2012 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread

[jschick88]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Jays signed Jeff Mathis 2 years 1.5 per with 1.5 option, and have maybe acquired Yorvit Torrealba (Sp) from the Rangers.

I like Mathis but why sign him when by all accounts D'arnaud and Arencibia will catch next year? Unless Arencibia is dealt in the offseason, who knows.

[Reanimate]

Originally Posted by jschick88

I like Mathis but why sign him when by all accounts D'arnaud and Arencibia will catch next year? Unless Arencibia is dealt in the offseason, who knows.

D'arnaud might not be ready with this injury.

[jschick88]

AA said on Prime Time Sports today that he will be addressing starting pitching via free agency or through trade.

[bluejays]

On a bit of a side note, I took in Sunday's game vs the Yanks (and will be at this Thursday's game), and I had a chance to see Gose up close, and if ANYONE in the majors has a better arm than him, I'll be shocked. Bautista's arm is amazing but to see this kid's arm in person is indescribable. His bat has a ton to go, but his arm (and probably speed) will keep him in the league for a long time.

[Caged Great]

Kevin Comer was the PTBNL in the 10 player trade.

His velocity was down into the 80's and he isn't K'ing anyone so it's not as big a deal as if he was throwing 93 or so.

[VERVE]

The Fan 590 had Matt Stairs, the BoSox analyst, on and he hinted the Red Sox may have their guy for the next manager inline. Guess who he hinted? Yup, John Farrell, Jays manager. Bob McCown guessed it and Stairs did not deny it...mmm. If so, the Jays will get some compensation back, I guess players... inreturn. This is still a rumour though....

[KelVarnsen]

CityNews Toronto ‏@CityNews #BREAKING: Man dies in hospital after collapsing during Jays game at Rogers Centre

[Reanimate]

Originally Posted by VERVE

The Fan 590 had Matt Stairs, the BoSox analyst, on and he hinted the Red Sox may have their guy for the next manager inline. Guess who he hinted? Yup, John Farrell, Jays manager. Bob McCown guessed it and Stairs did not deny it...mmm. If so, the Jays will get some compensation back, I guess players... inreturn. This is still a rumour though....

WTF, why would Jays blame Farrell for a complete freak injury season?

That being said, I have stopped watching Jays ball this year, its just too annoying to watch right now.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Reanimate

WTF, why would Jays blame Farrell for a complete freak injury season?

That being said, I have stopped watching Jays ball this year, its just too annoying to watch right now.

Where does it say that the Jays would blame him for anything?

Most likely if they let hm go, and I doubt they do, it would be because he wants to go back to Boston and they decide they don't want a guy around for a year that really doesn't want to be there.

I also doubt they get much in compensation if he did go in terms of players.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by moon

Where does it say that the Jays would blame him for anything?

Most likely if they let hm go, and I doubt they do, it would be because he wants to go back to Boston and they decide they don't want a guy around for a year that really doesn't want to be there.

I also doubt they get much in compensation if he did go in terms of players.

Agreed. Jays fans were listening to this all last off season too, nothing but rumours last summer either. AA isn't gonna hold on to a guy who doesn't want to be here and by all accounts Farrell likes working for the Jays. And it's not like it's a rosy situation John would be rolling in to in Boston.

[KelVarnsen]

I figure we can just talk about the Jays games in this thread since interest in the Jays has dropped.

Somebody needs to slap Romero in the face and tell him to stop walking batters.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Staggeringly bad performance from Romero last night. 8 walks and no strikeouts. The guy is just having nightmare of all nightmare seasons. 10th straight lost start for Ricky. Hard to believe this is the same guy from last year.

Horrible August continues for the Jays. AA has a few areas to address now. Possibly only Morrow is the teams only legitimate starter coming in to next season. Hard to believe.

[VERVE]

Romero is only 27. I have no doubt this guy is a fighter and he will come back better with a clear head. This year the whole team was besieged by key injuries esp to the starting rotation. This will kill any team just look at the Phillies. The pressure was probably too much for him to shoulder and the spiral downward continues.

[howard_the_duck]

Yeah, I'm struggling to find any positives this season for the Jays. It's been a massive step back on several fronts, just a demoralizing year in what was supposed to be a building block for the next few seasons.

Morrow's dominance at the start of the year is the only positive I can think of. Injuries have obviously played a huge role in the demise to the season but a lack of progression by some young players and regression of some veterans has made the team awfully frustrating to watch.

EE and Rasmus have been impressive offensively, but even Rasmus has started to slide back to his tendencies that plagued him before his prolonged hot streak. It could be argued that the injured bats that surrounded him in the lineup have played a big part in his recent struggles.

[Caged Great]

I'm not overly disappointed by this year at all.

Other than Romero completely imploding and the whole everyone that's remotely good getting injured thing it's been mostly positive.

Prospects are getting better and moving up the system, guys like Cooper and Sierra are getting a shot to show whether or not they can be MLB players at all.

While it would've been better to have 10+ more wins than we do (which we likely would've had without all the injuries) we are now in contention to have a protected 1st rounder, which could be useful if we sign a better player or two the offseason.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

I'm not overly disappointed by this year at all.

Other than Romero completely imploding and the whole everyone that's remotely good getting injured thing it's been mostly positive.

Prospects are getting better and moving up the system, guys like Cooper and Sierra are getting a shot to show whether or not they can be MLB players at all.

While it would've been better to have 10+ more wins than we do (which we likely would've had without all the injuries) we are now in contention to have a protected 1st rounder, which could be useful if we sign a better player or two the offseason.

