Halfway there guys. If you haven't heard this before, you need to: Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.
I won't bore you with a complete recap. I just have a few observation that I wish to share and hopefully get some feedback from you.
Your Toronto Blue Jays are 41 - 40. We are 8 games out of first place and 7.5 out of the wildcard. That is way better than I had envisioned.
Our record against right handed pitchers is 34 - 27. That win total is tied for second best in the Majors.
We are 10 - 15 in one run games and are 21 for 30 in save opportunities yet our closer is tied with the great (puke) Mariano Rivera in saves with 18.
We lead the league in home runs as a team with 115 yet our average is .238 which is third from the bottom.
Jose Bautista is tied for the Major League lead in home runs with 20. He has also chipped in 50 RBI.
Vernon Wells is 1 behind him with 19. He is 5th in doubles and is 15th with a .548 slugging percentage.
Didn't see that coming.
Aaron Hill is hitting .192 and has a .280 on base percentage.
Adam Lind is hitting .205 and has a .264 on base percentage.
Didn't see that coming either.
Our starting pitching has been rock solid:
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ERA | |
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SV | |
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TOR | 6 | 4 | 2.83 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 111.1 | 96 | 36 | 35 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 103 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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TOR | 7 | 4 | 3.44 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107.1 | 98 | 45 | 41 | 12 | 3 | 27 | 88 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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TOR | 5 | 6 | 4.50 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90.0 | 82 | 47 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 44 | 100 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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TOR | 7 | 5 | 4.19 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 86.0 | 77 | 42 | 40 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 65 |
Now Just Imagine If:
- our stars were being our stars
- we had a competent field manager
- we had a decent closer
- still had Roy Halladay
Great Stuff Golden Arm. Just wondered what your thoughts were about what the Jays will do in the second half given that they have fallen back to 7.5 games in the wild card race? Do you see the Jays being major sellers at the deadline? Would it not be smarter to get some young guys up to gain experience then go down with journeymen vets?If this does happen, which prospects do you see being brought up later in the season to get some experience.
ReplyDeleteWils,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
I think that getting swept by the Tribe really put a damper on everyone's spirits. I know it did for me.....It's not so much the 7.5 games back that is concerning but more the 5 teams we would have to leap frog in order to get to the promise land.
Are we gonna be sellers? Yeah. Most likely.
Who gets moved? Buck, Downs, Gonzo, Bautista and Gregg probably have the most value right now. AA will try his best to move Frasor, Overbay and E5 but these guys may be tough to move without throwing in a prospect or two.
Realistically, if a team called us and asked for Fred Lewis or Vernon Wells or maybe even Shaun Marcum I think we certainly listen.
So to answer your question: it depends on who gets moved. Naturally, everyone wants a look at Wallace but until Lyle is gone, I don't see that happening. He would have to be added to the 40 man roster before he could come up. Same goes for Arencibia. These are the easy answers but AA will be weary of their service time:
http://1bluejaysway.blogspot.com/2010/01/service-time.html
Look for Brad Emaus or Shawn Bowman to get a shot at 3B.
Eric Thames or Darin Mastroianni to maybe get a quick look in the OF. I think that Adam Loewen, who is going to be a minor league free agent after this year, gets a Sept. call up, just to see how close he is.
We also got this 21 year old Cuban shortstop in New Hampshire that could get a call.
As for the arms: Kyle Drabek, Zach Stewart, Luis Perez are the starters that you may see for the first time. I think Georgetown boy Shawn Hill gets a look if he is healthy.
A couple of relievers to round it out: Danny Farquhar, Tim Collins and Trystan Magnuson all of them are in Double A.
Keep in mind that some of the players we receive back in any trade could be added to this list.....
I was hoping to get a look at Drabek, I figured that was a long shot though.I Don't mind them moving most of those you named, but I hope we could hold on to Marcum. I would love to see him as the head of the 5 man rotation next year with Romero, Cecil, Morrow, and maybe Drabek if he's ready. I would love to see the Jays stick it out with this roster and see what happens, we haven't been close to a playoff birth in a while. But I think it would be wiser to continue clearing the way to bring up younger talent to build the core going forward. Any chance of seeing Deck McGuire anytime soon?
ReplyDeleteThose are some potent "what ifs". Doc has to be wondering what the hell is going on. Until recently, the Phillies were getting outscored by the Jays and his personal run support is down a run and a half from last year. I think if the Jays manage to finish with 75+ wins, this has a to be considered a massively successful season. When it started, many people thought they were going to be worse than the Orioles, far worse. The team-wide power surge has been fun, but I agree, it's all about the pitching. And, although I'm eager to see Drabek as well, I'm equally excited about Jesse Litsch (who has looked good in two of his four starts since coming back).
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to enjoy the rest of the season. 81 games goes shockingly fast and then it's Leafs/Raptors season to get us to spring.
ReplyDeleteI love my team and they're pretty good...but, the Yanks, Sox and Rays are better. If this starting pitching continues to develop and the young guys keep it up in the minors and make their way here soon, the Jays WILL be ahead of those three...Sooner than you might think.
I agree about Litsch, he has looked really good, other than that first start where he got rocked. I am still psyched about this team going forward, there are a lot of good arms coming up, and already with the big club, that is key to winning this stacked division. The first half of the season has gone by fast, if they end up hovering around .500 i agree the season will be a success.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff boyz. Thanks to all for the comments.
ReplyDelete@Wils
You seen this?
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/07/rosenthal-on-.html
And that guy gets paid for his "insight" I said it a day earlier and for free!
As for Deck, we have till August 15 to sign him. Plenty of time to haggle over a half million or so. I did find this reference to him being a fast mover through the minors. Check it:
http://www.scoutingbook.com/players/p2692
@Hippeaux
Huge "IFS" bro. Just massive. But if you think about it a little bit.....
Hill and Lind are reigning Silver Sluggers. Blows my mind that BOTH of them are having such terrible seasons.
The Cito got his 4 year consulting deal near the end of last season. If the team had waited, then maybe he would manage a little more and at least attempt to win the close games instead of "looking out for the future" because his job would have been in jeopardy.
B.J. Ryan is still being paid $10,000,000 and would have been in the final year of his contract. His lack of recovery from the dreaded Tommy John surgery really hurt our pen.
As for Roy, we didn't receive any Major League ready talent in return. Him in this rotation would have been very scary.
I labeled this post totally over simplified for a reason. Obviously a few things are going our way. Gonzo, Buck and Bautista are on pace for career years. Morrow and Cecil are pitching well and will only get better.
Your interest in Litsch is shared by most. I really think he is a number 5 guy at best in the Majors. He knows how to pitch and surely can do it in the top level but I think his innings can be replaced by others within the organization. He looks extremely out of shape, even for him. I wonder if he needs a spring training camp to get his weight down and his arm in shape.
@Mattt,
We all need to enjoy this team. They are exciting and are growing at a nice pace. After the deadline, our team may look very different. I am as excited as the next guy to see the young guys but, like you, I can wait till they are ready.