a hamstring or an achilles, or Moises Alou himself doing that. Just run through the bag, it’s the fastest way to do it.
Jerry Owens robbed Vernon Wells of at least a double, maybe a triple, with a fantastic diving catch along the warning track in the left-centre gap with one out in the 5th. If Wells reaches there, the Jays have a great chance to take the lead. Instead, the Sox’ gloves come up huge once again, and then the bats jump on Burres in the bottom of the 5th and put the game away.
Could we really have expected much more from Burres, by the way? Well, yeah, I guess, given that he allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks in just 4 1/3 innings. Burres has a sparkling 12.46 ERA after his first outing as a Blue Jay. Any way you slice it, he was awful. But then, he was pretty awful for the Orioles last year and the year before, too.
Could Burres be another one of the foundlings who have gone on to great success with the Jays, joining luminaries such as Scott Downs and Jesse Carlson? Maybe. He’s got a big hill to climb, though, and a lot of history to overcome. So much so, in fact, that I was going to title this post “Seriously, What Did You Expect?” but I thought that was just too mean.
Bryan Bullington, on the other hand? There may be quite a bit of there there, as it turns out. Bullington struck out the side in the 8th, around a walk and a couple of base hits. He steeled himself with the sacks juiced and the heart of the order up, though, and whiffed Paul Konerko and Corky Miller (OK, well, they were the 5-6 hitters) to end the inning, showing a great slider in the bargain. Alan Ashby spent the entire inning raving about Bullington’s arm, and he’s a man who should know a good arm when he sees one, given the pitchers he caught when he was in Houston.
Here’s tonight’s edition of The JaysTalk for your listening pleasure:
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And as an extra added bonus – here’s the Rain Delay Programme:
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Tomorrow afternoon, we’re on at 1:30 PM Eastern as the Jays go for their third straight road series win to start the season, which would be a franchise first. Roy Halladay gets the ball against Jose Contreras, so it looks pretty good but then……. Halladay has never won at U.S Cellular Field/ComiskeyII!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow night, make sure to tune in at 7:00 PM Eastern for The Blue Jays This Week – it’s network-only because of the Toronto FC game on the Fan590. You’ll hear from Ricky Romero, and that great conversation between John McDonald and Omar Vizquel.
Rational, reasonable comments are always welcome.
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Hi mike, I read a report about the sox would trade bay for rios and ryan. would you do this trade?
MW: No, I wouldn’t. That report is about a month old, and the Red Sox would have to think hard about it now with Ryan on the DL, although I think they’d still do it. I wouldn’t trade six years of Alex Rios for five months of Jason Bay.
- harishawHey Mike
Do you think the Jays ever considered briging Fabio Castro up from AA instead of Burress. He was the pitcher we got back in the Stairs trade. The guy has rediculous numbers in AA and he does have major league experience. He pitched tonight so maybe they call him up for the next start
MW: Maybe they will. I’m sure they considered it.
- AnonymousYour point about Mark Prior’s mechanics is well made, Mike, but I think that you overstate your case regarding projecting pitcher injuries. While they are not nearly as easy to project as some of the pundits make them out to be, I don’t think it is “impossible” to predict them.
The thing is that mechanics are not the only thing that need to be taken into consideration when trying to predict pitcher injuries. They are a part of the equation, but far less important than other factors such as the pitcher’s build, age, and (most importantly) their usage pattern. Mark Prior’s injury was not a fault in his mechanics, it was the fact that he threw so many pitches in nearly every start so early in his career.
Certainly, it is entirely possible for a pitcher to have “violent” mechanics (like B.J. Ryan or Tim Lincecum), a slight frame (like Lincecum), and to throw a ton of pitches (like Prior) every in every start early on in their career and never experience major injury issues. It does happen. However, I think it would be foolhardy to suggest that any of these factors have nothing whatsoever to do with the injuries that pitchers sustain and, as such, that they can’t be used to project which pitchers are more likely to experience injuries than others.
MW: You can absolutely project which pitchers are more likely to have injury issues than others, but that’s all you can do. More likely.
- Nick WernhamRegarding Burres being a “foundling” the Jays turn around –
not a chance.
In 30 odd starts over two years with the O’s this guy put up a whip of 1.68 and gave up 31 HR’s in 250 innings.
As for Scott Downs – two things should be taken into account – he posted an ERA of 3.52 and a whip of 1.25 as a starter in the PCL the year before the Jays picked him up . As well, the Jays made Downs a reliever – which is a totally different thing.
As for Carlson – he’s shown glimpses that he could pitch all through his minor league career – K rate of 9.4 and walk rate of 2.5.
Frankly I don’t see what any team sees in the Burres – he’s a junk baller with no control who is prone to giving up homers.
MW: Wow, why hasn’t someone hired you as a scout yet?
- Jim MaronWell, we’re finally starting to see the depth issue at pitching. Not that I blame JP but I’m sure this is exactly what the Jays were afraid of coming into this year. Budget constraints have forced them to stay out of the big free agent game so they had no choice but to keep the pitching cupboard bare (at least from an experience stand point, I’m not knocking the potential that’s in the pipeline). Any update on Matt Clement? Is it safe to say the Burres experiment is over or are they going to give him another shot? I now see the logic behind the “2010″ talk so I understand why they aren’t throwing Cecil and Mills to the wolves (so to speak) if they are struggling right now but is there a better, cheaper, veteran arm available that could patch things through until the Romero’s and Litsch’s are back? Thanks for the blog, one of the best ones I read. Doesn’t have any of the “trade Johnny Mac for Johan Santana” talk that you tend to see on some blogs.
MW: Thanks. Matt Clement is retired, which is too bad, because if he hadn’t done that he’d be in the big leagues right now. I don’t know if Burres will get another shot, but I expect he will.
- LarryRegarding Bullington
In 142 IP last year (128 International League, 14 in the majors), Bullington walked 40, K’d 119 and gave up 19 HR’s. His Whip was rather high – but that’s because he was hit unlucky; his hits were way higher than his K rate would suggest.
That kind of K rate as a starter suggests a potentially very strong bullpen pitcher.
Based on his stats I’d sure as hell run him out there to start over Burres.
MW: You’re not the only one, but he’d only be able to give you three innings right now.
- Jim MaronTallet stays in the rotation longer than Burress when either Romero or Litch get back right?
MW: One would assume so.
- AriIt has got to be one of the friendliest hitters park in the league. It’s one of my least favorite parks. It’s just an ugly park with ugly lighting and all. 2nd worst to tropicana.
So what are your top 3 parks in MLB? and bottom 3 parks?
MW: What park are you talking about?
- BeburgWill a Johnny Mac give you a decent 5th starter type pitcher in return? An 8-10 game winner type with an ERA of around 4.50 or so? If yeah then a deal should be done immediately. There’s some buzz going on regarding Johnny Mac, isnt it?
MW: No.
- BeburgOne caller mentioned BJ’s mechanics, and you said that its impossible to predict arm injuries, and you mentioned AJ and Prior as guys with great mechanics. That is way off. AJ, Prior, BJ along with a few other jays (Marcum and McGowan included) all of them make an inverted W with there arms when they go to pitch. This puts extra stress on their arms when they go to pitch, causing their arm injuries.
Doc has brilliant mechanics, BJ and Aj do not.
MW: And yet, Doc was once thought of as brittle.
- NickHello,
I will preface my post by saying my knowledge of baseball is severely limited.
Wow, what a horrible series this has turned out to be.
Yesterday’s game was painful. I felt sorry for the Sox, especially Ramirez, who was bobbling everything but his head.
Then this morning, I read an interesting article by Joe Posnanski, who was having fun with some basic statistics and broke down every possible count and how hitters hit action pitches on those counts.
Needless to say with that in mind I tuned in tonight to see how Burres would fare. I’d never even heard his name. The Sportsnet people said the Jays brought him up because of his experience and ability “to throw strikes.”
Apparently, they knew as little about him as I did.
What I saw was a pitcher who consistently fell behind 2-0, 2-1 and 3-1. And given batter’s averages on action pitches on those counts, I felt a sense of dread. To my dismay, my dread seemed well-founded.
Ah well, it’s just one game, and hopefully he’ll only get another few. Though I heard a rumour that Litsch had a setback and was going to see Dr. Andrews. My heart curdles whenever I hear that name in relations to one of my teams.
Ah well, que sera, sera. Hopefully Doc will win the rubber match tomorrow and Jays fans can rejoice once more and dream of a blue october.
- KaliUnlike a lot of fans, I am not surprised the Jays are playing well. I thought they would win about 88 games this year, six fewer than they should have won last year. 88 wins should get them into the wild-card mix. People need to remember how good the Jays were last year.
