Blue Jays 2008 Season
- Thread starter salsamarc
- Start date
Esco! said:I had to check my eyes twice, dut damn..... Jays are 4 games over .500
you have to check your eyes twice.....I went to my buddy's computer to make sure I was reading the damn thing right...
this was a game i would have loved to watch
well I don't expect them to score 10+ runs per game but this is a team that is capable of scoring at the very least 5 per game Toronto has good hitters (at least on paper) that have not been living up to their potential...shack said:
Wells has not been what was expected to be, Rios and Hill started great but have been cooling off (but they are both the best defenders I have seen in Toronto since Alomar and maybe Shawn Green....Rios must be leading the outfielders in assists this year), Overbay has been hitting the ball pretty damn good lately, Barajas is not only hitting but he is helping AJ a LOT behind the plate, Rolen has been nothing but a sparkplug since he came off the DL, Scutaro has deliver when the SS were on the DL....
I am still not agreeing with signing Wilkerson and Mench since we really don't need outfielders....I would have prefered that they stuck with Lind for at least 10 more games
An interesting article from Richard Griffin (who usually is a J.P. basher) in yesterday's Star on the bullpen which has been one of the best in the majors.
And I quote "The Jays active bullpen is comprised of five free agents--B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, Armando Benitez, Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp--and two others acquired in trade, Brian Tallet and Jason Frasor. The relief unit has been cobbled together nicely by J.P. Ricciardi and his pro scouts over the past four seasons."
He goes on to say, "It's been a good 'pen--and cost efficient. The combined salaries of the seven relievers add up to just under $18 million with $12 million of that going to the closer, Ryan."
"".... the relievers, as a unit, boasted a 2.90 ERA, third in the major leagues behind the Phillies and Dodgers. They were holding opponents to a .228 average, sixth in the majors. The team total of 21 saves was recorded by four different pitchers and ranked second overall in the majors to the Angels."
Obviously J.P. has had some screw ups but who's perfect? Credit for building an effective and cheap bullpen should be acknowledged, as Richard Griffin has done. Obviously, the pitching staff overall has been impressive. Now that the bats are little by little starting to come around (and there's still room for improvement) a modicum of success is being shown in the standings. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
And I quote "The Jays active bullpen is comprised of five free agents--B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, Armando Benitez, Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp--and two others acquired in trade, Brian Tallet and Jason Frasor. The relief unit has been cobbled together nicely by J.P. Ricciardi and his pro scouts over the past four seasons."
He goes on to say, "It's been a good 'pen--and cost efficient. The combined salaries of the seven relievers add up to just under $18 million with $12 million of that going to the closer, Ryan."
"".... the relievers, as a unit, boasted a 2.90 ERA, third in the major leagues behind the Phillies and Dodgers. They were holding opponents to a .228 average, sixth in the majors. The team total of 21 saves was recorded by four different pitchers and ranked second overall in the majors to the Angels."
Obviously J.P. has had some screw ups but who's perfect? Credit for building an effective and cheap bullpen should be acknowledged, as Richard Griffin has done. Obviously, the pitching staff overall has been impressive. Now that the bats are little by little starting to come around (and there's still room for improvement) a modicum of success is being shown in the standings. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Part of the success of the pen is they are not being overused. Great starting pitching of course has a lot to do with that. Their road record I believe is the best in the east. If they can keep that up then there is reason to be optimistic.
Winning 2 of 3 versus Oakland is a vast improvement on being swept by them at home. Now just 3 games behind TB who have played a lot more home games than other teams in the East, and 2 behind Boston who are playing badly away from home. TB's road record is not nearly as good so I expect other teams including the Jays to catch up as things equalise.
remember that some of the arms in the bullpen are only here because of injuries to other players.....I am glad to see Benitez here I was always a big fun of him.The Oracle said:
remember they are playing in the west coast 3 hours behindEsco! said:And again the Blue Jay is not on TV tonight!!
Just went on a big 4 run outburst after Angels tied it 3-3. Up 7-3 now. Hopefully these past couple of weeks is a good sign that the offense is going to help the pitching.
after last nights win over the Angels I MAY just have to re-think my position on thissalsamarc said:
