11 Days: Notes from the Last Bit of Offseason

I just realized, even though I am up to my armpits in wet snow, that pitchers and catchers report in under two weeks. That means the long and dark time without baseball is nearing its end.

A lot of things are happening after a long period of inactivity. Actually, not a lot of things are happening, there is just more talk so it seems more things are happening.

It's been a very quiet off season for the Jays. It's been a quiet off season for most teams, save the Yankees. The Yankees are once again trying to prove how evil they are by spending all the money. Piles and piles of money. Their haul now includes Masahiro Tanaka, the much sought after pitcher from Japan. It's a seven year deal (with a year four opt-out) worth 155 million dollars. And, for whatever reason, I just can't get worked up over it. They still lost Cano.

The only thing I am going to worked up over is that the Jays lost every series in the Bronx last season. Every single game. The Yankees had close to the same record as the Jays versus everyone else, but killed them in the season series. That needs to not happen. It's imperative. I'd argue that the season depends on it.

Jack Morris has gone back to Minnesota, even though they hate him and told Jays fans how much he sucked, thus lowering our expectations and making us cry even more about the loss of Alan Ashby. But Morris turned out to be awesome. I'm not going to begrudge a man going home (Morris is a native of St. Paul, one of the twin cities the team is named for) but I'm going to miss him. I liked his no nonsense approach and his storytelling, which complimented Jerry Howarth's folksiness quite nicely. Above all, I'll always appreciate Morris for this:

“I went up to Salty and I told him,” Morris said. “He said, ‘It’s dry in Boston, and I’ve seen him put water all over his pants.’ I said, ‘Salty this isn’t my first [expletive] rodeo.’ He didn’t know what to say to that, so we ended the conversation right there.”

And thus, a legend was born. Also, it's dry up in Boston? I've spent some time re-reading a bunch of things written at the time and it was all pretty fun. And then the Sox went and won the World Series. That was less fun.

Also jumping off the Rogers Broadcasting Merry-Go-'Round is Dirk Hayhurst. One of the things I found interesting about Hayhurst is he seemed to take on the tone of who ever he was working with. He'd get folksy with Jerry Howarth, which drove me bananas, but he would take on the crustiness of Jeff Blair on Baseball Central, which I found much more enjoyable. I've enjoyed his books and I guess I'll miss him. I do remember disagreeing with Hayhurst about something (maybe keeping Anthony Gose and jettisoning Colby Rasmus) and I discussed it with my dad. And my dad gave me this:

"Just because he wrote an interesting book doesn't mean he knows what the f*ck he's talking about."

Yeah.

As to who will replace Hayhurst and Morris, it's pretty open. Some have suggested this guy. I'm going to consider that an audition reel.

The State of the Franchise event was sort of bland, as events with pre-screened questions tend to be. It was mostly a rehash of "Five year contracts" and "The pitching. My god, the pitching!!!" and a ridiculous question about signing Michael Young. That questioner, who likely has had season tickets since 1977, had his dreams dashed when Michael Young announced his retirement a day later. The event would be so much more exciting if they didn't pre-screen the questions and let the people drink beforehand.

The vast expanses of grey concrete visible with the turf pulled up warmed the cockles, didn't it?

Pitching remains a big concern. Anthopoulos has mentioned several times he wants to see how the market shapes up before making any offers to pitchers, notably Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. Emerging as a bit of a wild card option is AJ Burnett. The idea of bringing him back is pretty crazy, but it's the kind of crazy I'm interested in. It's a long shot, as I think the only AL East team with a shot is the Orioles as Burnett lives in Maryland and has a wife who hates to fly, but as Ben Nicholson-Smith argues Burnett just might be the best option:

Burnett would be a major upgrade for most teams, including the Blue Jays, if he sustains his recent production. In fact, it’s easy to make the case that Burnett has out-pitched the other top free agents. In 2013, he led Jimenez, Santana and Arroyo in categories such as wins above replacement (4.0), strikeout rate (9.9 K/9), ground ball rate (56.5%) and — even at age 36 — average fastball velocity (92.5 m.p.h.). Over the course of the last three seasons, Burnett leads the group in wins above replacement, strikeout rate, ground ball rate and home run rate.

Plus, he's just so darn flaky. He's a gift to bloggers everywhere.

But for several reasons, mostly because I never get what I want, I'm not getting my hopes up. As Richard Griffin puts it:

"It's hard to go back in time. Remember, Burnett left the Jays to sign with the Yankees to be closer to his Maryland home. He still wants to pitch with the same familial proximity and he will be asking for more 2014 money in a one-year deal than the Jays will have to pay annually for either Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana. Or in fact for several other of the remaining free agents on the starting pitcher list still available. A.J. won't happen."

The "Ian Kinsler trade to Toronto veto" story has had some legs. Shi Davidi reported that Kinsler vetoed a trade to Toronto before the trade to Detroit for Prince Fielder happened. The deal would've included Encarnacion, and for that price, I don't want to do it anyway. I want to add a pitcher and a second baseman, not subtract necessary power. 

People pearl clutched about the idea that Toronto was rejected while Detroit was accepted, but Ken Rosenthal reported that Kinsler wasn't even approached about a deal to Toronto.  

So relax, Toronto. No one called your baby ugly.

And this:

Justin Verlander snuggles up with Kate Upton, proving, once again, it pays to be a King of Earth. But I have so many concerns. The satiny, magenta pants? The shirt open to the third, "douche" button? Nice teeth, though. Justin, your grin is approaching "shit eating."

And finally, RIP PSH

Addiction is the worst. Looking over his body of work, it's clear that Hoffman was a crucial part of some of the best movies of the last 20 years. That's him as Art Howe in Moneyball and watching that movie, the guy has the physicality of a big league manager down. It's more than just the body, it was how he carried himself. It's on Netflix if you have somehow never seen it. Brad Pitt eats a lot in it.

Three Hums and Chucks for a New Year.

I haven't written anything in just over a month, which is pretty terrible, so I thought I would finally do a little something.

"From now on, we're only talking to Roy!" 

I was in the car going to visit my parents when I heard that Roy Halladay had announced his retirement and that he had signed a one day contract with Toronto so he could retire a Blue Jay. I audibly gasped and put a hand to my chest. It was all very dramatic.

My favourite Halladay game was when he one hit the Yankees on September 4th, 2009. It was a strange game. I randomly sat across from my dad and his friend. I knew he was going to be there, but I walked up to buy my ticket and coincidentally bought a seat across the aisle. I sat in front of a guy who was Canadian in a Mickey Mantle jersey who lived in Los Angeles. He told me about the different experiences to be had at Dodgers Stadium vs Angels Stadium. It felt like Halladay was possessed. It was an awesome performance. 

Halladay's Brandy told the Toronto Star at the retirement press conference that they will always love Toronto.

