Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Game Thread

By now, one thing is obvious: someone else ought to be handling the game threads.

I'm 0-5 on this shift, and it's not a good feeling...

There is plenty to be excited about tonight, though. In Washington, Francisco Liriano faces Stephen Strasburg; enough said. In Arlington, Matt Garza makes his Ranger debut; he'll be opposed by Andy Pettitte. Miami's Jacob Turner, who's riding a 2.44 ERA through nine starts, faces a stern test at Coors Field against a tough lineup and a tough opponent in Colorado ace Jorge de la Rosa. The Junior Lake Show continues in Phoenix - the Cubs' talented new centerfielder is 12/23 with two homers and a few flashes of defensive brilliance. He and the Cubs get to face Ian Kennedy. And the Giants will ride the resurgent Chad Gaudin at home against Cincinnati artiste Mike Leake, who's having a career year himself.

Or you could root for the home team. Even if you've thrown in the towel (join the club), Esmil Rogers remains watchable. The hitters get to face LA's newest hired gun, perennial FIP star/BABIP whipping boy Ricky Nolasco.

Posted by Alex Obal on Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 03:32 PM EDT.

Game Thread - 7/24 vs Los Angeles | 41 comments | Create New Account

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Mike Green - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 03:50 PM EDT (#277037) #

Today's inspirational thought: Esmil is an anagram of smile, and Ricky isn't tricky. Never mind- back to Obal's playground where the carousel always ends up facing the dumpster.

John Northey - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 03:52 PM EDT (#277038) #

Well, the starters records sure look similar tonight in ERA and W-L...
Ricky Nolasco (30, RHP, 6-9, 3.75)
Esmil Rogers (27, RHP, 3-4, 3.84)
Basically take 1/2 of Nolasco's record and you have Rogers. Weird. Their past 7 starts average game score? 51 each. Last start? 44 and 43 game scores respectively.

So 4 relievers used yesterday gives us relaxed versions of Delabar and Janssen but Loup threw 37 pitches on Monday and another 17 on Sunday so he probably will be avoided tonight if possible. Hrm... this might be a day where an 8 man pen would've been very useful. Lets hope Rogers can go deep into the game (7 or more). Otherwise we might find out which hitter is the emergency reliever.

Ryan Day - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 07:00 PM EDT (#277042) #

Brandon Morrow is probably done for the year.

CeeBee - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 07:39 PM EDT (#277043) #

That double play is EXACTLY why Lawrie should be playing 3B... Always!

Mike Green - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 09:29 PM EDT (#277044) #

Adam LInd was hitting .274/.286/.371 against LHP this season before those 3 waves at Paco Rodriguez' offerings. Mark DeRosa would do better.

Esmil Rogers did what was required. The club needed that.

Chuck - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 09:46 PM EDT (#277045) #

Esmil Rogers did what was required. The club needed that.

Yeah, but this baby is going 15 innings.

Mike Green - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#277046) #

Noooo...
/Munch

Chuck - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 10:29 PM EDT (#277048) #

This bunt brought to you by Red Bull.

Gerry - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 10:55 PM EDT (#277049) #

On the Rasmus play....I think if Rasmus lays back on that ball Puig scores. Puig is a fast runner, there were two outs and he doesn't stop.

Mylegacy - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:07 PM EDT (#277050) #

So...what exactly do we have to do to get the number 1 guy in the draft! Obviously, that must be the plan. Surely, there is a plan...

King Ryan - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:14 PM EDT (#277051) #

When it rains, it pours. And then it pours so more. And then the rain turns into ice.

Every game is a new low.

BlueJayWay - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:18 PM EDT (#277052) #

Okay, so 0-6 since the break. 3 of those losses have been by 1 run, and all of them ended with the tying and winnng runs on base, twice both in scoring position. Then today they're one strike away from winning, one ball in the air being caught away from winning, and they somehow lose by 5 runs. Oh and Juan Perez gives up his first earned runs of the season.

Richard S.S. - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:19 PM EDT (#277053) #

Toronto had the #10 pick last year, but the 9th worst team. The #9 pick was "...for not signing...". So is Toronto's pick for not signing Bickford the #11 or a protected #10? Right now, Toronto's own pick is #6 and improving.

As bad as this Bullpen has become, should A.A. have traded the assets before the All Star Break?

Richard S.S. - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:23 PM EDT (#277054) #

Do we get swept by Houston next? That would be bottom to the season.

China fan - Wednesday, July 24 2013 @ 11:36 PM EDT (#277055) #

"...As bad as this Bullpen has become..."

The bullpen has had 3 bad games. That doesn't make it a "bad bullpen."

Magpie - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:19 AM EDT (#277056) #

When it rains, it pours. And then it pours some more. And then the rain turns into ice.

And then the white walkers emerge from the forest to cut off your head.

