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It is tough to give an opinion without any fangraph stats. I expect that he isn't overly offensive though, which for a moderator is a good thing.

Martin and Tulowitzki will be available to pinch hit, so all is not lost. I think that Tulowitzki should be rested regularly so he can remain healthy and be productive for another 5 years or more. However, I am disappointed that he won't be in the starting lineup. I still expect the Blue Jays to win today. Navarro has been making good contact lately so it wouldn't surprise me if he has a home run today.

Call me whatever you want, if the Blue Jays go on an extended winning streak while Travis is out then I won't be one of the ones wanting to replace Goins when Travis comes back. Goins won't lead the Blue Jays to the playoffs (that will likely be players such as Donaldson, Bautista, Tulowitzki, and Martin, with good starting and bullpen pitching) but he is an important piece on defense and just needs to be mediocre on offense because of all the other strong offensive players. If you want to call me dumb go ahead, but what do you think about a player such as Roberto Alomar giving praise to Goins (a couple of years ago)? Here are some opinions: ESPN Goins: He had eight defensive runs saved in May, the most by any shortstop. That was twice as many as the player with the next-most at the position (Brandon Crawford). Goins finished the month with 13 Good Fielding Plays and 2 Defensive Misplays and Errors. His 6.5-to-1 ratio was the best for the month among shortstops. (source: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/58869/arenado-the-best-defensive-player-in-may ) Roberto Alomar: "I think he's going to be great," (source: http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/4408066-alomar-told-jays-to-give-goins-a-chance/) Roberto Alomar: Alomar was clearly impressed by what he has seen from the rookie Goins. Commenting on how Goins displays stellar footwork and a good eye for the ball is music to the ears of Blue Jays fans all over the country. When a Hall of Famer likes what you’ve done, you can’t go wrong. Especially when it comes to Robbie Alomar, arguably the greatest second baseman to ever play the game. (source: http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2013/09/13/toronto-blue-jays-ryan-goins-should-be-2nd-baseman-of-the-future/) John Lott of the National Post And if stats-minded fans want to dig deep enough into the byzantine world of FanGraphs.com, they can find evidence that Goins is already the best second baseman in baseball, small sample size be damned. (source: http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/blue-jays-ryan-goins-raises-the-bar-on-defence-with-dazzling-plays) NOTE: this is an old story from September 2013 but I am sure that Goins' defense hasn't diminshed since then.

Prior to the trades, I strongly disapproved but now I approve. The Blue Jays have lost prospects, some of which might turn out to be good MLB players, but I think it is important for the team and fans to get to the playoffs, otherwise the team might have a tough time attracting impact players like Tulowitzki and Donaldson in the future. I think that success leads to more success. Also financially, the additional ticket sales and merchandise sales will probably pay for the higher salaries and improve the bottom line.

This argument is complete rubbage. Goins is not a heavyweight hitter but he does have 26 RBI's this year in 226 plate appearances - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/goinsry01.shtml . People are excited to be getting Ben Revere from the Phillies and he only has 26 RBI's in 388 plate appearances - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reverbe01.shtml . Pillar has the speed to turn a sacrifice bunt into a hit even if the aim is a sac bunt. However, the sac bunt was a logical move rather it worked or not, and whether it was Goins or not. I think the worst thing that could have happened would have been if Gibbons had replaced Goins at 2B with Valencia for his bat since that might have cost the game on defense. All this garbage about Travis being such a plus for the team is also garbage. Travis doesn't have the sure hands or range that Goins has at 2nd base, Travis is just a better hitter not a better defender. When Goins took over from Travis at 2B, when Travis was first injured, the team record improved, it didn't get worse. Once Travis got back the team record got worse (this was before all the player improvements to the team so the circumstances were similar). I am so fed up with all this focus on algebraically determining WAR which illogically puts less weight on defense than offense. If people want to know WAR then calculate it directly, otherwise just call it something else. The way to determine a true value for Wins Above Replacement is to determine it with the player in question playing versus not playing under similar circumstances. Goins scored two runs and had a hit that started the 3 run rally, yet he is being picked on. Smoak was 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts and hit into a double play, yet Goins is the one being singled out. No one is saying that Colabello should have been at 1B. I can't understand fans who complain when the team is winning. How can anyone complain about Gibbons' moves in the game last night?

This article seems to give proof that his slider isn't as good as last year (as you stated) - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/did-drew-hutchison-really-change-his-slider/

Fortunately there are so many different stats available on fangraphs that it is possible to discern luck from explainable differences. I think the telling factor is Hutchinson's line drive percentage. This year it is 25.6% versus 18.6 in 2014 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=10732&position=P . This seems to indicate that he is being hit harder this year than last year. Here is an interesting article from fangraphs - http://www.fangraphs.com/library/pitching/batted-ball/ . In this article it states that Line drives are death to pitchers, while ground balls are the best for a pitcher. In numerical terms, line drives produce 1.26 runs/out, fly balls produce 0.13 R/O, and ground balls produce only 0.05 R/O.. The article also explains that if a pitcher is allowing more line drives then their BABIP will be higher. I found this article to be very informative, however, it was also was very contradictive going by the following statement: We know that pitchers do not have complete control, or even much control at all, over what happens to a baseball once it’s put in play, but they do have some control over the type of batted ball they allow. If you allow ten ground balls, you can’t control if zero, three, or nine go for hits, but you did control the fact that none are leaving the park. On the other hand, fly ball pitchers can usually limit the number of hits they allow, but that also makes them more vulnerable to home runs.. There are contradictions within this one paragraph and it contradicts the entire point of the article. What maddens me is how authors want to make profound statements instead of sticking to the facts (example: If you allow ten ground balls, you can’t control if zero, three, or nine go for hits, but you did control the fact that none are leaving the park., which completely contradicts the point that the author was making in regards to line drives being death to a pitcher.

It is so great to watch a team that has good hitters and makes defensive plays that are expected of playoff quality teams; the Blue Jays that is. I am really starting to enjoy watching the Blue Jays. I almost expect them to play well in every game until the end of the regular season and beyond.

Doubront will probably get a regular pitching spot on the A's. Good for him, it is better than being forgotten in Buffalo.

Lineup for tonight: (source: ). It is good to see Encarnacion and Smoak in the lineup. I am looking forward to another win. Hutchinson has been good at the Rogers Centre and Kansas just has some guy named Johnny Cueto pitching

I am so glad that Sanchez is still in Toronto. I am also glad that Hawkins is now in Toronto. The Blue Jays look like a playoff team. The next 2 months will be interesting now.

Yes, but I hope that will change.

I think the Jays will do well against Kansas. If it weren't for a couple of errors at SS then the Jays would have won 2 of 3 in Kansas City. I think the Blue Jays will win 3 out of 4 against Kansas.

I don't think the Blue Jays need to make any more trades. With Donaldson, Tulowitzki, Goins and Smoak not many ground balls will get through the infield.

I think the dugout looks more serious without Reyes joking around. It certainly looks different in the dugout with Tulowitzki there.

I would rather see Navarro catching Dickey. It seems like Martin really getts peeved off catching Dickey.

It sounds like Bautista is just being humble.

This is only one loss. Now the Blue Jays need to get hot and win a few games in a row.

I didn't ask you anything. Jackass.

I have been following baseball since 1973. I am not trolling you. I made a simple comment that Hawkins in a good pitcher and that was enough for you to troll me. I know he has pitched for 20 years before you said it.

Did you look that up today or have you been following his career?

I just kept hearing how old he was. In spite of his age he is still a good pitcher and good pickup for the Blue Jays. Did you predict that he would be a god addition? I might have missed it.

Hawkins looks like a good pitcher.

It seems like the fans and Blue Jays were bored by this game. Who would have thought that the Phillies have won 8 out of 9 since the all star game. At least now the game is interesting, I just hope it won't end in frustration.

It could have been much worse than 3 - 2 down. Now it is time for the Blue Jay bats to come to life.