Gideon Clarke
@clarke_gideon
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Like my father before me, I have on more than one occasion been physically ejected from the corporate offices of the Chicago Cubs baseball club.
Joined August 2019
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Also, let's remember that the Blue Jays are doing all this to their stadium without one cent of public money, and Rogers deserves full credit for that.
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The Jays can hit Ray and Gilbert. Gausman and Stripling are strong. The high-leverage guys are fresh. This series is not over.
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This is a fireable offence. For Schneider, Atkins, whoever made this call. It‘s the worst in-game decision in my 40 years of watching the Blue Jays.
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Really not enjoying the irony that Reese McGuire and Randal Grichuk would be useful pieces right now.
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So I'll just say this:
- If the Jays really are one of 2-3 Ohtani finalists, that's just incredible work by this organization. What an amazing effort.
- If the Jays don't get him, none of this whining about "always missing out." See above.
- If the Jays do get him: Holy crap.
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This has been the most amazing and incredible experience as a Blue Jays fan. I never want to go through anything like this again.
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Submitted for your consideration, the Blue Jays' record in 2022:
With Danny Jansen: 20-8
Without Danny Jansen: 35-36
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The Jays really flipped the clubhouse culture, didn’t they? Out go the fun-loving, seeds-spraying, mixing-fruit-drinks-during-the-game guys, in come the intense, fiery outfielders and the starter who absolutely hates losing. And they’re not done adding personnel yet.
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I’m old enough to remember when the Blue Jays’ signing of Cody Bellinger was imminent.
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I feel like we're about eight hours away from a Ross Atkins press conference featuring the phrases "really great conversations" and "clarity about our options going forward."
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Shulman and Siddall would be a great TV broadcast combination. But let's address the elephant in the room: There is zero diversity in the Blue Jays TV and radio broadcast booths (and not much more in the studio). Sportsnet should take this opportunity to change that.
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I’m sitting here imagining what it must be like to have a healthy George Springer play 140 games for your team. Because this year’s limping, banged-up, part-time version is a freaking legend.
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This concerns me, and not because I think Click pushed the Berrios switch. I'm concerned because someone leaked this to Blair, and the only reasons to do so were (1) take heat off Atkins and (2) put it on Click. That suggests serious and bitter internal divisions in the FO.
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Giving Grichuk a 5-year, $52M extension in 2019 is Atkins’s worst move as GM. That it wasn’t *that* terrible, and that the next-worst move is, what, acquiring Brad Hand? — speaks positively about Atkins’s tenure here.
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Watching Ernie Clement and wondering why the Blue Jays have given Santiago Espinal 211 plate appearances this season.
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I've decided I want the Jays to extend Vlad at his asking price, for 5 reasons:
- His bat is back (140 wRC+, 20th in MLB)
- His ceiling is higher still,
- He'll likely cost less than a comparable FA,
- He wants to stay, and
- I don't want to see him in another team's uniform.
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It occurs to me that Kevin Gausman was likely a great recruiter in bringing Belt to Toronto.
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Yes, Cimber was bad. But they left the bases loaded twice in their last three innings. That was the ballgame.
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So one of the things I’m looking forward to on the 2022 Blue Jays is a third baseman.
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Blue Jays wins in 2022:
- by 1 run: 10
- by 2 runs: 2
- by 3 runs: 2
- by 4+ runs: 2
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Ohtani will sign where he wants. But him winding up with the Blue Jays would be MLB’s nightmare scenario. Teams from LA, Chicago, and NY are in the hunt, all giant US media markets, they’d be perfect. Even Arlington would be fine. But Ohtani in Canada for 10-12 years? Nightmare.
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After the Teo trade, seems like the most probable strategies for the Blue Jays are:
1. Sign a star FA OF (eg Nimmo), trade a C for a good P (eg Kirk for Woodruff); or
2. Sign a star FA P (eg Rodon), trade a C for a good OF (eg Jansen for Nootbaar).
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Jose Berrios ERA+
2017: 114
2018: 111
2019: 123
2020: 108
2021: 123
2022: 76
People on here complaining about Berrios’s contract — every major-league team would have signed him to that extension. This just came out of nowhere, and I don’t see any sign of it ending.