Oceanbound - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:34 AM EDT (#277057) #

A Pete Walker emerges from the bench to cut off your arm?

katman - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:37 AM EDT (#277058) #

Life is hard.
Then you die.
Then they throw dirt on your face.
Then the worms eat you.

Just be glad it happens in that order...

China fan - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 02:09 AM EDT (#277059) #

Brandon Morrow is out for the season, due to a nerve problem in his right forearm, according to Shi Davidi.

Oceanbound - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 02:38 AM EDT (#277060) #

Which raises the question of why on earth the team has been so evasive about the nature of the injury. AA has kept on mentioning that the MRIs show only inflammation, which simply fuels the idea that Morrow is being soft and doesn't have a "real" injury. Yet the team clearly knew why the MRIs showed nothing, since radial nerve entrapment doesn't show up on MRIs (according to Davidi), and Morrow's latest diagnosis only confirmed earlier diagnoses by other doctors. So even though they knew why, they still pretended that Morrow's injury was a MYSTERY!! in public. Perplexing.

Alex Obal - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 02:41 AM EDT (#277061) #

Carousel, meet dumpster.

I've attended the last two Cubs/D'backs games. "Dear citizens of Phoenix, I'm sorry the team I root for is so inept. They are not, to my knowledge, throwing games. Have fun chasing the Dodgers. I promise they will start losing again once they play a team that isn't a dead man walking."

John Northey - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 07:31 AM EDT (#277062) #

I'm wondering if there was a reason for doubting the first two tests on the nerve issues or if there was a possibility of it clearing itself up. I'm not a doctor so I have no idea if that is possible or not. What little I just read suggests surgery followed by 7 to 15 months of recovery. So basically the Jays knew if that was the issue he'd be gone for 2013 and possibly a chunk of, or all of, 2014 as well. Thus rest and hope and when that failed they now have to look at the surgery option. Probably stayed quiet on it so they'd have more leverage in trade talks for another starter but nothing came of it and with the team in free-fall they felt they might as well just deal with it.

James W - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 08:30 AM EDT (#277063) #

The pick for not signing Bickford will come AFTER the 10th pick next year.

Mike Green - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 09:27 AM EDT (#277064) #

I am continuing to be perversely optimistic. Not about this season, of course. Brett Lawrie continues to look much better at the plate. Marcus Stroman had a dominant game in New Hampshire last night, showing signs that he may be ready to take a spot in the rotation in 2014.

Puig is quite a force. I think that there is a good chance that he would have scored had Rasmus taken the ball on the high hop, as he was running on the play and was well past second when the ball hit the turf.. Rasmus' plan, to take it on a semi-short hop, was a good one, but he just didn't execute it. It's not that easy to do. The odd thing is that if Puig had been on second base, Rasmus would have been probably been playing a step in and would probably have caught the ball.

92-93 - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 09:54 AM EDT (#277067) #

I was at the game and didn't think there was any chance Puig scores if Rasmus takes it on a bounce, but you can't pin this one on Colby. It was a team loss.

Parker - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:08 PM EDT (#277076) #

Well, I did ask for spectacular losses. The last three games certainly qualify.

John Northey - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:26 PM EDT (#277077) #

Sad really - the one thing we could count on - the bullpen - has failed. Sigh. We all knew Perez would eventually have a bad game, and having him pitch in 3 games over 4 days certainly was a good way to make it happen. One wonders also if they Jays used better positioning if they might have pulled this one out, as they have moved away from aggressive shifting of players on the field.

What is sad now is that based on W-L% the Jays are now behind the Mets - the team they sent the best prospects to in order to get a 'win now' pitcher. The Jays are currently the 7th worst team in MLB and just 1 game ahead of the Twins & Padres so within a couple days could easily be the 5th worst team in MLB. Milwaukee is 3 games behind the Jays, ChiSox are another 2 back of that, Miami 2 1/2 further back and Houston 3 1/2 back of Miami. So the 5th overall draft pick is certainly in reach, maybe the 4th as well but top 3 are probably out of reach. Ugh, what a horrible thing to have to think about in July.

vw_fan17 - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:27 PM EDT (#277078) #

By now, one thing is obvious: someone else ought to be handling the game threads.

By now, one thing is obvious: someone else ought to be handling playing the games threads.

Magpie - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 12:45 PM EDT (#277079) #

Draft picks aren't going to do Anthopoulos much good. If he doesn't get some guys who can actually play, he won't be around to make use of those draft picks.

92-93 - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 01:04 PM EDT (#277080) #

I love how a bullpen arm can't fail now without it being the direct result of how recently he's pitched or how many companions he has in LF. Perez's fastball looked like it had plenty of life last night.

CeeBee - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 01:19 PM EDT (#277082) #

Pitching is like real estate. Location, location, location!

