General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2023)

[BCZ]

This team doesn't have what it takes... sorry to say...

[Brownie19]

This team doesn't have what it takes... sorry to say...

 

perfect - we'll see you next year BCZ.

[Governator]

Next 14 games: Braves, Yankees, O's, Rays.. hopefully a healthy Vlad & Springer in the line up but I'd say this stretch should tell us if we can compete with Tier 1.

 

I think we have our answer.

[John_Havok]

I think we have our answer.

 

Win the next 3 against Tampa is pretty much a push at 7-7.

 

I’m not exactly holding my breath, but even 2 wins makes it 6-8 which isn’t terrible in that stretch.

[Carlos Danger]

Win the next 3 against Tampa is pretty much a push at 7-7.

 

I’m not exactly holding my breath, but even 2 wins makes it 6-8 which isn’t terrible in that stretch.

 

Brother, if I tried to present that s*** in the board room I would be out on my ass with lot’s of time to play fantasy baseball.

 

It’s not going to last the whole season like this, but let’s not sugar coat it.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Carlos Danger

[BigCecil]

Losing 10-11 to the AL East when healthy stings. Those close W's we blew, like the last game vs M's in that 3 game series, come back to haunt. Going to be tough to climb over all the other teams in the D, even 48 gms in. Just less games against division rivals now to make up. I get the "we just need to make it into the playoffs". Thats somewhat true but there are reasons HOU won it all in '22.

 

Varsho reminds me more and more of LHH Grichuk at the plate. with a lot better glove. He will run into one 20 times a season.

 

I really think Vlad, Bo and Springer are going to carry us, or not. Particularly Vlad. We need him to be Judge like. It a lot to ask. KK has been awesome but i dont expect a full season of this.

 

New day today. Time to turn it around!!

[jaysblue]

Losing 10-11 to the AL East when healthy stings. Those close W's we blew, like the last game vs M's in that 3 game series, come back to haunt. Going to be tough to climb over all the other teams in the D, even 48 gms in. Just less games against division rivals now to make up. I get the "we just need to make it into the playoffs". Thats somewhat true but there are reasons HOU won it all in '22.

 

Varsho reminds me more and more of LHH Grichuk at the plate. with a lot better glove. He will run into one 20 times a season.

 

I really think Vlad, Bo and Springer are going to carry us, or not. Particularly Vlad. We need him to be Judge like. It a lot to ask. KK has been awesome but i dont expect a full season of this.

 

New day today. Time to turn it around!!

 

Yeah Jays were winning some of those close games in early-mid April. They looked like a different team from last season. Though now, they're losing a lot of winnable games and falling back in the standings.

 

The bats need a big outburst.

[Olerud363]

Particularly Vlad. We need him to be Judge like.

 

I am wondering if he's healthy. 2 years ago he was Judge like with the iconic swing and no doubt power routinely hitting 115 mph 25 degree monster shots.

 

Now he's not. He hasn't homered since his wrist, then knee issues, it's s*** like this that just makes me think Toronto is not a good organization.

 

Judge has a hip blip and he's immediately DL'd for 10 days, sent to some secret high performance lab for rehabilitation then comes back and single handedly wins 3 games for the Yankees last week.

 

Vlad has a wrist and knee blip and basically is back in a couple of days missing 10 mph of exit velocity. Good organization vs bad.

[Wire_Jay]

Hi all, just asking for some advice. Coming over from England end of July for a few days and planning on going to 1st ball game, either Angels or Orioles depending on our things we are doing.

Which is best area of the Rodgers centre to sit in to watch the game and have good access to bars etc and also what are the decent pubs near to the centre worth visiting.

Thanks for any advice

 

Wire_Jay

[Governator]

Hi all, just asking for some advice. Coming over from England end of July for a few days and planning on going to 1st ball game, either Angels or Orioles depending on our things we are doing.

Which is best area of the Rodgers centre to sit in to watch the game and have good access to bars etc and also what are the decent pubs near to the centre worth visiting.

Thanks for any advice

 

Wire_Jay

 

 

I think it's very much a personal choice and budget where to sit. I prefer between home plate and 3rd base side, 2nd deck, front row whenever I pick and choose. Best view and a lot of games you're in the shade in afternoon games, tons of foul balls. Others like to be closer to the action though.

[Spanky99]

I think it's very much a personal choice and budget where to sit. I prefer between home plate and 3rd base side, 2nd deck, front row whenever I pick and choose. Best view and a lot of games you're in the shade in afternoon games, tons of foul balls. Others like to be closer to the action though.

 

The section(forget the number) beside the TD Zone on the 3rd base side is awesome and the bar is right behind you.

[BigCecil]

I am wondering if he's healthy. 2 years ago he was Judge like with the iconic swing and no doubt power routinely hitting 115 mph 25 degree monster shots.

 

Now he's not. He hasn't homered since his wrist, then knee issues, it's s*** like this that just makes me think Toronto is not a good organization.

 

Judge has a hip blip and he's immediately DL'd for 10 days, sent to some secret high performance lab for rehabilitation then comes back and single handedly wins 3 games for the Yankees last week.

 

Vlad has a wrist and knee blip and basically is back in a couple of days missing 10 mph of exit velocity. Good organization vs bad.

 

His stats this year and last are eerily crazily similar. I don't think he is hurt. I think this is who he is. 21 will be an outlier.

[Stangstag]

I am wondering if he's healthy. 2 years ago he was Judge like with the iconic swing and no doubt power routinely hitting 115 mph 25 degree monster shots.

 

Now he's not. He hasn't homered since his wrist, then knee issues, it's s*** like this that just makes me think Toronto is not a good organization.

 

Judge has a hip blip and he's immediately DL'd for 10 days, sent to some secret high performance lab for rehabilitation then comes back and single handedly wins 3 games for the Yankees last week.

 

Vlad has a wrist and knee blip and basically is back in a couple of days missing 10 mph of exit velocity. Good organization vs bad.

 

I do think they consistently try to let guys play through injury vs letting them recover and come back strong…. we’ve definitely seen it with Springer, Teo, Vlad, Gurriel, and probably a bunch of other guys I’m forgetting.

 

Organizational philosophy. Not sure which is better

[Stangstag]

His stats this year and last are eerily crazily similar. I don't think he is hurt. I think this is who he is. 21 will be an outlier.

 

There’s also potential for improvement as he hits his mid-late 20s when power normally surges. Vlad is still very young and people tend to forget

[Brownie19]

His stats this year and last are eerily crazily similar. I don't think he is hurt. I think this is who he is. 21 will be an outlier.

 

I'm starting to agree with this view. He may just be more of a .200 ISO guy. I still think his fitness level plays a bit part in the results.

[Laika]

There’s also potential for improvement as he hits his mid-late 20s when power normally surges. Vlad is still very young and people tend to forget

 

Toronto doesn't even control him for his age 27 season

 

so... we need him to be great NOW

[Laika]

Vlad remains pretty disappointing.

 

Could have been Miguel Cabrera but it looks like he's just a Manny Machado type hitter, without any defensive value of course.

 

Fat Manny!

[Stangstag]

Vlad remains pretty disappointing.

 

Could have been Miguel Cabrera but it looks like he's just a Manny Machado type hitter, without any defensive value of course.

 

Fat Manny!

 

Should've left him at 3rd

[Laika]

Should've left him at 3rd

 

The annoying thing is...

 

You just KNOW he is going to sign in some random place like Chicago for his prime and end up winning an MVP or two in a different uniform

 

Vlad 2027 = 50 HR season at Wrigley

[MikeM3]

Vlad has the 67th most WAR in baseball for the period he's been in the MLB, sandwiched between Teoscar Hernandez and Whit Merrifield.

[Terminator]

Vlad's statcast page is looking very similar to his 2021 season. His launch angle is up and all the other numbers are similar or even better. He's clearly in a rut right now, I think they are all pressing a lot. But if he gets out of it he could yet be in for a big season.

[Orgfiller]

Vlad's statcast page is looking very similar to his 2021 season. His launch angle is up and all the other numbers are similar or even better. He's clearly in a rut right now, I think they are all pressing a lot. But if he gets out of it he could yet be in for a big season.

 

He's also, annoyingly like a lot of our hitters, underperforming his xStats. Vlad performing closer to his .410 xWOBA or .574 xSLG would sure look like more of a force than his "pedestrian" relative to expectations 135 wRC+ paints him out to be.

[John_Havok]

I'm starting to agree with this view. He may just be more of a .200 ISO guy. I still think his fitness level plays a bit part in the results.

 

I think his brain is more responsible though his fitness is an issue.

 

His approach to hitting seems too much like Pappy in that he will swing at anything close thinking he should hit it, especially with RISP. He rolls over so many pitchers pitches. I can usually figure out what a hitter is looking for based on their swing decisions, but Vlad just seems like he doesnt care where a pitch is, as long as it's close to being a strike he's going after it. He makes it really easy for opposing pitchers with any kind of command to take all the sting out of his bat. He's still getting by on raw talent alone, but he should be so much better.

[max silver]

He's also, annoyingly like a lot of our hitters, underperforming his xStats. Vlad performing closer to his .410 xWOBA or .574 xSLG would sure look like more of a force than his "pedestrian" relative to expectations 135 wRC+ paints him out to be.

 

I think both Vlad and Chapman hit a lot of high fly balls to the deepest part of center field. This is most likely approach based, but unless you have Aaron Judge like ability to barrel up baseballs 450+ on the regular they'd likely be better off actually pulling the ball a bit more.

[Orgfiller]

I think both Vlad and Chapman hit a lot of high fly balls to the deepest part of center field. This is most likely approach based, but unless you have Aaron Judge like ability to barrel up baseballs 450+ on the regular they'd likely be better off actually pulling the ball a bit more.

 

But there's no real reason Vlad can't be barreling balls 450+ on the regular. Tools wise he's what, a 75 raw power to Judge's 80? He also has a significantly better hit tool, and to some extent that might weirdly be a reason he's not as impactful lol. Whereas a guy like Judge is looking to crush every baseball thrown his direction no matter the cost (whiffs), Vlad has the ability to hit any ball pitched in any location, almost to a detriment. Vlad also has a pretty good eye, but it seems like he'll come out of a good approach to swing at pitches at times instead of just letting them go because he's pressing and knows he can hit anything.

 

At times this season he's been like a glorified Ichiro, ability to spray the ball on any pitch into the outfield for singles, but with enough power that some of those just keep going and they turn into doubles or majestic line drive HRs. That's great when he's hitting .330 and walking at a good rate, but you just know he has 50+ homer potential in him while still maintaining a good walk rate and excellent K rate. That's the frustrating part, Vlad shouldn't be a scraping 30 homers kind of guy. He could be hitting 450+ nukes all the time.

[Stangstag]

I think both Vlad and Chapman hit a lot of high fly balls to the deepest part of center field. This is most likely approach based, but unless you have Aaron Judge like ability to barrel up baseballs 450+ on the regular they'd likely be better off actually pulling the ball a bit more.

 

You hear a lot of good hitters say they like to drive the ball up the middle or oppo, and that’s what Vlad/Chapman/Bo/Springer/Kirk/etc have been doing. But for whatever reason they aren’t getting enough power on it to knock them out.

 

Almost wonder if MLB tampered with the ball again and the Jays FO didn’t get the memo.

[Laika]

But there's no real reason Vlad can't be barreling balls 450+ on the regular. Tools wise he's what, a 75 raw power to Judge's 80? He also has a significantly better hit tool, and to some extent that might weirdly be a reason he's not as impactful lol. Whereas a guy like Judge is looking to crush every baseball thrown his direction no matter the cost (whiffs), Vlad has the ability to hit any ball pitched in any location, almost to a detriment. Vlad also has a pretty good eye, but it seems like he'll come out of a good approach to swing at pitches at times instead of just letting them go because he's pressing and knows he can hit anything.

