jaysblue

I thought the Leafs in 2002 could have went all the way. They met the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Islanders and Devils (their Kryptonite that decade). Red Wings would have likely beat them that season, though still the furthest the Leafs have gone in the longest times. Leafs could use a top goalie who could carry them in the Playoffs. Miss the days of Joseph and Balfour.

If the Jays give him a short leash, no problem with this signing at all. He posted a 1.0 WAR in 2019.

They had a fantastic season yes, though playoff hockey is a different type of animal. With an elite core of Matthews, Taveras, Marner, Nylander, they haven't even been able to get by the first round. If the Leafs can't win a Stanley Cup in the next one or two years with these guys in their prime, they never will.

No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Habs in 1993. Canucks came close last decade, though that's about it.

Leafs went blow for blow with Montreal last season and Boston the previous years and could have easily been in their place as well. But they weren't.

Trading for a solid bullpen arm or two or signing them via free agency wouldn't have hindered their future for the next 3 to 4 years in terms of depleting the farm system or taking up a huge portion of their spending budget. Where did I suggest they go out and trade/sign superstar and expensive talent? Solidifying the bullpen won't break the bank or deplete the farm system.

That's a shame! I remember when everyone at first on here were jumping for joy that some players or pitchers weren't able to play in Toronto when the Yankees and Boston came to town and thought what a huge advantage for the Blue Jays. Quite the opposite haha. I'm still sure they could have improved the bullpen whether through free agency or through trade.

As a front office, you have to prepare for injuries during the season and the great teams have that depth to replace those players when injuries happen and don't lose much of a beat. Look at teams like the Yankees and Rays. It's easy to say "with everyone at full health." The Jays lineup at full health is amazing though when you start losing a big piece or two, it becomes weak very quickly especially when you have guys filling out the bench who are below replacement level who you just picked up at the end of Spring Training. One of Espinal and Biggio on the bench (Biggio struggled and was in the minors earlier so the Jays never had him as an option) along with one of Jansen/Moreno as the second catcher is a great start will give you that. Tapia has been played way too much obviously though that is because of injuries and mismanagement. He still has produced a -0.8 WAR so he's hurting the Jays more every time he is out there! The Bradley Zimmer project should have ended weeks ago and its crazy to imagine he still has a roster spot. It's crazy this team couldn't find a reliable 4th outfielder during the offseason. Filling out the bench or bullpen shouldn't be that difficult during the offseason.

Schwarber would be a nice fit in the Jays lineup as a DH/1B/LF bat. If the Phillies want to get rid of his contract, probably can get him at a fair price.

What time is it meat?

Depends on if we're talking about elite guys at all those positions or middle tier/average guys just to fill holes on the roster. Adding a top arm that is a solid No. 2 or 3 starter, along with two elite relievers and an above average left-handed bat is a lot. It's not impossible, though you would be digging a lot into the farm system. Also, the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and other teams will be buyers most likely as well. Like you said, the Jays will be locks at making the Postseason, so definitely they will be buyers. Atkins has been active at trade deadlines the previous two seasons buying, so this season won't be any different IMO. Though the Jays can't go after broken down projects and expect that will be enough. Hope they get a player or arm or both that could push the team over the top.

That's a big shopping list. If the Blue Jays front office actually spent time in the offseason looking at the bench and bullpen, maybe at the trade deadline the Jays could have mainly focused on bringing in a big bat or big arm. Instead, we're talking about filling 4 or 5 holes on this roster which is a lot at the trade deadline.

The Jays could use another left-handed bat who is actually decent + a top starter + 2 or 3 elite BP arms. Yikes, that is a shopping list! We were talking about Josh Bell in April/May, and that was before the need for a top starter and BP arms.

Leafs could never play this caliber of hockey like Tampa and Colorado. The Leafs still have a long way to go until they become true Stanley Cup contenders.

Jonathan Villar available. Hired William from LOD as an agent to trade him. Giving him a 20% cut if he finds a suitor.

