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It's a battle between the top two teams in the AL in terms of run differential, though #1 Texas dwarfs Toronto (and every else, obviously). Both teams are coming off 1-2 series, and will be looking for a little payback, deep in the heart of Texas. It's supposed to be 34 Celsius in Arlington on Saturday and Sunday, with the games kicking off at 2 pm local time. Should be fun, just like The Advance Scout.

Also, some Jays news: Ben Francisco is on the 15-day DL, with the club calling up David Cooper to replace him. Evan Crawford is being demoted back to AAA, with Ryota Igarashi coming up to take his spot in the pen. This means Dustin McGowan is being moved to the 60-day DL to open up a roster spot.The Jays never really needed five outfielders, and in fact Francisco almost exclusively DHed, so I imagine that this doesn't affect the outfield defense at all. I imagine there will be some sort of L/R platoon with Gomes and Cooper, with Edwin DHing/playing first base. 

Sunday Update: Gomes down, Igarashi DFA'd, Jesse Chavez and Chad Beck coming up.



The Jays missed Derek Holland and Colby Lewis last time around, and get to double up on Yu Darvish. What joy.

Friday: Brandon Morrow v. Derek Holland

Derek "Dutch Oven" Holland (awesome nickname, btw) made his major league debut in 2009 at age 23, and spent the year as a starter getting knocked around. He split 2010 between the DL, AAA and the majors and showed marked improvement before putting things together last year, tossing 8.1 shutout innings in Game 4 of the World Series and throwing 200 innings of 3.95 ball during the regular season. Run scoring was/is down, but given his home ballpark, that'll play. The Rangers evidently thought so, signing him to a 5 year, $28.5 million deal with two club options. Holland, a lefty, is not physically imposing, standing 6'2 and weighing just under 200 pounds. He actually kind of looks like a weird version of Napoleon Dynamite. Appearances can deceive though, and Holland throws gas - working around 93-94 with his fastball. He throws a change up and a slider in the mid and low 80s, respectively, and has been relying more heavily on his curveball this year, throwing it once every six pitches. It's been his best pitch this year, though in the past he's lived on his fastball. Holland got knocked around a little bit in his last start against the Astros, giving up 3 home runs, and spent the week making mechanical adjustments in the bullpen. Lifetime both Jose Bautista and Rajai Davis are 3/11, Jeff Mathis is 3/13 and JPA and Yunel have two hits apiece in 6 and 8 at bats respectively; Adam Lind is the only Jay with a home run against Dutch.

Saturday: Henderson Alvarez v. Colby Lewis

Colby Lewis' story should be well known by now, as it took two stellar seasons with the Toyo Carp for him to get back to the majors after a fairly disastrous half-decade span prior to his time in the Japanese League. He signed a two year deal with the Rangers and threw back-to-back 200 inning seasons, the first very good, the second only average. He's in the club option year of his two-year deal, making $3.25 million, and I'm sure he's keen to cash in during the off-season. Lewis has never been a big power pitcher, even when he started posting bigger strikeout numbers the last couple of years. In his last start against the Astros he sat at 88, and didn't once break 90 with his fastball. Lewis instead relies on his slider as his (only) swing and miss pitch, throwing it more than a fifth of the time. He uses a curveball a bit too, but it's probably his worst pitch, and it often gets tagged. An okay change up augments his repertoire. Lifetime Rajai Davis is 6/16, while Omar Vizquel is 2/11. In 12 plate appearances Jose Bautista has 4 walks, a single and 2 home runs. 

Sunday: Kyle Drabek v. Yu Darvish


Darvish completely shut down the non-EE Jays (Edwin homered) in his only appearance versus them, going 7 and allowing 1 run on 4 hits, with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Other than that he didn't give up a bunch of walks it was a pretty typical Darvish start on the year, as he has been very good, and is one of five pitchers to strike out double digits per nine innings. He is, however, also one of five pitchers walking 5/9, along with the pitcher he's facing, Kyle Drabek, and Ricky Romero, Ubaldo Jiminez and Daniel Bard. Still, he's been effective, as even with the walks he doesn't allow a ton of baserunners or home runs. He was also the AL Rookie of the Month in April. Yu throws five pitches (six if you count the two and four seam fastball seperately), although he relies most heavily on a 93 MPH four-seamer that he can dial up to 97. After that he throws a slider, cutter and curve in about equal measure, once every 7 or 8 pitches. The slider is probably the best of these offerings, as it sits between 80-84 MPH has late break away from righties. Darvish doesn't throw a change up, instead relying on a split fingered pitch in the high-80s that mimics his fastball arm action. His strikeout and walk numbers are both better against righties, but he's posted a better FIP against lefties so far.

Also, I mentioned this last time, but the Rangers bullpen is flipping insane. Their top 6 relievers all have ERAs below 2.45, with good peripherals: four of them strike out more than a batter an inning, and 5 of them walk fewer than 2/9 IP.

