overthere Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Looks like I picked the wrong time to visit Safeco Field... That is a beautiful baseball venue, and there is never a wrong time to go there. Unless it is raining, Seattle sucks in the rain. West Coast Jays fans will be out in force for this series. It'll feel like a home game. Desperation has to be setting in, unless Gibby has lost the room and the teams doesn't care much anymore for a Wildcard game they're still very much alive for. 2 years ago Jays fans would have been pumped to have a team competitive this late in the season. Ironic how one season of success spoils fans. They did not look very competitive against the Angels in the last couple of games. They looked defeated from the first pitch of each, despite having won the first two games.. I don't think Gibby has ever had this room, or lost it long ago. So very many selfish at bats, all season!! And both Gibbons and the team just refuse to play to win. Mike Sioscia of the Angels gave a masters clinic in managing a mediocre team into winning those two games, I doubt Gibby even noticed. And back to my latest whipping boy, Bautista. What does he do for this team that warrants him hitting cleanup? Every at bat has him pouting and whining about umpires calls on balls and strikes, and now the much of the rest of the team does it often too. He is the opposite of 'leader'. and it is clearly contagious. He should be hitting 6th to 8th on the days he plays at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Looks like they finally woke up and started playing Small ball last night with multiple stolen bases and bunts. But the difference was still an Edwin home run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 Hey look! A series win. Chance for a sweep this afternoon. J Happ is the first 20 game winner for the Jays since Roy Halladay. Signing him and Estrada in the offseason were both extraordinarily great moves by the Shapiro/Atkins regime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Sooooo they've won 7 of 10. Chances are they won't win the division, however, because Boston is killing it right now. They win yesterday, in part because of two bunts. But bunts don't win on Saturday. They're winning again because they're getting clutch hitting and the starting pitching again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 and in other news , pigs fly and hell freezes over. The Jays won yesterday on a squeeze play, then an opposite field, I won't swing for the fences, hit from Edwin. He might get $100 million over 4 years from the BoSox. The emergence of -finally- an offensive game other than selfishness at the plate is a big contributor to their recent success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 The emergence of -finally- an offensive game other than selfishness at the plate is a big contributor to their recent success. And that the starting pitching has gone back to being pretty good again. I've read they're tops in the AL in almost all relevant starting pitching categories. They shouldn't have had to depend on that 9th inning rally, Osuna actually blew a save. Still Estrada was very good, Stroman was great yesterday, Liriano shut down the Yankees Friday and Sanchez went toe to toe against King Felix in an extra inning loss. Oh and what about J Happ? I suspect we've seen the last of RA Dickey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I suspect we've seen the last of RA Dickey. I don't know...... The Jays have conceded winning the division. Now they will want to get home field for the wild card game. But most of all, they have to manage their pitching to get one of Happ, Sanchez or Estrada pitching that game, followed by the other two starting in the first two games of the ALDS. Having the six man rotation might enable that better........Dickey and/or Liriano and/or Stroman may be part of fiddling with that battle order. If the first wild card gets locked up in the series against Baltimore, I can see Stroman/Dickey/Liriano all starting in Boston to finish the year. And which of Stroman or Lariano do you keep as the fourth playoff starter? And how best to manage the lineup to ensure either of them don't pitch until Game 3 of the ALDS ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 (edited) I don't know...... The Jays have conceded winning the division. Now they will want to get home field for the wild card game. But most of all, they have to manage their pitching to get one of Happ, Sanchez or Estrada pitching that game, followed by the other two starting in the first two games of the ALDS. Having the six man rotation might enable that better........Dickey and/or Liriano and/or Stroman may be part of fiddling with that battle order. If the first wild card gets locked up in the series against Baltimore, I can see Stroman/Dickey/Liriano all starting in Boston to finish the year. And which of Stroman or Lariano do you keep as the fourth playoff starter? And how best to manage the lineup to ensure either of them don't pitch until Game 3 of the ALDS ? I can see Dickey given a start in Boston should they clinch a WC spot before that series is over, still would want to clinch Homefield as well though. My playoff starters would be Sanchez, Happ, Estrada and Stroman. BUT I would keep Liriano on the playoff roster as he's a lefty and I don't want to see Aaron Loup in another playoff game. BTW both Beniot and Travis got injured in that brawl last night. Beniot tripped sprinting out of the dugout. Seems dumb in hindsight, but who's going to be the one not to have their teammate's