Video
I understand that baseball is the American pass time but I am getting tired of the lack of effort from the American media - specifically Mlb.com - in regards to their coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays. The video linked above is a perfect example of frustrating coverage as Mark McLemore (right) cannot verify seemingly obvious facts about Blue Jays players. In regards to Jose Bautista playing right field, "it is probably his natural position...Jose Bautista is probably a natural out fielder". Probably? The guy lead the league in home runs last year, won a silver slugger award and just signed a multi-year deal - so you know he has been in the news - and you can't even bother to check out his profile on mlb.com (the company you are doing coverage for, by the way) where it clearly says Jose Bautista 19 | RF . lazy.
G.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sent Down But Not Out
As expected Brett Lawrie will start the year in AAA. Just watched Jays Connected where John Farrell Mentioned that his lack of AAA experience, playing a hitherto new position and everyday playing time were key factors in the decision to send him down; for those upstairs, the fact that it will help them with arbitration and contractually in the future. I understand the fact that its a new position and I like that idea that they want him playing everyday, for at the major league level he wouldn't get the chance to play everyday. I expect we will see him in June, or as soon as an injury occurs; barring any setback from Lawrie. It makes sense and will hopefully help his development but you can't help but love his play so far and I, like most Jays fans, wish we could see him on opening day in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform.
Good luck Lawrie, hope to see you soon.
G.
Good luck Lawrie, hope to see you soon.
G.
Crumbs of Counsel
A few interesting crumbs of information today. First I would like to share a video from MLB.com that analyzes Bautista's change in stance and approach at the plate since coming over to Toronto from Pittsburgh.
VIDEO
Secondly, sad news today. Apparently Morrow has been experiencing inflammation in his forearm and will be put on the 15 day-DL. If all goes well and the inflammation subsides he will only be expected to miss one of his regular season starts, but in reality I assume he will miss two or three. With it being the beginning of the season, and with the Jays pitching depth I see no reason as to why the Jays would rush his recovery. Rzepczynski seems to be an obvious candidate to move into the starting role as he has basically established himself on the opening day roster as a reliever, but with Jo-Jo Reyes' lack of options and the fact that the Jays don't want to lose him for nothing I wouldn't be surprised if Reyes' performance tonight against the Yankees will push him in or pull him out of contention for a few spot starts. The Blue Jays do have a break in their schedule after they open the season series against the Twins, which means that the could skip the 5th starter and let Ricky pitch on a regular five days rest. That would give the club the ability to watch Morrow carefully without having to make a major roster decision. I expect that Rzep will get the start and Reyes will start the year out of the bullpen but tonight's game (thankfully being televised) could change their perception on Reyes' readiness.
G.
VIDEO
Secondly, sad news today. Apparently Morrow has been experiencing inflammation in his forearm and will be put on the 15 day-DL. If all goes well and the inflammation subsides he will only be expected to miss one of his regular season starts, but in reality I assume he will miss two or three. With it being the beginning of the season, and with the Jays pitching depth I see no reason as to why the Jays would rush his recovery. Rzepczynski seems to be an obvious candidate to move into the starting role as he has basically established himself on the opening day roster as a reliever, but with Jo-Jo Reyes' lack of options and the fact that the Jays don't want to lose him for nothing I wouldn't be surprised if Reyes' performance tonight against the Yankees will push him in or pull him out of contention for a few spot starts. The Blue Jays do have a break in their schedule after they open the season series against the Twins, which means that the could skip the 5th starter and let Ricky pitch on a regular five days rest. That would give the club the ability to watch Morrow carefully without having to make a major roster decision. I expect that Rzep will get the start and Reyes will start the year out of the bullpen but tonight's game (thankfully being televised) could change their perception on Reyes' readiness.
G.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Snider Slide
This post comes as a response to several analysts view on Travis Snider. Now the source that finally ticked me over the edge was a purchase of my own and may be a little unknown for some people - MLB 11 The Show for the Playstation 3. Every time Snider comes up to bat (in the game) the announcer proceeds to explain that it is "now or never" for Snider and that he's been in the league for so long and has yet to live up to his potential. This is not the first time I have heard this belief that Snider is a washed up prospect.
