wk680

Especially after 2 guys got on base, they should have removed him and put in Barnes. It's frustrating though, when he gets Pedroia for the 2nd out then couldn't close the deal. But yeah he probably had just run out of gas. Pitiful BP usage by Gibbons.

So you pretty much have nothing to lose by replacing him. Isn't Maile at least a serviceable defensive catcher?

So is it time to s***-can Salty and replace with Maile ?

Easy to second guess BUT Sale had thrown 102 pitches through 8, and Kimbrel has started off the year well, going 6 for 6 on saves with a 0.77 FIP before today.

Yes but at least he won't get saddled with the L.

I had the same thought. BUT then I listened to an interview of Smoak the other day, in which they asked him about it. He said he didn't think he would do well because he would have trouble picking up the breaking balls. In the interview he said he is a natural right handed hitter despite doing everything else left handed. Might have been a better hitter if he had never become a switch hitter.......... Could also be because the 96 mph is a 4SFB and 91 is a 2SFB?

When they pitch you down and away (or up and away), hit the ball to the opposite field. Trying to pull it to left only leads to a lot of ground outs and lazy fly ball outs. that pitch was well located on the lower outer corner of the strike zone. Not one that a smart hitter tries to pull.

Guy needs to hit the ball where it is pitched. You don't fly out to left on a curveball down and away.

Yes it was an interesting listen. He continues to insist that he is not making the player personnel decisions although he does not necessarily deny having the final say. A lot of corporate-like talk about him putting the right people in key positions and empowering them to do their thing. He had a chance to complain about the prior regime trading away too many top prospects when asked about how his vision for sustained success compares to the Jays' current situation. But he just said something about how they are building toward having that sustained flow of young players ready to break in to the majors. As far as cycles, I think even the big market teams will still have their down cycles. But they have more resources to retool and contend again faster. Question is whether the Jays will retool like a big market team or rebuild like a small market team. As is being discussed, it may be how they handle Donaldson will be an indication of their preferred approach. And not only whether they trade him or not, but who the players they get back are (i.e. how soon they are ready to contribute).

Jays are scheduled to play 33 games over the next 34 days starting tonight. Latos and/or whoever else will need to start at least a few games. Hopefully Sanchez is back after the minimum 10 days. If so, I would not rush with Happ.

I agree that assuming too much about Guerrero, who is still only in low A ball, is foolish. The more likely scenario is to assume that 3-4 of the current top young prospects in the organization and/or ones they may acquire in trades will form a young core to build a contending team around. BUT that may require a couple very rough down years that ownership is going to balk at. Won't they be more likely to tell the FO to keep patching the current leaky boat up rather than let it sink and build a new one? Or maybe a half-way rebuild will be enough and they can contend again in 2019 with a mix of youth and some current vets like Tulo and Morales still there.

It's a difficult clusterf*** to be a part of, but these kind of tough times test one's fortitude, and they can all come through it stronger in the long run. I have been wondering whether this team has a sports psychologist. If so, I wonder if they need a change there, because these guys are just all stressed out to the max right now. They need to figure out a way to loosen up and just play ball.

It's pretty early to make any conclusions on how Thames' return to the MLB will pan out. Once teams get some data on him and make adjustments on how they pitch him, he will need to adjust accordingly. Let's see where he is half way through the season.

As none of the injuries are known to be long term yet, I guess it is still in the realm of possibility they could salvage this season and sneak into a WC spot. But guys need to start hitting and somehow at least tread around .500 level of play for the next few weeks with JD on the shelf. If they continue to flounder and fall to 10 GB of the 2nd WC, it will probably be too much to overcome, no matter how hot they may get later on in the season.

The age gap is huge. Donaldson turns 32 this Dec., while Harper will only turn 25 this Oct. Yes Harper can possibly get an 8-10 year mega-contract similar to Stanton. So the question is what do you do with Donaldson if you are Jays FO? Do you make a push to sign him for 4-5 years at $25-30M per before start of 2018 season? This would be for his age 32-35/36 seasons. Maybe he sees what happened to EE (and JB) and decides to take this generous offer.

Agreed. But it is not exactly 66 years. More like 6: Red Sox in 2011 starting 2-8 and ending up with 90 wins. Jays could have gone from 2-10 to 88 wins and maybe get WC. Of course that would be before all the injuries piling up. Now I think they will be lucky to get 75 wins.

Depends on the free agents. As already pointed out, it's not like Fowler is doing anything (so far). ETA: Reddick also off to slow start with .609 OPS and .030 ISO in 12 games

Harper is way younger, so that give him the edge.

I noticed Goins and Pillar both fouled off several pitches right in the heart of the strike zone before they got one in play. It looked like batting practice but with a little more velocity. So those were the cheapest kind of runs, but it's expected when you are going into the inning down 11-2. At least gives the people still there at that point (must have been very few) something nice to end a miserable afternoon on a bit of a positive note. Not so f***ed since his contract is only guaranteed for 1 season at $18.5 M. Pretty sure that 'reliable sources' reported that Edward Rogers helped talk the Jays FO into retaining Bautista and even assured them additional payroll flexibility if he was retained. It certainly made sense on paper, since most experts expected him to at least be similar to last year's wRC+ of 122 with 2-2.5 WAR predictions. Maybe the Jays will get lucky and he gets it going then can be traded to a contending team for a good prospect in July (he is likely to agree to a trade if it gives him another chance to get a WS ring, and he is very unlikely to be back with the jays in 2018 anyway)

But their BP is a mess. I wonder what the Jays could get from them for Osuna?

Nationals BP blows the lead giving up 3 runs in 8th and 9th. Harper bails them out with walk off 3 run HR!!

Maybe so but some teams have overcome similarly awful starts. From a recent fangraphs article: "The Mariners could take heart in what happened in 2011. That year, both the Red Sox and Rays opened 2-8, and the Tigers opened 3-7. They wound up with 90, 91, and 95 wins, respectively, with the Tigers and Rays making the playoffs and the Red Sox just missing. Those Red Sox are remembered for their late-season meltdown, not the early-season sputtering." Another one: "Can the Toronto Blue Jays become the first team to make the postseason after starting the season 1-9? The odds are against them, but it’s certainly not impossible. Teams have suffered long losing streaks and gone on to play playoff baseball before. When the final standings are tabulated, 1-9 in mid-summer counts the same as 1-9 in early April. Bad starts aren’t insurmountable. The 1951 New York Giants won two of their first three, then lost 11 straight. Six months later, Russ Hodges was shouting “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” "

I agree Osuna is good and has done pretty well for such a young guy in the pressure of the closer role. In contrast look how Giles, with arguably better stuff, has struggled under the pressure. I am a little concerned that Osuna's velocity seems 2-3 mph off (same as Sanchez yesterday). Hopefully they are both just easing into it and it is not a hint of underlying issues.

Except this time I think he was not trying to win this game. He was probably looking to 'concede' this one to the lowly Jays (who even he is probably feeling sorry for by now) and save his top relievers for tomorrow for the series win. No matter; a win is a win and I will take it any way it comes at this point.

Yes Morales is one bright spot offensively so far. Also thanks Buck S for leaving that scrub out there for one more inning.