Anyone else think Bonifacio is starting to look like a passable fielding 2b?

I've been watching a lot of the games recently on the opposing team broadcast. It's an interesting experience in a number of ways. For one, you realize Pat Tabler is an inferior broadcaster. He provides very little insight or analysis compared to his counterpart(s) on other broadcasts, and while other broadcasters have a sort of niche--for example, Jerry Remy is good for a laugh each game, Jim Palmer will provide you with an interesting anecdote from the Orioles heyday each game as well as an fairly honest appraisal of players, and Paul O'Neil will provide you with some really interesting insight into a hitter's mind as an at-bat progresses--Tabler inundates the broadcast with drivel that tells us nothing beyond what's blatantly obvious. It's not clear to me what purpose Tabler serves on the broadcast. I've missed the Devlin broadcasts, but I've always enjoyed his work on the Raptors' broadcasts and he has always seemed to be connected to new media and the younger generation in an honest (not trying to hard) sort of way.

You also get information that would never make it on a Jays broadcast because it would be considered trashing a Jays player or management, regardless of the merit or truth behind it. For example, in yesterday's broadcast Palmer noted that he was talking to Chad Mottola about Brett Lawrie and Mottola had asked Evan Longoria to talk to Lawrie in Spring Training and early in the season. Mottola had wanted Longoria to speak to Lawrie about how pitchers will adjust and try new things to get you out after your first year in the big leagues. When Longoria went to speak to Lawrie, he couldn't because Lawrie was too high strung and spoke to fast. I found this an odd comment, but I guess it speaks to a number of issues with Lawrie. For one, if Lawrie is not listening to Evan Longoria there's a clear arrogance issue here. Two, management probably has concerns about him if they're asking opposing players to speak to Lawrie. It doesn't really burst anyone's bubble here as I imagine many here know of Lawrie's issues, but for me this reaffirmed a general concern about someone who is supposed to be a franchise-type player, namely he lacks the ability to be a "professional" baseball player.

Paul O'Neil also offers pretty good analysis of hitters and his comments on Lawrie, Arencibia, Rasmus, Bonifacio, Lind are pretty telling. Simply put; they are easy outs. He says there is no secret and it is pretty obvious how to get these guys out. He's a fan of Lawrie's overall attitude on the field--the all-outness. With a lot of these guys though he is critical of their overall approach. Colby Ramsus, he noted, can easily be gotten out with the high fastball. Jim Palmer today noted how Chris Tillman easily dispatched of Arencibia by slowing his bat down. In sum, what these commentators noted is there is a general inability to be good hitters. To note how pitcher's are attacking them and to adjust in game and in at-bat. Quite simply they put it that good pitchers will have no problem getting these guys out because they lack the in-game baseball ability to discern what is going on.

Another common comment is a general selfishness of some Jays hitters. The HR's they note are nice, but they point to the wild swings of Encarnacion late in games when the game is out of reach as an example of guys playing for their stats and one of the issues with the team. The next comment is then look at his RBI totals. For a guy hitting where he's hitting they should be higher and as a team a lot of the HR guys have very low RBI totals, which they point to guys hitting solo homeruns in non-important situations rather than homeruns in important situations or doubles.

Again on Lawrie, I don't know if the Toronto broadcast caught the whole situation there, but Jim Palmer roundly criticized Lawrie for walking back to the dugout and then getting into an argument with Gibbons on Lind not tagging. Palmer noted that Lawrie missed the larger point that Lind didn't mean anything and the risk was not worth the reward in that situation. Lawrie was simply looking for the RBI.

I do wonder about Lawrie. Between last year and this year, he's had exactly one good month (June 2012). Even taking last year's injury into account, he really hasn't done much since his tremendous 171 PA in 2011. I don't know what the issue is, but he doesn't look comfortable at the plate and seems to get off-balance quite frequently. He came up as an elite hitting prospect, but seems to be at risk of sliding into the "hacktastic" category.

Here's hoping that Lawrie gets untracked soon.

I am so sick of Lawrie

Good players slow the game down, Lawrie tries to hit one off the left field wall from the on deck circle.

I'd say the low RBI totals have more to do with the lack of guys on base during the homeruns versus trying to hit homeruns when they're down late in the game. That comment doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I concur with the Tabler comment, I've been out of the Country for the majority of May so I've been using MLB.tv to keep up with the Jays and I've also been selected the opposing team's broadcasters, which has been a breath of fresh air.