People largely underrate the 2008 blue jays. Their pitchers allowed 610 runs, 9% fewer runs than the next best Chicago Cubs. In fact, Jays pitchers were an astounding 2 (!) standard deviations from the mean in runs allowed. These are raw numbers before adjusting for strength of competition, the Rogers Centre, and the DH, which would decrease the blue jays’ adjusted runs allowed. Yes, Marcum and Burnett are gone this year, but the dominating bullpen is still intact.
In fact, the Blue Jays were tied with the Phillies for the third best team in all of baseball last year according to Pythagorean standings, despite a notably below-grade offense that depended on singles and walks to score.
The Jays were the best team to miss the playoffs since the new playoff format was introduced, and may have been the best fourth place team in modern history. In the end though, the 2008 Jays proved that pitching and defense doesn’t win championships. The truth is that pitching, defense, and lots of slugging wins championships.
MW: They didn’t even need “lots” of slugging. 10 more singles at the right time over the course of the season, and the Jays were in the playoffs last year.
- AsherA question for you mike!
what would the rotation look like if ALL the jays pitchers were healthy. i am wondering because you are saying that burres is the 11th starter, i would just like to know whose ahead of him. not that i disagree with you.
MW: If everyone was healthy, the Jays’ rotation would be Halladay/Marcum/McGowan/Litsch/Janssen, with Purcey, Romero, Richmond, Cecil and Mills waiting in the wings. Brian Tallet has since climbed over Burres on the Jays’ radar as far as starters are concerned. So I was wrong, Burres is no higher than 12th.
- Kamran KaramchiMike,
You’re definitely wrong about who the best hitter is (Overbay vs Hill). For someone who’s extremely rational I don’t see how you can argue against sheer numbers.
Hill is hitting 370, Overbay is hitting 310. Hence, Hill is the better hitter because he gets hits more frequently then Overbay.
Whether Overbay takes more walks or has a higher slugging % is irrelevant if you’re just looking at getting hits.
MW: Sorry, I should have said “batsman”. If you only look at batting average when trying to figure out who is better at the plate, you’re doing yourself a real disservice.
- PaulHey Mike, if the moon was made of spare ribs would you eat it?
MW: I don’t eat spare ribs. I don’t dig on swine.
- lewiHey Mike
Bad loss, but how often are you going to win with Burres vs Buehrle? This never looked promising.
Do you think Burres will get another start? With all due respect to the guy, I hope not. If not, who do you think they might bring up?
Speaking of that- how many more starts does it look like they’ll be without any of Litsch, Romero or Jannsen?
Thanks Mike
MW: I don’t know if Burres gets another start, but frankly I’d rather see Fabio Castro or Wade Miller next time around. I would say there are another three or four trips through the rotation at least until those guys are back.
- James HI agree with you about the running through first. That’s why 100m dashes don’t end in layouts. Do you think Cito or one of the coaches will tell anyone who does that to stop?? After years playing ball every major leaguer should know this. I would hate to see an injury from that as well. I also see it in the outfield at times, a player dives instead of running through for the catch, but that’s a bit more iffy and of course, less likely to make the highlight reel.
Go Doc.
MW: I’m sure they’ve been told to run through the bag, but they all say that their instincts take over, which is a shame. As for the outfield, sometimes you have to dive to get low enough to catch the ball.
- lennyHi Mike,
I am of the position that getting blown out tonight was not too painful to watch as a fan. It was certainly less frustrating than the loss in the opener of the Rangers series.
I think I remember you saying something about AJ Burnett’s music last year? Bart Given recently wrote this:
“As you probably are aware, ball players fancy themselves as practical jokers. Every once in a while, a player will call the control room and change another players song. Backstreet Boys and New Kids were usual choices.”
Does that explain it? Or did Mr. Burnett use that music several times?
MW: Burnett used that Backstreet Boys song several times.
- Pierre from BloisOK fine, you said you weren’t a “fan” of BJ Ryan as a person and you did not say that you “hate” him. My mistake. I apologize, however, it is clear that you don’t like him and all of us would like to know what (if anything) happened between the two of you?
MW: Nothing has happened between the two of us.
- TomisIt will also be VERY interesting to see how this Jays team bounces back after this blow out loss to actually the best pitcher they have faced this year.
MW: How does two runs in the first inning look?
- TomisYes but I wonder how many of Roy’s starts have been versus Buehrle.
MW: I think they have matched up five times.
- AndyGood evening/morning, Mr. Wilner,
A rant to start, if I may. I find it really annoying to be living in a Toronto Blue Jays Gameday blackout area – Japan – where you can never actually see a Toronto Blue Jays broadcast. Well, you can, as long as the opposing team fields a Japanese player (Maybe the Jays can go after Yu Darvish). Even then you’d be lucky to see the finale of any game, including postseason, lasting more than 2.5 hours (soap operas have priority around here, you see).
Today’s game: A nasty loss this morning, to be sure, but I guess we can put it in the “one you’re gonna lose” column and move on. After all, tomorrow’s another Halladay.
Curious: Is there any chance of getting the Blue Jays This Week posted? Us out-of-countryers would appreciate it.
Thanks for the show,
MW: That sucks about the blackouts. I was under the impression that TBJTW was posted every week. It will be tonight, for sure, but you have to look in the hot audio section. Last week’s, which never made it to air, should still be there.
- MoyashiI could not help but feel disapointed that Burres was the best guy the Jays could find in the system to start the game. I get the idea that they don’t want to thrust one of their top prospects into the majors before their ready, but I don’t get the idea of giving the ball to a guy who is highly likely to be terrible if there were alternatives.
Could the Jays go to a 4 man rotation for a few weeks, or is that too much to ask of pitchers early in the season?
MW: It’s too much to ask of pitchers at any point. As bad as Burres wound up being, it was still a 2-2 game after 4 1/2.
- J.RHI Mike,
My question for you is about a player who was at Auborn last years. Adam Amar. He led the team in most offensive categories and by all accounts he had a very successfull 2008 season. I have some friends who watched him play and they say he reminds them a lot like travis snder. He is around 240 lbs and hits for power. I am wondering why the blue jays did not move him up to lansing or Dunedin to start off the season? I think it would be great for the Jewish Community of toronto to have him play here. I remember the buzz when Shawn Green came to town.
MW: Amar was an undrafted free agent, so he’s got that working against him. I’ve never seen him play, so I can’t comment on why he’s still at Auburn, but don’t get fooled by NY-Penn League stats. Remember Vito Chiaravalotti.
- MotiMike…..After Saturday’s mini-hurricane chased me out of the garden, came in to watch Bos./Yankees…Expected a 3-2 game with Beckett and Burnett going, but that didn’t happen…A question for you Mike..I didn’t follow Mike Lowell’s career much when he was a Marlin, but now seeing him frequently, I consider him a brilliant player..Why do teams (Jays included) continue to pitch this guy inside, especially at Fenway? He just murders inside pitches and I’ve noticed this from the time he came to Boston…I’d rather pitch him away and if he can dump one around Pesky’s Pole, then you just have to shake his hand…Even my son who watches with me says dad the Yankees keep pitching him inside and he’s killing them.
MW: There are several theories, including pitching to one’s strengths regardless of a hitter’s strengths. As well, pitchers are human, and pitches meant for the outside corner can creep in and get middle-in.
- chris m.Mike, I know it’s a VERY small sample, but I’ll bet it’s pretty rare for a pitcher to have a WHIP of 3.00 and an ERA of 0.00 (ala Bullington).
MW: VERY small sample.
- NormMike, there was a question recently about what happens “lower down” as a result of the various injuries/call-ups at the ML level.
Well, one thing that happened is a “resurrection”, of sorts. Chris Michalak pitched last night for Vegas! I didn’t know he was still in OB — just goes to show that old lefthanders never die!
Mind you, since he gave up 4 ERs in 1/3 IP (ERA of 108.00), it wasn’t exactly an auspicious reunion with the Jays’ organization!
MW: I wonder if he picked anybody off. Or if he balked.
- NormMike, is it an MLB rule as to clubs having a 5 man rotation for starters? What’s your take on a 4 man rotation and pitch count?
Between the late 70′s – early 90′s I remember when a lot of talk was pitch count and 4 Vs 5 man rotations with respect to reducing injuries to young pitchers.
At one time back then a pitch count was up as high as 130 – 140. Now 110 – 115 is about max! Are these just a “non-written rule” that is accepted by all clubs with regard to pitch count and/or rotation?
My own feel for young pitchers’ and injuries is it happens more and more from throwing “junk” far to early in their lives (meaning anything other than a fast ball or off speed).
When you have to twist your arm (especially from the elbow down) to get the desired action on the ball that moreso than innings pitched, or in-game pitch counts I believe causes the serious injuries!