First and foremost lets look at Snider's Major League career so far. He played his first game in a Blue Jays uniform 3 years ago. He was a September call up in 2008 and played 24 games. He batted .301 while compiling 2 hr and 13 rbi. The next year he was hindered by injury, while playing in 77 games he batted .241 with 9 hr 29 rbi. Not a great year although I would argue that his lack of production was a direct result of his injury. Now here is where things get a little interesting, 2010 was another year where injuries hurt Snider's production. Another problem here was a wonderful manager who decided that Snider should be batting lead off. . . Yes the prospective Home Run king would bat lead off. I generally like Cito in most regards but that decision still gives me nightmares. Snider was still able to compile 14 hr 32 rbi (6 sb - lead off material?) while batting .255. Generally 3 years into their career it is expected that a prospect begins to consistently show signs of his potential, however Snider's situation isn't that of a regular prospect. Most prospects spend 3 or more years in the minors before making it to the show, but Snider spent those 3 years IN the major leagues. So right off the bat we can understand that Snider's 3 years in the majors and his journey to the majors is different than most prospects; very few players rocket themselves to the major league level at 20 years of age. He is only 23 years old, most prospects don't even think about the majors until after their 23rd of 24th birthday!
Snider was drafted 14th overall in 2006 among current MLB players as Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Drew Stubbs, Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek. Other than Longoria, Stubbs and Lincecum all of the above prospects have had their struggles (that is without mentioning the other 11 players picked before Snider who have yet to truly impact their team; i.e. first overall pick Luke Hochevar). There is an outlier here though that needs to be mentioned and that is age. Lincecum & Stubbs are 4 years older than Snider, Longoria 3 years older. Current Toronto prospects Morrow (4 years) and Drabek (1 year) are still older than Snider. Clayton Kershaw is the only player in the aforementioned group that is the same age as Snider and he has shared his mix of trouble and success. To say that Snider's time is up is ridiculous because Travis was drafted as a youth with an unbelievably high ceiling and in some regards is way ahead of his draft class. Snider's potential made him a viable pick among All-Star caliber players even though he was 3-4 years younger than them, which means that he will take 3 - 4 years to reach where they were (mentally, physically and with consistency) when they were drafted.
My point here is that players who have impacted their franchise at the major league level - Longoria, Stubbs, Lincecum - were about 3+ years older than Snider. Snider is now going into his 4th tour at the major league level, equivalent to the age difference between him and those in his draft class. In those 3 years Snider has been given major league level teachings, workouts and experience, which I argue puts him above those in his draft class because by age 23 none of the aforementioned impact players had any major league experience. The numbers are in accordance with my belief that 2011 will be Travis Snider’s break-out year. His potential is there, the timeline is right and in the event that he doesn’t turn heads and break Bautista’s 54 hr record, lets be honest he is just starting out as a properly aged and physically ready prospect and any success he has in the next two years will be a bonus for Blue Jay fans as he will only be flirting with his peak years. We have something special here a player more prepared than most at his age, still young for a prospect and we are already expecting great things from him before his most beneficial years.
G.
First and foremost lets look at Snider's Major League career so far. He played his first game in a Blue Jays uniform 3 years ago. He was a September call up in 2008 and played 24 games. He batted .301 while compiling 2 hr and 13 rbi. The next year he was hindered by injury, while playing in 77 games he batted .241 with 9 hr 29 rbi. Not a great year although I would argue that his lack of production was a direct result of his injury. Now here is where things get a little interesting, 2010 was another year where injuries hurt Snider's production. Another problem here was a wonderful manager who decided that Snider should be batting lead off. . . Yes the prospective Home Run king would bat lead off. I generally like Cito in most regards but that decision still gives me nightmares. Snider was still able to compile 14 hr 32 rbi (6 sb - lead off material?) while batting .255. Generally 3 years into their career it is expected that a prospect begins to consistently show signs of his potential, however Snider's situation isn't that of a regular prospect. Most prospects spend 3 or more years in the minors before making it to the show, but Snider spent those 3 years IN the major leagues. So right off the bat we can understand that Snider's 3 years in the majors and his journey to the majors is different than most prospects; very few players rocket themselves to the major league level at 20 years of age. He is only 23 years old, most prospects don't even think about the majors until after their 23rd of 24th birthday!
