Thursday, August 31, 2017

no 134 2017: Jays (61-72) at Orioles (68-65)



Thursday 31 August 2017
7:05 PM EDT /  Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Marco Estrada (RHP 6-8, 5.04 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 152 Ks)
v. Jeremy Hellickson (RHP 8-7, 4.88 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 85 Ks)

The Young, The Bad, And The Ugly - A Quick Look at Pitching Prospects

So young. But at 6'6", 245lbs and 100MPH heat, Nate provides some hope for pitching-thirsty Jays fans,
I'll admit it. I'm into porn. PROSPECT porn you pervs! While our Jays toil away in a long, joyless season, I find myself (way too) often perusing the pipeline and trying to catch some kinda glimpse into a hopeful future. Sure, we got VJ and Bo, but taking a look at the 2017 Jays Prospect Rankings , there's not a lot of Stromans and Sanchezs or, please forgive me, Noah Syndergaards to be seen...

Let me save you some time and quickly recap the official TBJ's prospect pitching situation (AKA copy/paste from MLB.com):

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

no 133 2017: Red Sox (75-57) at Jays (61-71)



Wednesday 30 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Rick Porcello (RHP 8-15, 4.57 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 153 Ks)
v. JA Happ (LHP 6-10, 4.10 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 108 Ks)

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

no 132 2017: Red Sox (74-57) at Jays (61-70)



Tuesday 29 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Chris Sale (LHP 14-6, 2.88 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 253 Ks)
v. Brett Anderson (LHP 2-2, 8.18 ERA, 2.09 WHIP, 16 Ks)

Monday, August 28, 2017

no 131 2017: Red Sox (73-57) at Jays (61-69)



Monday 28 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Drew Pomeranz (LHP 13-4, 3.18 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 145 Ks)
v. Marcus Stroman (RHP 11-6, 3.17 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 135 Ks)

Debate Club


Sportsnet released their list of the top 40 Blue Jays in franchise history. We talked about it after the game yesterday but for those who didn't swing by, I want your thoughts! And for those who did, feel free to cut and paste your comments into this post.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

no 130 2017: Twins (66-63) at Blue Jays (61-68)


Sunday 27 August 2017
1:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Kyle Gibson (RHP 7-10, 5.76 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 83 Ks)
v. Joe Biagini (RHP 3-8, 5.11 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 73 Ks)

Saturday, August 26, 2017

no 129 2017: Twins (66-62) at Blue Jays (60-68)


Saturday 26 August 2017
1:07 PM ED / Rogers Centre Skydome
Dillon Gee (RHP 1-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 26 Ks)
v. Marco Estrada (RHP 5-8, 5.07 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 147 Ks)

Friday, August 25, 2017

no 128 2017: Twins (65-62) at Blue Jays (60-67)


Friday 25 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Bartolo Colon (RHP 5-10, 6.66 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 67 Ks)
v. JA Happ (LHP 6-9, 3.90 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 101 Ks)

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

no 126 2017: Blue Jays (59-66) at Rays (62-65)



Wednesday 23 August 2017
7:10 PM EDT / Tropicana Field House of Horrors
Marcus Stroman (RHP 11-6, 2.99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 131 Ks)
v. Austin Pruitt (RHP 6-4, 5.37 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 47 Ks)

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

no 125 2017: Blue Jays (59-65) at Rays (61-65)



Tuesday 22 August 2017
7:10 PM EDT / Tropicana Field House of Horrors
Chris Rowley (RHP 1-0, 2.61 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 6 Ks)
v. Chris Archer (RHP 8-7, 3.84 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 207 Ks)

Monday, August 21, 2017

Monday Gratitude


After that gut-wrenching weekend, how about writing down 5 things you're grateful for?

