As near as I can figure, it's 65 (I found a list of 60 that went up to Carlos Carrasco in 2015, and there's been another five since.) Sleepy Bill Burns is the only other multiple victim besides Stieb. He's best remembered for having something to do with the 1919 shenanigans. He may have been Rothstein's representative. He definitely met with Gandil and Cicotte before the games began.
Also not on the list: triple play in the World Series. I was at one of only two ever. Though in that case, the umpire blew the call. Still… a special moment.
He lined out to first, and Cabrera was doubled off the bag.
You have to feel for Dusty Rhodes. You hit a three-run pinch-hit walk-off HR in extra innings to win a World Series game - and no one cares. All anyone is talking about is a flyout to centre back in the eighth inning.
The immortal Scooter Gennett hit 4 of his 87 career HRs in the same game.
Gibson's famous HR was the first WS walk-off in 13 years, since Carlton Fisk in 1975. Fisk's was the first since Mantle in 1964.
So naturally, three days after Gibson's we saw the next one, from Mark McGwire.
Ugh. Brings back bad memories. Not only did the ump miss the call but Gruber blew out his shoulder which basically ended his career. "In the top of the (fourth) when I dove for (Deion Sanders), that's when everything just fell apart, because I dove for him and I blew out my left shoulder, because I'd just been playing so long and everything was so weak and finally it just gave."
If only he’d thrown the ball…
His language & phrasing: brilliant. And then after the HR, more than a minute of silence! If only play-by-players today understood they don't have to talk through everything...
That 1+ minute is followed just by "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened." Then 30 more seconds of silence. The visuals, the crowd noise said far more than someone in the broadcast booth could.
Hall of Fame moment - for Gibson & for Scully.
As to the 2" TV - that was my Dad's portable TV in the 80's - he won it at a golf tournament (he won at least one tournament a year from 1969 to 2014 or so including a Canadian Super-Senior title). We watched the famous game 3 of Canada vs USSR in 1987 on it at the Jays game - my brother-in-law got us amazing tickets behind home plate so we had to go, but everyone around us was watching the hockey game with us. It was an amazing experience. The crowd going nuts whenever Canada scored totally confusing the players and coaches. Lots of fun! The scoreboard at the Ex was so poor it couldn't have shown even a photo from the game, let alone video (it was ugly whenever they tried). Very different time.
I also have a favourite hockey/baseball memory of 1987 though. I'd grown up as a big Leafs' fan in the late 50s & 60s (got into their dressing room twice - autographs by all the Stanley Cup teams of Bower, Mahovolich, Kelly, Horton, Stanley, etc, etc), but by 1987, was leaning away from hockey to baseball.
One night, May 3 ,(I had to look it up), I decided I would split my TV viewing between the Blue Jays & Leafs. Although it was Game 7 for the Leafs (vs Detroit), and just an early season Jays game, as time went on, I realized I couldn't care less about the Leafs, and just stiuck with the Jays' game. I've never watched another hockey game since.
Strange injuries:
1) Zack Plesac --Last year fractured his right thumb " aggressively opening his shirt".
--This year broke his little finger punching the mound after giving up a home run August 27.
2) Angel's reliever Archie Bradley -- hurt during a brawl, not by throwing or receiving a punch but rather by falling while climbing over the dugout railing and breaking his elbow.
Honorable Mention : Yankees reliever Arnoldis Chapman who suffered an infection after getting a tattoo.
Strange But True
Only 3 no-hitters thrown in MLB playoff history
1) Don Larsen for Yankees in 1956 World Series ( perfect game)
2) Roy Halladay for Phillies in 2010 NLDS
3) Houston -- combination of 4 pitchers in 2022 World Series final over Philadelphia
-- Last two in Citizen's Bank Park and Dusty Baker was the manager for the visiting team both times.
-- There have been two no-hitters in post season play at Citizen's Bank park but no regular season no-hitters in 19 years there.
Houston pitchers threw 2 immaculate innings ( 9 pitches) twice in the same game to the same 3 Texas batters.
