General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2021)

[Jimcanuck]

Anyone know how Dunedin ranks as a park? Hitters, pitchers, neutral?

[Krylian]

Anyone know how Dunedin ranks as a park? Hitters, pitchers, neutral?

 

Well... The FSL is known as a pitchers league. Don't know if that's because of the ballparks or because the pitchers are typically more advanced than the hitters. But one could surmise that the hot and humid summers negatively impact the long ball.

[Jays24]

Anyone know how Dunedin ranks as a park? Hitters, pitchers, neutral?

 

Google gave me this

 

Left Field – 333 ft

Left-Center – 380 ft

Center Field – 400 ft

Right-Center – 363 ft

Right Field – 336 ft

[The Iceman]

Anyone know how Dunedin ranks as a park? Hitters, pitchers, neutral?

 

Ryan Borucki was on the Ross Stripling podcast and he told Ross that balls absolutely FLY out of that park. He gave up 3 HRs in an inning or 2. He said way worse for HRs than Buffalo.

Borucki also said suicide playing 3rd base at sunset. Said JD was down on a rehab assignment and had 3 errors the first 2 innings none charged as errors. Said killed the poor pitchers ERA.

The sun sets right in the eyes of the 3rd base position.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mlb-fa-talk-remembering-hank-aaron-blue-jays-pitcher/id1451108442?i=1000506726468

Edited February 7, 2021 by The Iceman

[saskjayfan]

I hope we see Joey Murray get a shot in the bigs this year.

[jerb]

 

Hazel Mae

@thehazelmae

 

#BlueJays first workout confirmed for Feb. 18 (pitchers and catchers) Feb. 22 will be first full squad workout.

[Spanky99]

I hope we see Joey Murray get a shot in the bigs this year.

 

For sure we will, pitchers will be rotating in and out all season. Well, especially the guys with options.

[Jays24]

 

Hazel Mae

@thehazelmae

 

#BlueJays first workout confirmed for Feb. 18 (pitchers and catchers) Feb. 22 will be first full squad workout.

 

When does Brantley report to camp?

[Spanky99]

When does Brantley report to camp?

 

lol... Hazel wasn't the only one that was duped, plenty of other larger reporters claimed the same deal, including Kenny Ken.

[Jays24]

lol... Hazel wasn't the only one that was duped, plenty of other larger reporters claimed the same deal, including Kenny Ken.

 

Lol I know. I think she was the first one and I was like whhaaatttttt but then we know what happened. All good cause I'd rather have Semien at 2B than another OFer anyways.

[Carlos Danger]

Ryan Borucki was on the Ross Stripling podcast and he told Ross that balls absolutely FLY out of that park. He gave up 3 HRs in an inning or 2. He said way worse for HRs than Buffalo.

Borucki also said suicide playing 3rd base at sunset. Said JD was down on a rehab assignment and had 3 errors the first 2 innings none charged as errors. Said killed the poor pitchers ERA.

The sun sets right in the eyes of the 3rd base position.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mlb-fa-talk-remembering-hank-aaron-blue-jays-pitcher/id1451108442?i=1000506726468

 

So this was a great Podcast. I was not aware of it previously. One take away I think is important is that Borucki stated that the whole pen was gassed and at the end were just limping to the finish line. He said this in the context of things like the the Universal DH, expanded playoffs, if he were the Union rep, he would want/ask for, would be to have expanded roster to 27, 28 or 29 players all the time. Starters are not going long enough and it is taxing pens. Last season was only 60 games and they had a a bunch of off days for COVID and SJW issues etc.

 

I think it was obvious the pen was looking spent toward the end between injuries and workload. Only 60 games!!

 

Just circles us back to our obvious need. SPs who can give us 6 good innings!!

[BlueRocky]

Ryan Borucki was on the Ross Stripling podcast and he told Ross that balls absolutely FLY out of that park. He gave up 3 HRs in an inning or 2. He said way worse for HRs than Buffalo.

Borucki also said suicide playing 3rd base at sunset. Said JD was down on a rehab assignment and had 3 errors the first 2 innings none charged as errors. Said killed the poor pitchers ERA.

The sun sets right in the eyes of the 3rd base position.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mlb-fa-talk-remembering-hank-aaron-blue-jays-pitcher/id1451108442?i=1000506726468

 

The pod was interesting. It’s no secret that Buffalo’s Sahlen field was a home field advantage last season and visitors hated traveling to Buffalo, but to hear actual Blue Jays acknowledge it to the point that they rather play in Buffalo than Dunedin just to keep the advantage is surprising. Buffalo was weirdly one of the better offensive parks last season.

 

And yet according to Borucki we will see “twice as many” dingers than Buffalo if they end up playing in Dunedin due to closer fences in the new park and humidity in Florida.

 

I guess if we’re going to try and outscore every other team, this is one way to go about it.

[jerb]

[Eat My Shatkins]

Can't wait to follow that projected AA rotation.

 

SWR, Luciano, Manoah and Castillo.

[Spanky99]

Can't wait to follow that projected AA rotation.

 

SWR, Luciano, Manoah and Castillo.

 

Stacked, lol.