When I was a kid growing up we were never allowed to throw a curve ball before we got to around 16 years old. That stuck with me to a point that even when I coach younger kids baseball now, I won’t allow them to throw any “junk”.
I remember only too well, a lot of guys who did throw pitches other than a fast ball or off speed (palm balls) having serious arm problems at a very young age. There is a big difference between a “tired arm” and an “damaged arm”.
Thank you.
MW: Kids should never throw breaking stuff until they’re at least 14. The four-man rotation basically went out the window in the mid-80s, after the Oakland A’s had that fantastic starting rotation blow up. Teams are doing pretty much everything they can in an attempt to prevent injuries to pitchers, including keeping a close eye on pitch counts. Nothing works, though. I don’t think we’ll ever see a four-man rotation again. It could work, but if one or two of those pitchers get hurt, whoever decided to drop to a four-man will never work in baseball again.
- Bob from BurlingtonAs they say, “turn around is fair play”. If not for a couple of real defensive gems by the Sox this game could have had a different outlook! Well, at least been closer since the Jays only scored twice!
Speaking of gems, Bullington showed us and I am sure the managing staff some great stuff and true grit.
I would say that by juicing up the bases first, then striking out the side, would go a lot further than just striking out the side with no one on as to earning plenty of more work! He at least looked very cool, calm and in control! Whew! What a slider indeed!
Thank you.
MW: I would say that pitching a clean inning does more for you than loading the bases then getting out of it.
- Bob from BurlingtonMike,
Now I’m confused. I say that Wells shouldn’t be hitting in the 4th spot but the third spot and you say that “I don’t think there’s any baseball universe in which Vernon Wells should be the third-place hitter for a contending team.” I don’t know what you mean by third place, but when I say #3, I mean hitting in the 3rd spot of the batting order. What does your comment mean?
Also, you are right that it is a simplistic approach, but that is why i did not compare them to my average player (which was just a baseline) but other players playing the same position. While Wells and Overbay, didn’t shine, it did show that they are OK players. Not terrible like some say and not great players like other say. But Rios on the other hand, does not compare favourably to the other players at his position. Again while I do not think he is terrible, he is far from being an elite player. And just because he was named an all-star, when every team must be represented, does not mean he is an all-star quality player. His career stats show this just as wells and Overbays career stats reveal thier quality as well. But this is just what they have done until today, what happpens in the future, nobody knows, that is why I don’t baae my opinions on “potential”.
Again, this isn’t about bashing them, to me it is just about crunching the numbers and seeing what they reveal. While it bothers you when people are over-bashing, it bugs me in the same fashion when people are over-praising.
MW: Fair enough that over-praising bothers you, but remember that offense is just one part of the equation. Rios is arguably the best defensive outfielder in the game, and steals bases as well, which you don’t account for in your analysis. When I say “third-place hitter” I meant, like you, the # 3 spot in the batting order.
- ThomaHi Mike,
I wanted to point out something intresting. This winter many team like the blue jays cut payroll. Through the first month of the season here is how they are doing:
1)San Diego (-30 Million) – 10 and 7
2)Chicago White Sox (-25 Million 9 and 8
3)Detroit (-22 Million)9 and 8
4) La Dodgers ( -18 Million) 13 and 5
5)Seattle (-18 Million) 13 and 5
6)Toronto (-16 Million) 13 and 6
7)St Louis – (-11 Million)13 and 5
8) Boston – (-10 Million) 11 and 6
The only 2 teams to increase payroll and have had success are the Kansas City Royals (+12 Million) and the Florida Marlins (+15 Million).
My point is there has been way too many callers over the last year or so harping on JP and Paul Beeston for Cutting Payroll. The fact is that the most successful teams in the MLB are the ones who don’t outspend their opponents but the ones whom manage their teams responsibly. The Yankees keep loosing draft picks and the last MLB player to join their ranks from their system (who made an impact) was Robinson Cano. Four years ago!! While teams like Florida, Toronto, Tampa, Kansas City have for the most part developed their own talent. Given the above don’t you think it would be a good Idea for MLB to consider a hard salary cap at around 90 Million dollars (which is the average payroll anyways) so that teams like the blue jays who develop their own talen can keep their talent for many years to come. This would essentially increase the revenue sharing PIE with teams like the jays and they would have the ability to keep their own players without have to overpay (IE Vernon Wells).
MW: I think Joba Chamberlain has made an impact with the Yankees, too, and now Brett Gardner, Phil Hughes and others are getting the chance. A hard salary cap is a great idea, if you’re willing to live without major league baseball for a year or two.
- MotiMike,
I agree with you completely on yesterday’s game. In fact, I kind of thought that the Jays winning only one game in this series (most likely being today’s game) would have been what we should have expected.
My question to you though is, why Burres? Are the Jays protecting their younger arms (Cecil and Mills) from being brought up too early?
MW: Yup.
- MarkMike,
Not signing Molina was a serious mistake – if only because the Jays had no one else (re Zaun, who looks absolutely pathetic in Baltimore) to man that position. I agree that Molina looked shabby defensively, but his production stats were impressive – HIS on-base percentage, is , of course, virtually meaningless (he’s paid to drive in runs, not walk, speed demon though he is). Guess
the SF GM was smarter than J.P. on this one, though – if he’s the guy who gave Zito that insane contract – he’s had a lot of explaining to do on other fronts…
MW: So Molina is paid to drive in 57 runs and get out a lot? Doesn’t make much sense to me. Nor is it meaningful that Gregg Zaun hasn’t played well for Baltimore this year, since we’re talking about three years ago. Also, don’t forget that the Jays had a $7.5 million option on Molina, so to bring him back would have cost them that much – and that would have been ridiculous. They declined the option, making Molina a free agent, and he signed a 3 year, $16 million deal with the Giants.
- KenWhat are the chances we see Burres again for another start?
MW: Better than 50-50.
- ChrisHi Mike
I noticed the WS mascot was goofing off right behind home plate last night. Do you think that might have been a distraction for Burres or any pitcher. If it is can they requset he move?
MW: I hope it wouldn’t have been a distraction. If it was, then any pitcher should have to deal with it.
- Richard from AR“Just run through the bag, it’s the fastest way to do it.”
I’m not convinced; instead, I feel a head-first slide is fastest. For example, Jerry Owens could not have made his catch simply running through to the ball. Before I write a more lengthy response, could you be more specific with your statement? Thanks.
MW: Any time you’re in contact with the ground as in the act of diving, you’re slowing yourself down. There’s a huge difference between running through the bag and diving for a ball in the outfield. Owens had to get his glove that low to make the catch on the ball that was about to hit the ground. There’s no such issue with running to first base, since touching it with your foot works just fine. If a head-first slide was fastest, we would see it all the time at the end of the 100-metre dash, in which the time is measured by the hundredths of a second.
- BrandonOne last item. The average stats I used do fall almost dead on in the middle of the range of each stat for the top 270 of each stat.
PS surprised for a guy who hates the bastardization of the english language, you missed/didn’t correct the ‘demi-god’ one in another post.
MW: What’s wrong with demi-god? He didn’t mean demagogue.
- ThomaMike. Do you know of any books that have been written about the Toronto Maple Leafs AAA team. All I have to go on about the Maple Leafs is a good friend who still talks about the Leafs and Maple Leaf Stadium. Whenever I go to Rogers Centre I always drive by the former location of Maple Leaf Stadium, Stadium Rd. I think it is, close to Bathurst St. Do you know if that’s where it was? If there’s no book about the Leafs there should be one. The young folks should know that the baseball history in Toronto did not begin in 1977. Thanks Mike.
Peter, St.Catharines
MW: I don’t know of any books about the AAA Leafs, though I’ll wager there are some, probably one written by Lou Cauz. Yes, as far as I know, that’s where the stadium used to be, around Bathurst and Lakeshore.
- PeterWell I hope Aaron Hill listens to you or someone about the lunging into first base thing. Brilliant athletes may be like other brilliant people, they think they can get away with stuff. If we just get the basics right. …..
I hate to say it, but sometimes losing is good for one, after the game the night before when they walked all over Chicago, one might have a sense of .. oh I don’t know, a feeling that they could get away with a lot in Chicago.
I’m sort of glad Chicago saved face.
I was in Chicago a couple of times , got stranded due to a thunderstorm, we had to get off the plane, find a place to stay. Is this not a great place for a roofed stadium?
Still attempting to see if Wrigley was torn down or do the Cubs play there?
MW: Wrigley is still there, and the Cubs still play there.
