22 Comments

Looking at the rotation for the year I see Pearson and Stripling as the perfect piggyback combo. Nate won’t be able to throw a full season and Stripling is so hit and miss that combining them seems like the best way to maximize their efficiency through the year. Inning lengths are flexible based on performance on any given outing and avoids taxing the bullpen on days that one doesn’t have it going.

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Thanks for a great year of analysis. Honestly, between you and Tao, I’m pretty satisfied with my Jays articles.

So, the Jays had two names last off season that were tied pretty close to the organization that ended up signing elsewhere. Do you think Kim (Padres) or Brantley (Astros) should have been signed and would they have made a difference in the overall scheme of things?

Cheers!

Bob

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Do you expect vaccination status to factor into decisions re: player signings? For example Matz turned things around this season, but was out of commission for a stretch because he caught COVID. Personal choice is one thing, but the potential impact on a team that may lose key players because of their failure to get vaccinated can be significant.

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Is there a market for Randal Grichuk? Who would be in that group willing to pay a hefty chunk of Grich's salary? Who are among the best available options for a backup CF (maybe with some positional flexibility) who would also do us proud as a starter? Or maybe it just makes sense to keep him?

So many questions there. Everybody's making plans for Randall. We only want what's best for him. (and the Team). Randall just needs that helping hand.

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I'd love to see Semien back, but I can't see it happening. Given we've got some solid infield prospects who are a few years away, do you see the Jays acquiring another quality veteran 2B or 3B for another short contract to bridge the gap before the homegrowns take over?

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Here are some waaaay too early questions for you!

--- Y/N The Jays have enough quality SPs at the start of the '22 season so that Stripling can be a long reliever?

--- Which is more likely, Semien as 2B for the Jays in '22, or SS for the Yankees?

--- 100+ MLB innings for Nate Pearson in '22, Y/N?

--- Y/N The Jays start the '22 season with a LH/SW-hitting 3B not currently in the organization?

--- In the long run, who signs an extension with the Jays first - Vlad or Bo?

Enjoy! Appreciate all the work!

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Great work this season! I might be one of the rare people who think the Montreal-Tampa thing might work ok (assuming it is something more than a ploy for public funds in Tampa). If it does happen, I have seen a lot of people say how cool it would be to have Toronto-Montreal have a rivalry in the AL East. I am not one of them, as I would prefer having a Montreal team in the NL (also, the Rays out of the AL East? Yes, please). My rationale is that when the Expos were around, they were probably my most favourite, second favourite team in sports and I had legit interest in them. I’m sure this is because the AL and NL were (and still mostly are) so segregated so it didn’t seem like Montreal competed with Toronto. If the new Montreal team stays in the AL East, I will no doubt hate them and I assume the same would be said for Montreal fans with the Jays. Do you think there is any chance this Montreal-Tampa team shifts to the NL? Would the Jays push to have that team in the NL, with a view to avoiding that team eating at its fan base? Any sense if the Jays have pushed back about this proposal generally (regardless of any AL/NL issue) for that same reason?

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I have a request for a Toronto-area baseball reporter. Fortunately, I

happen to know one. :)

On Sunday, Jan 25 2020, as part of its NHL All-star weekend coverage,

Sportsnet broadcast a documentary it made called 'Whatever it Takes'.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/whatever-takes-connor-mcdavid-documentary-debut-friday/

.

I live in Sweden. I never got to see it. I still cannot see it --

seeing it requires the sportsnet app, which I cannot download (because

it is not available in Sweden). No amount of fiddling with virtual

private networks helps. Other movie sites, etc, all come up geoblocked.

But the synopsis is:

Connor McDavid injured his knee on April 6, 2019, after slamming into

the Calgary Flames net at over 40km/hr. "After multiple medical

opinions to assess the injury to his left knee, it was confirmed that

Connor had suffered a completely torn PCL, tears to both his medial

and lateral menisci, a completely torn popliteus muscle, and tibial

plateau fracture." (source: The Edmonton Journal)

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/the-mystery-of-connor-mcdavids-knee-injury-solved/

The PCL is the Posterior Cruciate Ligament -- it and the ACL, the Anterior Cruciate

Ligament are what holds a knee joint together.

Now, here is where things get weird. Instead of having surgery, which is what

has always been done, McDavid opted to go to a hospital in Toronto (the Humber

River Hospital? not sure where I heard that) and have some sort of experimental

therapy involving sitting in some sort of machine (?) and doing exercises (?) that

were supposed to repair the tears and made the segments rejoin.