--The Rangers hadn't had an imaculate inning against them since April 29, 1990, a total of 5060 games, then had two against them in the same game.
This one hurts. Blue Jay's regular season record in the last 10 years in games they led by 7 runs or more in the 6th inning or later 149-1.
Seattle Mariner's regular season record all-time in games trailing by 7 runs or more in 6th inning or later 3-239.
Of course we know that the Jays lost in the last game of the 2022 season after leading by 7 runs in the 6th inning, but do we remember that they won the first game of the season by coming back from being 7 runs down to beat the Texas Rangers?
Brian Serven of the Colorado Rockies, on Mother's Day, fouled off the first pitch of his first MLB at-bat and it was caught by a fan sitting near Serven's mother who then gave the ball to her.
Jacb deGromm made 38 starts for the Mets in 3 years there and only gave up 4 earned runs or more once, last year to the Oakland A's to whom he surrendered 5 runs in 4 innings. The A's were the worst offensive team in 100 years in 2022, defined as the first team to hit.216 or less, having an OBP of .280 or worse, and scored less than 600 runs, the first team to do so since the 1910 Chicago White Stockings.
In a blowout, Ray's position player Brett Philips pitched in the 8th inning against LA Angels Anthony Rondon who had made 4,258 plate appearances as a right handed hitter. Rondon switched and batted left-handed for the first time ever-- and hit a home run.
Amazing stat from the Blue Jays 28-5 beat down of the Boston RedSox. No team had ever put up 28 runs in a road game, had a home run cycle ( 4 run homer, 3 run homer, 2 run homer, 1 run homer), hit an inside-the-park home run, and had any player have 6 hits in a 9 inning game all in the same season. The Jays did it all in one night!
On April 23, 2022, the Chicago Cubs blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 21-0 at Wrigley Field. The last 21-0 game at Wrigley wasn't by the Cubs, or even their opponent, but rather by the NFL Chicago Bears who beat the Green Bay Packers 21-0 on Nov.5, 1944. The Bears played their last game at Wrigley in 1970. ( I always thought that Wrigley was a baseball only field.)
I never witnessed a no-hitter. But I was at 3 games where the Jays broke one up in the 9th.
May 10, 1989. Key vs Mark Langston of the Mariners. Bob Brenly double, Jr Felix & Geo. Bell singles gave Jimy Williams his last Blue Jays win.
Sep 28, 1992. Devon White gets the only hit off Frank Viola/Red Sox. Jays lose, but win World Series. Good trade-off.
April 1995. Last exhibition game of the spring, at SkyDome, a make-it-up-to-the-fans-for-the-1994-strike game. Jays get 2 hits & a HBP. Lose the game, finish in last.
I also once gave a ticket to a co-worker who got to witness Dave Stewart no-hit the Jays.
A starter with 1 inning pitched (or less) and surrendering 10+ earned runs. I think it was 1 of 10 such games in history.
Cito returned to Toronto as the new manager that night. I was only disappointed that he did not make a mound visit, so the crowd could properly welcome him back.
"Tiedemann went undrafted out of high school in 2020, then went to junior college and ended up a third-round pick of the Jays in 2021. His velocity started to creep up as soon as instructional league. He topped out at 97-98 mph in 2022, although he tapered off over the course of the season and was sitting 93-94 when I saw him in September at Double-A Somerset, when the Jays had him on a strict three-inning limit to manage his workload. When fully healthy, he’s got power stuff, with big horizontal break to the slider that makes it a weapon against left- and right-handed batters, and an above-average changeup that he will need more as he gets to Triple A and the majors. He has a tough delivery to repeat, starting on the extreme first-base end of the rubber and never quite getting online, so locating to his glove side is a challenge. If he can develop his command and control — which might mean getting him more online to the plate — he has front-line starter potential. There’s also reliever risk here, although in that role he’d probably be an elite, 35-40 percent strikeout rate pitcher."
It just came so out of left field. Everyone knew JP and Gibby were pals so it seemed logical to assume the manager would stay, but it wasn't entirely a surprise. Then it was revealed it was Ricciardi's to replace him with Cito when it was assumed it was Godfrey or an ownership. Yeah, wow.
