General Blue Jays Thread

polo007 · Post #1441 » by **polo007** » Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:15 am

Monday with Mitchell: Atkins believes Jays still have time to make a run - TSN.ca

TORONTO — Time is without a doubt ticking on the Toronto Blue Jays’ wild-card hopes, but the general manager is still confident there’s enough sand left in the hourglass.

With 33 games to go heading into Monday night’s series opener against the lowly Baltimore Orioles, the Jays’ post-season odds, per FanGraphs’ estimation, sat at just 7.6 per cent.

GM Ross Atkins, however, is optimistic.

“We feel good about the team, we feel good about the shape of the organization and feel that we have enough season left to really make a good run,” Atkins said from the Blue Jays dugout Monday afternoon. “We have yet to have all things clicking at once. Even in that 9-2 stretch (to begin the month of August), it was really our pitching that kind of carried us through that. We’ve yet to have a time where all things have been happening for this team and very confident that it’s in our future and, certainly, hopeful it starts soon.”

The O’s haven’t put up many fights this season, so they’re a good tonic for what ails the offensively-challenged Jays these days.

But the big series on this homestand is the upcoming weekend three-gamer with the Oakland A’s, a team in the exact same position — on the fringes of the wild-card race and facing an uphill battle — as Atkins’ club.

Twenty-two wins from here on out would get the Jays to 90 wins on the season, but that’s the absolute minimum it’s going to take in the American League.

It’s much more likely to take 92 or 93 wins to earn the second wild-card berth, leaving the Jays facing a stretch where they truly need to go 25-8 to have a chance.

If the Jays are going to get red hot like that, an offence that has averaged just 2.7 runs over its last 10 games will have to find its previous form.

“It’s just so magnified, I think, with where we are in the standings, how well they have performed offensively all year,” Atkins said of his team’s offensive struggles. “We’ve had so many big individual performances and in many cases a lot of really good team performance from an offensive standpoint. It’s a combination of guys just hitting a little bit of a lull, which does happen, and if we had the answer to why that’s occurring then it would be occurring less.”

Brinbe · Post #1442 » by **Brinbe** » Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:21 pm

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polo007 · Post #1443 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 1, 2021 1:56 am

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polo007 · Post #1444 » by **polo007** » Thu Sep 2, 2021 9:17 pm

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polo007 · Post #1445 » by **polo007** » Fri Sep 3, 2021 12:01 am

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polo007 · Post #1446 » by **polo007** » Fri Sep 3, 2021 12:04 am

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EP 219 - JON MOROSI on the Toronto Blue Jays, Major League Baseball and the AL MVP race.

Aug 27, 2021

Friend of the show, JON MOROSI, is back on the show in time for the Blue Jays 3 game series against the Detroit Tigers.

The boys talk some baseball, but more specifically, the Toronto Blue Jays for most of the podcast as the three get realistic about the Jays playoff chances.

We talk about the direction Toronto is going and who they should re-sign in the offseason - Robbie Ray or Marcus Semien?

We cover some other teams too as the three look at some of the hottest teams heading into the playoffs as well as their thoughts on whether or not Shohei Ohtani is a shoe-in for the AL MVP.

polo007 · Post #1447 » by **polo007** » Mon Sep 6, 2021 7:20 am

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polo007 · Post #1448 » by **polo007** » Tue Sep 7, 2021 10:27 pm

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polo007 · Post #1449 » by **polo007** » Thu Sep 9, 2021 6:52 pm

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EP 222 - BUCK MARTINEZ on the Toronto Blue Jays and their playoff push.

September 8, 2021

The voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, and friend of the show - BUCK MARTINEZ - joins Bob and John on todays episode.

The three talk about the Blue Jays hot play as of late and why they wouldn't be a team to sleep on if they make the playoffs.

the three also put on their baseball historian caps for the ladder half of the show as we discuss MLB pre and post salary cap, the old Kansas City Royals, the recent Hall of Fame inductees and Marvin Miller.

Parataxis · Post #1450 » by **Parataxis** » Thu Sep 9, 2021 6:55 pm

polo007 wrote:

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EP 222 - BUCK MARTINEZ on the Toronto Blue Jays and their playoff push.

September 8, 2021

The voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, and friend of the show - BUCK MARTINEZ - joins Bob and John on todays episode.