My list:
1. Having a great time at my friend's birthday party flirting with an attractive young man and catching up with old friends.
2. My sister, who stayed with my mom, even when I got home later than planned.
3. For the 30-day challenge I'm doing right now to bring a project to fruition
4. For the internet which connects me to the people I care about no matter how far away.
5. This community which gives me a way to serve others.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

no 124 2017: Blue Jays (59-64) at Cubs (65-57)


Sunday 20 August 2017
 2:20 PM EDT / Wrigley Field
Marco Estrada (RHP 5-8, 5.09 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 143 Ks)
v. Kyle Hendricks (RHP 4-4, 3.45 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 75 Ks)

Saturday, August 19, 2017

no 123 2017: Blue Jays (59-63) at Cubs (64-57)


Saturday 19 August 2017
 2:20 PM EDT / Wrigley Field
Nick Tepesh (RHP 1-2, 5.25 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 6 Ks)
v. José Quintana (LHP 7-10, 4.33 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 147 Ks)

Friday, August 18, 2017

no 122 2017: Blue Jays (59-62) at Cubs (63-57)


Friday 18 August 2017
 2:20 PM EDT / Wrigley Field
JA Happ (LHP 6-8, 3.63 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 93 Ks)
v. Jake Arrieta (RHP 12-8, 3.73 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 135 Ks)

Thursday, August 17, 2017

no 121 2017: Rays (60-62) at Blue Jays (58-62)



Thursday 17 August 2017
4:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Chris Archer (RHP 8-7, 3.84 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 197 Ks)
v. Chris Rowley (RHP 1-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3 Ks)

Twitter Dump


Wednesday, August 16, 2017

no 120 2017: Rays (60-61) at Blue Jays (57-62)



Wednesday 16 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Jacob Faria (RHP 5-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 74 Ks)
v. Marcus Stroman (RHP 10-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 124 Ks)

Twitter Dump


Tuesday, August 15, 2017

no 119 2017: Rays (59-61) at Blue Jays (57-61)


Tuesday 15 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Blake Snell (LHP 0-6, 4.69 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 68 Ks)
v. Marco Estrada (RHP 5-7, 4.85 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 140 Ks)


I'm at the game so someone will have to post lineups. Let's win against these bastards!


This is your game thread: "Finally" Edition.

Twitter Dump



In the interest of having something for ya'll to talk about, here's a few interesting baseball curiosities from twitter.

Monday, August 14, 2017

no 118 2017: Rays (59-60) at Blue Jays (56-61)



Monday 14 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Jake Odorizzi (RHP 6-5, 4.38 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 84 Ks)
vs. Nick Tepesch (RHP 0-2, 9.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 6 Ks)

Forgotten Fan Favourites Vol #5: Ernie Whitt

Or...ERNIE! ERNIE! ERNIE!

Da man...Looking Badass
And on the move...Giddyup!

Leo Ernest Whitt....Some of you may laugh...some of you may not ...but in my mind if there is a franchise all-time catcher ..it's Ernie.

Ok...I'll tell you why I think this once the laughing dies down....I'll just go get a beer....or six.....

Sunday, August 13, 2017

no 117 2017: Pirates (58-59) at Blue Jays (55-61)


Sunday 13 August 2017
1:7 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Chad Kuhl (RHP 5-7, 4.53 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 96 Ks)
v. JA Happ (LHP 5-8, 3.77 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 85 Ks)

Saturday, August 12, 2017

no 116 2017: Pirates (58-58) at Blue Jays (54-61)



Saturday 12 August 2017
1:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Trevor Williams (RHP 5-4, 4.17 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 76 Ks)
v. Chris Rowley (RHP 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 0 Ks)

Friday, August 11, 2017

no 115 2017: Pirates (57-58) at Blue Jays (54-60)



Friday 11 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Jameson Taillon (RHP 6-5, 4.60 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 84 Ks)
v. Marcus Stroman (RHP 10-5, 3.17 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 120 Ks)

Who the hell is Chris Rowley?


We've had a lot of "who the hell is that?" this year. Welcome to the newest one.

There was a recent big read about him that's worth the time to read. Basically, he was drafted out of West Point and had to serve two years in the military. So don't read too much in his age as he lost 2 years of development.

