Blue Jays 2021

[onomatopoeia]

In 1977, Mike Schmidt signed a contract with the Phillies which paid him $561,500 per year (equivalent to $2,398,015 in 2020), making him the highest-paid player in baseball history to that point and the first to surpass $500,000 annually. (Wikipedia).


This chart is the average salary for players in different men's team sports, in US$ Millions:



At $90K, the CFL is only 27.3 % of the J-League - that's the Japan Professional Football League. NPB is Japanese baseball, SPFL is Scottish Premier League soccer, AFL is Aussie Rules Football.

IPL is the Indian Premier League, a T20 Cricket tournament in which each of the eight teams plays one home and one road match against each of the other teams, with a maximum of two additional playoff games per team. T20 Cricket games last about two and a half hours, with each team attempting to score the most runs from 120 deliveries, (20 overs at 6 balls per over). Per game, the average IPL salary is three times higher than the NBA.

T20 Cricket draws huge crowds, which is not the case for Test Cricket. I've seen video of some recent, (pre COVID), Test matches where there were under 100 spectators. The sport is huge for gambling in the Indian subcontinent, where punters wager on all aspects of the game, including the result of each individual delivery.

Possible results of one delivery: No run, (dot ball), 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 runs, (4 and six are 'boundaries; 3 is uncommon. The players don't have to run if they hit a boundary), leg bye, (the ball hit some part of the batsman other than his bat or gloves, and the partnership ran 22 meters between ends one or more times), bye, (like a wild pitch or passed ball in baseball, with the partners running), wide delivery, no-ball, (usually when the bowler is too close when he plants his foot before delivering, or the ball is too high when it arrives. The ball doesn't have to be bounced), wicket taken, (and who and how), run out, retired hurt. They can also bet on who gets whom out, and how it was done. Some of the gamblers even bet on which side will win.

Major League Baseball player contracts by team

Blue Jays contracts

Most of the Jays' roster is not yet signed for 2022, as they are either eligible for salary arbitration, or not. The pre-arbitration players have no leverage; they have to accept whatever the team offers, or sit out.

 

[onomatopoeia]

I'm not fan of the Gausman signing. I know the Jays have had a hard on for him for a few seasons now but I see a guy who's been thoroughly unspectacular for most of his career. I remember the countless times the Jays beat the snot out of him when he was with Baltimore.

From Wikipedia:

"According to Statcast, Gausman currently throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball at 92–98 miles per hour (148–158 km/h), a splitter at 82–86 miles per hour (132–138 km/h), a slider at 80–86 miles per hour (129–138 km/h), and a changeup at 84–88 miles per hour (135–142 km/h).

In 2020, he increased the average velocity and spin rate (as compared to 2019) on his four-seam fastball by simply bending his right leg, while tucking the front foot at the level of the back leg's knee."

Perhaps he just needed a better pitching coach?


His splitter is nasty, but pitchers who rely on it have had a history of arm trouble, most notably Bruce Sutter, who was lights out as a Chicago Cub, and well below average after he signed a big free agent contract with the Atlanta Braves. The splitter was also Fernando Valenzuela's out pitch when he was dominant early in his career, (he also threw at lot of screwballs).

 

[unassuming]

Trying to be optimistic here:

If by some miracle that "The Pants" re-signs and Ryu can regain his form, Jays will have some kind of formidable starting rotation.
Ray
Manoah
Berrios
Gausman
Ryu

If Ryu is truly finished, Ross Stripling wil be the solid 5th starter.

 

[blueray]

I like the Gausman signing…we’re not getting Ray back. If we can bring back Gibby we’ll be all set for a run at the WS.

 

[shack]

A source is usually acknowledged, unless you composed this yourself.

1. "Contract Prediction: Five years, $120 million
   After struggling to a 6.19 ERA in 16 starts with the Atlanta Braves in 2019 before closing out the year in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen, Kevin Gausman turned a flier contract from the San Francisco Giants in 2020 into a qualifying offer last offseason.
   The 30-year-old accepted the one-year, $18.9 million deal, banking on his stock continuing to climb over a full season, and he wound up being one of the best pitchers in baseball and the ace of the first-place Giants staff.
   He finished 14-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 227 strikeouts in 192 innings, and while he stumbled a bit after the All-Star break, a strong September should help erase any concerns that his stellar first half was a fluke.
   There is always risk in paying for a player's career year, but the development of his splitter into one of baseball's most lethal putaway pitches over the past two seasons has helped take his game to another level, and that makes it easier to buy into the idea of his continued success.