The three talk about the Blue Jays hot play as of late and why they wouldn't be a team to sleep on if they make the playoffs.

the three also put on their baseball historian caps for the ladder half of the show as we discuss MLB pre and post salary cap, the old Kansas City Royals, the recent Hall of Fame inductees and Marvin Miller.

I desperately want 'the ladder half' of the show to not be a typo.

polo007 · Post #1451 » by **polo007** » Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:01 pm

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Parataxis · Post #1452 » by **Parataxis** » Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:18 pm

polo007 wrote:

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And, AFAIK, we lost the season series against Boston 10-9, so we have to finish ahead of them in the WC for home field if it's us and Boston.

Parataxis · Post #1453 » by **Parataxis** » Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:15 pm

I just had a weird weird thought...

If the Jays tie the Yankees for the second WC spot, and Boston is ahead for the first slot (and Tampa is the top team in the AL) Then the Jays could potentially have THREE post-season/play-in rounds against Yankees, Boston, Tampa before going on to the ALCS.

Playing against three teams in your division after the 162 are done can't have happened much before, if at all, right?

JTT · Post #1454 » by **JTT** » Mon Sep 13, 2021 6:14 pm

https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/09/13/blue-jays-offense-the-opener

Sorry, my copy/paste skills are as bad as a Breyvic Valera bunt attempt. SI has a great article this morning on Blue Jay first pitch aggressiveness. I particularly found the following interesting:

The Jays have the hitters with flatter bat paths who can square up high fastballs to make the aggressive approach work. The MLB average launch angle is 12.5 degrees. Bichette (6.6), Guerrero (8.9), Gurriel (10.7) and Hernández (12.1) all have below-average launch angles.

Edit: Huh, I guess realgm does the pretty stuff for you... I do live in the stone age.

polo007 · Post #1455 » by **polo007** » Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:31 pm

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polo007 · Post #1456 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:56 am

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polo007 · Post #1457 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:12 am

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polo007 · Post #1458 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 15, 2021 2:56 am

Ten big-name MLB players generating the most trade buzz for this offseason - The Athletic

1. José Ramírez, 3B, Cleveland Indians

Age: 28
Bats: Both Throws: Right
Team control: Through 2023

Ramírez, one of the game’s best all-around third basemen, is in his prime. A career .353 on-base percentage player, Ramírez has belted more than 30 home runs again this season, while stealing 23 bases in 26 attempts. His 5.4 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference, shows his impact. He’s signed to a club-friendly contract that includes team options for 2022 ($12 million) and 2023 ($14 million). It’s unlikely the Indians will be able to sign Ramírez long term after those two seasons, and while they could extend him, trading him this offseason would bring the best possible return. On the other hand, keeping him for another season would likely result in an undervalued return, like what Cleveland received for Francisco Lindor when it traded him to the Mets after waiting until the final year of his contract. Watch the Giants, Blue Jays and Nationals as possible trade partners.

4. Matt Chapman, 3B, Oakland Athletics

Age: 28
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Team control: Through 2023

Chapman is the best defensive third baseman in the American League and there are metrics that suggest he’s the best in the sport, but I can’t go there because of my appreciation for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. Like his teammate Olson, Chapman will be a free agent after the 2023 season. He comes with 25-30 home run power and standout run-prevention qualities that boost a pitching staff. He’s arbitration-eligible for the next two years, and he will get paid. Teams that could be interested in trading for Chapman include the Nationals, Giants, Blue Jays and Tigers.

polo007 · Post #1459 » by **polo007** » Wed Sep 15, 2021 5:04 pm

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The Ultimate Team - The Toronto Blue Jays

September 15, 2021

MLB Network

The analysts of MLB Tonight team up to breakdown exactly what makes the Toronto Blue Jays such a dominant squad.

fbalmeida · Post #1460 » by **fbalmeida** » Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:20 am

The magic with Ray's pitching is how simple it is.
It's either a mid 90s fastball on a high corner, or a slider that vanishes en route to the plate
And all he's needed to be pitching at Cy Young level has been:

A. Control;
B. Consistent delivery.

He doesn't need an enormous toolbox with 8 different pitches.

It's like he's using a video game glitch, where you can strike out almost everyone using the exact same stuff over and over again.

And that grunt. :love: