Hey, look, it’s deep-in-thought Ricky. And while there might be a perfectly not-bullshit reason to show this particular image at the top of this Game Threat, I’m going to go with it for yet another Romero start, because he hasn’t been quite so shitty, I’m pretty sure, since I’ve been using it every time out. Shit, if I have to use it every time Ricky pitches next year, just to make sure he stays on track, I think that’s a perfectly reasonable price to play.
Even if, y’know, that’s a completely ridiculous thing to believe.
Scuttlebutt
Lansing broadcaster and F. Scott Fitzgerald character Keaton Gillogly tweets that Aaron Sanchez is off the DL and back in action tonight for the Lugnuts– and he adds that Tony LaCava, and minor league field coordinator Doug Davis are in the building.
Wilner tweets that Monday is the beginning of fan voting for the Ford C. Frick Award, so, if you’re ready to have your hopes dashed yet again (and you should be), get voting for Tom Cheek.
At FanGraphs, Matt Klaassen writes about the Mathis Mystique, as the Jays catcher has evidently seduced yet another organization.
Lastly, for your between-inning viewing pleasure, here’s today’s episode of Getting Blanked…
TV: Sportsnet
And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone or tablet with Score Mobile…
Toronto Blue Jays
R. Davis RF
C. Rasmus DH
E. Encarnacion LF
D. Cooper 1B
Y. Escobar SS
K. Johnson 2B
O. Vizquel 3B
J. Mathis C
A. Gose CF
R. Romero LHP
Chicago White Sox
A. De Aza CF
K. Youkilis 3B
A. Dunn 1B
A. Rios RF
A. Pierzynski C
A. Ramirez SS
D. Viciedo DH
D. Wise LF
O. Hudson 2B
G. Floyd RHP
First
Fashionably late
Staff ace RickyRo!
Yes, I’d like to send this letter to the Prussian Consulate in Siam by aero mail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?
So it’s gonna be shitty Ricky today.
Game over.
don’t run on mathis!!!
Buck: “Good throw by Cooper.”
[Seconds later]
Ashby: “The throw was not all that good.”
Probably a lot of frosty silences in the booth between innings
Prefer a frosty silence during innings but that’s just me.
Dunn strikes out. What else is new?
so what is Romero doing differently from last year?
seems like he’s throwing lots of balls, he’s also been knocked around a fair bit. is his velocity down?
whatever is wrong the Jays will be somewhat fucked if we are relying on him to be a #2 type pitcher next year.
Velocity looks pretty normal. It’s not like Cecil where it just disappeared. Control has been AWOL.
Velocity is fine. Command and control and maybe pitch selection is the issue.
Not doing his girlfriend is what Ricky has been doing differently. This is for information purposes only.
The only explanation is that The Man In White is a turncoat.
and wow didnt know EE had that (almost) catch in him at LF
When 230 pounds of EE hits the turf all kinds of things happen. Windows shake, popcorn is spilled, panties are dropped and so are balls.
Still love ya, EE.
Great move farrell putting ediwn in left, now injures his shoulder out for the season all for what just to get colby an at bat? cost 2 runs for no good reason. fucky you farrell.
Either Farrell, AA or both should be fired if just for putting EE in left tonight. Whoever is responsible should be canned.
This is the genius type of commentary that’s out there today. Informed and insightful!
so you are saying that taking one of the 2 most valuable players on the team, after signing him to a new contract, and placing him in a position he is obviously ill-equipped to field and liable to cause injury, that is not a fireable offence?
Given all the injuries, it should be obvious not to do anything that might get somebody injured, especially your most valuable player.
yup…quite disgraceful…one of numerous disgraceful decisions made this year
EE will probably have a wrenched shoulder now.
Oh and this Romero shit is so beyond old. It’s not even worth contempt anymore. I feel a perverse and sadistic joy in his complete lack of even mediocrity. He is so bad he is good. Like an Ed Wood movie.
Why must we endure the shitty Romero far more than the good Romero?
also sometimes people forget that Romero looked like a total bust for years after JPR drafted him. Someone on the team (JPA?) called him out and said he looked less focused than last year and lacked intensity.
maybe he slipped this year because of something mental? perhaps he felt a little too comfortable in the bigs. here’s hoping he gets a good kick in the ass and gets things together for next year.