 

At times this season he's been like a glorified Ichiro, ability to spray the ball on any pitch into the outfield for singles, but with enough power that some of those just keep going and they turn into doubles or majestic line drive HRs. That's great when he's hitting .330 and walking at a good rate, but you just know he has 50+ homer potential in him while still maintaining a good walk rate and excellent K rate. That's the frustrating part, Vlad shouldn't be a scraping 30 homers kind of guy. He could be hitting 450+ nukes all the time.

 

I used to call this the Kevin Pillar problem.

 

Sometimes a guy would be a better hitter if his hit tool were worse. Pillar used to make too much contact, much of it weak, but if he just whiffed a little bit more he would have ended up with more walks and homers.

 

Same issue with Vlad...

[G-Snarls]

But there's no real reason Vlad can't be barreling balls 450+ on the regular. Tools wise he's what, a 75 raw power to Judge's 80? He also has a significantly better hit tool, and to some extent that might weirdly be a reason he's not as impactful lol. Whereas a guy like Judge is looking to crush every baseball thrown his direction no matter the cost (whiffs), Vlad has the ability to hit any ball pitched in any location, almost to a detriment. Vlad also has a pretty good eye, but it seems like he'll come out of a good approach to swing at pitches at times instead of just letting them go because he's pressing and knows he can hit anything.

 

At times this season he's been like a glorified Ichiro, ability to spray the ball on any pitch into the outfield for singles, but with enough power that some of those just keep going and they turn into doubles or majestic line drive HRs. That's great when he's hitting .330 and walking at a good rate, but you just know he has 50+ homer potential in him while still maintaining a good walk rate and excellent K rate. That's the frustrating part, Vlad shouldn't be a scraping 30 homers kind of guy. He could be hitting 450+ nukes all the time.

 

I used to call this the Kevin Pillar problem.

 

Sometimes a guy would be a better hitter if his hit tool were worse. Pillar used to make too much contact, much of it weak, but if he just whiffed a little bit more he would have ended up with more walks and homers.

 

Same issue with Vlad...

 

 

Had to look up the numbers

 

Career:

 

Vladdy

15.3% K rate

9.6% BB rate

OBP .358

WOBA 366

 

Judge

26.4% K rate

13.7% BB rate

OBP .395

WOBA .409

 

So Judge both strikes out AND walks more with a higher OBA/WOBA. Vladdy obviously makes more outs on balls in play. So yes this line of thought makes sense.

[Olerud363]

Had to look up the numbers

 

Career:

 

Vladdy

15.3% K rate

9.6% BB rate

OBP .358

WOBA 366

 

Judge

26.4% K rate

13.7% BB rate

OBP .395

WOBA .409

 

So Judge both strikes out AND walks more with a higher OBA/WOBA. Vladdy obviously makes more outs on balls in play. So yes this line of thought makes sense.

 

Judge also swings way less especially out of zone. I think Vlad swings 34% out of zone, and Judge 24%.

[Olerud363]

I used to call this the Kevin Pillar problem.

 

Sometimes a guy would be a better hitter if his hit tool were worse. Pillar used to make too much contact, much of it weak, but if he just whiffed a little bit more he would have ended up with more walks and homers.

 

Same issue with Vlad...

 

 

Special announcement. Laika is very smart guy, smart guy knows how system works gets money, then knows how funding works gets investors, has social skills and knows a bit about persuasion, all of a sudden very special announcement. Special funding group put together to buy Toronto Blue Jays with Laika as chairman of the board.

 

First day after purchase Laika decides to interview all the departments. However Laika very clever, holds off interviews and decides to do some research first. Laike very good at digging. Has some contacts with NY Yankees, Tampa Bay, quietly talks to his contacts and asks very special questions.

 

Laika arm chair fan but digs into numbers. He has this theory about Vladdy Guerrero Jr. Asks other teams, good teams, about hitting. What is hitting strategists? What is special hitting coordinator? What is special pitching machines? What psychologists and drills do hypothetically guys like Aaron Judge talk to? How to get most of hitters. Laika digs, digs, digs, asks questions.

 

Then big day comes. All departments must report to Laika for special interview. Love to be a fly on the wall and hear interview with Toronto Blue Jays special hitting coordinator, hitting strategists, and "high" (a.k.a. low) performance team when Laika grills them on exactly what they do all day.