Snider was drafted 14th overall in 2006 among current MLB players as Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Drew Stubbs, Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek. Other than Longoria, Stubbs and Lincecum all of the above prospects have had their struggles (that is without mentioning the other 11 players picked before Snider who have yet to truly impact their team; i.e. first overall pick Luke Hochevar). There is an outlier here though that needs to be mentioned and that is age. Lincecum & Stubbs are 4 years older than Snider, Longoria 3 years older. Current Toronto prospects Morrow (4 years) and Drabek (1 year) are still older than Snider. Clayton Kershaw is the only player in the aforementioned group that is the same age as Snider and he has shared his mix of trouble and success. To say that Snider's time is up is ridiculous because Travis was drafted as a youth with an unbelievably high ceiling and in some regards is way ahead of his draft class. Snider's potential made him a viable pick among All-Star caliber players even though he was 3-4 years younger than them, which means that he will take 3 - 4 years to reach where they were (mentally, physically and with consistency) when they were drafted.
My point here is that players who have impacted their franchise at the major league level - Longoria, Stubbs, Lincecum - were about 3+ years older than Snider. Snider is now going into his 4th tour at the major league level, equivalent to the age difference between him and those in his draft class. In those 3 years Snider has been given major league level teachings, workouts and experience, which I argue puts him above those in his draft class because by age 23 none of the aforementioned impact players had any major league experience. The numbers are in accordance with my belief that 2011 will be Travis Snider’s break-out year. His potential is there, the timeline is right and in the event that he doesn’t turn heads and break Bautista’s 54 hr record, lets be honest he is just starting out as a properly aged and physically ready prospect and any success he has in the next two years will be a bonus for Blue Jay fans as he will only be flirting with his peak years. We have something special here a player more prepared than most at his age, still young for a prospect and we are already expecting great things from him before his most beneficial years.
G.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Layin' down the Law-rie
Hello everyone. . . or anyone.
As an avid Toronto Blue Jays fan I have decided to join the world of internet-know-it-all's and spout my barely educated but rather passionate opinion about my favourite baseball team.
This year is full of promise and unlike every other Toronto based team, there is an understanding that even if we do not win it all this year (which in all reality is hard to fathom) we have hope to be a playoff contender next year and for many years to come.
For most teams spring training has been about thinning the herd. Give the prospects a chance or two but eventually give the major league players every opportunity to work on their craft. For the Blue Jays it has been a completely different story. Players like Travs D'Arnaud, Eric Thames, Brett Lawrie, Adeiny Hechevarria, Anthony Gose among others have given John Farrell a lot to think about. Among these prospects one in particular has given me reason to believe he can and should break camp with the big league team.
Brett Lawrie. He has been a force at every minor league level and has been in beastmode ever since entering camp. Through 21 at-bats Lawrie has garnered 2 home runs 1 double 5 rbi's 1.123 OPS and a .381 AVG. Now before I get too ahead of myself let me remind you (and myself) that this is just spring training and a small sample size. There are lot of variables to take into account while assessing the value of his offensive merits. However, considering the Blue Jays projected line-up there is a lot of room for a player like Lawrie. First we must look at the situation AA has given the Jays. He has removed the looming cloud that was the Vernon Wells contract, removed spare-part veterans (Overbay, Buck) to allow prospective talents a regular role on the major league stage and he has beefed up our prospect depth, thus improving our organizational depth. What this has allowed is an equal opportunity for upcoming players as well as encouragement and confidence for the players AA has referred to as the core going forward. There are very few players in camp this year that will not factor into the future of the Jays; Scott Podsednik, Corey Patterson, Juan Rivera. As far as I am concerned these players should be used to fill wholes but NOT as a speed bump or road block for players who are ready. As was the case with John Buck, when Arencibia was deemed ready it made no sense to resign Buck - eventually we must take risks and give chances to the prospects we have so highly touted. I feel the same situation has presented itself for Lawrie. Right now Jose Bautista will be the 3rd baseman for the 2011 season and the only player in Brett Lawrie’s way. The only reason Bautista is the 3rd baseman for 2011 is because other than E5 there are no other options, so lets look at the players Bautista would replace in the outfield. Most likely Juan Rivera. By deducing the reasoning for the Blue Jays defensive positioning it becomes clear that it is not Bautista blocking Lawrie's road to the Big Leagues but it is Lawries ability to play third. Can Lawrie play third? All signs point to yes. The news from Florida suggests that Lawrie has caught on quick. His arm strength is not an issue, he has been making acrobatic plays and seems to be comfortable reading the ball off the bat. Butterfield has stated that although his progress is very promising he still has some footwork to work on. All things considered we can't expect the next Scott Rolen but we definitely won't have another E5 on our hands. So the question comes to this - Since Lawrie's bat and glove have performed above expectation and in most regards at the level of a major leaguer, is Juan Rivera more important than Lawrie to break camp with an everyday position? NO! There is no way you can argue that Rivera is worth stunting Lawries growth. It wont surprise me though if he starts the year in AAA because then they can call him up without it counting towards his years as a Major Leaguer which helps contractually. But in a year where the Blue Jay's organization has done what was needed to allow their players and their team to move forward I see no reason why Lawrie would hurt the team and I can see many reasons why he will help the team. The potential is exhilarating!
