glory

I hope they are streaming this on YouTube. I saw the Dodgers did that with their intrasquad game. Would reach more people that way.

Looking forward to this. Curious to see how the Jays (and the league) adjust to making the product more palatable on TV without any fans. Probably a lot of music.

I don't think that Jays official was Atkins. He's pretty PC/corporate in his media responses. He wouldn't have said something like that based on his history. With that said, nobody hates Keith Law more than I do, but MLB front offices/clubhouses don't strike me as being overly diverse. Law hearing coded racism in his time as a front office member isn't much of a reach. Whether the quote he was responding to was racist is up for interpretation, though.

What made it worse was Grichuk not having the balls to admit he was talking about Anderson when confronted on it, even though he made that Tweet on the same day Anderson did it, and it (the bat flip) was a pretty big deal in MLB circles. I guess it was all a crazy coincidence.

Yeah, the Jays making the playoffs with 78% of their games being against the Yanks, Mets, Rays, Braves, Phillies, Nats, and Red Sox would be pretty impressive. It would still have an asterisk due to the lack of games played overall, but the Jays making it would be way more legitimate than a team from the Central making it.

Roark facing nothing but good lineups (minus BAL/MIA) over 10ish starts is probably not going to be pretty.

Same. Would have liked if there were more games and the season started earlier, but if 60 games is all we get, then I'll take it. I miss baseball and the Blue Jays. Hopefully the season can begin and end on time. The winner will have an asterisk next to it, but so will the winner of every sport that is resuming/starting in 2020. It is what it is.

I’m on the Hatch hype train after his performance post trade last year. Hopefully he gets a shot to pitch this year in some role.

Hatch being in that group is interesting. I definitely see us using openers with Font starting some games for 1-2 innings again, even after Pearson is up.

I tend to agree that Thornton might be better served as a multi inning reliever, but he made some adjustments in September and saw great results. When someone tinkers with their repertoire and results change positively, then it's better to see if that is sustainable before pulling the plug. I'm fine with him in the rotation for now, even if everyone were healthy. The Jays need some upside in the rotation aside from Pearson. Thornton might have some if the pitches he learned from Buchholz helped him out long term.

Who has he called a racist aside from Huff (who has a pretty dubious rep for his Twitter account)? I vaguely remember him agreeing with Keith Law about some vague language in a quote from a Jays official which Law (not Stroman) brought up as racist. I don't think the list is as long as you think it is, unless I'm missing a bunch. Plus you can't just assume he's playing the race card out of the blue in every single case. As far as him taking things personally, Jose and JD took everything personally too. JD told a man FYSMC in front of the camera. These guys were passionate dbags as well. Stroman is just vocal about it on Twitter. I never said I agreed with all the stuff he wrote about, but I'm also not going to say he's a headcase and a bad teammate because of it. Like I said, as the league gets younger, the more players are going to have grown up in the social media era. Baseball has a much lower presence than other sports when it comes to social media posts, but a lot of young athletes are just as vocal as Stroman is. Just not in baseball. I'm not a LeBron fan (I actively root against him), and I do think his "social justice only when it suits me" attitude is obnoxious, but he's not a moron. He's playing to his audience/fanbase, just like Stroman is, just like everyone who overuses social media platforms. You can agree, disagree, whatever, but being a dbag on social media or even on the field is only a bad thing if it impacts the results on the field. Stroman was not a problem when the Jays were making the playoffs, and other than Grichuk hiding behind a Huff Tweet, there hasn't been much evidence of former teammates bashing him either (unless I missed it). For the record, I'm happy with Ryu/SWR/Kay instead of Stroman, so not sure why you think I'm Stro's biggest fan here. But there is a reason why MLB can't attract a younger fanbase, it's because their fans are conditioned to believe players like Stroman and Bautista are problems. The league will become more popular if there are more Stroman's, JD's, Jose's, etc, in it, and fewer Grichuk's.

Over a 60 game season, the Roark's and Anderson's of the world have much less value as their main selling point is the ability to soak up innings over a long season. Over 60 games, especially with the schedule the Jays have, it's going to be pretty important to get Pearson as many starts as possible (after 7 days). Practically everyone except Ryu should be disposable for Pearson, although Roark's salary pretty much guarantees him a spot.

I don't know (or care) if Grichuk is a hard worker. It's Stroman that is the point of contention here, and he's clearly a hard worker, even if he has to shove it in everyone's face. The actions prove him right. He's also trying to promote his own brand, which caters to motivation and having a chip on your shoulder, so being obnoxious on social media to sell himself is basically what all people in that line of business do. Grichuk is unlikable to me for a different reason. The people who harp about "respecting the game" (Grichuk, MadBum, McCann, etc) are typically the ones making it uncool to watch it. I'd rather have a talented dbag on my team than whatever Grichuk is supposed to be.