- barbiOnly a rainout will stop the Jays from winning another series as Roy Halladay will be stellar today. Konerko and Thome have had success against Doc but I think that we will see a classic today, perhaps Doc’s first shutout of the season. I am really happy that Brian Tallet is getting this opportunity to start. Anytime a pitcher shows improvement in his game each year it shows promise. I am not shocked at all with Brian Tallet’s success. I wrote on your blog a while ago that he is better then a mop up guy and can start. Scutaro (17 WALKS?) and Richmond are another story. Question for you Mike. Presuming that Scott Richmond loses his spot in the rotation when the other guys get healthy, does Richmond have a future with the Jays as a late inning bullpen guy who gets tough right handed batters out or will he just be sent to Las Vegas? From hearing some of Cito’s past quotes it appears that he does like Scott Richmond. Maybe his 91-93mph fastball becomes 94-95 mph when he comes out of the pen and it makes his other pitches more deceptive. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this possibility but whether you agree with it or not, I believe it is a strong possibility not only because of Gaston seems to like Richmond but because of Richmond’s very good control. As crazy it may sound, Richmond can supplant Brandon League. I have never been a huge fan of Brandon League despite his success in 2006. He has control issues and scares the crap out of me when he comes into a game in crucial situations. His raw talent is special and for that reason they should continue to employ him and I think they use him wisely as he rarely enters the game in a crucial situation although that may change with Ryan out.
MW: I don’t know why everyone is in such a rush to get Richmond out of the rotation. At this point, four guys need to pass him in order for him to lose his spot, and that’s a pretty tall order.
- DomenickHi Mike,
Regarding the Killer Bees: to me Bullington looks like a legitimate reclamation project for the amazing Brad Arnsberg. As for Burres…
Quick question about Scott Downs. I understand he doesn’t talk to the media during the season. Does this in any way breed bitterness amongst the other Jays? I’m sure some guys probably like talking to the media, but I’m also sure others find it tiresome and “part of their job”. Some of these guys must be thinking “if he doesn’t have to talk why do I?” What would happen if everyone on the team took this stance? Aren’t there PR rules about making yourself available for comment?
Just curious.
Thanks as always.
MW: There aren’t PR rules, but major league PR staff understand that it’s a good idea for players to make themselves available for comment.
- Rob H.I hope we dont have to see burres anymore. Is their really nobody better than this guy that the Jays could bring in. The Jays conceded this game before it even starts. I also wouldnt mind replacing camp for accardo or wolfe and im not just saying that b/c of yesterday. He is the worst reliever in the bullpen and we should expect more outings like that from him in the future. Just look at his career stats.
MW: The reaction to Burres has been ridiculous. Yes, he pitched poorly, and yes, he has bad numbers for his career, but conceded the game before it even started? Taking a knee, as another commenter wrote? Sheesh.
- aviMike
Since the the pitching is getting pretty thin because of injuries,do you think the Jays might bite the bullet and put a call into Pedro?He may not be the best option because of the money but it would be a shame to waste this offence.Spending some of the money saved from AJ on Derek Lowe would have proved huge right now.Hindsight is 20-20 though
MW: Nope, they’re not going to.
- MikeMW: Cool story, but the question is moot, isn’t it? There’s no way a batter swings, let alone stays in the box, with his runner trying to steal home.
No, but if the pitcher throws a strike, the batter is called out, the run does not score even if he crossed the plate ahead of the pitch.
MW: If the runner crosses the plate ahead of the pitch, there can’t possibly wind up being a pitch. Unless that runner is The Flash.
- KenHey Mike,
Tough game to watch. You could sense Burres was playing with fire besides the first inning. You’re right though, what were the expectations.
Just curious what your thoughts are on Chavez behind the plate. To me it seems like he moves real quick after receiving the pitch and not framing it for that split second like The Captain does. A couple of pitches seemed close but the way he jumps around I’m not sure the umpire was given a great look. Likely just me but your thoughts?
Thanks as always.
MW: I’ll have to keep a better eye out for that. I didn’t notice.
- CameronMike,
Is it me or does it seem like a lot of the WBC participants are getting off to a slow start. Could this be the reason why Rios might be performing below expectations?
Thanks
MW: I haven’t really looked. Marco Scutaro is doing fine.
- James from MississaugaThe AL East:
Toronto…..13-6 —
Boston……11-6 1.0
NY Yankees…9-8 3.0
Baltimore…8-10 4.5
Tampa Bay…7-11 5.5
Toronto:
The classic case of massive early season over achievement – Aaron Hill 1.032 OPS, Jose Bautista .942 OPS, Adam Lind .914 OPS, Kevin Millar .936 OPS, Lyle Overbay 1.092, Travis Snider 1.003, Marco Scutaro .913, Jason Frasor 8 IP/0.00 ERA, Scott Downs 10 IP/0.93 ERA, Ricky Romero 21 IP/1.71 ERA, Jesse Carlson 9 IP/1.93 ERA, Brain Tallet 18 IP/2.95 ERA, Scott Richmond 16 IP/3.31 ERA. And you know things are going well when your closer appears in six games, posts an 11.12 ERA, and the team wins every game he appears in. The big issues are how much of this is real talent, how much is luck, how much is sustainable, and what happens when the schedule toughens up on June 26th. The Jay’s final 86 games are gonna be an unbelievably excruciating grind. Predicted finish 83-79.
Boston:
Currently on a nine game winning streak with no contribution from Dice-K, Josh Beckett, Okajima, David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie (who is out for who knows how long). Youkilis (1.345), Bay (1.135), Lowell (.993), Drew (.939), Green (.899), and Varitek (.869) are leading the way as the Red Sox lead the AL in OPS. Projected finish 94 – 68.
NY Yankees:
The offense is rolling with Cano (1.044 OPS), Damon (.925), Swisher (1.101), Jeter (.883), Posada (.932), & Melky Cabrera (1.053). Yankees are last in the AL with their 6.41 ERA. Wang’s 34.50 ERA after three starts is the team leader is sucking so far. Pettitte and Mariano are doing well….but that’s about it. Projected finish 89-73.
Baltimore Orioles:
As usual very little pitching so far, but the offense will soon feature three of the best young players in all of baseball in Matt Wieters, Nick Markakis, and Adam Jones. The leaders in this season’s offense are Markakis (1.058 OPS), Jones (.951 OPS), Melvin Mora (.921 OPS), Brian Roberts (.915 OPS) and Luke Scott (.889 OPS). Projected finish 74-88.
Tampa Bay:
As predicted by MW they are in the midst of a “precipitous decline”. Four guys are hitting well (Longoria 1.157, Carlos Pena .928, Ben Zobrist .977, and Jason Bartlett .920) but not much contribution from the rest. Pitching has been decidedly mediocre. Projected finish 86-76.
- KenEnjoying the show and how the team is playing. I dont have cable so I depend on the Fan to follow the games but the ads are driving me batty. i have to shut off the radio they are so obnoxious – and repetitive – and then I’ll forget to turn the radio back on. Who scripts these things? Mostly the ones with singing involved (the worry no happy wireless wave song is a disaster) or a talking super 8 sign shatter my nerves.
MW: I like the talking Super 8 sign. He’s got free breakfast and internets!
- AlexAS good as Hill has been with the bat, his glove is letting him down… He might not be as good as Alomar or Hudson at 2nd field, but what is going on???
MW: It’s been a tough month for Hill with the glove, though he’s made several outstanding plays. You have to remember that he did miss 2/3 of last season. It’s not always just like riding a bike.
- FrancisSac bunts so far:
Toronto…..7
NY Yankees..3
Boston……0
Tampa Bay…0
Hey Cito…..quit throwing outs away, when you have the highest scoring team in the majors.
MW: Why wouldn’t you post this under your real name, Ken?
- JPMike, in your opinion who has the potential (or upside) to be the best hitter on this team – Lind, Rios or Snider. Also, why not take a flyer on Pedro if the Jays have the cash… he’d definetely be better than Burress (who is just garbage).
MW: Snider. They don’t have the cash, and Pedro wouldn’t be ready before Janssen/Romero/Litsch(?) are supopsed to be back.
- Renegade“LaRussa has been quoted stating that even the very best managers in the game will account for maybe 10 wins over the course of a 162 game season.”
rick
Hey Rick. Any evidence or link for this quote. I’s sure Tony has never said such a thing (maybe ten wins over a career). The studies that I have seen that attempt to measure the value of the field manager show between 1.0 and 1.5 games at the most. Many conclude that the impact is less that that.
- KenHey Mike,
Does Halladay’s velocity seem down to you today? I’m seeing a lot of fastballs/cutters at 87-89.
MW: I’m seeing plenty of 91s.
- Pauljerry howarth interviewed snider in the pregame and brought up his mother again. I think it is in poor taste to keep bringing up his mother. He has already discussed it a million times and I’m sure it’s the last thing he wants to talk about. It has nothing to do with baseball so let’s everyone give it a rest. Leave the poor guy alone and just talk about baseball. I for one don’t want to know how he feels about his mother dying. We all know it sucks so why keep asking? Do you think he wants to talk about it in the media? No. so show some respect and just talk baseball with him.
