Weekly Round Up: June 14 - 20

Consider this your required reading for the week.  Our boy Jay talks sibling rivalry.

Courtesy of GCOBB:

We know Roy Halladay has been amazing so far during his time with Phillies but there remains a question about his ability to dominate in big games since he pitched in very few during his time with the hapless Toronto Blue Jays.  We got a chance to see him in that situation yesterday against the New York Yankees.

Dickhead comment but there may be some truth to it.  How many times has an ace buckled under when it counted most?  Not saying Roy falls into that category but do we really know how he will preform in "the big game"?

Courtesy of Remembering '51:

Since the trade to Toronto though, Lewis numbers look a little funny. His slash line is .291/.333/.814, and his plate discipline numbers look even more peculiar.
His O-swing percentage this year is 30 percent, a career high, and the first time in his Major League career when it's been above the league average. His swing percentage is 49.4 percent, the highest percentage since his rookie year in 2006 when it was 50 percent.
But you know what? It hasn't hurt him. Yes, Lewis is drawing less walks (his BB percentage is only 5.8 percent, almost five points lower than last year), still striking out a lot (27.7 percent exactly) and his BB/K ratio (0.23) and OBP aren't as comforting as they were in his Giants days. Yet Lewis is producing. His wOBA is .351. His wRC+ is 110. He has already matched his doubles total from last year (21) in 113 less plate appearances. His ISO at .189 is a career high by 31 points.

Nice post on Fred from a fan who followed his career very closely.   

Courtesy of CBS:

Saddled with another disabled-list stint in 2008, Rolen worked his way back in Florida with Hap Hudson, his longtime rehab guru who currently is the rehabilitation coordinator with the Blue Jays.
"You have strength and you have the ability," Hudson told Rolen. "Let's find a way."
So they began the heavy lifting. So to speak.
"You can't do it like you did in '98 [.290, 31 homers, 110 RBI for Philadelphia]," Hudson told him. "And you can't do it like you did in '04 [.314, 34 homers, 124 RBI for St. Louis].
"Not like that."
They hatched a plan that was a concession to the limited range of motion in his left shoulder, but not an outright surrender to the surgeon's scalpel and Father Time.

In his stance, Rolen moved his hands closer to his shoulders. And he moved them down.
Point was, this would take the stress off his shoulder. 

GBOAT and his transformation as a hitter due to injury.

Courtesy of CBS:

Arencibia powering up for Las Vegas: Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia is just begging for a recall with his recent performance at the plate for Triple-A Las Vegas. Arencibia homered for the sixth time in nine games on Thursday. He also extended his hitting streak to eight games and is hitting .439 (18 for 41) in his last 10 contests. He has nine RBI and seven multi-hit games in that span.
(Updated 06/18/2010).

Fantasy Analysis

Arencibia has raised his batting average to .284 to go along with 14 homers and 35 RBI in 55 games. He had a .558 slugging percentage and .890 OPS. The only negative is that Arencibia has 50 strikeouts and just 16 walks. If the tandem of John Buck and Jose Molina hadn't worked so well for Toronto this season, then Arencibia probably would have been recalled by now. But he continues to toil in the minors in the meantime. Arencibia is considered the Jays' second-best prospect, according to Baseball America, and it largely has to do with his power potential. Arencibia is worth holding onto in long-term Fantasy keeper leagues and AL-only formats for a potential callup in 2010. (Updated 06/18/2010).

Courtesy of National Post:

McGowan’s latest MRI inconclusive

Dustin McGowan’s long comeback bid has taken another uncertain turn.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander, who has not pitched in a game since undergoing shoulder surgery in July 2008, felt a pop in his shoulder earlier this week in Florida. But an MRI showed “no new information,” the Jays announced Friday.
McGowan, 28, will visit specialist James Andrews in Alabama for further evaluation on Monday.
He has had a series of setbacks over the past year. In spring training, he seemed poised to start pitching in games again before shoulder pain shut him down.

Please don't give up on this guy everyone.  Remember some guy named Carp? 

Courtesy of The Blue Jay Hunter:

To begin his acceptance speech, Roberto Alomar thought back to the morning of December 5th, 1990 when he received the call that he'd been traded from the San Diego Padres to the Toronto Blue Jays.
He asked his father for advice and Alomar's father said he was going to play for one of the best managers in the game, Cito Gaston.
Along with his former coach, Roberto Alomar spoke very highly of his teammates from the Toronto Blue Jays and relayed an important message which rings true today:

"When I came to Toronto, I played with a great bunch of guys. And to win championships, you have to win together and you have to lose together."

