No credit for that one. That was a Loewen walk.

Adam Loewen looks like he needs some work to regain form.

Regain? His journey has certainly been an interesting one and he deserves full credit for his tenacity, but it's not clear he ever had form in the first place. This is a guy whose BB/9 is 6!

Absent a DL stint, I wonder if swapping out Hague for Thole might be a consideration. Having three catchers could lighten Martin's load while he halfway heals (I imagine that full healing will have to wait for the off-season). I can understand that with the run Dickey had been on, the organization might have been reluctant to switch catchers on him and mess up that mojo. Perhaps last night's poor effort by Dickey gives license to return Thole to fulltime Dickey duties. Giving him a day off when Dickey starts might be a huge gift for Martin in his present physical condition.

Since Date | Team Games, GP, IP | Pitches/GP | 162-Projection of GP, IP | Reliever

Since Jul 25 | 22 TG, 13 GP, 12.1 IP | 11.9 pitches/GP | projected 096 GP, 90.2 IP | Aaron Sanchez 
Since Aug 02 | 15 TG, 09 GP, 08.2 IP | 16.7 pitches/GP | projected 097 GP, 93.2 IP | Kelvin Herrera 
Since Aug 01 | 15 TG, 10 GP, 08.2 IP | 13.9 pitches/GP | projected 108 GP, 93.2 IP | Steve Geltz 
Since Aug 02 | 15 TG, 09 GP, 07.2 IP | 16.0 pitches/GP | projected 098 GP, 83.0 IP | Kevin Jepsen 
Since Jul 08 | 35 TG, 17 GP, 17.0 IP | 15.9 pitches/GP | projected 079 GP, 78.2 IP | Andrew Miller

Not sure how fair it is to cherry pick. Aaron Sanchez himself gave up a game-losing homerun in Price's start just a few days ago.

• Sanchez: 5 of past 8 days: 16-13-7-12-11 pitches, clearly Gibbons favorite
• Osuna: 4 of past 8 days: 15-15-13-16 pitches
• Cecil: used 3 of past 5 days: 18-5-12 pitches the 18 was yesterday, wasn't used the 3 days before that
• Hendriks: 3 in last 8 -2 days off between outtings: 10-13-12 pitches
• Hawkins: used 2 of last 8: 12 yesterday and 20 4 days ago
• Lowe: just 1 use in last 8 days: 16 pitches 4 days ago, should be extremely rested today
• Schultz: 1 of past 8 days: 14 pitches 7 days ago.

Since Jul 26 | 21 TG, 10 GP, 11.2 IP | 18.2 pitches/GP | projected 078 GP, 90.0 IP | Dellin Betances

1.1 avg | # times >2 = 1 | Sanchez
1.6 avg | # times >2 = 2 | Herrera
1.3 avg | # times >2 = 1 | Geltz
1.1 avg | # times >2 = 2 | Jepsen
1.9 avg | # times >2 = 8 | Miller
2.0 avg | # times >2 = 5 | Betances

That is fair, however the Jays don't seem to agree. They have alluded to a focus on pitcher stress over the last year and a bit. They seem to believe the actual context of each appearance matters, apart from just the aggregate IP and pitch numbers.

• Osuna: under 1: twice, 1-1.5 5 times, over 1.5 once (over 2) - stressful but not high except the one time
• Sanchez: under 1: 6 times, 1 -1.5 once, over 1.5 twice (barely, 1.6's) - so not super stress outtings
• Hendriks: under 1: 3, 1-1.5:twice, over 1.5: none
  
• Cecil: under 1: 3 times, 1-1.5:once,  over 1.5: once (over 2), similar to Osuna for pressure
  
• Hawkins: under 1:twice, 1-1.5: once, over 1.5: 3 times (twice over 3) - here is Mr. Pressure both 3+'s he came in with a 2 run lead and left with a 2 run lead

Well, that tells a tale doesn't it?  Clearly the guy Gibbons trusts most in 'oh crap' situations is Hawkins.  He still doesn't fully trust Hendriks and Sanchez he uses a lot but not in the 'oh no' situations.

GR aLI 	LevHi	LevMd	LevLo	Runr	>3o	IPmult	0DR	Out/GR	Pit/GR	Name	        Age	Tm
13 1.607 4	5	4	6	4	4	3	2.8	15	Miguel Castro	20	TOR
52 1.446 22	17	13	20	13	14	11	3.2	16	Roberto Osuna	20	TOR
14 0.509 2	3	8	4	8	8	0	5.2	28	B. Finnegan	22	KCR
27 0.997 10	5	9	2	3	3	7	3.1	15	Trevor Gott	22	LAA
53 1.244 29	9	15	12	5	7	10	2.7	16	Keone Kela	22	TEX
13 1.000 7	5	1	3	0	0	4	2.8	12	Aaron Sanchez	22	TOR

I'm not sure if you are including his previous tenure Ryan Day, but BJ Ryan was a big ticket closer that got hurt under Gibbons watch in 2007.

I certainly don't blame Gibbons for it, as one of the arguments for giving an unproven closer big money was that he didn't have many miles on his arm and there wasn't much unusual usage in Ryan's prior all-star season (65 gms, 72 ings, back-to-back appearances 13 times, 18 games with >1 ing pitched). But Ryan's elbow still exploded in 2007, basically ending his career and making the contract a loss.

I'm not sure of the frequency of such things, but I am surprised looking at Ryan's 2006 season, Gibbons used Ryan for more than an inning more than 25% of the time, which seems high to me and I doubt the same holds true for any subsequent closers like Janssen/Osuna/Cecil, though I haven't checked the stats.

Sanchez isn't off limits but ideally has today off.

Buehrle and the outfield defence look like they're trying to make sure of it.

I think every bullpen decision made this year exhibits a clear recognition of the importance of leverage.

Including July 26th, when he brought Aaron Loup in to pitch the 10th inning, and promptly lose it on a bases empty jack?  I think Gibbons generally does a good job with his bullpen, but the notion that he has mastered the subject is not, in my view, supported by the evidence.

To even throw the latter out as speculation does these pitchers a great disservice. Are these two veterans really so emotionally fragile that their performances could so easily be affected? I find it awfully difficult to accept such a premise. Hutchison didn't die, he was just demoted to AAA for two weeks.

Perhaps, but BAP* has him as "one of the best in the game." Who you gonna believe?

*BAP = Buck and Pat

I would certainly agree with this assumption. Watching on TV, umpires seem to miss a good number of Dickey's strikes. Blaming those missed calls on Martin's "poor" framing seems unfair.

It is mendacious, fellacious and downright preposterous. Or at least that's what Jackie Chiles told me.

The team is crowded at 1B/DH and thin in the OF, meaning that Bautista likely best helps the team by playing RF despite his defensive shortcomings. It would seem that uncluttering 1B/DH, particularly if the organization sees Bautista soon needing to move in that direction, and finding some top-end outfield talent will soon be high up on AA's to-do list.