Blue Jays Discussion: Blue Jays Showing Their Best Maple Leaf Impression

[p.l.f.]

KC needs to start losing

 

[canucksfan]

KC needs to start losing

Not necessarily. I'm still not sold on the tigers.

 

[ACC1224]

Your comment is the perfect example of a casual fan. Yeah 2 games out of a WC spot means we're not playing meaningful games. Right!

I'm on board, traded 4 Leaf tix for 4 Jays tix against Tampa in September.
First time I have ever gone out of pocket to see a game. Hopefully they are still meaningful by then, if not kids will have fun, they've never been.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Ha, so much for the Tigers dominant rotation. It took, what? 2 weeks to fall apart?

 

[RayzorIsDull]

Ha, so much for the Tigers dominant rotation. It took, what? 2 weeks to fall apart?

It's probably a good thing they got Price because with Scherzer and Porcello they can still hang in that division.

 

[Jaysfanatic*]

Ha, so much for the Tigers dominant rotation. It took, what? 2 weeks to fall apart?

Let's not laugh too much. They're a team that can rattle off 10 in a row no problem. A slump is just that.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

True...but what about the five losses by two runs or less during the month in which both players were out of the lineup? Not unreasonable to assume that their level of production vs. their respective replacements could have caused different outcomes. If you're 4 and 1 in those games rather than 0 and 5, then you're looking at a 67 and 53 team.

That's a whole other can of worms though. It gets messy looking back and playing the shoulda, coulda, woulda game. I prefer to look forward to fielding a semi-regular lineup again.

I guess that depends on what those other teams were missing in the lineup. You can't look at things with blinders on(not saying you are). Yes it will be good to have Encarnacion and Lind back, of course Lind is strictly a platoon guy hitting against RHP. For example the Jays play the Sox for 3 coming up Lind is likely only to play 1 of those games with Sale and Danks pitching. After that 2 in Milwaukee you may not see Lind much either with no DH.

 

[ShameOnYouZidlicky]

So will Lind be playing tonight? Other than Bautista, Melky and Navarro our lineup looked horrid last night.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

I guess that depends on what those other teams were missing in the lineup. You can't look at things with blinders on(not saying you are). Yes it will be good to have Encarnacion and Lind back, of course Lind is strictly a platoon guy hitting against RHP. For example the Jays play the Sox for 3 coming up Lind is likely only to play 1 of those games with Sale and Danks pitching. After that 2 in Milwaukee you may not see Lind much either with no DH.

Absolutely, you must consider the injuries of others, which makes the whole process of retrospectively quantifying results when it comes to baseball unreliable.

That being said, I can't seem to think of any of the teams that are currently within arms reach of the playoffs missing the middle of their lineup for a full month.

As for Lind, he is indeed a platoon bat; however, he is the best platoon bat vs. RHP in the league this year (.435 wOBA\179 wRC+). When not used against LHP, several others who function far better against left handers will be (Valencia **.390 wOBA\150 wRC+}, Reimold **.341 wOBA\114 wRC+}, or even Tolleson **.400 wOBA\155 wRC+}). The lineup actually sets up quite well when those two are back, and others are utilized properly.

As for the immediate future, I wouldn't get too bogged down with the matchups and how often he'll (Lind specifically) will play. I'd rather look at what he'll provide both quantitatively and qualitatively over the last 42 games.

 

[Tyler Biggs*]

You are very much in this Jays and you have a nation behind you cheering you on!

 

[dredeye]

True...but what about the five losses by two runs or less during the month in which both players were out of the lineup? Not unreasonable to assume that their level of production vs. their respective replacements could have caused different outcomes. If you're 4 and 1 in those games rather than 0 and 5, then you're looking at a 67 and 53 team.

That's a whole other can of worms though. It gets messy looking back and playing the shoulda, coulda, woulda game. I prefer to look forward to fielding a semi-regular lineup again.

Yeah not having either corner infielder for such a long stretch when the biggest bat is one of them really hurts. The fact that the jays have hung around is very much a positive and the rotation gets a lot of credit for that. Those three bats out of the lineup are impossible to replace from within and Lawrie's d at 3rd has been sorely missed.

 

[canucksfan]

Let's not laugh too much. They're a team that can rattle off 10 in a row no problem. A slump is just that.

With the current rotation I am not sure about that. They have Porcello, Price and Scherzer. The other two starters will be duds. They have some guy starting tomorrow that hasn't pitched above A ball.

Soria was one of their better BP guys and he is injured. I think they still make the playoffs but it won't be easy for them.

 

[theaub]

Interesting article on the Cubs rebuilding strategy, which is pretty much the exact opposite from AA who focuses on pitching/tools in the draft

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/c...epstein-javier-baez-kris-bryant-jake-arrieta/

 

[Canada4Gold]

That was like the Sox at the deadline who wanted good positional players, and that they could always go out and buy/sign pitching.

AA has pretty much always been using pitching as his currency. Draft a ******** of pitchers, with a select few of those actually expected to come through the entire system to the Jays while a lot of the others can be used as trade chips to get good positional players.

I guess you couldn't have it with everyone doing the same thing. Not everyone can have all good pitching, the good positional players have to be somewhere, and you can't trade pitching for good positional players if everyone around you doesn't want to trade good positional players for pitching.

 

[Jaysfanatic*]

His draft classes are starting to work out now. Stroman, Sanchez, Norris are all picks from the AA classes. People on him for his drafting were shortsighted fools. You need at least three years to get a good player from a draft.

I like the strategy of having arms, and then dealing them for hitters. Look, Lester turned into Cespedes. It's certainly possible. There needs to be more baseball trades. Not rentals for young players, but good player for good player deals. It's high time.

 

[canucksfan]

There is nothing wrong with either the Cubs or Jays strategy. Both of them could be successful.

 

[Eyedea]

Interesting article on the Cubs rebuilding strategy, which is pretty much the exact opposite from AA who focuses on pitching/tools in the draft

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/c...epstein-javier-baez-kris-bryant-jake-arrieta/

To be fair it seems like they could acquire a ****** pitcher and turn them good, while the Jays could just as easily acquire a ****** bat and turn them good. The ballparks and division likely change a GMs drafting strategy.

In any case both of them set up the team with cheap, controllable players in order to help spend money on holes. They just potentially have different holes to fill.

 

[theaub]

For the record, wasn't saying that one way was better than the other, just that the two teams seem to use the completely opposite approach while employing the same basic theories.

 

[canucksfan]

The Jays three best hitters were acquired by giving up very little.

Melky was a FA but didn't sign for very much.

 

[TootooTrain]

It's not like it should be a surprise to anyone, but Wagner has an appointment with Dr. Andrews. Shame. He was looking like a real diamond in the rough for us.

Edit: Confirmed TJ surgery needed. Damn.

 

[King Mapes]

Lind and EE aren't worth 3 extra wins each, they're 6 games out of 1st place.

What the hell are you talking about? We're 2 games behind the Tigers..

 

[hoglund]

Your comment is the perfect example of a casual fan. Yeah 2 games out of a WC spot means we're not playing meaningful games. Right!

exactly

 

[dredeye]

So will Lind be playing tonight? Other than Bautista, Melky and Navarro our lineup looked horrid last night.

Lind is suppose to be in the lineup tonight

 

[habamillions]

o's/nyy rained out.
tigers and pirates on sportsnet one

 

[FifthLine]

Yup. Lind back in. Reyes also, good looking line up tn.