For some fucked up reason, I have been thinking the same thing.
He seemed complacent and maybe too comfortable as the ‘ace’ and opening day starter. Then his record looked great through the first ten games or so, but Morrow was beginning to look like the real staff ace.
He seems rattled between the ears, that’s for sure. How? Why? Who? Is anyones guess.
Good breaking ball my ass. That was just a godawful swing. Buck is on meth
Will somebody please shoot that old woman who’s always knitting in the front row!!!!!!
you talkin about the lady behind home plate against the wall?
Yeah I know it’s so confusing with all those fans knitting out there.
Sorry my Magnavox with magnavision has a bunch of wavy lines at the top of the screen so I can only see the bottom 3/4 of the TV screen. The top 1/4 is blurry.They all look like they are knitting.
I know it’s pathetic but I gotta go to the flea market and buy some tubes for it.
Sometimes a new coat hanger antenna works a treat.
@ SP
Naw, the rabbit ears are working fine.
Checked em out on the spare black and white.
I’ve got tinfoil wrapped around the hanger, works on my old R C A. Try it and you should be able to identify the knitter.
Yep, it’s all the crafting going on in the stands that’s wrong with these Jays. Definately the crafting.
It’s Madame Lafarge.
Off with their heads!
Dwayne Wise. Pretty funny.
nice pitch ricky
Welcome to the dewayne wiserhood. slow clap
Blue Jays starting pitchers I’m glad to have in the rotation next year:
-Brandon Morrow
.
.
.
.
.
………………
Los Del V
Fuck off Wilner.
Close but no cigar. I’m the other guy who likes him.
1-0 perfect game is a thing of beauty
haven’t seen that klind of pitching very often in the last few years
i miss doc :[
Jays have let go easily some decent developing bats like Wise and Nix
yeah, its a shame we wont have those bats when we make our playoff run next year.
OH wait, they suck.
I mean seriously. Wise is 34, Nix is 29 and both have career OBP’s below .300
Does anyone else think Carlos Villanueva grows that big beard so people will stop confusing him with Charlie Villanueva?
I think (like Jose) he just forgets to shave some days.
I think having any hair at all already differentiates him from Charlie…
Youk looks kind of like a dick — literally and metaphorically
Ashby just taught me that it hurts when you foul 90~ MPH pitches off your shins/feet. I hadn’t the slightest idea before I tuned in today.
Tabby? Is that you?
I was just at Felix Hernandez’s fangraphs page, and noticed his drop in velocity.
It is down 1.4 mph on fastball from last year and 2.2 mph from his Cy year two years ago.
That is a Tim Lincecum like drop, but hasn’t impacted his pitching what so ever, as he continues to strikeout 8+ per 9, and walk around 2.3 per 9.
He is still young, albeit has thrown a lot of innings in his already long career. I wonder what is with the drop in velocity though. I haven’t heard about any injury problems or concerns with him…
Maybe he is sick of throwing hard for a shit team. Kinda of like using all your good sex moves on a fat chick…
I am kind of ashamed that the orioles might break their playoff drought before the Jays : [
Fuck off Romero
Fuck you Youk.
I would have kept Ricky in to face Dunn.
I feel this is a good “told ya so” moment…
Fuck off
Brad Lincoln is awesome!
This is like watching Coco pitch.
i want snider back, could’ve filled the LF hole next year
Another Lincoln log…what a turd.
post of the game … I’ll bet Travis could pitch as good as this guy, at least people are forgetting about my owner shitting the bed!
This is your championship calibre bullpen.
Eddie! Nice one.
Everytime I see Lincoln pitch I’m baffled that people defend that trade. What did he have? 40 good innings in the nl central?
Sorry to beat the horse. But I can’t help but thinj about how bad that deal could turn out for us.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This is like watching Coco pitchhhhhhhhhhhhh
Holy fuck what a pitcher!
Holy fucking sweet fucking baby fucking Jesus. You suck.
Welcome to the AL lincoln. This is why you NEVER trade anything for a reliever
Lincoln Logs.