“Somebody asked me once, ‘Do you think you’ll ever come back?’” Brandy said as Roy descended from the stage. “I kind of chuckled and I thought, ‘Well, why wouldn’t we ever go back? We didn’t leave because we didn’t like it. It always was home and that’s where we spent so much of our life. Braden was born there. He’s 13 now. It’s always been home for us.”

I have this "enemy" on Twitter who periodically reappears to remind me that he doesn't like me or my blog, which is fine, but I think I first got on his list when I suggested he reconsider calling Halladay a "traitor" after getting traded to Philadelphia. It's a sentiment that came up again on Twitter from a few different places, and it really has just become a litmus test for me to see if you are an ok person. The man signed two below contract deals when he was the best pitcher in the league to stay with Toronto, because he wanted to win with Toronto. When it no longer seemed like the player and the team were going in the same direction, he quietly requested a trade. Which he got. I mean, jeez. It's also something that came up when Jacoby Ellsbury left the Red Sox to sign with the Yankees. Sox fans called him a "trader" (sic) on Twitter and Boston media called him a mercenary. As far as I'm concerned, they are all mercenaries.We should all realize this.


I like the little hand wave Halladay does in this when the bank robbers ask if it's him.

I watched hockey. 

I actually don't mind hockey all that much, I just resent it a little because it is discussed in our media to the point that there is no space to discuss any other sport and because dumb people wonder why things like baseball can't be more like hockey. But I watched the 2014 Winter Classic and actually cheered for the Maple Leafs. I liked the old school uniforms, the brown goalie pads and Bernier's toque. I admired Bernier's performance even more than the toque and was happy the Leafs won in the shootout, if only because I thought Bernier deserved it. The Leafs have this way of winning even when they get outplayed. That's a skill. The game was messy and a bit ridiculous, but I think that's why I found it pretty awesome. The pictures were also great.

The game was also notable because 105,491 was the announced attendance, and it broke the Guiness World Record. The crowd seemed pretty split between Leafs and Red Wings fans, so each goal was thunderously celebrated.

“For a single game, as far as the atmosphere and everything, this is one of the greatest things I’ve ever been a part of,” Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall said. “Probably [ever] will be a part of. Over 100,000 people, in a setting like this, with the fans really into it — a great experience.”

Colby Rasmus to Skip Winter Tour; Goes Duck Hunting

Colby Rasmus was a hot topic on Twitter today after the announcement that he wasn't attending this year's Winter Tour. He went last year. He curled and stood on a tank in the snow.

It was glorious. People asked Colby's dad via Twitter was his son wasn't participating. Tony Rasmus (@FlorenceFalcon0) tweeted that he would call his boy if his boy weren't out duck hunting in a swamp in Arkansas.

@willy9a I do know Colby's been told to be prepared for a possible trade because AA has really been trying to improve the team via trade.
— Tony_Rasmus_IV (@FlorenceFalcon0) January 4, 2014

That would be somewhat concerning as I don't want Rasmus traded and I also think he's found a place in Toronto that's accepted him. But he hasn't had his contract extended yet, and I would think just about everyone is on the trade block. It's the nature of the business. See what I said above about mercenaries.

All But Gone

Several years ago now, the artist formally known as "Archi" Zuber (now of the Score) and I went to Cito Gaston's final game as Blue Jays manager. We sat along the first base line and cracked wise with each other and those around us. It was all very friendly with a guy who was sitting in front of us, until the subject of Cito's decision to start John Buck over JP Arencibia came up. 

Both Zuber and I agreed with Cito. My thought was that Buck was the veteran, going into free agency. Cito was always known to favour the veterans and likely Cito was giving Buck the opportunity to pad his numbers a bit, rounding off a very solid offensive campaign. Arencibia had been a call-up, and was seen as the catcher of the future and would get the starting catcher job in the following season. He would have plenty of time to live up to whatever his potential was.

Well, making this argument to the guy in front of us was apparently equivalent to saying you drop kick kittens for fun. He stopped interacting with us. He wouldn't even look at us. It was so abrupt and obvious that Zuber and I have referred to it as the defining incident of that whole game and have brought it up in the years since because it was just so damn weird. The dude could just not handle that this was our opinion. He thought it was just so wrong. He was offended.

I was reminded of this incident now that it seems the Arencibia Experiment is over in Toronto. The Jays have signed Dioner Navarro for $8 million over 2 years and Shi Davidi (as well as a few other people) now report that if the Jays can't find a trading partner for Arencibia, they will non-tender him by midnight, making him a free agent.

One can't really argue that it was hard to see this coming. Arencibia had a terrible 2013. Various people have argued that he's just living up to his pre-ordained terribleness, but I think it also had something to do with the fact that he played with bursitis in his knee for most of the season. It didn't really explain why the guy refuses to take a walk, but it might explain why some of his numbers that were at least approaching average fell off a cliff in 2013. 

But it wasn't just that Arencibia was having a terrible year, it's that he wasn't handling it very well. JPA got into that public feud with Hayhurst and Zaun and took to Twitter to vent about various things. I didn't agree with a lot of the things in that whole situation. But if you are a public figure, it's just not a good idea to do that because it just sours people on you. And fair or not, Arencibia did become the poster boy for the terrible season. This is a move that needed to happen. If you are anti-JP, you can see this Navarro signing as an needed improvement behind the plate. If you are pro-JP (and yes, those people do exist), see it as a chance for the dude to move on.

Dioner is served? No? Too far? Too far.
— Matt Ross (@TheMattRoss) December 2, 2013

A bunch of other people wrote and talked about this move.

Here is just one of the things Stoeten over at DJF had to say about the situation.  Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs made very reasoned arguments . Wilner and Ben Ennis podcasted about it.

Shi Davidi wrote more about it, illustrating just how ugly it's gotten.

"What’s clear is that the team believes Arencibia’s personal collapse this past season created too much baggage on both ends for them to continue together, and that his potential was unlikely to be realized in Toronto."

Yikes. 

Goodbye 2013: Boston and a Book.

Well, the worst thing imaginable for a 2013 Jays fan happened. The Boston Red Sox, in the year after John Farrell left the Jays for his "dream job", won the World Series.

It's fair, as they played the best, both in the AL and in the World Series. They had some very solid pitching by Jon Lester, especially, and an Ortiz hitting performance for the ages. Dustin Pedroia is amazing at baseball and I will shout it from the rooftops if I have to.  But I wrote my one "hey Boston, you're alright" post this year and that's my quota. Drew Fairservice wrote a nice, balanced piece over on Getting Blanked. The Red Sox were serviced fairly, if you will. 

So they can have their parade and tug on each other's beards all winter for all I care. I do think the parade route going over the Boston Marathon finish line site was rather offensive, but if members of the Red Sox brass use one of their four intact limbs to cut cheques to the victims, I'll get over it. Don't forget them, Boston. 