Others have gone in depth about him so here's the links:

Canadian Baseball Network's interview with him in early 2016
Clutchlings' scouting report from May
BP Toronto's analysis of him in June
Stoeten's article written mere hours before this one

Thursday, August 10, 2017

no 114 2017: Yankees (60-52) at Blue Jays (53-60)



Thursday 10 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
Sonny Gray (RHP 6-6, 3.41 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 100 Ks)
v. Marco Estrada (RHP 4-7, 5.12 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 134 Ks)

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

no 113 2017: Yankees (59-52) at Blue Jays (53-59)



Wednesday 9 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
 Marashiro Tanaka (RHP 8-10, 4.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 139 Ks)
v. Nick Tepesch (RHP 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 4.20 WHIP, 2 Ks)

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

no 112 2017: Yankees (59-51) at Blue Jays (52-59)



Tuesday 8 August 2017
7:07 PM EDT / Rogers Centre Skydome
CC Sabathia (LHP 9-4, 3.81 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 77 Ks)
v. JA Happ (LHP 4-8, 3.92 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 80 Ks)

Shakespearean Gibbons

Gif by Ian Hunter via @GibbyGIFS

Our resident poet, nocramps13, struck again yesterday in our express yourself post. I'm putting it in its own post so it can be shared on twitter and other places because it's utterly brilliant. Here's what he wrote:

Monday, August 7, 2017

Express yourself!


This was going to be another poetry post but I got thinking about all of you who are resistant to writing poetry. So I'm opening it up to stories told in gif or emoji form as well.

Talk about how things went in Houston, how you feel about the trades, the upcoming series with the Yankees, the day off, or any overall baseball feelings.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

no 111 2017: Blue Jays (52-58) at Astros (70-40)


Sunday 6 August 2017
2:10 PM EDT / Minute Maid Park
Marcus Stroman (RHP 10-5, 3.19 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 114 Ks)
v. Mike Fiers (RHP 7-6, 3.97 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 116 Ks)

Saturday, August 5, 2017

no 110 2017: Blue Jays (51-58) at Astros (70-39)


Saturday 5 August 2017
7:10 PM EDT / Minute Maid Park
Marco Estrada (RHP 4-7, 5.19 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 127 Ks)
v. Charlie Morton (RHP 9-4, 3.77 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 97 Ks)

Friday, August 4, 2017

no 109 2017: Blue Jays (51-57) at Astros (69-39)


Friday 4 August 2017
8:10 PM EDT / Minute Maid Park
Cesar Valdez (RHP 1-0, 6.59 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 20 Ks)
v. Brad Peacock (RHP 9-1, 2.62 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 101 Ks)

The Biggest Jays Misfits

Damn, Cito was looking slim and trim back in 1997!

Thursday, August 3, 2017

The 2017 Smoakshow: What the hell just happened?


When the Jays acquired Justin Smoak off waivers from the Seattle Mariners after the 2014 season and signed him for $1 million, it seemed like a smart bit of business. At 28 years old, Smoak was a former top prospect who hadn’t been able to put things together on a consistent basis, but had shown enough flashes that there was reason to believe a breakout could be on the way. 

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

no. 108 2017: Blue Jays (50-57) at White Sox (41-63)



Wednesday 2 August 2017
2:10 PM EDT / Guaranteed Rate Field
JA Happ (LHP 3-8, 4.15 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 70 Ks)
v. Derek Holland (LHP 5-10, 5.42 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 82 Ks)

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

no. 107 2017: Blue Jays (49-57) at White Sox (41-62)


Tuesday 1 August 2017
8:10 PM EDT / Guaranteed Rate Field
Marcus Stroman (RHP 9-5, 3.08 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 109 Ks)
v. Mike Pelfrey (RHP 3-8, 4.73 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 55 Ks)

Let's Recap the Deadline



By now, I'm sure most of these trades are not news to most of you. Most of the tweets came from MLB Trade Rumors while I will link to FanGraphs as well.