back? Edited September 28, 2016 by Boges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 If last night was a preview of a Wildcard game with Aaron Sanchez starting, then it appears the Orioles have a very small chance of winning. The Orioles can't hit his stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 The Jays are well placed to get a wildcard spot, but they have the toughest schedule of the teams chasing them- Baltimore and Tigers. The Tigers get Cleveland who have shut it down already, and Atlanta who are terrible. The Tigers could easily run the table. Baltimore has two with the Jays and 3 against the Rays. The Jays have 2 more against Baltimore and then 3 against the unbelieveable BoSox. The Jays have gained some breathing space, but they are far from a lock just now. Getting home field for the wild card matters, Baltimore has the best home field record in the AL East. The BoSox are already ptiching their mutts, but of course right now they could pitch underhand and win games 14-13. My playoff starters would be Sanchez, Happ, Estrada and Stroman. BUT I would keep Liriano on the playoff roster as he's a lefty and I don't want to see Aaron Loup in another playoff game. Agree on pitching. And on Loup. The Jays bullpen has been a bit scary lately. Osuna..... yikes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 (edited) The Jays are well placed to get a wildcard spot, but they have the toughest schedule of the teams chasing them- Baltimore and Tigers. The Tigers get Cleveland who have shut it down already, and Atlanta who are terrible. The Tigers could easily run the table. Baltimore has two with the Jays and 3 against the Rays. The Jays have 2 more against Baltimore and then 3 against the unbelieveable BoSox. The Jays have gained some breathing space, but they are far from a lock just now. Getting home field for the wild card matters, Baltimore has the best home field record in the AL East. The BoSox are already ptiching their mutts, but of course right now they could pitch underhand and win games 14-13. Agree on pitching. And on Loup. The Jays bullpen has been a bit scary lately. Osuna..... yikes.... Osuna blew one save. He wasn't the one who blew that game on Monday. Had a very impressive save on Saturday. I think he's been used a lot lately. Having Boston the close out the season is a good thing too. Their magic number is 1 and they have no shot at catching Cleveland or Texas to improve their seed. The Jays Magic Number is 3 so they'd have to meltdown to not make the WC game. Edited September 28, 2016 by Boges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Osuna cannot come into games and give up hits and runs. And he has done both lately. So has Grilli. BoSox will use their second stringers. That does not mean they still cannot beat the Jays. It would be very easy for the Jays if the Boston series did not matter, but Detroit can easily run the table with their weakest schedule. If the Jays magic number is three they need to win 3 of the next 5.....against good teams. The Jays have a great chance to get home field advantage, but it won't fall into their laps. We have seen countless examples of 'nothing comes easily' for this team in 2016. This is no different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Is it helpful for the Jays to let the Orioles win one or both these games so they don't have to play a Verlander in a WC game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 OK, the Bullpen is in trouble. Beniot is out. Grilli and Osuna are struggling. Seems their best options now are Cecil and Biagini. Thankfully they have great starting pitching, but still it's a bad sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I hope that crushing loss last night does not hurt them badly....... They are still in an OK position as of today, but now they have to win some games against two very good teams to close out the season. Marcus Stroman has to pitch the game of his life tonight. Was it 1989 when the Jays floundered in the final week and got caught by Detroit? Lets hope history does not repeat itself. Tonight might be the very last time that Toronto Blue Jays fans see Encarnacion and Bautista in Jays uniforms at home. If so, thanks for the memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 I suspect they may not make the playoffs after all. That was a pretty pathetic effort last night. I may be better they don't because their bullpen situation may make them targets for an embarrassing result against Texas, who may be out for revenge from last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 The win they clung to last night was huge......guaranteed them a game after today. They will need another big outing from their starter, Sanchez. And who will close for them? Osuna and Grilli will likely be on the bench, Benoit still out..... Likely they will have to turn to Biagini and Cecil to finish up, assuming the Jays are still in the game and Sanchez is pitching 6 or 7 innings. Options are a bit scary: Loup, Barnes, Repara and it gets worse from there... If they lose and play a tiebreaker Monday, will it be Stroman or Liriano? Both did pretty well to finish the year, though neither are dominant pitchers. If they win and play in the AL wild card game on Tuesday in Texas, Estrada should be available, then Happ on 4 days rest, then Sanchez on four days rest. It could be worse. Mariners are now out. Unfortunately Boston has the tie breaker edge over Cleveland, so Boston wants to win the game today to get/keep home field advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) Taking 2 of 3 from a