2015-2016 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

Jose Bautista wrote a piece on batflip-gate. Definitely worth a read.

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jos...ista-bat-flip/

I have no problem with that bat-flip. That was a big moment.

I don't like how he is a Diva at other times - ex. drama around called strikes.

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

I just think it's the work of a ghost writer. Maybe I'm wrong but I doubt the average baseball player writes that well, or even close to that well. If it is was Bautista, he should really think of writing as a post baseball career. That was a great piece.

Yeah he may not have specifically wrote it and edited it, but Bautista is extremely educated in English and is a very articulate guy. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he completely wrote that himself. His family stressed education and he began studying English at age 8.

Here's an article which touches on that side of him:

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/154851...ation-advocate

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

A perennial .300+ hitter, protected by the presence of Colabello, who can still play first base, and give us an additional 4-5M to pay relievers, and allows us to trade EE. Worth a look?

No, for starters he's not a perennial .300+ hitter. Going back to his age 22 (rookie) season he's hit .300 or better five times (out of 13) only three times when playing more then half a season and of those only twice outside of the inflationary environment of Colorado... the last of which was in 2008. If you're signing Morneau it's to replace Justin Smoak not EE.

If you're looking to clear $$ to pick up another bullpen arm you should start with Ben Revere. He'll give you about that much money and not require much (if any) downgrade considering we'll have Saunders back.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Parallex

No, for starters he's not a perennial .300+ hitter. Going back to his age 22 (rookie) season he's hit .300 or better five times (out of 13) only three times when playing more then half a season and of those only twice outside of the inflationary environment of Colorado... the last of which was in 2008. If you're signing Morneau it's to replace Justin Smoak not EE.

If you're looking to clear $$ to pick up another bullpen arm you should start with Ben Revere. He'll give you about that much money and not require much (if any) downgrade considering we'll have Saunders back.

You can't honestly believe going from Revere to Saunders isn't a downgrade. Saunders is a substantial downgrade on Revere in almost every single category. Fielding, batting, base running, and durability. Michael Saunders is a minor leaguer. A career .230 hitter with a terrible OBS, that in 7 years has never went a season without getting injured. This stat line was even before he tore his knee part. Saunders was a typical Rogers pick up. Cheap replacements for the Jays, and a known name in Canada that because of his passport would deflect any criticisms that may come Rogers for not resigning Cabrera or bringing in an expensive Free Agent.

I'm not the biggest Revere fan, but mentioning in the same breath as Saunders is a joke. If the Jays want to cheap out and go without Revere, the only option internally is Dalton Pompey. I'd have a hell of a lot less of a problem with that, than sending a plug like Saunders out there on a team that is supposed to compete for the division.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

Yeah he may not have specifically wrote it and edited it, but Bautista is extremely educated in English and is a very articulate guy. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he completely wrote that himself. His family stressed education and he began studying English at age 8.

Here's an article which touches on that side of him:

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/154851...ation-advocate

He also wrote a Player's Tribune article (in both English and Spanish) earlier this season on the topic of education for Dominican players who give up everything for baseball at a young age.

[kmart]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

You can't honestly believe going from Revere to Saunders isn't a downgrade. Saunders is a substantial downgrade on Revere in almost every single category. Fielding, batting, base running, and durability. Michael Saunders is a minor leaguer. A career .230 hitter with a terrible OBS, that in 7 years has never went a season without getting injured. This stat line was even before he tore his knee part. Saunders was a typical Rogers pick up. Cheap replacements for the Jays, and a known name in Canada that because of his passport would deflect any criticisms that may come Rogers for not resigning Cabrera or bringing in an expensive Free Agent.

I'm not the biggest Revere fan, but mentioning in the same breath as Saunders is a joke. If the Jays want to cheap out and go without Revere, the only option internally is Dalton Pompey. I'd have a hell of a lot less of a problem with that, than sending a plug like Saunders out there on a team that is supposed to compete for the division.

Do you blame Rogers for everything bad Blue Jay related?

As for Saunders being a poor hitter, it happens when you're in a ballpark like Seattle's. He might not have a BA like Revere, but he's still a much better hitter in terms of OPS. Revere scares me when there is men on base, as he's a prime candidate for a double play in the order.

Also, thank god they didn't sign Melky, he was awful this past year.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by kmart

Do you blame Rogers for everything bad Blue Jay related?

As for Saunders being a poor hitter, it happens when you're in a ballpark like Seattle's. He might not have a BA like Revere, but he's still a much better hitter in terms of OPS. Revere scares me when there is men on base, as he's a prime candidate for a double play in the order.

Also, thank god they didn't sign Melky, he was awful this past year.

Saunders is a poor hitter period. It doesn't matter what park he plays in. He's a career .300 OPS. There's no sane argument that can be made that Saunders is on Revere's level. Saunders is a plug and a bandaid. He used to have upside 6 years ago, but not anymore. He'll be 29 years old next season. What you see is what you get. The Jays will have Revere in LF or Pompey. If Saunders gets a spot on anything but the Jays bench next year, it's a bad sign for Jays fans because it's means one of two things. They aren't committed to competing next year or Pompey has failed to take bull by the horns for a second straight year and he may not be the prospect we all believed him to be.

