Are the Jays that much better than the Red Sox? (Blog)

[LittleOzzy]

Since the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins made a deal on 11/13/12 that sent Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and Jose Reyes up North to Toronto, Red Sox fans have looked greedily upon the Blue Jays roster. And rightfully so, on paper Toronto looks to have set themselves up to compete in October for the first time since the 90′s.

Looking at a depth chart, the casual fan usually gravitates toward big names. So when Toronto acquired 3 of the game’s best at their respective position, the Blue Jays depth chart was all the sudden stacked with names. As we know from experience, names are just that – names. You can pump a roster full of the best names in baseball and still not get anywhere. Carl Crawford, John Lackey, and Adrian Gonzalez taught us that. Albert Pujols & CJ Wilson taught the Angels that same lesson as well. What looks like overkill on paper seldom comes to fruition. In comparing rosters on paper it’s become apparent to me that the Blue Jays, even with their names are only marginally better than the Red Sox. Looking around the diamond, I can understand the hype around the Jays roster. But really, it’s not a landslide.

http://clnsradio.com/2013/02/08/are-the ... n-the-sox/

[Schad]

When you set 'starting pitching' as a single position, you have failed.

[Santoki]

I agree with the overall sentiment. I think the Blue Jays are being overrated. They certainly shouldn't be World Series favourites.

I still think quite a lot has to go right for this team to make the playoffs.

[Al_Oliver]

I agree with the overall sentiment. I think the Blue Jays are being overrated. They certainly shouldn't be World Series favourites.

I still think quite a lot has to go right for this team to make the playoffs.

By whom, you? I think they are definitely a playoff contender and barring any key injuries, anything less will be a disappointment.

And to answer the Jays being better than the Redstockings, it's a resounding yes.

[Santoki]

The Blue Jays have gone from a last-place finish in the AL East to World Series favourites overnight. There are still holes in the lineup (Rasmus/Lawrie production, can Bautista/Encarnacion continue their pace, no big left-handed bat etc.), the bullpen (no solid long man with Villanueva gone, can Janssen repeat success and Santos return to be the guy we traded for) and in the rotation (will Romero bounce back, can Morrow/Johnson stay healthy and if not are there AAA guys who can come up to fill in).

The Jays, on paper, look great. But, we've seen time and again, teams built well on paper not succeeding - especially in their first year together. I'm being cautiously optimistic with this team because they haven't proved anything yet and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. What I'd hate to see happen is them have a terrible year and blow up the team after one season together. That's the worst case scenario. I think they're much more likely to compete all year long, but I don't expect them to win the division to be perfectly honest. I could see them just missing out on the wildcard and then going into the offseason retooling for a big run in 2014 and 2015.

[RyderMike]

Where the article fails is chalking it up as a time based on 'win-loss' at a position as opposed to aggregate.

The writer basically states that a slight advantage is worth the same as a clear slam dunk advantage, when it's obvious this is not the case.

[b0na f1de]

In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

[Al_Oliver]

The Blue Jays have gone from a last-place finish in the AL East to World Series favourites overnight. There are still holes in the lineup (Rasmus/Lawrie production, can Bautista/Encarnacion continue their pace, no big left-handed bat etc.), the bullpen (no solid long man with Villanueva gone, can Janssen repeat success and Santos return to be the guy we traded for) and in the rotation (will Romero bounce back, can Morrow/Johnson stay healthy and if not are there AAA guys who can come up to fill in).

The Jays, on paper, look great. But, we've seen time and again, teams built well on paper not succeeding - especially in their first year together. I'm being cautiously optimistic with this team because they haven't proved anything yet and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. What I'd hate to see happen is them have a terrible year and blow up the team after one season together. That's the worst case scenario. I think they're much more likely to compete all year long, but I don't expect them to win the division to be perfectly honest. I could see them just missing out on the wildcard and then going into the offseason retooling for a big run in 2014 and 2015.

RedStockings were last, not Toronto.

While you make some reasonable points, which team in the AL East made as many and as sizable improvements as the Jays? It is arguable that from opening day last year, everyone but Toronto has gotten worse

[flatjacket1]

I can't believe we were 4th best in the Al East without injuries!

[Randle McMurphy]

In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

Yeah, I don't know where Ozzy finds some of these articles, but I'm definitely not reading this one.

[Schad]

Mike Schmidt regularly committed 20-25 errors a year. Garbage defensively.

[RyderMike]

In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

What about all the balls that Lawrie gets to that normally would go for base hits? If he makes an error and the guy reaches first on a ball that would've been a single anyways, does it make a difference

[flatjacket1]

The author must be a sh__ disturber. There's not way anybody could possibly believe what he is saying there...

[MGD24]

The guy is a Red Sox fan as shown in his bio

My favorite sport by far is baseball and more intimately, the Red Sox. Therefore, I'll be covering the Sox for CLNS Radio so be sure to check out my weekly articles!

So obviously he will have a bias towards the Red Sox and want to defend them.
Just like any city with a major franchise.

meh!

[Mak]

In the comments he writes:

Defensively, I have never heard Brett Lawrie regarded as "one of the best third baseman in the game". Forgive me but I just don't think a player who commits 17 errors qualifies as one of the games best third baseman.

I wonder if he still rates pitchers based on Win/Loss record.

Lawrie was tied for 4th in Defensive WAR last year in AL.

[Bankai]

Even if things go half right, the Jays should still be better than the Red Sox.

[Santoki]

The Blue Jays have gone from a last-place finish in the AL East to World Series favourites overnight. There are still holes in the lineup (Rasmus/Lawrie production, can Bautista/Encarnacion continue their pace, no big left-handed bat etc.), the bullpen (no solid long man with Villanueva gone, can Janssen repeat success and Santos return to be the guy we traded for) and in the rotation (will Romero bounce back, can Morrow/Johnson stay healthy and if not are there AAA guys who can come up to fill in).

The Jays, on paper, look great. But, we've seen time and again, teams built well on paper not succeeding - especially in their first year together. I'm being cautiously optimistic with this team because they haven't proved anything yet and I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. What I'd hate to see happen is them have a terrible year and blow up the team after one season together. That's the worst case scenario. I think they're much more likely to compete all year long, but I don't expect them to win the division to be perfectly honest. I could see them just missing out on the wildcard and then going into the offseason retooling for a big run in 2014 and 2015.

RedStockings were last, not Toronto.

While you make some reasonable points, which team in the AL East made as many and as sizable improvements as the Jays? It is arguable that from opening day last year, everyone but Toronto has gotten worse

Thanks for the correction. Such an abysmal season last year it felt like a last place finish.

I suppose the 20 years of missing the playoffs has eaten away at my confidence in preseason predictions. I just can't bring myself to set the expectations so high before this team takes the field. The area I'm most concerned about is still the bullpen with the lack of consistency in our lineup a close second.

We know the Yanks and Rays are going to be good for somewhere near 87-90 wins this season. We can keep writing off the Yankees as too old, but every year they come back and somehow win the division or the wildcard.

As for the Sox, will they be better than the Jays? I suppose they could, but I'm much less concerned about them than the Rays and Yanks.

[The_Hater]

Did that guy actually say that Lawrie was a poor defensive player? Any credibility is gone right there.

[Skin Blues]

a solid everyday player vs a possible MVP candidate obviously always goes to the ladder

I'm a perfessional wrider. Go Sawx!

[kayliecee]

Mike Schmidt regularly committed 20-25 errors a year. Garbage defensively.

Even Brooks Robinson had 7 seasons of 15 errors or more.