2014-01-27

Interview with Sean Nolin


We are unloading the clip, so to speak, on the interviews from last year we had stored away for safe keeping. Below you will find one from a consensus top-10 prospect in your Toronto Blue Jays' (ridiculously totally somewhat) thinned-out farm system.

They say that in poker, timing is everything. This rock-solid interview was done on July 19, 2013, almost two full months after Sean Nolin was called up to the show. Our top minor league guru extraordinaire, Mr. Jay Floyd of PhoulBallz.com, Phillies Nation TV, the Shore Sports Network and other outlets wasn't shying away from the elephant in the room at all. "Jay Ballz", as he's nicknamed, asks the tough questions. Jay Ballz listens to the awkward responses. Jay Ballz takes it all in stride. 


In this latest masterpiece you will hear:
  • His motto: "wish high, think high" (just not with the fastball, okay, champ?)
  • How he was notified by a fan in the stands of his MLB promotion
  • How he has been trying to call his own games more often
  • What it's like to throw to top catching prospect A.J. Jimenez
  • Him defending the honour of our boy Jesse Goldberg-Strassler from his days in Lansing
  • How he grew up a Yankee fan and how there might be some added fire when he pitches against the dreaded Red Sox


If you skip ahead to the 2:06 mark you can actually hear what it's like to have your childhood dreams smashed/destroyed/lit on fire right before your very eyes.

Why the hell this guy was brought up to the Major Leagues only to be farmed out the very next day is still a mystery to us. One option burned for a whopping .001 days of MLB service time. We realize that things went south in a hurry last year in terms of arms, but this particular roster move still blows the mind. 


And not in a good way. 

Please don't think that we are down on what the future has in store for this player. We think that he could someday be a decent back-of-the-rotation type guy and he does throw a ball with his left hand. The tale of Sean Nolin's MLB debut and the soul-crushing aftermath should serve smartly as a cautionary warning to the brain trust the next time they think about rushing a young arm up to the show. 

It does appear your Toronto Blue Jays learned this lesson rather quickly since they slammed the breaks on bringing up Marcus Stroman in the garbage time of the season, known more formally in these parts as "September."

Interview with Jack Murphy


We've been sitting on this interview since May 1st of last year and it's classic Jay Floyd awesome. In the interview below we are quite sure you'll notice that Jack Murphy isn't your prototypical jock. He more than likely has a career as a coach or manager when he's done playing.



If you need some basic stats, click here. Be warned, it's not exactly pretty. He did have a big game in the finals of the Asia Series:
After you listen to the interview, you'll get the sense that Jack Murphy knows exactly what kind of player Jack Murphy is and he's totally cool with it. Classic org guy. The Blue Jays rewarded him for his loyalty with a taste of AAA at the end of the 2013 season. He then went back over to Australia again to play more winter ball. The picture from above is a shot from this off season courtesy of a local newspaper in the land down under.

He even found some free time while becoming a cult hero to enjoy himself!


2014-01-26

The 25 Man Roster Challenge is back!

The 5th annual 25 Man Roster Challenge is once again a thing. It`s really easy to play and you can win cool stuff!

All you have to do is pick your Toronto Blue Jays opening day roster. That`s it.

If you want to play you have 3 options on how to get your ballot in:

1: Send us an email: 1bluejaysway(at)gmail.com
2: Make a post on your blog, if you have one and send us a link
3: Add your ballot to the comments section of this post or the reminder post we will do

In the event of a tie, and it`s pretty much a given at this point there will be a tie, we ask that you also give us a prediction on what you think the spring training record will be. From what we can see it appears as though the boys of summer will attempt to play 30 spring training games this year. That total includes the 2 exhibition games against the Mets in the Big O but not the split squad game against the Canadian Junior National Team. Try not to forget that sometimes it rains in Florida and the games don`t generally get made up.

It is not a requirement that you select a tie breaker and all ballots containing 25 names will be considered valid. It`s just a really good idea that you choose one. Last year we had a stupid close finish and we actually had to break it right down to winning percentage.

The deadline for submitting your ballot this year is February 15th at midnight. Pitchers and catchers report the next day. We will do up a reminder post shortly before the deadline.

Some things to consider:

Your Toronto Blue Jays currently have 8 (yes 8!) players who are out of options on the 40 man roster and would therefore have to make the team or be sent through waivers before they could be demoted to the Minor Leagues.

Sergio Santos
Brett Cecil
Dustin McGowan
Esmil Rogers
Luis Perez
Jeremy Jeffress
Todd Redmond
Moises Sierra

We are not 100% sure if Josh Thole has an option left. We are working hard to confirm this. Once we have an answer we will update this post.

Another thing that might come into play is the make up of the roster. Most teams opt for the traditional 4 man bench but AA said on Prime Time (skip ahead to the 17:30 mark) early this month that they may have to go with an extra arm in the bullpen to start the year. It’s a somewhat unpopular move that totally limits the skipper’s ability to make changes that might affect the outcome of a close ballgame but could be necessary in order to keep an option-less live arm like Jeffress around. In the same interview he said that he could be active at the end of camp when other teams make decisions on their own players.

Looking over the 40 man roster as it currently stands we think the X factor this year is the mystery pitcher. There is a real chance that the top free agent pitchers will not be signed before camp begins.

It is possible that injuries play a part in this year’s roster challenge. Somebody always seems to go down near the end of camp. This throws the entire challenge into flux and a ballot that once looked like a longshot might not look so longshotish anymore. We appreciate it when people take a chance on a non-roster invitee or a player who at the start of camp isn’t in the organization.

Keep in mind no one in the 4 years we have been doing this exercise has ever gone 25 for 25. We'd like to see that change this year.

Prizes:

Unfortunately, last year`s winner did not want to part with the coveted Randy Knorr autographed 8 X 10. Fear not as we have been able to put together what we feel is a somewhat comparable prize list. The winner of this year`s roster challenge will receive a Upper Deck Cecil Fielder baseball card AND an autographed Rawlings baseball signed by former Blue Jay greats Brandon League and Gregg Zaun. Both prizes are yours to keep if you are victorious.

Behold!



Really hope you can join us and play this year. Good luck to all.