The verdict: Um, we really don't know. Maybe Greinke deserves it. Maybe King Felix out in the Pacific Northwest. C.C. in the Bronx? Maybe somebody will explode in the last two weeks and win 20, effectively blinding the voters? We dunno!
Fortunately, there are a number of other awards that will be given for us to start fighting about ... er, discussing, debating ... ya know. Are ANY of the major awards a slam dunk right now? (Okay, one is.)
So fill out your projections ... anyone who goes 10-for-10 -- gets every prediction right -- well, what are you doing here? Get to Vegas!
As the 2009 season winds down to its depressing conclusion the only possible cure is to focus on 2010 and look for positive signs. It goes without saying that the Jays need to do what we, the knowledgable fans, think they should do. So let's try and see if Batters Box can use the wisdom of our crowd to come up with a prioritized to-do list for the 2010 team.
So it's been four days since a new feature appeared here on Da Box ... that can mean only one thing -- it must be time for ... um ... that is, it's certainly good to welcome back ... er ...
Yeah, I got nothin'. The Jays, long ago mathematically eliminated, are entrenched in fourth place, actually closer to fifth than third; only the AL Central looks like it might have a mildly interesting finish in store, and even then, probably not.
So ... Open Forum! What's on your mind? How can the Jays be playing meaningful baseball a year from today? Or are you already locked in on the Leafs' power play situation or the Argonauts', um, whatever it is they do? Are you "following" any of the remaining teams, with a rooting interest either way?
And really, it's been a while ... how are you?
High and high in the sky
You make me feel like I can fly
So high
This Blue Jay's home run total for the month of September has already surpassed what he did before August 31st. He's the subject of our latest POTD.
Stalwart Bauxite AWeb posted this in another thread just a while ago:
" ... even a declined Scutaro is one of the top 10-15 SS in the majors, unles his defense evaporates. Not exactly a great position in MLB right now."
Maybe we were all spoiled by the Jeter/A-Rod/Nomar "trinity" a few years ago, following on the heels of a Larkin/Ripken era launch that really started us down the road to higher shortstop-as-productive-hitter expectations. But is it true that short is a weak position in the major leagues right now? Let's see ...
This is Officially Not a Trivia Contest (though it's certainly trivial so maybe close to that!)
I'm not very good with math -- I ignore it more than 60 percent, or almost half the time! So I'm not sure what made me think of this, but I found myself wondering ...
What is the maximum number of hits a pitcher can allow in one inning without giving up a run? I'm sure there must be a "right" answer to this; it's not an "infinity" question like it would be if we added the word "unearned" to the question. So here we go -- check my work, grade my effort, let me know if there is another answer, and post your own favorite "thought experiment" question here.
I thought this would be an easier team to build, but no such luck. Did you know that only 22 men named Bret or Brett have even played big league ball? So there will be no full roster, for sure. And three of those 22 had the last/family name Brett, including our only Hall of Famer and one of just five All-Stars. Actually, only one man with the first/given name "Brett" has even made an All-Star team (yes, yes ... the Butler did it!) -- the rest were all of the single-t "Bret" variety.
Well, the GM/owner of this team is another former All-Star -- of the NHL variety, anyway -- as Mr. Hull takes up residence in the front office overseeing the development of ...
The Jay who scored the winning run in Thursday's win over the Minnesota Twins is the subject of today's POTD.
In a season where the minor leagues send players such as Travis Snider, Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, Marc Rzepczynski and Scott Richmond to the big league club, is it fair to say that 2009 was a disappointing year for the minor leagues? Although those players made a great contribution to the major league team the system behind them is thin and many players who had great expectations on them failed to develop in 2009. A major area of concern for the Jays should be the lack of development in most of the high school hitters picked over the last three drafts. The Jays do a great job in developing pitchers, the success with hitters, in particular the high school hitters, has been less so. The Jays need to evaluate whether their drafting has been poor or if they need to change how they develop those high school hitters.
Jeff Blair gets things going in the Globe and Mail today with a column questioning Cito Gaston. "Cito should have done better" is the headline. JP Riccardi has been the target of the scribes up to now but Blair is the first one to take on Gaston. Blair does credit the blogosphere for discussing this over the last few weeks.
With the Jays touch and go to win 70 games this is likely the first of many such columns.