Big win by the Jays, nice to see them finally get a couple big hits after leaving a ton of guys on base.

I'm a big Gibby fan but if Lawrie's in the lineup tomorrow......
Boy's (gotta lot of growing up to do before I call him anything but)) gotta sit, and lay off the red bull.

Lind hasn't been an easy out in 2013; he's hitting 304/398/491.

Lawrie in the 9th inning..... wow. That's the first time I've ever seen something like that. Lawrie gave a tongue lashing to Lind in front of the rest of this team and the fans when Lind made the right move to not head home. Somebody also needs to teach him how to hit.

I've been quite impressed with Devlin, as well, particularly if this is his first or one of his first times behind the mic for baseball.

And if Lawrie was really yelling at Rivera and Lind for not running on that fly ball he hit to Markakis, as it certainly looked, well.....nothing more needs to be said.

lay off the red bull

Paradoxically, many believe stimulants, such as caffeine, help those afflicted with ADHD to better focus and stay on task. Maybe Lawrie needs more Red Bull.

I've been quite impressed with Devlin, as well, particularly if this is his first or one of his first times behind the mic for baseball.

I did some googlage and learned that Devlin had once served as a Fox baseball broadcaster, among many things, earlier in his career. I am most impressed by how on top of the current game he is, knowing all the players and what's happening in the league. While he could have crammed to become conversant on all of this, his knowledge seemed to be that of an in depth baseball fan, not a generic broadcaster filling in for a week, like a Rod Black.

I kept waiting for tabler to say something about lawrie in the ninth but he didn't say a word. That is really weak in my opinion.

Vin Scully on Sportsnet bonus coverage. Awwww...just the salve I needed, takes me back to when the game was played right. And oh yeah, stay off my lawn!

On the same topic of announcers, the Dodgers are playing on SN1 right now and as I'm doing some Spring cleaning Vin Scully is telling baseball story after baseball story. Pretty perfect if you ask me.

If Lawrie wasn't hitting decently right now I'd say take him out, he finally seems to be coming around so maybe a warning of sorts might be in order.

Still, at the same time after watching that little outburst I sort of want to see him demoted to AAA for a bit. He might need a kick in the ass.

I liked how Gibbons got in his face about it. That's definitely not something a manager should let slide.

Can't Lawrie just watch and learn from the KAWASAKI already?

sam - I'd love to see Tabler and Morris flipped, mainly because I rarely listen to the radio. I've always thought of Buck and Pat as a 2 headed babbling monster, but Buck was bearable with Morris. Tabler is simply a babbling fool.

I hope Gibbons, and also AA take Lawrie into their offices for some very long talks. He actually deserves a trip to the minors for an attitude adjustment, however I don't see that happening.

Don't disagree much with O'Neill's comments, although Lind may be showing their aren't all that many good RH pitchers. And the other thing is Mottola actually has the hitters as a group on the right path. The hitters had an 87 wRC+ in April, they were at 111 wRC+ (prior to todays game) in May.

As for Palmer, in not going to argue what he saw, but his overall conclusions are wrong.

In high leverage situations this year, league average is .298 wOBA, 89 wRC+. Edwin - .482 wOBA, 206 wRC+. SSS, but what Palmer saw was far smaller.

Here are the Jays numbers

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2013&month=26&season1=2013&ind=0&team=14&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

with RISP, league average is .325 wOBA, 102 wRC+. Edwin .381 wOBA, 138 wRC+

here are the Jays:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2013&month=29&season1=2013&ind=0&team=14&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

As far as RBI's, go back to O'Neills observations - note Bautista is 2nd on the team with 51 RISP opportunities. 5 Orioles had more than 51. Jose Altuve of the Astros has had 52.
Edwin has had 57 to lead the team - Miggy has had 76, Fielder 67, VMart 66.

There have been a number of times this year where I've wondered whether, in the 30+ years I've been following this team, there's been a more repellent personality wearing the home silks than Brett Lawrie.  There are a few other strong contenders, but as for those who might best him for the top spot, I've been mostly drawing blanks.  Another nice addition to his resume today.

I agree on the RBI comments--that they don't really hold up to the evidence which has been represented by commentators here. Lind has hit well this year, but from my viewing he's still an easy out in prime situations. I don't have anything to back that up, just a viewing thing. Today's long swing on a 3-2 change-up for example.

