General 2020 Blue Jays Discussion Thread

[Boxcar]

That's a stupid grammar rule anyways.

 

Let's say we are talking about the driver of the truck instead of the truck itself. Let's say the driver is named Jeff. We could say "On Jeff's way to Dunedin". Jeff is a proper noun, the way belongs to Jeff, so we use an apostrophe to indicate ownership

 

But if we go back to talking about the truck, we use a pronoun because the truck doesn't have a proper name. All of a sudden we have to say "On its way to Dunedin" even though the way still belongs to "it" ("it" being the truck") but we can't use an apostrophe here to indicate ownership for no apparent reason. It's total inconsistency and it's ********.

 

example 2) I have a cat named Frank. It has a toy. How on earth does it make sense to write "Frank's toy" but when I use a pronoun all of a sudden I write "its toy". Garbage rule is garbage

 

Go speak Russian than, commie

[Beans]

Our team president evidently doesn't know the difference between it's and its.

 

I was going to post the same thing

 

But, come on, there's no way he does his own social media stuff. It's some intern's fault, probably. Or maybe the Jays 'social media strategy' team.

[Laika]

I was going to post the same thing

 

But, come on, there's no way he does his own social media stuff. It's some intern's fault, probably. Or maybe the Jays 'social media strategy' team.

 

Pretty clear that he does. He tweets like a 52 year old dad.

[Beans]

Pretty clear that he does. He tweets like a 52 year old dad.

Highly doubt it.

[Laika]

The longest tenured Blue Jay is now Zach Stewart. Toronto has hired him as a (not kidding) batting practice pitcher in the player development department.

 

When players want to learn how to really yank the ball, they can practice off the pitcher who had the highest HR/FB in the league during his time!

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=50&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2011-01-01&enddate=2012-12-31&sort=15,d

[Pendleton]

That's just smart hiring, the guy has proven that he knows how to serve them up.

[Orgfiller]

The longest tenured Blue Jay is now Zach Stewart. Toronto has hired him as a (not kidding) batting practice pitcher in the player development department.

 

When players want to learn how to really yank the ball, they can practice off the pitcher who had the highest HR/FB in the league during his time!

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=50&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2011-01-01&enddate=2012-12-31&sort=15,d

 

Grant will be ecstatic to learn he's back with the organization.

[max silver]

The longest tenured Blue Jay is now Zach Stewart. Toronto has hired him as a (not kidding) batting practice pitcher in the player development department.

 

When players want to learn how to really yank the ball, they can practice off the pitcher who had the highest HR/FB in the league during his time!

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=50&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2011-01-01&enddate=2012-12-31&sort=15,d

 

I recall full speed batting practice was something the Jays were looking to increase, hence the batting practice pitcher hire. Obviously you aren't going to be able to hire guys who can actually get MLB hitters out, but if they can at least throw semi hard that's better than traditional BP.

[Dick_Pole]

Tony Fernandez apparently not doing too well

[Spanky99]

Tony Fernandez apparently not doing too well

 

Yeah, sad man.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-blue-jays-icon-tony-fernandez-critical-condition/

[Spanky99]

Fun read... Jays content.

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/most-improved-mlb-teams-win-projection

[Spanky99]

Mlbtr....

 

blue jays bullpen coach matt buschmann has been named as director of pitching development, the team announced. Buschmann will work in both roles for the 2020 season. A veteran of 11 pro seasons (including a brief stint of 4 1/3 innings with the diamondbacks in 2016), buschmann retired after the 2017 campaign to take on an assistant director post with the giants before joining the jays for the 2019 season.

[Carlos Danger]

This place is dead today!! Everyone still hung over from the Superbowl?

 

You know what the day after the Superbowl means? It is officially baseball time! Pitchers and catchers reporting soon, ST and real baseball starts at the end of next month!

[Beans]

[Carlos Danger]

 

The only issue I have with that depth chart is that I think Kay should be on that/higher up on the SP depth chart... Surprised he is not...

[Grant77]

 

The lack of talent at CF and in the bullpen really stands out. Other than that, it looks like a really solid squad.

[saskjayfan]

If we're trying to win games then Grichuk has to play CF.