Lineup

The Rangers have settled into a pretty comfortable lineup against right handed pitchers,

Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Josh Hamilton CF/LF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Michael Young DH
David Murphy LF
Nelson Cruz RF
Mike Napoli/Yorvit Torrealba C
Mitch Moreland 1B

Craig Gentry comes in for David Murphy as a defensive replacement, pushing Josh Hamilton to LF. Yorvit Torrealba will probably start one game behind the dish, likely Saturday.

Josh Hamilton is basically leading everything in everything, with a .379/.429/.758 slash line, with 18 home runs and 49 runs driven in. People are talking about it being the greatest whatever whatever, though I will point out at this point last year Jose Bautista was hitting .343/.492/.804, with 19 home runs (only 32 RBI though). The kid's pretty good though, and he is going to get paid this offseason, though he's in a bit of a cool streak the last week... Neftali Feliz is out for 5-6 weeks, and right now Scott Feldman is filling in. Alexi Ogando has been relieving, so he is probably not a candidate... There's a chance the Rangers could be the destination for Roy Oswalt, but apparently he wants quite a bit of coin... Brad Ausmus is the manager for Team Israel at the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and he is trying to recruit Ian Kinsler and Scott Feldman, who are both Jewish (and thus eligible!) Kinsler's direct response was somewhat priceless: "This is the first I've heard about it. I don't know how I feel about it since I haven't been presented with anything."... Overall the Rangers are in a slump during the last 10 days or so.

Infirmary: Neftali Feliz (SP) is out for about a month with an elbow injury. That is all.

Song to Advance Scout by: Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A, in 8-bit video game music. It is awesome.

Chart: All data from Fangraphs. Things were a bit screwy with Brandon Morrow for a while because an Adam Lind error got changed retroactively, but everything should be correct.

Advance Scout: Rangers, May 25-27 | 92 comments | Create New Account
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John Northey - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 02:16 PM EDT (#257009) #
Wonder if Cooper will get the start tonight. Would be a good idea if possible so he can get as much of a look as possible. Hopefully Ryota Igarashi remembers where the strike zone is this time (vs all his other call ups for the Mets where his BB/9 was 6.0 vs his minor league 2.3 career and 1.3 so far this year).
Anders - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 02:23 PM EDT (#257012) #
I have said it a bunch, but I don't think Cooper's a major league calibre hitter, at least at first base. There's no harm in him playing (well, there is, but there aren't a lot of alternatives); hopefully he goes on a hot streak.
uglyone - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 03:00 PM EDT (#257016) #
Tough series for the Jays, especially on the road, but it's worth noting that after their scorching 17-6 April, the Rangers are only 10-12 in May, and 4-6 in their last 10.
John Northey - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 03:14 PM EDT (#257017) #
Just checking the Rangers roster and I see just one player on the DL - Neftali Feliz who was their closer last year and is a solid starter for them this year (136 ERA+, just shy of 6 IP per start). Might help explain the great start as health is a big issue for all teams.

A 133 team ERA+ (yikes), a 113 team OPS+. The only Jays with a better OPS+ than the average Ranger are Gomes, Encarnacion, and Bautista. The only pitchers with a better ERA+ than the average Ranger are Oliver, Frasor, Morrow, and Perez. Wow.
BalzacChieftain - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 03:28 PM EDT (#257020) #
A friend of mine made a good point about the first base situation. If Lind and Cooper are to both get regular ABs, it only makes sense for Cooper to get called up since Lind is in Vegas. I imagine it makes things easier as far as juggling ABs if Cooper and Lind trade places for a few weeks before an anticipated call-up of Lind sometime in June.
China fan - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 03:34 PM EDT (#257022) #
Interesting point about Lind and Cooper, but keep in mind that Vegas also has the DH slot available. Lind could move in and out of the DH slot at Vegas (as he already has) and this could open a position for Mike McDade to get a shot at the 1B job in Vegas. I wonder if McDade is the next to be promoted.
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 05:22 PM EDT (#257025) #

A few notes, 10 miles away from The Ballpark  ...

> deep in the heart of Texas
No, no. Arlington is nowhere near the "heart" of Texas. You can go another couple of hundred miles south to reach Austin, then another couple of hundred to San Antonio, and youre' still several hundred from that point to the southern tip of the border. we be in NORTH Texas. Is Toronto part of "The Great White North" just because of the song??

The bullpen IS insanely good, nice call, but that's in part because this rotation is SO good compared to the Helling-Oliver-Rogers days of "we kin whup y'all 14-9" yore. Darvish has been brilliant against everyone except Seattle (twice now) so who the hell knows? Maybe being near Ichiro impedes his Japanese superpowers like Superman and kryptonite.

Nefti Feliz to the DL is the first roster move the Rangers have made all year. That's just stunning. The latest in team history, and I think the last team to do so in MLB this season. If it is the first sign that Feliz is fragile as a starter, he ends up back as the closer in a year or two, but Joe Nathan is perfectly fine and dominant there right now.

