In any event, in a cute little loophole, Volquez, who is on the 60 day DL and not scheduled to return until after the All-Star break, is able to start serving his suspension today.  That'll learn him.

Cute? I believe young people have a word for this kind of rule-making.  Fail. 

You could even say that Volquez srsly pwn3d MLB's rules.

Up on yahoo sports baseball (no link due to firefox), I think the idea of unalignment is a good one, and would certainly benefit the Jays chances of making the playoffs (if not their gate revenue). Not the first time that idea has been pushed, but maybe it could gain momentum.

However, I do this making the playoff system less complex and the schedule easier to understand goes against human nature and is therefore likely to fail. People don't generally like solving problems by going to simpler solutions.  The whole "add an extra wild card with a one game play-in to penalize the wild card team" somehow appeals to me more sometimes, despite the fact that it makes everything more complicated and harder to understand. That's what people generally do though - something needs improving, so take that something and build on top of it, rather than do a tear-down and redesign. This happens for obvious reasons with actual physical structures, but also happens for most things.  I don't actually think it's about the money as is assumed when extra playoff teams are proposed, since baseball, I think obviously from the last few years, is running into the end of the reasonable outdoor playing season as it is and more playoffs will have to mean fewer regular season games. An extra playoff round for 4 teams (hypothetically) means an extra 14 playoff games at most. But if the schedule is knocked back to 154 games to make room, that's 120 games gone that every owner used to sell tickets to. I think adding extra playoff teams seems like a way to make it more fair, when really all it does is make it less fair for the best teams in the playoffs.

It might take several years in a row of one of the three best teams not making the playoffs, and that team being a big market  (i.e., a complete systems failure, like the Red Sox winning 95 games the next two years and not making the playoffs at all) to get something simpler put in. Oh, and a new commissioner who didn't help bring in the current systems that don't quite work. The AL East isn't even as good as it could be right now - what if in 5 years every team in the AL East is actually good (and it's looking possible)? What would you tell an 80-82 fifth place Jays team?

About Volquez, he won't get paid during the suspension and would have otherwise, so it's still pretty punitive.

9 stolen bases, wow. I think it's easy to steal on Wakefield, but still. Victor Martinez has had a poor last couple of years throwing out baserunners. As a Blue Jay fan I hope it continues...

Taking out Ortiz in the 7th is basically the complete opposite of anything Cito would ever do... the true anti-Cito move. You gotta do what you gotta do, but I feel bad for Ortiz, who seems like a good guy, although he prolly used steroids to get good in the first place.

Fangraphs now has 2010 UZR numbers (sample size warnings apply, of course).  Here is Vernon Wells' card. UZR has his range at the same poor level as 2008-09.  What is more interesting is the aggregation of the offensive data.  So far, Wells' HR/fly rate is way up, his IF/FB rate is way up (!), and his GB/FB rate is way down.  He is seeing many fewer strikes, but is swinging at more pitches out of the strike zone than previously. 

In other words, the evidence suggests that the wrist was inhibiting him and sapping his power to a significant degree, and that he is uppercutting now to take advantage of his increased strength.  The natural pitcher's response is to stay away from the low strike, and how he responds to that will determine the course of his season.

Greinke, of course, will know all this, so today will be a good test for Wells.   

Edinson Volquez has been suspended for 50 games for violating the league's PED rules.  He says he took something to try to help start a family.  Sounds plausible.

Well, now he's got time to get to work on that one.  Silver lining.

While looking at fangraphs I noticed our young Mr. Snider currently sitting with a BABIP of .161 despite a LD% of 21.2%. I am hopeful that this portends better days ahead very soon for the young man (for what it is worth he has a 0.1 UZR). 

*Sigh*....poor John MacDonald should never be allowed to have a bat in his hands again. He is single-handedly trying his best to keep Greinke in the game as long as possible (2 ab - 4 pitches total). Even the sink hole that is Jose Molina managed to extend 1 ab to six pitches.