Hey, Red Sox (and Sports Illustrated) about this picture:

You know who has got a really nice beard? The guy who had a .688 batting average and .760 on-base percentage, the second-highest numbers in World Series history. He reached base 19 times in 25 plate appearances sporting a nice beard. Without his herculean effort, you'd just have your beards.  But you know, keep broin', bros. And don't worry about the stereotypes that hang around your ballclub and fanbase. 

I discovered Boston writer Luke O'Neill over the last month or so, he wrote this  and has written about his issues with the #BostonStrong phenomenon. He wrote this after the Sox won. 

I'm still not going to give that much credit to Farrell. He and Mike Matheny seemed to be in some sort of contest to see who could make the most boneheaded managerial moves and have their team overcome them. This is still the "Brandon Workman hit in the ninth inning of a tie game in the World Series" World Series. I'm not entirely sure pitchers make good managers. I think catchers make the best managers. But Matheny was a catcher, so maybe it's all a wash. I really do appreciate this guy calling in to WEEI to complain about Farrell the morning after they won the Series. That's dedicated misery. And amazing.

I've made peace with it all. St. Louis, while blessed with rather amazing pitching and some pretty, pretty ponies, also has some comically terrible fans.

Chicago Cub Adrian Cardenas wrote a beautiful piece for the New Yorker about why he quite Major League Baseball, sounding every inch the philosophy/creative writing student he has become. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

The New Yorker also bid farewell to Tim McCarver, in an article that makes me wonder if the writer has never heard of Vin Scully. Because " intense, intelligent, deeply informed, excitable, verbose, folksy, intellectual, opinionated, and morally fervid participation in the events on the field inexorably takes hold of you, the listener, and pushes you into the adjoining seat" is Vin Scully.

I'm really going to miss watching playoff games with my dad and hearing him mutter, "No, Tim. That's wrong. Stop being so wrong, Tim." It's the end of an era.

McCarver's argument that the "obstruction rule" should be changed to include the umpire's consideration of intent was another classic. Because allowing the umpires the opportunity for more subjective judgement calls are really going to enhance everyone's enjoyment. I'll argue that the "irregardless of intent" part of the rule is the best part and makes me love it a little. Especially when Joe Torre puts on his sweater vest and glasses and reads it to me from the official rulebook.

Before I close the book completely on 2013, I want to say a few things about Great Expectations: The Lost Toronto Blue Jays Season. John Lott, who co-wrote it with Shi Davidi, reads this blog and I frequently steal player quotes from his National Post work to illustrate whatever point I happen to be making. I enjoy his writing in the Post and it's on good display here, as is Davidi's always strong coverage.

If you are looking for a prescription for baseball success in 2014 or a simple answer about what went wrong in 2013, this isn't that book. I'm not sure that book could exist.

What it is, however, is a very complete portrait of the men that worked for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013. There are a lot of stories, things that weren't always discussed within the season or extra tidbits that give a more complete picture of memorable instances. I'm sure it's true of many teams, but this 2013 version of the Blue Jays is full of stories. Stories about men that come from different places, to a city they aren't from and try to put on a show and win more games than any other team of men trying to put on a show.

The book's strength lies in the stories and the characters that emerge. Mark DeRosa is, in some ways, the star of the book. I've come to the conclusion, through this book and the interview he did with Mike Wilner during the World Series, that the Jays need to find a way to make DeRosa a long term part of the organization. He's smart, both in the baseball and life senses of the word, and the work he did with Brett Lawrie is worth every penny of that $750,000 he earned.

Casey Janssen has an amazing work ethic and understands fundamentally what his role is. He and Darren Oliver (who, naturally, has a couple of great quotes of his own) lead the reclamation project bag of toys that was the bullpen, one of the genuinely success stories of 2013. While Jose Bautista came from a middle class existence that many of us in Canada can probably relate to, fellow Domincan Jose Reyes used to ride a donkey to baseball practice and he used a milk carton as a glove. The Mets signed a 16 year old Reyes for $13,500, which sounds like a pittance but was enough to change the lives of his family forever. He built them a new house with that money. 

The image I associate with  the 2013 season was Reyes crying on the field after he sprained his ankle. Joyful man with all the talent, crumpled and sad on the field.

This book is full of stories from beyond just 2013. Frank Catalanotto drove a distraught Ted Lilly home after his infamous encounter with John Gibbons on the field in 2006. Lilly felt awful for the way he had behaved. John Gibbons' blow up at Shea Hillenbrand over the "This ship is sinking" incident earlier that season shook a lot of the players up because they had never seen him that angry. Hillenbrand has found Jesus in the years since he left baseball, and talks briefly about the angry man he used to be. 

John Farrell advocated releasing Edwin Encarnacion, during his early 2011 struggles. I think that means, by all rights, Encarnacion should tee off in Fenway and use and abuse the Green Monster until it bleeds.

R.A. Dickey is a poet who happens to pitch. Mark Buehrle cried when Kawasaki was sent down to Buffalo. Well, his eyes were described as "wet", so I'm sure it was very masculine.

There is much debate about what team chemistry means and how it contributes (or doesn't) to team winning. If team chemistry is made up of how much a team pulls for one another, I don't think that was a problem for this team. Everyone cared about winning and about each other. They pulled for each other. There were a hell of lot of team meetings.

I don't have a solid grasp about what exactly happened in 2013 but I think it's some combination of this: due to pressure or expectations or the World Baseball Classic, the team didn't gel immediately and got off to a bad/slow start. Injuries (which were varied and plentiful) prevented them from overcoming that slow start in any sustainable way. Looking over a season of baseball, it becomes clear that a lot of things have to go right, some sort of formula needs to fall into place. And there has to be pitching. Lots and lots of pitching.  

The book can be a tough read, not because it's hard to follow, but because reliving the hope of the offseason followed by the crush of the season unfolding was hard. But if all we have left of this season are great stories, this is a book full of them and  is thus a worthy addition to any baseball fan's shelf. 

Although the book did refer to "the ballad of R.A. Dickey" to describe his pitching season, I'm not pursuing legal action.

Cardinal Country

Visiting my parents this weekend in Port Dover, I noticed this when I was driving around past Harry Misner Memorial Park, the ballpark home to the Port Dover Minor Baseball Association. 

Something

Well, that was something. I never imagined that this World Series was going to be this entertaining, but it's very, very entertaining. That was one memorable baseball game.

It will be remembered in the decades to come for the obstruction call that ended it, but there were several contributions making this one a classic.

I described umpire Dana Demuth's strike zone as "festive" on Twitter. By festive, I meant awful. There were pitches called strikes seemingly at random and there was never any kind of consistency.

Both teams got away with some very questionable moves and plays. Yadier Molina (who is an absolute delight to watch play) was held at third by third base coach Jose Oquendo on Jon Jay's fourth inning single. Yadi is slow, but no one in the MLB is so slow that they can't get home when the ball is being throw towards home by Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury conceded the run. As Drew Fairservice puts it, send the man home, Jose. Let Yadi be free.