From Texas' standpoint, Morrow is a bit worrisome, but the pitching matchups favor Texas other than that, and when was that ever true of the Rangers??

Mick Doherty - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 06:20 PM EDT (#257030) #
Chuck - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 06:24 PM EDT (#257031) #

Now, now Mick. You probably don't want to get into a geography contest with Canadians. We know far more about the US than you guys know about us (though you may be that rare and pleasant exception).

Ever notice that when Canadians report American news stories, it is "city, state", as in "Dallas, Texas". When Americans refer to Canadian cities, there is no acknowledgement of our provinces at all: "Toronto, Canada".

We Canadians are familiar with the "deep in the heart of Texas" clappy-clappy song, so we're wont to go there with any reference to Texas. 

Paul D - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 06:41 PM EDT (#257033) #
Is Toronto part of "The Great White North" just because of the song??

I would say yes.
Thomas - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 09:25 PM EDT (#257035) #
Wonder if Cooper will get the start tonight. Would be a good idea if possible so he can get as much of a look as possible.

I'm not sure why it would be a good idea to start the left-handed Cooper over the right-handed Gomes against the southpaw Derek Holland who has a .140 point differential in his OPS splits favouring righties. That seems an echo of the Farrell plan of starting Lind against lefties. (And that's ignoring the fact that Gomes may well have more of a major league future with the Jays than Cooper, even if as it's probably as a backup).

Anyhow, not that it would make any difference either way tonight.

Thomas - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 09:29 PM EDT (#257037) #
(I mean, that's probably a bit unfair because Cooper doesn't have the platoon splits that Lind does, but I don't know why you'd want to start a lefty against a lefty when you have a righty option available who is doing better in his brief time in the majors than the lefty did in his first crack at the majors.)
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 10:20 PM EDT (#257042) #

Alas, Chuck, I am not that rare exception -- I probably know far, far more than most of my fellow Texas residents, butI grew up near Detroit and lived for some time in upstate New York, so I still have to think twice when people down here say "across the border" to remember them mean to Mexico. But my lack of knowledge of geography  extends to all the world, and includes the US. I could only name all 50 states if you gave me an hour, and if you had me fill in a blank map, would stall somewhere in the high 30s, I think, maybe up to the mid-40s. Typical American failing, I think.

On a totally different tangent point, Derek Holland ... remember, this is a guy that was a deal-breaker for the Rangers in early Halladay discussions, and there are times he reminds us why. I firmly believe that he is the current Ranger most likely, by far, to toss the franchise's second perfect game someday, while concurrently also being the current Rangers most likely to throw up a line of something like 2.2 5 9 9 4 4 ... the Jays caught him tonight when he's closer to the former ...

 

 

92-93 - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 10:50 PM EDT (#257043) #
Here's my couch scouting perspective on Ryoto Igarashi - mid 90s fastball lacks late life, can't get his off-speed stuff down in the zone. Unless he can command the fastball, which he's shown little ability to do at the MLB level, he's a scrap part.
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 11:00 PM EDT (#257044) #

Nelson Cruz is pretty good.

With luv from North Texas,

/md

Thomas - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 11:47 PM EDT (#257045) #
If he could a little bit better, Texas would have a World Series championship.

With love from Canada.
Thomas - Friday, May 25 2012 @ 11:49 PM EDT (#257046) #
If he could field a bit better, Texas would have a World Series championship.

Foiled by the lack of an edit button, again.
Mick Doherty - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 12:45 AM EDT (#257047) #

True, although I think Milwaukee would be happy to take him back and play him eery day in RF for the next 10 years either way .... the litany of "in retrospect, that was a bad idea" deals this guy has been in is stunning, given his current status:

August 30, 2000: Traded by the New York Mets to the Oakland Athletics for Jorge Velandia.
December 16, 2004: Traded by the Oakland Athletics with Justin Lehr to the Milwaukee Brewers for Keith Ginter.
July 28, 2006: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers for Julian Cordero (minors), Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix.

Anyway, without his ALCS MVP performance, Texas never sniffs the WS last year, so it's all good where Nellie is concerned in North Texas.

TamRa - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 03:15 AM EDT (#257048) #
Off topic -

on Americans who know geography, I collected NatGeo maps when I was a kid. I know the U.S. like the back of my hand, I know all the Canadian provinces and territories (though I don't think I can properly spell Nanuvut?) and most of the major cities. I even know if you go due south from Detroit you pass through a bit of Canada.

I'm pretty good on the rest of the world too, though I break down a bit on some parts of Africa, and a few of the -stans that used to be part of the Soviet Union.

An dyes, that's more than a little bit rare among my acquaintances.
Kasi - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 12:49 PM EDT (#257052) #
Going to my first ever jays games the next two days. In Dallas now. I just hope we put up more of a fight than last nights game. Should be fun.
Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 12:52 PM EDT (#257053) #

In Dallas now.