John Northey - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 01:34 PM EDT (#277083) #

Well, there are certain logical things about pitchers - if you have them throw too much too often they won't get the results, same with being used too little. It is a juggling act and I wonder if the All-Star break hurt the pen a bit. If they recover and become solid again for August/September then that means the Jays need to figure out how to avoid a post-ASG slump for them in 2014.

Magpie - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 01:42 PM EDT (#277084) #

Perez's fastball looked like it had plenty of life last night.

Yup. Just not his night. Ellis homered off the fastball, then Puig homered off the slider. Ramirez doubled off the slider, then Ethier doubled off the fastball. That's all he's got, and if they're whaling away on both of them....

Chuck - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 03:03 PM EDT (#277087) #

I love how a bullpen arm can't fail now without it being the direct result of how recently he's pitched or how many companions he has in LF.

I agree with this. The bullpen had been overperforming for so long that many seemed to simply believe that their sub-2 ERAs were a true reflection of their abilities. Now that each of them is taking their turn getting hit hard, their ERAs are becoming more realistic. Rather than conceding that there is some regression at play here, all the blame is being laid at fatigue's doorstep.

Magpie - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 03:05 PM EDT (#277088) #

Anthopoulos on Wednesday:

"The odd part is that we've taken MRIs, we've done all those type of things, and we haven't been able to pinpoint anything other than inflammation."

Shi Davidi reporting on Thursday:

The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander visited Dr. James Andrews earlier in the day where the renowned specialist confirmed a diagnosis made during two previous exams by other doctors in May and June.

Two previous exams? Confirmed a diagnosis?

Left Hand, say hello to Right Hand. Or maybe it's just not a lie if we know the truth.

Mike Green - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 03:35 PM EDT (#277089) #

Left hand, right hand? What's the big difference anyway? At least, we have the right body part involved.

My suggestion out of all of this is to take all reports of the severity or diagnosis of an injury (or lack thereof) with a grain of salt. I particularly take umbrage at those who criticize a player for not dealing with pain appropriately. My operating assumption is that major league baseball players love their jobs and all that goes with them, and want nothing more than to be healthy and able to play the game for as long as possible.

greenfrog - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 03:35 PM EDT (#277090) #

If the Jays really want go big for 2014-15, how about trading a few high-end prospects to the Mets for David Wright? Maybe something like Sanchez, Nolin, Davis and Barreto?

I'm not necessarily advocating such an aggressive move, nor do I think it would necessarily solve the Jays' malaise, but it's one (outlandish, risky, Phillies-esque) option. Of course, as the face of the Mets franchise, Wright may be all but untouchable. And things could get pretty ugly around 2016.

Having a lineup fronted by Reyes/Wright/Bautista/EE would be ridiculous (health permitting). And it would help the defence, assuming Lawrie can adapt to second base. Of course, the Jays would still have to solve their perennial #5-9 hitter issues.

Mike Green - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 04:08 PM EDT (#277091) #

The Mets are not about to deal David Wright for prospects, least of all pitching prospects. Moving Lawrie to second base is a bad idea. Why would either team do this?

I know David Wright is a great 31 year old player, but he's a player the Mets need in 2014 and 2015. They might have a contending club if everything breaks right (although in the case of d'Arnaud, I would try a different turn of phrase)...

Sano - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 04:35 PM EDT (#277092) #

Trading for pieces to fill the holes at 3B/2B/C is tempting but it hasn't been the Jays undoing this year. Pitching. That is all. AA needs to find starters who can actually perform. I actually think that he might be fired at the end of this season if things continue to derail the way they have been.

Mike Green - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 04:45 PM EDT (#277093) #

Now that each of them is taking their turn getting hit hard, their ERAs are becoming more realistic. Rather than conceding that there is some regression at play here, all the blame is being laid at fatigue's doorstep.

It is probably a bit of both. It would be nice to see some regression of the ERAs of Dickey and Johnson to more realistic figures. Never mind. White figures are lurking in a forest near me.

greenfrog - Thursday, July 25 2013 @ 06:33 PM EDT (#277095) #

Sano, I agree that starting pitching has really hurt the Jays this year (both in terms of runs allowed and in terms of going deep into games). But I don't think it's the only factor at play. The defence has been weak overall, and the offence at several positions has been poor. The team seemed unprepared coming out of spring training, and it hasn't played particularly intelligent baseball. It's a multifaceted problem.

Wright is just a whimsical idea. But it does raise the question of the organization's big-picture strategy. Is the team going for it next year? If so, how is it going to amass enough pitching, hitting, defence, and coaching/managerial acumen to win? A lot of the low-hanging fruit (such as the cash-only IFA acquisitions like Darvish, Cespedes, Puig and Soler that astute teams picked up) are gone. I don't see a quick fix on the horizon. We may be looking at another "if everything breaks right" year next year.

Game Thread - 7/24 vs Los Angeles | 41 comments | Create New Account

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