Thursday Bantering
by Tom Dakers on Feb 25, 2010 4:58 PM EST
in Toronto Blue Jays News
Email
PrintNot all that much for news today. Nice to see the Canadian men's hockey team play a good game. We picked up a few medals yesterday too, which is nice, if just to shut up the writers complaining about our lack of medals. I think a fat sports writer has to have a lot of gall to complain that an athlete only came in 6th or whatever. Wouldn't you like to be the 6th best in the world at something?
Anyway the story du jour is about Vernon talking about being a leader on the team. I really don't think 'leaders' or clubhouse presence makes that big a difference. I remember someone last year telling us that having Kevin Millar in the clubhouse and as a leader would make us 10 games better. Teams win and lose on the field. I think Doc was a great leader because he was such a great example of how you should approach the game. I think John McDonald is a good leader because he seems to have fun. Same for Marco Scutaro. I'm sure Aaron Hill would be a good leader too.
But then the Yankee teams of the late 70's had a bunch of guys that hated each other, hated the manager, fought constantly and still won. So I really don't have much worry about who calls himself a leader, the players will pick who the leaders are and it will all workout.
Jordan Bastian reports that Randy Ruiz has made it to camp and has lost some weight. Only player left to show is Alex Gonzalez. Tomorrow is the day all players at to be there. Cito has been away as well today, his wife an appendectomy. I hope she's ok.
Jordan also talked to Alex Anthopoulos a bit. Alex says he wants to draft "high impact, high ceiling players'. Which, course, sets him apart from other GMs who want low impact, low ceiling guys. He also says he'd draft the best available player, whether he's a college or high school player, which makes sense. Pick the guy you think will work out best. As well he said that the Jays have plenty of money to spend on international free agents.
The other story that is everywhere is about Mark McGwire's brother who, of course, has a book out, telling us that Mark took the steroids to get stronger. Shocker that one, eh? Brotherly love is a wonderful thing. Wait till you see Jessef's tell-all book about Hugo.
And the White Sox aren't thrilled with Ozzie Guillen's twittering.
27 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
heck yeah
it would be great to see him put together a big spring, force his way onto the team, and defy the odds this season. Not at the expense of Travis Snider getting major-league at-bats though, as Cito suggested (and, btw, he also suggested Dopirak was in the DH mix).
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
I'm not sure which to cheer for
Ruiz or Dopirak? But if it come at the cost of Snider at bats, I’d be unhappy.
just to be clear
he didn’t directly say that Ruiz or Dopirak’s at-bats would come at the expense of Snider’s. He said that Ruiz and Dopirak are definitely in the mix but that one of them has a better chance of making the team and seeing at-bats if Travis Snider begins in AAA.
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
I wonder if there's a scenario where they would both make the team...
Lind RF Snider DH Ruiz 1B Overbay
Bautista becomes a bench utility player
Dopirak is Overbay’s platoon partner and is pinch hitter
McDonald and other Catcher round out the bench
By doing this, you lose out on having a guy like Gathright and Reed on the bench, so you lose defensively, and pinch runner. I believe AA already mentioned that he likes Gathright for his speed.
And of course, all this could change if the Jays announce that they’ve signed Jose Julio Ruiz in the next few days.
Jose Ruiz wouldn't make the team right away....
I can’t see both Randy and Dopirak making the team unless they find a trade for Overbay. Which is is possible.
I don’t think there’s any question that job #1 of Ruiz or Dopirak will be a platoon partner for Overbay.
Job #2 is probably pinch hitter, potentially for a number of guys (the LH when the LH specialist comes in, or Buck or Gonzalez in a big situation where they could be replaced by Molina/J-Mac defensively).
I’d really like to see if it’s impacted his fielding. He played LF and 1B in winter ball, and if he could have some kind of platoon with Bautista and Overbay, that’s a big bat in the line up. Days he’s platooning Bautista, Snider goes into RF, and he starts LF or something?
We didn't see enough of his fielding last year...
but the game he did play at first he looked good to me. But I can’t imagine I wouldn’t rather have Lind in LF over Ruiz.
Yeah, but that’s not saying much. The only guy who’s really been worse than Lind in both of the last 2 seasons in LF is Adam Dunn (UZR/500 wise, though Delmon Young is right there too) and even the Nationals (a team so poorly run they can’t even spell their own team name correctly) are thinking of moving Dunn to 1b for good . Or in other words … saying Lind would be the better option is like saying we should use Jose Molina as a pinch hitter for the pitcher in NL parks, technically it’s true but pardon me if I’m not all that excited about the prospects of it.
Lind was much better in LF with regular playing time
He was also improving. 2007-2008 looks a lot better than 2008-2009, I’m sure. And a small sample size in 2008-2009, no?
Sample’s aren’t that much different, 651 innings in 07, 590 in 08, 475 in 09. UZR/500’s of 17.3 then -15.9 and then -24.4, so I don’t see any improvement. Also, the stats from his time in the minors are bad too, he was pretty bad down there too. And the scouting reports from day 1 have been awful. So for a guy to be bad in the minors, bad in 08, bad in 09, 2007 looks an awful lot like an outlier to me than any real progression. Sample was the main reason I lumped 08 and 09 together, toss 07 in there too you still get a bad LFer who was bad in the minors.
