Blue Jays (Yesavage) vs Mariners (Hancock): 7/5/26, 5:00pm

[Smokinitup420]

42 minutes ago, bronson44 said:

I guess Popkins isn't a genius after all

Looking like it was mattingly

[Eat My Shatkins]

Well, they are trying very hard to make the FOs direction at the deadline a very easy decision.

Too bad that just about all the players on expiring contracts are playing like bags of wet crap.

Bieber, Gausman, Springer, Varsho, etc

Just not getting the job done.

[Smokinitup420]

All I’ve seen from Springer, Vladdy, varsho is very selfish poor at bats all year, add in Kirk who is trying but just ain’t got it and then a bunch of singles guys, one homerun hitter that strikes out a ton, this team is all playing for themselves minus a select few, it just ain’t the same team as last year, I really want to see them tank til the deadline and let’s bring up some young guys. see what we got 

[G-Snarls]

That's an awful lot of scoreless innings 

[SeranthonySantander]

Big improvement on yesterday.  11-0, 4-0.  7 run improvement.  And Vlad showing signs of coming around.  

[Bob_Gratton]

The young guys are already here, other than Yesevage, Valenzuela, Keys, Pinango, Macko, I don't see who they can call up. King, Parker, Sanchez, Nimmala are no ready for MLB. What Atkins can do, is to trade players like Gausman, Rogers, Hoffman, Varsho, Lukes, they will bring good return, and with the CBA lockout in 2027, guys like Gausman, Rogers should be traded before, coz they will be less good in 2028, and their trade values will decrease a lot. I like Rogers, but he's already 36, so at 38 no sure he will be as good than this year. Varsho, Gausman will be a mistake to sign them long term. Lukes reached his max values, so depending of the return, Atkins should listen. Ofc I will be happy if Vlad, Gimenez can be traded, but this seem to be a utopic dream😅Clement, Varland, Yesevage need to be signed long term.

[max silver]

48 minutes ago, Smokinitup420 said:

Looking like it was mattingly

This is an interesting take as Mattingly was largely blamed for the team's offensive struggles in 2023 and 2024.

[hanton]

1 hour ago, bronson44 said:

I guess Popkins isn't a genius after all

which hitting coach is?  I think it's a little more complicated than just blaming the hitting coach

[bronson44]

I knew last year had a metric tonne of fairy dust sprinkled on it so I didn't expect them to have the same kind of season this year but I did not expect it to be this. I guess there is still time to turn it around but I don't see any indications of it happening.

I hope they can get some lottery tickets for Springer, Bieber and Varsho. They have been pretty good in identifying talent in nothing trades. Good riddance Varsho. I will never forgive you for not being able to get a ball in the air to win the World Series.

Hopefully we can get a little better for Gausman if he doesn't have any more blowups until the deadline. 

I would still look to trade prospects for anyone that can help next year so we don't have to do all of the re-tooling in free agency.

 

[bronson44]

4 minutes ago, hanton said:

which hitting coach is?  I think it's a little more complicated than just blaming the hitting coach

Yeah I know but he got all the credit for last year so he should take some lumps for this year. Mostly tongue in cheek

[Brownie19]

20 minutes ago, hanton said:

which hitting coach is?  I think it's a little more complicated than just blaming the hitting coach

1000% it is, but this board spent 2 years blaming Guillermo Martinez and Donny Baseball for the offensive struggles, then 1 year gagging on Popkins' dong for fixing everything.

I continue to believe the hitting coach has little impact.

[Governator]

We suck

[Olerud363.354]

43 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

1000% it is, but this board spent 2 years blaming Guillermo Martinez and Donny Baseball for the offensive struggles, then 1 year gagging on Popkins' dong for fixing everything.

I continue to believe the hitting coach has little impact.

It depends what the reason is behind some of the inexplicable hitting slumps particularly Kirk, Springer, and Vlad.  What are they like a .350 slugging combined?   Insane. 

