General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2024)

[Stangstag]

Sounds like a solid dude, willing to learn and to understand difficult styles of hitting. Also seems willing to put in a s*** ton of work.

 

Hard to be upset with the hire, hopefully he can help the Jays find success

[glory]

I don't know anything about that guy, and it remains to be seen what kind of impact (if any) he will provide the Jays young hitters, but last year at this time the Jays were promoting Donnie Baseball to have a more prominent role with the offense. Regardless of what happens next season, this hire is a breath of fresh air compared to that.

[hanton]

"He started with longtime hitting specialist and Dodgers consultant Craig Wollenbrock and current Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc. He later went to Driveline Baseball and worked with Philadelphia Phillies minor-league instructor Jason Ochart. Then he kept searching."

 

 

Yes!!! LFG

[hanton]

Should see results immediately, big home run/slugging numbers for some in 2025.

[jaysblue]

His last name is Popkins. Exactly what the Jays lineup needs!

[Laika]

Ross Atkins

Dave Popkins

Dump Blumpkins

[Brownie19]

While how he can go from “He’s the total package, a guy that can teach the swing, understands movement and the way the body works along with the ability to game plan, break down pitchers and then the ability to connect with players,” to not having his contract renewed in the matter of 3 seasons. I wonder if there were similar comments/quotes about Guillermo Martinez in 2022. There probably are.

 

But - new is good. Let's see what he can do with this group.

 

For all those who felts Martinez or Donnie Baseball were implemented some team wide philosophy (which ruined the offense and the team), you must be relieved to hear this guy believes in individual game plans, based on ability and skill.

[hanton]

The Giants fixed Gausman, under Zaidi

[hanton]

and Tony Disco

[John_Havok]

"We had a certain swing plane the Dodgers believe in and it’s great." The new guy

 

Yes please.

[John_Havok]

While how he can go from “He’s the total package, a guy that can teach the swing, understands movement and the way the body works along with the ability to game plan, break down pitchers and then the ability to connect with players,” to not having his contract renewed in the matter of 3 seasons. I wonder if there were similar comments/quotes about Guillermo Martinez in 2022. There probably are.

 

But - new is good. Let's see what he can do with this group.

 

For all those who felts Martinez or Donnie Baseball were implemented some team wide philosophy (which ruined the offense and the team), you must be relieved to hear this guy believes in individual game plans, based on ability and skill.

 

David’s ability to game plan and connect with players in different ways is a really exciting addition to our coaching staff,” manager John Schneider said in a statement. “He’s a true expert in all types of hitting information and will help our offensive strategy for each game."

 

Veiled shot at agullermo who wasn't great at individual coaching? Maybe he "lost the room" to use a hockey reference?

 

New is good. Bring that driveline swing plane the Dodgers like over here pronto.

[Stangstag]

The Giants fixed Gausman, under Zaidi

 

Pretty sure Gausman has credited the Reds for fixing him. Pitched out of the bullpen, dropped his crappier pitches in favor of the fastball/split, saw immediate success

[max silver]

David’s ability to game plan and connect with players in different ways is a really exciting addition to our coaching staff,” manager John Schneider said in a statement. “He’s a true expert in all types of hitting information and will help our offensive strategy for each game."

Veiled shot at agullermo who wasn't great at individual coaching? Maybe he "lost the room" to use a hockey reference?

 

New is good. Bring that driveline swing plane the Dodgers like over here pronto.

 

That sounds more like a shot at Mattingly to me as those areas were directly under his purview.

[hanton]

Pretty sure Gausman has credited the Reds for fixing him. Pitched out of the bullpen, dropped his crappier pitches in favor of the fastball/split, saw immediate success

 

Oh really that's interesting, I'd like to see the article/interview but yes they threw him into the pen so he had to reduce his pitch repitoire but I also read about how the Giants tweaked Gausman as well.

 

speaking of fixing....look what the Yankees did with Weaver (Blake doesn't get enough credit for all the pitchers that he's helped - Michael King, Clay Holmes...etc)

[Stangstag]

Oh really that's interesting, I'd like to see the article/interview but yes they threw him into the pen so he had to reduce his pitch repitoire but I also read about how the Giants tweaked Gausman as well.

 

speaking of fixing....look what the Yankees did with Weaver (Blake doesn't get enough credit for all the pitchers that he's helped - Michael King, Clay Holmes...etc)

 

Will be interesting to see if Weaver is still good next season or if 2024 is just a blip

[Terminator]

That 107 win season was nuts. Giants got so many big years out of old vets and other marginal talent. Looked like Zaidi might be the best GM in baseball.