P.S. The above is in quotation marks which means I did not compose it myself. Yes, it is a cut and paste.

As you can see, there is no ambiguity with a properly referenced source, like this. It has the source and quotation marks.

From Wikipedia:

"According to Statcast, Gausman currently throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball at 92–98 miles per hour (148–158 km/h), a splitter at 82–86 miles per hour (132–138 km/h), a slider at 80–86 miles per hour (129–138 km/h), and a changeup at 84–88 miles per hour (135–142 km/h).

In 2020, he increased the average velocity and spin rate (as compared to 2019) on his four-seam fastball by simply bending his right leg, while tucking the front foot at the level of the back leg's knee."

 

[mandrill]

Trying to be optimistic here:
If by some miracle that "The Pants" re-signs and Ryu can regain his form, Jays will have some kind of formidable starting rotation.
Ray
Manoah
Berrios
Gausman
Ryu
If Ryu is truly finished, Ross Stripling wil be the solid 5th starter.

Isn't the Gausman signing an admission that the Jays thought they couldn't sign Ray and they then scrambled to get the best front end starter they could and then wrote Ray off?

 

[Toronto Passions]

Guess I won’t wear my Semien jersey to a Toronto Passions incall...

Lmao: no but if you want to wear Dave Stieb jersey, even though currently Teoscar Hernandez wears number 37, you will be welcomed with open arms.

Philip

 

[unassuming]

Isn't the Gausman signing an admission that the Jays thought they couldn't sign Ray and they then scrambled to get the best front end starter they could and then wrote Ray off?

Ya, that's why I said "miracle"

If Ray is definitely gone, hopefully Pearson can find the strike zone, in 2022.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

I'm not fan of the Gausman signing. I know the Jays have had a hard on for him for a few seasons now but I see a guy who's been thoroughly unspectacular for most of his career. I remember the countless times the Jays beat the snot out of him when he was with Baltimore

Gausman is certainly a bit risky. He turns 31 in January, so he'll be 36 when his contract runs out.
That puts him in the same category as Ryu, who may or may not be washed up.

I would still prefer if FO signed Ray.
Yes he might not repeat 2021 but he could still be a top 10 MLB pitcher for next few years

 

[onomatopoeia]

Lmao: no but if you want to wear Dave Stieb jersey, even though currently Teoscar Hernandez wears number 37, you will be welcomed with open arms.

Philip

Philip, if you ever meet Dave Steib, (or see him again), please ask him if his uniform number has anything to do with the movie Cool Hand Luke - Luke was #37 in the roll call. If there's a connection, it will likely impress him that someone picked up on that. I don't know if anyone has ever posted about that somewhere.

The Jays will get an excellent draft pick as compensation for the loss of Semiem. He'll be untradeable in at least the last couple of years of that contract. The Jays have enough offense without him

 

[Toronto Passions]

Philip, if you ever meet Dave Steib, (or see him again), please ask him if his uniform number has anything to do with the movie Cool Hand Luke - Luke was #37 in the roll call. If there's a connection, it will likely impress him that someone picked up on that. I don't know if anyone has ever posted about that somewhere.

The Jays will get an excellent draft pick as compensation for the loss of Semiem. He'll be untradeable in at least the last couple of years of that contract. The Jays have enough offense without him

I used to think Dave Stieb looked like one of the actors in Monty Python. Apparently back in the Fergie Oliver days, Dave used to smoke a lot of weed.

Philip

 

[mandrill]

Sources: Ray, Mariners finalizing $115M contract

American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and the Mariners are finalizing a five-year, $115 million contract with an opt-out after the third season, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

www.espn.com

 

[Perry Mason]

Does not compute for me...

Blue Jays paid Gausman $110 million for 5 years... and allowed the Cy Young winner to go to the Mariners for 5 years and $115 million?