And yet another Lincoln log. Shit, he could build a fort.
I want, nay – I DEMAND the return of Coco! At least with him we got some solid LOLs while watching the game implode. What does Lincoln give us?
Meatballs apparently.
The memory of lunchbox
The realization that AA gave away Travis for this turd maker
I don’t know the Lincoln Logs satire is pretty solid
Imagine if Adam Dunn liked baseball…
so if AA doesn’t turn this team around in the off season the honey moon is over and I will begin to shit on his decision making
You seem to have begun already.
well his decisions are sucking already
Absolutely nobody will care how you react to any decisions.
Jays serve Meatballs, Sox serve Veal.
You really have to start questioning some of AA nonsensical decisions
giving mathis a 2 year deal for no reason
giving mcgowan 4 mil extension while injured
trading a potential impact bat in snider for a reliever
signing useless omar
3 of those 4 things have absolutely nothing to do with the success or failure of the team going forward.
2011: Heart + Hustle
2012: What Happened??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SHRFhfeLgY#t=0m13s
What happened?
Lost a shit load of starters to injury and the subs didn’t do the job or are too young.
sorry, 2012: Wha’ Happened?
fuckin guy has a bad game and all the posers on here are chopping body parts and slashing the manager. just fuck off you negative cocksuckers
in my heart I felt sad for him
on the internet I felt mad at him
Your true self best comes out in internet rage. To hell with your heart.
Mathis with the garbage time HR whoopee!
Good for Murphy.
I had just finished reading Matt Klaasen’s on Mathis’ suckage not three seconds before he smacked that tater. Let’s get him working on one about, oh let’s say the entire rest of the lineup (non-EE or Rasmus division)…
what if baltimore makes the playoffs this year. holy fuck.
I hope they do just so all the cringy fucks who made fun of them at the beginning of every year (yeah Parkes, I’m looking at you) can eat shit.
Who cares, it’s a fluke, it basically doesn’t even count. I would way rather have 3 good pitching prospects in A ball, and a toolsy centerfielder that would struggle to crack the Barrie Baycats lineup.
Funny ^
Cowen, DeGrace and Spataro is a pretty solid outfield
It doesn’t count if you make the playoffs? I guess you condition yourself to that kind of stupidity when your little pet prospect porn team hasn’t seen a playoff game in an entire generation.
Oh and by the way, those 3 good pitching prospects in A ball. Yeah no other teams have those kinds of assets, just the Blue Jays.
Ricky’s got to make way for the new staff ace, Chad Jenkins.
re: Melky
No sense crying over spilled Milk
Any Giants fan complaining about losing in 2012 – Sour Milk replaces Sour Grapes
Biggest Loser – SF Costume Houses fully stocked with Milkman outfits ready to go for a big Halloween 2012
I want a Melky Fathead so I can stencil “Actual Size” on the forehead
I understand that we have injuries and we are playing a lot of rookies but that is no excuse for Farrell making so many poor managerial decisions.
My first issue is why are Sierra and Hechevarria sitting on the bench. Either we are trying to see what the young guys can do or we aren’t. Play them everyday. I know Vizquel played well but who cares the Jays are out of it. We know what Vizquel can give you on the diamond (he’s been doing it for like 500yrs or so) but we still don’t know what Hech or Sierra are capable of on an everyday basis. Play them.
As far as strategy goes; why is a righthanded pitcher facing Adam Dunn in a crucial situation. The game is on the line during that at bat bring in Oliver in the seventh. You won’t get to use him in the eighth if they score in the seventh. Just stupid.
Also, the other day he uses Rasmus as a pinch hitter in the ninth with nobody on when he could have used him in the eighth with runners on base. Again sutpid.
He just seems to have absolutely no actual strategy when he is making his moves.
That’s my rant for the night. I don’t ming the losing right now but I do mind when the manager hurts the teams chances to win.
it concerns me that AA spent a year searching for a manager and ended up with farrell… i’m not sure how much impact a manger has on wins and losses but it seems that farrell is pretty consistently outmanaged by the opposition.
he might be awesome in the clubhouse and with the media but his in game skills are brutal.
Well, Valentine will be available next year. He will come with the blessing of the Sox too. Just sayin…..