 

But like Atkins, he can't draft and develop. To steal from MikeM, it's a very 2010-style of running a baseball team.

[glory]

[Brownie19]

That 107 win season was nuts. Giants got so many big years out of old vets and other marginal talent. Looked like Zaidi might be the best GM in baseball.

 

But like Atkins, he can't draft and develop. To steal from MikeM, it's a very 2010-style of running a baseball team.

 

So what do we do? Hire their pitching coordinator on the player-development side!

[hanton]

who is Justin Lehr ? can't find any information on him. What impact arms did he develop? Maybe Logan Webb? what's he known for....? I get the Popkins hire but this one just seems random

[Laika]

who is Justin Lehr ? can't find any information on him. What impact arms did he develop? Maybe Logan Webb? what's he known for....? I get the Popkins hire but this one just seems random

 

He's the minor league pitching coordinator. I don't think that position is typically filled by someone with a sparkling resume. The last one, Cory Popham, was hired straight from "Post University" where was the pitching coach for 2 years.

 

So Lehr has way more experience now than Popham had when he was hired:

 

Before being the Giants’ pitching coordinator, Lehr worked for the Giants as their rehab pitching coordinator after working as an amateur scout for the Kansas City Royals organization. Following his playing career, Lehr was a professional scout for the Houston Astros until 2014 before joining the Royals.

[Terminator]

If you look at the Giants roster they do seem to produce a decent amount of homegrown pitching. I'm sure some of that perception is aided by the ballpark but the big league rotation and bullpen as well as the upper minors have a bunch of interesting young names.

 

Hard to say for sure but I am liking the moves being made so far. If only they had been made last year.

[Brownie19]

If you look at the Giants roster they do seem to produce a decent amount of homegrown pitching. I'm sure some of that perception is aided by the ballpark but the big league rotation and bullpen as well as the upper minors have a bunch of interesting young names.

 

Hard to say for sure but I am liking the moves being made so far. If only they had been made last year.

 

I wonder how quickly a team should expect results when hiring new specialized coaches like Popkins. I assume he immediately becomes available to players within the org, but they can't force players to come train with him in the offseason. For some players, he may not even meet them (or work with them) until Spring Training. It would seem difficult to impart many "big" changes at that point - but obviously small tweaks are possible. Muscle memory doesn't change overnight (although the mental side and the approach could change more quickly). My gut would suggest that some players might be skeptical of making changes suggested by some guy they just met and thus I could see it taking 6-18 months to start seeing tangible results?

 

As for Lehr - wouldn't he be following the direction/lead provided by Pete Walker and the MLB staff?

[Terminator]

Good questions but I'm not sure.

 

IMO it's hard to measure all this stuff and I'm extremely skeptical that fans can adequately judge assistant coaching performance. Assistant coaches get far too much credit or blame for things IMO. You kind of have to weigh the results with what coaches are saying in interviews (which are often ******** coach speak and soundbites) and make up your mind from there.

[BTS]

Good questions but I'm not sure.

 

IMO it's hard to measure all this stuff and I'm extremely skeptical that fans can adequately judge assistant coaching performance. Assistant coaches get far too much credit or blame for things IMO. You kind of have to weigh the results with what coaches are saying in interviews (which are often ******** coach speak and soundbites) and make up your mind from there.

 

Yup. Fans will hear a coach say something they think is smart (or dumb) and then form very strong opinions about that person's impact on the team, while not having anywhere close to enough information to weigh in that strongly.

[Carlos Danger]

Am I the only one who when they see memes of Dwight from the Office thinks he looks like Ross Atkins?

[L54]

Am I the only one who when they see memes of Dwight from the Office thinks he looks like Ross Atkins?

 

I’ve never thought that but now I won’t be able to unsee it

[Brownie19]

Yup. Fans will hear a coach say something they think is smart (or dumb) and then form very strong opinions about that person's impact on the team, while not having anywhere close to enough information to weigh in that strongly.

 

Forming very strong opinions based on a little information (and/or false information) is one of the primary reasons for a lot of the problems in this world...

[G-Snarls]

Forming very strong opinions based on a little information (and/or false information) is one of the primary reasons for a lot of the problems in this world...

 

And the whole foundation of the internet!

[jaysblue]

Am I the only one who when they see memes of Dwight from the Office thinks he looks like Ross Atkins?

 

Michael Scott from the Office kinda looks like AA haha.

 

 

[jaysblue]