  Well, I'm sure a lot of people were loudly complaining when Cito allowed McDonald to bat in the 8th inning, but in reality it was probably a smart strategy.  With McCoy as the pinch runner, the Jays suddenly had speed as a factor.  McDonald is a better bunter than anyone else who was available.   He got McCoy to second, and then McCoy's speed allowed him to score on the Lewis single.   The speed on the basepaths (McCoy, McDonald, Lewis) put a lot of pressure on the Royals, with Lewis then stealing 2nd and giving the Jays an excellent chance to pull ahead in the game if either Gonzalez or Lind had come through with a hit.   All in all, Cito handled the situation pretty well, despite his detractors, I'd say.

But in the 10th inning, not so much.....    I don't understand why he didn't put Ruiz in to bat for McDonald in that situation....    In fact I agree with those who argue that Ruiz needs a lot more at-bats, so that we can figure out whether he has a future with the Jays or not.

But there was no reason to keep him in the game for the last AB. Stop defending Cito.

I've just said that.   I'm not automatically defending Cito, not at all.   But the automatic attacks on him -- in every situation -- are a little tiresome.

Not pinch hitting for McDonald in the 10th with 2 outs when you've got Randy Ruiz is absurd.  If Gaston isn't going to do what he can to try to win games, I'm not going to watch this team.  Call me when he's gone.

For those who are still interested, Encarnacion and Tallet are going on the DL, and Cecil has been called up.  Hill to come off the DL on Friday.

I am the first one to jump on Cito's poor managerial decisions, but this one aint on him (unless he controls the active roster). With EE unable to play and McCoy already burned from the game the Jays have no backup 2B, so even if Ruiz ties the game up with one swing you're left with what, FLewis at 2B and Ruiz in LF? A PH for JMac there really doesn't do much to improve the Jays' chances of winning.

I would have still made the move and hoped for one of those Tippy Martinez/Lenn Sakata kind of games.  None of the options were exactly stellar.

Cecil getting the call ahead of Mills is interesting. 

Well, I'm sure a lot of people were loudly complaining when Cito allowed McDonald to bat in the 8th inning, but in reality it was probably a smart strategy.  With McCoy as the pinch runner, the Jays suddenly had speed as a factor.  McDonald is a better bunter than anyone else who was available.

With McCoy as the PR, why not attempt a steal and THEN bunt? Or at least put on a hit-n-run of some sort...I hate the willingness to hand out free outs.

I've just said that.   I'm not automatically defending Cito, not at all.   But the automatic attacks on him -- in every situation -- are a little tiresome.

I see this now, but you hadn't when I wrote my comment (same time stamp). I guess I'm just as tired of the Cito apologist as you are of his critics.

And I don't criticize him automatically. He just makes so many mistakes that he gets criticized all the time. And I would have also criticized him if McDonald had gotten a hit and I would have not criticized him if he had used Ruiz and Ruiz would have popped out on the first pitch. Just because the team does better than expected does not absolve him the same way he would not be responsible if the team's record were worse and he did the little things right.

I wasn't here for the glory days so I have no sentimental attachment for Cito like some others around here. I have been very critical of him from day one; I didn't jump on the "Cito sucks" bandwagon now that it is popular. And even if was such a great manager back then (I don't know), ignoring progress made since would still make him a bad manager now.

Jays have no backup 2B, so even if Ruiz ties the game up with one swing you're left with what, FLewis at 2B and Ruiz in LF? A PH for JMac there really doesn't do much to improve the Jays' chances of winning.

Why not? A small improvement is better than none. And who says there would have been more innings? Unless Ruiz makes an out, the game goes on.

After pinch-running in the 8th inning, should McCoy have remained in the game at 2B to replace McDonald?  That might have provided a better option in the 10th inning when McDonald's spot in the lineup came around.  On the other hand, that would have weakened the defence in the final innings of a tied game, which might have been a little risky.

You could have pinch hit for Molina in the eighth, too - yes, Molina got a hit, but it's not like anyone was really expecting him to. We can disagree on how good Ruiz is, but we can probably agree he's a better hitter than the lesser of three Molinas, right?

At this point, I don't even care about Ruiz's potential or ability, whether he's the next Edgar Martinez or just some guy who knows how to mash AAA pitching. If you're not going to use him, why keep him on the roster? Bring up Reed or someone who's at least got some defensive versatility.