Before I start, let me preface my comments by saying that I'm in full support for reprimanding Lawrie if he said something untoward to a teammate.

Now on to my response to the anti-Lawrie crowd.

1) This team is full of non-athletes and you want to get rid of one of the two best athletes on the team.

2) The team is full of players who can't play defense worth a lick and you want to get rid of the best defender.

3) The team is full of old and middle-aged players and you want to get rid of the young player with the most talent.


Okay - does that sound like something a SMART team would do?

There have been a number of times this year where I've wondered whether, in the 30+ years I've been following this team, there's been a more repellent personality wearing the home silks than Brett Lawrie. There are a few other strong contenders, but as for those who might best him for the top spot, I've been mostly drawing blanks. Another nice addition to his resume today. You have to be joking. The guy is intense and slightly immature. He is also an intense celebrator of teammates' successes - he is polar opposite from aloof and self-centred. What exactly is wrong with him other than that? Arrogant? I say confident.

The other day Bautista emphatically defended Lawrie, saying that he's a great teammate.

Success begets confidence and confidence success. Lawrie's "arrogance" is his greatest attribute as a ballplayer. I've spent a good number of weeks watching Mike Trout. Let me tell you, he walks around the baseball field like he owns the stadium.

I must have missed the "get rid of him" comments, but...

Dodgers benched Kemp today for his tantrum.

Cards got rid of Colby Rasmus when they decided he was more trouble than he was worth. They also won the WS that year. And the Cards are a SMART team.

Despite all the positives mentioned, FG has Lawrie worth 0.1 WAR this season - basically replacement level.

Cards got rid of Colby Rasmus when they decided he was more trouble than he was worth. They also won the WS that year. And the Cards are a SMART team.

1) Cardinals had players to replace Rasmus of comparable value. 2) Rasmus wasn't one of the best players on the team 3) Rasmus wasn't as good a prospect as Lawrie. The above is predicated on the idea that Lawrie is one of the best players on the team, offense, defense and baserunning taken together, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. If you disagree with that then I'm afraid we have no common ground for discussion.

The guy is intense and slightly immature.

Slightly, the way Methuselah was slightly old.

Everyone thinking the Jays hitting is the problem - get a grip. This team has been one of the very top offensive teams in baseball in May - it is the pitching and defense that has let them down consistently.

And please don't talk about stuff like taking wild swing in the clutch. Go read some Bill James or tangotiger, then come back here.

Okay, I'm just irritated now so I should probably go away for awhile.

Lawrie was out of line, basically he was selfish in a team game.

Having said that what happens tomorrow depends on what happened after the game. If Lawrie went in and apologized to Lind, Rivera and Gibbons then he should be back in the lineup tomorrow. A lot of things happen in the heat of battle.

If Lawrie resists understanding why he was out of line then he might be on the bench tomorrow. However with Bautista seeming to explain to Lawrie why he was out of line, I expect Lawrie to be contrite.

In general I agree with Robert, the Jays have a very talented, competitive player. In my visits to minor league teams I have found that most players are very competitive, some just don't show it. Teammates like the competitiveness, as long as it doesn't show them up. Lawrie is immature, give him a year or two.

I also agree that Tabler doesn't offer much, although my wife likes listening to him.

That Tabler deficiency is why Alan Ashby was so popular in these parts. He told it like it is. Morris seems to be doing some of that and that is why he looks good compared to Tabler.

If Lawrie is your problem with this team then I really don't know what to say. I will agree that he appears to be immature.

The team's RA is 5.2 - the second worst in baseball (first if you don't consider Houston a major league team which I wouldn't argue with). That's the problem. Every at bat is getting scrutinized because the offense is generally having to dig itself out of a 3 or 4 run hole every night.

The list of position players in the Jays organization (playing full season ball through to the majors) who are or might be elite players (multiple seasons at or above 5-6 WAR) is exactly two (Bautista and Lawrie) and may soon be one. We had better hope Lawrie is here and developing.

The statement "Brett Lawrie is immature" is literally true - he's 23. That's very young.

Players like Lawrie are why managers and coaches earn their money. The Jays' coaches need to figure out what Lawrie is doing wrong at the plate and get him to make adjustments. The manager needs to figure out how to get Lawrie to make the adjustments and behave in a way that maximizes his potential and his team's chances of victory. That's the hard part of a manager's job - filling out the lineup and making pitching changes is comparatively easy.

