Official Toronto Blue Jay Thread - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

rockstar · 11-28-2005, 11:28 PM

I love Johnson's hussle. He tries harder than most out there, and chips in with timely hitting. The Jays would do well to hold on to him as he's the kind of guy you might see blossom if he were moved.

Jiggy_12 · 11-28-2005, 11:37 PM

Johnson's a throwback player. All out effort every game, plays it likes it was meant to be played.

flambers · 11-29-2005, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

What???

Johnson is well above average in the defense department. Great speed, superb glove, and strong arm. What have you been watching?

If he was a great Fielder he would not play in the weak Field (i.e. Left).

Jiggy_12 · 11-29-2005, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flambers

If he was a great Fielder he would not play in the weak Field (i.e. Left).

He actually played alot of right field too. With Wells at CF, and when Rios is in the game LF is the only possible spot. Rios has a cannon for an arm, and you always put your strongest arm in RF, no matter what. Longer thrown to 3rd base = more OF assists.

Anyone that watches Jays baseball with any regularity has noticed that Johnson has great defence. Plenty of highlight reel catches.

He made only 2 errors all season long.

flambers · 11-29-2005, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

He actually played alot of right field too. With Wells at CF, and when Rios is in the game LF is the only possible spot. Rios has a cannon for an arm, and you always put your strongest arm in RF, no matter what. Longer thrown to 3rd base = more OF assists.

Anyone that watches Jays baseball with any regularity has noticed that Johnson has great defence. Plenty of highlight reel catches.

He made only 2 errors all season long.

I watch allot of Jays games, and Rios played the majority of the games at right field.

Rios 1092 Innings / 2 Errors
Johnson 890 Innings / 2 Errors

I agree Johnson is "charlie Hustle" but he is not a great hitter (.269 avg with very limited power). Coaching staff usually only dresses him against LHP.

I believe either Johnson or Cat will be traded the Jays will bring in a new fielder who will play left field and Cat/Johnson will be a Utilty fielder.

Pagal4321 · 11-29-2005, 10:21 AM

If an outfielder is going to be traded it's going to be Cat.
Johnson is a good utility guy, who is great in the field and (to my knowledge) is not too expensive to the club.
Whereas Cat's offense is pretty dismal, while still being a solid fielder, will be makine 2.5 million.
If anyone is gone from those two, it's Frankie boy.

flambers · 11-29-2005, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

If an outfielder is going to be traded it's going to be Cat.
Johnson is a good utility guy, who is great in the field and (to my knowledge) is not too expensive to the club.
Whereas Cat's offense is pretty dismal, while still being a solid fielder, will be makine 2.5 million.
If anyone is gone from those two, it's Frankie boy.

Yah I agree, I can see Cat getting traded as well. I believe the Jays will sign Gilles in the next week or so. The Outfield will be Gilles/Wells/Rios (Utilty guy Johnson).

flames_1987 · 11-29-2005, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Take this with a grain of salt, but the doofs over at Primetime sports were chattering about the possiblity of Brian Giles.

One of them said that the Jays were front runners if he didn't sign with a West coast team, after having a conversation with his Agent. The only West coast team really in the running is the Angels, and who really knows how realistic that is.

Dare to dream.

I tuned in last night to try and hear if they had any geusts from the Jays since there based in Toronto and god was it tough to keep my eyes open. What a stupid show, they spent a good chunk of it talking about what bands they thought were cooler then the black eyed peas and on and on. I just had to rant about the stupidity of them.

flames_1987 · 11-29-2005, 11:30 AM

It looks like the Jays have offered Giles a 5 year 55 million contract. A few to many years for a 34 year old, but I think that will be the clincher in getting him. And why not? If it comes down to giving him one more year to get him, then do it. Probablly with an outclause to, ala Billy Wagner in the 4th year the Mets can buy him out for a million.

If they Jays do complete this I think Cat is long gone. I hate to see the guy go since he's one of my favorite Jays always seems to show up and bats .300. That would leave us with Giles in left V dub in centre and Rios in right with Johnson and Gross (although I think he'll get moved if he's just a backup) I think getting a guy like Mench to split time with Rios is the perfect situation.

Rule 5 Draft is coming up. Jays have made some good moves historically, so who knows. I wouldn't be suprised if we do try and grab a catcher if there's at all a chance. With Huckaby probablly gone and Quiroz getting the call up this year, I think JP might want an insurance policy.