Deep in the heart of Texas?

Kasi - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 01:08 PM EDT (#257054) #
I live in Austin (used to live in Calgary) so its pretty close. Will be nicer next year with Houston in the al since its a shorter drive and the jays are much more likely to beat them.
Mick Doherty - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 03:00 PM EDT (#257058) #
Careful Kasi, the Astros are young but about to get a lot better. The record won't show it in the AL West with TEX and LAA, but they will be better, soon.  If you don't know the Arlington neighborhood, let me know and maybe I can recommend something that won't be overrun like Bobby Valentine's restaurant, which is a joke on gamedays.  I used to work in Arlington and could see the Ballpark from my office window ... :-) Now, not so much, taking a job in Irving in June and the ruins of the old Cowboys stadium don't hardly compare ...
JB21 - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 03:29 PM EDT (#257059) #
Down 2 after 1, and only because of two mishaps in the field. Tough to give away runs in Texas.

I don't think I've ever seen umpires get hit on straight fastballs that were flat out missed by a catcher so much in my life. They must hate calling balls and strikes behind JPA.
Kasi - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 03:42 PM EDT (#257060) #
They've been saying that about the royals for years. I'll believe the astros have turned it around when I see it. Regardless the rangers are going to be the best in the al for a while, and I don't see any time in the next 5 years Houston passing them. On the matter of resteraunts looking for a good place for tonight that's unique to Dallas. Some local place with really good food.
Anders - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 04:13 PM EDT (#257062) #
Careful Kasi, the Astros are young but about to get a lot better. The record won't show it in the AL West with TEX and LAA, but they will be better, soon.

I don't know how one would judge this, but I am confident this will not be the case.

Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 04:18 PM EDT (#257064) #
I'm with Anders on the Astros. To me, they appear to playing way over their heads with no real business being near .500. And without a ton of talent knocking on the door.
damos - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 04:43 PM EDT (#257065) #
Colby on Colby violence. 
damos - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 05:18 PM EDT (#257066) #
Tossing Alvarez there is beyond absurd. 
Disgraceful for the ump to toss him there.   Absolute disgrace. 

Dewey - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 05:19 PM EDT (#257067) #
That is one of the worst called games by a home-plate umpire that I’ve ever seen.  He was pushing the Jays all day long, almost as if trying to goad them into doing something for which he could eject one of them.  He finally got the ejection he wanted on a very, very dubious call.   The Rangers are a fine team:  they don’t need this type of interference by an ego-laden ump to win.
Mick Doherty - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 05:20 PM EDT (#257068) #

for tonight that's unique to Dallas

Ah, see I know the mid-cities and Fort Worth far better. 15 years ago when I built the first website for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau (pretty poorly by today's standards),  I could've named 10-15 off the top of my head. The big-name chefs have their own spots and I am sure are Google-able -- try Fearing's or Stephan Pyle's or Abacus. I can't imagine they've gone downhill at all from their mere perfection of the 1990s, but they aren't for the budget-conscious! If you are looking to skim something more wallet-frirendly (as I would be! I only know those I mentioned as an invited guest when I was at the CVB) or some classic barbecue or something (Sonny Bryan's? Is that still open?) then try the new visitdallas.com. I can't vouch for any of the content on it, cuz I didn't write any of the latest version (!), but it's a good starting point.

Thomas - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 05:20 PM EDT (#257069) #
I'm also with Anders on the Astros. They have begun to get the right people in their front office and there is the potential for the team to begin to make a turn around. However, that's still a long way from having a lot of talent in the system. I think there'll still be several lean years at least in the AL West.

That was a terrible call to toss Alvarez by Marty Foster. He was going to be gone at the end of the inning anyhow, I suspect, but there is absolutely no cause to eject him for a fastball that ran a little inside with two strikes.
damos - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 05:35 PM EDT (#257070) #
J.P. Arencibia to Umpire: 'Are You Drunk!'
Amazing GIF:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PVUCkAY8AlE/T8FKB3JVDpI/AAAAAAAAD_A/ToxFCw-FDSg/s1600/JPA-Drunk.gif

katman - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 06:32 PM EDT (#257072) #
Thank goodness for the stellar arm of Jeff Mathis. If he can't call it, he'll just throw it himself :-)

Alvarez' last 2 games are providing solid arguments for the "he needs to strike more people out or he's going to get in trouble, 97 mph sinker and all" crowd. I always thought the "nobody has ever succeeded this way" argument was strong, but it's another thing to see it demonstrated.

Then again, he does seem to be elevating his pitches lately. Does it look that way to anyone else?

Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 06:37 PM EDT (#257073) #
With Texas needing a single, Washington pinch-hits with Napoli? Napoli is a fine TTO hitter, yes, but Moreland is more likely to get a single, even off a lefty. No?
Mick Doherty - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 06:51 PM EDT (#257074) #

Yes, Chuck, borrible move. Ron is a questionable in-game manager more often than a team would like. Moreland is, in my opinion, a likely future batting title contender. (I have said this before, not just since he started hitting .998 the last week or so.)

