nextyear

The Blue Jays up by 2 runs in the seventh is too close for comfort.

Ryan Goins, suc..h a good baseball player!

I thought that I would have to change my username this year since I thought this would be the year for the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, so far it is the same old story; big trades and big new names but same result. Maybe the problem really is Gibbons? PS: The bullpen has stunk, but Gibbons doesn't seem to know when to put the right reliever in the game.

I moved to Toronto in 1980 from Nova Scotia after finishing a 4 year university degree at Dalhousie in Halifax (yes I am an old-timer). One if the things I wanted to do once I got to the big city was see a major league Blue Jays baseball game (even though I was mainly an Expos fan at the time). I got a seat in the left field stands, which was the original Exhibition Stadium built in 1948 and saw a game between the Blue Jays and Baltimore with Jim Palmer pitching. My main memory of the game was that the outfield seats were by far the best part of the stadium since the seats were almost completely covered. I also remember sitting in the "new" section along the right infield line and I was not impressed; it was uncomfortable and not what I expected for a major league stadium. The Rogers Centre is much better for watching baseball. I just wish it could be renovated somehow and remove a lot of the concrete structure and even the roof; maybe keep the lower bowl and completely rebuild the upper tiers in a more open style like the new generation retro stadiums such as Camden Yards, which is actually only a few years newer than the Rogers Centre.

Frightening. I hope it hasn't affected his play.

Interesting. I didn't know Delino DeShields (former Expo) had a son in the minor leagues - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delino_DeShields,_Jr. .

Personally I can't see how a player who hasn't played a game in the majors can be considered a legitimate second baseman. I have to wonder if once again the Blue Jays have been mesmerized by offensive numbers. Devon Travis seems to have quite few errors in the minors - http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=travis000dev but his fielding percentage seems to be decent. The Blue Jays got rid of a great defensive player who couldn't learn to hit consistently at the majors for a potential second baseman who has never played in the majors. It is tough to get excited by this trade. It seems like the Blue Jays just traded Anthony Gose for a lottery ticket.

I think you summed it up very well. Defence was the main problem. Defence and pitching go hand in hand. There were many games this year when the pitchers, including the bullpen, made decent pitches and got ground balls that should have been outs but were either not caught or thrown away by the defence.

I wonder for how many Blue Jay players the joy of going home for the off-season is greater than the disappointment of not making the playoffs? I am sure that a few have been happily looking forward to going home for a few weeks now.

The last few days we have seen Dalton Pompey and Kevin Pillard make dangerous headfirst slides into home. In my opinion the Blue Jays should strongly discourage the practice since players often injure themselves. Although most injuries are hand fractures there is also the risk of a player breaking his neck as was the case with Cory Hahn while playing baseball at Arizona State - http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/05/14/no-longer-able-to-play-after-injury-arizona-state-cory-hahn-earns-spot-in-pro/. I am mainly thinking in terms of headfirst slides while running to a base or home plate, whereas the headfirst dive back to a base on a pick-off play seems to be less of a concern. Here are a few stories regarding headfirst slides into base with many MLB players and managers feeling that it is a bad idea. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/73307718/anthony-castrovince-headfirst-slides-to-first-base-not-worth-risk http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/the-study/86631/josh-hamilton-slide-headfirst-feetfirst-faster-speed-study http://m.angels.mlb.com/news/article/17739626/ http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/2014/06/11/headfirst_slide_pioneer_pete_rose_says_its_not_always_a_good_idea.html This type of headfirst slide should definitely be discouraged: (source: http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/2014/06/11/headfirst_slide_pioneer_pete_rose_says_its_not_always_a_good_idea.html) http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/baseball/2014/06/11/headfirst_slide_pioneer_pete_rose_says_its_not_always_a_good_idea/ian_kinsler.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg

That should have been his 3rd triple (if Lind wasn't so slow).

Although I enjoy watching Pompey making diving plays in the outfield I am worried that he will hurt himself ala Brett Lawrie style. Is Goins packing on a few pounds?

It is kind of sad to see some players like Pompey, Kawasaki and a couple others trying to win but the relievers are playing like it is a 15-0 Seattle blowout.

That must be tough. I only get angry and disgusted when the Blue Jays lose.

It's bad enough being a Blue Jays fan, if I was a Maple Leafs fan also then I think the stress would have killed me long ago.

Gotta love Bautista, even with his stats he unselfishly walks in a run instead of taking a wild swing at ball 4.

I knew it wouldn't take long for fans to give up on Pompey. After all he starting in what, his 3rd(?) game already and look at his low batting average

With so much to complain about on this team, you want to complain about a bad safe slide. Just keep watching, I am sure the Jays can do several things tonight that are far worse. But for now, I will give the Jays credit for being ahead.

I not watching on TV but based on MLB gameday the Blue Jays won the challenge so they don't lose their challenge. I guess we should all start dumping on Valencia for getting a 3 run double and then scoring a run!

I don't see how that is baiting him. His response seems very rational to me. I think Goins should be on the Blue Jays roster next year and should be played; if he helps the team then he should continue playing regularly, if he doesn't then he can be used as a defensive replacement late in games. Watching a Blue Jays team that makes game losing plays on a regular basis is certainly no fun and will not lead to the post-season.

Why are they asking Mike Wilner, isn't he just a broadcaster? Regarding todays game, before Jetters double it appeared to me that he swung for strike 3 but it was called a checked swing. After that, I figured that everyone including the Blue Jays were rooting for Jetter since no one complained. Can anyone imagine that swing being called a checked swing for players like Goins, Gose, Pompey ...

Goins didn't show a good eye at the plate. He was able to foul off a couple but if he had Bautista'a eye he probably would of drawn a walk.

Goins has an excellent 0.995 fielding percentage over 2 MLB seasons (2 errors in 371 chances/97 games - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/goinsry01.shtml?redir). I wish the Blue Jays would have kept him at the Major leagues for all of 2014. Maybe having a good defensive player on the infield was a positive influence on Reyes as well? In 2013 I remember thinking that Goins was a decent hitter and during 2013 he had a 0.252 batting average - http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/goinsry01.shtml?redir. I think that Goins just needs more experience at recognizing pitches before swinging, once he develops that ability he will probably hit consistently (just imagine Goins with Edwin's or Bautista's eye). I don't expect him to be a power hitter but just getting on base and timely hits will help the team offensively. I wonder if the decision to send Goins down to Buffalo was Gibbons' decision or Anthopoulous'? The Blue Jays indifference to defense and obsession with offense really peeves me (they can get away with it at 1st base but not at two or three positions in the infield). Like Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler have said a few times, good pitching and good defense will shut down good offense every time. For this reason, I blame management for the Blue Jays troubles during the season. I actually don't think that it is Gibbons' fault but it is instead the fault of Anthopoulous for building a team that focuses on offense to the detriment of defense (does he think that the Jays fans can't appreciate good defense?)

Just imagine a baseball team with 9 hitters with the patience, eye, ability and intelligence of Bautista, what a lineup that would be. Toronto is truly blessed to have Bautista playing for the Blue Jays. Maybe in 10 years once he is retired he will stay in the Toronto organization as a manger or GM.

If the Jays won 3 out of the 6 that they lost in the past week they would still have a chance. They could have won the game last night, the one against Tampa last Sunday and then 1 other of the four against Baltimore and NY. Just saying, they could have been within 3 after tonight. What a sad season it has been, but at least they won tonight and Pompey had a respectable game.