This sounds like wishing for a purple unicorn to me. If anybody had asked me,

I would have mentioned that 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is'.

And it looks like I would have been completely wrong about this. Connor McDavid

came in second in the 2020 NHL skills competition for 'fastest skater' and is

back doing his thing as the hockey player of his generation.

So the question becomes -- how does this work? And can this thing repair tears in the

ligaments of pitchers' arms so that they don't need Tommy John surgery? What about using it as a tool for general maintenance? If I had an arm that I was hoping to earn a hundred million

dollars a year with, I'd be up for a new sports routine that said '2 hours in this

tank every day to repair undetectable ligament wear' -- for sure.

So what I am asking, and I know this is a big ask, can you get the names of the doctors

and go visit them and ask them about what it is they are doing? It's the off-season. I am hoping

you will have time.

All the best,

and

Thank you.

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Right now, the Jays could have a decent starting rotation (Berrios, Manoah, Ryu, Pearson? Stripling) but after that it gets pretty thin. I'm always rooting for Thornton and Kay but I wouldn't want to depend on them. What free agent pitchers would you go after? Are Ray and Matz obvious targets or is that my hometown bias? There's a lot of elite level guys out there but a bunch of them are getting a little old to offer multi year deals. I always look forward to new posts and podcasts--keep up the solid work!

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There is a lot of talk about how to create more action/offence in baseball. Do you have any unique ideas? Do you have any favourite ideas that you have read?

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Stoeten, first off thank you (and Nick) for the terrific coverage of the Blue Jays this season. Really enhanced following this team. Would love your thoughts on "Win at all costs vs. balancing the short and longer term" As a fan, I should only care about my team doing whatever it takes to win it all in any given year. But somehow, I've become more concerned about sustaining it for longer periods of time. The 2017-2019 Blue Jays were no fun to watch. Neither were the pre-2015 teams for most of the previous 20 years. How should we want the Blue Jays to handle the offseason?

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Marcus Semien has had two two amazing years (2019, 139 OPS+ and 2021, 133 OPS+) and I think it is fair to say he has been better than some of the stats indicate in many of his other seasons. His 2021 awesomeness can't be understated, playing great defence every day up the middle, hitting the way he did - it was amazing.

And, Although it is impossible to ever really know, he seems like a good dude.

I suspect that someone is going to back up a dump truck of money this off season. I would love him to resign with the Jays.

But should we be worried about his OBP (his BB% was 9.1% - a three year running decrease) or am I looking to hard for red flags?

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After a full season in the books of this incarnation, I wanted to say thanks for keeping doing what you are doing. Your coverage will always be part of my memories of this remarkable season.

Thinking back to the Matz acquisition and those little pockets of hidden value Shapiro and Atkins seem to find… What’s your craziest idea for a “hidden value” FA or trade this off-season?

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Good day Mr. Stoeten,

I've seen a few jays twitter pessimists bemoaning the fact that we "wasted" career years from Vlad, Semien, and Ray. I disagree with this framing for many reasons, and I think it wouldn't be crazy if those three came back in similar form next year, but also "two historically dominant offensive performances and a cy-young-finalist-and/or-winner performance" are admittedly lofty goals. What do you want to see out of them next year (assuming they're all here)? Are there statistical benchmarks you think are fair to expect? Anything more qualitative you'll be looking for? I'm firmly in the camp of "If they improve at third base and in the bullpen, those guys can regress noticeably and we'll still be in good shape" but am curious for your thoughts.

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Assuming the Blue Jays don't re-sign Semien, and they acquire a star to play 3B (e.g., Ramirez, Story, Corey Seager), what do you think about making a run at Adam Frazier to play second? Lefty bat, high OBP, terrific defence -- all the things Atkins says they're looking for this offseason. Given his post-deadline production, I can't see the Padres holding on to him tightly.

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Congratulations on a great season of coverage Stoeten! I'm still not ready to dive into the offseason stuff (this team was so much fun and so good, gahhhh!), so I'll ask a coverage-related question(s). You've been creating content based around this team for a long time, how has writing for yourself here at The Batflip compared to your earlier career stops, and what do you think has changed about your coverage the most overtime?

Always love the emails popping up about a new post, keep up the great work :)

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