2016-02-25

And We're Off!

The 7th annual 25 Man Roster Challenge is a go, and what a deadline flurry we had. With about two hours to go before the midnight deadline on Monday, February 22nd, just about the time when most of the ballots start to roll in, Kenny hit us with this:




Seven ballots in this year's challenge contained the name Jay Bruce. Some would even say that it was the smart thing to do considering the timing of it all. We gave it some serious thought ourselves. 

Then shortly after the midnight deadline, this:




Hands down the most exciting deadline EVER. Even the most seasoned competitor realized the magnitude of their error.




















First, let's take a look at some fast stats from this year's edition of the 25 Man Roster Challenge:
  • There were 19 ballots submitted before the deadline 
  • One late ballot that will not be considered
  • No two ballots were the same (mind blown)
  • All ballots contained 17 identical names
If any one of them doesn't break camp with the team, this thing could get interesting in a hurry.

Russell Martin
Edwin Encarnacion
Chris Colabello
Justin Smoak
Ryan Goins
Troy Tulowitzki
Josh Donaldson
Jose Bautista
Kevin Pillar

Marcus Stroman
Marco Estrada
R.A. Dickey
J.A. Happ
Drew Storen
Roberto Osuna
Brett Cecil
Aaron Loup

There were quite a few player names, eight to be exact, that only appeared once in this year's roster challenge. Those names will be bolded. Consider them the long shots. It must be said that you do have to take chances in this game to win it. 

We apologize in advance for the length of this post. Still haven't figured out a better way to roll out the ballots. Each team has a name, their tiebreaker and the remaining eight players not listed above. Some of them we commented on. Some of them we didn't.

Blue Birds Have All The Fun
17-13

Drew Hutchison
Steve Delabar
Gavin Floyd
Jesse Chavez
Josh Thole
Michael Saunders
Ezequiel Carrera
Darwin Barney

The only ballot without Aaron Sanchez on it, thus making us type out the name Sanchez 18 times. Swell.

@gregorMLB
16-14

Aaron Sanchez
Barney
Carrera
Floyd
Bruce
Chavez
Thole
Ryan Tepera

We are honoured that the beat reporter for Bluejays.com decided to join us all this year once again, and he even dropped a little knowledge included with his ballot.

On Tepera:

Going against everything I normally follow with options... for some reason I just think Shapiro really likes the guy. I'm going to be wrong, they're going to option him for organizational depth but I'm going to stick with this one.

The next three ballots are all on board with this line of thinking.

I Like Nuts
17-10

Sanchez
AJ Jimenez
Hutchison
Carrera
Chavez
Saunders
Steve Delabar
Tepera

This ballot decided to go with eight relievers and no backup infielder to start the year. Somewhat unconventional.

Jays Are My 2nd Favourite Team
19-11

Sanchez
Barney
Carrera
Bruce
Chavez
Thole
Delabar
Tepera

The Rudderless Shapiros

Sanchez
Dalton Pompey
Barney
Floyd
Bruce
Chavez
Thole
Tepera

The next eight ballots are affectionally known as the randos:

Elvis's Seventh Inning
16-12

Sanchez
Jimenez
Barney
Floyd
Bruce
Chavez
Bo Schultz
Darrell Ceciliani

I Never Win
13-16

Sanchez
Pompey
Barney
Floyd
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Roberto Hernandez

(Insert lame Fausto Carmona joke here)

@Minor_Leaguer
14-14

Sanchez 
Carrera
Bruce
Chavez
Thole
Junior Lake
Pat Venditte
Arnold Leon

Arnold Leon hates Canada. Boo that man.

Mr. Defending Champion, Sir
16-13

Sanchez
Barney
Carrera
Floyd
Thole
Saunders
Delabar
Castro

Mr. Castro? Well, we went through the rosters of all the full season teams in the Jays system and came up empty on this one. We considered giving the champ a do over but didn't notice the specifics of each ballot until well after the deadline had passed. Probably this is another ill timed case of the dreaded autocorrect for the name Chavez.  At least Castro is kind of a common name. Very tough way to start out when defending a title.

@AndyMc9293
19-11

Sanchez
Barney
Floyd
Chavez
Lake
Saunders
Delabar
Tony Sanchez

Guess it's possible that Tony Sanchez could learn how to catch a knuckleball in the next six weeks but it's more likely that he won't. Maybe the thinking here is that Thole gets hurt.

BJH Ballot
12-18

Sanchez
Barney
David Aardsma
Floyd
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Joe Biagini

Rule 5 player Joe Biagini would have to remain on the 25 man roster (*cough* or DL *cough*) all season or be offered back to the Giants.

Team Last Row 500's
16-13

Sanchez
Schultz
Barney
Hutchison
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Devon Travis

Devon Travis will have a remarkably early comeback from major shoulder surgery. You heard it here first.

I Don't Know

Sanchez
Pompey
Hutchison
Floyd
Thole
Saunders
Delabar
Maicer Izturis

It would be awesome if Izzy made the team and played for the league minimum. Basically the exact opposite of the current Bautista contract situation.

@scottwspicer
18-9

Sanchez
Schultz
Barney
Hutchison
Carrera
Chavez
Thole
Saunders

Team Ant
17-13

Sanchez
Barney
Hutchison
Carrera
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Delabar

Fried Meats
14-15

Sanchez
Barney
Aardsma
Carrera
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Venditte

Remember Domer?
15-15

Sanchez
Schultz
Barney
Carrera
Floyd
Bruce
Chavez
Thole

Team Austin
17-13

Sanchez
Barney
Hutchison
Bruce
Chavez
Thole
Lake
Delabar

@1BJW
16-13

Sanchez
Barney
Carrera
Floyd
Chavez
Thole
Saunders
Delabar

Good luck to all the participants and thanks for playing.

Go Jays!

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