Here, as usual, is my monthly report card for the Blue Jays.
I assign every player a grade from A+ (great!) to F (grrrrrr!). Warning: grades are assigned at whim, and are starting points for discussion rather than carefully thought out performance measurements, as I'm a lazy so-and-so.
The Jays, this month, were like the proverbial frog in the well: they'd win a few games in a row and look like world-beaters, then lose a few and give back most of the ground they'd made up. Still, they're playing reasonably well against tough opposition, and are right in the thick of things in the AL East for the first time in what seems like eons, so it's been a good month.
Hitting
Stats shown are AVG/OBP/SLG for May, as listed on ESPN's web site.
Russ Adams
.254 .307 .507
Has more pop in his bat than I realized. His defense is perfectly serviceable. Doesn't make rookie mistakes; in fact, because of all the fuss over Hill, The Shea Hey Kid, and others, it's hard to remember that Adams isn't a seasoned veteran. The downside: he's not reaching base all that much. But if Hill pushes him aside, he'll find steady work somewhere.
Grade: B+
Frank Catalanotto
.340 .382 .420
Was having a good month at the plate before going away on bereavement leave. I guess this is a reminder that hitting a round object with a stick isn't as important as some other things in life. An extreme contact hitter: only struck out five times and walked three times in over 50 plate appearances this month. Didn't hit for much power this month, but reaching base is Job One for a hitter, and Cat managed that.
Grade: A-
Andy Dominique
.000 .333 .000
The latest in a long list of emergency catchers who didn't actually get to play much, if it all. Others on this list include Bobby Estalella, Steve Nicosia, Gary Allenson, Randy Knorr, and Matt "Big Guy" Stark. I hope he enjoyed his brief time in The Show.
Grade: Incomplete
Gabe Gross
.000 .167 .000
Got a bit more time in the big leagues while Cat was out, and nearly got his first major league hit this season before being cruelly robbed by Torii Hunter (that meanie). At this point, after his Syracuse power drought, I don't expect anything from him. If he was going to become a star, he'd have hit on his debut the way Hill is hitting, or at least within 150 points of what Hill is hitting. And, alas, spring training doesn't count.
Grade: Incomplete
Aaron Hill
.415 .455 .585
The Baseball Prospectus people are going to have a field day with this. In this year's book, the BP staffer who wrote the Toronto entry slammed the Jays for signing Corey Koskie, saying that he (Koskie, not the staffer) would just be blocking Aaron Hill. Despite Hill's awesome start, I still like the Koskie signing, as it adds both talent and depth to the organization. After last year's rash of injuries (now that's a collective noun!), it's a relief to be able to see people who can step in and help out when somebody gets hurt. Actually, "step in" is a bit of an understatement in Hill's case - in May, he bent steel in his bare hands, leaped tall buildings in a single bound, and came up with a simple but workable plan for world peace in his spare time.
I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but I should point out that it's too early to bestow superstar status on Hill. At present, American League pitchers don't have a book on him, so they don't know where his weak spots are. Josh Phelps and Jose Cruz, among others, got off to hot starts in their first full look before having their weaknesses exposed. But Hill looks like he'll be a good one: he's got extra-base power, a strong arm, and well above average running speed. Unlike many of the Jays' prospects, Hill has star potential: there's no upper limit on what he could achieve.
Grade: A+
Shea Hillenbrand
.252 .316 .398
Turned back into a pumpkin, which was to be expected. But I'm not complaining: even if he doesn't do much the rest of the season, his awesome April resulted in real wins for the team, and kept them from dropping into their annual springtime funk. That's got to be worth something. Has some power, and is a good defender at third and first. He won't want to stay in a reserve role, if that becomes his fate, but he'd be very valuable there. May wind up the odd one out when Koskie returns, if Hill is still going like gangbusters then.
Grade: C+
Eric Hinske
.291 .347 .453
The Dude has it all back now: at the plate, his May numbers are at the same level as his Rookie of the Year numbers. Moving to first base has set him free. Led the team in strikeouts this month, but who cares.