My other favourite Oquendo moment was actually during the obstruction call in the 9th.

I'm sure there is a good reason for Oquendo's action, but the visual of him hap haphazardly twirling his arm and then running from the scene is hilarious.

John Farrell had himself a rough, rough game. There were a few decisions that were questionable, but none were more questionable than having relief pitcher Brandon Workman hit in the 9th inning. With Mike Napoli sitting on the bench. And the opportunity for Farrell to double switch Uehara and Ross still open to him. One might argue that Farrell didn't want to use his closer in a tie game on the road, but then he makes the pitching change and brought Uehara in anyway.

"I felt like if we get into an extended situation, which that game was looking like it was going to -- [I] held [Napoli] back in the event that spot came up again," Farrell said. "Like I said, in hindsight having Workman hit against Rosenthal is a mismatch, I recognize it, but we needed more than one inning out of Workman."

Oh, Mr. John.

And you are right, Grant Brisbee:  Brandon Workman hit in the ninth inning of a tie game in the World Series is a sentence indescribably decadent to type.

All of this madness culminates in a walk off Cardinal win on an obstruction call.



It was a call that was a hell of a lot more controversial in the minutes after it happened than it is now. The more I watch the play and read the rule, the clearer it becomes. When the rule cites an example that illustrates nearly exactly what happened, you can't really fault the umpire for making that call.

Crew chief John Hirschbeck explained after the game, “Obstruction is the act of a fielder obstructing a runner when not in the act of fielding a ball. It does not have to be intent. There does not have to be intent, OK? Once he has the opportunity to field the ball, he can no longer in any way obstruct the runner. That’s basically the rule.”

The rule:

The only subjective part of that rule is where the umpire decides whether the fielder is still "in the act of fielding the ball." I don't think anyone can reasonably argue that Middlebrooks is still in the act. And how many times do we see a throw to third missed and the sliding runner pops up and scores pretty easily? That happens all the time. Craig didn't score easily because he was being obstructed by Middlebrooks.

I recommend watching the umpire press conference. Joe Torre wore tweeds and a sweater vest. He puts on his glasses and reads from the official rules. 

Few other observations: Dustin Pedroia is an amazing baseball player. It's much easier to appreciate when he isn't personally killing my team. That play at the start of the above video, where throws home to get Molina. He also threw behind Matt Holliday to pick him off after Holliday strayed too far when Ellsbury missed a fly out. He just knows what he is doing.

Every Red Sox player and fan really needs to stop talking about the call going against them because it is making them look foolish at this point. I'm looking at you, Jake Peavy.

"…He (DeMuth) has already proven that he can not see things correctly in Game 1. (He missed) a pretty obvious (call) 4 feet in front of him … I hope he rests well tonight in his hotel room knowing what he did. That is a joke, an absolute joke. I’m sorry. Go to talk to him and ask him if he feels good and right about his call to end a World Series game on a diving play… it’s just beyond me … I don’t know how anybody can say, ‘Yeah, that’s how it should have ended.’ Go find me one person that’s OK with that call, other than Cardinals fans, because they won the game.”

Jake, I was ok with that call. It's the right call. Go lie down for a while.

People are smart:

Joe Posanski

Sam Miller, Baseball Prospectus

Grant Brisbee

Two Games In: All Tied Up

So, two games into the World Series from Hell, and everything is all tied up. As soon as I openly expressed my desire for a Detroit/Los Angeles World Series, I had a creeping suspicion this was the World Series I was going to get. The only way I was going to accept a Red Sox World Series was if I was going to get one vs the Dodgers, so I could see the big 2012 trade in direct contrast and see Puig hitting bombs over the Monster and blowing kisses to beard-os.

Yaisel Puig isn't in the World Series, but he did play Little League with some kids. "It was Puig! And we jumped the fence!"


Is that playing the game the right way?

Game 1 was nightmarish for the Cardinals. I think Wainwright wasn't getting his curve over for strikes and that was all compounded by the defensive miscues happening behind him. Jays fans are well aware of how stupid things can get in that ballpark, and things got really, really stupid.

Looking sharp, boys.
— Will Leitch (@williamfleitch) October 24, 2013

In the "really, really stupid" category: A Cardinal minor leaguer tweeted about Jon Lester doctoring the ball in Game 1. That story was talked about so much that Mike Matheny actually apologized on behalf of the Cardinals organization and Jon Lester said the words "green booger" in a press conference. Also, a statey sang "God Bless America", which is fine, except he did it wearing a Marine uniform. He's never been a member of USMC. They generally don't like it when people do that.

Game 2 was better for the Cardinals. Carlos Beltran, who left game 1 after he went where Torii Hunter couldn't, returned to the lineup and little rookie Michael Wacha (who was drafted in 2012, by the way) pitched like a boss. This discussion about Wacha took place via Twitter:

@HumandChuck he's a rare stud. The pitching version of trout.
— Tony_Rasmus_IV (@FlorenceFalcon0) October 25, 2013

That's some high praise.

Pitching is such a weirdly, freakishly beautiful thing to do:

I discovered Carlos Martinez, both on the field and off and I can't say I mind him.

This happened:
 


Which was nightmarish for Red Sox fans and funny for the rest of us. Come for McCarver's comments, stay for John Farrell's face.

And then this:



That's struck out the side.... on eleven pitches.

A lot of interesting baseball things have been popping up around. 

Jonah Keri talked to Alex Speier about Sox team chemistry and Matthew Leach about the Cardinal Way.

The New York Times wrote about David Ortiz being the new version of "Mr.October". I love David Ortiz, but I would also just stop pitching to him. He is on some kind of fire right now.

On Getting Blanked, Dustin Parkes wrote about how the Cardinals got so damn good perennially. Grantland talked about it, too.

Jim Leyland's career is eulogized over on Sports on Earth.

Mariano Rivera talks to Charlie Rose. This guy is just such a gentleman.

Postseason Thus Far: A Loving Look Back

I've been pretty clear on Twitter that I really want to see a Detroit-Los Angeles World Series. I find both teams exciting to watch. They both have great pitching and have the challenge of trying to get it done with key pieces injured. 

I think Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter in the game. I think Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher. A showdown between these two would be something to see. Both of these teams have pitched incredibly well in the postseason. As a person who enjoys enjoys pitching, it's really been a feast. 

I also find both the Red Sox and the Cardinals to be sort of odious. My feelings on the Red Sox are well documented. I admire several players on that team, but I find the whole "our gritty, bearded white men, led by our saviour, genius manager John Farrell" to be a nails on chalkboard type narrative. 

I don't dislike the Cardinals as much, but I have long found the "Cardinal Way", "best fans in baseball" reputation to be a bit much to take. Plus, Colby Rasmus is my homeboy, and they still talk trash about that guy in St. Louis press. I also think that this goes for Sox fans and Cardinal fans, and it will go for Jays fans if our team ever pulls it together: just because your team is beloved locally doesn't mean that every sports fan across the continent should love that team, too.  Not everybody is going to find it's players charming or loveable.

