Wednesday Bantering: Random Blue Jays thoughts

I’m heading to the airport in about an hour and I don’t have an idea that I want to stretch into a post. Just a reminder, if you are going to be in Seattle, we are meeting at The Lodge Sports Grille, near the ballpark starting about 3:00 Saturday. Minor Leaguer and Kate will be there too. But, if you are in Seattle and can’t come out Saturday, we’ll be at all the games and likely going for a drink or two after games so if you want to join us, just let me know.

• Effort seems to be lacking of late. I guess the most obvious example is Yangervis Solarte. In yesterday’s game, going to first, on a close play, he slowed well before the bag, turning what could have been a close play to an easy out. Players are told to run through the bag from the start of little league. I’m not a huge believer in fake hustle, a lot of times guys hustle just for show, that doesn’t appeal to me. But, when you are 4 steps from the bag, and the play is going to be close....that’s not the time to slow up.

Now there are reasons. When you know you are going to get to the bag at the same time as a ball that’s thrown at 80-90 mph, there is a moment of ‘that could hit me’. You can forget there is a guy with the glove there who should catch it.

I don’t know what was going through his head when he slowed, but I think it might be time to give him a couple of days off to and remind him that he has to hustle, that he’s not good enough to give half effort and still be a major leaguer.

• I figured the above would have been something that would have been discussed in the ‘team meeting’.
• Speaking of giving guys a day off, Teoscar Hernandez sat yesterday, a well earned rest. We have a bunch of outfielders in Triple A who deserve a shot Teoscar’s not hitting and not fielding and there isn’t all the much more to the game. We have 2 months, let’s see what one or two of the other guys can do and let’s see if shock to the system can get Teoscar going again and convince him that he has to play defense to be a major leaguer.
• Sam Gaviglio has made 15 starts for us and, in 7 of them, he hasn’t gone 5 full innings. If we had any other starting options, I’d suggest that he should go to the pen. Or maybe Gibby has to let him take his lumps, force him to pitch through a meltdown. Let him give up 10 runs in an inning and see if he learns something from it.
• It does irritate me that we are missing picking up rolling balls. There is no reason to over run a ball rolling on the ground, but it seems to happen every day.
• I also hate getting scored on on the double steal of second and home.
• Can we please not have another bullpen day. Call up Sean Reid-Foley or if there is a real compelling reason not to, call someone else up. We need to have a rotation. We have enough starters that don’t go 6 innings, let’s not use all our relievers in one game.
• I’m guessing every player on the active roster is on the waiver list at the moment. I’d bet there will be a few trades this month. I’m sure Granderson will be gone before the end of the month.
• Please, please Jays, play some good baseball in Seattle.