Since Alomar's retirement, there was been talk of him returning to the Toronto Blue Jays in some sort of coaching capacity. As he looked to his right over to Paul Beeston sitting on a picnic table, Alomar said:

"Hopefully one day, the Blue Jays can give me a job!"

 Beeston boozing it up on said picnic table

I was lucky enough to link up with The Blue Jay Hunter and we sat together for this ceremony.  Gotta say Paul Quantrill's acceptance speech (which Ian has audio of) stole the show.

Courtesy of Orioles Insider: 

Markakis expresses frustration with team, offensive approach

On team needing better approach: “Sometimes, guys are going up there and it looks like they have no idea what they’re doing. I’m not saying that to bash guys. I want guys to be successful, I want this team to be successful, and I have to produce as well. I'm part of this. But it takes a lot more than one big bat. We definitely need that one guy who could hit you 40 home runs, but from top to bottom, you need guys getting on base. You need guys in there who have a plan, who have a clue and who know how to execute that plan and get on base. We don’t need every guy in this lineup trying to hit home runs. We’re paid to get on base and figure out how to score and drive in runs. You look at the Yankees. They have guys who can hit home runs but everybody in that lineup can get on base.”
On hitting coach Terry Crowley and player accountability: "You have to go up there with an approach. [Crowley] has 110 percent nothing to do with the way we are going about our business at the plate and on the field right now. You can have anybody come here and you still are going to have a couple of guys who are not going to change their approach and fix it. It’s worthless. You can point your fingers here and there, but it is what it is. You’re in the big leagues. You have to change your approach on your own. If you go up there clueless, you’re going to come back [to the dugout] clueless. It’s that simple."
On direction of the club: “At this point, yeah, where are we going? I know we have a lot of injured guys, we’re in the toughest division in baseball and we’re a last-place team. But at this point, it’s mind boggling. You don’t even know what to think, but you still have to be professional and go out and play every day.”


Sounds like there is some trouble brewing down in Baltimore.  They already fired their manager, so what do you do next?

Courtesy of CBS:

Lind adds 1B to repertoire: Blue Jays OF Adam Lind has been working on fielding from first base prior to games and is going to be available as a backup first baseman, according to MLB.com. "Lind's played first base before," manager Cito Gaston said. "He's taking ground balls over there just kind of as a backup thing. If something happens to [Lyle] Overbay, or we want to give Overbay a day off, we can run Lind over there."
(Updated 06/19/2010).

Fantasy Analysis

Lind would need a handful of appearances at first base to gain eligibility at the position. Still, his greatest value would remain as an outfielder in Fantasy and his .209 batting average is hard to start in any position at the moment. Lind has been one of the most disappointing players in baseball so far in 2010 and he's being benched in many mixed leagues as a result. He has plenty of time to turn things around, however, so don't give up on him just yet. (Updated 06/19/2010).

Courtesy of National Post:

“It’s something that we’ve been talking about the last little while, just to get him going,” Anthopoulos said. “Certainly, he was disappointed in the decision that we made, but again, we told him this wasn’t permanent. He goes down there, plays well, starts to get his swing going a little bit, he should be able to find his way back here.” Anthopoulos stressed that the move does not represent punishment for Encarnacion’s erratic defence or perceived lack of hustle.
“He’s a great kid,” the GM said. “Edwin is first-class. He’s a good person. This one was tough. He’s classy. A lot of times you have things like this happen, players storm out of the office, don’t shale your hand. He shook our hands. He’s a very good human being. He cares.”

I was feeling bad about getting the round up posted a bit late today.  But then this story broke.  E5 to AAA.  Wonder how he responds..... 

Pure gold.

Game 31 Recap: Exciting Extra Inning Win!

That splitter didn't split.  Jays win their sixth in a row.

What. A. Game.  Jesus.  It took less than an hour to play 4 and a half scoreless innings.  Both starters were dealing.  Final score was 7 - 4 in 12 innings which still only took 3 hours and 12 minutes to complete.  9 pitchers ended up being used.  Huh. 

Strange this game was.
 















From about the 8th inning on it actually felt a little like playoff baseball.  That was refreshing to watch.

