2012 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread - Page 4 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

flambers · 03-14-2012, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dustyanddaflames

I agree - and not saying that I'd keep JPA over D'Arnaud... Just the Jays will have options.

D'Arnaud will need a full year at AAA.... Jays can bring him up next season. Which will give the Jays another full year to watch JP and see if he continues to develop....

Its a great problem to have.....

dustyanddaflames · 03-14-2012, 08:30 AM

I think that if Cecil's velocity doesn't return, he damn well better get ahold of his control. It isn't impossible to throw in the mid-80's and be successful (Moyer), but you have to be able to keep that ball in the lower half of the strike zone, and really limit your walks. Like I said, it isnt impossible, but Cecil is really going to have to make improvements in his command of the zone - to stick with the Blue Jays' parent club.

nik- · 03-14-2012, 04:40 PM

Hechevarria's numbers really surprise me, granted it's only Spring Training. I would really like him to get his hitting up to par. If we could move him over to second and have a middle infield of Escobar and Hechevarria ... well that would just be awesome. Until Yunel gets too old and then Hechevarria could move back

whosurnabby · 03-15-2012, 12:09 AM

http://blogs.thescore.com/djf/2012/0...y-hechavarria/

Personally, I'm glad that they are giving Hechevarria all the time in the world to improve his bat. Hech is going to be a future Golden Glove winner, but unless he can prove that his bat is better than Escobar, let's give this kid a ton of time to develop his offence in AAA Vegas.

KootenayFlamesFan · 03-15-2012, 03:24 PM

Lots of love for the Jays in this piece in the NY Post today:

Quote:

Imagine what the Rays would look like with the finances to keep all of their best players. Now stop imagining. Because it is happening.

Unfortunately for the Rays, it is not in Tampa Bay. Heck, it is not even in this country.

Quote:

“This is not a long-term project anymore,” Cashman said. “They are knocking on the door. It is undeniable that they are going to win and win for a while. They are reaping the benefits of great scouting, patience and doing things right.”

Or as Alex Rodriguez said, “They aren’t a secret anymore."

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yanke...#ixzz1pBrIj0qT

VERVE · 03-15-2012, 03:38 PM

It is refreshing to read a quote from the Yankees' Cashman complimenting the Jays. Cashman, the man who put together the biggest payroll team in MLB year in and year out has a process of building a championship team in total contrast to AA's approach.

nik- · 03-15-2012, 03:55 PM

Smells like a reverse jinx.

Red Ice Player · 03-18-2012, 01:10 PM

Its a pretty small sample size, but judging from today's preseason game, the Jays are gonna score a ton of runs this season. Bautista is just a beast. Just give him some base runners....

flames_fan_down_under · 03-18-2012, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

Its a pretty small sample size, but judging from today's preseason game, the Jays are gonna score a ton of runs this season. Bautista is just a beast. Just give him some base runners....

Yep I agree. The Jays didn't have much trouble putting up runs last season either, i think they were 5th in the AL in runs scored.

Lawrie before he tweaked his groin was hitting .609, I know its preseason but holy hell it's still impressive.

VERVE · 03-18-2012, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

Yep I agree. The Jays didn't have much trouble putting up runs last season either, i think they were 5th in the AL in runs scored.

Lawrie before he tweaked his groin was hitting .609, I know its preseason but holy hell it's still impressive.

Yes only the grapefruit league but still has alot of hope, impressive individual results and optimism coming from the Jays camp. Cecil's velocity has not been mentioned but that he has lost weight and more focus with consistenct results. Romero has been a standout with scoreless innings. Morrow is coming around but still need work in his consistency. Lawrie, besides down with a groin pull, has been red hot as with Bautista and Snider. I hope Snider will do something this year. The Jays are loaded at the OF and may not be that patient waiting for Snider to some around. Some nice surprises from Yan Gomes and Hechavarria playing well.

I mentioned last year that Escobar will be a permanent fixture at ss with his all star performance and moving Hechevarria to second would be the wisest choice. Wonder how many more years before Gose gets a taste in the bigs.