CaramonLS · 11-29-2005, 11:49 AM

Whoh. 5 years 55 million for Giles?

NM, it was Toronto Star reporting it.

flambers · 11-29-2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flames_1987

Rule 5 Draft is coming up. Jays have made some good moves historically, so who knows. I wouldn't be suprised if we do try and grab a catcher if there's at all a chance. With Huckaby probablly gone and Quiroz getting the call up this year, I think JP might want an insurance policy.

Huckaby is already gone, its a good point on the Catcher situation I am not sure what they will do. I don't believe they have much depth at all in that position.

flames_1987 · 11-29-2005, 03:05 PM

If Zaun was to get injured, it would thrust Quiroz into the starting spot and with really no legit backup. I defintley think JP will get someone, not hunting for an elite catcher but a depth player who can step in when needed.

How about the Jays bench? I really like McDonald's return, he had a good year with the bat I thought in both TO and Detroit and he's great in the field.
Johnson is nice to have off the bench and earns quality playing time.

Is Gross gonna be a bench player this year, or is he at the age where it's now or never, so if he doesen't start and isn't playing that much (which I doubt he will) will the Jays trade him?

I think JP's gonna bring in somene like a Kevin Mench to split time with Rios in the outfield.

I really don't think Hinske's gonna be going anywhere due to his $$$. But I don't mind Eric coming off the bench and starting here and there. I mean the guy does have power and his numbers weren't that bad last year.

How about some of the young guys? Does JP let them keep working in the farm playing everyday or keep them up as bench players basically?

CaramonLS · 11-29-2005, 03:28 PM

Well, the Batista for Mench Rumors keep surfacing - It would make sense, since Batista has no place on this team.

5 million for a setup guy? Not a chance. Our rotation is filled out, and at this point I don't think he is much better than any one else.

I'd like Wells/Giles/Mench patrolling the OF this season, would look much better than Cat/Rios/Wells IMO.

Of course, Mench does a lot of DHing as well, so he might have a spot as a DH on this team if we keep Rios around.

rockstar · 11-29-2005, 11:45 PM

How would Mench be the DH when they had Hillenbrand, Koskie and Hinske sharing the role last year?

CaramonLS · 11-30-2005, 10:23 AM

Koskie DHed because of Injury, however his value is at 3B.

Hillenbrand will be the clubs Primary 1B this season.

Mench would be the DH effectively replacing Hinske, or at least relegating him to mostly bench duty and giving the fielders the occasional day off.

Hill's value isn't at 3B though. If we were to keep him there, his offensive numbers wouldn't support him. SS/2B is where he needs to play from now on, and that means there isn't going to be a starting job for one of Hill/Adams/Hudson.

flames_1987 · 11-30-2005, 10:38 AM

Koskie is one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in the AL. Being healthy this year will really help him and honestlly I'm expecting a big year from him. Last year he had to battle injury problems, he kept trying to go out there when he really shouldn't have. He had the pressure of being the only Jays FA and a lot of pressure coming back to Canada. I think it's a given that somehow the Jays are gonna get a power bat whether it's Giles or through trade, so this year Koskie isn't not gonna be relied on as much. I think this role fits him best, and he can really contribute to this team.

As for the whole DH discussion, I think it brings even more reasoning into why the Jays in my mind will trade Hudson this offseason. Hudson is one of the few Jays players that really has some trade value. If somehow JP can get everything he wants from the FA market and trading Batista Hudson could stay but I don't see him being able to do that.

Flickered Flame · 11-30-2005, 09:45 PM

Looks like no Giles for the Jays

http://tsn.ca/mlb/news_story.asp?id=145182

flambers · 12-01-2005, 08:19 AM

This is dissappointing for sure, with the Winter meetings set to start next week hopefully the Jays can make a big trade and land a quality hitter.

I wonder when AJ will finally make his decision?

flames_1987 · 12-01-2005, 08:56 AM

JP said they'll know about AJ by Saturday.

Antithesis · 12-01-2005, 05:36 PM

I'm still really, really leery of Burnett. I think the Jays have enough surplus talent around that they could scrape together for a Zito type, if he is actually being shopped.

The contracts being thrown around by Riccardi really seem to go against the whole "Moneyball" premise, unless I'm totally out in left field. BJ Ryan isn't exactly proven the same way a Rivera or Gagne type is, and he's earning pretty close to the same amount.