The 2017 Blue Jay season thread

Ref · Feb 24, 2017

Phil C. McNasty said:
You're hired, you filthy cunt

I have been called a lot of things, but never a cunt...so thanks I appreciate the sentiment.

Some ideas to pass by Gibby (I imagine we will be on more of a first name basis. Perhaps I will call him Johnny. Maybe during the season it will morph to Gibbster, Giblet, or something like that). Anyways on to a couple of early ideas:

* Move Goins to the bullpen. He showed promise until he blew his arm out.
* Make Bautista grow his beard the whole season. Jose develops a 5 o'clock shadow at 1 pm. By late June he will look like Brent Burns.
* Bring back Barry Davis (as a club house towel boy).

On a different note, with baseball coming back I can hardly wait to listen to Pat Hengten on the fan. That guy has the greatest baseball stories.

Phil C. McNasty · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
I had to start my swing as the ball was released at 80 MPH and I was stunned I was so successful in making solid contact. Add 10 MPH (for the slow pitcher, add 20 for the fast ones) and pitches that curve and I would have whiffed everyone. MJ could not do it. Any pitch over 100 is humanly impossible to hit. When pitchers can consistently top 100 in the strike zone then they will have to change the rules

It's not that 100MPH is impossible to hit, it just becomes virtually impossible.

Now picture trying to hit an Aroldis Chapman 105MPH heater, and let's see how well you do.......LOL

shack · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
Agree to a point. The only two dead long ballers he had were EE and JB.

I don't think of Tulo, Martin, Saunders, Smoak and Donaldson as small ball players.

Phil C. McNasty · Feb 25, 2017

Ref said:
I have been called a lot of things, but never a cunt...so thanks I appreciate the sentiment.

Some ideas to pass by Gibby (I imagine we will be on more of a first name basis. Perhaps I will call him Johnny. Maybe during the season it will morph to Gibbster, Giblet, or something like that). Anyways on to a couple of early ideas:

* Move Goins to the bullpen. He showed promise until he blew his arm out.
* Make Bautista grow his beard the whole season. Jose develops a 5 o'clock shadow at 1 pm. By late June he will look like Brent Burns.
* Bring back Barry Davis (as a club house towel boy).

On a different note, with baseball coming back I can hardly wait to listen to Pat Hengten on the fan. That guy has the greatest baseball stories.

I LOL'ed really hard

I like Barry Davis as a towel boy (if his boyfriend will allow it)

Insidious Von · Feb 25, 2017

Rogers wanted Hazel Mae to be the field reporter. With the fantastic interviews she's done (most notably with the adorable Barry Bonds), she's earned it.

And speaking of adorable, no one beats A-Roid. He's getting paid $21 million to tell current players they're not him.

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

Phil C. McNasty said:
It's not that 100MPH is impossible to hit, it just becomes virtually impossible.

Now picture trying to hit an Aroldis Chapman 105MPH heater, and let's see how well you do.......LOL

swing before ball is released and pray?

Phil C. McNasty · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
swing before ball is released and pray?

When it comes at you at 90MPH praying aint gonna help. You're actually gonna thank God you got away from the damn ball, and you got out of batters box alive......LOL.

I dont even wanna think what 95mph, 100mph or (god forbid) 105mph looks like.

*looking at you Aroldis Chapman*

:behindsofa:

Phil C. McNasty · Feb 25, 2017

LOL

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

Phil C. McNasty said:
When it comes at you at 90MPH praying aint gonna help. You're actually gonna thank God you got away from the damn ball, and you got out of batters box alive......LOL.

I dont even wanna think what 95mph, 100mph or (god forbid) 105mph looks like.

*looking at you Aroldis Chapman*

:behindsofa:

And not only do they not bail they lean over the plate. When I played ball, I would ask the practice pitcher to throw at me and I would allow pitch to hit me to break the instinct to bail, but at 100 mph I would be out of there

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

shack said:
I don't think of Tulo, Martin, Saunders, Smoak and Donaldson as small ball players.

