The Storen Trade, JBEE and Joey Votto's Beard


The late Friday night trade of Ben Revere for Drew Storen was an interesting one. First, I'd like to point out what a vintage Alex Anthopoulos move it was, starting with the fact that it happened late on a Friday. It also was a smart way to address a need and was a little saucy.

I loved watching Ben Revere play. He has great energy and played a key role in that run with his speed at the top of the order. I'm not sure his defensive skills are actually that fantastic, or whether they seemed so fantastic because it wasn't Chris Colabello playing out of position. It was an actual left fielder. The trade for Revere was great because it addressed a team need.

Similarly, the trade of Revere was to address another need: a somewhat thin bullpen. The presence of Drew Storen back there definitely gives the Jays the option for Aaron Sanchez in the rotation. I have this idea, a fantasy really, that the loss of Price can be mitigated by the blossoming of Aaron Sanchez as a starting pitcher. With Sanchez pitching the way he should be able to and fitting in behind Stroman and among Dickey, Estrada and Chavez/Happ, all of a sudden they have a rotation that doesn't make me want to weep.

Drew Storen is a big time arm and is what can be described as a legit closer. He had a bit of a down second half, but the Nationals were a shit show that traded for Jonathan Papelbon, who then demanded to be closer. And then choked Bryce Harper.

As Stoeten puts it:

What immediately jumps out when looking at his FanGraphs page is the fact that he’s a bit of an elusive pitcher. He’s had a ground ball rate of 52.5% or above in two of his last four seasons, and a rate of 40.9% or below in his other two. His strikeout rate slipped from 24.4% in 2011 to about 21% for the next three seasons, before spiking to a 29.4% rate in 2015, despite consistent velocity through that period (though he actually ticked up slightly, to 94.0 this year).
The other thing about Storen is that he is very entertaining on social media, which is really the only thing any of us should be concerned about. It's all that matters.
I tweeted this in response:





So I take full credit for this bio change:


Yes, I have that kind of influence.

Drew Storen basically panders to us by posting pictures of himself with a dog



And he also talks to John Lott about the time he was a bat boy for the Expos. Dogs, Montreal and baseball are a few of my favourite things.

Plus, as evidenced in the picture above, he serves drinks.

Ross Atkins, the new GM whose name is a lot less complicated to spell correctly, was on MLB Network Radio. Stoeten live tweeted the interview.


 Atkins offered some insight on the plan with Sanchez:



And my two favourite bits of news:
What about making me happy? Has that been considered? I would also like it if they referred to every discussion about this as the "JBEE" discussion. It's pronounced "Juh Bee", in case you were wondering.

This is a much better feeling. A lot less like despair.

I attended the Baseball Canada fundraiser banquet last night at the Renaissance Hotel in Toronto. I hung out with media pals- John Lott told me my previous post was plenty interesting (I had decided it was boring, it still kind of is.) I spoke French to Russell Martin, I discussed outfield options with Devon White, I told John Axford his mustache was not nearly entertaining enough for me and noticed that Mike Saunders wasn't at all limping on that knee. He also has a manly handshake.

And I might have alarmed Joey Votto.



Me to Joey Votto: How many days growth is that? (re. his man-sized beard.)        

Joey Votto to me: About one day. (facetiously.... I think.)

Me to Joey Votto: I always ask cause I can never get mine to grow that big....

Joey Votto to me: .... (slow smile)

Having seen both in the flesh, I can attest that Stoeten's is, in fact, bigger. So, Stoeten, you have Joey Votto beat in beards, if nothing else.

The food was delicious, the baseball boys were relaxed and it was a great event. The only issue I had is that there was a lot of attention paid to the Blue Jays and other Canadian MLB players, which is fine, and they also spoke extensively about the Canadian Senior Men's team that won gold at the Pan Am Games. Their female counterparts participated in the Pan Am Games for the first time and won a silver medal, but I didn't hear any mention of that. I checked Baseball Canada's website to see if the women's team was represented by them and it appears they are. A slip up in an otherwise stellar event.


Finally, I have this for some reason.

A photo posted by JoannaC (@humandchuck) on

Just a reminder of how much can change in five years. Wearing that old Jays logo is Ricky Romero. The text reads: " Left-hander Ricky Romero will make his first opening day start, the club welcomes rookie manager John Farrell, slugger Jose Bautista has a fresh five-year contract and promising young starter Kyle Drabek joins the rotation."

Hot damn.

Griffin remains, though. Griffin is eternal.