The protected 1st rounder is the only silver lining I can think of. Even from a prospect standpoint, there have been a number of disappointing seasons from some of the offensive prospects. Jake Marisnick, Hech, and Gose have all had really mediocre seasons in terms of development.

The Snider trade still burns me too - I just hate how that entire situation was handled.

And pitching - how can you not be disappointed with that? Drabek and Hutch lost to TJ, and Henderson Alvarez has completely imploded. Not much more could have gone wrong this year for the Jays.

[Flickered Flame]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

I'm not overly disappointed by this year at all.

Other than Romero completely imploding and the whole everyone that's remotely good getting injured thing it's been mostly positive.

Prospects are getting better and moving up the system, guys like Cooper and Sierra are getting a shot to show whether or not they can be MLB players at all.

While it would've been better to have 10+ more wins than we do (which we likely would've had without all the injuries) we are now in contention to have a protected 1st rounder, which could be useful if we sign a better player or two the offseason.

But with all the hype coming into the season, it has to be considered a major disappointment. Its easy to blame it on injuries but it goes beyond that, too many key players didn't live up to expectations. A couple of big holes to fill before they will contend, unless they have a year where everything goes right.

[Caged Great]

Well, with Drabek and Hutchison going down, it'll open up some spots to acquire a pair of starters in the offseason. Not ideal, but you do remove the whole maybe those two will be legit, and forces AA to get someone because we're basically F'ed going forward otherwise.

Alvarez's stuff is there, he needs a better slider or curve to strike out guys but he's only 21. Usually with pitchers that young with little things wrong, it takes a couple seasons to figure it out, and if/when they do you're looking at a Felix Hernandez/Roy Halladay type upside guy. He's definitely got star calibre upside, so I'm not worried that he's figuring stuff out now.

I was more referring to the lower part of the system, guys like the Lansing 3, Osuna etc. developing better, not so much with Hech, Gose, and Marisnick (all of which need to figure out their stuff). I'm not overly thrilled with any of the Riccardi picks that are in the system, which leaves guys that are in A ball or below. Unfortunately it takes time for those guys to rise through the system as well.

The Jays prior to the injury cliff were on target for an 85 win season give or take a couple wins. That was with Coco, Romero and Alvarez being mediocre. Now we're obviously going to be lucky to win 75, but you can't lose Morrow for 3 months, Bautista for a month plus, Lawrie for a month plus and not expect to lose more games. Any team facing those injuries would be screwed.

It is disappointing, but it's not a disappointment. It would be just the same as if Iginla, Bouwmeester and Kipper were to get injured in December, one till late march, and the other two till February. It would suck, but you can't really get mad that the team sucks in their absence.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Well, with Drabek and Hutchison going down, it'll open up some spots to acquire a pair of starters in the offseason. Not ideal, but you do remove the whole maybe those two will be legit, and forces AA to get someone because we're basically F'ed going forward otherwise.

Alvarez's stuff is there, he needs a better slider or curve to strike out guys but he's only 21. Usually with pitchers that young with little things wrong, it takes a couple seasons to figure it out, and if/when they do you're looking at a Felix Hernandez/Roy Halladay type upside guy. He's definitely got star calibre upside, so I'm not worried that he's figuring stuff out now.

I was more referring to the lower part of the system, guys like the Lansing 3, Osuna etc. developing better, not so much with Hech, Gose, and Marisnick (all of which need to figure out their stuff). I'm not overly thrilled with any of the Riccardi picks that are in the system, which leaves guys that are in A ball or below. Unfortunately it takes time for those guys to rise through the system as well.

The Jays prior to the injury cliff were on target for an 85 win season give or take a couple wins. That was with Coco, Romero and Alvarez being mediocre. Now we're obviously going to be lucky to win 75, but you can't lose Morrow for 3 months, Bautista for a month plus, Lawrie for a month plus and not expect to lose more games. Any team facing those injuries would be screwed.

It is disappointing, but it's not a disappointment. It would be just the same as if Iginla, Bouwmeester and Kipper were to get injured in December, one till late march, and the other two till February. It would suck, but you can't really get mad that the team sucks in their absence.

I'm not disappointed with the lack of success of the team, because as you point out, with their injuries they never had a hope.

My concern is now I think the Jays enter 2013 with far more questions than they have answers, and 2013 was thought to be a year they could legitimately contend for the division/wild card if things went right.

The 2013 Jays have huge question marks at LF, 2B, DH, and would need to add 2-3 arms in their rotation. That's a really tall order for AA this offseason.

[VERVE]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

Yeah, I'm struggling to find any positives this season for the Jays. It's been a massive step back on several fronts, just a demoralizing year in what was supposed to be a building block for the next few seasons.

Morrow's dominance at the start of the year is the only positive I can think of. Injuries have obviously played a huge role in the demise to the season but a lack of progression by some young players and regression of some veterans has made the team awfully frustrating to watch.

EE and Rasmus have been impressive offensively, but even Rasmus has started to slide back to his tendencies that plagued him before his prolonged hot streak. It could be argued that the injured bats that surrounded him in the lineup have played a big part in his recent struggles.

I guess when a team is not getting consistently good results ie. wins, then any poor plays or slumps by a player will be magnified and scrutinized even more so. Generally, there are some bright spots on the team despite the losses. I think Rasmus is playing very well, Encarnacion is exceptional, Villaneuva coming out well from the bullpen, Janssen is fantastic holding the closer role for Santos, Mathis show some offense and a great defensive backup. The callups (Sierra, Hachavarria, Gose, Loup, ...) are pleasant surprises and getting big league/fan exposure. The down part is Drabek and Hutchison will not be around (or most of) next year.