The Cardinal-Red Sox World Series was really boring in 2004. And:

A Boston-St.Louis World Series is something only monstrous homonculi  twisted crypto pedophile tax auditor Koala killing psychos could want
— Denis McGrath (@heywriterboy) October 16, 2013

I mean, really.

I visited SOSH after the 7-3 Red Sox loss to the Tigers, hoping to find some classic SOSHian moments. I was not disappointed. 

Let's keep winning and not go back to Boston until the World Series eh?

I figured this wasn't going to happen. I will give credit to all sides in these LC series. Each team has been in every game and it really feels like it could go either way in both series. Just admit that, fans.

Fister's no hitter won't escape the first inning tonight.

This actually turned out to be true. But it really didn't end up mattering at all. 

Some Dodger fans here at the Riviera. They are vocal in their annoyance with Puig just now. Nice to see it isn't just people here who get pissed with him. 

Those Dodger fans in the Riviera (meaning either the hotel in Boston or the so called "Irish Riviera" in Mass.) need to get over themselves. Puig celebrating the triple was sort of silly, I suppose, but the fact that he still managed the celebration and then leg out a triple is amazing. That's pure talent. 

And why does it not shock me that the SOSH crowd has an issue with Puig? Button up your jersey, Beard-o and then come talk to me about "respect for the game". I'll let Yasiel take it from here:

All that fucking matters is that Doug Fister gets smoked with a fucking line drive of his fucking skull so he has to leave the game. Then the Red Sox can pummel the bullpen until the pulpy flesh of their baseball souls resemble the pus and blood filled swollen mass on Fister's head. 

Charming. I really hope these fans get another World Series.

Early in the game, they really liked Peavy.

Peavy looked GREAT that inning.

But it didn't last.

They rhymed:

Hey, Peavy, don't be sleazy and throw some strikes.

And then it got ugly:

Wow. Peavy is... Not looking good.

Peavy looks like a bag of shit right now.

Peavy looking like utter dogshit.

Fuck you, Jake

THROW STRIKES 

That is the key. Few things are more sickening for a pitcher and anyone cheering for a team than the sudden inability to throw strikes.  If you don`t throw strikes, innings tend to get a little large in a hurry. This inning turned gargantuan for the Tigers.

Does Peavy have any idea how to throw strikes right now? 

No, apparently not. 

How many BBs was it going to take to get Farrel out there to talk to the man?

It's his dream job.

Fuck you, Pedroia.

Many have been saying that for years, but I still have grudging respect for that guy. 

I'm pretty sure they just got a "in the neighborhood" call. I'll take it.

In the neighbourhood? Not even in the same area code.

Pedroia has not been good at all this postseason 

The ceremonial eating of the young has begun.

Pedey has been pretty meh all playoffs. Some really bad defensive plays. Whatever is going on with him, he needs to get his head on right.  Delicious, delicious young.

Well done Peavy, Farrell and Pedroia.

I really hope Jake Peavy dies between innings.

Yes, Peavy really has earned death for pitching a bad inning. He didn't even grow a beard!

Needed a Maddon like manager this inning.

I wonder how the guy who compared Maddon to Bobby Valentine feels about that. 

Peavy shouldn't make another pitch this season. Traded Iglesias for this bullshit?

I learned on Twitter that what happened can be translated to Spanish as: Peavy completamente descontrolado. And I love it when mid season trades come into direct contrast like this. Baseball is really fantastic.

Good job, John. Gave them the game. 

Nice to see post season Farrell

Holy fuck Farrell. This is a terrible managing job.

Farrell is an AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL in game manager.  There's no question how bad he is. 

Nice job Farrell. Lets let him put the game out of reach. 

I hate to say that but he (Farrell) has disappointed time and time again.  You got 2 guys in the pen capable of going 4+ innings, easy.  Not sure they'd be better, but would they be worse?

I just wanted to throw in as much "Farrellball" stuff as I could. Sure it's petty, but the Jays had an awful season. 

They had a long debate over who was most at fault: Peavy, for not throwing strikes, Pedroia for booting the DP and Farrell for not pulling Peavy. 

I vote none of these people. It was all pretty crappy baseball on the part of Peavy and Pedroia. But it's baseball. It happens.

I don't know if Farrell should have pulled Peavy. I see the merits of leaving Peavy in to save the bullpen and see if the bats get it going against Fister, but I also think digging a huge hole and essentially "giving away" an ALCS game, when they could've gone on up three games to one, is just bad. I don't think Farrell did that. 

I'm not going to begrudge these people Farrell frustration. This is exactly the scenario I imagined as soon as I heard the "dream job" stuff from ol' Johnny Jump Ship. Gregor Chisholm tweeted something I will quote until the end of time: Just because someone has managed good teams doesn't make them a good manager. John Farrell should get whatever credit he has earned for having a healthy, talented team in 2013. But I'm not going to buy into some "Farrell saved the Red Sox" narrative at the expense of giving the players the credit. The Red Sox played their tails off this season. It's not John Farrell who saved them or gritty bearded men. It's healthy talent.

I will, however, blame all of the SOSH commentators for this bad inning. They really do confirm the worst stereotypes about Red Sox fans.

I still dream of a Detroit-Los Angeles World Series. I think the baseball gods owe me that much. 

There Is Still Good in the Blue Jays World (Apparently)

After my baseball best friend, Edwin Encarnacion, was placed on the DL for the remainder of the season, I contemplated giving up completely on the season. I didn't feel like reading about anything, I didn't feel like listening to games on the radio and I sure as hell didn't feel like writing about it.

I mean, Munenori Kawasaki was the DH.

But as it turns out, there is still some joy to be found in taking two of three from the Yankees and putting another nail in the coffin called their "playoff hopes". And it's still completely sickening to watch the team waste a great J.A. Happ performance with some crappy bullpen pitching and some questionable bunting decisions. I had a sneaking suspicion something like that was going to happen in that game. It all felt too easy and too quiet.

But there is still good in the world:

There is this:




I discussed this with his pops.

@HumandChuck well he loves it there for sure. Mottola really has helped him as well. Gibbons too.
— Tony_Rasmus_IV (@FlorenceFalcon0) September 19, 2013

And there was this:

I didn't even know this was a thing. And neither did Show Pony. 

And this: 

Chris Toman wrote last month about Brett Lawrie's second half resurgence and his willingness to keep learning.

Per Chad Mottola:

"[Brett] and Edwin [Encarnacion] are talking game plans of what a pitcher tries to do to right-handed hitters," Mottola said. "He has really welcomed that and taken that to heart, and listened to a veteran guy who has figured it out later in his career. He wants to learn early so he can get ahead of the curve."

Clever boy, this one.

This was a version of the team photo. Should've been official.