Over a 162 game season, if you don't have a strong bullpen, you need your top starters to go deep into games, even if that means having them throw 100-110 pitches. It's not going to kill them. That's why a starter like Roy Halladay was so valuable. You knew even on his bad days (maybe he gives up 4ER), he would give you 6 or 7 innings and save the bullpen. In the Postseason, you definitely can manage differently. You can shorten the game for starting pitchers and use your elite BP arms two games in a row, knowing they will have an off-day and be rested for Game 3.

I love Tampa and they're one of my favourite organizations though what works in Tampa doesn't repeat and work for all the remaining 29 teams. Not every team will have a deep bullpen and deep system of arms who they can call up and rely on over 162 games.

Yeah sorry about the Burnett addition, his 2008 season was at the back of my mind when mentioning him. Doc and him were such a fantastic 1-2 punch and workhorses that season. Should have used Oswalt instead haha.

I'm not muddling the point. Though the thinking amongst front offices, management and stat geeks is that starters shouldn't be pushed going 7 or 8 innings/100 pitches and you're seeing that more and more around baseball. A lot of managers pull guys after only 70 or 80 pitches sometimes and don't allow their starters to work deeper into games. If you have an elite and deep bullpen then the strategy can work majority of the time, though when you have a mediocre bullpen, good luck over a full 162 game season. You will never see arms/workhorses like Verlander, Halladay, Oswalt, Wainwright, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling etc. coming up again. The days of starters pitching 220 or more innings is over. Even last season, only 7 starters in all of baseball threw more than 200 innings. Wouldn't surprise me to see that number lower moving forward.

Mostly every pitcher is at more of a disadvantage third time through the order, versus first or second. Though that doesn't mean some of your top starters can't pitch a third time through the order. Again a lot depends on score, matchups, game situation, pitch count, # of stressful innings/pitches prior and most importantly the bullpen arms you have available. No reason why some of the Blue Jays top starters like Manoah, Gausman and Berrios can't pitch past the seventh inning on occasion when they have a good pitch count and aren't laboring. If they're cruising along, keep them in. If the score is 4-1 or 5-1 entering the 7th or 8th inning, and one of those starters is around 90 or so pitches, let them go out for the 7th or 8th and have guys in the BP warming up if need be. Again, depends on matchups at that time in the game.

Holy s***!

Burke and Puk since nobody has a lock on the closers role on both the Rangers and A's. Leclerc was activated off the IL and is making $5 million this season, so wouldn't shock me if the Rangers try him back in the 9th to build up his trade value. Plus if he rediscovers his old form before he was injured, he has two friendly team options for 2023 and 2024. Bautista I think could work his way to closing games in Baltimore as well. He's been very solid. Overall, can't go wrong with those three options. Both are providing solid ratios and you might get lucky with one or two of them getting consistent save chances.

Not as often as 5 to 10 years ago. Maybe some old school guys like Verlander, who is still averaging more than 6 innings per outing. A lot of younger arms or arms in general aren't being pushed as much these days. Depends on pitch count obviously and how stressful their innings were. I'm not advocating for every manager to go all Dusty Baker, though having a starter throw around 100 pitches per outing now seems like a rarity these days. You need a strong bullpen in order to shorten games for starters. Blue Jays don't have an elite or strong bullpen, so having a starter only going 5 or 6 innings makes it a lot more difficult. You need to cover 3 to 4 innings of relief pretty much every game, unless you have a starter or two who pitches into the 7th or 8th inning during the week. Makes you more vulnerable if you have a weak bullpen and over the course of a long season, some guys might even run out of gas when August or September come around.

I thought starters going 6 to 7 innings today wasn't the norm anymore because they throw at max effort? Starters that can go 7 or 8 innings majority of the time will help the overall bullpen. If a Blue Jays starter is under 100 pitches and is through 6 innings pitching well, they should be going out in the 7th.

So he is no longer a bust?