Before the day is out, I would like to send, from all of us, a quick "Happy Birthday" wish to Vernon Wells.
Long may he reign.
Long may he reign.
Happy Birthday Vernon! Keep working on that batting eye!
Anyone else find it funny that the media selected him as the MVP of the Jays this year? Halladay, Delgado, and Hinske would all be higher in my book of the top of my head.
FWIW - I've been a lurker for a few weeks now. It's nice to have an intelligent Blue Jay site out there. Keep up the good work.
Anyone else find it funny that the media selected him as the MVP of the Jays this year? Halladay, Delgado, and Hinske would all be higher in my book of the top of my head.
FWIW - I've been a lurker for a few weeks now. It's nice to have an intelligent Blue Jay site out there. Keep up the good work.
The local media did this last year too, didn't they? They picked Jose Cruz as the Jays' best player, presumably because he went 30/30 and didn't call a local sportswriter a bitter old drunkard. Wells was a better choice this year than Cruz was last year, but Delgado, Hinske and Halladay were all more deserving. This bestowment is little more than the "Our Favourite Player" Award. But then, so is the League MVP Award itself.
Good to have you here, Pete. And to all the lurkers out there: drop us a line or a comment! We're eager to have as many insights and opinions expressed as possible.
Good to have you here, Pete. And to all the lurkers out there: drop us a line or a comment! We're eager to have as many insights and opinions expressed as possible.
When you follow the link Craig provided, to V's page at Baseball Reference, check out the sponsorship! There just aren't that many 'Gideon Clarkes' out there.
I have some Wells theories. It could not have been comfortable for the kid when his presence bumped Cruz from CF and Stewart became the DH, but those distractions will be ancient history next year. He had two long slumps (April and August) during which he hit an "impossible" number of frozen ropes into Gold Glove plays. Mientkiewicz and Hunter robbed him of doubles in the same series; Vernon made many other outs by hitting rockets right at people throughout both droughts. Though he denies it, I'm inclined to think he took the Player Rep job very seriously, and that affected his concentration in July.
I also think he takes his eye off the ball too early in his swing, and thus rips "through" too many hittable fastballs. I'm willing to let the batting coach and the player take care of adjustments, but watching everything into the catcher's glove would help. Pete Rose used to be staring back over his shoulder at the mitt if he swung and missed, which didn't happen often.
So there's room for improvement, and reason to expect it, from a guy who some think was already the best Jay. (Just another insult to a fantastic pitcher whose name everyone mispronounces, if you ask me.)
I have some Wells theories. It could not have been comfortable for the kid when his presence bumped Cruz from CF and Stewart became the DH, but those distractions will be ancient history next year. He had two long slumps (April and August) during which he hit an "impossible" number of frozen ropes into Gold Glove plays. Mientkiewicz and Hunter robbed him of doubles in the same series; Vernon made many other outs by hitting rockets right at people throughout both droughts. Though he denies it, I'm inclined to think he took the Player Rep job very seriously, and that affected his concentration in July.
I also think he takes his eye off the ball too early in his swing, and thus rips "through" too many hittable fastballs. I'm willing to let the batting coach and the player take care of adjustments, but watching everything into the catcher's glove would help. Pete Rose used to be staring back over his shoulder at the mitt if he swung and missed, which didn't happen often.
So there's room for improvement, and reason to expect it, from a guy who some think was already the best Jay. (Just another insult to a fantastic pitcher whose name everyone mispronounces, if you ask me.)