Boston team that still had something to play for is impressive. . . I guess. Holding that Boston lineup to 1 run yesterday is very good. Aaron Sanchez is a future Cy Young candidate. Losing on Tuesday will probably make people ignore a team that overcame obstacles and ultimately repeated as a playoff team. To be optimistic, this team has the best starting pitching in the AL. In the playoffs, pitching beats hitting. And if the season ends tomorrow, the team loses some aging bats, but the strong pitching core remains largely intact. I'm intrigued to see who starts tomorrow since the Jays had to burn both Happ and Sanchez this weekend just to make it. Liriano or Stroman? You would assume Stroman is the better option, but Liriano is a lefty and he handled Baltimore very well last week. Edited October 3, 2016 by Boges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Why not Estrada? He last pitched on Saturday Wednesday is his regular day in a five man rotation, soon to be four men. I don't see Stroman as the better choice for tomorrow. Funny how it has worked out. He was The Man in May, but not now. He was supposedly our ace in April, now he is clinging to perhaps 4th in the pecking order. Sanchez was an outside shot as a starter, now he is undeniably the ace pitcher. I would start Liriano, if Estrada is not available for some reason. Most of the obstacles the Jays overcame were of their own making: bad personnel choices, poor coaching, and underperfomance by key people at key times. They would have won their division if they had not lost so many close and extra inning games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Stroman v Tillman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Stro has struggled against Baltimore this year. Tillman has been solid against the Jays, though historically hasn't pitched well at the Dome. Liriano is a lefty and the Orioles don't hit southpaws very well. So should Gibbons be commended or criticized for backing his player and letting him pitch? It's a tough position to be in considering his job could be on the line. I'm not loyal like John so I would have gone with Francisco in this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Stro has struggled against Baltimore this year. Tillman has been solid against the Jays, though historically hasn't pitched well at the Dome. Liriano is a lefty and the Orioles don't hit southpaws very well. So should Gibbons be commended or criticized for backing his player and letting him pitch? It's a tough position to be in considering his job could be on the line. I'm not loyal like John so I would have gone with Francisco in this one. It's hilarious that people are praying that the Jays start their 6th starter. Stephen Brunt speculated that starting Stroman and having Liriano in the pen should he falter. The other way around wouldn't work as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Stro hasn't gotten it done against the Orioles this year. Nobody would be questioning the start of Sanchez, Happ or Estrada but a guy with a 7+ ERA against your opponent in a one game series deserves a rethink. The fact that using a 6th starter is even an option is a testament to the quality of their starting pitching. A look at the batting averages of their lineup quickly reveals why they aren't a favourite to win the World Series, with that kind of rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boges Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Stro hasn't gotten it done against the Orioles this year. Nobody would be questioning the start of Sanchez, Happ or Estrada but a guy with a 7+ ERA against your opponent in a one game series deserves a rethink. The fact that using a 6th starter is even an option is a testament to the quality of their starting pitching. A look at the batting averages of their lineup quickly reveals why they aren't a favourite to win the World Series, with that kind of rotation. No, it's because the 3 best options had to be used against Boston. I'm sure Stroman will have a very short leash here. If they can't hit against Tillman, this is all a moot point. However, it's often said that good pitching beats good hitting. So, assuming a win tonight, will the best starting lineup in the AL perform well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Stro has struggled against Baltimore this year. Tillman has been solid against the Jays, though historically hasn't pitched well at the Dome. Liriano is a lefty and the Orioles don't hit southpaws very well. So should Gibbons be commended or criticized for backing his player and letting him pitch? It's a tough position to be in considering his job could be on the line. I'm not loyal like John so I would have gone with Francisco in this one. I would start Liriano too, with Stroman in the pen. For the reasons you noted- their forms against a specific lineup. And I would put Stroman in as soon as Liriano lost control and starts walking people, which he is prone to doing. One thing Stroman has as a reliever: he throws strikes. It drives me absolutely insane when the reliever comes into a game(usually in a tight spot with baserunners) and gets behind in counts and walks batters. Its an express train ride to a loss. It is interesting to watch the major differences between how coaches like Showalter and Farrell manage their teams in tight games as compared to Gibbons. It is quite dramatic. Assuming the Jays win this game, I don't see how they get past Texas. And Gibbons is going to get fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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