If I were the Jays' front office, I wouldn't give up on Lawrie until all possible avenues have been exhausted. He has tremendous talent (and is already the best defensive third baseman I have ever seen). The minor leagues are full of low-maintenance guys who can't play - Lawrie could become a superstar some day if he ever figures it out.

Which 2 Jays starters have the lowest ERA's? Chad Jenkins and Ramon Ortiz. And as opposed to the hitters, the starting staff isn't any better in May - 14th in the AL by ERA, 14th by FIP and dead last by xFIP.

Rasmus was surely a better prospect than Lawrie. He was BA's #3 prospect in all of baseball, and put up a 132 OPS+ in his age 23 season for goodness sakes. Of course, if Lawrie turns out to be someone who is no more than what Rasmus is now, that would be a disappointment.

I'd love to see Tabler and Morris flipped

Oh, please no. For those who listen (only) on the radio, the idea of being stuck with Howarth-Tabler would be unlistenable. It's bad enough having lost Ashby who was terrific. I'm coming around about Morris.

It would be insane to even suggest that Lawrie is a finished product at this point in his career. And nobody is condoning showing up a coach. He's frustrated. He plays his butt off and from all reports, works extremely hard to improve. Bench him for a game to send a message and move on.  

Lawrie is only 23. Milton Bradley was once 23. So was Carlos Zambrano. I'm not saying what Lawrie did is anywhere close to the others actions, which were far more egregious, but I do want to point out there are people who just can't change.

As Gerry said, some players show their competitive drive more than others but what Lawrie did was truly bizarre today. I remember Steib giving death stares to teammates for plays not made, but doing it to the 3rd base coach? Hope I'm wrong, and time will tell, but there is a non-zero chance these types of outbursts will be an earmark of his throughout his career. And if they are, his career will be far less than many of us are expecting.

It would be insane to even suggest that Lawrie is a finished product

Yup. He could turn out to be anything from the next Scott Rolen to the next Aurelio Rodriguez.

One name that came to mind during a bout of pessimism today was Joe Crede.

It's funny. The name Paul O'Neil came up during the excellent analysis by Sam of the various broadcasts. O'Neil was often criticized for his bizarre outbursts on and off the field which were deemed selfish, yet it took his arrival in New York (and a highly successful run as a team) for people to understand him. Joe Torre's book sheds light on how O'Neil was so intense that it frequently led to blowups, but it was not in the name of padding stats. It certainly is an abnormal sort of personality, I suppose, but he didn't deserve the early label he received.

I don't think Brett was mad he thought lost an RBI, he was mad because he realizes he's been awful at the plate and desperately wants to help this team win.

So uh, Esmil Rogers is starting on Wednesday. What.

I'm not sure whether that particular comment was directed at me, robertdudek, but I've never suggested getting rid of Lawrie, although a 10 day humility tour of Buffalo, NY may not be detrimental to his ultimate development.  I'm only saying that I find his conduct distasteful - but then again, I've cheered on lots of unlikeable Blue Jays from Damaso Garcia to Dave Stieb to Roger Clemens and many others in between as they led the home team to victory.  At the moment, however, there is a wide gulf between his purported potential and his level of performance at the dish which makes the diva act all the more difficult to swallow.  I hope he comes around, but the least developed muscle in his body is the one between his ears and that's the one that holds the key to his unlocking his potential. 

Just watched the game winning hit by Kawasaki on the Jays site - now _that_ is fun.  The Jays gotta find a way to keep him on the roster after Reyes comes back, they just gotta.  He is fun, he has played well with a 345 OBP (247/345/320) - basically the polar opposite of most guys on the roster as he walks and gets on while others slug the ball but won't walk (JPA being the classic example).

Btw, for those without twitter - JPA posted a classic ... first he said "Saw a BB by my name today? What does that even stand for?" then in reply to a fan asking "Did u even know ball count goes that high? lol" he said "No tried to stay for more strikes".  Heh.  He knows he has trouble taking walks and is having fun with fans over it. 

Unexpected that Rogers would be the next to get a start.  However, his last two games were 3 inning situations, total of 6 IP 5 H 0 R 1 BB 3 SO which is a perfectly fine combined line with 76 pitches thrown.  He also has had 2 games with 2 IP, and 3 times had 4+ outs made behind him.

