ST4: BLUE JAYS (2-10) HOST RED SOX (7-5)

[JaysRule15]

Pablo Sandoval still looks fat as hell. What happened to all the weight loss stuff I was hearing about him during the offseason? This guy is the MLB version of Sullinger lol.

[Natural11]

Pablo Sandoval still looks fat as hell. What happened to all the weight loss stuff I was hearing about him during the offseason? This guy is the MLB version of Sullinger lol.

I know the Jays don't bunt, but having him at 3rd base and not bunting to him seems like a wasted opportunity.

[TOStateofMind]

Jose all kinds of bad at the plate. Sad to watch.

[Skin Blues]

I'm not a Pat Tabler fan by any means, but he's kind of like the annoying uncle that you still feel bad if you never see him anymore when he's gone. He was still included in the broadcast the first game or two with Shulman, but this is two nights in a row without him. He was in Brampton over the weekend and some friends posted pics with him, so if he's on vacation, Brampton is a word place to be. Any news?

[pilkoids]

Will fans ever learn not to **** interfere... that whale of a woman started celebrating after interfering with that catch

[Natural11]

Will fans ever learn not to **** interfere... that whale of a woman started celebrating after interfering with that catch

There should be instructions given to row 1 fans, like you would get sitting in an exit row of a plane.

[Lateral Quicks]

So... Bautista looks like he may be done. As in, will be released by the end of the season done. If pitchers didn't still respect him, he wouldn't have 7 walks, which is the only thing keeping his ~.400 OPS "afloat".

Brutal, and really sad to see. Of course he kind of deserves it after that ridiculous salary demand last offseason. It's still early, but at 51ABs you'd expect him to have broken out of it by now.

[Schad]

So... Bautista looks like he may be done. As in, will be released by the end of the season done. If pitchers didn't still respect him, he wouldn't have 7 walks, which is the only thing keeping his ~.400 OPS "afloat".

Brutal, and really sad to see. Of course he kind of deserves it after that ridiculous salary demand last offseason. It's still early, but at 51ABs you'd expect him to have broken out of it by now.

His plate discipline numbers are pretty scary. He isn't swinging more than in years past; he isn't even chasing out of the zone more. But when he swings, he's making contact with the ball far less frequently, which some might recognize as a fairly essential part of recording hits.

[JaysRule15]

So... Bautista looks like he may be done. As in, will be released by the end of the season done. If pitchers didn't still respect him, he wouldn't have 7 walks, which is the only thing keeping his ~.400 OPS "afloat".

Brutal, and really sad to see. Of course he kind of deserves it after that ridiculous salary demand last offseason. It's still early, but at 51ABs you'd expect him to have broken out of it by now.

I'm guessing it's a bat speed issue? Bautista was never one of those Ortiz type sluggers where the ball jumped off his bat regardless of him making hard contact or not. Bautista was a big timing guy and needed to make solid contact to do damage. I'm just not seeing him reach those balls as fast as he used to just a couple of years ago.

[BigLeagueChew]

Travis has an OPS of .275, Pearce .367, Bautista .400?,Martin .524. Those aren't done stats those are slump or injury stats mixed with not enough at bats. Best hitters OPS wise.Smoak, Barney, Pillar, Carrera? Not really enough at bats for any of them if they are 26 or 34. Need about 100 to 150 AB's to get a fair sample for most players.

If we can get out of this stupid closed roof ballpark soon and play in some parks where it's warmer out I think some of the hitting will get better. And if it is a closed park thing, all but two of our games have been in a closed roof stadium, since we had to play in Tampa too.

[johanliebert]

So... Bautista looks like he may be done. As in, will be released by the end of the season done. If pitchers didn't still respect him, he wouldn't have 7 walks, which is the only thing keeping his ~.400 OPS "afloat".

Brutal, and really sad to see. Of course he kind of deserves it after that ridiculous salary demand last offseason. It's still early, but at 51ABs you'd expect him to have broken out of it by now.

Guys like travis/pearce have even worse OPS numbers. I dont understand why contract negotiations you werent apart of or were affected by has anybody deserving this.