The Blue Jays are down one notch in the quality department... even though one notch up on the draft pick department...

I'd take known quality over prospect any time... especially now that they are no longer in rebuild mode... and seriously expect to compete...

There has to be more to this...

Perry

 

[Toronto Passions]

I actually attended 2 Robbie Ray starts after September, and I watched the radar clock the whole time. He was 92/93 mph the entire game. Topped out at 95 mph a few times.

Earlier in the season Ray was 96/97 mph most of the entire game. Most of these exercise workout fanatics tend to bulk up on the upper body and lose arm speed (where as guys like Roger Clemens, Roy Haliday and Juan Guzman would focus on just leg muscle building). Randy Myers of the nasty boys of Cincinnati comes to mind when he became a Bluejay. Bulked up too much on the upper body.

Perhaps there is something there that an internal team scouting report noted. Ray seems like a well behaved family man with kids, I can’t imagine him being much of a problem in the clubhouse.

Philip

 

[mandrill]

I actually attended 2 Robbie Ray starts after September, and I watched the radar clock the whole time. He was 92/93 mph the entire game. Topped out at 95 mph a few times.

Earlier in the season Ray was 96/97 mph most of the entire game. Most of these exercise workout fanatics tend to bulk up on the upper body and lose arm speed (where as guys like Roger Clemens, Roy Haliday and Juan Guzman would focus on just leg muscle building). Randy Myers of the nasty boys of Cincinnati comes to mind when he became a Bluejay. Bulked up too much on the upper body.

Perhaps there is something there that an internal team scouting report noted. Ray seems like a well behaved family man with kids, I can’t imagine him being much of a problem in the clubhouse.

Philip

Gausman's stats last year were comparable to RR's.

 

[Indiana]

Ray’s best year is behind him now.

I like where the new Jays are going.

 

[mandrill]

I actually attended 2 Robbie Ray starts after September, and I watched the radar clock the whole time. He was 92/93 mph the entire game. Topped out at 95 mph a few times.

Earlier in the season Ray was 96/97 mph most of the entire game. Most of these exercise workout fanatics tend to bulk up on the upper body and lose arm speed (where as guys like Roger Clemens, Roy Haliday and Juan Guzman would focus on just leg muscle building). Randy Myers of the nasty boys of Cincinnati comes to mind when he became a Bluejay. Bulked up too much on the upper body.
Perhaps there is something there that an internal team scouting report noted. Ray seems like a well behaved family man with kids, I can’t imagine him being much of a problem in the clubhouse.

Philip

I remember what a disaster Myers was. He was purchased for top $ and then each time he went out was nerve-wracking. At first, he was smart enough to pitch out of jams and not (quite) blow the save when his pitch speed fell. But then the batters became smarter than Myers and it got ugly fast.

I always attributed that to aging though.

 

[bemeup]

Robbie Ray’s $115 million is worth more in Seattle because Washington has no state income tax. That may have been a factor in his decision.

 

[Toronto Passions]

I remember what a disaster Myers was. He was purchased for top $ and then each time he went out was nerve-wracking. At first, he was smart enough to pitch out of jams and not (quite) blow the save when his pitch speed fell. But then the batters became smarter than Myers and it got ugly fast.

I always attributed that to aging though.

Randy Myers and Rob Dibble the righty lefty combo of the nasty boys! I used to hear stories about how Randy Myers would go into the workout room after an appearance and pump iron and chest presses all night. Those upper body muscle guys never last long, unless they short arm the ball (Brian Harvey/Troy Perceval/Tim Crabtree/Ken Hill) and not get full extension. but more often than not anybody that “short arms” or twists their arm behind their head like Duane Ward, end up with serious arm injuries.

Philip

 

[shack]

Does not compute for me...

Blue Jays paid Gausman $110 million for 5 years... and allowed the Cy Young winner to go to the Mariners for 5 years and $115 million?

The Blue Jays are down one notch in the quality department... even though one notch up on the draft pick department...

I'd take known quality over prospect any time... especially now that they are no longer in rebuild mode... and seriously expect to compete...

There has to be more to this...

Perry

Ray may suck without Pete Walker.