There is not much I can add to the whole Arencibia situation that hasn't already been said. He's had a brutal year, and having him come up, in the slump he is in, in the 9th vs Rivera was just unfortunate. Both because of the slump, because I sensed where it was going and I knew the barrage of hate that was going to get sent towards him. Shi Davidi's piece allowed Arencibia to speak his mind, but I have some serious questions about the bursitis in his knee. I don't see the point of playing through pain if you aren't playing well. And bursitis is painful.

In news that is not at all shocking,Gregg Zaun thinks Arencibia shouldn't have the job next year. This may be the one thing that Zaun and various Jays bloggers and stat heads can agree on.

Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher of all time and also, by all reports, a heck of a nice guy.

My favourite "Mo at the Dome" story was one that Vernon Wells told to Shi Davidi when Wells was here with the Yankees this last series:

Roy Halladay outduelled Mike Mussina for 7.2 innings in the opener and handed a 4-3 lead over to closer B.J. Ryan, who promptly gave it up with two outs in the eighth inning. Things remained deadlocked until the 11th, when with one out Wells sent a 1-0 cutter over the wall in left-centre. The centre-fielder raised his arm to the sky, index finger pointing upwards, as he circled the bases, a crowd of 42,336 exploding. “With him my approach was always to look in for his cutter and force myself to swing at it,” says Wells, whose memory of the game is remarkably vivid. 

“I remember I got ball one, a cutter away, and then I was thinking, all right, if he comes in with the cutter, force yourself to swing at it. He started it in, I went to swing and I hit it. I hit it pretty high, it was either going to get caught, or go out, and as soon as it went out, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I just hit a walk-off home run against the greatest closer of all-time.’ I had goose-bumps from that moment on. “Just knowing what kind of feat that is, and what Mariano stands for, it was pretty cool moment.”


I went to the game the next night with my parents. The place was still buzzing. It's not just that Wells hit a walk-off homer, it was that he hit it off a Mo cutter. Also, Roy Halladay outduelling Mike Mussina in the Rogers Centre is the way it should have been and should always be, forever and ever. Amen.

Finally, Jose Bautista sat down for an interview on Cabbie's podcast. He talks about his temper, his Blue Jays football fantasy pool (which includes Darren "Black Magic" Oliver, Casey Janssen and Josh Thole, who is getting his ass kicked.) He also talks about cock fighting, and that one of the Jays is so involved he has built his own cock fighting ring. I'm not down with cock fighting, but holy crow, that's a good bit of gossip. It's just ridiculous. I think I've deduced who it is, but I don't want to tarnish anyone's rep. Feel free to bet amongst yourselves.

It also made me think of this:

Possible Every Time: EE owns Arizona

There was a point on Tuesday night that I realized that Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona was the anti-Tropicana Field. I don't know if it was the “dry heat” or the altitude or just magic, but the ball flew out of there. And  I mean, flew. Rajai Davis hit two homers. Ex-Jay Aaron Hill didn't single handedly kill his former team, and the team actually pitched well. The Arizona broadcast spoke of Encarnación in hushed, fearful tones, deciding that the only solution to this complete dominance over them was to trade for him. I like to imagine that Miguel Montero is giving blurred out bitch face in the above picture.

As Gibby put it, "Eddie hits everywhere, but he hits really well here.”

It felt like this was possible every time he stepped up.



Every time. Plus, the press actually talked to him. They never do that.



Somewhere late in the last game, which was tied 3-3, between the Encarnación bomb to straight away centre, which was caught, and Rajai Davis’ inability to get the bunt down, it became clear that a bit of the magic had worn off and the loss was inevitable. As Meat Loaf once sang, two outta three ain't bad.

About the whole “pandering to the Asian fan base” nonsense from Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington.

For the record, there is no homogeneous “Asian fan base” that needs to be pandered to, but rather a combination of what might possibly be Japanese people in Toronto (those people show up for Ichiro and used to do it for Matsui),  people who like funny people and people who wanted latch on to something joyful in a season of disappointments (the Kawasaki to the All Star Game are those people.)  If the Jays “pandered” to anyone, they pandered to the dudes in the clubhouse who are head over heels in love with Kawasaki.

I present this to illustrate my point.

That appears to be a "Dominican" fan base, rather than an Asian one. And I'm ok with pandering to a Dominican fan base.

Mark Buehrle talked about his season away from his dogs, due to the well-documented ban on pitbulls in Ontario.

"Oh yeah. But I don’t know if they miss me that much. You know dogs, there’s times when we've left the house and gone back 20 minutes later because you forgot something and it’s like they haven't seen you for four months,” he said with a laugh. “It’s awesome. At the all-star break when I went home, they haven't been getting up in our bed but when I got home and laid in bed they all jumped up there with me. They're whining and shaking and so excited."

“The biggest thing is coming home and opening the door there’s no hugs from your wife and kids, no dogs running up to lick you."

Could someone not send him a Toronto dog to tide him over? I think he's pitched well enough to have earned it.

In my last post, I talked about Romero being called up. Stoeten over at DJF talked about it, too. And there was a tone to some of the comments that I found interesting.

I never assumed that Romero's reference to people not believing in him was a reference to people within the Jays organization. I thought he was referring to the haters on social media, and people in the press. But I could be reading this incorrectly.

If Romero seriously thinks that people within the Jays' organization haven't given him opportunities, there is either something not being said publicly (so we are getting an unclear picture) or something isn't clicking with Romero in his head.  I don't think they've been perfect by any means, but I also don't think it's irreparable. AA talked about Romero on Brady and Lang on Fan 590 and said this:

“He’s going to get a clean slate again next spring. Very good chance he comes off of the roster in the off-season. I told him that ahead of time, just for the 40-man spot. He'll come in next spring, he’ll come in and compete and hopefully he'll start fresh and he can get it turned around.”

That sounds reasonable, no? I'm just not sure what else Romero expects them to do, given how he has pitched the past two seasons.

But I also suspect there is something else going on here. I remember reading that Romero hung up article about how the Jays made a huge mistake drafting him over Troy Tulowitzki in his locker in the minor leagues as a kind of motivator.

Romero might be trying to establish some sort of antagonist to motivate him. It all seems very dramatic.

Jose Bautista is out for the season on the advice of a New York hip specialist.

"It’s not how I wanted to end the season but I have no choice but to follow the doctor’s recommendation," said Bautista. "The fact that we're not in contention played a role in the decision-making as well.

"It’s a delicate spot but by resting it now and not making it worse, it will heal 100% and have no issues moving forward."

Yeah. This season was not very fun.

It doesn't mean he's fragile (mentally or physically), though,  people who comment on Internet posts.

And finally, I was on TV again. Please check it out and feel free to tweet @AliyaJasmine that you enjoyed it. Or hated it. Either works.

Testing It: September Call Ups

The calendar turned over, school started again and we, as Jays fans, are once again out of the playoff race. All we have to look forward to now are September call-ups.