Hinske reflects both the strengths of the Jays and the difficulties that lie ahead for them. Hinske, like his team, is a hard worker, a tough competitor, and a good and entertaining player. However, like his team, he's not a superstar. (I'll go on at more length about this in the Overall section at the bottom.) Still, the difference between him and Delgado in performance is probably not worth the jillion dollars' difference in their salaries.
Grade: B+
Ken Huckaby
.122 .163 .122
At the plate, Huck is a double play waiting to happen, but we all knew that already. It's best to judge a player not on what he can't do but what he can, and Huck is a decent defensive catcher. In Zaun's absence, he did a good job eliminating the running game. This is the player Kevin Cash is hoping to become some day.
Grade: D-
Orlando Hudson
.233 .297 .400
The best defensive second baseman on Earth and possibly in the universe, unless there's some eight-armed, five-legged species playing baseball on a distant planet somewhere. This month, he has travelled well into the shortstop side of second to field grounders. He has ranged over to the first-base foul line to field shots that elude the Dude. And he has ventured well out into right field to grab popups, occasionally colliding with Rios, who is either too shy to call him off or is just not used to seeing a second baseman make it that far into his territory. Normally, a human can't travel that far that fast without the aid of ACME jet-propelled roller skates. If he doesn't win the Gold Glove, the selectors will obviously be suffering from cranio-rectal inversion syndrome (i.e., their heads will be up their you-know-whats). At the plate, the O-Dog is what he has always been: streaky in the short term, and consistent in the long term. He hits lots of doubles, runs well, draws the occasional walk, and will finish the year at about .270.
Grade: B+
Reed Johnson
.324 .368 .563
He's reaching base, hitting for power, and playing good defense. What else could you ask for?
Of course, Sparky won't keep this up - he plays with all-out energy and intensity, which is impossible to keep up for more than a few days at a stretch. And he isn't walking at all, which suggests that he's not likely to keep it up. But he's the perfect fourth outfielder, and an extremely important member of the team: compare him to others who have filled the role in the past, such as Jacob Brumfield and Brian Simmons.
Grade: A
Corey Koskie
.241 .290 .466
I guess we should have seen this coming. The day before he got hurt, I remember watching him barrel at full gallop down the third base line in pursuit of a foul ball, barely staying on his feet as he ran past the bullpen mound. Anyone who plays hard enough to be unconcerned about his personal safety is admirable, but is likely to injure something before too long.
His absence may not hurt the team too much, especially given that Aaron Hill is hitting like somebody put a cape and leotards in his locker instead of a uniform. Koskie's May OBP was .290, which isn't good enough; of course, he would have improved on that, and will, but it's not like losing Delgado.
Grade: C+
John McDonald
.321 .375 .357
A handy player to have around: he's a good glove, and seems to hit well against lefties, making him a perfect complement to Adams. Like Sparky, he's an ideal reserve player. Stole three bases this month; the club, collectively, stole 19. One-nine. That used to be the club's season total.
Grade: B+
Frank Menechino
.226 .351 .355
One of the things I like about this year's team is its depth. Menechino doesn't play much, but he's useful when he does get in there. He'll conk an occasional double, and is patient at the plate. Again, compare him to the
alternatives: remember when Dave Berg filled this roster slot?
Grade: B
Alex Rios
.264 .306 .407
Mercifully, hit two home runs this month, so that sword isn't hanging over his head any more. Can do everything a baseball player is expected to do - he just isn't doing it often enough. He still could become a star, but I don't know how to get him from here to there. Sparky seems to be about to steal some of his playing time. Before I forget: what a throwing arm! Only Barfield rates ahead of him in Blue Jay history.
Grade: C
Vernon Wells
.282 .333 .505
I'm not sure that he's all the way back yet - his second home run last night was on a breaking pitch that hung so badly that it was screaming "Hit me! Hit me!" as it made its way to the plate. Still, V-Dub doesn't have to be an all-star to help the team. As I said when talking about Huckaby, a player should be judged by the things he does, not by the things he can't do. V-Dub is a world-class fielder, has good power, runs well, and takes the occasional walk. His average is coming around as the weather warms up, which is normal for him. K/AB ratio better than most of the power bats in the Jays' lineup (mind you, he is most of the power bats in the Jays' lineup).