And a pre-emptory hat-tip to the Jay bullpen. Even if TO loses this game, the last three innings -- winning run on third, less than two outs in all three -- and the Rangers don't score? That's the kind of work Texas expects from its own "insane" group of relievers.

Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:02 PM EDT (#257075) #
Mick, what kind of reputation does Andrus have?

That lackadaiscal defensive play against EE was the third poor decision I thought he made today. Lawrie also got an infield single because Andrus was lax (and unaware of Lawrie's speed). And his decision to try to get Thames at third base on a routine groundball (where he easily could have retired the batter at first) was needlessly risky, I thought.

He seems to have all the physical tools in the world, but with my small window into his world, I see a young player with dubious decision-making skills.
92-93 - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:05 PM EDT (#257076) #
You mean you haven't been enjoying all these free outs Washington is handing out, Mick? I know I am.
Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:09 PM EDT (#257077) #
Are we going to see Mathis again?
Kasi - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:32 PM EDT (#257078) #
We're staying ne of the stadium Mick. I meant Dallas in a general sense. So what is good to the ne of the stadium in that area? I think we're about 20 minutes in that direction from the ballpark.
blu-j - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:52 PM EDT (#257079) #
I know every fan feels losses like that one happen more often to their own team than any other, but geez.....these blown games happen A LOT to our team.

I would have preferred Frasor to start the inning--That's a lot of pressure to put Igarashi under after yesterday's dreadful outing. Just a crappy loss all around....and of course I got sucked into watching it since it was free via mlb.com. Good times.
JB21 - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 07:54 PM EDT (#257080) #
That. Sucked.

Felt like we should've lost multiple times, but it still hurts.
Kasi - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:04 PM EDT (#257081) #
I think frasor should have started too unless they were open to doing something unorthodox in bringing: in morrow. There really wasn't any good choices though.
Chuck - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:23 PM EDT (#257082) #
Morrow had thrown more pitches than both Frasor and Igarashi yesterday. I can't see the argument for bringing him in.

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, maybe Farrell should have had Perez go more than 1.1 IP. Of course he couldn't have anticipated 13 innings, but he should have been more cautious given the short pen. Of course, had the Rangers not gone, what?, 2 for 16 with RISP, the game would have ended much, much earlier making all of this moot.

Reckon a reliever is on the red eye from Vegas tonight?
Thomas - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:29 PM EDT (#257083) #
Reckon a reliever is on the red eye from Vegas tonight?

Beck last pitched on the 24th. I think there's a strong chance he's up and Igarashi is down.

hypobole - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:37 PM EDT (#257084) #
Beck last pitched on the 24th. I think there's a strong chance he's up and Igarashi is down.

I was wondering why they Jays didn't make that move last night, the way the bullpen was chewed up and Igarashi throwing 41 pitches Friday. Also, couldn't they have used a starter on his side session day to pitch in extras? Or don't the Jays believe in doing so any more?
scottt - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#257085) #
Saw that Santos is not making much progress, still throwing on flat ground.
BlueJayWay - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 08:58 PM EDT (#257086) #
This team is taking tough losses and turning them into an art form.  So close, so close.  3-9 in one run games.
Mike D - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 10:57 PM EDT (#257087) #
It would be nice if the umpiring fraternity could notify the Jays of a date certain by which they will be able to be impartial during Toronto games. Will it be another week? Another month? The rest of this season? Beyond?

I've gotta say, I got chills when I heard Buck Martinez describe how Dick Drago got squeezed for an entire season in response to his "showing up" transgressions before the umps forgave him.
greenfrog - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 11:39 PM EDT (#257088) #
Alvarez getting tossed was a joke. Did the ump really think he wanted to hit Kinsler in a 5-4 game with the count 1-2 or 2-2 (can't remember which). Besides, his control is excellent - I'm sure he could have plunked him had that been his intention. Ridiculous.

Also: my guess is that a big part of the reason Alvarez was so irate was the non-strike call on a great low strike to Moreland a couple of pitches prior to his go-ahead HR (which in turn was just prior to the Kinsler fiasco). Instead it was called a ball, Moreland got ahead in the count 3-1, and then took Alvarez deep.
Jimbag - Saturday, May 26 2012 @ 11:58 PM EDT (#257089) #
Alvarez getting ejected there was as ridiculous as Halladay getting ejected in a 1 run game where he was going for his 22nd win. Even a warning would have been a stretch there, but a straight up ejection? What ever happened to integrity?
Magpie - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 12:41 AM EDT (#257090) #
I got chills when I heard Buck Martinez describe how Dick Drago got squeezed for an entire season

Let's track this one down, if we can...