Two are 2012 Tommy John patients- Kyle Drabek and Luis Peres. One is relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who is known (in my head, anyway) as the 420 pitcher and catcher Mike Nickeas.

I was a little disappointed not to see Marcus Stroman or Drew Hutchison. Stroman tweeted his disappointment:

That feeling of being overlooked bothers me like nothing else. I'm hungry! If you're not starving, I can't relate.
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo7) September 3, 2013

Stroman was 9-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 20 starts for the AA New Hampshire Fishercats. In his final start Monday, he pitched eight innings, allowed one run and struck out 11. It was the third time in his past 11 starts that he had reached double figures in strikeouts.  Apparently, the September call ups aren't done, so the tiny little power pitcher might be still be seen. Though if the Jays decide to be cautious, it won't be that shocking to not see him either. Hutchison was deemed "not ready" after having Tommy John last season.

The biggest name to be called up is Ricky Romero. Romero, in a season that is somehow more baffling than in 2012, has been a subject of intense debate. He had decent starts in Buffalo, and terrible ones. And the Jays upper management had some questions as to whether calling him up was going to hurt him more than harm him.

Pre-call up, Romero had this to say about the possibility:

“Not really, because I'm not on the roster,” he says in an interview. “Honestly, I'm not holding my breath on it. It is what it is. I went through a whole month where I was doing good and it didn't happen. The whole time I've been down here I haven't – the day I stopped thinking about when I was going to get up there was the day is when everything started changing a little bit.

“If it happens it happens, if it doesn't, hey, I'll go home to the people that have supported me and been behind me this whole time.”

Dirk Hayhurst was well, Hayhurstian, in his assessment of the situation, talking about how Romero needs to "earn" his call up and that Romero hasn't done that yet.

I suppose one should be "earning" things, but I think the Jays are actually looking at this as a "we are paying this guy a tonne of money and it's either this or he sits at home for the last month of the season" situation. Romero might as well get some work in versus big league hitters. I suspect he'll be pitching out of the bullpen.

And that is the answer to Hayhurst's question: "So why is there this favouritism for Romero to return to MLB? Why is it a tough subject for the Jays’ management, coaching or fan base to wrestle with when the facts are what they are?"

One can't really discount the fact that Romero has team history and a big fat pay cheque as they are irrefutable aspects of him and his situation. It'd be like denying he's left handed. Or from Los Angeles.

Romero's got a fan in his AAA manager Marty Brown:

“Ricky feels like he’s a big-league pitcher and he can compete at the big-league level with where he’s at right now, and I don't disagree with that,” says Brown.

“On any given day, he can do that, but there are still the inconsistencies at some point where he has these outings you look at and think, ‘Gosh, what if that happened in Toronto, or in New York? How would Ricky deal with that mentally?’ “I'm a big fan so I'm kind of prejudiced, but if it were me, and it’s not me, I would put him to the test. I'd take him up in September and give him two or three starts to see where he’s at. I don’t think either way is wrong. But the only way you're going to find out is to test it.”

It's a difficult decision and I don't envy upper management in having to make it. I want to see Romero be a productive member of this team and his struggles have been hard to watch because I'm rather fond of the dude. I've only met him once, but I like him.

And who knows? The boys up from Buffalo, particularly Ryan Goins, have been putting on a show. Maybe Romero will do the same.

Considerably less confusing and disappointing is Edwin Encarnación. EE has continued to earn our love and admiration this season. He hit his 35th homer yesterday versus Arizona and it was a beaut. In 2010, last time the Jays played in Arizona (also the series I noticed Justin Upton for the first time), Encarnación hit five homers in the series.

“He’s dangerous,” Gibbons said. “Eddie’s not just a slugger. Eddie goes up there with a plan. He’s really a student of hitting.”

The little discussed step in Brett Lawrie's late season blossoming was "watching video with Encarnación."

A vital step, indeed.

I Regret Nothing: Notes on my Toronto Visit

I was in Toronto for a few days last week and saw two very enjoyable baseball games.

I was originally planning not to go to any of the Yankees series at all, but I finished taping a thing at MTV (which I'll have a link to eventually) and saw that the Jays were up 7-0 on Big Hirok. So with that, combined with a possible final Mariano Rivera appearance, I figured I'd go, with about 30 lbs of tv makeup suitable for HD on my face, and check it out.

A-Rod was lustily booed, Darren “Black Magic” Oliver struck him out late in the game and the Yankee fans streamed up the aisles. It wasn't quite Roy Halladay one hitting them, which I also witnessed, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.

I also saw the first Kansas City game, which was efficiently dominated by Mark Buehrle. I had plans that involved margaritas post-game, so the clip at which Buehrle pitches was much appreciated. Buehrle has become one of the most enjoyable parts of this disappointing season. Per National Post’s John Lott:

When Emilio Bonifacio reported to the visitors’ clubhouse, he found the nameplate above his locker lacked several syllables. Emilio Smith, it read. That was the mischievous work of Mark Buehrle, a recent teammate in the locker room across the way. A few weeks back, when Bonifacio was still a Blue Jay, he joked with Buehrle that he should perhaps change his name in order to get more playing time. The banter continued July 28 after Bonifacio doubled in the ninth inning against Houston and scored the winning run, with Buehrle quipping that the Smith surname should stick.

I met José Bautista at a signing I went to on a whim. It was 20 seconds of shared oxygen, two seconds of eye contact but I got a signed ball, and when I leaned over and said, “Thank you, José” I got eye contact and a smile (which is apparently somewhat rare) for my trouble.

I regret nothing.

I saw this from behind the ‘pen.

Shine on, you crazy diamond.
(Read that whole post. It's excellent work by Drew Fairservice.)

The play was equally impressive from that angle and distance. It made Casey Janssen laugh and clap, which assures me that his mental faculties are in good working order.

This team is still fun, which makes the season that much more baffling and disappointing. Bruce Arthur talks about the season. I suggest putting away sharp objects before reading it.

That, and John McDonald is a member of the Red Sox, which is just so wrong I can't even discuss it.

It’s a move that has “Butter”fingers all over it.  I have a sinking feeling that the loss of Brian Butterfield is going to haunt the Jays for a while.

That, and the Red Sox seem to be cruising into the final month of the regular season unchallenged. I trusted you, Tampa Bay,  and you betrayed me.

Two awesome articles from John Lott you might've missed, one on RA Dickey’s talk with abused kids and the other about Mariano Rivera’s visit with Blue Jays staffers. It was way cooler than a cowboy hat.

Although we would’ve been denied this picture.

A Scouting Based Organization

Stoeten wrote something over on Drunk Jays Fans. It's a good read, if a bit long for a Friday. But what are you going to do instead, think about the Yankee series? And I agree pretty much with all of it.