-G
As an avid Toronto Blue Jays fan I have decided to join the world of internet-know-it-all's and spout my barely educated but rather passionate opinion about my favourite baseball team.
This year is full of promise and unlike every other Toronto based team, there is an understanding that even if we do not win it all this year (which in all reality is hard to fathom) we have hope to be a playoff contender next year and for many years to come.
For most teams spring training has been about thinning the herd. Give the prospects a chance or two but eventually give the major league players every opportunity to work on their craft. For the Blue Jays it has been a completely different story. Players like Travs D'Arnaud, Eric Thames, Brett Lawrie, Adeiny Hechevarria, Anthony Gose among others have given John Farrell a lot to think about. Among these prospects one in particular has given me reason to believe he can and should break camp with the big league team.
Brett Lawrie. He has been a force at every minor league level and has been in beastmode ever since entering camp. Through 21 at-bats Lawrie has garnered 2 home runs 1 double 5 rbi's 1.123 OPS and a .381 AVG. Now before I get too ahead of myself let me remind you (and myself) that this is just spring training and a small sample size. There are lot of variables to take into account while assessing the value of his offensive merits. However, considering the Blue Jays projected line-up there is a lot of room for a player like Lawrie. First we must look at the situation AA has given the Jays. He has removed the looming cloud that was the Vernon Wells contract, removed spare-part veterans (Overbay, Buck) to allow prospective talents a regular role on the major league stage and he has beefed up our prospect depth, thus improving our organizational depth. What this has allowed is an equal opportunity for upcoming players as well as encouragement and confidence for the players AA has referred to as the core going forward. There are very few players in camp this year that will not factor into the future of the Jays; Scott Podsednik, Corey Patterson, Juan Rivera. As far as I am concerned these players should be used to fill wholes but NOT as a speed bump or road block for players who are ready. As was the case with John Buck, when Arencibia was deemed ready it made no sense to resign Buck - eventually we must take risks and give chances to the prospects we have so highly touted. I feel the same situation has presented itself for Lawrie. Right now Jose Bautista will be the 3rd baseman for the 2011 season and the only player in Brett Lawrie’s way. The only reason Bautista is the 3rd baseman for 2011 is because other than E5 there are no other options, so lets look at the players Bautista would replace in the outfield. Most likely Juan Rivera. By deducing the reasoning for the Blue Jays defensive positioning it becomes clear that it is not Bautista blocking Lawrie's road to the Big Leagues but it is Lawries ability to play third. Can Lawrie play third? All signs point to yes. The news from Florida suggests that Lawrie has caught on quick. His arm strength is not an issue, he has been making acrobatic plays and seems to be comfortable reading the ball off the bat. Butterfield has stated that although his progress is very promising he still has some footwork to work on. All things considered we can't expect the next Scott Rolen but we definitely won't have another E5 on our hands. So the question comes to this - Since Lawrie's bat and glove have performed above expectation and in most regards at the level of a major leaguer, is Juan Rivera more important than Lawrie to break camp with an everyday position? NO! There is no way you can argue that Rivera is worth stunting Lawries growth. It wont surprise me though if he starts the year in AAA because then they can call him up without it counting towards his years as a Major Leaguer which helps contractually. But in a year where the Blue Jay's organization has done what was needed to allow their players and their team to move forward I see no reason why Lawrie would hurt the team and I can see many reasons why he will help the team. The potential is exhilarating!
-G
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