Buck was presumably talking about 1973, Drago's last season with the Royals. His BB/9, which had been 1.7 and 1.9 in the two previous seasons, jumped to 3.2.

Buck wasn't actually around, however - he spent the season in Omaha, was only called up in September, and didn't catch any of Drago's games that year. Or the year before, or the year before. The only times Buck caught Drago were in 1969 and 1970, although they were together on the Royals through 1973.

Maybe his teammates were talking about it.
Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 09:49 AM EDT (#257093) #
May I suggest that the umpiring fraternity could agree that 10 games would have been an appropriate penalty for Lawrie, and that it has now effectively been enforced.  I wonder how the discussions between Anthopolous, the league president and the head of the umpire's union (the impressively named World Umpires Association) might go.  The umpires are evidently not happy about the Lawrie penalty but (I think) have no right of appeal.  The league however does have an interest in having its rulings not being undermined.
ayjackson - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 12:21 PM EDT (#257099) #
Beck and Chavez have been called up; Iragashi and Gomes sent down.
China fan - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#257101) #
Chavez had a great start to the season at Las Vegas, but he's allowed 20 hits in his past 10 innings. However, at least his control hasn't deserted him: he allowed zero walks in those same 10 innings. Will be interesting to see how he does in shorter relief spells -- and whether he can keep his name in contention if Hutchison is sent down.
China fan - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 12:42 PM EDT (#257102) #
Igarashi was pretty terrible in his two appearances, but it still seems odd that the Jays would dump him after a grand total of 52 pitches. Why call him up to the majors if you're going to judge him after 52 pitches? Seems a rather abrupt flip-flop in their assessment of him.
Magpie - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 12:48 PM EDT (#257103) #
Why call him up to the majors if you're going to judge him after 52 pitches?

Because after the last two days there's a desperate need for fresh arms in the bullpen right this minute. The same thing could have happened if he'd pitched a couple of nice scoreless innings, although he did make it something of an easy call.
Dewey - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 01:07 PM EDT (#257104) #
Umps.

There have always been ‘colourful’ and belligerent umpires, of course; but television gave rise to the ‘I will not be dis-respected’ crowd--who must *show* that they are da boss.  Once at Exhibition Stadium, Steve Palermo followed Dave Steib all the way to the dugout for crabbing about his calls.  As I recall, Steib wasn’t aware he was being stalked and seemed as much bemused by Palermo’s act as anything.  (At least Steib didn’t detonate on the spot.)   Too many umps want to think too much of it all is about them.  They should invisibilize. 

Anders - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 01:12 PM EDT (#257106) #
I was going to put this in the article, but decided to maintain the neutrality of the Scout:

Instant analysis: The Jays need pitchers, obviously, after the last two games, but this seems like a bit of a panic move. Two appearances, the second on no rest, really shouldn't change one's opinion of Igarashi. Either he was good enough before, or he wasn't. As for Gomes, I don't inherently have a problem with him going down; before this Adam Lind thing there was no expectation of him reaching the majors, and 20 good at bats again doesn't have much predictive value. That being said, I would rather see what Gomes can do over David Cooper. Cooper has some 1100 AA and 700 AAA at bats, all demonstrating that he is probably, at best, a poor man's Lyle Overbay, with less defense. Gomes is the same age (five months younger, actually), but because he's basically been a backup catcher, he has less than 600 PA above A+ ball. He doesn't walk as much as Cooper and he strikes out much more, but he also has much more raw power. Cooper is probably the better bet for the rest of this season, so I understand why the team is going with him, but I would have been interested in seeing a bit more of Gomes. Of course, he could be back up in 10 days, though I imagine the Jays will make a move sooner, and send down Beck once the pen's innings have stabilized.

Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 01:16 PM EDT (#257107) #
Right, Magpie.  Incidentally, criticism of Farrell for his handling of the pitching staff the past two days seems harsh.  The only thing he might have done differently, as far as I can tell, is to not let Frasor run up his pitch-count in a blow-out on Friday night with Villanueva and Igarashi already effectively spent.  He would have had to bring in Mathis earlier, as the O's did earlier this season with Chris Davis. 
92-93 - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:17 PM EDT (#257109) #
It's a mistake to keep playing shorthanded. When you have a 25 man roster, options, and the DL, you should use them. I said after Friday night's Morrow disaster that I'd send down Hutchison for a fresh arm because the Jays don't need a 5th SP until June 6th if Morrow could come back on Tuesday night (which shouldn't be a problem after throwing one inning on Friday). Even if Morrow couldn't you had a stretched out Villanueva who could no doubt make the Tuesday start. It made little sense to me to go into the game knowing you only have 4 relievers you could use unless there was an emergency, and it ended up costing them the game.

