Series Thread: Mariners @ Jays July 19th to 21th

[Lateral Quicks]

J.D. Drew: .630 OPS in 230ABs
Carl Crawford: .666 OPS in 275ABs

Both starting outfielders for one of the best teams in baseball.

When 7 other hitters have 1.102, .884, .860, .967, .891, .938, .771 OPS numbers, it's not difficult to mask a guy who had an .851 OPS and 47 steals last season.

I never said otherwise. My point was:
1. You don't need star players at every position to win
2. Thames is a major-league calibre OF the way he's playing right now, without question.

BTW, it doesn't matter what the player did in the past... the fact is this year Crawford has been absolutely brutal... he's not even stealing bases when he does get on.

You guys are really selling the Jays prospects next year short, IMO. AA is already on record as saying he's looking to make moves with a focus on improving the big club next year (as opposed to the prospect focus over his first two years). It's going to be a very good team.

[Lateral Quicks]

They have a well rounded line up, and Crawford is having an off year. Very bad comparison.

Yeah, except I wasn't comparing lineup to lineup. I was simply pointing out that even the best offensive team in baseball doesn't have offensive dynamos 1 through 9.

[Weems]

You guys are really selling the Jays prospects next year short, IMO. AA is already on record as saying he's looking to make moves with a focus on improving the big club next year (as opposed to the prospect focus over his first two years). It's going to be a very good team.

I don't expect AA to make this team very good by next season. I think he's been great with accumulating assets, shedding Wells, creating uber surplus value with Jose, and bettering the franchise, but making the team competitive is ridiculously difficult.

Guaranteed starters: Romero, Morrow
Bullpen: Zep, Janssen, Carlson, Rauch?
Arms: Villanueva, Drabek, Cecil, Litsch, Mills, Perez, McGowan, Alvarez, Carreno

I don't think you can pencil Drabek, Cecil, Litsch, Villanueva, Mills, Alvarez, or Carreno in as quality starters and acquiring quality starters isn't easy. Looks like mediocre arms at best.

2B is a problem, CF is a problem, DH is a problem, C is currently questionable, Corner OF are not guarantees, 3B isn't necessarily a guarantee. Bautista, Lind, Escobar, Romero, Morrow, and a pen of non-elites is our MLB foundation. Trading prospects for players is a hand I wouldn't want to be dealt. Can't be easy.

[Randle McMurphy]

The Jays are already competitive. They're probably the 5th best team in the AL currently, behind BOS, NYY, TEX, and TAM, and should finish around .500 considering their talent level and always tough schedule (though replacing JoJo could help with that).

They'll still need to get a lot better to even compete with the Red Sox and Yankees in 2012 (in addition to a successful Lawrie, they'll probably need another elite hitter and another dependable starter, which they can easily afford considering their lack of significant payroll commitment in future years). But if this additional wildcard spot is added, the bar to get in the playoffs immediately drops from 95 wins to 90, making that goal much more doable.

Wasting another year of the best player in baseball in 2012 should not be an option, though, no matter what happens the rest of this season. With the playoffs becoming more accessible, there is really no excuse for Rogers not to spend money on improving the team this offseason. And as much as I hate to say it, if they're not going to do that, why even keep Bautista at all? So Rogers can waste his prime like they did with Delgado and Halladay?

[Mak]

J.D. Drew: .630 OPS in 230ABs
Carl Crawford: .666 OPS in 275ABs

Both starting outfielders for one of the best teams in baseball.

When 7 other hitters have 1.102, .884, .860, .967, .891, .938, .771 OPS numbers, it's not difficult to mask a guy who had an .851 OPS and 47 steals last season.

yeah, exactly +1