Seems Rogers has become the long man and was getting stretched out with those last two games.  Other options were Ortiz, Weber, Bush, ... er ... yeah I can see why they are trying something else.  The only prospect who is doing extremely well is Marcus Stroman but with just 2 games under his belt I'd think the Jays would wait there... so after his next start expect him up :P

I lost a lot of respect for Lawrie on that exchange and it has nothing to do with him yelling at Lind or Rivera.

 

While it is bad for him to yell like that, I think that is the cost of having people with a highly competitive drive on the team.

 

My problem is that Lawrie thought Lind should run at all. That is a lack of REALLY BASIC baseball knowledge. I have a problem with the idea that you could have a player at the major league level who thinks that a runner on third should try to score on a fly ball out in the bottom of the 9th WHEN DOWN BY THREE (and no corresponding runner advancement from 2nd to 3rd). That is just plain stupidity and if he is that out of touch with understanding the game then there is a real problem.

"3) Rasmus wasn't as good a prospect as Lawrie."

"(Lawrie) came up as an elite hitting prospect,"

Neither of these statements is true, which I believe is part of the problem with the way people see Brett Lawrie. Because of his amazing start to his MLB career the media fawned all winter about his potential and lost sight of the fact that he was never really a top prospect in baseball, and certainly not an "elite hitting prospect". Rasmus, on the other hand, was. We expect Lawrie to be a Trout/Harper/Machado talent when really he was never seen that way by the professional scouts. If he can settle into an .800 OPS 3B then with his defense he'll be a tremendous player, but not one of the best players in the league.

I don't think Brett was mad he thought lost an RBI, he was mad because he realizes he's been awful at the plate and desperately wants to help this team win.

I'd believe that if Lawrie had gone back to the dugout and slammed around things in frustration. Given that Lawrie was staring at and possibly yelling at Rivera and Lind, I don't see why you'd think he was mad at himself as opposed to being mad at Lind for not scoring and Rivera for not sending him. (Well, I think his frustration at himself led to him lashing out at a teammate.)

That intensity was much more in the vein of Carlos Zambrano than Paul O'Neill. It's not cause to trade him or suspend him or demote him, but it's more troubling than most of his previous incidents.

a player at the major league level who thinks that a runner on third should try to score on a fly ball out in the bottom of the 9th WHEN DOWN BY THREE

Word. That is alarming. Helluva talent from the neck down, but improvement needed elsewhere.

We just won't be able to do anything if our starting pitching is this bad. It's truly astonishing how bad the rotation has been this year.

As for Lawrie, I just don't think he realizes how his emotions can come across as insulting. I genuinely don't question his motives - he was pissed that he made an out and failed to drive the run in, and just let his competitive streak come out of his mouth too angrily.

He admitted post game that he was pissed at himself for failing to drive the run in, though, so that's a start.

as for the lawrie v. rasmus statement, Rasmus was a much more highly regarded prospect than Lawrie. Rasmus was a two-time top-5 prospect (at ages 21 and 22) and cracked the top-30 at age 20, according to Baseball America. Lawrie's ranking peaked at #40 at age 21. Rasmus was looked at as a 5-tool CF with great minor league numbers, Lawrie as good hitting prospect without a position, and only good not great minor league numbers.


the good news is that Lawrie seems to be picking it up at the plate a little bit. after bottoming out at a .548ops on May 11, he's posted a .789ops over his last 12gms (1/3 of his season so far).

"He admitted post game that he was pissed at himself for failing to drive the run in, though, so that's a start."

No, that's a copout. He was pissed at either Rivera, Lind or both and berated them in full view of the public. No admission that was wrong.

Here are some observers' comments about Lawrie well before he was promoted to the majors. The general view seems to have been something like: "lots of talent (if a bit raw), potential impact bat, questions about his defence."

Kevin Goldstein (May 24, 2010):

"Lawrie did seem a bit overmatched in April, striking out in nearly one-third of his at-bats. Surprising numbers from a high-ceiling bat, but hitters this talented tend to make the necessary changes, and Lawrie has done just that, going 9-for-18 in his last five games. Even more impressively, he has struck out just three times in his last 11 games. The defense at second base is still a work in progress (to be kind), but the bat is going to play anywhere."