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I will say this: Thomas Hatch, like Casey Lawrence before him, was given a task beyond his current means and gutted it out as best he could. Let’s ease off on the flamethrowers, okay?
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The Orioles are here to bring some clarity to the Blue Jays, and I hope the organization understands and accepts what it’s seeing. I understand the players and manager need to put on a brave face. But there should be no self-deluding bullshit in the front office right now.
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The Blue Jays: “We have many fine catchers! We want an LH outfielder.”
The Diamondbacks: “We have many fine LH outfielders! We want a catcher.”
[interminable staring contest ensues]
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Losing a doubleheader at home to the Rays hurts. But if ever there’s a day to put things in perspective — with Gausman (hopefully) escaping serious injury and Mark Budzinski’s personal matter — it’s today. Count your blessings and come back tomorrow.
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Yusei Kikuchi, I’m sorry to inform you that you’re about to receive the Daulton Varsho treatment in Houston.
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There is no more logical fit for the Blue Jays right now than Happ and Robertson from the Cubs.
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Ohtani's not making a 12-year, $600-million decision based on Dave Roberts being overly chatty at a press conference. Come on.
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I hate to keep harping on it, but Rodon is so obviously the right choice for the Jays here. Imagine Manoah-Rodon-Gausman-Berríos-Tiedemann for the next three years. Plus, it keeps Rodon from the Yankees. Just. Do. It.
Top free agents remaining, with KLaw’s ranking and Jays’s likelihood…
1. Correa - longshot
3. Dansby Swanson - weak maybe
9. Rodon - competitive market, but strong maybe?
11. Profar - Could be a sneaky good get.
15. Benintendi - Not really a CF, but in a pinch could fit.
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Now that it's Endless Free Agent Speculation Season again, here's a Bingo card you can use to keep track of all the Blue Jays rumours over the coming months.
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Cody Bellinger hit .210/.265/.389 in 550 PA last year. That, plus his defence and baserunning, produced 1.2 bWAR. That was more than Raimel Tapia, Cavan Biggio, or Whit Merrifield.
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I’d have no problem with Mattingly on the coaching staff. I’m more interested in knowing what the front office thinks Mattingly, known to be a no-nonsense throwback type, has that the Blue Jays need. Combined with the trade of fun-loving Teoscar, a pattern might be emerging here.
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Add Andrew McCutchen, or even Robbie Grossman, and this will rank up there with some of the franchise’s biggest offseason transformations. This is going to be a very different — and I think better and much more watchable — club than last year’s.
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I’ll tell you what. Better to be a heartbroken fan who really believed we had a shot at Ohtani than the cynics smirking and saying I told you so.
Real fans believe. Wear your hope and your hurt like a badge of honour.
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It was tough for me to see Moreno go, but no question the trade makes the Jays better in 2023 and down the road. They’re now set at 5 positions for the next 3 years (including crucial C, SS and CF spots) as well as 4/5 of the rotation. This is the core that makes it or breaks it.
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I loved Carlos Delgado. My vote for best Blue Jays hitter, best Jays career. But Vladdy is a different beast. And as Buck says: 22 years old.
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The first problem is they’re not scoring enough runs.
The second problem is trying to carry five marginal guys like White, Cimber, Biggio, Espinal, and Lukes on a contender.
The third problem is they don’t seem to have anyone better.
The fourth problem is in-game strategy.
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Now that Manoah’s been optioned, who’s your
#1
player of concern? Before you say Varsho: He’s hitting .273/.310/.509 in his last 15 games. Before you say Kirk: .327/.353/.408.