Kelly Johnson hasn't looked good (most notable on his defensive range) for about 3 weeks now as he tries to play through a hamstring injury. This is stupid. If the guy isn't healthy enough to PH in the 13th inning of a tie game, DL him. Give him 2 weeks to get better or you are just exasperating the injury every time he steps out there. Even if the Jays wanted to keep Hutchison up as the 5th SP they don't need they could have DLed KJ yesterday for a fresh arm and replaced that arm with Hechavarria today.
Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:31 PM EDT (#257110) #
You have a point, but I can't agree about Kelly Johnson looking hampered by a hamstring for about 3 weeks.  My memory may not be that reliable, but I am pretty sure that it is considerably less than that.  He looked pretty good in the Mets' series and even in the Tampa series.



92-93 - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:37 PM EDT (#257111) #
I was at all 3 Mets games and thought he looked ginger in the field all weekend; he was missing very make-able plays.
Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:44 PM EDT (#257112) #
Well, I did see him in the Yankee series personally 10 days ago and he looked absolutely fine.  Anyways, the real question is how soon the club ought to put him on the DL if it believes that he should be ready to go in 3 or 4 days from now.  Assuming that they're going to play Escobar at short and Hechavarria at second, there is a considerable step down from Johnson to Hechavarria.  You get 3-4 days advantage now for the price of a 10 day disadvantage later.  I guess we'll see when Johnson comes back.
92-93 - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:53 PM EDT (#257113) #
If all he needs is 3-4 days of rest, why on earth would you start him on Friday after he pulled himself from the game on Wednesday? Did the diagnosis change Saturday morning? Make a decision and stick with it.
92-93 - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 02:56 PM EDT (#257114) #
I see now that Hechavarria isn't in the 51s lineup today. Hmmm.....
Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 03:05 PM EDT (#257115) #
Hammys, as any owners of Rickey Henderson in a fantasy league will tell you, are noticeable fickle and unpredictable.  Some do advocate simply putting a guy on the DL once a hammy forces a missed game.  It's a judgment call.
Chuck - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 03:12 PM EDT (#257116) #
With two walk-happy pitchers, this could be a slow moving game.
Mike Green - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 03:53 PM EDT (#257117) #
Now you can start bragging about getting the "blow-up real good" part right, Chuck.  It won't speed up the game, though.
TamRa - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:00 PM EDT (#257118) #
well, apparently the decided to get all that regression to the Saber stats (in terms of pitching) out of the way in one horrid weekend.

Chuck - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:01 PM EDT (#257119) #
Drabek has been giving clear signals for a while that an implosion was coming. And the Rangers offer precious little room for mistakes.

I imagine this will become a tandem start with Chavez.
TamRa - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:04 PM EDT (#257120) #
If current trends continue, I expect to see Cecil back in the rotation on 6/6

greenfrog - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:11 PM EDT (#257122) #
Both Drabek and Darvish have walked quite a few batters in 2012, which has to be a concern for their respective GMs, but Darvish has been better overall (as he should be, given his salary). After two innings today:

- Yu: 58 IP, 48 H, 4 HR, 33 BB, 66 K, 2.95 ERA

- Drabek: 54.1 IP, 47 H, 8 HR, 37 BB, 41 K, 4.31 ERA

However, it is worth remembering that Morrow walked 5.7 / 9 IP in his age-24 season, before significantly improving his control (and game overall) over the next 2+ seasons.
Mike D - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:46 PM EDT (#257123) #
Both Drabek and Darvish have walked quite a few batters in 2012, which has to be a concern for their respective GMs, but Darvish has been better overall (as he should be, given his salary)

Indeed, there is a gap in both ability and salary. Not coincidentally, one organization makes its decisions based on ability, the other on salary.
Chuck - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:53 PM EDT (#257124) #
A now gimpy Escobar, compounded with an already gimpy Johnson, would seem to suggest that the very absent MyLegacy might well soon see his dream of a Hechavarria promotion.

And Lawrie at SS and Vizquel at 2B and not the other way around? Is this to protect Lawrie from the risk of injury that second basemen face turning doubleplays?
Mike D - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#257125) #
The Rays' ninth-inning comeback this afternoon, if it holds up in the bottom half, will pull them further ahead in the playoff picture but keep the Jays out of last place.
PeteMoss - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 06:02 PM EDT (#257127) #
Well.. thank goodness that's over with.

Onto the next series.
ogator - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:05 PM EDT (#257128) #
If the Jays decide that Thames is not successful enough to keep his Major League job and Snider obviously has something more than just a slightly sore wrist, who is the OF in the system who is most likely to be promoted? If not Gose, then who?
JB21 - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:17 PM EDT (#257129) #
Turn the page on that series. Big one against Baltimore coming up followed by the Bo Sox.

A couple notes: Colby Rasmus is turning his LD% into hits. After his 0-20 stint he's really been heating up and hitting the ball hard (as well as walking). His OPS is now up to 700 (Lawrie/Thames still in the 6's).

Travis d'Arnaud is absolutely killing AAA. If he continues this how long until you give him a serious look?