MW: This would be more for Jerry than for me.
- harishawwhy in the world does rios throw side arm? how can you have any accuracy doing that?
MW: He seems to do pretty well, thank you.
- harishawi have seen more 88-89mph pitches today than 91mph. Halladay also was pitching up to 94-95mph sometimes last year, and I havent seen that once this year. I wonder..
MW: Yeah, he did look pretty rough retiring 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced.
- Jamie TMW: A hard salary cap is a great idea, if you’re willing to live without major league baseball for a year or two.
I think baseball is doing terrifically well without a cap. In the free enterprise system you invest in your product (both $$ and management skill) to achieve success. You don’t ask the government to limit the amount your competition can spend. If Rogers wanted to spend with the Yankees and the Red Sox they could do it with no problem. They simply choose not to. Why should fans expect the competition to spend less because their team won’t spend more. It’s just silly. And it’s not as if big payrolls beat well managed teams in any event. There are lots of bid spending teams that struggle and lots of lower spending teams that do fine. Good management is far more important than big spending. Of course, as the 1992 and 1993 Blue Jays demonstrated if you have both then that is really a good thing. I remember all the whining from US cities that the Jays simply spent their way to two World Series titles when they led the majors in payroll for both 1992 and 1993. Funny how a change in perspective changes the way we view similar situations.
MW: I don’t really remember any whining from the U.S. about the Jays’ payroll in the early ’90s because there wasn’t such a great disparity in payrolls top to bottom like there is now. There was whining about the Jays buying a title by spending on free agents like Jack Morris, Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor, though, but none of them broke the bank. As far as the free enterprise system goes, it doesn’t quite work that way. In a real free economy your goal is to be the best and eliminate your competition. In pro sports, if individual team’s eliminate their competition, there’s no league in which to play. The manager of a McDonald’s in Manhattan doesn’t have to care how a McDonald’s in Kansas City is doing, but the Yankees need the Royals to survive and thrive, economically.
- KenMike,
What’s with the post game today?
talk for 30 seconds
commercials
give scores
commercials
talk for 10 seconds
commercials
Top notch radio right there!
MW: It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that I guarantee will never happen again.
- AdamMike, any chance Purcey will be converted to a reliever? Maybe for next year? My concern about Purcey is his pitch count to get deep into the game – high Ks, but high BBs too. Good candidate for a releiver if you ask me as I like his stuff.
MW: I don’t think that Purcey would make such a terrific reliever, because as good as his stuff may be, he has trouble throwing strikes. If he gets over that issue, then his pitch count wouldn’t be a problem, so why not keep him in the rotation?
- FrancisMike…I know you’re not a fan of terms such as “good chemistry” or “down and dirty team guy” and other intangible references. Hypothetically, what would happen when you’re interviewing players and they refer to and actually believe in those terms? I’m sure it might be an awkward situation if you asked them to elaborate, considering you don’t buy into those terms. Would the players possibly consider you argumentative or confrontational for not just accepting the lingo and moving on? Don’t know if you’ve ever challenged guys on that level or not because those phrases do appear quite often during interviews?
MW: I don’t hear them that often in interviews I conduct, but if a player was to mention some of that stuff, I’d let it go. I don’t want to get into an argument with anyone who has been good enough to give me a few minutes of their time upon being asked.
- chris m.Watching the Jays bullpen is fun. They just come out and throw strikes.
Frasor new change up makes him a completely different pitcher and Scott Downs is even better than last year.
- Jim MaronHello Mike
you gotta love it, seven series win in a row and they play just as well at home as they do on the road, record of 7-3. Who would have thunk it…..
A question for you – The stats showed that Hill had 85 at bats, the most in the team. Is he the only one who had played all games for nine innings?
The closest is Rios with 82 AB
Francis
MW: Rios is actually the only one who has played every inning of every game so far.
- FrancisAfter almost 2 years of throwing out 4 guys who could dominate on any given night, this current rotation really irks me.
MW: Sorry about that.
- Hulk HoganAm I wrong to think that a meaningless Raptors or MLS Soccer game should NEVER pre-empt the Jays game or more importantly the JAYS TALK on the radio? If the FAN590 is the home of the Jays, be the home of the Jays.
MW: But we’re also the home of the Raptors and Toronto FC.
- RenegadeMike, a day or two ago I drew your attention to Leon Boyd’s start in NH, and your response was “he’s a Canadian, too” (or words to that effect).
Just a quick question — since he suited up for The Netherlands in the WBC, would he be INeligible to play for Canada in a future classic? Or does the WBC have that kind of rule?
(And now that I’m thinking about it, didn’t A-Rod play for the US in the first one, and was on the list to play for the Dom. Rep. this time around? If so, then presumably Boyd could also switch over if Canada wanted him).
MW: There’s no rule precluding a player from switching allegiances tournament to tournament, as far as I know.
- NormMW: I don’t really remember any whining from the U.S. about the Jays’ payroll in the early ’90s because there wasn’t such a great disparity in payrolls top to bottom like there is now. There was whining about the Jays buying a title by spending on free agents like Jack Morris, Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor, though, but none of them broke the bank.
Not sure I see the distinction between whining about a high payroll and whining about the Jays signing free agents. Whatever you want to call it, there were a lot of unhappy campers in the US about the Blue Jays spending.
MW – As far as the free enterprise system goes, it doesn’t quite work that way. In a real free economy your goal is to be the best and eliminate your competition. In pro sports, if individual team’s eliminate their competition, there’s no league in which to play. The manager of a McDonald’s in Manhattan doesn’t have to care how a McDonald’s in Kansas City is doing, but the Yankees need the Royals to survive and thrive, economically.
My point is that baseball has been tremendously successful with the current system. It doesn’t need fixing. Low payroll teams are not folding. The Yankees have 29 teams to beat (more than any previous time in history), and they still haven’t won a World Series since 2000, so they are not exactly running rough shod over everybody.
MW: The distinction is that they weren’t spending significantly more than a bunch of other teams, like a few teams do now. And yes, baseball is doing really well, but the Yankee point isn’t that well-taken. True, they haven’t won the World Series since 2000, but they have been in the playoffs every year this century but one.
- KenHey Mike,
and Ken #52
The quote i was referring to was from an interview on either baseball tonight or twib, and what Larussa was saying is basically the same thing Wilner says…..managers get far too much credit, or too much criticism based on the teams performance.
As per the interview, LaRussa pointed out all the aspects a good management team works on (defensive positioning, advance scouting of opponents, adjusting players mechanics, starting lineups, pinch hitting, double switches, bullpen usage, stealing signs from opposition coaches, stealing signs from opposing players (tipping pitches, or tipping upcoming stolen base attempts, trying to manage a clubhouse of different personalties, etc, etc) and when it is all said and done the bottom line is that the teams success comes down to the ability of the players to execute.
Do i think Cito will account for an extra 10 wins this season? No way. I think his style instills confidence in his players and contributes to an overall positive chemistry is the clubhouse, which counts for something, but i also think the moves he makes during the game are more than questionable. And even when he makes these moves that i find absurd, they sometimes work out anyhow.
This is why it is almost pointless to try and debate the effect Cito has on the outcome of a game, because it is impossible to gauge.
- rickRe: comment 57, about free enterprise vs. sports. Yea Mike – finally someone points out the fact that pro sports is not the same as capitalism. It is a closed system based on a fan’s faith that all things are supposed to be fair. The only advantage should come from how smart your management is in finding talent and making it better. Yes, some like the Bobcat, say that parity isn’t interesting if the Yankees are just another team. No doubt, I take particular glee in the Yankees’ woes BUT, one only has to look at parity in the NFL to see how having more teams with a chance to make the playoffs creates great fan interest (and way more $).
All my inlaws are Yankee fans (they were born there – huh, some excuse…), and whenever I complain (read whine) about the money the Yankees spend, their excuse is always Capitalism. It’s not – spectator sports is a kind of trust with the audience – a trust that if you are the worst team, then with great draft picks, you will, some year, be back near the top.
The first year the NY Islanders were in the NHL, I think they won 12 games. And some years later, they won 4 Cups in a row. Good system while it worked.
You said the Yankees are nowhere without, for example, a team in Kansas City. KC is not a team without fans coming to see them. If a team doesn’t have a chance of making the post season for 10 years in a row, why should fans go to the park?
Two years without baseball (yeah, I get it, the Player’s union…) – gee, kind of tough, it’s hard enough dealing with the odd Blue Jays day off….
MW: It’s a problem.
- BruceHello O Lucid One,
This has been a nice run. I expect our win percentage will start declining as we meet up with fellow “Beasts of the East” next month. Still, beyond the fan enjoyment (and hopefully support!), I would think this also helps to get the team into a good mind-set. They are settling in together, learning their (Cito-ordained!) roles, building a good winning attitude, etc. Would you agree?
