2011 Blue Jays Season Thread

[NoCupsIn40Years]

Brandon Morrow is a poor man's AJ Burnett.

[Karl]

Danny Farquhar now pitching for the Jays.

[CofR]

Not a good outing by Farquhar... The Sox bats sure are swinging tonight when they finally needed to.

[Karl]

####ing forget about this. 18-5 now.

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

Morrow has been attrocious since the Seattle start, may have to reconsider him as a closer, just can't make consistent starts vs. good teams.

JP with yet another bomb!

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Where ru Chris O'Sullivan

JP with yet another bomb!

I read that and thought you were going off on J.P. Ricciardi for trading for Morrow in the first place.

Than I clued in and figured out you were talking about J.P.Arencibia. Who has hit for pretty good power this year. If he hits 25 homers and drives in more than 80 runs while slugging over 450 thats pretty good for a rookie catcher. In time the OBP should come up, so if you can get 800 OPS from the catcher position, thats good production.

[NoCupsIn40Years]

Way to go Adam Loewen!

[dustyanddaflames]

I think both Adam Loewen and David Cooper haven't looked out of place since their callup. They may never be solid, every day contributors - but it is nice knowing they are in AAA and ready to be a suitable replacement if the situation calls for it.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

The Yankees kind of remind me of hockey games against the Wings..........they seem to get an abnormal amount of borderline calls go in their favor. That strikeout pitch Rivera threw to Rasmus was about half a foot outside.......if he was a righty he probably would have been hit, yet the ump k's Rasmus. I was really hoping Colby was going to put up more of a stink than that, it was a pretty terrible call. The Yanks and Rivera are already good.......they don't need garbage calls going their way as well.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

The Yankees kind of remind me of hockey games against the Wings..........they seem to get an abnormal amount of borderline calls go in their favor. That strikeout pitch Rivera threw to Rasmus was about half a foot outside.......if he was a righty he probably would have been hit, yet the ump k's Rasmus. I was really hoping Colby was going to put up more of a stink than that, it was a pretty terrible call. The Yanks and Rivera are already good.......they don't need garbage calls going their way as well.

Yes, the Yankees do get a lot of breaks esp in their building. That was a bad call on Rasmus.

Overall, I am happy with how the young and inexperienced Jays split the games with BoSox and Yankees. They have alot of depth in all positions. Wonder where Hechavarria will play once he is ready-my guess is 2nd base or outfield. As well, Rasmus will move over to left field to make room for the next Carl Crawford-that guy is Gose. Rasmus, (loved how he chased down the ball today and the Jays turned a double) getting Cano out was fast.

Can't wait till next year. The rotation will be even better and seasoned. Hope Drabek gets it together sooner. Nice moving story about McGowan. Man, he has some awesome stuff-velocity with late movements. I remembered how 4-5 years, he was going to be a huge part of the rotation next to Halladay. You have to admire his tenacity and determination to go through all that heartache of injuries-one after another.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by NoCupsIn40Years

Brandon Morrow is a poor man's AJ Burnett.

When Morrow is playing poorly but when he is on, he has shown more substance than Burnett at the same age of 24. I would take Morrow again. However, Morrow's diabetes may be a slight factor affecting his pitching.

[moon]

Originally Posted by VERVE

When Morrow is playing poorly but when he is on, he has shown more substance than Burnett at the same age of 24. I would take Morrow again. However, Morrow's diabetes may be a slight factor affecting his pitching.

What does 24 have to do with anything?

Burnett show dominance when he was young just like Morrow has. I guess Morrow has time to turn it around but he really is looking a lot like Burnett with the potential to blow-up even worse than AJ does.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by moon

What does 24 have to do with anything?

Burnett show dominance when he was young just like Morrow has. I guess Morrow has time to turn it around but he really is looking a lot like Burnett with the potential to blow-up even worse than AJ does.

When he was 23-24, Morrow had est. 4 primary pitches that he still uses today. He can throw 4 seamers as hard as A J. A J Burnett threw heaters and was good at it but he didn't learn how to "pitch" not until Halladay advised him.

Morrow was 4 outs away from throwing a no-hitter in his debut against the Yankees. His minor league stats were tremendous compared to Burnetts. The two things that kept him from developing better in the bigs were his diabetes and Mariners insistence on having him as a closer and reliever. They thought he would not last long in games when he was a starter (fearing he would lack stamina and power) due to his diabetes. He was a 5th overall pick with tons of potential if groomed correctly.

He is blowing up now when he is still young and relatively inexperienced. In 2010 was his first real starter as a regular in the rotation which he never had in Seattle. On August 8, Morrow was one out away from a no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays when Evan Longoria hit an infield single. It would have been the first no-hitter by a Blue Jay since Dave Steib. He finished the one-hitter for his first ever complete game while striking out 17, one shy of the team record of 18 SO by Roger Clemens.

"As stated in the Game Score metric devised by sabremetrician Bill James, this tied for the fourth-highest rated pitching performance since 1920, with a game score of 100."

[VERVE]

Top of the 5th, 2-0 Jays, Lind with 2 HR. Thames chasing down hard hit balls. Brandon looks good-striking out 5 so far. I hope he stays focus...

Garcia threw it away trying to get the runner at first on a bunt. Two on-1 out. Thames gets rbi...

[VERVE]

Bautista hit a liner moving McCoy. Yesss, Lind is up (with 2 homers off Garcia already) ...crap Yanks yank Garcia.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by Where ru Chris O'Sullivan

Morrow has been attrocious since the Seattle start, may have to reconsider him as a closer, just can't make consistent starts vs. good teams.
JP with yet another bomb!