The Good: 

Alex Gonzalez was only 1 for 6.  The one pitch he did get a hold of was a 89 MPH splitter on a 1 - 2 count in the top of the 12th with 2 on and 2.  See above.

Travis Snider 3 for 5 and again used all fields to get his hits.

John Buck 2 for 5 with a clutch bomb to take the lead in the top of the 9th off closer Bobby Jenks.  He ended up with 3 RBI for the game.

Shawn Camp stranded two more inherited baserunners in his 5 pitch relief outing.  He is 6 for 7 on the year so far.
 
Pat Tabler quote about starters Marcum and Buehrle "Watching both of these guys pitch tonight is proof that it's not how hard you throw it, it's where you throw it."  

The Bad:

Striking out five out of a possible six times against freak lefthanded reliever Matt Thornton.  That guy is filthy.

The Ugly:

Me jinxing the defense.  Marcum lost his no hit bid on a wind aided "double" that was botched by Fred Lewis in leftfield.  Then he lost his chance at a decision when Alex Gonzalez made an error on the transfer in the bottom of the 8th.

Sorry boys.....

Looking Ahead:

LHP Brett Cecil (2-1, 2.61) tries to make it 7 in a row against RHP Jake Peavy (1-2, 6.31) in a rare 7:05 weekend start.  Here you will find your Toronto Blue Jays lifetime hitting stats vs. Peavy.  Look for a good game from former NL guys Freddy and Gonzo. 

Game 30 Recap: I Hate Working The Afternoon Shift!

How the fuck did the Giants let this guy go for a PTBNL or cash?

So yeah, anybody?  Our new lead off guy is looking mighty nice atop the order.  In the last five games he is flat out smoking the ball, 8 for his last 21, good for a .381 clip.  He has chipped in 6 RBI and scored 5 runs.  Did I mention we are on a five game winning streak?  Coincidence?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

With respect to game 30, Fred Lewis went 2 for 4 with the only 2 RBI in the game.  Good guys win 2 - 0.  The pitch he hit for the clutch one out RBI double was probably the only mistake White Sox starter John Danks made.  A thigh high 92 MPH fastball right down broadway.  

The big knock on Lewis as a major leaguer was his defense in the outfield.  Granted we have not seen him play that much and granted he is trying to figure out the intricacies of the AL ballparks but in my opinion he looks more than capable.  The sliding catch he made in the first inning to rob cleanup man Alex Israel Rios Cruz was a beauty and his throwing arm is average at worst.  Maybe he just needed some consistent playing time San Fran?

If I didn't mention the effort of number five guy in our starting rotation, Dana Eveland, than I should find another hobby.  His line:

7 IP, 2 Hits, 0 ER, 4BB, 3K, 90 pitches.

He worked himself out of a couple of jams but was around the zone all night which allowed his fielders to stay in the game.  This was especially important since it was chilly 6 degrees Celsius with a 20 KM wind at game time.  We did make 1 error on the game, our 14th on the season, and in all fairness it probably should have been 2 on the Rios Cruz 9th inning pop up "double".  Whatever, our team defense is number 4 in the Majors, fielding at a .988 percentage and we have had the most total chances.  That has to count for something.

One thing that is becoming a major concern to me is Aaron Hill.  His legs are not where they need to be.  In the bottom of the first inning, he was unable to go on the back end of a potential double steal.  Lewis was thrown out at third on a shitty throw but Hill should have been able to get into scoring position for Vernon Wells to drive in.  I know Hill is "toughing it out" and that is honourable but he looks like he is in pain playing the game.  I'm not quite sure what we can do with him in the short term but I fear he may re-injure himself if he continues to grind it out.

One of the nice things about watching a control pitcher like John Danks throw against us is you can see what the other team's scouting report is.  Here are a couple of observations:

• Travis Snider is going to be pitched up in the zone with the hard stuff.  More so when he is behind in the count
• Aaron Hill will be pitched on the inner half, in on his hands, early in the count

If any of you know these fine young gentlemen, please let them know for me would you?

Kevin Gregg recorded his 8th save in 8 opportunities to slam the door.  He looks good with a 0.64 ERA, 18 K, 2 BB and opponents are hitting .167 against him. 

So to sum it all up, three castoffs from three separate MLB teams combine for a solid win.  Thank you Cubs, A's and Giants.   

Up next we got Shaun Marcum 1 - 1, 3.12 ERA vs. Mark Buehrle 2 - 4, 5.30 ERA at 8:10 tonight.  Go Jays! 

