Thursday bantering

Yesterday’s closer than it needed to be 6-5 win over the Royals can be summarized by Curtis Granderson (Granderslam?) giving us Veteran Presents!

5 years ago on Tuesday, Kevin Pillar walked into the Jays clubhouse for the first time. Now he finds himself as the longest serving Blue Jay.

We weren’t sure what kind of Ken Giles we would get when we traded for him from the Astros. Would we get Krazy Ken or Kool Kloser Ken? It looks like the latter, and being in Toronto has him brimming with confidence again.

Obviously having Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista on their team is leading the Mets to think they need more Blue Jays. As the team is expected to hire an external candidate to replace Sandy Alderson, they are looking to Tony LaCava, Toronto’s assistant general manager, and Ben Cherington, Toronto’s vice president of baseball operations.

Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon is a fan of old-school executives compared to analytical approaches, per a source, and candidates with backgrounds in player development could have an edge.

LaCava would certainly fit that mold. He worked his way up from scouting to player development before joining the Blue Jays front office, and he worked for J.P. Ricciardi, one of the Mets’ special assistants to Alderson. While LaCava has not yet served as a general manager, the Orioles were set to hire him in 2011 before he decided not to take the job. His scouting and player development background have prepared him for the role, and he’s well-respected.

Cherington, meanwhile, has already served as general manager, and that certainly is helpful since New York is a demanding market for a general manager. Like LaCava, Cherington started as a scout before eventually replacing Theo Epstein. He led the Red Sox to a championship in 2013 before being fired.

Cherington emphasized Boston’s farm system, and the game has shifted toward prioritizing young players and prospects. Though he may not be as old school as other candidates, his background and ability to build a champion make him a fit.

Meanwhile the OriLOLes released veteran infielder/outfielder Danny Valencia. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Clearly, the O’s weren’t able to find a taker for any of the remainder of Valencia’s $1.2MM salary. Some of that could still be offset at the league-minimum rate, if Valencia catches on elsewhere.

Douchebag of the day

Yesterday we talked about the amazing recent feats of Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves. Today the Marlins’ Jose Urena decided to be a massive douchebag and hit him with his first pitch of the game, causing a kerfuffle. (And Acuna later had to leave the game with his injury).

Sure Urena has a history of control problems. Entering the game, he was tied for second in the National League with 10 hit batters but it was total bush league what he did. And here is why:

• Acuna had two homers yesterday and 3 in the last 3 days.
• The Marlins have had heir sorry asses handed to them by the Braves in said 3 games.
• The Marlins are 48-75
• The pitch that hit Ronald Acuña was 97.5 MPH.
• Out of the 2,125 pitches that José Ureña has thrown this season, that’s in the 99th percentile of the fastest pitches he’s thrown.
• That was also the fastest pitch José Ureña has ever thrown to open a game.
• The Marlins have Derek Jeter as one of their owners.

Anyway, have a happy Thursday everyone. Lets get the win for Sam Gaviglio- the poor lad hasn’t won since May 25th!