I submit that Cito's name deserves to be alongside Jackie Robinson on the banner.
As I'd expect. Hopefully one of the guys in the low minors (Barreia, Toman, most likely but not only possibilites) can take a big step up.
Absolutely. Probably next best bet but someone like Brown, Pinto, or Kasevich could also take a big step forward. Also, pitchers, some we may not have ever heard of, could come out of nowhere. Gain some miles on the fastball, etc...
If he's healthy, he's a very good reliever.
2yr stats:
* RP Romano (30): 125gms, 51era-, 1.9war65
* RP Green (32): 81gms, 73era-, 1.6war65
* RP Swanson (29): 90gms, 59era-, 1.5war65
* RP Cimber (32): 149gms, 63era-, 0.9war65
* RP Bass (35): 143gms, 65era-, 0.8war65
* RP Mayza (31): 124gms, 78era-, 0.7war65
* RP Pop (26): 85gms, 88era-, 0.5war65
* RP Garcia (32): 123gms, 90era-, 0.5war65
* RP Richards (30): 115gms, 110era-, 0.1war65
Source: Chad Green in agreement on a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) January 31, 2023
Blue Jays deal with Chad Green is $8.5m over two years, with options for '25 and '26, per source.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 31, 2023
he had surgery on like June 1 and its usually about a 12mos recovery time.
I just found this TJ spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQujXQQGOVNaiuwSN680Hq-FDVsCwvN-3AazykOBON0/edit#gid=0) and the most recent recovery times have been 8mos, 12, 12, 14, 11, 10, 13, 14, 13, 13, 14, 14, 14, 11....
All those recovery times have him back this year with plenty of time to spare.
Source confirms: Free-agent reliever Chad Green to Blue Jays on 2-year, $8.5M deal. Second year is conditional player option that Green can exercise if Jays decline 3-year club option. If both decline, Jays get 2-year club option at higher AAV. First: @MarinoMLB, @ShiDavidi.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 31, 2023
Creative contract, per sources.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 31, 2023
- Green gets $2.25m in '23.
After:
- Jays option on 24-27 for $27m/3 w up to $1m in bonuses
-- If declined, Green has option for 24 at $6.25m w up to $2m in bonuses
-- If Green declines, Jays have $21m/2yr option on 24-25 w up to $1m in bonuses https://t.co/itqxCA7V85
The bullpen is looking pretty good at the moment, especially the depth.
I like the competition for spots up and down the depth chart, and the green injury gives us a chance to rotate guys through that 8th slot.
I’m not even sure richards gets a spot.
Still would like a LH reliever added (Andrew Chafin would be nice), and a RH OF (Robbie Grossman), but this is a very good move.
Speaking of relievers - Mariners claimed Tayler Saucedo from the Mets. Plus Ryan Goins is now a minor league Royal after spending 2 years in Atlanta's minors.
Chad Green
Dasan Brown
Bud Black
Devon White
Mitch White
The Jays have had a broad spectrum of talent over the years.
My thought as well. I don't think I remember an arrangement like that - a team option to a player option if that's declined to a second team option if that's declined?
Just for the moment. In the meantime we're going to have spring training "roster competitions" for those last roster spots. Everyone will really be waiting to see how rosters fill out in the spring and just who gets cut loose as we get closer to the regular season.
Besides Chafin, Matt Moore and Zack Britton are also lefty relievers that could help the Jays.
Next lefty up is, uhh, Brandon Eisert?
Clearly, They are prioritizing flexibility on the 40 man. they could’ve waited to sign the green deal and kept gage.
Atkins has had to trade to strengthen our pitching. If the farm provides some help, Atkins would not have to scramble to add via trades at the deadline. Would be very different if we traded pitching at the deadline. We already traded Max Castillo.
