Nuisance Birds at Offensive Racial Stereotypes, April 18-20

dballislife · Post #381 » by **dballislife** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:06 pm

Wut a disappointing team

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Mehar · Post #382 » by **Mehar** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:32 pm

This team could be coming home with a 12-7 Record instead of 10-9 if the Bullpen could have gotten it done and had not issued so many walks at the wrong time. Much better than at this time last year. Hopefully the Jays can have a solid home stand and close this month on a good note.

Fairview4Life · Post #383 » by **Fairview4Life** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 8:38 pm

BlueJayReyes wrote:This team has no magic, magic you need to be a playoff team...

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They sent Kawasaki back to AAA.

Mehar · Post #384 » by **Mehar** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:04 pm

dballislife wrote:Wut a disappointing team

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They should have come home with at least two more wins in the win column. Definitely disappointed in that fact that the bullpen struggled at the wrong time. Let's see how they do in the home stand now, with the 39 year old knuckleballer "Ace" RA Dickey on tuesday. If that guy can pitch a lot better than he has so far, than this team will have a lot more wins under the belt compared to this month last year.

PowerPlant1 · Post #385 » by **PowerPlant1** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:59 pm

Saw the game and I had some issues with Gibbons. Firstly, in an RBI situation, late in the game with the Jays up 4-2, why did he not pinch hit for Goins? I understand you want to defend the lead but his defence can be filled in by Diaz but then again, it always can be (which is the big problem with Goins). Yes he got Navarro in at the end but Dioner could have delivered in that RBI situation earlier to pad the lead. Goins is almost an automatic out at this point.
Secondly, Loup was kept in to go lefty on lefty with Murphy. But Wagner wasn't the only option to replace him. What about Cecil at that point? You preserve the lefty on lefty match and take out a struggling reliever. But no, Gibbons had to keep him in because Wagner was warming. Of course, this is all easier said than done to do on the fly.

Randle McMurphy · Post #386 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:16 pm

PowerPlant1 wrote:Saw the game and I had some issues with Gibbons. Firstly, in an RBI situation, late in the game with the Jays up 4-2, why did he not pinch hit for Goins? I understand you want to defend the lead but his defence can be filled in by Diaz but then again, it always can be (which is the big problem with Goins). Yes he got Navarro in at the end but Dioner could have delivered in that RBI situation earlier to pad the lead. Goins is almost an automatic out at this point.

I agree, I would have pinch hit for Goins in the 6th. The rationale there was probably it being still quite early and to keep his defense in, but Goins is just that bad offensively that you're pretty much throwing away an opportunity for more runs by keeping him in.

Of course, I wouldn't be starting him at all (and if it was up solely to Gibbons, I'm sure, Kawasaki would be the one starting). Still have no idea what the Jays are doing with Goins on a MLB roster.

Secondly, Loup was kept in to go lefty on lefty with Murphy. But Wagner wasn't the only option to replace him. What about Cecil at that point? You preserve the lefty on lefty match and take out a struggling reliever. But no, Gibbons had to keep him in because Wagner was warming. Of course, this is all easier said than done to do on the fly.

Still just the 6th. Cecil was being saved for the next time their main lefties came through the order in the 8th/9th inning. Gibbons also had to have every expectation that Loup would get through that situation like he has many times before.

PowerPlant1 · Post #387 » by **PowerPlant1** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:24 pm

Randle McMurphy wrote:
PowerPlant1 wrote:Saw the game and I had some issues with Gibbons. Firstly, in an RBI situation, late in the game with the Jays up 4-2, why did he not pinch hit for Goins? I understand you want to defend the lead but his defence can be filled in by Diaz but then again, it always can be (which is the big problem with Goins). Yes he got Navarro in at the end but Dioner could have delivered in that RBI situation earlier to pad the lead. Goins is almost an automatic out at this point.

I agree, I would have pinch hit for Goins in the 6th. The rationale there was probably it being still quite early and to keep his defense in, but Goins is just that bad offensively that you're pretty much throwing away an opportunity for more runs by keeping him in.

Of course, I wouldn't be starting him at all (and if it was up solely to Gibbons, I'm sure, Kawasaki would be the one starting). Still have no idea what the Jays are doing with Goins on a MLB roster.

Secondly, Loup was kept in to go lefty on lefty with Murphy. But Wagner wasn't the only option to replace him. What about Cecil at that point? You preserve the lefty on lefty match and take out a struggling reliever. But no, Gibbons had to keep him in because Wagner was warming. Of course, this is all easier said than done to do on the fly.

Still just the 6th. Cecil was being saved for the next time their main lefties came through the order in the 8th/9th inning. Gibbons also had to have every expectation that Loup would get through that situation like he has many times before.

Yeah the Goins decision is a head scratcher on many levels. At this point, him starting is AA saying: I said I was going to stick with him and dog gone it, I will. Nothing else explains it. Even Diaz would be better with his OBP contributions.
With Loup, 3 walks in a row for me is enough to doubt my faith in a usually steady pitcher to preserve a lead. But I ain't no manager. It's just that even good relievers have bad days. It seems to me to be the call of a manager as to when to recognize when it is a bad day. Past steadiness should be taken into account but it isn't always a predictor of present steadiness.

youreachiteach · Post #388 » by **youreachiteach** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:31 pm

It's hard on the manager when the starters are barely lasting 5 innings outside of Buerle.

Gibbons has had to make some tough choices as a result of reliever tiredness. In fact, the reason we didn't win some of these games probably comes down to early overuse of the bullpen.

We complain about not having the extra bat/defender on the bench but it's obvious for this team that they need the extra pitcher. The fact we have had to use Happ twice this week (when it's obvious we don't to ever use him) does not bode well.

s e n s i · Post #389 » by **s e n s i** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:01 am

we're probably 5 games over .500 if our pen wasn't unusually wild for those two games, but its a fruitless exercise to play the if's and could have's card in baseball. I mean what if that ball brantley hit well to end the game on friday found a hole instead? That stuff ends up evening out in the end -- like today with edwin hitting right into the shift to end the game. and the pen, while friggin magnificent, will have their share of bad outings

Overall though im pleased with the way the seasons gone so far after almost an eighth of the schedule down, with our leadoff guy on the dl and goins wasting at-bats to boot

the starting pitching is better, naturally. The bullpen is very solid again. The defense is better, much better. And the offense, the way melky is ripping the ball for xbh and knowing what reyes, bautista, and ee are capable of, is going to be top-third of the league good imo

RapsFanInVA · Post #390 » by **RapsFanInVA** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:12 am

I am perfectly content with 10-9. We've played 6 home games, 13 road games, and dealt with a handful of injuries. This feels different than last year.

kwamebargnani · Post #391 » by **kwamebargnani** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:36 am

For those who are wondering why Goins is with the team, AA is our GM. That's why.

youreachiteach · Post #392 » by **youreachiteach** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:46 am

I think the real question is whether the pitching staff can continue to go deeper in games...I am bullish on a guy like Hutch, but outside of Dickey, is there considerable chance that the low innings totals for most starters outside of Buerle are going to improve? In fact, Buerle is going to regress somewhat.

McGowan is a number five, but he seems to be pitching worse every time out instead of getting stronger (He also appears to be losing velocity for some reason). Morrow is a strikeout guy who seems to have higher pitch totals than we'd like. I guess that is somewhat normal for the bottom end of the rotation, but it means Dickey is going to have to really get going soon.

Maybe Stroman is closer than we think to a call-up.

Ku-Bar · Post #393 » by **Ku-Bar** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 7:47 am

RapsFanInVA wrote:I am perfectly content with 10-9. We've played 6 home games, 13 road games, and dealt with a handful of injuries. This feels different than last year.

I agree, different feeling this year.

AL East is tough even though Blue Jays haven't even faced the defending champs yet.

Yankees and Jays only teams in double digit win colum and above .500 in the AL East so far.

Then again, Jays can still match last seasons start of 10-17 if they get swept by Sox and O's next haha.

10-9 is nothing to write home about but as long as no rival team runs away with it the Jays are still in striking distance and that's really all you can hope for with the up and down performance of this years team.

Heck, if walks are the status quo now might as well call up Romero while AA is at it. But seriously, 5-4 on the road trip that featured those wild innings? I'll take it. 7-2, 9-0 would have been better but isn't that stating the obvious? Of course, nobody likes it if the pitchers cannot hold a lead but fact is Jays have one of best bullpens last season and guess what? the ERA of the bullpen wasn't 0.00. I think it was closer to 4 rather then expecting shut outs from these guys every inning they pitch.

Back2back2back · Post #394 » by **Back2back2back** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:53 pm

Fairview4Life wrote:
BlueJayReyes wrote:This team has no magic, magic you need to be a playoff team...

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They sent Kawasaki back to AAA.

This organization is :crazy:

and they can't run a baseball team.

Kawasaki was playing well and was a spark for us in the time he played during the long road trip. Send Goins down. He's useless.

Back2back2back · Post #395 » by **Back2back2back** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:54 pm

and my patience is running thin with Lawrie and his hitting. It's atrocious right now.

s e n s i · Post #396 » by **s e n s i** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:22 pm

where the heck is chad? we need a new series thread brah

whysoserious · Post #397 » by **whysoserious** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:22 pm

Back2back2back wrote:and my patience is running thin with Lawrie and his hitting. It's atrocious right now.

But but but, he's got 12 RBI's...

Santoki · Post #398 » by **Santoki** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:12 pm

whysoserious wrote:
Back2back2back wrote:and my patience is running thin with Lawrie and his hitting. It's atrocious right now.

But but but, he's got 12 RBI's...

Just like how Arencibia led us in RBIs in April last year. I know he plays all world defense but his bat is playing way, way below what anybody expected out of him and there are no real signs he will figure it out. Just have to wait and hope but if he ever did, a mini rebuild would be a hell of a lot easier to accomplish.

youreachiteach · Post #399 » by **youreachiteach** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:04 pm

It was telling when AA basically admitted the other day that Lawrie's bat wasn't going to be the ""25 home run type" and that his defense more than made up for his weakness. Of course, his d is really amazing to watch, but he seems over-matched at times at the plate.

Michael Bradley · Post #400 » by **Michael Bradley** » Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:14 pm

I'm very worried about Lawrie's bat. His past two seasons have been below average and he is not showing any signs of improvement. Maybe he is a late bloomer, but he is clearly not the future star many projected him to be. I'd be happy with average offense and plus defense from him, at this point. He should be valuable if he reaches that level.