Sunday Bantering

Little bits before today's game.

• Shi Davidi tells us that Devon Travis is going to see a specialist in Texas, to take another look at his shoulder. It is looking more and more like he won't be back this season. Our minor league teams are done September 7, so he won't be able to go on a rehab assignment unless he's able to play soon. But then, with expanded rosters in September, they could add him to the roster and let him play 3 innings in his first game, give him days off and let him ease into playing. If he can't come back this year, Ryan Goins and Cliff Pennington look to be the second base platoon to carry us to the playoffs.
• Matt Hague was sent back to Buffalo to make room for Josh Thole. At least he got one at bat. I hope they bring him back for September.
• After seeing lot of work at the start of August, Roberto Osuna and Aaron Sanchez haven't pitched since last Tuesday, the 18th. I'd expect both of them to get into today's game, no matter what the score, with tomorrow an off day.
• Josh Donaldson is the first in the majors to get to 100 RBI and he's ahead of Mike Trout in fWAR 7.1 to 6.8. Why I hated Zaun telling us the MVP race was over and declaring Trout the winner, just last week, is because there is still a lot of baseball to play. I think the odds are pretty even at the moment. But, if the Angels fall out of the playoff race and if Donaldson continues to have such a huge lead in RBI, I think voters will be more likely to go with Josh. Of course, each will have 2 or 3 more hot stretches before the end of the season. Either could win.
• Perhaps the most amazing thing about Josh's season is that he has 100 RBI but hasn't been intentionally walked yet. I wonder when was the last time a player led the MLB in RBI and yet wasn't intentionally walked?
• Edwin Encarnacion has an 18 game hitting streak and it isn't getting much attention. That's how good the team has been. In any of the last dozen years, if a Jay had an 18 game hitting streak in August, that's all we would be talking about. It is nice to see him so hot at the plate.
• I would have liked Gibby to take some of his guys out of the game earlier last night. By the start of the 5th inning we had a 99.5% chance to win. I would have thought that would have been a good time to take out Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki. I would have given Donaldson another at bat, just because he was having such a good night, but I likely would have taken him out around the 7th and let Hague have a couple of innings at third base. We do have too many a lot of days off, in this little stretch, but, part of the reason to pull guys out, is so that they are on the bench when the other team starts thinking 'hey I should throw inside to push him off the plate'.
• Continuing on that theme, in OOTP baseball, I replace some of my starters in games after one team has better than a 95% chance to win. I know that Gibby is in a different spot than I am. If he pulls those guys out of a game, and the other team make an amazing comeback, he's fired. If that happens to me, I walk away from the computer for a bit. But then, if we are up by 10 and Bautista hurts his shoulder, or Donaldson takes a pitch on the hands, people are going to be unhappy with him. I guess, really, it doesn't matter what he does, people will be unhappy with him, that's the life of a manager.
• 2 months ago, if the Mariners had DFAed Fernando Rodney, the Jays would have been all over him. Thank goodness the bullpen looks much better now.