Mop Up Duty (Dec 6, 2010):

"Baseball America grades his bat as a 65 on the 20-80 scouting scale, with power as his best tool...Lawrie spent last season in AA at only 19 years of age. By midseason he led the Southern League in hits (102), extra-base hits (39), triples (11) and total bases (164)....According to John Manuel of Baseball America, many scouts compare him to Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla. Convinced he would hit as a pro, one scout said 'real thing to remember is that Lawrie’s best position is in the batter’s box—a lot like Uggla.' Some scouts also see him as a Jeff Kent type without the defense."

Brew Crew Ball (Dec 6, 2010):

"I've been on Brett Lawrie's bandwagon since he was drafted, and he's a talented hitter who put up a great year as a 20-year old in AA..."

John Sickels (May 23, 2011)

"To summarize, I really believe in Lawrie's bat. He has the tools to be a good defensive third baseman with experience. He plays very hard on the field. You don't have to be a nice guy to be a great player. If he avoids injuries, grows up a bit and learns to channel his energy and intensity, he's going to be a monster."

Keith Law:

"He still profiles as an impact bat who might have to move to right field" (July 14, 2011)

As for the Jays' offense, it has steadily creeped back up to "average" with the team babip just now starting to bounce back to a normal level .

Here's their overall AL ranks now:

Runs: 220 (9th)

BB%: 8.3 (8th)
K%: 20.2 (9th)

HR: 63 (4th)
SB: 32 (5th)
CS: 8 (10th)

BABIP: .285 (12th)
AVG: .251 (9th)
OBP: .316 (10th)

ISO: .172 (4th)
SLG: .422 (7th)

OPS: .728 (8th)
wOBA: .321 (8th)
wRC+: 98 (9th)


and they've been more of what we expected from them here in May (i.e. a top-5 offense at least), mostly thanks to their babip bouncing back to a normal level:

Runs: 116 (6th)

BB%: 9.1 (5th)
K%: 18.4 (6th)

HR: 28 (5th)
SB: 15 (6th)
CS: 4 (8th)

BABIP: .308 (4th)
AVG: .273 (5th)
OBP: .341 (3rd)

ISO: .171 (7th)
SLG: .444 (6th)

OPS: .785 (5th)
wOBA: .341 (4th)
wRC+: 112 (5th)

"basically the polar opposite of most guys on the roster as he walks and gets on while others slug the ball but won't walk (JPA being the classic example)."

just a pet peeve of mine - I think this idea has been exaggerated far too much. The Jays players during their careers have simply not been the collection of hackers that people keep saying they are. JP obviously is, and Lawrie's been following that lead lately, but that's pretty much where it stops on this roster.

Average BB rate is somwhere around 7-8%.

Bautista: 13.6bb%
Encarnacion: 9.5bb%
Rasmus: 8.8bb%
Bonifacio: 8.0bb%
Cabrera: 7.3bb%
Reyes: 7.2bb%
Lind: 7.1bb%
Lawrie: 6.8bb%
Arencibia: 5.5bb%

DeRosa: 8.6bb%
Blanco: 8.2bb%
Izturis: 8.0bb%
Davis: 5.6bb%

the only guys on the roster who have had a serious problem drawing walks in their careers are JPA and Davis. Lind and Lawrie haven't been great could stand for improvement, though, and Lind this year seems to have taken a step forward there. Overall, the lineup should be around average in terms of BB%.


Average K-rate is somewhere around 17-19% I think, though K rates league-wide seem to keep on going up.

Reyes: 10.2k%
Cabrera: 12.2k%
Encarnacion: 16.6k%
Lawrie: 17.9k%
Bautista: 19.2k%
Lind: 19.2k%
Bonifacio: 20.3k%
Rasmus: 24.0k%
Arencibia: 28.9k%

Izturis: 10.7k%
Davis: 16.9k%
DeRosa: 17.1k%
Blanco: 17.5k%

the only guys on the team with serious K issues in their career are Arencibia and Rasmus. And with the amount of raw power on this roster, that's pretty impressive. The team should be expected to be around average in terms of K rate IMO, and maybe a bit above.

As of this morning

AL - 8.3 BB%, 19,9 K%
Jays - 8.3 BB%, 20.2 K%
Jays(May) - 9.1 BB%, 18.4 K%

John Sickels (May 23, 2011) "To summarize, I really believe in Lawrie's bat. He has the tools to be a good defensive third baseman with experience. He plays very hard on the field. You don't have to be a nice guy to be a great player. If he avoids injuries, grows up a bit and learns to channel his energy and intensity, he's going to be a monster."