John Farrell said some stuff about the Red Sox system compared to the Jays system:

“We can have a seminar on this question — not just because it’s Toronto and Boston,” Farrell said. “There are very distinct differences and it starts, I think it starts, at the top. And the reason I say that: I found Toronto to be a scouting-based organization, which to me is on one plane, one-dimensional. You're looking at tools. Here, it’s a player-development based system. It’s the paths of the individuals that are running the organization. And that’s not to be critical.

 "We all know that there’s three different veins in this game that people advance (through): baseball operations, scouting, player development. Well, in the player-development vein, you're going to look at things in three dimensions: mentally, physically, fundamentally to address and develop people, or develop an organization. I think as a scouting base, you go out and you evaluate the physical tools. And that’s kind of where it ends, or that’s the look at that time. That was my experience, that was my opinion.”

And here's what I think about it. The important thing to remember about John Farrell is that he is a politician. He plans what he is going to say all the time and is calculated in the way he says things. Of course he is going to more complimentary to the Red Sox system. It's his "dream job." And it's what the people who are listening to this want to hear.

"And that's not to be critical." Thanks, John.

Stoeten in the comments says this:

Seriously, though, from 04-07 the Red Sox drafted Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Lowrie, Masterson, Reddick, Bard, Rizzo, and Middlebrooks. How fucking impressive is that?

Very impressive. Of Theo Epstein. Who got run out of town on a rail and is now plying his trade with the Cubs. This isn't Cherington. I think it's too soon to evaluate the Red Sox system under Cherington.

I think the Red Sox have been blessed with the luck of health in 2013. And I don't think John Farrell magically turned into a great manager over a few months. He's done very little to change my opinion that pitchers make crappy managers. Farrell might be thinking things are swell right now, but he will see a different side if (when) things go south. Terry Francona was the most successful manager that team ever had, and that didn't stop the various rumours about his "drug problems" and his divorce to be smeared all over the press before he finally lost his job.

I think looking at the disasters the 2013 Jays season leads one to start considering problems in "fundamentals." There are definitely problems. But I'm not sure this is because the Jays are a "scouting based system."

Are the majority of Major League club a product of the Jays system? Anthopoulos traded off some of his highly touted prospects to get these players. And he got some quality players. If the minor league players are desired by other organizations, is there really a problem in the system? And it's easy to look at the failures, but what about the successes? Jose Bautista is still an amazing story, and Encarnacion has followed in his footsteps.

The season has been very confusing and frustrating, and it's very easy to start hand wringing and freaking out about the system. Seriously, go read the doomsday predictions coming out of the Boston media after the big collapse of 2011 through the Bobby Valentine era of 2012. The Dodgers were completely written off as an over priced disaster and are now one of the biggest success stories of the 2013 season. Winning makes a lot of things look a hell of a lot better.

Also, do not trade Bautista for a "chemistry" guy. I don't even know what that means.

I nearly threw my radio when I heard Jerry Howarth blame Bautista for Reyes' tantrum that got him tossed the other day. Reyes is a grown man, and is a veteran player. He is responsible for his own actions. It had more to do with the frustrations the team is feeling than any sort of precedent set by Bautista.

The series in New York was brutal and heartbreaking. The pitching was actually pretty good for once, but the hitting went dormant. That "trapped" call on the Davis' catch was kind of unbelievable. It wasn't even a snow cone catch. I do love that Mark Buehrle got thrown out for not shutting up about how brutal the call was.

That's a team guy. Please score him some runs.

Turn it Loose

Tropicana Field is a truly ridiculous place to play baseball. The Rays are a great team and it really seems wrong that they have to play in the black hole of suck. I made an observation a few years ago that there are several terrible ball teams that have gorgeous parks: Kansas City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Minnesota. Of course, three of those teams have since started playing in a way that reflects the baseball beauty that surrounds them. But The Trop illustrates the opposite: great team and terrible park.

Contributing to the horror of that ballpark is that the Jays haven’t won a series there since April 2007. Saturday’s game, where JA Happ returned to the place he got hit in the head in May and pitched triumphantly and Adam Lind hit two homers, proved that the Jays can actually play well in Tropicana Field. The Encarnacion homer combined with Redmond pitching well in front of his family was great. Encarnacion is just a beast at the plate with two strikes.

But as the tie game went into extras, I started to feel like the series loss streak was going to continue, especially when a second Encarnacion hit missed being a homer by about an inch. This is where the magical 11 game win streak ended. This is the place dream go to die.

I was impressed with the way the Jays played the Red Sox. They took two of three, and even the one they lost was a tight game that could've gone either way. Rajai Davis’ “little league” homer was probably the highlight. When it gets to January, and it feels like winter is never going to end and baseball is never coming back, just fire this one up:



I found the Red Sox last year to be kind of depressing (it's hard to make fun of sad sacks), so I know that the Red Sox being terrible is not fun for me. Also, it's not fun for them to be great, because who wants to see their entitled fans get rewarded with good baseball, especially at the expense of the Jays. The most fun is when the Red Sox are nearly good, but get derailed by things like bad luck, bullpen management and silly errors. That's classic Red Sox baseball. It's the way the baseball gods intended.

I mentioned this on Twitter, and I'll reiterate it here. I'm so happy that Brett Lawrie is playing the way he is now. So many people dismissed him earlier in the year even though he is very young and demanded to know why he wasn't Manny Machado, as if Manny Machado is a reasonable standard rather than an outlier, a once in a generation player that is somehow prodigiously gifted in both talent and attitude.

As an AL East scout put it: “(Lawrie) looks almost like he's too intense, like he has difficulty controlling himself. Whereas Machado, it seems like it comes easier to him.”

Almost like they are two different people.

I'm also pleased to see that Brett Lawrie remains an intense spaz despite his success.

I was looking for quotes from the past few weeks about Lawrie, and I found this one. In a 5-1 loss to Oakland on August 13th, Lawrie elected to bunt the runner over. It was a good bunt, but Gibby had words for the kid:

“I told him, ‘We're down a run, don't want to play for the tie, and you're swinging so good, better than anybody on the team right now,’ ” he said.

Gibby didn't want a bunt. That's because bunting is for idiots.

“I totally understand his thinking,” Gibbons said. “He’s trying to get that guy in scoring position so a base hit will tie it there. My thinking was, ‘Turn it loose, man. You've been driving the ball all over the field. You might put one in the seats [or] up the gap.’ ”

I want Wilner to read this quote to every Blue Jays Talk caller who calls in and demands to know why a player who isn't Kawasaki or Rajai Davis didn't bunt. Adam Lind should not be bunting. Edwin Encarnacion should not be bunting. Jose Bautista should not be bunting. Stop giving away outs. Turn it loose.

I also think this is a good idea for this team going into the last stretch of this season. Turn it loose.

It's been a disappointing and frustrating season. But most of these guys will be back with the team next year.  Start playing better fundamentally, learn to play as a team unit and build the foundation to go back at it in 2014.

Turn it loose.