Call me crazy, but I've been thoroughly unimpressed by JMac's defense thus far, and don't see a McCoy as a defensive downgrade at 2B. Good point.

Jays were probably better letting Ruiz bat, and then putting me at 2B if it got to that - as opposed to letting JMD waive the white flag he calls a bat for the last out of the game.

After pinch-running in the 8th inning, should McCoy have remained in the game at 2B to replace McDonald?

That's probably what I would have done. Buck comes in to bat 9th and replaces McDonald. That's not really a huge improvement in the end, as McCoy isn't particularly useful with the bat, but he is better than McDonald.

However, once you leave McDonald in the game, I agree it is better to bat Ruiz and deal with him playing 2B if the team manages to tie the game. IMO, the only position where that wouldn't apply is catcher.

Gaston has certainly been willing to pinch hit for McDonald in the past - that he didn't do so in the 10th is obviously because he didn't want to send someone Ruiz or Lewis to play third base. You can agree or disagree, but it's hardly indefensible and hardly evidence of badness.

Progress? I don't get that. The most important part of a manager's job, by a mile, is getting and keeping the respect of his players. Tactical decisions are trivial, absolutely trivial and irrelevant in comparison. The worst game tactician I ever saw was not Gaston. It was the guy who managed the 2001 World Series champs.

If I'm not mistaken, tact is good for a couple wins over the course of the season on average.

Can someone more learned than myself comment?

It was recently suggested on this site that replacing Cito should be a 5 win bump - I was unsure whether the poster was being literal.

Progress? I don't get that.

We do know more about pitcher workload. The value of an out. That bunting in general doesn't help winning. What base-stealing percentage we need for base stealing to be a good idea...

How important is all of that? People seem to agree that line-up management and offensive adjustments add a few wins but not many. Those marginial wins may not matter much for the Jays this year but they might and they may have mattered mid-way through last season. Plus looking at attendance figures, a good run probably wouldn't hurt (it may not help)

I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I have been impressed with McCoy's defence.  He looks to me to be a completely competent defensive second baseman. 

Not calling BS to Magpie's statement; it just was contrary to my understanding is all.

The most important part of a manager's job, by a mile, is getting and keeping the respect of his players. Tactical decisions are trivial, absolutely trivial and irrelevant in comparison.

You may be right, but I don't see how you could come up with objective evidence for this. It seems to be an article of faith.

I have my doubts that EITHER tactical skill OR respect of players means more than 2-3 games a year - and in a purely ballpark assessment, I would view them as roughly equal in importance.

For me, most of it comes down to two things:

1)  Variance/luck

2) the horses

I think the best move would have been to keep McCoy at 2B. Against Soria, the odds of tying it with 2 outs are pretty slim anyway.
Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Overbay had another 3 strike outs.

Moving on,  Hill is coming back. Now the big decision is does he bat second or do you leave the amazing Gonzo there for now?

Is Tallet in line for Tommy John?

It looks like Cecil will pitch against the struggling Red Sox next week. I'm looking forward to that series. Last year the Jays imploded after being swept by Boston.

I don't disagree with your two basic factors, but I think to say it all comes down that is a little over-simplified. Y'know that guy who said something like "make things as simple as possible, but no simpler" -- he was on to something. I'm not sure about respect, but players are people, of course, and if respect brings less stress to the club house and more team work, sounds good to me.

Objective evidence? I'm not sure to go about collecting that, nor do I think I even care, but it seems to me that the study/research that MBA/corporate types do is relevant to a baseball team. A happy, well oiled work place is a productive work place, in addition to less stress, it makes it easier to convince the players to put the time in doing jobs they might not necessarily enjoy doing (video work, cage work, side sessions...blah blah).

Like it or not (I'm not sure that I'm especially fond of it)... our boys in blue (black, grey, whatever, when's that uniform re-design coming, please?) are people, emotions and all.

The options in the 10th were not good ones. You need 1 to tie and 2 to win. The best Ruiz could've done was to tie it and set up one uuuugly inning where K's are vital. Plus if anything happened to anyone on the field you are into a situation where a pitcher is playing the field.