Also, is the Johnny Mac-Omar interview online somewhere? I missed it… :-(
MW: It’s in the “audio on demand” section of the website – right now it’s on Page 3.
- Chuckwho is the next outfield prospect for the jays? I think they are going to need one very soon.
MW: Why? What’s wrong with Rios, Wells, Lind and Snider?
- harishawHi Mike -
I’ve always loved listening to ballgames on the radio. Putting aside the great work of Jerry and Alan on The Fan, would you share with us some of your favourite radio play-by-play guys over the years? Also, Aaron Hill and Scott Rolen just seem to ooze class, both on the field and in interviews I heard. In an age of ‘me first’ type athletes, they’re a refreshing change.
Rick
MW: Tom Cheek is my all-time favourite play-by-play broadcaster. Others I really enjoy are Dan Shulman, Vin Scully, John Sterling, Tom Hamilton, Fred Manfra and Dave Van Horne.
- rick speyermichael,
interested in your opinion on this.
b. j. ryan… it seems to me that his physical stature has changed somewhat in the last yr. or more. looks like he’s lost some weight. couldn’t say exactly how much, but curious if you know what his weight was in his first yr. with the jays & what it is now.
just wondering if there is any possible weight & strength loss an if that has perhaps contributed to his velocity issues.
he’s certainly not a shadow of his former self as they say but does seem to look lighter…
and for the record michael, not a conspiracy theory here i’m suggesting, i’m just askin’ is all..
MW: A few people have suggested that B.J. looks a lot smaller than he did in 2006, when he arrived. I see it a little, but it doesn’t look like a major thing to me – not like, say, the deflation of Ivan Rodriguez. I don’t know what the actual weight numbers are, but generally a team doesn’t change the listed weight of a player from year to year, regardless of the truth.
- darrell bishopThere’s no doubt that Burres was terrible in yesterday’s game but how come nobody is laying any blame on Shawn Camp? He didn’t exactly set the world on fire with his performance. As bad as Burres was when he left with one out in the bottom of the 5th it was still a close game. Then Camp came in and promptly gave up an rbi single followed by a grand slam and then a two run home run in the next inning.
MW: Camp was bad, no question about it, but his failure was contributing to the mess he was left with. No doubt, they both pitched poorly.
- StichThis is to funny.
MW: “They didn’t even need “lots” of slugging. 10 more singles at the right time over the course of the season, and the Jays were in the playoffs last year.”
This is true unless of course the teams they were chasing got the 10 hits they needed to stay ahead of the Jays. Heck 10 more goals at the right time this year and the Leafs would have been in the playoffs. The fact of the matter is they never got those 10 hits which is why this team was so frustrating last year, and why at times, your optimism is frustrating. Lets hope they keep this up this year.
MW: I’m not an optimist, I’m a realist. And I know the difference between to and too. The point, however, was that the Jays were THAT close to being that much better. I doubt 10 well-timed singles would have led to 10 more wins for most teams in the majors last season. They would have for the Blue Jays.
- KevinHi Mike
Just read post 38 from Peter of St. Catharines, wanting to know about the Toronto Maple Leaf Baseball team. I went to the games from 1952 to 1967. If you wish to forward my email address to him privately, I can furnish plenty of information for him.
MW: He wants a book, though. Actually, we’ll let him decide. Peter, if you want to get in touch with Stan, I can hook you guys up!
- StanHi Mike,
Had a quick look at the Las Vegas 51′s AAA stats (I still can’t believe it’s not Syracuse) and the young prospects seem to be struggling, but amazingly I noticed a pitcher by the name of Chris Michalak is on the roster.
I think he’s the same Cinderella story from 8 years ago who beat the Yanks for his moment of fame. Talk about a baseball survivor. They should bring him up for Burres…much better story.
MW: Better story, but not necessarily better pitcher. Then again……….
- Oz RobMike, this is completely unrelated to the Sox series, but what is the story on Marcum? I thought he was supposed to be gone for the entire year, but now he is working toward a rehab start? Thanks.
MW: He’s not working towards a rehab start – he’s going to throw a bullpen in Kansas City on Thursday. Big difference. Don’t expect Marcum back this year until late August, if at all.
- RaboI will go contrarian. I don’t think Burres was a total wipe out. He just pitched one inning too many. He could be a decent long reliever, just not a starter. If a hitter sees him for a third time in a game, that’s too many looks.
With the Jays starting 2 “relief pitchers”, they really need a 13 man pitching staff. Unfortunately, there’s no way they can send any of the position player reserves anywhere. They’re all playing too well.
The only solution for the next 2 Burres starts is a low pitch count and a quick hook. The relievers are going to be getting lots of work. I would think Cito will leave them in for complete innings as opposed to trying for the lefty/lefty and righty/righty matchups and they will pitch an extra inning per appearance (more appearances & more innings). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Downs come into a few games in the 8th inning.
MW: I would be. I’m with you on the short leash for Burres, though.
- TimHello Mike
After watching Jays hitters, who do you think are the best (combining talent with headsmart)?
From my observations, Hill and Lind seem to be the best – they use all fields, they adjust quickly and seems to be more aware than other hitters in terms of what it is what they need to do given the situation at hand (man on base) and the pitch count. They don’t strike out often and still have that homerun power.
Another question – I was looking for the interview you did with Johnny Mac and Visquel. I can’t find it. Is it possible to post it in your blog somewhere so we can all hear it?
Thanks a lot Mike, great show
Francis
MW: I would like Hill to walk more before calling him the best in talent and smarts at the plate. I think Scott Rolen is probably that guy. The interview is on Page 3 of the Audio on Demand section of this website.
- FrancisWhat has Brian Burres done to make any MLB GM think he is capable of being a good pitcher? Other than a good year in 2004 A ball, I don’t see anything in his track record that would suggest he could crack a 40 man roster. Why does he keep getting a shot?
MW: Major league GMs, as a group, aren’t that stupid. Obviously they, or their scouts, see something in him that make them believe he can be a viable option. Players have gotten off to worse starts to their careers and wound up succeeding.
- JBholy crap ken, do you have a day job, you make too many posts. Keep up the good work mike. I am looking forward to telling you anything that happens during the 70ish games i see during the remainder of the season, at least i know all the players wives, thanks to Noah. Damn, even the older players have nice looking wives, ala Millar.
MW: Congrats on knowing the players’ wives.
- paolohaha you asked someone if “you” like them on the blog, do you like me on the blog?, If so i may call and get over my fear of phone calls.
- paolothat was a joke btw
MW: You know, for someone who just ripped a guy for leaving too many comments………
- paolo“If a head-first slide was fastest, we would see it all the time at the end of the 100-metre dash, in which the time is measured by the hundredths of a second.”
LOL, oh Mike, this put a hilarious visual in my head….good example…I think I would watch 100 meter dashes more if this was the case.
MW: You and me both.
- RandyHi Mike
In regards to Aaron. Just let him know that you don’t like it when he lunges for the base and why, then you don’t have to worry about him pulling a hamstring
MW: Sadly, it’s not that simple.
- AnneAlway thought that you didn’t like the stolen base unless it was done at a high success rate (85-90%) and Rios is a career 76% although he did get to 80% last year when he finally broke past the 20 mark. But as far as “being arguably the best defensive outfielder in the game” I will agree with the “arguably” part. Sure he has a canon of an arm and is quick in the open field but he makes way too many mental lapses and is terrible near the walls. If he would once run to the wall, find the wall then make a catch as opposed to short stepping it for the last 20 ft, he would be better served. At least once or twice a year he will drop an easy catch, again normally in foul territory near the walls, but most of the time I think he is just taking his eye offf the ball a bit too early. It only happens a couple of times a year, but I do not notice any other of teh outfielders doing it with the same regularity. Parts of his game are really good, other aren’t. I would assume that the best defensive fielder in the game would do it all well and not just parts. Again, this is where the over-praising of Alex Rios comes in.
PS There is no-thing wrong with demigod.
MW: I don’t think it’s over-praising Rios to call him arguably the best defensive outfielder in the game. If you want to argue, talk to the guys who put together The Fielding Bible.
- ThomaHi Mike,
I haven’t seen your blog on Sunday’s game so I hope you’re well.
Q: How much of an advantage does having John Gibbons as their Bench Coach provide to the Kansas City Royals in their series with the Blue Jays?
Thanks,
Linda
MW: Thanks for your concern! I’m fine, just didn’t blog Sunday night. I don’t know that having Gibby in the Royals’ dugout will give KC THAT much of an advantage, but it certainly can’t hurt. He’ll provide more than your usual advance scout, but won’t be able to help out with the starting pitching, except for Brian Tallet.
