On pitching frustrations, middle relief, Manoah's slider, a confused Kikuchi, Robbie Ray, bad Berríos, Nate Pearson, All-Star voting, a dumb hat, Alejandro Kirk, trade talk, and more!
Despite being the top WC seed at the moment this season sure has felt uneasy. I still think the offence isn’t firing on all cylinders the way we had hoped and it ain’t good having red flags on most of our starters and a large chunk of our bullpen. It just feels like storm clouds are gathering.
Other than the Yankees doing their 2001 Mariners thing, isn't that just about every team every year? I guess that maybe isn't comforting, because they're going to have to pick it up for sure, and they're going to have to get the trade deadline right and stay healthy, but even in an ebb like this I still think they're far too good to fall behind the likes of the AL Central or AL West also-rans.
Agree. I shouldn’t say this, but it’s almost hard to miss out on a wildcard spot this year. But I’d really like to be on a roll like the Red Sox are on. They seemed to have righted their ship (for now). I guess It really comes down to where we’re at performance-wise in Sept and Oct (assuming we get a WC).
Too bad the manager doesn’t realize how good Kirk is playing. How can that guy not be in the lineup every day. Also, why is Bichette the only guy on the team exempt from the load management regime Atkins and Montoya have concocted. Oh excuse me, .170 hitter Biggio gets written in almost every day. Are those 2 yahoos really trying to win?
Bichette has a different body type than Kirk and is much younger and less injury prone than Springer, wouldn’t you say? All of this stuff is done through High Performance and, apparently, using fairly sophisticated metrics and systems to detect and prevent fatigue — which can often be the cause of injuries.
Frustrating? Yes. Though, as I pointed out to someone on Twitter last night, the Jays are hardly the only team sitting guys. Last year there was about 100 players to reach even 140 games, so that’s about 3.3 per team. The Jays had six (Semien, Guerrero, Bichette, Grichuk, Gurriel, Hernández). Some of that is because the Jays players are better than a lot of teams’ players, but still. Kirk had a hip flexor strain that cost him a trip to the 60-day IL in the middle of the last year, and I’d rather they be a bit cautious if they’re worried about that. His body creates stresses in ways others’ don’t, so it only makes sense to deploy him differently imho. (It’s part of the reason Moreno is viewed as the most viable option long-term, as are Jansen’s frequent IL trips too, I’m sure. It’s a very physically demanding position!)
As for Biggio, I’m far from his biggest believer but over 68 PA since he returned from Buffalo he’s slashing .250/.382/.446 (139 wRC+). He should be playing as often as the matchup dictates (i.e. not against tough lefties or especially high velo, though occasionally probably against those guys too depending on other factors like swing path or who else needs rest).
You know what's frustrating? So many alleged Blue Jays fans who still think the manager's name is Montoya! Come on people, it's not that hard. Y'all seem fine spelling Guerrero.
Despite being the top WC seed at the moment this season sure has felt uneasy. I still think the offence isn’t firing on all cylinders the way we had hoped and it ain’t good having red flags on most of our starters and a large chunk of our bullpen. It just feels like storm clouds are gathering.
Other than the Yankees doing their 2001 Mariners thing, isn't that just about every team every year? I guess that maybe isn't comforting, because they're going to have to pick it up for sure, and they're going to have to get the trade deadline right and stay healthy, but even in an ebb like this I still think they're far too good to fall behind the likes of the AL Central or AL West also-rans.
Agree. I shouldn’t say this, but it’s almost hard to miss out on a wildcard spot this year. But I’d really like to be on a roll like the Red Sox are on. They seemed to have righted their ship (for now). I guess It really comes down to where we’re at performance-wise in Sept and Oct (assuming we get a WC).
Too bad the manager doesn’t realize how good Kirk is playing. How can that guy not be in the lineup every day. Also, why is Bichette the only guy on the team exempt from the load management regime Atkins and Montoya have concocted. Oh excuse me, .170 hitter Biggio gets written in almost every day. Are those 2 yahoos really trying to win?
Bichette has a different body type than Kirk and is much younger and less injury prone than Springer, wouldn’t you say? All of this stuff is done through High Performance and, apparently, using fairly sophisticated metrics and systems to detect and prevent fatigue — which can often be the cause of injuries.
Frustrating? Yes. Though, as I pointed out to someone on Twitter last night, the Jays are hardly the only team sitting guys. Last year there was about 100 players to reach even 140 games, so that’s about 3.3 per team. The Jays had six (Semien, Guerrero, Bichette, Grichuk, Gurriel, Hernández). Some of that is because the Jays players are better than a lot of teams’ players, but still. Kirk had a hip flexor strain that cost him a trip to the 60-day IL in the middle of the last year, and I’d rather they be a bit cautious if they’re worried about that. His body creates stresses in ways others’ don’t, so it only makes sense to deploy him differently imho. (It’s part of the reason Moreno is viewed as the most viable option long-term, as are Jansen’s frequent IL trips too, I’m sure. It’s a very physically demanding position!)
As for Biggio, I’m far from his biggest believer but over 68 PA since he returned from Buffalo he’s slashing .250/.382/.446 (139 wRC+). He should be playing as often as the matchup dictates (i.e. not against tough lefties or especially high velo, though occasionally probably against those guys too depending on other factors like swing path or who else needs rest).
You know what's frustrating? So many alleged Blue Jays fans who still think the manager's name is Montoya! Come on people, it's not that hard. Y'all seem fine spelling Guerrero.
Saw the title and thought wow Stoets is writing about himself, that’s odd!
Lmao