First off, Puig can't find a big league job, and might sign with the Orioles due to lack of other options. Is every GM in baseball buying into a false narrative with him? He's not even as good as Stroman, much less better. If Stroman were a free agent right now he wouldn't be begging for a job. There would be a market for him. Secondly, MikeM brought up a bunch of examples of young players mentioning how supportive Stroman has been to them. His work ethic is undeniable. He shows a ton of passion on the field, even in 2019 when the team was actively trying to lose. He's not on a faux racial crusade. He's just an outspoken, arrogant guy in a sport where that sort of personality is frowned upon. If he was in the NBA, a league with 100 times more star power and mainstream marketability, no one would be calling him (or Jose or JD or Puig) a dbag. But in baseball you're supposed to be humble, not show emotion, play the "right way", etc. It's nonsense. He's no doubt done some dumb stuff on social media (with the front office, Goins release, etc), but he's a young guy on social media. It's a different world today. More players are going to be like that going forward. He stands out because unlike the NBA and NFL, MLB players are typically quiet/harmless on social media. I honestly have no idea how a guy coming off a 4 WAR and routinely is +3 in WAR (a stat that penalizes pitchers like him) every year he's healthy is somehow not a good enough player to have an ego to you. He's not an ace, but who cares? He's still good. You don't have to be Trout level to have an ego.

Being a dbag isn't as much of an issue when you're actually good, have a strong work ethic and a desire to win. JD was a dbag too. So was Jose. Puig, a guy you want the Jays to sign has that reputation. The difference is those guys are just cocky, self absorbed, and play with a style that doesn't mesh with the 'good old boy' style that Grichuk grew up with. It doesn't mean they are bad teammates or bad to have around. Some times players are bad to have around, but there's no evidence to prove that with Stroman. When Grichuk publicly mocked bat flips on the same day Anderson did one, he joined the elite high character fraternity of MadBum, Brian McCann, Sam Dyson, Goose Gossage, etc, of guys who want players to put their head down and run the bases. I'd sooner weed those types of players out of the game than support them. It's not even a race thing as young white guys are bat flipping now. No young player is going to listen to Grichuk. On the flip side, if Stro were still here, my guess is a lot of the young players would identify with him and his work ethic.

Stroman came back from a torn ACL in about 5 months and helped the team get to the playoffs and advance as far as they did. Young players have said good things about him, and he's helped teammates on and off the field (ex. Sanchez before his 2016 breakout season). Just because he's self absorbed, it doesn't mean he's a bad teammate. It just means that he'll rub people the wrong way some times as some prefer their athletes to be humble and silent. He's neither of those things. I guarantee if you ask a group of Gen Z and young millennial players (of any race) who they would identify with more, I'd bet the answer for the great majority of that group would be Stroman and it wouldn't be close. We'll see what happens when Grichuk as the old man of the group tells everyone to run the bases and put their heads down, while everyone ignores him and gravitates to Bichette and Guerrero.

Grichuk was done to me the moment he conveniently made a post about how evil bat flips are on the same day Tim Anderson did a bat flip against the Royals, but wouldn't admit he was talking about Anderson when confronted on it. Stroman gets way too much flack here. He has a strong personality and will rub people the wrong way, but he's exactly the type of player you would want on a team. Saved our asses in Game 5 against Texas, pitched a hell of a WC game, and as mentioned actually gave a s*** when the team was openly tanking. I'll take his side if the opposite side is Grichuk every single time.

Yeah I would think Shaw is the one who made it easier to push Vlad to 1B/DH. If Shaw sits out, then we're probably stuck watching Drury/Panik at 3B all season.

I have no doubt Vlad wants to be a great player. I just don't think being in his best shape is high on his priority list. He's still young enough to change his ways if a light bulb goes off in his head in the next few years, but that becomes less and less likely as he gets more pro years under his belt and we see no significant change.

I think you are responding to me but directing your post to others because I've never "fat shamed" Vlad. I'm calling it what it is. How many times do you see a pro athlete have this much issues with weight at a young age suddenly turn it around from a conditioning standpoint, especially in baseball? If anything, it's probably going to get worse as he ages both due to genetics and effort. No one is expecting him to come to camp looking like Mike Trout, but you can have his body type and still make the best out of it. He's not there and has shown very little indication that he'll get there. Doesn't mean he won't have a great career. If anything, moving him to 1B/DH is probably going to make him better sooner, but let's not act like his weight isn't going to be a long term issue. He's already had injury issues the past couple of years. It's something to keep an eye on.

The Jays targeted Moose in the off season and ended up with Moose lite in Shaw. They were definitely planning this in the background and it probably would have happened mid season 2020 had the season started as normal. I like it. Vlad clearly doesn't care about his conditioning or weight. Put him at 1B/DH and let him mash for as long as his body will hold up. Removing the stress of playing a demanding defensive position will probably help his bat.

Draft Martin, move Vlad to 1B. Man things are looking bright right now. Improves the team instantly without a single change to the roster.

The Jays are a perfect spot for draft picks. Super young team on the rise, pay minor leaguers more than most (all?), and we have recent history to show that once there’s a winner on the field the atmosphere is amazing (thank you Joey Bats). Plus Shapiro now has a history of successfully bringing Boras clients to Toronto. When you look at the top 5, Martin is probably relieved he wasn’t picked anywhere else, other than Miami (where the team sucks but a young millionaire would enjoy it).

Get your GIF's ready.