Davidi: Jays trying hard to remake JPA

[dagger]

Since Arencibia is such a lightning rod for criticism (and deservedly so), I'll set up this article as a thread for all things Arencibia

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/davidi ... arencibia/

“It’s just being able to go out there and really try to slow it down.”

Given Arencibia’s driven mindset, accomplishing that is going to take some work.

The 27-year-old firmly believes in his track record as a run-producer and heads to the batter’s box intent on making things happen, with an aggressiveness that can both help and hurt him.

Frustration is building, with manager John Gibbons complaining that the Blue Jays “just didn’t get any production down in the bottom of the lineup,” in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Arencibia went 0-for-3 with a walk, but came up with the bases loaded and none out in the sixth and popped to short.

[TheMainEvent]

Honestly, I can’t see the Jays winning big games with such a defensive liability behind the plate like Arencibia. It’s not that I don’t appreciate his slugging ability, it’s that his slugging ability is all he has to offer.

You have to throw the ball over the backstop to walk him. For a player who claims his ridiculous strikeout rate is because he’s a run producer, he’s only hitting .143 with runners in scoring position.

Arencibia is arbitration eligible at the end of this season which means Toronto will have to start paying him, mostly for his power numbers that impress only because it’s rare for a catcher to have them.

In my opinion, keep the extra home runs and give me the guy that can make the most out of the rotation that, should it ever get healthy and live up to expectations, will dominate.

Hayhurst in his article about the Jays and Phillies making decent trade partners depending on both team's records by the trade deadline (and saying the Jays should try to get Carlos Ruiz).

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/ha ... -for-jays/

[freakoutguy]

Arencebia is a placeholder until AJ Jiminez is ready. Santiago Nessy is getting raves too.

[galacticos2]

Arencebia is a placeholder until AJ Jiminez is ready. Santiago Nessy is getting raves too.

If that was the case, I wouldn't have made that Dickey trade.

[Lateral Quicks]

You know you suck when the home-town broadcast crew is openly berating your play. And it's not just Hayhurst... Morris does it regularly on the radio. You can even tell that Jerry Howarth, Mr. Positivity himself, is getting peturbed.

[Raptor_Guy]

He's 1 for his last 24 with RISP I believe, he struggles just to put the ball in play in crucial situations, he's been beyond awful.

[torontoaces04]

JPA's new nickname.... Le Worst

[Gibby]

Hayhurst has been saying this for months..it's only now the rest of the media is startng to catch on

[Schad]

Arencebia is a placeholder until AJ Jiminez is ready. Santiago Nessy is getting raves too.

May need a new placeholder; Jimenez is not a blue-chipper, and he's probably twelve months or thereabouts away, unless we're rushing him. Nessy's much further away, and he's really struggling offensively; such is the oddity of prospects that he was signed as a slugging catcher who might have to move to 1B, and instead has thus far been defensively-capable but worryingly poor at the plate.

[The_Hater]

It's not like things are going to get better here. His defense is terrible, the holes in his swing are getting more and more obvious and easier to exploit by pitchers and it looks like his attitude tilts him towards resisting any change to his approach. Is he still going to be in the league in 2-3 years?

I was hoping Thole would just take the job from him when he was promoted but he's slumping terribly. AA needs to do something here and I'm not sure the answer is Ramon Hernandez.

[Natural11]

He has been consistently terrible for a while now. Even the broadcasters are ripping on him. Buck makes fun of him every time he has a pass ball, which is every other inning. I hear Jack Morris rips him up on the radio too.

The guy has a noodle arm, can't hit, not clutch with RISP, it goes on and on. A few dingers just isn't worth it.

What's the combined average for Blano, JPA and Thole this season? .180? RISP? .150? Terrible.

[TheMainEvent]

I remember a lot of us, including myself, saying similar things even before the season started. Dude stinks.

[Indiana Jones]

Trying hard to remake JPA? Well, it's not working...

[Raps_Swingman]

JP has great power and run producing raw potential. But he is stubborn as hell and refuses to change. Well maybe he needs to hit rock bottom to understand he can't just keep free swinging up there.

We'll see what Mottola can do, but I'm not super optimistic at this point. He continues to sputter.

[Brinbe]

Pretty sure we've all been on this boat for a few years now. Dude's been consistently bad and I wonder if his public persona/off-the-field marketing plays a role (at least a little bit) in his continuing presence despite his awfulness.

[StopitLeo]

Can JP at least bunt?

His game calling and defense in general are pretty unpalatable. His lack of production at the plate just makes things worse.

[dagger]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi now
Also, I’m told Blue Jays aren’t actively pursuing trade possibilities at catcher. So it looks like Arencibia-Thole for time being.

[vaff87]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi now
Also, I’m told Blue Jays aren’t actively pursuing trade possibilities at catcher. So it looks like Arencibia-Thole for time being.

I guess upgrading our weakest position isn't a priority.

[Dan2087]

So far our best catcher this year might have been Henry Blanco

[Gibby]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi now
Also, I’m told Blue Jays aren’t actively pursuing trade possibilities at catcher. So it looks like Arencibia-Thole for time being.

I guess upgrading our weakest position isn't a priority.

I would assume thats 2b