* RF Springer (33): 595pa, 135wrc+, 4.7war650
* SS Bichette (25): 658pa, 128wrc+, 4.4war650
* 1B Guerrero (24): 637pa, 154wrc+, 4.7war650
* DH Kirk (24): 496pa, 133wrc+, 5.2war650
* LF Varsho (26): 573pa, 123wrc+, 4.2war650
* 3B Chapman (30): 665pa, 119wrc+, 4.5war650
* C Jansen (28): 467pa, 118wrc+, 4.0war650
* 2B Espinal (28): 511pa, 104wrc+, 3.1war650
* CF Kiermaier (33): 434pa, 87wrc+, 2.6war650
* DH Belt (35): 364pa, 122wrc+, 2.1war650
* UT Biggio (28): 210pa, 106wrc+, 1.9war650
* UT Merrifield (34): 511pa, 95wrc+, 1.4war650
* SP Gausman (32): 31gms, 3.56era, 3.5war32
* SP Manoah (25): 32gms, 3.74era, 3.0war32
* SP Bassitt (34): 31gms, 3.81era, 2.6war32
* SP Berrios (28): 31gms, 4.26era, 1.7war32
* SW Kikuchi (32): 42gms, 4.17era, 0.7war32
* SW Ryu (36): 14gms, 3.79era, 0.3war32
* SW White (28): 42gs, 4.38era, 0.3war32
* RP Romano (30): 66gms, 3.52era, 0.8war65
* RP Swanson (29): 65gms, 3.77era, 0.6war65
* RP Bass (35): 62gms, 3.76era, 0.3war65
* RP Mayza (31): 57gms, 3.55era, 0.2war65
* RP Cimber (32): 60gms, 3.98era, 0.1war65
* RP Garcia (32): 70gms, 4.05era, 0.1war65
* RP Green (32): 20gms, 3.77era, 0.0war65
* RP Richards (30): 54gms, 4.06era, 0.0war65
* RP Pop (26): 46gms, 4.07era, 0.0war65
- the projections are very much in love with our position players
- they are only lukewarm on our starting pitching
- they seem pretty pessimistic about the bullpen - though this may be just the way projections treat relievers, I havent checked the other teams
They seem to value experience in the pen, which I find strange.
Young guys are as likely to be dominant as older guys who have been through rough spots.
It's all mlb depth chart and org depth for those last few spots on the 40 man - which is how they should be using those spots.
over/under on how many transactions we see till the games start to count?
They seem to value experience in the pen, which I find strange.
Young guys are as likely to be dominant as older guys who have been through rough spots."
Gage is 29 with middling success in the minors. Green has been the 8th most valuable reliever in baseball over the past 5 years despite missing almost the entire year last year. I don't find it strange the Jays would prefer the latter over the former.
Who cares really? I mean, like Gage isn't any good and doesn't throw hard even. Hatch and Thornton at least can work as mop-up men or pitch innings in Buffalo.
I find it interesting that only Álex Rodríguez (25) broke Lou Gehrig's (23) record for most grand slams. Manny Ramírez (21) is third.
Likewise, Babe Ruth (70 / 72) still leads the record books for most 2-homer / multi-homer performances. Barry Bonds (67 / 71) is second.
Murderer's Row was very real!
In truth the more I look the less I like of those 3. Odds are they'd take Richards slot (Romano-Swanson-Garcia-Bass-Cimber-Mayza I'd rank higher than Richards, and Kikuchi/White will be #5 starter/long man in pen). So really there isn't much room right now. Especially with Green coming mid-season. In truth for the pen the Jays need to sign top AAAA guys who can fill in for 2 weeks when someone gets hurt now. If one of those 3 falls into their laps, so be it (ie: for sub $5 mil) but otherwise I don't see the point as odds are they'd only be marginally more effective than Richards, if that.
Similar for the OF situation now - there are good guys there but will they really provide a lot more value than using Merrifield in the OF while Espinal/Biggio share 2B? Maybe, but I doubt it would amount to much. Again, fall into the lap at a good price, why not, but otherwise using Nathan Lukes as the 5th OF or Otto Lopez as a backup everything isn't bad for that 26th man slot. Ideally they'd be used about as often as Zimmer was last year. A pure hitter who could hit for KK late isn't a bad idea but how often will that make a big difference? Not often unless they are like a prime Cliff Johnson (had the record for pinch hit home runs for awhile at 20) or Matt Stairs (holds the current record of 23).