The coach has to turn them into short ballers when the situation requires it. Gibby did not do this. A great long baller like EE I can understand not taking the bat out of his hands

I would like to hear what Gibby has to say before passing judgement on him but I have certainly heard commentators , esp Buck Martinez , say the Jays need to learn smallball, and I consider him quite knowledgeable . He in the baseball version of Don Cherry. He even wears colourful suits

Travis, and now Morales, are short ballers when the situation requires it. If Travis remains healthy he may become an all star

Dawgger · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
The coach has to turn them into short ballers when the situation requires it. Gibby did not do this. A great long baller like EE I can understand not taking the bat out of his hands

Lucy you got some splaining to do! How do you turn these aging veterans into "short ballers"? Add Morales to the list, if he had the speed to play a position he would not be locked in at DH!

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

Dawgger said:
Lucy you got some splaining to do! How do you turn these aging veterans into "short ballers"? Add Morales to the list, if he had the speed to play a position he would not be locked in at DH!

Lack of speed disquaifys someone from playing short ball? Do you understand WTF small ball is? It is more than stealing a base.

A pro hitter cannot learn the bat control of situational short ball ? That is what spring training is for. Open stance and shorten swing

Buck Martinez says the Jays need to learn smallball, and I consider him quite knowledgeable, you on the other hand ..... .

Phil C. McNasty · Feb 25, 2017

Dawgger said:
Lucy you got some splaining to do! How do you turn these aging veterans into "short ballers"? Add Morales to the list, if he had the speed to play a position he would not be locked in at DH!

He has a point though, Jays need to hit opposite field more, and perhaps a bit of small-ball here and there couldnt hurt either

shack · Feb 25, 2017

Dawgger said:
Lucy you got some splaining to do! How do you turn these aging veterans into "short ballers"? Add Morales to the list, if he had the speed to play a position he would not be locked in at DH!

Agree. As well, for SMALL ball to work the speed already needs to be on the bases, those are the guys that will be coming around to score. How many fast players with good on base percentage do they have? A guy like Revere or Rajai Davis were like that. Right now, the guys they have with speed cannot get on, that is Upton, Pompey, Goins. It seems counterintuitive to teach/coach a team to play small ball when the guys with speed can't hit and they strike out way more than they walk.

Not only does the team not have the kind of roster that can play small ball, the park itself is homer friendly. Those teams in the AL West play in huge ballparks and have to construct their team differently to take advantage of it. The Jays are built to take advantage of where they play half their games. Actually, it is way more than half because of another 9 or 10 games each at Fenway, Yankee stadium and Camden yards, all also very homer friendly.

Sorry, this emphasis on small ball makes no sense for this team at this time. Sure, there are times it would come in handy but no team can be built to capitalize on every single situation. The long ball suits this team at this time.

gcostanza · Feb 25, 2017

shack said:
Agree. As well, for SMALL ball to work the speed already needs to be on the bases, those are the guys that will be coming around to score. How many fast players with good on base percentage do they have? A guy like Revere or Rajai Davis were like that. Right now, the guys they have with speed cannot get on, that is Upton, Pompey, Goins. It seems counterintuitive to teach/coach a team to play small ball when the guys with speed can't hit and they strike out way more than they walk.

Not only does the team not have the kind of roster that can play small ball, the park itself is homer friendly. Those teams in the AL West play in huge ballparks and have to construct their team differently to take advantage of it. The Jays are built to take advantage of where they play half their games. Actually, it is way more than half because of another 9 or 10 games each at Fenway, Yankee stadium and Camden yards, all also very homer friendly.

Sorry, this emphasis on small ball makes no sense for this team at this time. Sure, there are times it would come in handy but no team can be built to capitalize on every single situation. The long ball suits this team at this time.

This ^^^^

Furthermore, if a team wants to score 1 run in an inning, small ball tends to work better.
If a team wishes to put up a crooked number, long ball is the way to go.

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

shack said:
Agree. As well, for SMALL ball to work the speed already needs to be on the bases, those are the guys that will be coming around to score. How many fast players with good on base percentage do they have? A guy like Revere or Rajai Davis were like that. Right now, the guys they have with speed cannot get on, that is Upton, Pompey, Goins. It seems counterintuitive to teach/coach a team to play small ball when the guys with speed can't hit and they strike out way more than they walk.

Not only does the team not have the kind of roster that can play small ball, the park itself is homer friendly. Those teams in the AL West play in huge ballparks and have to construct their team differently to take advantage of it. The Jays are built to take advantage of where they play half their games. Actually, it is way more than half because of another 9 or 10 games each at Fenway, Yankee stadium and Camden yards, all also very homer friendly.