Grade: B+
Gregg Zaun
.265 .315 .408
His hitting numbers this month weren't as good as they've been in the past, but it counts as a good month anyway, as he's playing again. We'll sweat the small stuff later; as Bob Dylan once said, any day above the ground is a good day.
Grade: B- with a medical excuse
Pitching
Stats are IP, H, BB, SO, ERA for May, as listed on ESPN's web site.
Miguel Batista
12.1 4 3 9 0.73
Who would have thought that his outings would be so uneventful? I can only think of one time all year that he has come close to coming unglued out there, which is not what we expected would happen when he was given the job. Striking out the side against the Twins improved his K/IP numbers (you can call me Captain Obvious). Collected only three saves, as the Jays haven't had many close games lately, but didn't have a bad outing all month. I hope he's not getting too bored out there in the bullpen. Is he using the time to catch up on his summer reading?
Grade: A+
Dave Bush
24.1 30 4 13 4.81
His troubles should have been expected. When evaluating a pitcher, the first thing to look for is his K/IP ratio; this gives you an idea of what the pitcher brings to the table. Bush's ratio has always been low, which suggests that he needs to have everything working right in order to be successful. He isn't a bad pitcher, but he's been unlucky, he's struggled sometimes, and he hasn't been getting his curve ball over; this has earned him a trip to Syracuse. His control was great this month - only four walks allowed in 24 1/3 innings - which suggests that his career path may wind up resembling Josh Towers'.
Grade: D
Gustavo Chacin
26.2 32 14 14 4.39
Got beaten up a couple of times, and had another outing in which he pitched five scoreless innings and got tonged in the sixth, so his numbers don't look great. But he had a couple of good outings as well. Conclusion: a serviceable fourth or fifth starter, at least for now, but that K/IP ratio suggests he might eventually get run over by one of the youngsters coming up. But the Jays could do worse, and have. Recall Esteban Loaiza. Steve Parris. Tanyon Sturtze. I apologize for bringing back those memories.
Grade: C
Vinnie Chulk
13.0 11 5 7 3.46
See the writeup for Frasor. Led the club in holds this month, with two. The bullpen, as a group, only had three holds all month.
Grade: B-
Scott Downs
13.1 8 2 10 2.03
Has done well in long relief. The temptation to use him as a second spot lefty, and indulge in an orgy of Toscaesque pitcher swapping, may prove irresistible. Game times this year are about half an hour shorter because Gibbons doesn't make as many mid-inning pitching changes. Only the concessionaires are complaining.
Grade: A-
Jason Frasor
13.0 11 8 9 2.77
These days, I think of Chulk and Frasor as basically indistinguishable. Their May numbers are almost identical. They pitched the same number of innings, and gave up the same number of hits. Chulk's ERA is higher, true - but, in this sample size, that's a difference of only one run. Both pitchers are confident enough to try to challenge hitters and are a little wilder than they would like to be, and both pitchers are used as setup men. One works when the other is rested. Are they, perhaps, long-lost twins, raised by different mothers, whose genetic programs have led them to an identical fate?
Grade: B
Chad Gaudin
5.0 7 2 6 3.60
So far, so good: he's got a good fastball with good movement, and a really nice slider. His stuff is better than Bush's. I have only two concerns: Can he maintain his command for an extended run in the rotation? And can his young arm hold up under a major-league workload? If you count Rosario and Walker, the Jays currently have eight players who would be starting for many other teams right now (nine if you count Batista). This is a good thing: you can never, never, never have too much pitching.
Grade: Insufficient Data
Roy Halladay
40.0 31 7 25 1.58
Everybody held their breath when they heard about his sore oblique muscle. (I'm still not entirely sure where the oblique muscle is.) Then, he went out and totally owned the Minnesota Twins. An elite pitcher operating at a peak performance level - and, at this point, I can't think of anybody who has ever pitched better in a Blue Jays uniform. Stieb was good for a long time, but never sustained this level of excellence. Clemens comes close, but Doc is home-grown, and he's earned his success the hard way, so I like the Doc a lot more than I liked the Roc. So there.