If the reason is injuries then the hitting coach can't do anything.   If it is age hitting coach can't do anything.  If it is PEDs and the tests are evolving hitting coach can't do anything.  If it is sign stealing, and the other teams have adjusted hitting coach and hitting strategists maybe need to adjust?  

If it's something else, like a semi-random phase shift then I guess the right hitting coach could get them out of it.  Like if some mechanical or mental thing got them into it and not injuries, then something should be able to get them out of it.    

 

 

 

[hanton]

24 minutes ago, Olerud363.354 said:

It depends what the reason is behind some of the inexplicable hitting slumps particularly Kirk, Springer, and Vlad.  What are they like a .350 slugging combined?   Insane. 

If the reason is injuries then the hitting coach can't do anything.   If it is age hitting coach can't do anything.  If it is PEDs and the tests are evolving hitting coach can't do anything.  If it is sign stealing, and the other teams have adjusted hitting coach and hitting strategists maybe need to adjust?  

If it's something else, like a semi-random phase shift then I guess the right hitting coach could get them out of it.  Like if some mechanical or mental thing got them into it and not injuries, then something should be able to get them out of it.    

 

 

 

yea there are so many factors, we can't know for sure on the injuries but we do know Kirk missed alot of time, this is his spring training, Springer could in fact be age, Vlady is so messed up with all the instruction, he needs to go back to his original natural swing and approach

[Bob_Gratton]

1 hour ago, hanton said:

yea there are so many factors, we can't know for sure on the injuries but we do know Kirk missed alot of time, this is his spring training, Springer could in fact be age, Vlady is so messed up with all the instruction, he needs to go back to his original natural swing and approach

It's mostly Kirk in very bad shape

[Bob_Gratton]

2 hours ago, hanton said:

which hitting coach is?  I think it's a little more complicated than just blaming the hitting coach

Hitting coach isn't only about the swing but also need working on mental. So Vlad can practice and change the way he's batting, but if he don't have the right mindset and confidance , this won't work. Probably Mattingly was the guys who can help with the mental aspects, and Popkin more about swing

[Omar]

Forget the coaches impact.  Even the manager has a limited degree of influence on the outcome.

The success of this team is largely linked to Vladdy; as goes Vladdy so goes the team.  So in that respect they are somewhat of a one trick pony heavily reliant on their "superstar".  The Yankees are currently in freefall without Judge and have a better roster than the Jays.  Vladdy may as well have not played a game all season because his impact is negligible.  

Will he come around? Probably but this season seems to be in the crapper barring some miraculous turn around.  Perhaps seasons 2027-2039 will yield better results for him.  

The bigger question at this point is, does Atkins have the stomach for a fire sale at the end of this month?

[bronson44]

31 minutes ago, Omar said:

The bigger question at this point is, does Atkins have the stomach for a fire sale at the end of this month

Do you mean beyond the expiring contracts? That is interesting. I guess candidates for that would be Hoffman (high k%) Lukes (sell high) and *gulp* Clement (right handed hitters in demand).

I would love to get out of the Gimenez contract but doubt thats happening. Might be something they can get for Jesus Sanchez though he should be in the expiring contract group and should be shopped. I would listen to offers on anyone and I'm sure they will.

[G-Snarls]

5 hours ago, hanton said:

which hitting coach is?  I think it's a little more complicated than just blaming the hitting coach

Maybe it has more to do with the players than the coaches

[Brownie19]

7 hours ago, G-Snarls said:

Maybe it has more to do with the players than the coaches

That's crazy talk G.

[max silver]

9 hours ago, Omar said:

Forget the coaches impact.  Even the manager has a limited degree of influence on the outcome.

The success of this team is largely linked to Vladdy; as goes Vladdy so goes the team.  So in that respect they are somewhat of a one trick pony heavily reliant on their "superstar".  The Yankees are currently in freefall without Judge and have a better roster than the Jays.  Vladdy may as well have not played a game all season because his impact is negligible.  

Will he come around? Probably but this season seems to be in the crapper barring some miraculous turn around.  Perhaps seasons 2027-2039 will yield better results for him.  

The bigger question at this point is, does Atkins have the stomach for a fire sale at the end of this month?

