General 2018 Blue Jays Discussion Thread

[Brownie19]

Probably because Facebook is a cancerous plague and being forced to sign up to watch the jays is f***ing ********.

 

I pay my Roger's bill every month - now that's f***ing ********.

 

 

Businesses make decisions that irritate customers everyday. I'm amazed how upset people get.

[Sammy225]

I am guessing Rogers does not have a say in it and it is an MLB decision or what?

[Brownie19]

You don't follow the news much I see

 

Ok, so the recent file leak allowed a company access to users pictures, e-mails, addresses, date of birth and chat logs.

 

1. Who the f*** posts their actual date of birth, address, etc. on a social media account?

2. I've always assumed that pictures I post become accessible to others (you've always been able to save someone else's photo's)

3. They got my e-mail address....whatever - more spam e-mails

 

The biggest issue I see might be the chat logs, but again - I've always figured if I post something online, it's never really private.

 

I'm probably more interested in those who think their tendencies and usage is "private" information. I think that s*** is bogus. They simply observe and log how you use their site and use that to their advantage. No different than if I walk into a car dealership and the savy salesmen uses observations about what I'm wearing, currently driving, etc. to his advantage in making a sale.

[P2F]

I haven't read this yet, so it might be dumb af.

 

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/building-best-blue-jays-lineup-starting-pitcher-152921594.html

[Abomination]

Im at work, would have loved to record the game and watch it when I get home. Pretty hard to do that on facebook. Plus, I'd imagine for those who live in rural areas the stream quality will never match that of their satellite. Plenty of reasonable reasons to not like this IMO

 

This. My internet is terrible right now (going down constantly due to the temperature hovering around freezing and moisture in the lines). I doubt I'd be able to stream it at all.

[mitchf]

I don't understand why people are so upset. Facebook paid for these exclusive rights and sports broadcasting is a business

 

It's just that simple. If you want to see the game you have to go on Facebook which is actually cheaper than Rogers or MLB TV because it's actually free

I see it the same way.

 

Facebook is making a shrewd move that I admire..

[gruber92]

I guess there will be a mirroring option so you can watch it on your TV? I guess you can always hard wire your laptop to the TV via HDMI. f***ing ******** Imo.

[Jimcanuck]

I guess there will be a mirroring option so you can watch it on your TV? I guess you can always hard wire your laptop to the TV via HDMI. f***ing ******** Imo.

 

Smartcast, man

 

Chuck the wires

[5ToolPhenom]

More of Rob Manfred trying to reach the kids? Does he know that mostly old people use Facebook?

 

Man, this guy is such a plague on the game. Bring back Selig.

 

I never thought there would be a day where I would pine for the days of Selig, but here we are.

 

Games broadcasted exclusively on Facebook... Get the hell outta here!

[AledmysDiaz]

I am guessing Rogers does not have a say in it and it is an MLB decision or what?

 

I believe it's a decision from all major teams combined. There are 30 games and each team is giving up two broadcasts

 

I wonder if this is how people felt when cable first appeared and started charging money for sports content

[glory]

Yeah this is Manfred trying to reach the kids. Can't really broadcast a game on Instagram or Snapchat, so even if FB doesn't appeal as much to the kids, it's probably the best option for what he is trying to do.

 

I'd rather he do stuff like this than implement a rule where a base runner is on 2nd to start an inning in extra innings, or whatever nonsense that is going on in the minors.

[LGBJ29]

Yeah this is Manfred trying to reach the kids. Can't really broadcast a game on Instagram or Snapchat, so even if FB doesn't appeal as much to the kids, it's probably the best option for what he is trying to do.

 

I'd rather he do stuff like this than implement a rule where a base runner is on 2nd to start an inning in extra innings, or whatever nonsense that is going on in the minors.

 

Sure, but this doesn't prevent him from making more stupid rules. They aren't mutually exclusive

[glory]

Sure, but this doesn't prevent him from making more stupid rules. They aren't mutually exclusive

 

Yeah, but I meant doing this type of stuff (FB) at least makes sense for what he's trying to do. The other stuff is just ruining the game and still not attracting the new viewers he wants, which is stupid. This FB deal is harmless.

[P2F]

I see it the same way.

 

Facebook is making a shrewd move that I admire..

 

Whoa. Haven't seen you around here in a couple years, I think.

[Spanky99]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it'll be on MLB.tv as well.

 

Nope.