Maybe not this year but perhaps next, the catcher position will be a battle between high prospect D'Arnaud and Arencibia and perhaps throw Gomes into the mix as well.

Pierre "Monster" McGuire · 03-19-2012, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Lots of love for the Jays in this piece in the NY Post today:

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yanke...#ixzz1pBrIj0qT

Great article! This team needed a rebuild and now this team is getting kids in the system that have a desire and passion to win (unlike guys like Rios, for example).

I'm going to say the Jays end up 3rd in the division this year. Unfortunately, I just don't think they'll be ready to grab that Wild Card spot this year. Possibly in 2013 though.

Otsy · 03-20-2012, 08:19 AM

If they ended up 3rd in that division, that means they're beating out the Yanks, Sox or Rays and have a pretty damn good shot at the 2nd wild card spot, probably battling the Angels, Rangers or the 2nd team from the AL East to get into that one game spot.

dustyanddaflames · 03-20-2012, 10:56 AM

Toronto's success will be completely dependant on how far their starting rotation's progression has gone.

EDIT - and bullpen, they needed to completely revamp that mess, and I feel Anthopolous has done a great job in doing so.

KootenayFlamesFan · 03-20-2012, 05:10 PM

Looks like Kelly Johnson will start the season batting in the #2 slot.

Quote:

"I don't want to think about hitting home runs," he said. "I don't have goals for home runs. I really only have goals for quality, consistent, at-bats and hitting the ball hard. I always just want to be in a position where I can do that."

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=390908

flames_fan_down_under · 03-21-2012, 01:41 AM

This Snider-Thames battle for left is pretty intriguing. I for one hope Snider gets the job, I just can't give up hope on this once highly regarded prospect.

KootenayFlamesFan · 03-21-2012, 02:05 AM

Both did well again today..........Snider went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and is now hitting .324 this spring, while today Thames went 2-for-3 with 2 BB and is hitting .353

Nice problem to have for the Jays.

Caged Great · 03-21-2012, 02:33 AM

I think they may start needing to think of EE as a super sub for 1B/DH/3B/LF/Relief Pitcher (could you imagine, I'm sure none of the batters would want to enter the box for fear of getting hit) and move Thames to DH. It's kind of difficult when you have the pair of them tearing it up.

Snider's K rate thus far is a bit worrying though. It appears he's having some difficulty with offspeed stuff.

flames_1987 · 03-21-2012, 08:20 AM

Snider is really scaring me with his K rate again, especially considering his stats have to be a little inflated from the fact that he's mostly facing fastballs this early in the spring.

JayP · 03-21-2012, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Snider's K rate thus far is a bit worrying though. It appears he's having some difficulty with offspeed stuff.

What are you basing this off of? A high K rate doesn't necessarily mean he's struggling with off-speed stuff. I haven't read anything that says Snider has struggled with off-speed this spring so I'm interested to know if you're basing this off of reports or are just looking at the numbers.

Keith Law praised Snider for his mechanical adjustments and re-positioning his hands saying they allow him to cover a lot more of plate than past years. That should be helping with the off-speed stuff if anything.

Snider is going to strike out. A lot. And that's okay if his power game develops and he still manages to get on base at a decent clip. It's just who he is and trying to get him to cut down the K's is just going to sap his power and that's a terrible trade-off.

howard_the_duck · 03-21-2012, 09:36 AM

The big thing for me is how he's been crushing lefties all Spring. He appears to have made the proper adjustments against them and that will go a long way in getting his bat to a consistent major league level.

Purely based on his upside, I think it's finally his time to stick in the majors for good. I like the approach how the Jays have made it a competition and nothing is being handed to him or Thames on a platter, but at some point they just need to let this guy sink or swim in the majors. There is nothing for him to prove in AAA anymore besides mechanics, which he appears to have dramatically improved.

His defence, baserunning, just about everything else besides at the plate (where they're very even) is better than Thames. I'll be disappointed if he's not the LF starter at this point