The team has hit really well in May. One small caveat: 14 of the Jays' 24 games in May have been in the friendly confines of the RC. The Jays have a 697 OPS on the road this year, and a 771 OPS at home.

June will be a much sterner test. They have 18 games on the road, and only nine at home. They'll be playing some very good teams, too.

I had suggested, a while back, that the Jays' offensive woes were tied to an inability to hit singles, leading to a low batting average and thus a low OBP. Their walk rate and homerun rate at the time were fine.

Things have changed. They are still very close to the bottom of the league in singles per game (5.3, which is 0.5 below the league norm), but that number has risen quite dramatically over the past few weeks. Their AVG and OBP are still below league average but are inching up and getting close. It's hard to say if this turnaround has been the result of a conscientious effort to change their hitting approach or whether it is merely a regression to the mean. I do know that I have enjoyed seeing Bautista and Encarnacion hit singles to right field.

As for the pitching, things have indeed been ugly as many have pointed out. The expensive 2013 rotation is far too reminiscent of the no-name  2012 rotation. And none of the peripherals are especially favourable, to at least suggest bad luck and an imminent turnaround. Walks are high, HRs are high, K's are low.

"Anyone else think Bonifacio is starting to look like a passable fielding 2b?"

Yep. And he's been a passable hitter too, since my selective starting point of May 12th (.316/.341/.500). Jim Negrych, on the other hand, has been regressing back to his career norms. Hopefully Emilio continues playing well so we can put that thing to rest.

Checking B-R the Jays starters have allowed more runs than anyone else in the AL.  177 runs (3 more than Houston, 11 more than Oakland, 56 more than best in AL White Sox). 

The pen has been better, #14 out of 15 allowing 84 runs vs Houston's far and away 'leadership' of allowing 123 runs (!!!) while in eyeshot of Baltimore (81) and the Angels (80).  Best is the Royals at 46 but that is in just 117 1/3 IP vs the Jays pen's 178 1/3.

Yeah, no question, the pitching is by far the #1 concern and if the starters get it together that should help the pen a lot.  Just bizarre though that Ortiz and Jenkins are both more than a run better than all other starters while Happ is just behind Dickey/Ortiz/Jenkins.  Meanwhile the pen has 6 guys with ERA's over 7 (1-3 games out of the pen each - usually '8th guy' pitchers), Lincoln and Rogers in the 4/5 zone, Oliver at 3.18 then 6 guys at 2.60 or less - 4 used regularly (Janssen, Cecil, Delabar, Loup). 

Our bullpen has been better than the raw numbers indicate, IMO.

It's the collection of #8/9/10/11/12 relievers that have brought down the numbers....and who have had to pitch a whole bunch of innings thanks to our starters barely averaging 5ip per start.

Our front-7 relievers have actually been pretty dang good:

CL Janssen 15.0ip, 9.0k/9, 0.6bb/9, .211babip, 0.64whip, 2.40era, 2.13fip, 2.12xfip, 1.94siera
SU Santos 4.1ip, 12.5k/9, 2.1bb/9, .222babip, 0.92whip, 2.08era, 3.98fip, 2.96xfip, 2.03siera
SU Oliver 17.0ip, 5.8k/9, 3.2bb/9, .293babip, 1.47whip, 3.18era, 4.36fip, 4.33xfip, 4.20siera
MR Cecil 25.1ip, 10.0k/9, 2.5bb/9, .242babip, 0.91whip, 2.13era, 2.19fip, 2.97xfip, 2.60siera
MR Delabar 26.0ip, 10.0k/9, 5.2bb/9, .270babip, 1.27whip, 2.42era, 3.29fip, 4.54xfip, 3.78siera
MR Loup 27.2ip, 6.2k/9, 1.6bb/9, .271babip, 1.12whip, 2.60era, 3.86fip, 3.73xfip, 3.36siera
MR Rogers 25.2ip, 4.9k/9, 2.8bb/9, .326babip, 1.48whip, 4.56era, 4.15fip, 5.03xfip, 4.63siera

Front-7: 141.0ip, 7.8k/9, 2.7bb/9, 1.16whip, 2.87era

Can't expect much better than that from our "real" bullpen. That's pretty great.


but then there's this:

B.Lincoln: 12.2ip, 7.8k/9, 7.1bb/9, .297babip, 1.82whip, 5.68era, 5.98fip, 6.18xfip, 5.25siera
E.Gonzalez: 8.0ip, 3.4k/9, 5.6bb/9, .259babip, 1.75whip, 7.88era, 7.81fip, 6.88xfip, 6.16siera
R.Ortiz: 6.0ip, 6.0k/9, 3.0bb/9, .300babip, 1.67whip, 7.50era, 7.06fip, 4.86xfip, 4.45siera
M.Storey: 3.2ip, 12.3k/9, 2.5bb/9, .500babip, 1.91whip, 7.36era, 1.15fip, 3.87xfip, 2.93siera
D.Bush: 3.0ip, 3.0k/9, 3.0bb/9, .111babip, 2.00whip, 15.00era, 20.73fip, 7.19xfip, 6.44siera
J.Germano: 2.0ip, 4.5k/9, 0.0bb/9, .500babip, 3.00whip, 9.00era, 8.56fip, 4.20xfip, 3.98siera
T.Weber: 1.0ip, 0.0k/9, 9.0bb/9, .500babip, 3.00whip, 0.00era, 6.06fip, 7.49xfip, 8.40siera
J.Jeffress: 1.0ip, 9.0k/9, 18.0bb/9, .000babip, 3.00whip, 9.00era, 20.06fip, 7.06xfip, 7.52siera

"Backup" Bullpen: 37.1ip, 6.3k/9, 5.3bb/9, 1.93whip, 7.72era

dear sweet jesus, that is ugly.

We've been so busy debating Brett Lawrie that we completely ignored Munenori Kawasaki and his amazing game last night, plus his incredible phrase-book interview on live TV after the game. (Make sure to find the video clip if you haven't already seen it.)

It's still a small sample size, but I'll mention it anyway: Kawasaki has a higher OPS and OBP than Yunel Escobar this year -- and higher than Escobar managed last year too.

Also: the average major-league shortstop has a batting line of .254/.308/.379. Kawasaki's line this year is .247/.345/.320.

Lawrie, incidentally, is in the lineup tonight. Lawrie could learn from the maturity that Gibbons is showing on this. Gibbons chewed out Lawrie in the dugout after the play, and then calmly refrained from criticizing Lawrie in his public comments to the media after the game, and put him back into the lineup tonight. That's what leadership looks like.

At the moment, however, there is a wide gulf between his purported potential and his level of performance at the dish which makes the diva act all the more difficult to swallow.
I think your perceptions are way off base. No way Lawrie is anything close to a diva. Divas demand special treatment because they think they are special. Lawrie is intense and puts as much effort in on the baseball field as anyone I've ever seen. He relishes the success of teammates as much as his own (last year he almost injured Jose Bautista congratulating him on a homerun). Now that intensity sometimes boils over and it has nothing to do with being self-centered. He just lacks self-control but I see him getting better as time goes on (I would say he handles adversity better now than he did a year ago). The comparison to Paul O'Neill is apt I think - right up until he retired you would see occasional demolitions of the dugout - this from a guy who was closing in on 40 years old. Still by all accounts O'Neill was a tremendous teammate and ballplayer. The opposite is Manny Ramirez - a guy who would sulk off in a corner, barely be engaged in the ballgame most of the time. And yet the Red Sox still won a World Series with him. And the Athletics of the '70s won three World Titles when most of the players hated each other guts and hated the owner most of all. This isn't Dale Carnegie here. The task is to win ballgames and championships.

I disagree with your view on what 'leadership looks like'.

 

Leadership is teaching the players that there are consequences to your actions.

 

 

There were consequences. Lawrie had to apologize to the entire team. He was subjected to widespread (and scathing) public criticism. He was berated publicly (in the dugout) by Gibbons. He suffered the embarrassment of knowing that every Toronto fan saw photos or video of Gibbons and Bautista telling him in the dugout that his actions were wrong.

Benching is not the only form of punishment for a baseball player. All of the above are definite punishments and deterrents. If you screwed up at work, would you want the world to see a video of your boss shouting at you? Would you want the world to know that you had to apologize to all of your colleagues?

On the other hand, Lawrie berated one of his bosses in front of 25,000 people plus a national viewing audience. Do that to one of your bosses, and see what consequences you end up with.

Lawrie was lucky there is no one on the team even close to his equal to play his position. Benching him would only have hindered an already beleaguered pitching staff and would not have been in the best interests of a team in dire need of every win it can get.