If someone was on base then using Ruiz in an all or nothing situation would have made sense but I have trouble tearing Cito a new one over this.

The Blue Jays hardly ever win matinee getaway games.  I was going to say never, but that would be borderline hyperbole.  It's too depressing to look it up, but let's just say they've won about about one in the past five years.

Be that as it may, the rotation is finally becoming what I was hoping for breaking from spring training.  Plus, Aaron Hill is returning.  The weekend set against the Rays should be excellent, not to mention next week's games.  April has been a rough month, but it is hard not to be optimistic about the rest of the season.  For all the miscues, the club is still above .500.  Those KC Royals are a lot better than their record indicates, so under the circumstances, two out of three was decent, given the above plus Zack freakin' Greinke.

9-7 through a tenth of the season with their most valuable player already serving a full DL stint is better than anybody should have expected.

"But the automatic attacks on him -- in every situation -- are a little tiresome"

Not sure if this was intended for me and my comments on Johnny Mac's lack of any patience at the plate with Greinke, but if it was I wasn't harping on Cito but rather (gasp) Johnny Mac's lack of patience at the plate with Greinke. Regardless, as Mike Green has opined I too have been impressed with McCoy defensively so far and given his other attributes he has essentially validated that MacDonald is utterly dispensable to this team. I like MacDonald but to see him at the plate in any situation causes me to weep for the future. Of course, I feel eminently better as a Jays fan having to reconcile the need (or lack thereof) to employ MacDonald as opposed to say any Cubs fan that must be wondering if Carlos Zambrano's new cameo as relief pitcher is a final indication that Lou Piniella has completely lost his mind!

Nice to catch a free telecast tonight on Peachtree with Doc mowing down the Braves.  Spiteful visiting broadcasters jinxed his no-hit bid by talking about it in the 4th, only once thru the order.   They had a nice shot of Halladay giving a staring shout-out to Shane Victorino after a sweet catch to rob Troy Glaus of a home run - seems like he's enjoying life a lot more now.  Smiling during games even!

I have my doubts that EITHER tactical skill OR respect of players means more than 2-3 games a year - and in a purely ballpark assessment, I would view them as roughly equal in importance.

Robert, is that wins above an average manager or wins above Jimy Williams? :)

The other aspect of the manager's job is (in consultation with the pitching coach) to define pitcher usage.  It isn't exactly a tactical skill issue or inspiring the best possible performance from players, although it bears on both. 

On a completely different note, this team is actually quite a bit of fun to watch now.  McCoy and Lewis bring some speed.  The club has a solid power core..  They play pretty decent D.  The young pitching will break your heart, but it's a good kind of pain. 

The Jays did a really good job of wearing Greinke down even though they weren't getting any hits, and even though they had two pitchers at the bottom of the lineup. It's amazing that Greinke's pitch count ended up above 100 in seven innings.

McDonald's sac bunt in the 8th inning was fine with Lewis due up, I thought. The head scratcher for me was letting Molina bat for himself, though it worked. And of course letting McDonald bat for himself in the 10th was not okay. I don't see how you can argue that having one or two incompetent fielders in a potential 11th inning is more damaging than having McDonald bat instead of Ruiz. You need the run. You play to win the game.

You aren't playing to win the game if John McDonald continues to take up a roster spot because of a contract the team didn't need to give him.

They had a nice shot of Halladay giving a staring shout-out to Shane Victorino after a sweet catch to rob Troy Glaus of a home run - seems like he's enjoying life a lot more now.

I caught that too, and was wondering how the heck Doc already had another baseball in his hands when he gave the salute out to Shane in CF. He's now 4-0 with 2 CG, and would probably have 4 if he wasn't limited by a pitch count in his first start and if the Phillies didn't have a massive lead in the last one.

All I can say is: I hope Drabek can pitch, Wallace can hit, and D'Arnaud can catch (and hit). Because right now I'm feeling the kind of pain that only Doc knows how to cure.