At this stage I mainly see spring invites/AAAA guys coming in along with kids from the minors. Hard to see the point of spending a ton on more bench strength. As I said, unless it falls into the Jays laps. I guarantee they are in touch with the agents for guys still out there.
I guess the big question is 'what if' on injuries. C: Kirk/Jansen then...? 1B: Vlad/Belt/Biggio/Horwitz 2B: Merrifield/Espinal/Biggio/Lopez/... SS: Bo/Espinal/Lopez/Barger/Orelvis Martinez 3B: Chapman/Espinal/Biggio/Lopez/Barger/Orelvis Martinez CF: KK/Varsho/Springer/Merrifield/Lukes while LF/RF after Varsho/Springer is Merrifield/Biggio/Lukes SP: Manoah-Gausman-Bassitt-Berrios-Kikuchi-White-Thompson-Pearson-Hatch-Thornton-...-Tiedemann-Robberse-Zulueta RP: Romano-Swanson-Garcia-Bass-Cimber-Mayza-Richards-White-Green (mid season)-Pop-Pearson-Thornton-Zulueta-etc. (lots of etc.)
Catcher is the only area where injury issues are a total question mark it seems. NRIs at catcher are Stevie Berman [734 OPS in AAA last year at age 27], Rob Brantly [8 yrs ML experience 68 OPS+ over 456 PA, classic all defense AAAA catcher], Zach Britton [826 OPS in A+/AA last year], Phil Clarke [662 OPS in AA last year], Andres Sosa [801 OPS in A+ last year] (you always invite a ton of catchers as you need them to work out the pitchers along with coaches and others). I don't see Varsho going behind the plate outside of emergency in-game situations. IE: if Jansen or Kirk get hurt he won't go back there except for during that game. I suspect Brantly is the emergency guy who'd get 2 weeks up while Kirk or Jansen recover from an injury, with Berman the #2 guy on that list while the Jays hope at least one of Britton, Clarke, or Sosa can develop into a solid hitting catcher.
H Danner can catch but as the full time backup (40%)? You mentioned all the others. None is a proven ML hitter. D is more important anyway. Danner probably has the best arm.
In 2021 the closest to 4 without reaching was George Springer at 2.5, in 2015 it was Kevin Pillar at 3.7 (sooo close). 1993 was Tony Fernandez at 2.8 (over a full season he might have reached but was traded for part way through) - Joe Carter was just a 2.0 but that home run was the biggest positive in Jays history and didn't count towards his overall fWAR.
I think it's the experience rather than the results that brought Dolis in the first place.
Bryan Baker only got 1 inning, but Carl Edwards Jr. got into 6 games.
Chatwood, Phelps, Tommy Milone, Jacob Barnes. They seem to like gambling on guys with long roadmaps who are coming off though years. (Phelps was great, but he was coming off a horrible time in Philadelphia.
The other guys haven't fared so well.
Chad Green, on the other hand, is on an other level.
He's still young. He's never had a bad year. He's pitched in the division.
Nothing wrong with that move.
Green will go on the 60IL and they might use Gage's spot for a waiver claim.
Most teams are too afraid of pitchers getting injured on the field now which is fine, but pitchers injure themselves just throwing the ball.
Both probably. But to be clear, it was experience and results in Japan. He hadn't pitched in the majors for seven years, and he hadn't pitched very much or very well when he had.
A few good stories too - like how as a teen he hit a ball through a fence when the Jays scout was at the game which is a big reason he was signed (he hit it off Bill Gullickson (future Expo)). Lots of other good stuff too.
Unfortunately, it features Mike Wilner. Plus I'm not a podcast guy at all. The only time I braved listening to DLF was when John Lott was interviewed.
For all his energy & dedication, i really find Wilner - on air or online - very, very hard to take.
Exactly. He was okay as a play-by-play guy and he does interview lots of interesting people… but he’s just insufferable.