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In their last 10 games, the Blue Jays have scored 2, 3, 3, 2, 6, 4, 5, 3, 3, and 2 runs. That they went 7-3 in those games tells you how good their pitching has been.
They’re getting on base. They just can’t score runs. I have no idea when this will get better.
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Hoomstra could yet be vindicated. But Morosi is finished. And if Shi and Ben knew there was no agreement in place and no press conference coming, they could have spoken up when fans were losing their minds.
Bad day for trust in some baseball reporters’ credibility and judgment.
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Travel back in time to the 2019 offseason and tell Jays fans, coming off a 95-loss, $117M-payroll season, “Yeah, in three years’ time, it’ll be the signing of Kevin Kiermaier that officially puts the Blue Jays over the luxury tax threshold.”
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I mean, Ross is pretty clearly in LA meeting with Ohtani’s people, because (a) it’s the only other place he could possibly be at this time, and (b) they’re the only people who are demanding secrecy from anyone who’s meeting with them. I don’t think this is a bombshell conclusion.
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My expectations for Kikuchi tonight are not low. He's been given technical adjustments and some time to work on them. The manager who carped about him publicly is gone. He's facing one of the worst offences in the majors. He needs to go at least 6 strong, end of story.
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Kikuchi seems legitimately well-liked by his teammates, which is why I found Charlie Montoyo’s treatment of him last season so odd and off-putting. It felt like Kikuchi ran over his dog or something. Not the only reason Charlie lost the clubhouse, but probably still a reason.
"He cares a f***-ton."
Up
@sportsnet
, a look at Yusei Kikuchi, the disappointment of 2022, how different his off-season was as a result, and what happens mentally & mechanically from here.
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Just realized that McGriff‘s election to the Hall of Fame yesterday means that 4-player megatrade between the Blue Jays and Padres in 1990 involved one HOFer on each side. That’s got to be incredibly rare.
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Give me Bassitt + Kiermaier over Heaney + Bellinger any day of the week.
The off-season can break in so many different ways once it begins. A look at how the pathway to improved run prevention changed over the past week for the Blue Jays:
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The Blue Jays can’t resign themselves to competing for the wild card. They need to power up to try to win the division even with Rodon going to NY. If they’ve got a big trade on the table (that doesn’t include Tiedemann) for a big bat or great starter, time to pull the trigger.
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If the Blue Jays really want a strong defensive centerfielder — and I sure think they need one — they have to be on the phone with the Diamondbacks right now about a CF-for-C trade. Then get a corner OF in free agency (Conforto ideally) and a decent SP (Stripling would be fine).
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The more I look at the White Sox and their needs (especially C and 2B), the more I think Jansen and Espinal might be able to pry loose Hendriks and Lynn, with Kikuchi also going to Chicago to balance salary and fill a rotation spot.
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For instance: Jose Bautista is whip-smart, well-spoken, pays attention to analytics, gets the modern game (he helped invent it with the bat flip) and has a world of recent playing experience to draw on. I'd love to hear him doing commentary and analysis next to Shulman.
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With Bichette posting an OBP of .300 and Gurriel an OBP of .350, it’s about time they switched places in the batting order.
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I really want to get behind this team. But every time I think they’ve finally turned it around, they go off the rails again, doing just enough to lose games they should win. It’s just so exhausting and frustrating being a fan of this team.
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Is now a good time to note that Josh Palacios is hitting .366/.458/.585 with Washington's AAA team?
Per source: Dexter Fowler requested his release from
#BlueJays
and will now be a free agent.
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This is a big reason why a $230M payroll is sitting in last place: seven complete misses in nine first-round picks (and not much better in other rounds), plus the overall failure of international signings. This front office just couldn’t identify or develop homegrown talent.
Blue Jays 1st round picks since 2016
T.J. Zeuch, '16, -0.6 WAR
Logan Warmoth, '17, N.A.
Nate Pearson, '17, -0.9 WAR
Jordan Groshans, '18, -0.1 WAR
Alek Manoah, '19, 7.5 WAR
Austin Martin, '20, -0.4 WAR
Gunnar Hoglund, '21, N.A.