[Brownie19]

Yeah this is Manfred trying to reach the kids. Can't really broadcast a game on Instagram or Snapchat, so even if FB doesn't appeal as much to the kids, it's probably the best option for what he is trying to do.

 

I'd rather he do stuff like this than implement a rule where a base runner is on 2nd to start an inning in extra innings, or whatever nonsense that is going on in the minors.

 

Shouldn't we assume that MLB has an entire department who's sole purpose is to market the game? People who are experts in the field, studying trends and such that probably far outreach the comprehension level of anyone on this board? I mean it appears that all 30 teams were pitched this idea (presumably with a presentation on why this is a good idea) and everyone agreed to it.

 

Yet some on here are completely against it without knowing anything about it - except that they don't like Facebook (or change in general probably). I mean christ, the way we view shows and events is undergoing massive change. Do you guys hate Netflix too? What if this was broadcast on Netflix too? Would that be OK because it's "cooler" than Facebook?

 

Keep an open mind FFS.

 

 

(sorry, I'm watching a lot of Yuval Noah Harari videos lately and I'm triggered easily by opinions like this)

[Bojangles]

Pretty small sample size of 2 starts but sanchez is definitely using the change up more. Fangraphs article on it https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/aaron-sanchez-figured-something-out/

[Brownie19]

Pretty small sample size of 2 starts but sanchez is definitely using the change up more. Fangraphs article on it https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/aaron-sanchez-figured-something-out/

 

Similarly, he's using his curveball about half the time now (8% vs. 16% in 2016 and 2017). Any thought that the curveball was casing the blisters so he's not going to throw it as much?

 

It's all a SSS so far, but we need to see Sanchez improve if this team is going to be successful.

[TBJ12]

The Facebook games can be streamed using VLC.

 

If I remember I'll post the URL for VLC player when the stream starts.

 

[BTS]

Similarly, he's using his curveball about half the time now (8% vs. 16% in 2016 and 2017). Any thought that the curveball was casing the blisters so he's not going to throw it as much?

 

It's all a SSS so far, but we need to see Sanchez improve if this team is going to be successful.

 

I don't think he's using the curve enough. He probably belongs in the bullpen if blisters have rendered him a fastball/changeup guy, if indeed blisters are what's responsible for the reduced curve usage.

[John_Havok]

I don't think he's using the curve enough. He probably belongs in the bullpen if blisters have rendered him a fastball/changeup guy, if indeed blisters are what's responsible for the reduced curve usage.

 

If Sanchez is going to be a fastball/change guy, yeah his days as a starter are numbered. Both his 2 seam and changeup (moving down and away) would have the exact same action, just differing speeds. That's not enough to go through a lineup multiple times unless you have pinpoint command and an insanely good change, neither of which he possesses. 8% curve is nearly enough to keep hitters honest.

[Bojangles]

If Sanchez is going to be a fastball/change guy, yeah his days as a starter are numbered. Both his 2 seam and changeup (moving down and away) would have the exact same action, just differing speeds. That's not enough to go through a lineup multiple times unless you have pinpoint command and an insanely good change, neither of which he possesses. 8% curve is nearly enough to keep hitters honest.

 

Any chance Stroman can teach him his slider? lol /s

[Grant77]

If Sanchez is going to be a fastball/change guy, yeah his days as a starter are numbered. Both his 2 seam and changeup (moving down and away) would have the exact same action, just differing speeds. That's not enough to go through a lineup multiple times unless you have pinpoint command and an insanely good change, neither of which he possesses. 8% curve is nearly enough to keep hitters honest.

 

We can't assume that he is going to use the same mix of pitches in every game. The takeaway point here is that he has another pitch that is getting a lot of swings and misses. That's a big positive in my opinion.

[Spanky99]

We can't assume that he is going to use the same mix of pitches in every game. The takeaway point here is that he has another pitch that is getting a lot of swings and misses. That's a big positive in my opinion.

 

That's how I see it.

[Bojangles]

Sanchez should ditch the curve and work on a slider that actually tunnels with his fastball/change.

 

Stroman can mentor Sanchez and teach him the ways of that slider lol.

[Sammy225]

Stroman can mentor Sanchez and teach him the ways of that slider lol.

 

Too Much height not enough heart

[Spanky99]

WooHoo!!!

 

Aledmys Diaz (back) is expected to return to the Blue Jays' lineup Friday.

 

Advice: Diaz was removed from Tuesday's game and then sat out Wednesday because of back spasms, but the ailment isn't thought to be a big deal. The 27-year-old is 5-for-16 with a pair of home runs in the early going as he fills in for Troy Tulowitzki (heels) at shortstop.

