Jump to content
Jays Centre
  • Create Account

Grant77

Old-Timey Member
  • Posts

    9,932
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Profiles

Toronto Blue Jays Videos

2025 Toronto Blue Jays Top Prospects Ranking

Toronto Blue Jays Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2025 Toronto Blue Jays Draft Pick Tracker

News

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Grant77

  1. I saw that Romano was playing for Team Italy. The fact that nobody really cares just shows the lack of interest. Imagine if Sidney Crosby or Alphonso Davies decided to play for Team Italy. It would be all over the news.
  2. There are certainly a lot of hurdles, but it's one of the options. Other sports do it so there is no question that it's possible, but it would take a substantial commitment from owners.
  3. I don't think that's true at all. There's no good reason why Nick Pivetta can pitch for Team Canada, but Zach Pop or Jordan Romano can't. They aren't willing to make the effort, take the risk, they don't care. It's one or more of thise things, take your pick. NBA players take time out of their offseason and alter their schedules to make it work. NHL players lose in absolutely brutal playoff series and fly their broken bodies over to Europe the next day to represent their nation. To many players, National Team participation is more important than their club team and they come out and say it. Why do players in other sports care, while baseball players do not? That what they have to figure out if they want to make the WBC a success. How many fans even know who won the last tournament? It won't get fan engagement until the players show up. Maybe the Olympics are a better path to player participation. Pause the season like the NHL and make it convenient. They will bring baseball back if MLB works with them.
  4. The lack of participation and interest in the WBC makes it pretty clear how the majority of star players feel about the tournament and representing their country. Jordan Romano would be absolutely roasted by fans if he played hockey and snubbed his nation. Players are regularly chastised in hockey and basketball when they opt out of National Team participation.
  5. The middle season idea is far worse than the end of the season if we're going for participation. Contending teams aren't going to allow their players to risk injury in the middle of the season. They already don't participate in the all-star games. The bottom line is that the tournament has to be important and players have to care. Hockey players care about representing their country and fans think it's important. That's why there is such great turnout. The fact is that baseball players don't care about their country (at least North American ones) and there isn't enough fan interest to make them want to participate.
  6. I've seen suggestions that they have the WBC at the end of the season, much like hockey's World Cup, which gets far better participation. What do you think of that?
  7. If MLB wants the WBC to succeed then they need to find a way to get these pitchers to attend. People want to see Guerrero Jr. vs Verlander or Scherzer on the big stage.
  8. If you don't like extra innings then you don't like baseball, period. Do us all a favour and f*** off if you like this abomination.
  9. It's just as bad for Canada. Almost all of our best pitchers are no-shows.
  10. That's the most disturbing baseball news we have seen in my lifetime. Shame on MLB, truly disgusting.
  11. One of only 2 players to play for all 5 AL East teams.
  12. He was born in the DR and raised in Canada, even playing hockey while he was growing up. That makes him full Canadian haha.
  13. Otto Lopez is Canadian? I learned something new today. No-shows really hurt the Canadian roster, especially on the pitching side. There's some talent, but any of Taillon Soroka, Paxton, Romano, and Pop would have really helped. We're really going to have to lean on Quantrill and Pivetta. On the hitting side, this lineup will crush right handers. Josh Naylor and the presumably injured Joey Votto would have been nice, but it's still solid.
  14. I think it's in the team's best interests to give Kikuchi a chance to start the year in the rotation, given his contract and very good stuff/velocity. A mid-season move to the lender is a lot easier than the other way around.
  15. I hope he gets a lot of duty in the OF as well because we desperately need a RH bat out there.
  16. Fair enough. I just thought that using WAR for an extreme outlier in defense and park factor was a poor example if you are trying to trash batting average as a useful metric. Someone like the aforementioned Ichiro or Michael Young would make a better case in my opinion.
  17. I would probably take him over a guy who hits .240 with a 101 wRC+ and historically bad defense.
  18. Let's not overlook the -84 defensive runs in that calculation. It had a far bigger impact on his WAR than his batting average.
  19. I liked watching Zaun. He walked as much as he struck out and never went below 12% walks. Every at-bat was a battle and he even had a bit of pop.
  20. He's very thin skinned and overly sensitive, that's for sure.
  21. 35 years old, career high K's, power fell off a cliff, 96 wRC+, serious injuries. It's red flags everywhere you look. We can hope for a dead cat bounce, but expecting it is a little foolish. We should be ecstatic and count our blessings if he stays healthy and puts up a 120 wRC+ in my opinion.
  22. That's projecting improvement from every single player except Jansen and Kirk (who is about the same). Belt and Varsho's projections are particularly unrealistic, but one can hope.
  23. Royals sign Ryan Goins Mariners claim Tayler Saucedo
  24. I guess we'll find out if this is a good deal later in the season. None of us have any idea what his rehab status is, so there's not much to comment on.
×
×
  • Create New...