Poor Travis Snider. He would definitely up be up at this point if he were healthy.
damos - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:28 PM EDT (#257130) #
According to Barry Davis, Hech was scheduled to have an 'off day' today. 
Though certainly, if Escobar & Johnson are ailing - we might see Adeiny get the call. 

BlueJayWay - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:29 PM EDT (#257131) #
Yeah Thames is lucky Snider is hurt or else he'd be here.  I don't know what you do with LF right now though with Thames struggling.  Gose you probably don't want to bring up at this point.  Do they want to give Rajai the everyday job there till Snider is healthy?

Rasmus, finally, is having some of his line drive not be right at fielders.  I've felt he's swung the bat well most of the season but has hit into really bad luck.

BlueJayWay - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:34 PM EDT (#257132) #
Just checked the stats.  Fangraphs has Rasmus at 22.3% line drive rate, compared to his 18.9%.  He also leads Jays regulars in that.
BlueJayWay - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:36 PM EDT (#257133) #
*that should be 18.9% career LD rate
PeteMoss - Sunday, May 27 2012 @ 07:46 PM EDT (#257134) #
The other option would be Moses Sierra, but he isn't really tearing the cover off the ball in Vegas - 270/343/410 very likely isn't going translate to success in MLB at the moment. Gose has a higher OBP AND SLG%.. to go along with his other assets.
Gerry - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 09:42 AM EDT (#257140) #
I was away over the weekend, perhaps a blessing, and missed the carnage.  Does anyone have an opinion on Jesse Chavez?   Did he show enough to be a replacement for one of our starters?
Mike Green - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 10:14 AM EDT (#257142) #
Sure, he could be a replacement.  He would probably post an ERA of between 4.5 and 5, and would throw strikes.  Hutchison is probably a better pitcher and throws strikes himself, but if you decided that Drabek needed to be somewhere other than in the major league rotation until the semblance of control that he showed in spring training and in April returns, Chavez or Cecil would be the logical choices. 

Missing this weekend's carnage is more than a blessing, Gerry.  It is almost a miracle. 
Mike Green - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 11:12 AM EDT (#257144) #
Fun fact.  The Pythagorean W-L standings in the AL East show the Orioles, Jays and Rays tied at 26-22 atop the division, with the Yankees and Red Sox both at 25-22.  Sometimes the darkest hour is just before the dawn. 
JB21 - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 11:30 AM EDT (#257147) #

The Jays, Tampa, and Orioles are all +17. Intersting. Yanks +19, and Sox +14. The White Sox and Angels have joined Texas and the AL East in the positive Run Differential Club.

bpoz - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 12:02 PM EDT (#257148) #
I agree with 92-93, that we should not be playing short handed. But exactly how to do the transactions could be tricky.
You need players on the 25 man roster that can be sent down.

KJ is the tricky one IMO. How long is he basically unavailable 3,8,11 days, that has to be determined as to DLing him. Also which decision should a team that believes that they are a serious contender IMO NYY or a not so sure about it team like CWS make. From observing nagging injuries last year I could be wrong and often am but I believe that our FO believes strongly in versatility in players and so would delay using the DL.

The pen? Only Igarashi could go down from the pen. Gomes & Igarashi for Beck & Chavez works. But what about KJ and now Escobar?

A healthy IF replacement may really be critical. Hutch in the pen for a few days works. If Hutch is used then he misses today's start but he is still available for his next start. If Hutch is sent down then he could miss 2-3 starts. I don't know if 25 starts rather than 18-23 starts this year is better for next year. Also I can see the Jay's FO thinking the team may be more prepared to contend in 2013 than this year.

I have felt that we are distinct underdogs to NYY, Boston, TB, Texas & LAA this year based on their teams construction VS the youth & inexperience of this years Jays. If we had the record of Baltimore I would be much more optimistic but I would still feel our youth & inexperience is too much to overcome.
China fan - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 12:21 PM EDT (#257151) #
The Jays have called up Laffey and sent down Beck. Many people won't be pleased by that, but the Jays are going to need some innings-eaters if they keep getting such short starts from their starters (3 innings from Drabek and less than an inning from Morrow). Laffey will be a long reliever in the bullpen, to supplement Villanueva and Chavez.
uglyone - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 12:26 PM EDT (#257152) #
well, let's hope that this is the low point of the season - .500 after a road trip against the two best teams in the league.

If that's the low point of the year, that's not a bad thing. If we get much lower, though, then things could start to turn ugly.

Huge 2 series this week against two of the AL East rivals who we should be very competitive with. These two series take us right to the exact 1/3 point of the season, which IMO is the first point in the season where you can really take an early stock in the stats and record a team has put up. It would be extremely dissappointing to reach the 1/3 mark with a losing record, and pretty encouraging to reach it a couple games over .500, considering how tough our schedule has been.
bpoz - Monday, May 28 2012 @ 01:02 PM EDT (#257157) #
8 man pen with everyone but Chavez available today? Who is still on the bench? Are KJ & Escobar ready?
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