Jim_Ackers_balls

Fire Pete Walker.

He hasn't looked confident since the Minnesota series. Not hitting his spots. The stuff is there, but his brain seems somewhere else.

I'm curious how he has kept his job over the past season and a month in. I realize the Jays bullpen was one of the better ones last year, but the rotation was not. This year the pen is a mess and the rotation isn't any different than last year, save for MB's good start. Why the love? What are his qualifications to be a MLB pitching coach? I know Gibbons was his manager and gave him a break -- but based on what? Being a buddy and....? It just seems like there are way more qualified coaches out there other than him. He's never had a track record of success anywhere from what I have seen (unless you are counting the bullpen from last year). I guess I could turn over more rocks to get more information about him, but it just seems he has a job because he's Gibbons friend?

Have MLB Premium which I use on the Roku 3. Works great. No need for VPN service in Brantford. Would recommend an ISP with unlimited bandwidth ( I use VMedia) because you will blow through bandwidth.

He looks dumber than a box of rocks. Has "happy feet" at the plate. Fundamentally not sound in the field. He'll be a major leaguer, but I don't think he will be a starter long-term.

It's really slowing things down. I don't know why they didn't try it out in AAA first before implementing it in the Bigs. Oh, I know. Bud Selig is a tool.

It makes sense in AA's world.

Eagerly awaiting the AA extension offer to McGowan after he wins opening day with a five inning performance.

Sorry. I'm new.

He couldn't make an injured Mariners squad. Baker is essentially coming off of TJ sugery. Is he could enough for the Jays rotation? His splits in the AL East parks are actually pretty good. May be rough going in the start with him, but certainly won't cost $16MM.

Al Leiter. s*** all over the organization, even though they stuck with him and then shits all over the organization saying that "nobody over there believed in me."

He was hit on the hand/wrist right after being traded to Toronto. He still got on base despite not being able to swing the stick.

Doesn't matter if he hits righties better, because he won't play against them.

His splits were not the greatest last year. A lot better against righties than lefties. If they were the other way around, he'd be a good platoon partner for Lind. Wait and see, I guess.

If Johnny Mac doesn't make the Angels ball club (currently a non-roster invitee) and becomes a free agent, who do you feel would be the better starting 2nd baseman for the Blue Jays? Groins or McDonald?

The track record for success of NPB Japanese starters is pretty slim. Kuroda and Iwakuma (with his year and a half) are about it. Clarifying my terms: Darvish is half Iranian and has a much different build, so I don't view him as a Japanese player, even though he is half Japanese. Matsuzaka good for about a year and a half. Nomo was good for a couple of seasons and then pretty mediocre the rest of his career. The rest have been forgettable as starting pitchers.

This guy is going to be a bust. He's the new Toad of NY. Book it.

Romero needs to grab this spot. If not, hopefully they can trade Romero and get something in return.

The Jays think they are in the drivers seat all the time and get passed by everyone. The Tigers or Mets or someone will nab Franklin before the Jays ever do.

I'm not surprised by the mess that is the Blue Jays. This organization is run the same way as the Toronto Maple Leafs: Hire the assistant GM, who was hired by the jettisoned GM because they are familiar with the organization. One would think that when you fire a GM, you'd purge most of the rest of the staff that he hired unless they demonstrated some sort of track record of success. This club can't produce quality major leaguers; can't draft them and as a result no FA of any value wants to sign with them. When the Jays were winning 20 years ago, FA's would take a discount to come to Toronto. I really hope the following happens at the end of this year: A) Rogers sells the team President and GM are fired along with the managerial and scouting staff C) New GM comes in and blows up this team

I knew you were going with some sort of discrimination angle. I got that. I have no clue how many closers have a similar build either. I don't see the point of putting a player into a certain role just because he had success in the minors. They call it the minors for a reason. It's to polish and refine skills. There are plenty of players who have been great in the minors and complete busts in the bigs. Not saying Stroman is going to be that kind of player, but it doesn't appear the Jays are setting him up for success. Yes, he has lights out stuff. Scouts have noted that Stroman's stuff plays out even better in a relief role where he can amp things up that much more. He has a solid build. My concern, as a fan, is more about effectiveness due to the smaller plane the ball will travel in a starting role, along with the reduction in stuff by being in the rotation.

He is having problems. Even in Spring Training Stroman is having some issues by not being able to throw on a downward plane. It is even more problematic due to Stroman's height: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/post?id=1968 As for the argument against Stroman as a starter based on height, there would have been a lot more starting pitchers in MLB if it wasn't a huge factor. Some of the other MLB would have given a player of his height/build/stuff a shot. It's not my argument. MLB executives as a whole are making the decision not to put a similar type player in a starters role. Stroman still could wind up as a reliever. It's not uncommon to convert a starter from the minors into a reliever in the majors. I think the only reason why Stroman is being discussed as a reliever is because the upper levels of the system is thin and he's being put into a less than ideal situation. It's not as bad as making Ryan Goins a starting second baseman, but it probably will not help Stroman's confidence when the s*** hits the fan.

That's comparing apples to oranges. Plus some of your athletes are from 20 years ago. There's nothing wrong with having a dominant closer. The Jays haven't had one since Henke/Ward days.

I don't think you have allowed yourself to properly digest the information. 30 starts. Career. MLB. Two pitchers 5'9 or less. Since 1960. It's 2014. That is 55 years of baseball if you are counting 1960 as the first year. You're trying to compare Jim Abbott with Marcus Stroman? Abbott was 6'3. Stroman 5'9. The ball comes in a much flatter plane the shorter you are. That is why a guy with a repeatable delivery like Randy Johnson only needed two pitchers primarily. The Big Unit was physically closer to the mound by the time he delivered the ball and it traveled much differently than a ball being thrown by someone like Tim Collins of the Royals. We can probably agree that Craig Kimbrel has better stuff than Marcus Stroman. We can even say it is dead even for argument sake. Why isn't Kimbrel at 5'11 a starter instead of a reliever? His stuff is off the charts. His fastball is upper 90's. His slider is filthy. The Braves are a pitching factory. Are you saying they don't know what they're doing, yet AA does? Anyways...sign Santana, AA. It's only a one-year commitment.

Just going by the Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2014 edition. If only two pitchers have combined for 30 MLB starts there is obviously a reason. To think the Jays organization can go against logic doesn't surprise me. IMHO, Stroman is a closer type. Not a starter. I thought the Jays were drafting him to be their closer; he was going to be one of these types that gets drafted and quickly arrived in the bigs. Forcing him to be a starter is just dragging this process out longer. He'll flop and go back to the pen where he belongs.