 

The difference between Grichuk and Teoscar in CF is minuscule compared to Shaw and Vlad switching positions. If we're trying to win games, Vlad should be at first and Shaw should be at 3rd.

[Laika]

The difference between Grichuk and Teoscar in CF is minuscule compared to Shaw and Vlad switching positions. If we're trying to win games, Vlad should be at first and Shaw should be at 3rd.

 

*DH

[Laika]

Laika's 2020 Picks to Click (players who will overperform their projections significantly)

 

TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ (2.5 WAR)

LOURDES GURRIEL JUNIOR (3 WAR)

CAVAN BIGGIO (3.5 WAR)

CHASE ANDERSON (2.2 WAR)

ANTHONY KAY (1.5 WAR)

[DigitalRock]

Damn wee need a legit CF.. Not sold on Toescar, especially his D.

[bones10]

Am I misremembering or wasn't Teo quite capable in center field once he was moved there.

[Orgfiller]

Am I misremembering or wasn't Teo quite capable in center field once he was moved there.

 

He wasn't. At best he was kind of bad, at worst he was horrible. UZR and DRS both think he was around average in LF, which was a big improvement from horrendous the year before, and really bad in CF. OAA on the other hand thinks Teoscar was bad in LF and surprisingly just below average in CF.

[Orgfiller]

For the record, OAA believes Randal Grichuk was elite (90th percentile) last year, well above average in both limited CF sample and his larger bulk in RF. He's never not been an excellent defender by their measurement.

[Grant77]

For the record, OAA believes Randal Grichuk was elite (90th percentile) last year, well above average in both limited CF sample and his larger bulk in RF. He's never not been an excellent defender by their measurement.

 

The eye test backs that up. He's always appeared to be a superlative defender.

[saskjayfan]

For the record, OAA believes Randal Grichuk was elite (90th percentile) last year, well above average in both limited CF sample and his larger bulk in RF. He's never not been an excellent defender by their measurement.

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/jump?year=2019&min=q

 

Teoscar had a couple throwing errors in centre which can vary greatly year to year. Their jumps are almost identical and Teoscar has a stronger arm. His decision making with his throws is something he can improve upon. Teoscar did make some improvements over the previous year defensively, but they both are going to be below average defenders in CF.

[Orgfiller]

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/jump?year=2019&min=q

 

Teoscar had a couple throwing errors in centre which can vary greatly year to year. Their jumps are almost identical and Teoscar has a stronger arm. His decision making with his throws is something he can improve upon. Teoscar did make some improvements over the previous year defensively, but they both are going to be below average defenders in CF.

 

Despite this telling me that their jumps are similar, I have a hard time believing it's simply throwing errors which accounts for the massive difference between Teoscar and a couple of excellent defenders around him like Grichuk and Aaron Jude (94th percentile). It's not like Grichuk is known for his arm. For instance Byron Buxton, who is among the premier defenders in the league (97th percentile) has a rather pedestrian jump, and Acuña just above him is a far worse defender despite having better jump metrics.

 

Also, dear god Kiermaier. The man laps the field in every defensive category.

[max silver]

Despite this telling me that their jumps are similar, I have a hard time believing it's simply throwing errors which accounts for the massive difference between Teoscar and a couple of excellent defenders around him like Grichuk and Aaron Jude (94th percentile). It's not like Grichuk is known for his arm. For instance Byron Buxton, who is among the premier defenders in the league (97th percentile) has a rather pedestrian jump, and Acuña just above him is a far worse defender despite having better jump metrics.

 

Also, dear god Kiermaier. The man laps the field in every defensive category.

 

Is throwing in any way included in Statcast outs above average? Everything I've seen seems to point to it only taking catches/non-catches into account. Teoscar certainly has the physical tools to play a great center field, but his instincts are seemingly lacking so much that this affects his ability to get goods reads off the bat and run good routes accordingly.

Edited February 4, 2020 by max silver

[Beans]

Quick update on our old favourite, Tony Fernandez:

 

[LGBJ29]

New ST/BP hats, most of these are good

 

 

[Brownie19]

what the f*** is that?