Well I see Felix just made himself more expensive in a trade, if that was possible.
On the other hand, Felix’s top comp on BR is Brandon Webb, so…
Does it count as a golden sombrero if you strike out four times but have five at bats? Does the fact that you actually went one at bat, albeit unsuccessful, WITHOUT striking out negate the sombrero status? (im looking at you colby)
4 k’s in a game is a Golden Sombrero regardless of AB’s.
5 K’s in a game are Olympic rings..
6 K’s in a game and you’re Dunn.
I can’t believe what I just witnessed tonight. EVery time I think farrell can’t be that stupid he sinks to a new low. Taking a lefty out and bringing in a righty to face dunn is the height of stupidity. Can you imagine if this was a 1 game playoff and he pulled this shit?
Taking out Romero wasn;t the mistake, he of the reverse splits, but bringing in Lincoln was the blunder. Farrell gets a new shiny toy and he has to play with it until it dies.
I’m starting to wonder if Farrell isn’t intentionally tanking some of these games for the draft pick.
Probably not, but sometimes he makes me wonder.
you would think that being a manager requires rocket science knowledge with the mistakes that are made.phuk sakes the game isnt that complicated and every scenerio has been before. why do they get stupid in a circumstance? or are they always stupid ? sometimes i see farrell playing long term when he should just play the present situation. i would assume he isnt much of a chess player
I’m a little surprised at how many former Jays actually continue to watch games and follow the team. Maybe they don’t have a lot to do.
Romero refused to pay his union dues so the “Man In White” is working against Ricky
Hiroyuki Nakajima could be a decent option for 2B next year. Never easy to determine how results in the NPB translate over here, but the other FA options don’t excite. Per fangraphs:
SS Hiroyuki Nakajima — The Yankees paid, or almost paid, a $2.5 million posting fee for the rights to negotiate with infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima. But the Yanks wanted Nakajima signed to a multi-year contract to play on the bench, while Nakajima had hoped to be treated, shall we say, at a level more commensurate with his NPB accomplishments.
Well, Nakajima didn’t sign, the Yankees missed their chance at a valuable bench player, and now Nakajima has an .867 OPS (.321/.392/.475 with 11 homers) in a league that sports a combined .658 OPS. He will be a proper free agent in 2013 (no posting fee needed), and if he chooses to make the jump across the big pond again, he could make for a quality, 30-year-old infielder for a team.
Hmm… I think my link to the full Fangraphs article was snipped by a spam filter? It seems to let Youtube links through though.
Stoeten – could the filter be updated to whitelist links from other relevant sites? eg. Fangraphs, BR, BP, etc?
I’m down. Get Kelly Johnson the fuck out of my life. I can’t believe AA managed to find a 2B worse than 2011 Aaron Hill. That is truly his most surprising accomplishment (maybe second after foisting Vernon on the Angels).
Kelly Johnson is Babe Ruth compared to 2011 Aaron Hilil.
Statistically, you’re right, but Aaron Hill always seemed just about to turn the corner. It still doesn’t really make sense how he managed to pop up to second base every fucking time. But with a .240 BABIP it always seemed possible that he’d stop getting under it and put it back together. Kelly Johnson, on the other hand, is a black fucking hole of striking out every time anyone pitches him a breaking ball. The only hope for improvement is that opposing teams are lazy and toss him fastballs.
Plus, if Kelly had been playing second against us every night, some of those Aaron Hill popups would’ve probably bounced off his head for hits.
I like it.
Gord, you and I have always had our differences. Mostly since the time I emailed you suggesting you trade Mike Timlin and Shawn Green for Jeff Shaw and Reggie Sanders, and you didn’t write back.
I’m ready to bury the hatchet now.
I think AA is pretty intent on having Hechavarria play there next season.
With that said, I would not be opposed if he decided to try Nakajima out. An .867 OPS might be great relative to the league, but the Japanese league is not on par with MLB, and if you were to knock, say, 100 points off for adjustments to MLB/AL East, you’re suddenly talking about a league average second-baseman.
Which would be better than Kelly Johnson, yes. But it might not end up being worth the dollar amount.