Definitely not worth the money he was paid, but Melky wasn't terrible. He really turned his season around after a terrible start. Finished batting .273 with 12 homeruns and 77 RBI.

[d_phaneuf]

its been posted before but all the players tribune articles are ghost written

[Hockey Fan #751]

I don't doubt that most of the player articles are ghost written, but I do find it interesting that Bautista is the only athlete/author I can find who is actually listed as a "contributing editor"

And the fact that his last piece was done in both English and Spanish tells me he's probably either actually written his pieces or done something a little more than just give an interview that gets transcribed/edited like the others do.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

its been posted before but all the players tribune articles are ghost written

Yeah, they're basically interviews turned into am essay by professionals. They're still good reads though.

[d_phaneuf]

definitely good reads, but the titles are silly, someone put together an org chart in July of everyone who had written so far

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Hockey Fan #751

I don't doubt that most of the player articles are ghost written, but I do find it interesting that Bautista is the only athlete/author I can find who is actually listed as a "contributing editor"

And the fact that his last piece was done in both English and Spanish tells me he's probably either actually written his pieces or done something a little more than just give an interview that gets transcribed/edited like the others do.

I think Bautista has a complete media team in both English and Spanish. It was alluded to a couple times by the Fox broadcast crew in the playoffs.

I've met the guy on two separate occasions. I'm not autograph seeker or anything like that, we just crossed paths. The guy doesn't come across anything like he does in his articles and essays. A complete #######, who I'd rank among the lowest of any professional athlete I've ever met. My wife was with me last time in Chicago back in July when we went to watch them play the White Sox. My wife, who sees fault in very few people, flat out asked me after the encounter how I could support a team he was on. He comes across in person, exactly how he does on the field. She was so upset about how he treated a couple of fans that she thought about writing the Bkue Jays about the encounter and I told her not to waste her time.

That said, I don't really care if he is an ass or not off the field as long as he is producing. He's not paid to be humanitarian of the year.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

There's no sane argument that can be made that Saunders is on Revere's level.

Oh really... I'd like to test that theory.

Ben Revere - Career OPS: .677
Michael Saunders - Career OPS: .682

Ben Revere - Career wRC+: 87
Michael Saunders - Career wRC+: 92

For environmental context: Seattle (Saunders) is a bottom five park in terms of offense accross the board while Minnesota and Philly (Revere) fall into a more park effect neutral range.

[Jiggy_12]

Well...this is kind of good news (if true)

@rwesthead: New #BlueJays prez Shapiro and interim GM Lacava have been told by Rogers they will begin season with budget of at least $140M: source

For comparison, it was 121 million in 2015.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

Well...this is kind of good news (if true)

@rwesthead: New #BlueJays prez Shapiro and interim GM Lacava have been told by Rogers they will begin season with budget of at least $140M: source

For comparison, it was 121 million in 2015.

I think 140M was the budget last year as well, but 122M was their starting payroll. I was listening to the Fan 960 this morning and Stephen Brunt was on their talking Jays (a pleasant surprise) and he said that of deals Anthoupoulos made none were discussed at all with Rogers, because they didn't have to be because he stayed within their payroll budget. He believe AA kept a rainy day fund to add a few players if need be. I poop on Rogers a lot, but the one good thing is that they are completely hands off of everyday baseball operations. They set the budget, and the GM/President are allowed to do whatever they want within it.

If they have a budget of at least 140M they should be able to do something with the pitching. I think there is going to be some serious backlash from Jays fans on Rogers if they don't.

[Jiggy_12]

It's also great news considering just yesterday there were rumours flying around that payroll was going to be cut by 30% or so.
Sounds like at the very least, it will remain status quo. Which is very very positive from a fan perspective.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

It's also great news considering just yesterday there were rumours flying around that payroll was going to be cut by 30% or so.
Sounds like at the very least, it will remain status quo. Which is very very positive from a fan perspective.

I'd be surprised if this isn't true. After Bob McCown was fear mongering yesterday with those 35% reduction rumors, I bet Rogers and Jays felt that had to leak some more accurate info to avoid negative PR - and for good reason.

No reason for the Jays to get slandered about payroll when they are keeping the status quo at worst.

[Lil Pedro]

Should definitely be able to field a competitive team within the parameters of a $140 million dollar pay roll

[Hockey Fan #751]

Hey, at least the Jays won't be paying Ricky Romero $7.5 million this upcoming season!

[REDVAN]

From what the Sportsnet special the other day said (so take it with a grain of salt)- Shapiro thinks they have one more year in this window... so I expect there will be some short term spending to try to win again this season, and then if it's going well, a few deadline pick-ups again.

If not going well, I expect a full explosion and shipping out of a lot of big bats to other playoff teams to re-stock the cupboards.