Blue Jays Discussion: Thank you, Gibby!

[The Nemesis]

And .244 the year prior to that. He's pretty consistent, and honest about what he brings to the table. Dingers, strikeouts, and not great defense....but those dingerz tho. Good for the A's for identifying an asset, in his prime, somewhat undervalued because of some obvious flaws, but remarkably productive when given a full year of playing time.

It's almost like they have a designed strategy in place to do that sort of thing. All it needs now is a catchy name. Something like "Moneyball" but not specifically about drafting college players over high schoolers and not stealing bases.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Might mean no Wedge or Hale as considerations.

McDonald has no managerial experience, but I can see him becoming a really good one.

 

[Kurtz]

Man, seeing Garcia pitching in the pivotal late innings for the Cubs right now is pretty surreal.

 

[Woodman19]

McDonald has no managerial experience, but I can see him becoming a really good one.

Why?

 

[phillipmike]

Man, seeing Garcia pitching in the pivotal late innings for the Cubs right now is pretty surreal.

Jesse Chavez pitched in the 6th inning for the Cubs if im not mistaken. Man the Cubs pen had to be bad if they were relying on guys like Chavez and Garcia. Also had former Jays Morrow, Granderson, and Kratz (who was in the starting lineup) in that game. Saw some former Jays "names" too in Happ (Ian) and Chacin (Jhoulys).

Oh, Axford, Venditte and Locastro in the Rockies-Dodgers game. Can you imagine if the Rockies win and 3 of the 4 playoff teams were the Rockies, Braves and Brewers? With no Nats, and one of the Dodgers and Cubs losing in the wildcard game. AL was pretty predictable with the Red Sox, Astros, Yankees and Indians but the NL was all over the place.

 

[The Nemesis]

From the "exit interviews" piece on Sportsnet:

Yangervis Solarte:

Personally, I think I had a good season.

Ummm... ok?

 

[BertCorbeau]

Might mean no Wedge or Hale as considerations.

I'm down with the Clapp

... Wait that doesn't sound right

 

[hockeywiz542]

Blue Jays in familiar spot with managerial opening - Sportsnet.ca

As much as there is chatter that contact has already been made through back channels with current MLB Network broadcaster Sean Casey about a job with the Blue Jays – no one’s clear whether it’s to manage or coach – that would seem to be a bit of a bold gamble for a guy with a GM’s resume such as Atkins, who is in many ways still cutting his teeth in the role. I mean, it’s one thing for Brian Cashman to reach into the broadcast booth for Aaron Boone, another for Atkins.

My sense is the new man will have MLB playing and coaching experience. He will need to be more than simply open to analytics; he will need to embrace them. You will see Blue Jays outfielders with index cards for positioning; you will see catchers wearing wristbands with more complicated signs and you will see infield drills become a regular staple in-season: not simply something to do between swings in the cage. Being able to speak Spanish is, I think, a must since the next two years are all going to be about Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and while I buy my Baseball Central co-host Kevin Barker’s opinion that it is the hitting coach who will spend the most time with Guerrero, I think it’s vital that the new guy be attuned to Latino sensibilities. So perhaps hiring a recent player such as Carlos Beltran or Victor Martinez to be on the staff won’t be enough alone.

The guy I’m keeping an eye on is Sandy Alomar Jr., the Cleveland Indians first-base coach and brother of Saint Roberto of Alomar. True, he’s interviewed for several managing jobs in the past without being chosen but he has a comfort level with the guys running things and while I can hear the anti-Cleveland crowd carping, let me ask you this: even if it’s someone else that Atkins and/or president and chief executive officer Mark Shapiro know well from a previous movie, wasn’t comfort level the predominant reason for Alex Anthopoulos choosing Gibbons?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Molitor anyone?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Ex-Files: Checking in on playoff-bound former Blue Jays - Sportsnet.ca

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Molitor anyone?

Given his well documented demons and vices, I find it hard to believe he was hired as a manager by the Twins.

Paul has been out here wildin' consistently for decades.

 

[phillipmike]

Heard Buck on the radio comparing Teoscar to George Bell re: defense and that his bat maybe good enough to play. Looked up that comparison and saw Teoscar is no where near Bell from a hitting perspective even before Bell's "breakout."

That being said i did come across this - not a great comparison but leaves some room for optimism;

Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Also Teoscar has played 160 games (618 PAs) as a Blue Jay;

30 HRs, 77 RBIs, .335 wOBA, 111 wRC+,.246 ISO

So there is something to at least work with. Him and Davis have had similar career paths; limited success in their 1st season, a dip in his 2nd with bad defense. For Davis over the next 4 years his numbers got better as he slowly transitioned into being a DH. Hopefully it works out like this for Teoscar or he learns to play defense.

 

[phillipmike]

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the club hopes to conclude their manager search by the end of the month, adding that the timeline can be expedited if a candidate blows them away.

Atkins said at his year-end availability that there’s a “vast” amount of candidates to replace John Gibbons. They’ve already spoken with a couple and 10-plus will have phone interviews in the next week or so. That will then be narrowed to five-plus for in-person interviews.

Atkins said managerial experience isn’t as important as “experience leading.” An ability to speak Spanish will also factor into the hiring decision but not drive it.

“That person has to be an organizational leader and spokesperson,” he said.

Despite multiple front office voices and a collaborative way of doing things organizationally, Atkins confirmed he will have final say on the decision.

“It’s definitely my hire,” he said, adding that president and CEO Mark Shapiro will become involved with the process later on.

Atkins also said the Jays are open to trades before they have to finalize their 40-man roster prior to the Rule 5 Draft in December.

“We need to turn some of our position player depth into pitching,” Atkins said, adding players with less control are more likely to be available.

The Blue Jays finished at 73-89 to miss the playoffs for the second straight year.

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[phillipmike]

Unrelated but funny;

 

[phillipmike]

Also when discussing the playoff format a few weeks ago - this is my hate for the current format.



I completely agree for this. Its bad enough we have games in March and early April and even worse the playoffs can and now has dragged on longer. More ties may create more madness as some like but as i stated before its pretty idiotic and can lead to some really dumb match ups right before the playoffs. I hope one day we see multiple ties for multiple playoff positions to see how dumb the playoff format is.

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Heard Buck on the radio comparing Teoscar to George Bell re: defense and that his bat maybe good enough to play. Looked up that comparison and saw Teoscar is no where near Bell from a hitting perspective even before Bell's "breakout."

That being said i did come across this - not a great comparison but leaves some room for optimism;

Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Also Teoscar has played 160 games (618 PAs) as a Blue Jay;

30 HRs, 77 RBIs, .335 wOBA, 111 wRC+,.246 ISO

So there is something to at least work with. Him and Davis have had similar career paths; limited success in their 1st season, a dip in his 2nd with bad defense. For Davis over the next 4 years his numbers got better as he slowly transitioned into being a DH. Hopefully it works out like this for Teoscar or he learns to play defense.

Very good comparison.

We talk about him plenty here.

Intelligent and gritty seem like good characteristics.

 

[Eyedea]

We talk about him plenty here.

Yeah but we, like Atkins, are homers. /klaw

Here’s hoping he has that Pompey-an ascendance next season.

 

[phillipmike]

Liam Hendriks your Oakland A's starter for the Wildcard game.

Never thought id say that.

 

[Discoverer]

Also when discussing the playoff format a few weeks ago - this is my hate for the current format.



I completely agree for this. Its bad enough we have games in March and early April and even worse the playoffs can and now has dragged on longer. More ties may create more madness as some like but as i stated before its pretty idiotic and can lead to some really dumb match ups right before the playoffs. I hope one day we see multiple ties for multiple playoff positions to see how dumb the playoff format is.

I'm guessing either you made a typo or you thought Stark was being sarcastic when he's being completely genuine. He's not making fun of the current system - like most people, he actually finds it exciting.

I hope one day we see multiple ties because it would be crazy and exciting, not to show how "dumb" it is. Among baseball fans, both hardcore and casual, I suspect you're vastly outnumbered on this.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Blue Jays GM Atkins on off-season trades: 'We have to be open' - Sportsnet.ca

The Blue Jays aren’t as deep in controllable pitching, however, and that discrepancy will shape trade talks in the coming year.

“We need to turn some of our position player depth into pitching,” Atkins said. “That doesn’t mean that we won’t trade from our young core or guys that haven’t even gotten to the major-leagues. We have to be open.”

One consideration in trades will be the November deadline for protecting eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft. Now that the likes of Hector Perez, Patrick Murphy, Jacob Waguespack and Max Pentecost are all Rule 5-eligible, the Blue Jays have a lot of prospects to protect on the 40-man roster. At this point, Atkins expects to lose a player or two in the draft.

“And that’s a very good feeling to have to have that amount of talent and not enough spots to protect it,” he said.

Alternatively, the Blue Jays could trade a Rule 5-eligible player to a team with more room on its roster.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I wish the AL Wild Card game was tonight. I am more interested in the AL side.

 

[aingefan]

Heard Buck on the radio comparing Teoscar to George Bell re: defense and that his bat maybe good enough to play. Looked up that comparison and saw Teoscar is no where near Bell from a hitting perspective even before Bell's "breakout."

That being said i did come across this - not a great comparison but leaves some room for optimism;

Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Also Teoscar has played 160 games (618 PAs) as a Blue Jay;

30 HRs, 77 RBIs, .335 wOBA, 111 wRC+,.246 ISO

So there is something to at least work with. Him and Davis have had similar career paths; limited success in their 1st season, a dip in his 2nd with bad defense. For Davis over the next 4 years his numbers got better as he slowly transitioned into being a DH. Hopefully it works out like this for Teoscar or he learns to play defense.

Ahhhh....George Bell.
Relying on my memory is a bad thing....but, that guy was the king of the 15 pitch at-bat.

 

[phillipmike]

I'm guessing either you made a typo or you thought Stark was being sarcastic when he's being completely genuine. He's not making fun of the current system - like most people, he actually finds it exciting.

I hope one day we see multiple ties because it would be crazy and exciting, not to show how "dumb" it is. Among baseball fans, both hardcore and casual, I suspect you're vastly outnumbered on this.

i knew you would respond. We had this exact same discussion last season.

No it’s very very dumb. Idiotic in fact.

Also what makes you suspect that I am VASTLY (remember your chosed the word VASTLY) outnumbered? Other than you disagree with me?