 

More: Toronto Sun

[Captain Adama]

WooHoo!!!

 

Thank f***.

[Spanky99]

Love this exchange, story.

 

Reaction to Donaldson’s mock whistle a sign MLB’s open to more levity

 

Shi Davidi

@shidavidi

April 4, 2018, 10:12 PM

 

TORONTO – Daryl Boston has little doubt what would have happened back when he was playing in the 1980s and ‘90s if a player made a gesture toward the opposing dugout, even if it was in jest, the way Josh Donaldson did to the Chicago White Sox this week.

 

“He probably would have been thrown at,” says the White Sox first base coach, whose whistle has suddenly gained notoriety across baseball. “But I got a kick out it because I didn’t find it disrespectful at all. The downside of it is I may have got caught on video laughing after us giving up a home run. That’s the one thing I felt bad about. But other than that, it’s all in fun.”

 

Given baseball’s customary conservatism and enduring staidness, it’s progress that Boston’s playfully irritating use of a whistle to cheer his team’s defensive plays, and Donaldson’s blow-the-whistle gesture in response when he touched home after going deep, didn’t lead to any unwritten-rule righteousness.

 

Moments of levity and intense competition don’t need to be mutually exclusive. There’s room for both on the field and the exchanges between the two Monday followed by Donaldson’s use of Too Short’s Blow The Whistle as the walkup song for his first at-bat Tuesday are proof of that.

 

“I agree with you 100 per cent,” says Donaldson. “The whole time I was (blowing the whistle) to him he had the biggest smile on his face. It was good and I’m glad – you always hear about these unwritten rules of baseball and all that jazz – well, I think you’re starting to see some of that change in a positive manner. Not to where I’m trying to disrespect them or they’re trying to disrespect me – we’re out there having fun and competing against each other.

 

“Like, if you’re going to do something, we’re going to do something.”

 

Donaldson isn’t the first player to use Blow The Whistle in response to Boston’s whistling as the 55-year-old from Cincinnati has had several memorable exchanges with the Kansas City Royals, notably with their former first baseman Eric Hosmer and left-hander Danny Duffy.

 

“He’s the one who doesn’t like it at all,” Boston says of Duffy. “Hosmer informed me he didn’t like it so I used to blow it, blow it. They scored a bunch of runs (one night) and next day they played that song.

 

“We used to have a good time with the whistle.”

 

Boston, now in his sixth season as White Sox first base coach, started using the whistle a couple of years ago as a way to get the attention of his outfielders when aligning them defensively.

 

Over time, that morphed into blowing it as a way to celebrate good plays on the field, leading to some fun exchanges with annoyed opponents, which he thinks is good for the game.

 

“Having fun is what we try to preach over here,” says Boston. “We are a young team and we try to play hard with a lot of energy, but with an emphasis on having fun during the game. My whistle is part of the energy that we’re trying to bring here.

 

“I get a kick out of watching Miguel Cabrera,” he adds. “He seems to be one of the rare guys to still have interaction with the opposing pitcher in-game. There’s room for that.”

 

The exchanges with Donaldson were rooted in some pre-game conversations Monday the third baseman had with White Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson and his assistant, Greg Sparks.

 

The three of them go back to their days together in the Oakland Athletics minor-league system, and Donaldson talked a little smack about Boston’s whistle.

 

Sparks and Steverson passed that along to Boston – “I got word that he is not fond of the whistle,” is how he put it – and he decided to give Donaldson “a little peep peep” when he stepped into the on-deck circle.

 

That set up Donaldson’s good-natured reply, which left Boston cracking up.

 

“If you’re going to dish it, you’ve got to be able to take it,” says Boston. “If you’re a pitcher and you gave up a long one, deal with it. The answer to is it to get him out, the answer to (a pitcher’s celebrating) is to get a hit. I think there’s plenty of room for it.

 

“That unwritten book of rules is out the window. Or it should be.”

 

A little bit of fun on the field shouldn’t be a novel concept. Props to Donaldson and Boston for showing how to do a little give-and-take right.

[John_Havok]

Speaking of unwritten rules...

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2018/04/02/the-orioles-and-twins-broke-a-litany-of-mlbs-unwritten-rules-in-just-one-inning/?utm_term=.6e889aa248fe

 

Baseball has many written rules and some unwritten rules. Most agree on the former; many more disagree on the latter.

