Repost: So You Entered A Baseball Fantasy Draft

The second annual JITH fantasy draft is happening this Sunday night. This piece appeared before last year's draft.

ALCS Game 1

In Marco we trust.
Klubers a bust
Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust.


Game Thread

Blue Jays - Cleveland Preview

Vs

Off Day Discussion Points

Most of these conversations would more aptly be discussed in the off-season but with the break in the schedule I thought we could spitball about some things.
Most notably, the giant brass balls on three Jays who decided to gamble on themselves instead of taking some guaranteed dollars.

The Toronto Blue Jays, Your ALDS Champs

    (credit @woodymlb4)

Rangers have been swept away.

Wild Card Game Threat

Blue Jays vs Orioles

Tonight Tillman gets his Tits lit.

Lets pump these Shit birds.

Lets win this one for Toronto.
Lets win it for Canada.
Let's win it for Blue Jay fans all over the globe.
And let's win it for MK who brought us all together and who has worked tirelessly to keep us together. She deserves all the love and a sweet, sweet victory tonight.
From all of us here MK, thoughts and prayers for you and your mom.


Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  Jaysssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

This is your Game Threat

Wild Card Preview

So it all comes down to this, the battle of the birds.

The oriole is a small, shitty, Icterid blackbird. The meaning of the name is "Jaundiced ones".
A little quick research reveals that Predation is the most common source of it's mortality, and of those predators one of the most common oriole killers is the fierce Blue Jay.

You can't make this shit up.

Celebrate Your Wild Card Jays

It's been a long taxing season. One that has been filled with many highs and lows. The Jays got out in front midway through the season and it looked like they would coast to the AL East pennant. Somewhere along the way the bats cooled dramatically and it became a dog fight down the stretch.

How to be a Beer League Ballplayer

The following is a guide into how to be a good BeerLeaguer:

Breaking Bald

J A Happ has no body hair. 

That is all.

Claiming Votto

This is a probably a pipe dream.

Probably.

Baseball the Best

In life there are few things I've loved as strongly or as passionately as I do the game of baseball.
It's perfect but yet totally imperfect.

Getting Rogered

*The following was posted in the comments section of a prior post. It created a great deal of dialogue so It has been suggested that I create a new post so it can properly be rebutted. I've added a few pictures and a paragraph at the end but the rest of it remains as it was.

I've been following the Jays for 25 years passionately, positively, happily.
Been around the Stoeten blog and now here for maybe a combined 6 years.
In that time I know I have most often been an extremely positive fan.
I'm going to say my peace and then let it lay here.
Because you are good/positive people you will refute it and I'm glad you will.
I will not offer any rebuttals. Bottom line is I love this community and I don't want my displeasure with the management of it to affect anyone else.
So I'll get it out, get it off the chest and then leave.

This ownership is a disgrace.

The Jays don't win because of their ownership, they win despite it.
Mostly due to an innovative GM who no longer is employed here.
An ideal owner is a passionate fan who wants a winner and to make a few bucks. See Mike Illitch, Mark Cuban ... etc..
Rogers is a large soul sucking, publicly traded, bottom line watching, find a large Return on Investment company.
They had arguably the best General Manager in baseball. A man who despite having the disadvantages of trying to lure ANYONE to Canada to play on concrete, to play baseball, still managed to put a playoff team together.
Our first in 23 years.

So we low ball him with a one year deal.
He walks.

Good for him.

There's an argument over the "price" paid on one of our the best moves in 2016 from the new guy. That's funny stuff.
Get a Cy young star pitcher and hours later tear the guy who pulled it off a new asshole.
Quality stuff.
You can argue about prospect capital but have a look at our return for one of the greatest pitchers in the game -- Roy Halladay.
All those can't miss guys are plying their trade in the minors, or are backups at best.
Prospects, even the most high end are volatile, so for me the trade was extremely defendable but Shapiro still lost his mind.

