The 2014 Toronto Blue Jays Thread
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L K
Active member
Their offensive depth has gotten a big help with Francisco and Gose playing so well.
Gose - .304 AVG .484 OBP .919 OPS
Francisco - .286 AVG .371 OBP .987 OPS
I mean the team spent most of April with half the roster hitting <.200 and now they have a lineup where 6 of their 9 hitters have an OPS of >.883
Average pitching is enough to win games if the team is going to hit like they are currently producing. I think the biggest thing is that they are getting a few more decent starts lately from Dickey/Hutchinson that take the game deeper and that has really spelled the bullpen. The Jays are now 20th in the league for innings pitched by their starters and previously they were at the bottom.
Gose - .304 AVG .484 OBP .919 OPS
Francisco - .286 AVG .371 OBP .987 OPS
I mean the team spent most of April with half the roster hitting <.200 and now they have a lineup where 6 of their 9 hitters have an OPS of >.883
Average pitching is enough to win games if the team is going to hit like they are currently producing. I think the biggest thing is that they are getting a few more decent starts lately from Dickey/Hutchinson that take the game deeper and that has really spelled the bullpen. The Jays are now 20th in the league for innings pitched by their starters and previously they were at the bottom.
Corn Flake
New member
L K said:
Encouraging signs.
I really like what Seitzer has done with the hitters. Their pitch selection is dramatically better. Using Gose the way they have been is a perfect way to get offense out of him. His defensive range is just crazy and a huge advantage and will only help the pitchers.
The AL East seems to be a dog's breakfast this year. Things coming together for the Jays right now could be a bit of a perfect storm. It doesn't look like they will need elite SP's to push for 1st place.
If they think they have a shot, I think AA is going to have to go get one more legit SP and not experiment too long with the 5th spot, or else it could catch up with them. An addition of a #2/3 starter could be what they need to take the AL East... could be.
Corn Flake
New member
A Weekend at Bernier's said:
Could be lots of mid-level veteran SP's available soon with a number of teams quickly falling out of the mix already, including teams who normally wouldn't be in such a position. I doubt TB or Bos would help the Jays with a SP but Texas, Philli, Cubs, DB's or Padres might.
edit: I can't remember which SP it was but I had heard the Cubs were shopping one of theirs... was either Hammel or Jackson. I know little about either but a quick glance at stats tells me they seem decent.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Corn Flake said:
Sure it wasn't Jeff Samardzija? I know the Jays have been linked to him going back to the off-season, though he would take a pretty nice package to acquire.
Corn Flake
New member
Potvin29 said:
Maybe but based on my quick glance he doesn't look like a guy they would be shopping.. or maybe I'm missing something.
Any of those 3 would be an improvement on Happ or the ??? #5 starter.
I'm really not a fan of this attempt to bring Stroman in as a SP after they stretch him out. Stop doing things like that to the kids!!!
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Corn Flake said:
Hasn't he been starting in the minors?
And re: Samardzija:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/27259710-573/cubs-singing-pitcher-jeff-samardzijas-praises.html#.U3-bz_ldVSI
Corn Flake
New member
Potvin29 said:
They sent him down to get him stretching out and will bring him back up as a starter.. that's what I had heard. That's what Buck & Pat have been babbling about every game for a week now.
GET ER DUUN THEN!
L K
Active member
Yeah, Stroman when he was initially was drafted was projected as a great closer mostly because he's a smaller guy who clearly he's not allowed to be a starting pitcher. He pitched as a starter all last year and was a starter in his first 5 games over April prior to being recalled. To me the biggest problem with what the Jays did was converting him to a starter and then sticking him in the bullpen when you had bad alternatives
bustaheims
Active member
Corn Flake said:
He was starting in Buffalo before the brought him up - and doing an excellent job of it - so, it's not so much that they stretching him out, but, rather, that they're getting him back to where he was before his brief stint in the Jays' bullpen.
Frank E
Active member
Derk said:Whew. Janssen gets it done with the tying run at 3rd! Jays win again, 3-2 over Oakland.
Hendriks must have been on a pitch count, because he was taken out with 2 outs in the 6th after only 79 pitches. Good first start.
Whew is right, that was a little close.
Janssen has great energy on the mound...like he's just pumped to make the next pitch quickly. I would think that's kind of intimidating for a batter.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Frank E said:Derk said:Whew. Janssen gets it done with the tying run at 3rd! Jays win again, 3-2 over Oakland.
Hendriks must have been on a pitch count, because he was taken out with 2 outs in the 6th after only 79 pitches. Good first start.
Whew is right, that was a little close.
Janssen has great energy on the mound...like he's just pumped to make the next pitch quickly. I would think that's kind of intimidating for a batter.
I enjoy watching him pitch. His control is great.
bakeapples
New member
Derk said:Whew. Janssen gets it done with the tying run at 3rd! Jays win again, 3-2 over Oakland.
Hendriks must have been on a pitch count, because he was taken out with 2 outs in the 6th after only 79 pitches. Good first start.
Hendriks was fun to watch throwing lots of strikes. I think he got rattled a bit by that homerun and his control was not the same afterwards.
bustaheims
Active member
Corn Flake said:
The price tag the Cubs have attached to the guy is really high for a guy who has really been a pretty ordinary arm for most of his career so far. In the offseason, the rumoured asking price from the Jays was Hutchison and Sanchez or Stroman, and I imagine they'd be asking for more now considering how well he's started the season.
hockeyfan1
New member
5-4 win yesterday for the Jays over the A's. Lucky seventh for Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey with a near complete game.
...Toronto knuckleballer, who had made it through six innings in his previous six starts but each time failed to get out the seventh, turned in his strongest performance of the season Saturday, going 8-1/3 innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-2 at Rogers Centre.
?I feel like I?ve been right on the edge of a game like this for a long time,? said Dickey, who gave up five hits, struck out four and only walked one in improving to 5-4. ?That?s what?s been encouraging.
?Thankfully today, I was able to break through the seventh and get into the eighth and ninth.?
Source: Sportsnet
...Toronto knuckleballer, who had made it through six innings in his previous six starts but each time failed to get out the seventh, turned in his strongest performance of the season Saturday, going 8-1/3 innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-2 at Rogers Centre.
?I feel like I?ve been right on the edge of a game like this for a long time,? said Dickey, who gave up five hits, struck out four and only walked one in improving to 5-4. ?That?s what?s been encouraging.
?Thankfully today, I was able to break through the seventh and get into the eighth and ninth.?
Source: Sportsnet
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Props to Happ, I've ragged on him but 7 shutout innings today.
Barring a pretty significant collapse, it looks like the Jays are on their way to their 7th win in a row. they are leading Tampa 10-5 going to the 8th after a shaky start from Hutchison. The hitters picked him up, including EE, who set a franchise record with his 13th home run in May (15 on the season).