First of all, yesterday was the non-waiver trade deadline, so while most of the major trades have taken place, there are bound to be more over the next month. The second deadline is a bit more confusing, where players are placed on revocable waivers and have to clear to be traded unless the team that claims the player strikes a deal in the 48 hours they have before the waivers are revoked. MLBTR has a more in depth write-up if you wanted to read up more about the process. Generally, most teams will place a majority of their team on waivers, and every now and then people get worked up about it. If news comes out that Bautista, Donaldson, Stroman, Sanchez, or Osuna are placed on waivers, please don't make too much fuss about it. It's a common occurrence and indicates Shapiro and Atkins are doing their due diligence to improve the future of the ball club.

Let's talk about the deals that did get made, starting with the Blue Jays moves.

This name is all you need to know about how the deadline day went for the Blue Jays. They only moved expiring contracts and didn't move anyone under control for 2018 or beyond. It's highly likely they had calls about guys like Josh Donaldson, Roberto Osuna, Justin Smoak, Steve Pearce, J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman, and likely Bautista and Estrada as well.

This indicates to me that the front office is open to a lot of things, and have creatively managed to exchange Fransisco Liriano in back to back deadline trades. While some may remember a post I made advocating a bigger sell-off of assets; unless you're in a position like the White Sox or Athletics, these deals can be more difficult to pull off. It's entirely possible that Victor Robles was never on the table in talks for Osuna, and likewise with Rafael Devers for Josh Donaldson in a year where he is slashing .243/.364/.442 while having a DL stint with a calf injury. He hasn't really been firing on all cylinders at any point this year. The Red Sox seem to be highly enamored with Devers, and there's talk that they preferred to keep him over Moncada when in talks for their ace, Chris Sale. They got an extra year of control in that trade and could potentially garner MVP votes if he keeps this insane pace he has performed at this season.

Back to the return for Liriano, namely T-Oscar Hernandez, who is a legitimate top 100 prospect that management was able to acquire by taking on the salary of Norichika Aoki and assuredly eating cash on the prorated $13 million that Liriano was earning this year. KATOH projects him to earn 3.9 career WAR while KATOH+ has him at 4.7, both placing him in the top 100 of prospects. He has emerged as the teams fifth best prospect on the MLB Pipeline lists, slotting in ahead of our three arms (Zeuch, SRF, Pearson). I like that he's MLB ready, and fits the mold of the young athletic outfielder the Jays have been trying to acquire. His KATOH comparables don't inspire the most confidence, and he might not have the most upside out there, but has double digit homers and steals and plays good defense in the outfield, and is basically MLB ready. Not a ton to dislike here, all things considered.


The second move the Jays made yesterday was moving expiring contract Joe Smith for two upside low A players, from the current regime's old employer in Cleveland. Admittedly, I don't know much about either, so I first checked to see what year they were drafted. Pannone was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2012 draft by the Cubs, and re-entered in 2013 and was drafted in the 9th round by Cleveland, where Shapiro was team president and Ross Atkins was the director of player development. Samad Taylor was drafted in 2016, so in theory, he has no real ties to our management group. He is four years younger though and seems like he could be the better of the two acquired today. Neither cracked the Pipeline's top 30 prospects, however.


I have a feeling that Marco Estrada could still get dealt in August, as well as potentially Bautista. There might not have been much interest in Estrada, and there's not much point in just giving him away. I'm also starting to buy into the theory that Jose Bautista might not waive his no trade clause granted by his 10/5 veto rights, though Atkins stated that nothing got to the point where he was asked to waive. Other than that I doubt there is much else they could do in August, besides a contender getting desperate for a catcher if there was an injury or something. They definitely face tough decisions in the off-season, where I think it is imperative for the club to either sign Josh Donaldson - or at the very least have an idea on what the number is going to be - or trade him in the off-season where there will be a larger market for him with more teams potentially getting involved. I think they still need to get younger, faster, and more athletic in the off-season, but the deals made today were strides in the right direction.