I disagree. This is really his second year fulltime as a starter in the rotation. If Seattle had not screwed up on him-instead of grooming and developing him, they quietly dismissed him partly due to his diabetes. Brandon has huge potential and has shown it esp vs Tampa Bay Rays (4th top pitching performance since 1920 with a score of 100 rating). Last years winning record on the road as a first time regular starter was impressive. This year is his second year fulltime-given his inexperience, he is bound to get blow ups esp when teams have adjusted to him after seeing him for a year. Now Morrow has to adjust to hitters who have already adjusted to him...

Morrow not only throws hard (95-97) but he locates well with late movement with 4-5 primary pitches. He will improve over the next year and he will be dominant consistently. The Jays have tons of depth in all positions and Morrow will be there.

[moon]

Originally Posted by VERVE

Morrow not only throws hard (95-97) but he locates well with late movement with 4-5 primary pitches. He will improve over the next year and he will be dominant consistently. The Jays have tons of depth in all positions and Morrow will be there.

IN what world does Morrow locate his pitches very well?

And according to analysts that I have heard the issue with Morrow is that he doesn't have enough pitches that he is able to throw consistently enough which is why Seattle made him a closer and why people think he may be better as a closer with the Jays.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by moon

IN what world does Morrow locate his pitches very well?

And according to analysts that I have heard the issue with Morrow is that he doesn't have enough pitches that he is able to throw consistently enough which is why Seattle made him a closer and why people think he may be better as a closer with the Jays.

Are you kidding me? Morrow is not a closer. Whomever you got those info from probably some Mariner source and like yourself do not know enough about Morrow. He has 4 primary pitches -a fastball, slider, circle change and a spiked curveball combination and now he has developed the cut-fastball. The Jays know better and realize what they have. They are patient with him unlike Mariners who never gave him a starter role in the rotation fulltime and thus never developed him properly.

You don't throw 17 SOs and a no-hitter last year against the Rays if you don't locate well. The problem with Morrow is he had not received the proper development mentally while with the lowly Mariners. He is inconsistent in his second year fulltime role as a starter due to inexpereince. That is why when he is not focus-his location is off and he can lose a game in a short time.

In todays game against the mighty Yankees, he has pitched 8 innings no earned run, striking out 8, 1 walk, only 4 hits. I am sure he would have finished the game in the 9th given he had only 107 pitch count. I would have let him finish.

[moon]

Originally Posted by VERVE

Are you kidding me? Morrow is not a closer. Whomever you got those info from probably some Mariner source and like yourself do not know enough about Morrow. He has 4 primary pitches -a fastball, slider, circle change and a spiked curveball combination and now he has developed the cut-fastball. The Jays know better and realize what they have. They are patient with him unlike Mariners who never gave him a starter role in the rotation fulltime and thus never developed him properly.

You don't throw 17 SOs and a no-hitter last year against the Rays if you don't locate well. The problem with Morrow is he had not received the proper development mentally while with the lowly Mariners. He is inconsistent in his second year fulltime role as a starter due to inexpereince. That is why when he is not focus-his location is off and he can lose a game in a short time.

In todays game against the mighty Yankees, he has pitched 8 innings no earned run, striking out 8, 1 walk, only 4 hits. I am sure he would have finished the game in the 9th given he had only 107 pitch count. I would have let him finish.

I heard it from Ashby and Bob Elliot. I think they have a good sense of what Morrow is all about.

I don't think anybody is arguing whether or not Morrow can have great games the problem with him is that he has a ton of awful games as well.

Keep trying to blame everything on the Mariners but the fact is that Morrow is a 27 year old with a mediocre record, mediocre stats and a great fastball.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by moon

I heard it from Ashby and Bob Elliot. I think they have a good sense of what Morrow is all about.

I don't think anybody is arguing whether or not Morrow can have great games the problem with him is that he has a ton of awful games as well.

Keep trying to blame everything on the Mariners but the fact is that Morrow is a 27 year old with a mediocre record, mediocre stats and a great fastball.

If it is true of what you say, then Ashby and Elliot are just repeating and toying with the Mariners' poor decision of trying to make Morrow a closer. Like I have said many times over, Morrow didn't get a regular starter role until he was with the Jays when he was 25. He never got a chance to develop in Seattle. This explains his inconsistencies due to inexperience and lack of development.
Now, he is getting a well-deserved chance to develop with the Jays. He needs to be focus for longer periods then his location will be better.

Except for Hernandez, the Mariners' organization hasn't developed any great pitchers since 2001 and does not possess any depth in that position. Randy Johnson was with the Mariners org and was traded from Expos but was traded again. Thy couldn't develop him. Only when Nolan Ryan helped Johnson how to locate thru mechanic adjustments, Johnson became formidable in the bigs. The Mariners since 2002 are not a great team except when Gillick was at the Helm. Morrow's stats as a pitcher in the bigs were not that good with the Mariners. They were not a good team and they didn't developed him well.

Today, Morrow pitched a strong game against a great hitting team, the Yankees, 3-0. He throws 40% of his pitches as fastballs but he also throws sliders just as much. Today, his change ups and curveballs were spot on. He not only throw heat and very well. He can mix it up with change up, curve and slider and occasional cut-fastball. He is coming around and with another year as a a regular starter, he will gain more experience and confidence and be that good pitcher that AA saw in him. With a rebuilding team and tons of depths in all position, the Jays will be a contender in the next 2 -3 years. With guys like Gose, Adeiny Hechavarria coming to join Escobar, Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista along with depth in the young pitchers, the Jays are fast, young and hungry. Their minor league affiliates are full of great young talents and are winning championships at those levels already. If they can get Darvish from Nippon Ham Fighters, wow watch out, they can be awfully, awfully good. With AA making great moves, the Jays will be one day true contenders.