Well, Doc is showing how the NL is really the AAAA league (or maybe AA the way he is treating it). 0.82 ERA now in 4 starts, all wins. 33 IP 26 H 4 R 3 ER 3 BB 28 SO

Sheesh. No wonder he wanted to go to Philly rather than to the Yankees or Red Sox.

Well, Doc is showing how the NL is really the AAAA league (or maybe AA the way he is treating it). 0.82 ERA now in 4 starts, all wins. 33 IP 26 H 4 R 3 ER 3 BB 28 SO

Today on Prime Time Sports Jeff Blair claimed the AL Central isn't that much of a slouch and insinuated recent Jays teams may not have been competitive against the Tigers and Twins...

But I'm thinking we might be able to look at Johan's numbers with the Twins vs. his numbers with the Mets.... And then compare them to Halladay's transition.. (I'm not claiming it is a flawless method of comparison)...

If Halladay see's an ERA under 1.5 and pitches 200 plus innings, I think we can safely make the claim the AL East is significantly harder to pitch in, than the AL Central.... Not that most rational people need convincing...

I've seen all kinds of teams win with a manager whose tactical acumen was... uh, suspect. It happens pretty well every year (especially since Joe Torre took the Yankees job.) But I seldom see teams win when they're playing for someone they don't respect and don't believe in.

As for specific stuff - Gaston's teams never did bunt very often and always were terrific at stolen base percentage. Maybe he was just ahead of the curve. And now that platooning and pinch hitting is essentially disappearing from the game.... now more than ever?

wins above Jimy Williams?

Joking aside, that's an important issue. Gaston's basic approach to managing has always been to figure out what Jimy would do and then run like hell in the other direction. Which is another reason you don't see guys playing positions in major league games that they've never played in their lives. Williams loved that stuff.

And now that platooning and pinch hitting is essentially disappearing from the game.... now more than ever?

I don't get this feeling at all, so I'm interested to hear what makes you say that...perhaps a data table?

Hill is coming back. Now the big decision is does he bat second or do you leave the amazing Gonzo there for now?

Gonzo has a .701 OPS on the 10 game homestand...I don't think there's any question Hill needs his spot back.

It looks like Cecil will pitch against the struggling Red Sox next week.

He will but he'll have to beat Lester. In fact, with the string of pitchers we face over the next week or so, if I played fantasy ball i'd be real worried about having too many Jays active.

and take away the April 15 game and it's .577, by the way...

I'm interested to hear what makes you say that

The seven man bullpen. It makes it impossible to platoon t more than one position (and even one is difficult), and takes the platoon advantage out of late inning pinch-hit opportunities (the opposing manager almost always has a counter-move.) But yeah, it would be interesting to go back and compare the use of pinch-hitters in the 1970s and 1980s with what we have now. Back then, there were players on rosters whose entire job was simply to pinch hit 75 to 100 times a year - Manny Mota, Jose Morales, Rusty Staub. Those guys are gone.

A quick look.

In 1980, the 14 AL teams used 2,211 pinch hitters.

In 1990 it was down just slightly - 2,135 pinch hitters.

By 2000, the 15 AL teams used just 1,579 pinch hitters.

And last year, it was down to 1,189 pinch hitters - barely half as many as in 1990.

I've seen all kinds of teams win with a manager whose tactical acumen was... uh, suspect. It happens pretty well every year (especially since Joe Torre took the Yankees job.) But I seldom see teams win when they're playing for someone they don't respect and don't believe in.

You will find critics of every manager's tactical acumen from some quarter, but that doesn't mean that they are tactical worse than the average manager. Often critics focus on particular things THEY think the manager does wrong, but do not attempt a full account of the entire gamut of tactical and strategic options.

To a large degree, I believe that winning creates respect. Just imagine how much certain players would have hated Whitey Herzog if his teams had been consistent losers. Whitey was a "my way or highway" guy to the extreme and everyone respected him because he had a great winning track record. So his ability to accumulate and then deploy his talent ensured respect, just as losing would have ensured disrespect.

 

I haven't quite figured out where Billy Martin fit in on the respect/fear continuum.  Chrissie Hynde sang that there was a thin line between love and hate; I suspect that she may be right.