We can only hope Vlad can rest up his body a bit during the All Star break and come back similar to last season's bye before the post season. The team's ceiling depends on Vlad providing superstar impact with the bat and the team has shown it has a very low offensive floor without him hitting closer to what he's capable of.

Atkins showed a few seasons ago that he's completely willing to sell at the deadline if his team doesn't have what it takes to succeed. I think if the club falls further back at the deadline we'll see all of the expiring contracts moved out and maybe even a few surprises with more control with a view of reloading for future seasons. If they just continue to hang around the wildcard spot a few games out I could see a bit of a mixed bag of buying and selling with an eye on controllable assets, and only if they go on an unlikely tear do I foresee an aggressive buying posture being taken.

[John_Havok]

5 minutes ago, max silver said:

We can only hope Vlad can rest up his body a bit during the All Star break and come back similar to last season's bye before the post season. The team's ceiling depends on Vlad providing superstar impact with the bat and the team has shown it has a very low offensive floor without him hitting closer to what he's capable of.

Atkins showed a few seasons ago that he's completely willing to sell at the deadline if his team doesn't have what it takes to succeed. I think if the club falls further back at the deadline we'll see all of the expiring contracts moved out and maybe even a few surprises with more control with a view of reloading for future seasons. If they just continue to hang around the wildcard spot a few games out I could see a bit of a mixed bag of buying and selling with an eye on controllable assets, and only if they go on an unlikely tear do I foresee an aggressive buying posture being taken.

If that happens it will be one sad trade deadline.

Half seasons of Springer, Gausman, Varsho, Bieber aren't going to net a whole lot.

[Olerud363.354]

11 hours ago, hanton said:

he needs to go back to his original natural swing and approach

Chicken or the egg.  Did the original natural swing stop working or did he switch to a new swing and that doesn't work?  If the latter seems the fix is easy back to the old swing. 

Seems like the problem is, which others have described many times, is that he doesn't get his A swing off enough.  He adjusts to the pitch and gets a choppy b-swing off and makes weak contact and is out, and the at bat is over.  

[Governator]

There's not a chance they are taking on more payroll and tax penalties on this team, even if they are in the WC standings at the deadline. I'm sure only the Mets are worse from an investment standpoint right now. 

At the very least, Gausman and Varsho should be traded and a contender might take Springer for the postseason if we eat some salary. Sadly, Bieber for cash considerations at this point.

[abola2121]

4 hours ago, Governator said:

There's not a chance they are taking on more payroll and tax penalties on this team, even if they are in the WC standings at the deadline. I'm sure only the Mets are worse from an investment standpoint right now. 

At the very least, Gausman and Varsho should be traded and a contender might take Springer for the postseason if we eat some salary. Sadly, Bieber for cash considerations at this point.

I'm open to a deal with TB (since we both have a common enemy). They have several mid-low level OF prospects with 60+ grade fielding that the Jays could sure use next season.

[Stangstag]

22 hours ago, Smokinitup420 said:

Looking like it was mattingly

Dude was here for several years and most people here had suspected he was the guy pushing the whole contact hitting thing, which didn’t work for 2-3 years until the power was added to the formula 2025. Now we’re back to no power.

 

[hanton]

7 hours ago, Governator said:

There's not a chance they are taking on more payroll and tax penalties on this team, even if they are in the WC standings at the deadline. I'm sure only the Mets are worse from an investment standpoint right now. 

At the very least, Gausman and Varsho should be traded and a contender might take Springer for the postseason if we eat some salary. Sadly, Bieber for cash considerations at this point.

my quick calculation ....$73MM coming off the books heading into 2027.  So don't be so sure they won't be taking on salary

[Stangstag]

12 minutes ago, hanton said:

my quick calculation ....$73MM coming off the books heading into 2027.  So don't be so sure they won't be taking on salary

We need to account for the new 150/6 year contract for Varsho though 

[hanton]

25 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

We need to account for the new 150/6 year contract for Varsho though 

Please no.  Another Grichuk contract only worse