 

But one tenet of the game that you’d think everyone could agree on is that playing to win is a good and noble pursuit, the purist pursuit. And if a player can put wood to ball and get on base, he should.

 

To that, the Minnesota Twins would say phooey.

 

So here’s a new unwritten rule to add to your list: Down seven, in the bottom of the ninth, in the third game of a 162-game season, with a pitcher in the midst of a one-hitter, with two prolific batters on deck, against a defensive shift … don’t bunt.

 

A lot of conditions need to be met for this rule to come into play, but the Baltimore Orioles broke it Sunday.

 

With Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios two outs away from a shutout, up walked Orioles catcher Chance Sisco, whose third-inning double was the only hit allowed by Berrios to that point. In the bottom of the ninth, he laid a bunt down the third base line. One-hitter ruined, along with the Twins’ postgame moods.

 

Chance Sisco doesn't mind if you put the shift on him. The #Orioles' No. 3 prospect had no trouble laying down this bunt for an easy single @Orioles Top 30 list: https://t.co/oB8UYJ6DbL pic.twitter.com/NHKryIQV2m

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 1, 2018

 

Berrios would give up a walk and a hit but finished the shutout. But the victory did little to assuage the obvious-to-no-one slight. “I don’t care if he’s bunting. I just know it’s not good for baseball in that situation. That’s it,” Berrios said.

 

“Nobody liked that. No, no, no. That’s not a good play,” Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario said. “I could’ve said something, but they have tremendous veteran leadership over there, with Chris Davis, Adam Jones and those guys,” Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said. “I’m sure they’ll address it and move forward.”

 

What was bad for baseball, why it wasn’t a good play and what could be addressed remained unsaid by the Minnesota players. Unwritten and unsaid. Just as rules were intended. Right.

 

Sisco, for his part, said he was just trying to reach base. The shift was on, so he put the ball into the open space.

 

“They were playing the shift right there, so they kind of gave it to me. If they’re going to shift, I have to take it right there in that spot. We got bases loaded right after that. We’re a couple home runs away from tying the game — bases loaded, [Jones] or [Jonathan Schoop] hits a home run right there? We’re a couple runs away from being back in that game.”

 

One player on the #Twins’ beef with the #Orioles for bunting for a base hit against the shift while trailing 7-0 in the ninth: “If it’s ok to shift with a 7-run lead, then it’s definitely ok to bunt.”

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 2, 2018

 

This was the defensive alignment Sisco was facing when he bunted down 7-0 in the ninth. Pathetic of Dozier or any other Twin to complain about Sisco taking advantage in this supposedly non-competitive situation when you're obviously playing as thought it's a competitive situation pic.twitter.com/LX3cvWECDZ

— Matthew Pouliot (@matthewpouliot) April 1, 2018

 

Among the critics who took exception to what the Twins players said postgame was famed baseball writer and statistician Bill James, who offered some pointed remarks on the situation and for Dozier in particular.

 

I know I am out on a limb here and will probably be blitzed for saying this, but I think the Commissioner should suspend any veteran player or m'ger who makes comments suggesting that a young player is doing something improper when he is simply trying to win. That's intolerable.

— Bill James Online (@billjamesonline) April 2, 2018

 

A player's right to try to win the game any way he can, so long as it is within the rules and not dangerous, is the irreducible essence of fair competition.

— Bill James Online (@billjamesonline) April 2, 2018

 

Hey, Dozier, the Twins are behind 5-0. So I don't want to see you trying to get any hits, now.

— Bill James Online (@billjamesonline) April 2, 2018

 

For what it’s worth, Dozier did response after Minnesota’s loss at the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.

 

“When they didn’t hold our runner on, they conceded to the fact they didn’t want us to steal, so we didn’t steal,” Dozier said (via the St. Paul Pioneer Press). “We could have very easily stolen and put up more runs, so therefore in return you don’t bunt. That’s what everybody is missing in this whole thing. …

 

“Everyone just thinks, ‘He’s whining because they bunted against the shift,’ ” Dozier continued. “That’s how baseball is played. That’s just how the game is played. That’s just how it is.”

 

The clubs won’t meet again until July. Sisco can probably expect a fastball high and inside from whoever is standing on the mound for the Twins. Another unwritten rule.

And that moment will surely take over the No. 1 spot for dumbest payback-for-breaking-an-unwritten-rule-that-really-wasn’t-even-an-unwritten-rule. The current leader? The Bryce Harper-Hunter Strickland brawl-inducing beef from last May, of course.