Sorry, this emphasis on small ball makes no sense for this team at this time. Sure, there are times it would come in handy but no team can be built to capitalize on every single situation. The long ball suits this team at this time.

Thoughtful response but, I am not suggesting total alteration of team offensive play for reasons you state but, as you also state, small ball is needed at times and it does not seem that difficult to learn. We have too many strikeout kings? It seems to me small ball creates more contact - shorten swing and open stance. They are just gonna strikeout anyways

Not enough speed on base? Put Pompey on when pinch runner needed. He is one of the best runners in baseball

While I may be wrong of course, Buck Martinez agrees with me so my opinion is not naive.

I wonder what Gibby would say?

shack · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
Thoughtful response but, I am not suggesting total alteration of team offensive play for reasons you state but, as you also state, small ball is needed at times and it does not seem that difficult to learn. We have too many strikeout kings? It seems to me small ball creates more contact - shorten swing and open stance. They are just gonna strikeout anyways

Not enough speed on base? Put Pompey on when pinch runner needed. He is one of the best runners in baseball

While I may be wrong of course, Buck Martinez agrees with me so my opinion is not naive.

I think we mostly agree, but as I said, it is tough to have a team that is built to win in every type of situation.

261252 said:
I wonder what Gibby would say?

"Aw shucks. These guys are pros. They know what they need to do."

261252 · Feb 25, 2017

shack said:
I think we mostly agree, but as I said, it is tough to have a team that is built to win in every type of situation.

That may be the reason IE it is difficult to have players learn how to play small ball only on occasion. They are either a small ball player , like most of KC line up was when they won the WS, or they are not.

The reason why it is so difficult escapes me, perhaps the skills would not be sharp enough. IE hitting behind the hitter is a skill that has to remain sharp.

But with Morales and Travis in lineup and EE gone we should see some more small ball and this may make the team more fun to watch.

A 5-4 win is better than a 10-2 win because it is a nail biter and involves more strategy.

shack said:
"Aw shucks. These guys are pros. They know what they need to do."

That is how I feel about him. Nice guy but I never thought his answers to the press after games was particularly insightful and that is the reason I question him as a manager. I learn more from Buck Martinez then Gibby

shack · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
That is how I feel about him. Nice guy but I never thought his answers to the press after games was particularly insightful and that is the reason I question him as a manager. I learn more from Buck Martinez then Gibby

And I think that is why he is underrated as a manager. He comes off as an "aw shucks" kind of guy but I think there is more substance to him than what he projects. He is a baseball lifer, in the brotherhood of catchers who become managers because that position learns the game the best, and he unquestionably has the respect of his players because he treats them like men and I think they play hard for him as a result. Even guys like Hillebrand and others that he has butted heads with later praise him.

Regardless of his answers to the media we do not see what goes on in the clubhouse, in the one on ones with players and what he stresses to them, the discussions with his staff and analysing stats of the opposition to determine the lineups, or the discussions that go on on the bench in real time. There is so much we do not have access to.

I think the old saying is appropriate, the manager gets too much praise when they win and too much blame when they lose. Is it Perry who may challenge me here?

Ref · Feb 25, 2017

261252 said:
That is how I feel about him. Nice guy but I never thought his answers to the press after games was particularly insightful and that is the reason I question him as a manager. I learn more from Buck Martinez then Gibby

I like Gibby and think he is a great baseball manager. He is a players manager and I get a sense that the players respect him and want to play hard for him.

In this day and age of big money and even bigger egos, the role of the manager has changed as they need to manage those personalities more than the role asked for in the past.

Long ball vs. small ball - As mentioned, most organizations build their team around their park and Skydome is a home run hitters park. Hopefully the batters have a little more timely hitting this year as opposed to 2016. In 2015 where they led the world in homeruns and runs scored, they got a lot of timely hitting and avoided group slumps.

It is great to say you want innings with crooked numbers, but you will need to have guys who can hit or force a walk to get on base for the big bats.

I think that 2017 will be a more consistent year in terms of hitting. Last year they were had that horrible start and finish to the season with the bats.

The 2017 Blue Jay season thread

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