So new guy comes in and has his new ideas. Fair enough.
He's the new President.
But he hires a GM who has to come and clear every move with him.
A GM with no experience.
A GM who's a close buddy.
Yeah that doesn't reek of a corporation puppet. (sarcasm font)
There are reasons that these jobs are distinctly separate within teams.
New guy swings an axe through ballpark passes, Gibby's rolling contract, grass and anything that doesn't create revenue.
Hey, we have a monopoly here, lets take advantage of it.

"I am smiling Barry, just take the damn picture"

Lets move on to Smoak.

In a vacuum I guess it's fine. Resign the 39th best first basemen in baseball for 2 years.
A position that you could get any number of Triple-A guys to do better or at worst, put up the same 0.0 WAR for the league minimum of $507,500. But let's throw 4 and half mill at him for the next 2. Lock up a roster spot for 2 years.
The one position that is the easiest to replace and should put up the most offensive production.
The one position where a couple of aging offensive stars can hide who are in their walk years.
If we were a team with an owner that wasn't a publicly traded, that isn't constantly looking for a larger ROI then I could believe that he was signed to be what he is. A bench guy with some pop.
But to me this looks like a move to fill a spot they know that will have no competition come November.

Rogers investors don't give a fuck about a flapping flag hanging in a concrete mausoleum.
They want their shares to make them money.
So they hire an Ivy leaguer and say "find the sweet spot".
That place where you can keep just enough fan interest to get the stadium partially filled, a decent viewership without spending too much of our profits.

Nothing that Rogers or Shapiro has done is a smoking gun. Not the Smoak deal, not the horrible TV deal for the team, not the disguising of revenue, not the low-balling of Alex, not the addition of a business first president, not the purchase of the park for 25 mill, not the axing of the grass project, not the axing of Gibby's security, not the breaking off of contract talks with two of the best hitters in the game and certainly not Smoaks 8 million.
But together, to me, a fan who's been through the rhetoric it all signals that the Jays need to win despite their management, they won't win because of it.

As I said above this is all my opinion, I'm only stating it because of the challenge of MK.
I honestly don't wish to come across negatively but I don't believe in this ownership or management so I'm stating my beliefs.
I hope all of you are right and I am wrong.
I'll gladly eat shit if I am wrong like I did on Happ.

Mine may be an unpopular opinion but from seeing what kind of interest, viewership and attendance that this team has generated while management still claims they are financially handcuffed? I felt compelled to share my views. Take these words for what they are worth as I will be the first to admit I am not skilled enough to negotiate through the corporate numbers and jargon that Rogers makes available. So do your worst in the comments below. I have thick skin. And again, love the Jays, love the fans, and really enjoy this community.

Here's a picture of me taking on Rogers:

It's a metaphor.

But that actually happened.

In the End,
I like You,
Just want Bush Party number Two.

Why the Jays Need to Add

Your lovable Toronna Blue Jays are two games out of first place and they just won 8 of their last 10.
Last year widely regarded as one of their best in two decades saw the Jays at one time sitting 50 and 51. Your Boys are currently sitting at 51 and 40. Get the fuck out of your seats and start clapping.

Fuck Texas

Where should one begin?

Just Turn Left - The Art of Running the Bases

The Jays have been struggling offensively this year, of that there is no argument. They are averaging ten K's a game, the power is way down and the team batting average is woeful. If you average 180 in darts then there's a train of English ladies that will be lining up to sample your spotted dick. Average 180 in baseball and you're getting dangerously close to getting sold to the Yomiuri Giants.

Tools of Ignorance

The following is my personal view and experiences on Catching, but no Statistics, Analytics or pie charts were harmed or consulted in the making of this post.

Fact or Fiction

In this bit I'll share stories (some NSFW), stats and quotes about your Toronto Blue Jays.
Your job is to separate fact from fiction, the answer key is at the end of the post.

How to Be a Good Fan at a Jays Game

Below are some guidelines that will improve the experience for you and your fellow fans when you attend a Blue Jays Baseball Game:

If it Ain't Fixed Don't Break It

(First off these are my thoughts and don't represent how MK may or may not feel.)