- LindaHey Mike,
I’ve just spent a bunch of time looking for the “hot audio” section that you refer to so that I could listen to TBJTW broadcasts, but cannot find it. Please help! As far as I can tell (and the fan from Japan will atest) either the Hot Audio thing doesn’t exist, is hidden, or is called something different. Either way, it should be this difficult to locate.
Cheers!
MW: It’s called “Audio On Demand” and it’s on the right side of the front page of the website. You have to go to the bottom of the list and click on “More Audio”.
- VavaI understand Pedro isn’t the answer. But is there anyone available who might be brought in? I’m assuming the brass might want to see what happens in the early part of May before they think about spending money on this year’s version of the Jays. But the team is playing outstandingly well.
MW: There’s no one on the open market who is available to help.
- reyesHey Mike,
I called you last year about the lack of hitting of the Blue Jays. I mentioned that Gary Denbo was the problem why the Jays were not hitting. But you disagreed with me totally,Now they got Gene Tenace who has different approach instead of waiting for two strikes all the time as Gary Denbo preaches. Do you think I was right back then??
MW: No. And Denbo never preached anything about waiting for two strikes.
- AngeloI was a little surprised to hear in an interview on the Fan 590 that you do not credit Cito Gaston for playing a significant role in turning the Jays hitting around. There is no question that they are healthier this season and that is probably the most significant factor in the turnaround. However, don’t you think the mentorship of both Cito Gaston and Gene Tennace has brought a more effective hitting approach, particularly for the younger hitters? Adam Lind reviews each upcoming at bat with Cito but, in general, they seem a little more relaxed and confident at the plate.
MW: Seeming more relaxed and confident at the plate is a chicken-and-egg argument when it comes to hitting well. Yes, Lind does talk to Cito all the time, which works really well for him, but he’s still the one going out and performing. All these hitters have hit in the past – a manager is only as good as his players.
- Dave W.Mike, do you want to come to the llama farm with me? I gots free breakfast and internets for you…
MW: I don’t know, but it’s an attractive proposition. What could go badly at a llama farm?
- J-rocHi Mike,
Do you think Aaron Hill is capable of putting up Dustin Pedroia(’08) type numbers ?
MW: Definitely.
- DilsonMike,
In the past it’s been mentioned that Scott Downs doesn’t talk to the media.
During one of his last saves, he was interviewed on Sportsnet after the game.. Have you noticed a softening of Snakeface/is he becoming more media friendly, or was this just a one off?
MW: I haven’t been down there since Snakeface became the closer, so I don’t know if he’s changed his tune with the greater responsibility. Hopefully he does and he stays successful, so that when he goes back to being the set-up man, he still talks.
- ColeHey Mike,
I was just wondering ahead to next year, and i just wanted to get your thoughts on my projected 2010 lineup
SS Marco Scutaro(or anybody else the jays would/could trade for or sign)
2B Aaron Hill
1B Travis Snider
CF Vernon Wells
DH Carlos Delgado/Jason Bay/Vladamir Guerrero
RF Alex Rios
1B Adam Lind
3B Scott Rolen
C J.P. Arincebia
Rotation
RHP Roy Halladay
LHP Ricky Romero
RHP Shaun Marcum
LHP Brett Cecil
RHP Dustin Mcgowan
Bullpen
CP Brandon League
SU Scott Downs
RP Jesse Carlson
RP Jeremy Accardo
RP Casey Janssen
RP Jason Frasor
RP Brian Tallet/Shawn Camp/Bill Murphy
Bench
Jose Bautista
Kevin Millar
Rod Barajas/Brian Jarolomen
John Macdonald
MW: I’m not sure why you want to get rid of Lyle Overbay, or why you’re so confident that Lind can play first. I also see you’re not a fan of Litsch and Purcey. League needs to give a reason on the mound as to why he should be the closer.
- JazzYes, the commercial’s are annoying! We need last year’s Pontiac ones back. “Looks like the competition… sssstrikes out again.” That guy was so cheesy. Loved it!
“Back-catching” sounds extremely painful and would probably make the catcher/ump relationship quite awkward.
- Dilly in Dundasand also
what type of player do you think we could be able to get for a package of BJ Ryan(healthy), and one of Jesse Litch or david purcey?
MW: It’s a good question, but Ryan has a long way to go before he can prove that he’s healthy. Litsch may, too.
- JazzMike… I’ve heard that in the NFL, the backup QB on the sidelines, will wear the baseball cap or something to make him more noticable to the starting QB for signalling reasons..Mike..Do you think that’s the reason the managers today in MLB don’t wear the traditional uniforms and choose to wear the pullovers/wind-breakers instead?
MW: No, I don’t.
- chris m.Wells couldn’t hit a sac fly when needed..AGAIN! What a terrible player.
- BeburgPlease explain how you walk Willie ****ing Bloomquist on 4 pitches? He may be the least intimidating hitter in baseball.
- RenegadeAlso.. Rios lazy fly ball first pitch. His specialty so far this year.
- RenegadeWells misjudged a routine play at the bottom of 4th. I always knew he’s an overrated CF. Serious question Mike, what to do with this guy? All we needed was a sac fly and he failed to deliver, now misses a routine catch by a mile. A trip down to Vegas might help him get back to the old Vernon Wells, the above average player. He needs some time off from the majors.
MW: I thought you said serious.
- BeburgThis should be it for Purcey. 4 out of his 5 starts were terrible. He’s not helping the cause at all. He’s just a big guy who throws garbage most of the time.
MW: If all you’re going to do is complain about the Jays when they lose, please do it somewhere else.
- Beburgmike just reading your reply to my question earlier, and i just want to clear something up, not that it really matters but, i am actually a big fan of Litch, just not really a Purcey fan.
- JazzI just dont really see him being a key contibuter(Litch) on the 2010 team unless me moves into the bullpen or is an alternate starter in case of injury, and to my other question i actually meant to add overbay in that deal with ryan and purcey. Sorry to be such a bother. Love the blog. Keep it up
This has to be the strangest 7-inning, one-hit performance I’ve ever seen.
Pitch count, 53 Strikes, 50 balls. 6 walks, 2 Ks. So he was wild but difficult to hit? He only made mistakes outside the zone. I don’t get it.
MW: Me neither, but that’s why they call it baseball.
- Greg WBrad Mills starting for the 51s tonight… I’m just saying
MW: Don’t hold your breath.
- WesMike, was there any word on Romero today? Neither Cito nor Jerry mentioned anything in the pre-game about him. Wasn’t he supposed to long-toss today?
MW: I thought I heard something about that. No news yet.
- McLovinMama said there’ll be days like this. There’ll be days like this, my mama said…
- McLovinBold Prediction:
1) The Jays’ depleted starting pitching situation forces them to keep running Purcey out there into late June, when he otherwise would’ve been working out his control problems in Vegas.
2) By early July, Purcey finds his “release-point” and finishes the season 11-1 in his final 15 starts – ala Juan Guzman (c. 1991).
- McLovinWhat, Kyle Farnsworth!?! Didn’t know we was still alive. Ah, I mean still pitching.
- McLovin“Incredible stuff, and he’s just wild enough for hitters to have that in the back of their minds. His fastball has a late jump, he intimidates with his slider, and he has a great change-up.” – Bill Mazeroski in Bill Mazeroski’s Baseball (1993 Edition) on Juan Guzman
MW: And this could also be used to describe David Purcey? Is that what you’re trying to say. And I don’t think Bill Mazeroski actually wrote the scouting reports.
- McLovinI am sorry Mike. My last two posts were a bit over the top. I am really frustrated about today’s game. It was a poorly pitched game to begin with. And our so-called big hitters(Vernon Wells) didn’t come through when needed. My only beef with Vernon Wells is that he acts like a superstar which he clearly is not. He’s lucky to get a 126 million dollar contract. I don’t have any problem with that since it’s not my money but it’s time for him and you guys(toronto media esp. you, Jerry and Alan) to call spade a spade i.e Wells is not a superstar, a decent major leaguer and that’s all. I appreciate your knowledge and the work you have been doing over the years but somehow you keep mentioning Wells amongst the elites. He has been around for almost a decade and has had only one 30 HR season. There are many many ballplayers who have hit 30HRs more than once during that span.
P.S: That’s my rant. Please don’t confuse me for a typical fairweather Jays fan. I am gonna support my team through thick and thin.
MW: I don’t believe I have ever referred to Vernon Wells as a “superstar” or as one of the best players in the game. What do you mean he acts like a superstar?
- BeburgRE #112. You’ve labelled him as the “face of franchise” along with Doc several times. And you have defended his superstar-like salary too. I can come up with atleast 15 players who put better offensive numbers than him regularly and are making way less than him. For the money the Jays are paying him, they could’ve had two good middle of the rotation type pitchers plus a good catcher.