Would he be better everyday? Probably. But what is “better”? He’s still got a weak arm and doesn’t run well, so he’s not going to transform into a good fielder. And at 27 with already below average tools, how many seasons could you really squeeze out of him if you absolutely HAD to?
My argument for Lind at DH is much like Snider in LF (vs RF) … long term it’s so much more likely to end up there anyway b/c you’re so extremely likely to have another option that is superior, unless you decide to go out and sign Jack Cust or Adam Dunn or something. The odds that you’re fielding a team over the long term where Adam Lind is your best option in LF and Snider your best option in RF (especially if he slows down as he matures, which is VERY possible) are just not that good. And if it is, the odds that they can handle it together are slim … short of signing superman to play CF.
I guess if Vernon could regain a step or two it might be worth it.
Lind would probably post a -10 or so if he played regularly, which would definitely limit his offensive appeal.
What does UZR /150 say?
In terms of the outfield, even if he could do it as a not ridiculous 4th OF option, I’d be happy, because it really opens up our flexibility. I also think that Lind/Wells/Snider wouldn’t be the defensive blackhole that most people do though.
It struck me that you might end up with a 2010 team that operates a little like the 1980’s team, with all kind of platoons happening, like against a lefty, you get Bautista leading off in RF, Ruiz at 1B, Lind in DH, and against righties, Lind in LF, Snider in RF, Overbay at 1B and Ruiz DH and so on.
re this comment:
“I also think that Lind/Wells/Snider wouldn’t be the defensive blackhole that most people do though.”
based on what? Wells has been abysmal 2 seasons in a row, ditto Lind, and Snider has been a weak defender his whole pro career too. In addition, Snider and Lind don’t even have the best tools to be good OFs (speed, arm strength), tack on the lack of experience for both and I just don’t see them being anything but bad … it’s just a matter of how bad: below average, bad or horrendous. Wells has the tools when healthy so could he rebound? Sure. Would I put money on it? Not really but it wouldn’t knock me out of my chair.
Re: the lineup … yeah, I can see Cito playing with it a LITTLE but it’s really not Cito’s style, he’s the Ron Popeil of managers lineup wise: “set it and forget it”. It can be his biggest strength and his biggest downfall.
By ‘defensive blackhole’ I mean a comically bad outfield which is the joke of the league and unsustainable for the team, which is the general opinion. Personally, I’d trade a somewhat below average defensive outfield for the ability to replace Bautista’s or Gathright’s bat with a much stronger one.
As for the lineup, Cito doesn’t play with the slots much, but he’s wasn’t that hesistant to swap righty/lefty players in the slot prior to the start of the game. The question will be whether or not he feels comfortable with Lind and Ruiz in the field.
Again, Wells and Lind were both tremendously weak defenders the last 2 seasons. It’s not like they were both slightly below average, they were both abysmal. So based on what will they be “somewhat below average” as a whole?
Wells has been injured the last 2 seasons and Lind started infrequently. A healthy season from Wells should improve his performance. Every time Lind’s been given an everyday role in the field, he’s slowly improved over his playing time.
From observations, most of Lind’s limitations have been bad routes to the ball, which is something that you improve on with practice and experience. He’s not abnormally slow, is a pretty good gloveman, and while he’s got a below average arm, it’s not bad enough to make Johnny Damon comparisons. He also posted pretty good defensive numbers in the field in 2007 as a regular player, and there’s no physical difference between that year and 2008-2009 to suggest direct physical limitations in the field.
So, yeah, I’m comfortable saying that if you start running Lind out in LF next year, he’ll average out a below average fielder, but not to an embarassing level.
I agree with pretty much everything you said about Lind’s D, except the extent to which you seem to expect an improvement. There’s no question his routes are the #1 problem and that, at worst in part, fixable. But I do question to what level he’ll be able to rise. He was a regular defender in the minors, and wasn’t good. The speed and arm issues compound his problems. And the fact that he’s so weak at it is always a concern for me given his age, it’s not like he was a DH in high school. When a guy gets to the MLB level and is a raw defensively as a guy like Lind, I tend to question their commitment to field. Maybe I’m wrong about this, I don’t know. But I don’t think you can rule out part of it being just genuine disinterest.
Re: Wells … lets see if he can stay healthy.
Cito's lineup tendencies are definitely not his biggest downfall
nor are they his biggest strength.
"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"
Ruiz!!!
Dude looks seriously tight. He has been hitting the bench presses for sure. Now that is a pro athlete!
by aagoodfella on Feb 26, 2010 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Hey Guys,
I need help. Can someone point me to a decent list of AL only Top Prospects?
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
High impact, high ceiling
I suspect this is to be contrasted with JP’s approach, which by and large was “safe picks”.
I appreciate AA’s approach – it’s the only way to get stars, and cheap young talent is the best way to try to compete in the AL East.
Knights, Canucks, Dolphins, Jays and Raptors all the way.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