Brandon Barriera, '22, N.A.
Arjun Nimmala, '23, N.A.
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The Blue Jays now have the same run differential (+11) as the 38-43 Texas Rangers. RD by month:
April: 0
May: 0
June: +31
July: -20
All those one-run wins in April and May (when they were 28-20) covered up their flaws. This team has taken a big step back from last year.
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It is ridiculous that we can access this kind of analysis here for free. Amazing thread and really encouraging re: Varsho.
#BlueJays
⚾️🧵- Daulton Varsho's Hitting - A Deep Dive
Similar to the Bo Bichette 🧵from the other day. Is there reason to believe in a late 2022 surge? Are there things Varsho can learn from other hitters?
Let's start here: A September 1st-pitch ambush HR by Varsho on a curve.
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For whatever it’s worth, Kiermaier has hit .287/.343/.490 in 173 career PAs at Rogers Center.
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Not a Rogers apologist. (We’re a Bell household, which is now even worse). But following John Fisher’s shiv job on the city and fans of Oakland, it’s worth remembering Rogers poured $300M into the RC renovation without a penny of public money. (As it should be.)
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Is it weird that I haven’t really missed Matt Chapman? Like, at all?
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Smartest performance by a Blue Jays reporter today was Kaitlyn McGrath, who said not one word before, during, or after the whole imbroglio.
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Useful reminder that dealing prospects for superstars virtually always pays off. Check out the slim return the Marlins got for Cabrera, Stanton and Yelich. Recall the prospects the Jays dealt away in 2015. If emptying your system can get you a Soto, you do it.
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I’m getting a huge kick out of Rowdy Tellez becoming an overnight Wisconsin folk hero.
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@JoshuaHowsam
It would be so much easier to watch him play if he was just some rando first baseman who came up through the system. Knowing who he could be (and who he very briefly was) makes every DP grounder and wild strike-three swing just painful.
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This really was the full Twitter experience. It didn’t end the way we wanted, but being part of the “we” that collectively rose and fell with every twist and turn was pretty great.
And despite it all, I’m optimistic. There’s too much smoke here for there to be no fire.
Today was the best day on Twitter in forever.
Yeah, we got carried away. We got ourselves wound up and whipped into a frenzy.
But most of it was light and fun and jovial. It’s good to horse around a bit.
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I haven't heard Ricky Romero's work directly, but he's another smart and thoughtful guy who actually played baseball in the current century. And hey, maybe Hazel would like to announce a game every so often. I'm sure there are other women and people of colour who'd do great work.
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I get that a player's performance is ultimately the player's responsibility. But when the five guys with the most power all lose exit velocity and the team drops from 1st to 23rd overall, how can you *not* point the finger at an organizational hitting philosophy?
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“Imagine condensing Raimel Tapia, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Bradley Zimmer into one roster spot.” Arden makes the Kiermaier signing more palatable. And as someone else pointed out, Kiermaier didn’t turn down LA to be a 5th OF here. Like it or not, when healthy, he’s starting in CF.
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It’s all bad enough to be wrong on the biggest free agent story of your lifetime. But when the guy who contradicts you is *Nightengale*? That’s when you change your name and move to Slovenia.
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Kirk and Varsho are sinkholes offensively. Chapman's bat disappeared May 1. The in-game managing has been a circus. Manoah, obviously.
But there's not much wrong with this Jays team that can't be fixed by Vlad going .300/.400/.600 from here on out. They *need* him to go off.
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Bassitt has struck out 4 batters this inning and is still pitching.
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So much to like about the Belt signing, giving the Jays a legit backup 1B, a part-time DH, and their best LHH pinch-hitter since I don’t know when. And I love the WS-champion experience in the clubhouse too. Really nice work by the front office.