Grade: A+
Ted Lilly
25.2 32 14 23 8.06
Dancing on the edge of a volcano. Gibbons and Arnsberg deserve all the credit in the world for getting him more or less back on track by convincing him that his fastball, all by itself, is good enough to get major league hitters out. But his last start brought back memories of his near-meltdown. The Jays' tall foreheads will earn their salaries if they can keep him pitching effectively - right now, it could go either way.
I think of a pitcher as one of those complicated Rube Goldberg devices - all wheels, pulleys and gears. If one little cog goes out of whack, the entire machine can break down - and there are so many of them. It must be a tough way to earn a living.
Grade: D
Scott Schoeneweis
9.0 7 3 8 6.00
A perfectly serviceable relief pitcher, now that he is not required to come into the game every single day and face the opposition's toughest left-handed hitter with the game on the line. But, every now and again, he has one of those days where he can't get his grandmother out, especially if Grandma bats right; this causes his ERA to balloon. On the club's historical scale, I'd rank him behind Plesac but ahead of people like Trever Miller and Felix Heredia. Maybe about even with Gary Lavelle in his good year. (I am reminded now that some of you reading this were probably eating baby food for dinner when Lavelle was pitching here. Or were a gleam in your parents' eyes. Sigh. You kids, get off my lawn!)
Grade: B
Justin Speier
8.1 6 0 3 1.08
While no one was looking, Speier has gotten his game back, quietly going an entire month only giving up one earned run. The sample size is too small to draw any conclusions, but I'd be happier if his K/IP ratio was higher. And his run of good outings might end if he faced better hitters in tougher situations. Still, it's better to have this guy at the back end of your bullpen than some of the suspects who have worn Jays uniforms in the past. Recall Jeff Tam. Doug Creek. John "Wayback" Wasdin. I apologize for bringing back those memories.
Grade: A-
Josh Towers
31.1 38 4 14 3.73
This is one of those cases where what you see on the field isn't showing up in the stats. Towers is obviously throwing harder than he has in the past, as I don't remember him throwing high fastballs by people before. But most of his May numbers are typical for him: low K/IP, extremely low walk total, and a certain quantity of hard-hit balls. Given this, I think that his ERA will return to his career norm. If it stays where it is, he'll make a lot of money out of this game.
Grade: B+
Pete Walker
16.1 9 5 8 1.65
J.P. and Gibbons have done a good job this year of finding the right people to put in the right spot. Walker seems to have been put on this earth to be a long man out of the bullpen. Like some of the Jays' other reserves, he'd probably struggle a bit if moved out of his optimal role, but he's helping the team just fine where he is. There are a bunch of teams he could start for; in Kansas City or Tampa Bay, he'd be given the key to the city.
Grade: A
Matt Whiteside
1.2 3 3 3 21.60
Got gonged in his only May appearance. Which is why, of course, it was his only May appearance. I suspect that we will never see him again. I'd apologize for bringing back this memory, but I don't remember him, and I suspect that you don't, either.
Grade: Gone
Overall
Unfortunately, it gets harder from here on out. J.P. and the Jays have done a good job of getting to the 85-win level. However, it's twice as hard to get from 85 wins to 90 as it is to get from 75 to 85, and it's at least ten times harder than that to get from 90 to 100. To reach championship quality, a team has to buy or grow players who populate the top end of the leader boards. This requires a good deal of money, luck, smarts, guts, and effort. The Jays have the smarts and effort, probably have the guts, and have some more money now (though possibly not enough when competing with The Wallet That Ate The Bronx). Will they get the luck? No one knows except the Baseball Gods.
The Jays are on the right track, but we should brace ourselves for this unpleasant fact: they may not make it all the way to their chosen goal of a championship. As the saying goes, it's better to travel hopefully than it is to arrive; we as fans should just try to enjoy the trip. (That, and try to tune out the studica.com commercials.) There's probably a Metaphor For Life in there somewhere, if I didn't happen to hate Metaphors For Life.
But it's no fun ending one of these on a downer, so I should point out that this is a good team, a competitive team, and a team that is easy to support. Plus, they swept the World Champion Boston Red Sox in three games (who then responded by beating the tar out of the Yankees). I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050601082756784