And where is his leadership? Media always calls him the quiet leader. Millar has shown more leadership in a month than Wells has in 9 years.
To summarize the whole thing, J.P made a horrible move locking him up for 7 years with a gigantic salary. With that kinda money, we could’ve had a legitimate power hitter at 4 hole, the 40HR, 120RBI kinda guy and that’s all I am saying.
MW: He is the face of the franchise, because he’s been their best position player ever since Delgado left. His contract wasn’t outside the realm, either, if you look at free agents with his production were making back then – guys like Alfonso Soriano and Torii Hunter. And I have never referred to Vernon as a leader.
- BeburgMike:
You’ll probably get this by the time you read this post, but Jesse Litsch was cleared to pitch by Dr. Andrews.
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090427&content_id=4452860&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor
“He’s going to be heading down to Florida,” manager Cito Gaston said. “Everything is good. He’s probably going to be throwing off flat ground for about two weeks before he can throw off the mound. It’s very good news.”
So Jesse will be about a month, if all goes well, I expect.
MW: Maybe a little longer, but hopefully not much.
- Alan the stat geek‘Clowns’ is a funny word, but very appropriate in this forum, especially after a Jay’s loss. I don’t know if it’s just on here and your show Mike, but everyone seems to go in melt down mode after a Jays loss. Wells is here to stay, so he should be supported not talked about when it is felt that he should have produced. The amount of people who hint that Wells and Rios are having poor seasons just 21 games in to the season is unreal. Maybe Mike you should just agree with people that Denbo was the reason for the ’08 Jays failures, and that Gaston is the soul reason the Jays hitting has picked up to end the madness! I’m tired of hearing about it. The Jays are off to one of the best starts ever and still have a chance to win the next three in KC. People: The Jays will loose ball games and go on loosing streaks… Prepare yourselves now, for your health’s sake. For those that are looking at averages at this point in the season, look up the final stats of the ’92 and ’93 Jays – I guarantee you will be surprised with the batting averages under .260. This Jays team we have is special and next year will be one better.
MW: Nicely done. Except why does everyone seem to think the word “lose” has two Os in it?
- AndrewCorrection: Guzman lost his first two starts in June of 1991 but went 10-1 over his final 21 starts to finish the season at 10-3. He also won the Jays only playoff game against the Twins thereby making his finish an effective 11-1.
Lore has it that Guzman was so wild in his first two starts that Cito Gaston instructed him to simply aim for the middle of the plate and let the natural movement of his pitches carry the ball to the corners. Perhaps Cito should impart this story on the (not-so-young-anymore) Purcey?
MW: What makes you think that Purcey’s stuff is even close to Guzman’s?
- McLovinIn the great baseball documentary film series, “Baseball” by Ken Burns there is an interview with Bill “Spaceman” Lee, in which Lee is asked “What’s your best pitch?”
Lee’s response: “My best pitch is a strike.”
Purcey, you gettin’ this?
- McLovinThere’s a kids show on Treehouse called “This is Emily Yeung” about a 5 or 6 year old girl painting, playing sports, etc..
I was watching one episode of this show a couple of years ago with my daughter and I was stunned that it actually featured Roy Halladay (talking pitching) and Frank Catalanotto (talking hitting).
During the course of the program, Doc is instructing the little girl how to pitch and he says, “The most important thing, and always remember this, is to throw strikes.”
Purcey, are you followin’ me?
MW: Why are you doing this?
- McLovinI see Gary Denbo must be working his magic as the Jays’ roving minor league hitting instructor. You can see his fingerprints all throughout the Jays’ farm system.
In particular, he seems to be concentrating his efforts with the Dunedin team in the Florida State League. It looks like the 2007 draft class of Justin Jackson (.149/.250/.164), John Tolisano (.167/.310/.250) and Kevin Ahrens (.148/.233/.204) are really benefiting from their conversion to Denboism.
Mike, have you noticed those Denboesque slugging percentages? Terrifying.
“That’s right boys, work that count and take it the other way! Who needs the long-ball!”
MW: Denbo is actually working for the Yankees right now. And you need to hold back on the urge to post a half-dozen comments in a row.
- McLovinThe Guzman/Purcey comparison is only relevant in that Juan was wild with a capital “W” but when he finally “found” his “release-point” it was a whole–new–ballgame.
The sudden development of Guzman shows what is possible for Purcey. Neither likely nor unlikely IMO – just possible.
MW: Possible, for sure, but Guzman had much better stuff.
- McLovinThe Yankees, huh? Guess we won’t have Denbo to kick around anymore.
- McLovinBeburg:
You shouldn’t be angry if the “so-called big hitters” don’t come through when needed.
It’s a matter of basic probability. Most of the time, the hitter will fail.
So instead, be grateful the odd time do manage to come through. =)
I assure you…it’s far less upsetting.
And I’ve never known Vernon to act like a superstar. Granted, I’ve never known Vernon, but in all the interviews I’ve seen, he’s seemed fairly down to Earth. Maybe not ‘Tie Domi’ down to Earth, but well below a Manny or an Ortiz
And sure, Wells may not hit 30 homeruns, but not everything is about homeruns. Unlike some other “so-called superstars” (*cough* Jeter *cough*), at least he plays his position reasonably well.
Mike:
I have a question about Purcey. I was curious as to what you think should be done with him.
I’m not concerned the issue from a win-loss perspective. I could care less if Purcey goes 0-20 (though I’m sure management does) since, realistically speaking, we won’t be playing in October anyway. Thus, my main concern is with player development, so that we will be playing in October in a few years.
And I’m curious as to what you think should be done so that he becomes a reliable option down the line.
He’s been struggling thus far, and his numbers from last year aren’t terribly encouraging. Though, it is a small sample size.
Is he simply overmatched up here? Are we ruining his confidence? Will he regress if he keeps pitching poorly? Or should we just keep throwing him in the fire and hope he learns how to deal with the heat?
MW: I don’t think Purcey is overmatched in the big leagues, he showed last year a few times that he could be successful at this level. At 27, it’s late in the game to still be worried about him regressing or about his confidence. Right now they have no choice but to keep throwing him into the fire, so we’ll see how he deals with it. Three weeks from now, Vegas is an option.
- KaliIs there any chance that Ryan isn’t actually injured?
Maybe they’ve given him a break and a chance to try to figure something out…under the guise of a physical injury?
I’ve heard of it happening in the past. I haven’t heard you even hint at it, but what do you think?
MW: I think there’s a chance, but as I’ve said, I don’t think Ryan is the kind of guy who would allow the team to DL him if he wasn’t hurt.
- timMW: I’m not an optimist, I’m a realist. And I know the difference between to and too. The point, however, was that the Jays were THAT close to being that much better. I doubt 10 well-timed singles would have led to 10 more wins for most teams in the majors last season. They would have for the Blue Jays.
Thanks for pointing out my short comings and gramatical errors. Are you an English teacher as well. Perhaps i dont know you that well but stick to basebal talk not editing.
MW: I don’t understand this. You’re very upset because I pointed out a grammatical error you made? Why would you take something like that as a personal affront? If you don’t want people to point out those kinds of mistakes, don’t make them.
- KevinMW: I don’t understand this. You’re very upset because I pointed out a grammatical error you made? Why would you take something like that as a personal affront? If you don’t want people to point out those kinds of mistakes, don’t make them.
Perhaps Im not very smart, and got defensive. I just came on here to talk baseball not to get reminded of my learning disability. Thanks Mike
MW: It has nothing to do with smart.
- KevinMW: I don’t understand this. You’re very upset because I pointed out a grammatical error you made? Why would you take something like that as a personal affront? If you don’t want people to point out those kinds of mistakes, don’t make them.
Perhaps Im not very smart, and got defensive. I just came on here to talk baseball not to get reminded of my learning disability. Thanks Mike
MW: It has nothing to do with smart.
Why cant you just apologize when you offend someone?
MW: Because in that case, there’s nothing for which to apologize for. The commenter made a very common grammatical error, and I pointed it out. Have we descended so low as a society that that’s something for which an apology is warranted?
- KevinMW: Because in that case, there’s nothing for which to apologize for. The commenter made a very common grammatical error, and I pointed it out. Have we descended so low as a society that that’s something for which an apology is warranted?
No but when you dont know someone personally you may say things that would not normally offend but in a certain case do. And Ive noticed correcting grammer and being sarcastic towards people seems to be your thing. Sometimes it comes off a little arrogant though. Like you know everything and the idiot callers or writters dont know anything.
MW: I don’t know everything, very obviously, and I’m not trying to get that across. What I am trying to get across is that I’m trying to rally against the death of the English language. It has become acceptable online for people to not care about spelling and to use improper grammar. It’s not acceptable here.
- Kevin