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Agreed that Gurriel Jr shouldn’t be the primary LF next season. But it’s worth noting, as his time with the club draws to a close, that over the course of five years, the Blue Jays paid him $15M and got 8 WAR. Dollar for dollar, he’s one of the best investments they’ve ever made.
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A useful reminder not to over-value your team’s minor-league prospects.
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So the Blue Jays now have the following arms:
Ricky Tiedemann
Yosver Zulueta
Adrian Hernandez
Sem Robberse
Dahian Santos
Nick Frasso
Hayden Juenger
Trent Palmer
Brandon Barriera
Irv Carter
Adam Kloffenstein
CJ Van Eyk
That's a great list. What's most interesting about it?
🔽
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“Belt, for his entire career, has feasted on specific types of pitches that gave the Blue Jays minor troubles. He isn’t a hitter who happens to hit left-handed; he’s a left-handed hitter who can fill a valuable niche for a lineup.”
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I'm rooting for the Phillies tonight for many reasons, but one of them is that I can't take any more tweets and articles exhuming the Varsho-Moreno trade.
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Tabler's removal (I assume he didn't go willingly) suggests Buck is done as well (for obvious health/age reasons). As familiar and comfortable as Buck and Pat were, the game had passed them by and they seemed to be fine with that. It was more than time to make this change.
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By the time the Jays return to Toronto July 12, I’d like to see a noteworthy addition to the pitching (SP or RP, doesn’t matter). I know July is more expensive than August, and you can’t force a trade. But this team is treading water (14-16 over the last month). They need help.
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If George Springer isn't playing in 85%+ of the Blue Jays' games going forward, I don't see how they make the playoffs.
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Shapiro needs to be running the press conference at 3 pm. Atkins has taken enough bullets on this issue. The team president needs to speak to the fans and the baseball community on an experience that has caused damage to the organization's reputation.
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Worst trades in Blue Jays franchise history is actually a pretty small list, but Michael Young for Esteban Loaiza is definitely on top. Syndergaard for Dickey is probably second, with Mike Napoli for Frank Francisco third. Not sure I can think of any others as bad as those.
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If Bo has another 5-6 WAR season in 2023, I’m sure the Jays will be happy to extend him. If he has another 3-4 WAR year, I expect we’ll be back here again next January. His future is in his hands.
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I have a feeling we’ll be seeing fewer post-game Gatorade showers, and maybe the last of the Home Run Jacket too. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, just that the front office clearly wants a different vibe on this team. Along with much better defence.
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Vladdy looked so confident and mature at the start of the season. Right now he’s swinging like a Little Leaguer. Something is badly wrong and if the Jays don’t figure out what it is and fix it, they’re not going anywhere.
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I don’t generally like to speak ill of people trying to do a job, but switching out Madani for Zwelling for on-field reporter is a massive upgrade.
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Belt sounds like he regards himself as a full-time player, and if he can return to his 2020-21 numbers, he’s a legit cleanup hitter against RHs. But the number of available PAs keeps shrinking. The Jays need a good 4th OF, but can they offer enough playing time to land one in FA?
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At 22, Miguel Cabrera had his first great season: .323/.385/.561, a 151 OPS+.
Vladdy so far is at .340/.442/.664, a 200 OPS+.
The Blue Jays have never had a talent like this before. Nothing close.
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Not remotely suggesting it was a bad idea to trade those guys. Just lousy luck.
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Addison Barger arrives in Kansas City with 30 minutes sleep and is told he’s starting that night and playing a position he’s never fielded before.
I distinctly remember this front office talking about how it always wanted to put players in the best position to succeed.
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If the Jays were legitimately pursuing Verlander, who wound up getting a $43M AAV, that gives a decent estimate of the range of their budget.
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I have nothing constructive to say about Bo Bichette at the moment.
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The thing about being in charge is that you own the failures as much as (if not more than) the successes. Atkins came across today as someone not remotely interested in accepting the responsibility that comes with being in charge. He built this team; its failure is his failure.
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