glory

That sucks. Where do they play now, Buffalo?

My first thought was the 2009 Jays, who I recall starting the season really hot. They were 27-14 after 41 games, and 33-27 after 60 games. They ended up finishing 75-87.

Puig tests positive for Covid so he’s not a Brave anymore (for now).

I’m curious to see what happens to NBA viewership and interest the next few months. They are by far the most obnoxiously woke sports league on the planet, and in having that distinction, they are prone to come off as hypocrites because at the end of the day they are a business looking to make money. That’s why they bent over for China. They have a billion dollar business over there. I have yet to see any correlation between social justice and increase in business/fan interest. The NBA is a test for that. I’ve lost interest in the NBA partly because of that. I don’t care about politics so to have it shoved in my face everyday is enough for me to move on as a viewer.

From what I understand, MLB is going to announce the # of players who tested positive for Covid, but cannot announce the specific player names who tested positive without their consent. So who knows what's really going on with the players going on the IL. Could be Covid, could be something else. Like I haven't heard anything about Drury. He went on the IL at the same time as Jonathan Davis, Hector Perez, etc, but the latter have reported to camp, while I don't think I've heard Drury's name at all. Regardless, as long as numbers are low, and testing issues are fixed, then it's a good sign for now.

Yeah, a true talent .500ish team could easily start the season 33-27. In that sense, this season should be pretty exciting. Unless you're truly awful (O's, Tigers, etc), all you need is a hot start and you'll be playing meaningful games all "season", while a good team that starts slow could be in trouble. I still think MLB should have at least tried for 80 games as 60 is ridiculous, but should be an interesting experiment to see if the season is more exciting with fewer games.

Not being able to trade Giles for value makes bringing him back more sensible. It’s just a matter of timing. Shatkins doesn’t seem to spend big on relievers in general, and they’ve been pretty good at identifying cheap relievers every year. Once we get a sense of the FA market this winter, it might be easier to bring him back. Wouldn’t shock me if a lot of the better FA’s settle for one year deals. That’s where the Jays can pounce.

I love seeing more baseball content on YouTube, maybe MLB is finally loosening up a bit on that, but that title alone made me not click on it. Wow. That title is not even hyperbole, it's idiotic.

If the cost is reasonable, then sure, but if I'm the Jays I'm not spending anything until I see what happens in free agency this winter. Could probably wait until November/December and re-sign Giles anyway.

I mean, he sent it from his company email address. If they have a policy against that, then they had to do something since the email was brought to light publicly. Woj will be back like nothing happened after his suspension. He's got a huge following and ESPN isn't going to let him go.

The Dodgers have streamed their instrasquad games live on YouTube, and the White Sox are doing that as I type this. Seems like a good way to reach more people as not all Jays fans 1) live in Canada, and 2) have RSN or whatever channel it is airing on. At the end of the day the game is a scrimmage so not a big deal, but would be nice if they followed that same path.

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.