Archive for the ‘Toronto Blue Jays’ Category

Jose Reyes Expected To Miss Three Months

Posted by Darren Kritzer under Jose Reyes, News And Notes, Toronto Blue Jays on Apr 13, 2013

Toronto Blue Jays v Detroit Tigers

UPDATE: General manager Alex Anthopoulos addressed the media and revelaed Reyes will likely be out until the All-Star Break.

 

*** The slide that may cost Jose Reyes a good portion of the season officially landed him on the 15-day disabled list today, as the team recalled infielder Munenori Kawasaki from Triple-A Buffalo. Kawasaki appeared in 61 games for the Mariners last season, recording a .192/.257/.202 line with two stolen bases. Maicer Izturis will also see time at short, although Anthopoulos has already started making calls to other GM’s, according to MLBTR.

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The Getting Blanked Guide to Opening Day (Blue Jays Edition)

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Getting Blanked Guides, Toronto Blue Jays on Apr 02, 2013

Atlanta Braves v Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays thrust themselves to the front of the larger baseball conversation this winter, overhauling their roster and becoming a World Series contender almost overnight. As with any sweeping change, there is bound to be some growing pains.

We here at Getting Blanked turned to local PR pro and woman about town Meredith Rogers to help bring new Jays fans into the fold (not to mention helping entrenched fans come to grips with the flood or newbies on their turf.) Enjoy!

A Twisted Guide to Blue Jays Opening Day: new fans at the ballpark

Allow me to be among the first to congratulate you on emerging from a long, harsh winter to baseball. Sure, we do the winter thing every year, but I’m always surprised and delighted to thaw out in the spring.

The Blue Jays 2013 season has finally arrived. Here we stand on the precipice of a thousand Colby Rasmus thought pieces. On the cusp of a hundred Jose Bautista call outs that are unfathomable to no one but Jose Bautista. On the edge of a thousand Jose Reyes GIFs.

I mean, this is happening to Toronto. It’s okay to get excited.

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Blue Jays Claim Guillermo Moscoso Off Waivers

Posted by Darren Kritzer under News And Notes, Toronto Blue Jays on Mar 16, 2013

Colorado Rockies v San Francisco Giants

The Toronto Blue Jays claimed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. He will fill the open spot on the 40-man roster that opened up after the release of David Cooper.

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A Modest Proposal: Move Ricky Romero on the Pitching Rubber

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Analysis, Jaime Garcia, Ricky Romero, Toronto Blue Jays on Mar 15, 2013

Oakland Athletics v Toronto Blue Jays

2012 was a very bad, ungood year for Ricky Romero. It started well enough but, by the end of the season, Ricky Romero was one of the worst starters in baseball. Romero struggled with his control and struggled to get anybody out.

Romero’s best weapon has long been his change up, his swing-and-miss pitch that batters somewhat gave up on in 2012. Romero’s great love of the change up gives him very odd reverse splits – lefties hit the left-handed starter much harder than righties. Much of this owes to Romero’s reluctance to throw his change up to arm-sided batters. As a result, teams like the Rays love loading their lineup with lefties to gain an edge (not to mention get under Romero’s skin a little bit) by taking away his best weapon.

Lefties hit Romero harder than usual in 2012 but righties did as well. Romero posted the worst numbers of his career across the board last season, posting the worst ERA and third-worst FIP among starters in baseball. This came after Romero looked very much like a number two starter in 2011, where he danced between the raindrops to post a 2.92 ERA versus a 4.20 FIP.

The Blue Jays need Romero to be more like the 2011 version of himself. Asking him to outperform his component stats as he did that season is a tall order but if he can deliver 200 innings and a 4-ish FIP, the Jays will likely be laughing all the way to the playoffs.

For that to happen, Romero must be healthy and he must improve over 2012. While these two things are not unrelated, perhaps tweaking Romero’s approach is key to getting the most from the former Opening Day starter and staff ace. Perhaps, given Romero’s love of the change up and rededication to his sinker, a move on the pitching rubber is in order.

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David Cooper’s Release Raises Important Question

Posted by Scott Lewis under News And Notes, Toronto Blue Jays on Mar 13, 2013

Why didn’t he just tag him?

The Toronto Blue Jays have released David Cooper. Cooper hit .300/.324/.464 in 145 plate appearances with Toronto last season, but will probably be best remembered for attempting to race Omar Infante to first base, never bothering to tag him out, but running with the ball in his throwing hand.

In semi-related news, the Detroit Tigers have released Brennan Boesch. Yes, it’s a bad day for left handed batters that can’t hit.

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2013 Toronto Blue Jays: Plan the Parade?

Posted by Travis Reitsma under Preview, Toronto Blue Jays on Mar 08, 2013

Baltimore Orioles v Toronto Blue Jays

2012 Record: 73-89, 4th AL East
2012 Pythagorean Record: 74-88
Impact Player: RF Jose Bautista
Impact Pitcher: RHP Brandon Morrow
Top Prospect: RHP Aaron Sanchez

Significant Acquisitions: SS Jose Reyes, RHP Josh Johnson, RHP R.A. Dickey, LF Melky Cabrera, LHP Mark Buehrle, RHP Esmil Rogers, UT Emilio Bonifacio, C Josh Thole, C Henry Blanco, IF Maicer Izturis, UT Mark DeRosa, RHP Michael Schwimer, RHP Jeremy Jeffress, RHP Mickey Storey, RHP Justin Germano

Significant Departures: SS Yunel Escobar, 2B Kelly Johnson, RHP Henderson Alvarez, LHP Aaron Laffey, RHP Carlos Villanueva, RHP Jason Frasor, RHP Brandon Lyon, C Jeff Mathis, IF Omar Vizquel, SS Adeiny Hechavarria

Watching the 2012 Blue Jays was a bit like watching the third season of HBO’s Six Feet Under. For those unfamiliar with the show’s ebb and flow, the third season starts off oddly happy. For the first few episodes, you get the impression that things might turn out alright for this down-on-their-luck funeral-home-owning family. Something is still amiss—some of the characters are merely pretending to be happy, but for the most part, things are humming along about as well as could be expected.

Then…disaster. Every character seems to enter a sort of crisis and suddenly within a few episodes all the happiness — unsustainable though it might have been — evaporates and the viewer is left with a complicated tapestry of death and misery.

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Try As You Might, You Cannot Erase the Past

Posted by Drew Fairservice under Analysis, Projections, Toronto Blue Jays on Feb 27, 2013

Baltimore Orioles v Minnesota Twins

It is hard to let go of the past. With baseball players specifically, the past does not always inform the future as much as we’d like. It becomes harder and harder for a once-great player to recover the form which made him great in the first place as he ages. Add injuries to the mix and a former MVP turns into a role player in just a few years.

If you needed to choose between the careers of Justin Morneau or Adam Lind, you would pick Justin Morneau every single time. Morneau is more decorated, played longer, made more money and simply has a better career to date.

Career is one thing, the future is another. While Adam Lind is less than an ideal fit for the left-handed side of the Jays DH/1B rotation this year. Realistically speaking, he isn’t that much worse an option than the big Canadian currently playing out the final year of his contract for the Twins, despite Morneau’s recent overtures.

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