IMO Jose ego is in his way. he still thinks he can pull everything...they are throwing everything away he can easily go opp field if he would accept that approach.

[Schad]

So... Bautista looks like he may be done. As in, will be released by the end of the season done. If pitchers didn't still respect him, he wouldn't have 7 walks, which is the only thing keeping his ~.400 OPS "afloat".

Brutal, and really sad to see. Of course he kind of deserves it after that ridiculous salary demand last offseason. It's still early, but at 51ABs you'd expect him to have broken out of it by now.

Guys like travis/pearce have even worse OPS numbers. I dont understand why contract negotiations you werent apart of or were affected by has anybody deserving this.

IMO Jose ego is in his way. he still thinks he can pull everything...they are throwing everything away he can easily go opp field if he would accept that approach.

Teams have always pitched him away. Here's his career chart:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=430832&time=month&minmax=ci&var=count&s_type=13&endDate=04/20/2017&startDate=01/01/2000

Here's his great 2011:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=430832&time=month&minmax=ci&var=count&s_type=13&startDate=02/01/2011&endDate=11/01/2011

And here's his chart this season:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=430832&time=month&minmax=ci&var=count&s_type=13&endDate=04/20/2017&startDate=03/01/2017


What made him so lethal was the fact that his power zone has historically been "in the general vicinity of the plate". Here's his iso power, career:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=430832&gFilt=&pFilt=FA|SI|FC|CU|SL|CS|KN|CH|FS|SB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=iso&s_type=13&startDate=01/01/2009&endDate=12/01/2017&balls=-1&strikes=-1&b_hand=-1


He was capable of driving just about everything with the exception of pitches in the down-and-away (and a .155 iso is still pretty eye-opening), including pitches off the plate inside and outside. And he wasn't generally pulling the ones up and away.

Now, here's his chart for this season:

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=430832&time=month&minmax=ci&var=iso&s_type=13&endDate=12/01/2017&startDate=01/01/2017

His problem isn't just away. It's that he faced 17 pitches grooved down the middle, putting 7 in play, good for a measly single. It's that he has made contact with 33 balls in areas where he has slugged .450 or better for his career (overall SLG% in those areas: .635), and managed a slugging percentage of .303 this season. And that's when he's actually making contact, something that has happened much less this season than in years previous.

Oh, and his second-best zone this season? Down and away, catching the plate. He's actually 3 for 8 with a double on balls in play on those.


It might just be an early slump. There's also a very real possibility that he is falling off a cliff, a process that began last year.

[Fairview4Life]

The whiffs on fastballs down the middle are a problem.

[Natural11]

Guys like travis/pearce have even worse OPS numbers. I dont understand why contract negotiations you werent apart of or were affected by has anybody deserving this.

IMO Jose ego is in his way. he still thinks he can pull everything...they are throwing everything away he can easily go opp field if he would accept that approach.

Jose doesn't have a lot of power to the opposite field and his recent attempts to aim there look awkward and sloppy. I get that he's trying to put some hits on the board, but the Jose we need is one that's making solid barrel contact and pulling the ball with authority. I don't recall these types of confused swings being the norm prior to 2016.

His eye is still pretty good. He just can't seem to put the bat where he wants to, even at pitches right down the middle. I believe he'll come around, but his AB's are painful to watch right now.

[LLJ]

Jose will get some hits eventually and probably still end up with 20+ HRs at least. He's always looked really bad when he's in a slump even as far back as 4 years ago. That said, his obvious decline means those slumps will last longer and happen more frequently in between stretches of good hitting.

[Natural11]

Jose totally overmatched. Brutal.

[Schad]

Devon Travis doing his part to ensure this isn't a CGSO.

[So_Fresh]

our starting pitching is solid!

now only if we can learn how to hit so we can win some of these games... sigh..

[duppyy]

Devon Travis doing his part to ensure this isn't a CGSO.

I read that as CSGO lol.

[James_Raptors]

Solid start by Estrada. I'm assuming that was his last inning.