The 2014 Toronto Blue Jays Thread

[Andy007]

Soooo we can wake up from the Romero dream. Dude got lit up like Rob Ford on a weekend! Worse control than Lindsay Lohan's parents! His ball location was more askew than Lance Armstrong's! Guy was responsible for more runs than Taco Bell!! 

He was really bad, is the message I am trying to convey..

 

[Corn Flake]

And as a result of that outing, Romero was assigned to minor league camp this morning.

well that DE-escalated quickly.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

It was good to keep expectations for him at subterranean levels.

 

[Champ Kind]

And as a result of that outing, Romero was assigned to minor league camp this morning.

well that DE-escalated quickly.

Baseball in funny that way.  Not that I pretend to know more than the managers and coaches of the team, but up until yesterday's debacle there was an aura of hope around Ricky Romero.  Then, he gets lit up, and it's, "POOF!", gone.  I mean, what if some of the batters had chased the myriad balls he threw?  What if some pitches were fouled off instead of drilled?  I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems like basing a decision on whether a guy can pitch in the majors or not on essentially one appearance is so reactionary. 

Again, I know there's probably more to it than that, but that's what it looks like. 

 

[L K]

And as a result of that outing, Romero was assigned to minor league camp this morning.

well that DE-escalated quickly.

It made me angry that AA had so little respect for the fanbase to pull the "hey look at Ricky" stuff right around the time they clearly weren't signing Santana.  Not angry in the literal sense, I wasn't smashing things and giving myself an aneurysm, but extremely disappointing.

This team isn't even selling a wolf in sheep's clothing.  They are selling the wolf as is and calling it a sheep.

 

[L K]

And as a result of that outing, Romero was assigned to minor league camp this morning.

well that DE-escalated quickly.

Baseball in funny that way.  Not that I pretend to know more than the managers and coaches of the team, but up until yesterday's debacle there was an aura of hope around Ricky Romero.  Then, he gets lit up, and it's, "POOF!", gone.  I mean, what if some of the batters had chased the myriad balls he threw?  What if some pitches were fouled off instead of drilled?  I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems like basing a decision on whether a guy can pitch in the majors or not on essentially one appearance is so reactionary. 

Again, I know there's probably more to it than that, but that's what it looks like.

It wasn't just balls though.  It was 2.2 IP of 5 walks, 2 wild pitches and a hit batter.  He was wild and out of control which is exactly how he found himself off the 40-man roster.  The reality is that Romero pitched still had 5 walks: 6 strikeouts in 7 IP prior to the start.  He's not an outright flame-thrower but Romero's control was his problem and he was getting lucky against inferior hitters as all of his outings came in the latter half of games once the minor leagues and AAAA players came into the game.  This was the first time he faced MLB hitter and they made him pay for it.

 

[Kin]

Baseball in funny that way.  Not that I pretend to know more than the managers and coaches of the team, but up until yesterday's debacle there was an aura of hope around Ricky Romero.  Then, he gets lit up, and it's, "POOF!", gone.  I mean, what if some of the batters had chased the myriad balls he threw?  What if some pitches were fouled off instead of drilled?  I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems like basing a decision on whether a guy can pitch in the majors or not on essentially one appearance is so reactionary. 

Except managers and coaches tend to be pretty smart about what goes into a successful pitcher. I didn't watch the game but do you think that if a pitcher was throwing 88-89 and leaving fastballs up in the zone that what the hitters actually did with those pitches would make much of a difference?

Seems to me that the responsible thing is to identify what someone's throwing beyond how opponents hit it and evaluate it accordingly.

 

[Champ Kind]

Baseball in funny that way.  Not that I pretend to know more than the managers and coaches of the team, but up until yesterday's debacle there was an aura of hope around Ricky Romero.  Then, he gets lit up, and it's, "POOF!", gone.  I mean, what if some of the batters had chased the myriad balls he threw?  What if some pitches were fouled off instead of drilled?  I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems like basing a decision on whether a guy can pitch in the majors or not on essentially one appearance is so reactionary. 

Except managers and coaches tend to be pretty smart about what goes into a successful pitcher. I didn't watch the game but do you think that if a pitcher was throwing 88-89 and leaving fastballs up in the zone that what the hitters actually did with those pitches would make much of a difference?

Seems to me that the responsible thing is to identify what someone's throwing beyond how opponents hit it and evaluate it accordingly.

No, I agree with what you say here.  I guess my point was this: either Romero was a viable candidate (ie: pre-disastrous start) or he wasn't.  The spin machine - led by the piston-like Mike Wilner - seemed to be indicating Romero had 'returned to form'.  If he had, then demoting him based on one poor start is, at the very least, surprising.  If they didn't base this move on one start, as you say (and which I agree with), then the front office / Rogers is grasping at straws trying to get some - any - positive outlook on this team.

 

[Kin]

If they didn't base this move on one start, as you say (and which I agree with), then the front office / Rogers is grasping at straws trying to get some - any - positive outlook on this team.

That seems like a pretty safe bet.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

AL East preview from Jonah Keri:

http://grantland.com/features/2014-al-east-preview/

 

[L K]

I'm torn because you don't want to rush good prospects but Aaron Sanchez was dominant all spring.  Had a fantastic AFL season over the winter and he got sent down today. 

Happ and Morrow have been terrible on the mound.  I hope he's either starting in AA and is the first call-up or AA has a screw loose at this point.

 

[Andy007]

I'm torn because you don't want to rush good prospects but Aaron Sanchez was dominant all spring.  Had a fantastic AFL season over the winter and he got sent down today. 

Happ and Morrow have been terrible on the mound.  I hope he's either starting in AA and is the first call-up or AA has a screw loose at this point.

Too late for that scenario.

Anyway Spring Training stats are so deceivable. Drabek had two sparkling Spring Trainings that vaulted him into the starting rotation two years in a row and he just couldn't handle MLB hitters. The fact was, he really couldn't handle AAA hitting, why push him into a MLB spot based on exhibition?

As for Sanchez, he still has major control problems. I get the attraction of keeping him with the Jays but let him dominate in AA/AAA and learn to control that wicked fastball first. Walking everyone and lower strikeout rates in the MLB isn't going to help this kid, especially since he hasn't already proven himself at every minor league level yet.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Clubhouse chemistry determined via algorithims?  Makes sense in a way.  Hmm...

The A.L. East

Team    Pre-chem wins Wins from chemistry  Projected Wins
                                    (Ego+Demographic+Isolation)
1. Tampa Bay Rays  91  0.1 + 1.7 + 0.2  93-69
2. Boston Red Sox  90   -0.4 + -0.8 + 0.2   89-73
3. New York Yankees  84   -1.0 + 0.4 + -0.5  82-80
4. Toronto Blue Jays  77 0.2 + 1.4 + 0.4   79-38
5. Baltimore Orioles  76 0.0 + -1.0 + 2.0  77-85

For the rest, check this out:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10628418/mlb-division-previews-based-formula-clubhouse-chemistry-espn-magazine

 

[Derk]

Looks like Reyes is getting a head start on his injuries this year.

The FAN just reported that he is getting an MRI on his tight hamstring.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Doesn't mean anything serious until the results are known.  They don't want him to play before they know if it's more serious than they think.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Didn't see Yan Gomes coming.  Would sure be nice to still have him.

 

[Andy007]

Didn't see Yan Gomes coming.  Would sure be nice to still have him.

He put up great numbers in AAA his last year in Toronto and looked really good during his call-up before cooling off considerably. Then he was traded for a waiver-wire pitcher. *Sigh.

 

[sickbeast]

Gomes was hitting home runs like a beast before AA stupidly cut him loose for nothing. Sometimes AA does really stupid things.

 

[bustaheims]

Gomes was hitting home runs like a beast before AA stupidly cut him loose for nothing. Sometimes AA does really stupid things.

You mean those 37 home runs he had in 307 minor league games? Trading away Gomes for basically nothing looks like a mistake now, but, the type of power you're attributing to him didn't really exist. He had a good half season for Cleveland last year. As much as I hope the guy has a good career, that contract they just signed him to could very easily turn out to be a mistake.

 

[Kin]

He put up great numbers in AAA his last year in Toronto and looked really good during his call-up before cooling off considerably.

He had something around a .300 OBP in A and High A ball and then a .317 OBP in AA. One of the blessings of the Jays not being associated with Vegas anymore is that the inflated numbers that all of their prospects were putting up in AAA disguised which guys were legit prospects and which weren't. It's a tough loss but understandable.