There are two very good Jays podcasts that I know of - Artificial Turf Wars and At The Letters.
https://www.redlegnation.com/category/rn-radio/
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmxvZ3RhbGtyYWRpby5jb20vYW1hemluYXZlbnVlL3BvZGNhc3Q/episode/MTBkMjkwN2UtOWM2ZS0xMWVkLThkNDMtNGZjZTMzMWY2Njk4?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahcKEwiIlJHg8fv8AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en-CA
3 podcasts that I recommend -
- Nothing personal with former Marlins President David Samson who is terrific - about sports in general
-Redlegnation is about cincinnati reds baseball and gives a funny perspective of another team - critical of Reds ownership
- Amazin' Avenue for New York Mets - A pod of their own - women talking about Mets baseball amongst other things - a different perspective.
Yes! I highly, highly recommend Ricky Romero's "Let's Go with Ricky Ro" podcast; the newest episodes have Josh Thole as a co-host, but some of the older episodes are absolute gems (Noe Ramirez, coach John Schnieder, Alex (Drop) Andreopoulos, JP Arencibia, Sergio Romo, Vernon Wells). He's on hiatus, but there are over 80 episodes to choose from. John Gibbons started a podcast last fall - it wasn't very good, but the two-part episode with AA was very interesting. I also listen sometimes to the R2C2 podcast - I have a ton of respect for CC Sabathia and he gets some 1st class guests.
Me neither. I just don't want to spend an hour and change listening to anybody talk about anything. Too many new records to catch up on.
I don't mind looking at a transcript, if available. I can read a transcript in ten minutes.
And back to our old friend Wilner; someone mentioned his play-by-play. One thing I hate about some broadcasters is their reliance on yelling - screaming occasionally - to convey excitement or drama. I wish they could have enrolled in the Vin Scully school of broadcasting. Wilner was one of the worst for that offence.
I understand everybody else's views on reading vs listening, because it's exactly how I feel about watching a video vs reading an article, but I listen to podcasts a lot because 1) I can multitask: they're perfect for chores and travelling of any sort, and 2) I think it's impossible to capture the humour and joy of listening to people with good chemistry have an engaging conversation in text form.
Honestly, I've got very little time for purely-informative podcasts: things I listen to regularly have to be at least a little funny and lighthearted or I would prefer to read it.
I'll watch playoff games live, but otherwise - 3+ hours to watch a game? I'm not 10 years old with no homework anymore..
Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph broadcast Maple Leafs road games from a Toronto studio. Ben Wagner follows the same routine. I have a quite a quibble with this infernal practice by sinister telecom megacorps.
I would rather hear the television audio (live from the stadium) played over the radio. Argonauts and TFC games are broadcast this way. The Blue Jays were doing so for a while.
* * *
Dunedin reporting dates:
Thursday, February 16th - pitchers and catchers
Tuesday, February 21st - position players
" People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. "
Total team- 6,2
Catcher- 1,1
First- 3,1
Second- 18,4
SS- 7, 2
Third- 7,2
LF- 8,3
CF- 12, 2
RF- 6, 2
SP- 11, 3
RP- 16, 4
DH-4,1
Random observations:
. Overall the team ranks well - second best in the division, 6th in baseball(and 3rd within the AL)
. FG is still not happy with our relievers, and of course second bas looks weak
. CF is a weakness across the ALE
. I think we are under-rated at 3rd and LF, and perhaps our pitching... at least by a bit... Rodon and Cole are at 9.2 vs Manoah and Gasuman at 6.2 which looks extreme
fine with it.
I listened to the podcast from Thursday today and found out about a Nolan Ryan doc on Netflix which I hasn't known about and watched it today. I also found out about how Cito helped Bautista become a better hitter.
The next best podcast I listen to is The Walkoff. It's relatively new but growing. I listen to it because they are starting to get better guests and because I get my news from them. I listen when I'm driving or getting ready for bed and I find it VERY rewarding to learn about news from sound rather than staring at a screen like before which was either my phone or computer. I love how I can turn the screen off and listen to podcasts so I'm disengaged from the electronics.
