glory

Pillar has already declined defensively so unless his bat takes a step forward the Jays are holding on to a declining asset. Shatkins has done a really good job so far but if there’s one complaint with them it’s that they hold on to players for so long that by the time they trade them it’s almost pointless to do so. Pillar will likely end up being a similar case.

Severino signing that extension makes a lot of sense now.

My suggestions: DH to the NL has to happen. Pitchers hitting is stupid and pointless. Marketing the game better also needs to happen. As mentioned encourage players to be themselves and as over the top as they can be. That's what sells today. Harper is the closest thing to a mainstream star baseball has. They need more. I remember Bautista's bat flip led off practically every ESPN show the day after, and ESPN has been slowly phasing baseball out for years now. Give fans a reason to care. Make the league minimum $1m (year 1 is $1m, year 2 is $1.5m....something like that). Players become arb eligible after year 2, and players receive a buyout (say, $750k) if they are non tendered, since I'm pretty sure teams will go on non tender sprees if arb starts earlier. It's not the perfect solution, but will improve the players 0-6 years earnings, and won't be too big of a hit to the owners either. I'm on board with the 3 batter minimum. I know some hate it, but pitching changes suck, and a RP having to face 3 batters means they actually have to be somewhat good, rather than a specialist. The less mediocre pitchers we have to watch, the better.

This is why I like having Dombrowski in the AL East. He builds really good teams but eventually kills them as well. Our timetable fits nicely with this.

I haven't read the whole story, but if it was Paulino being lazy or feeling entitled, then Giles did the right thing.

I like all these changes. The HR derby isn’t what it used to be but it can be a tool to market the game so a $1m incentive would give players a reason to participate and try to win. Less reliever changes also works for me. I hate one batter relievers. Those types were being pushed aside anyway but this will speed things up. More importantly, the sides seem open to talk, which is good to avoid any potential work stoppage.

So I guess Stroman for Martes+ at the deadline? Atkins hasn't made a deal with the Astros in a couple of months. Bound to happen.

The sad thing is, if you start arb earlier, which I think they should, then all we will see is a bunch of mediocre players get non tendered once they start to make real money. Like, if Pillar was a free agent, would he get 1/5 from someone? Maybe, but those types of players have no value in today's market. Imagine if Pillar was arb eligible after 2016. He would have easily been non tendered by now, and who knows what his salary would be. It would help the elite and really good talent, but may not do much for the others. I'm curious to see how the league fixes this. Teams will always find a loophole.

Bud's making the team. That contract looks like a formality. The Jays will put him on the roster the moment they can 60 day DL someone to open up a spot. Norris signing with a team that plays in a country other than 'Merica, has a Latin manager, and whose best player (even though he has no big league experience) is a Latin ROOKIE seems to imply that maybe he realizes he F'ed up in the past. Either that or no other team wanted to go anywhere near him. Maybe both.

People on social media saying the Jays are probably happy that Vlad got hurt to avoid any service time issues don't make any sense. The Jays were going to keep Vlad down until late April regardless. They don't give a damn about optics (which is a good thing in this city). I'd rather Vlad be healthy and be kept down for service time reasons than to suffer another injury (after missing time last year). Even if it may not be considered serious, the guy is 20 with weight issues. I'm not going to celebrate a damn injury.

Pillar has survived a homophobic slur controversy in the middle of SJW society. He will outlast everyone on the team.

Yeah the results are meaningless but he was a top 50 prospect prior to 2018 when he was recovering for a hamate bone injury (which can take a while to recover from). Defensively and on the base paths he will likely already be positive value, it’s just his bat that needs to follow. Worst case he’s probably Pillar, best case a lot better. I know Shatkins is probably waiting for value to come back before trading KP but this is what rebuilding teams hope for; young high upside prospects to break the door down. Don’t demote Alford if he keeps performing like this.

The last great mainstream boom for baseball was when Sosa; McGwire, and Bonds were juiced out of their minds hitting home runs. Fans don’t want to see strike outs, certainly not the fans Manfred needs to attract to the game. MLB’s audience is old. They need to attract young people. That’s why I think Aaron Judge breaking out in New York is perfect for the game. Players like him in big markets will attract fans. Same with Harper in Philly. I’m completely on board with banning excessive shifts and finding a way to limit K’s.

I might be off base but isn’t that a pretty big amount of intl money for a fringe big league outfielder who doesn’t really do anything well? Unless I’m underrating Smith Jr. Either way good move. Gaining a 40 man spot plus international dough is sweet.

Vlad can eat whatever he wants but lower the amount of calories. That combined with training will get the weight off. He's never going to be a health nut, so don't try to make him one, just educate him to be smarter about the amount of calories he needs depending on what his goals are.

Alford at CF, Pompey as the 4th OF, McKinney in LF, and Hernandez at DH (and some OF here and there). That might impact the vetrin presents that Pillar and Morales provide, but will make for a more watchable young team.

Ok, I never really had an issue with shifts and all that, and maybe I'm getting into "get off my lawn" territory, but I kinda miss the game when everyone played their position and relievers were not spammed as much as they are, etc. Good that the Jays are doing it, Gibby was probably too old school to implement all of this stuff and we need to stay ahead of the curve, but there's still some old school in me, I guess.

BMI is s*** in general, but Vlad is definitely overweight. Just look at the man.

I'm glad the Jays are giving Pompey a chance. He might not turn into anything, but this is the year to experiment with talent and see what happens.

Smith can't play CF and drills everything into the ground. Pompey and Davis can play CF. That might have been the difference.

Yeah I’m rooting for Travis but I think he’s done. He has progressively gotten worse every year and injuries have destroyed his body.

Yeah seriously. Shatkins keeping Morales and Smoak for vetrin presents and then signing this *******. Not a good look. I hope Luciano is ready to be harassed. Latin and a rookie? Norris is going to have a field day.

If Atkins cheated on his wife, and she asked him one day where he was last night, it would take him 25 minutes to explain it. The mark of a bad liar. His Vlad answer deserves to get ripped to shreds. Shapiro would have tap danced around that question easily. Ross still has a lot to learn.

AAA rotation: Borucki, SRF, Pannone, Thornton, Paulino, Waguespack, Zeuch, Merryweather when healthy......am I missing anyone?

Yup. Not a fan of this one. Don’t care if he’s a solid reliever. Dude is a cancer and no team is going to want to deal with his s*** as a trade deadline rental.