Game 10 Recap: 7 - 3 Win For The Good Guys

We really should be ashamed of ourselves.

The roof was open for baseball this season earlier than any other year.  The previous record was April 16, 2002.  

Your Toronto Blue Jays managed to get a split with the White Sox on the strength of Dana Eveland's left arm and Alex Gonzalez's bat.  Eveland was able to pick up where he left off from his last start, although this time around he relied heavily on the breaking ball as opposed to the change up which was so good against Baltimore.  He looks very good and is proving to be a shrewd pick up by the Boy Wonder.  Some guys really just need a change of scenery and Eveland appears to be one of those guys.  He picked up his second win of the season and his ERA sits at 1.35.

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez is making his case to remain in the two hole.  For the game he went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI.  The thing I like about him is: he murders low pitches.  In the two hole he can expect to see a lot of them that is if the lead off guy gets on base.  Teams will be trying to induce the double play and that plays right into his strength as a hitter.

Alright I want to talk about our first baseman and number five hitter Lyle Overbay.  For the record, I believe he needs to be in the line up everyday.  He entered yesterday's game hitting .088 and after his 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts, his average sits at .077.  For the year he is 3 for 39.  Some of it can probably be attributed to his fucking terrible entrance music:

No way he gets pumped up to hit listening to this crap.   

Now, before we all start calling on The Cito to bench his ass or platoon him with cult hero Randy Ruiz let's think about this.  He is going to be a free agent next year.  We NEED to get something in return for him.  The only way to do that is by trading him or rolling the dice in the arbitration game.  So yeah, keep running him out there no matter how painful it is to watch.

HOWEVER

He has absolutely no business hitting in the five spot.  NONE.  Other teams are beginning to base their strategy around facing him and that is something that is starting to hurt his teammates chances of succeeding.

Is it a coincidence that Vernon has not seen a lot to hit lately?  No it isn't.  Is it a coincidence that other teams are bringing in a lot of tough lefties out of the pen to face Lind, Wells and Overbay late in the game?  Again, no it isn't.     

I think it is time for him to move down in the order.  Perhaps a day off first to let him know there are no free passes and then into the 7th or 8th spot you go until he gets it going. 

But try to keep some perspective on Lyle.  One good 4 for 4 game from him and his average more than doubles to .163, which is still pretty bad but it's very early. 

Quickly:

Head's up play by Bautista in the top of the 6th got us out of a jam.  He observed Juan Pierre forgetting to tag back up and third base and alertly told Gonzalez to tag him for the 8-4-6 double play.

Gordan Beckham made a unbelievable play at second base in the bottom of the 5th to rob Travis Snider of a hit.  Beckham went to his right, dove full out to make the stop.  Then he flipped the ball to second to get the force on Bautista.  He did not have time to make the transfer to his throwing hand.  It was pretty.  The players call that a "web gem". 

Speaking of Travis Snider, he hit his first home run of the season to right field.  Big shot to the second deck.  Check out the bat flip after he connects, man this kid is going to be good once he figures it out.....he also made a nice diving catch in left field to take away a base hit.

We made a move to get some much needed outfield help shortly after the game.  As mentioned in game 9's recap, Fred Lewis was acquired for a PTBNL or cash.  I have already told our boy Jesse to be on the lookout for some Giant scouts in the next few games in Lansing.  Basically how a Player To Be Named Later works is: the Blue Jays give the Giants a list of X number of guys that they can choose from.  The Giants scout them over a period of time and then choose one.  If they don't want any of the players, then they take the cash.

The book on Lewis is he has above average speed which translates to decent outfield defense.  With the stick, he has some pop and began last year as the Giant's number three hitter.  He is primarily a left fielder, although he has played all three outfield positions in the past.  With us, he will be the back up and should come off the bench to pinch run.  He bats left, so if our manager ever considered pinch hitting, he could be an option against right handed pitching late in a game.  If he plays well, you may see him take some at bats from Bautista against right handed pitching but the brain trust has said for now, he is the back up.

He is out of options and cannot be sent to the minors without exposing him to waivers.  So Jeremy Reed was sent back to triple A to make room for him on the Major League roster and Dustin McGowan was transferred to the 60 day DL to make room on the 40 man roster.  Once Aaron Hill is back, look for Mike McCoy or Randy Ruiz to be sent back to Vegas.  Numbers game victim.

I think he would look pretty good at the top of our order but what do I know?