I like the Walkoff Podcast, particularly the ones where they are interviewing Jays prospects over the years like Joey Murray, Sem Robberse, Groshans, Kloffenstein....some are a couple of years old, but interesting in understanding the minor league lifestyle and insight on what goes when developing as prospects.
Law has the issues right for the prospects. For me, this is more important than opinions about how likely the prospect is to overcome the issues. And there is welcome humour in the writing.
The Jays really should call him up this year. After all, he’s not getting any Juenger.I sighed so loudly.
1) Ricky Tiedemann
2) Orelvis Martinez
3) Brandon Barriera
4) Tucker Toman
5) Sem Robberse
6) Yosver Zulueta
7) Hayden Juenger
8) Gabriel Martinez
9) Leo Jimenez
10) Addison Barger
11) Dasan Brown
12) Josh Kasevich
13) Cade Doughty
14) Adam Macko
15) Dahian Santos
16) Adrian Pinto
17) Manuel Beltre
18) Alex de Jesus
19) Otto Lopez
20) Rainer Nunez
Zulueta, Jeunger, Barger, Leo Jimenez and O Lopez all have a chance to graduate this year. Lopez and Leo Jimenez may not because I don't see Lopez getting to 150 ABs with the Jays ever really. He is a pinch runner and bench utility player. Jimenez is polished defensively so he is probably a good replacement if Bo gets injured. Of course Jimenez has to be healthy enough to get ABs in the minors.
I have T Morris, S Horowitz, Z Britton and Devonte Brown as #17,18,19 and 20. Morris and Horowitz should dominate AAA early. Britton should be in AAA soon. Devonte Brown impressed me and I expect him to get to AA this year.
Per sources, #BlueJays have now avoided arb with Bo Bichette on a multi-year deal.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) February 8, 2023
Terms still unclear but sources said a three-year term was under active discussion this week.
I did not see the Moreno trade coming. Atkins said he may keep all 3.
Teo trade. Bassitt, Belt & KK signings.
Exchanging the O for D in the OF reflects the stadium changes and the shifting changes which makes a lot of sense.
If he doesn’t improve but insists on staying there, it may be more effective to sign a very good hitting second basemen and a good defensive SS, and leverage the savings for other needs. And of course some of that May hopefully sourced through the minors.
We seemed to do just fine with Manny Lee at SS for 200 games in 92 and 93.
I am not sure he plays better without the pressure of arbitration.
Cost certainty.
I think there will be no point of discussing contract with him for 3 years.
In the meanwhile, the Jays will continue to try to develop another good middle infielder.
Bo was a second round pick. Vlad was a record signing.
They were very different from the first day.
If he's as serviceable as Derek Jeter, I figure that'll be good enough.
In my mind, Jeter is the parallel case, and by happy coincidence the year just past was the third season for each as the team's starting shortstop from Day One, it was the age 24 season for both guys, and they both posted an OPS+ of 127.
For Jeter this was a step forward. He'd improved his plate discipline, added a little more power. Bichette seems mostly to be be maintaining what he has, but in a baseball universe where offense is falling, this represents improvement as well.
- All spring, season, & post-season games will have radio play-by-play available on sportsnet.ca and their app. A first. But it looks like Ben is alone again in the radio booth.
- On TV, Siddall will split time between colour & Blue Jays Central. Caleb Joseph also on BJC (I assume when Joe isn't.)
- Arden Zwelling replacing Arash.
And a qualification about Manuel Lee: of those 200 games he played at short in 92-93, The 72 games he played in 93 were for Texas. He only got one WS ring from Toronto.
I'm with Magpie - let's enjoy the fact that the Jays have a player whose career so far can legitimately be compared to Derek Jeter's.
He wouldn’t have even been on the roster if Fernandez hadn’t been injured. In those 3 games in Detroit, the Jays managed only 3 extra base hits: a Lee double, Lee triple, and Lee HR.
Those were nicely balanced by his defensive work. A bad throw mid-game led to a Tiger run, which led to extra innings, which led to Trammel's game-winning hit, right through Manny's legs.
Ya win some, ya lose some.
Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BAVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+
Jeter 480 2147 1910 352 588 85 22 39 239 67 25 182 357 .308 .373 .437 .809 109
Bichette 393 1727 1611 262 478 100 3 69 239 46 14 100 369 .297 .340 .491 .831 127
I think the historical record is pretty clear that you can win an awful lot of games with a shortstop who hits like that.
IMHO the issue is the market has exploded when it comes to SS compensation. As a result, while BB could possibly be an outstanding second baseman- and provide more value to the team there-he would be paid more as a SS with a great bat and mediocre defence.
No kidding. Jeter's peak lasted twelve years (1998-2009), from age 24 through 35, and his durability and consistency during that period were likewise miraculous. Twelve years, and you can hardly tell one season from another.
Dude was a freak.
IMO a good deal all around. I figured the Jays were looking at closer to $35-40 if they went year to year, and this sets it up so Bo has the safety of $33 mil even if he breaks his leg tomorrow, but if he performs he could get up to $40 mil. The Jays get to go through those years feeling like they know what their budget is and not having to alienate a major player on the team. Now the trick is to figure out long term deals, but Bo has always said stuff about wanting to go to free agency, as is his right, while Vlad seems more willing to sign now. Of course, the public face we see could be 100% different from the real one behind the scenes.
Details are: Range Outs Score = the percent above- or below-average that the player successfully converts a charged play to an out, so Bo was 9% below average for making outs. Attempted Range basically says he attempted 1 fewer play than he should've vs an average shortstop. The best in MLB was Willy Adames at +17.2 ROM, and 16 extra attempts vs average. Ha-Seong Kim who should've been a Jay (grr) was 4th at 11.1 ROM, with 12 extra attempts. The vast majority of infielders should be +-3 or 4 for ROM. Thus Bo is very poor by this measure which according to them is extremely accurate long term and is a strong indicator of future performance. Yikes. Wonder if the extreme shifting hurt him last year or helped him. Guess we'll find out.
A team should build good O and good D. Obviously easier said than done. Bo, Vlad, Kirk are young and will give us very good O for the next 3 years. Their D should not hurt much in those 3 years. Also the pitching staff seems very good if healthy for the next 3 years.
Springer is the only long term regular that is getting old.
I hate to break it to you, bpoz, but everyone is getting old.
Bo Bichette's Statcast defensive card tells a consistent story that I find credible. He is average at everything except coming in on the ball when playing in typical non-shift position. Arm accuracy is the main issue. The arm strength is adequate. VGJ did a much better job this past year scooping for him, but he does need to work on that. I am sure he knows it. He may not be suited to the Tulo approach, but that is probably an easier thing to fix than Jeter's first step issues were.
Bo has been consistently slightly above average when LHBs are at the plate and consistently well below average when RHB are at the plate. It's the long throw coming in that plagues him.
Willie Mays is the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame, born May 6th, 1931.
To join in I searched to see if Atkins has added any older players. He has added a few. Anyway I clicked on C Jamie Ritchie for the 1st time. He is 29 years old with a high Avg and V good bb/k ratio but no power. I am wondering about his D.
The diving plays? He doesn't even attempt those.
Hopefully, the shift rule won't impact him.
I wonder if they'll try to give him more rest. Or even use a defensive replacement on occasion.
He had a horribly slow start last year, so it was hard to give him a rest.
I think this team could do OK with Espinal at SS for an extended period.
Catcher could be the spot with the least depth now, ironically.
He was 49 by the time he got his last hit (pinch-hit RBI single in his last MLB at bat.)
Charlie O'Leary, a coach for the St.Louis Browns, came out of retirement to pinch hit in the 1934 season finale and singled off Eldon Auker. O'Leary was 58 years old and it had been 21 years since his last game in the majors. He had been the Detroit shortstop on the teams that lost to the Cubs in the 1907-08 World Series.
1924 seems to be the furthest back I can go and find living ex-players. 2 still kicking from then, Bill Greason and Art Schallock (Schallock is the oldest, born in April vs Greason in September).
In a world of a pandemic that won't quit, a war in Europe again, and spy balloons, we take our mercies wherever we find them.