[Virgil_Hiltz]

Dunno if this was ever discussed re: pitcher injuries and due to advance in knowledge the answer may never be known.

But back in 1968 MLB lowered the pitching mound, not sure on arm injuries prior but it seems like more arm injuries have happened since. Are pitchers nowadays "over throwing" to compensate

for the lower mound since they no longer have a higher pitching plain (correct term?).

With the bullpens now being asked to regularly pitch starting after one or 2 rotations through a lineup, they are being over used. Should the bullpen be expanded (like Boruki noted above but Ive been thinking about this for a while) and the mound raised back to the pre-1968 levels?

Pitching is hardest commodity to get and even more difficult to maintain....are these worthwhile ideas to look into?

 

I wish there was a way to get the rebroadcast of McCown interview with ex_Expo ace reliever and Cy Young winner Mike Marshall from about 25+ yrs ago who has a degree in kinesology and has some really "out there" ideas on how to maintain a pitchers arm.

[Orgfiller]

 

Seeing High-A Vancouver is gonna take a bit of time to internalize. That rotation could be a lot of fun to follow too, Kloff/Van Eyck/Palmer all have a shot to make some noise and put themselves into serious prospect consideration.

[Terminator]

[Orgfiller]

 

He's not wrong, but I don't think Biggio will stop being valuable as a result. He either continues with his current approach which I think would still make him an above average hitter even with a deadened baseball, or he starts selling out for pull power a bit more at the expense of lower BABIP and a few more Ks.

[Jays24]

 

DJL was the first guy I mentioned when I heard about deadening the ball. It's stupid that baseball is messing around with stuff like this since there are huge financial implications for the pitchers/weaker hitters.

[Ex Player]

https://www.springtrainingcountdown.com/

[jerb]

 

Chris Horvatits

@ChrisHorvatits4

 

With Spring Training starting later this month, I've learned Sahlen Field remains in play to host Blue Jays home games in 2021. While the Jays 1st choice is still Toronto, they're spending more time on alternatives right now. Those include Buffalo, Dunedin, and other U.S. sites.

[Jays24]

 

Chris Horvatits

@ChrisHorvatits4

 

With Spring Training starting later this month, I've learned Sahlen Field remains in play to host Blue Jays home games in 2021. While the Jays 1st choice is still Toronto, they're spending more time on alternatives right now. Those include Buffalo, Dunedin, and other U.S. sites.

 

Lets get everyone vaccinated and life back to normal man.

[Grant77]

 

Chris Horvatits

@ChrisHorvatits4

 

With Spring Training starting later this month, I've learned Sahlen Field remains in play to host Blue Jays home games in 2021. While the Jays 1st choice is still Toronto, they're spending more time on alternatives right now. Those include Buffalo, Dunedin, and other U.S. sites.

 

I was quite pleased with how things went in Buffalo. It felt like home and you could tell that teams like the Yankees hated it. That's a good option if we can pull it off.

[Terminator]

He's not wrong, but I don't think Biggio will stop being valuable as a result. He either continues with his current approach which I think would still make him an above average hitter even with a deadened baseball, or he starts selling out for pull power a bit more at the expense of lower BABIP and a few more Ks.

 

Yeah I think Biggio is smart enough to make adjustments. It is a little concerning though because he's already a .235 to .250ish hitter as is. If that craters due to a drop in homers his bat gets pretty pedestrian pretty quickly.

[Jays24]

Yeah I think Biggio is smart enough to make adjustments. It is a little concerning though because he's already a .235 to .250ish hitter as is. If that craters due to a drop in homers his bat gets pretty pedestrian pretty quickly.

 

One thing that annoys me with him is that he shouldn't allow a shift played on him. Start bunting or learn how to hit the ball the other way for singles and even doubles to the point defenses need to play him more straight up. Then he'll have an easier time pulling the ball for a better average.

 

There's no reason why he shouldn't be batting .270 at minimum, which would put his OBP at an elite level. He's not a big power guy so I think this is something he should be able to do.

Edited February 10, 2021 by Jays24

[Spanky99]

lol

[connorp]

Yeah I think Biggio is smart enough to make adjustments. It is a little concerning though because he's already a .235 to .250ish hitter as is. If that craters due to a drop in homers his bat gets pretty pedestrian pretty quickly.

 

If his hitting goes backwards like Law says it will, would it be a danger that his 15-16% walk rate would follow? You’d think pitchers would attack more? Idk

[Brownie19]

If his hitting goes backwards like Law says it will, would it be a danger that his 15-16% walk rate would follow? You’d think pitchers would attack more? Idk

 

That thought process is correct. The less damage Biggio can do, the more pitchers will challenge him.

[Brownie19]

One thing that annoys me with him is that he shouldn't allow a shift played on him. Start bunting or learn how to hit the ball the other way for singles and even doubles to the point defenses need to play him more straight up. Then he'll have an easier time pulling the ball for a better average.

 

There's no reason why he shouldn't be batting .270 at minimum, which would put his OBP at an elite level. He's not a big power guy so I think this is something he should be able to do.

 

This is pretty cringe worthy man. If hitting the ball to all field effectively and bunting for base hits against the shift were even remotely easy to do - then the shift wouldn't exist.