Panic in April?  Never. It's a time to find out what you have. We have learned that the Overbay-Hillenbrand-Molina combination in the 5-6-7 slots tends to result in a high number of double plays. 

If only Hillenbrand wasn't such a gamer, the Jays could take him out of the lineup.  Damn. 

On the left, the Red Sox are playing Kevin Youkilis in the leadoff spot.  On the right, the Reds are giving Tony Womack regular playing time.  Where will the Jays situate themselves on the Spectrum of Lineup Construction Competence?  The answer, of course, is dependant upon the circumstances.  Is the team aware that Hillenbrand is an out-eater of the first order and is trying to replace him but (for reasons that people, like myself, who are not in baseball management cannot appreciate) is having difficulty doing so?  This level of self-awareness that will hopefully lead to a solution would situate the team on the left.  Or, does the team feel that Hillenbrand - the bi-weekly walker - is a perfectly acceptable DH and that the situation is fine?  This would put the management in Littlefield/Baird territory on the right end of the Spectrum - a harsh indictment that is unfair to assume without knowing the behind-the-scenes facts.

Argh.

I'll only note for the record that at last year's all-star break, Hillenbrand's 87 games of .302/.364/.451 was a blip, a small-sample-size anomaly that was clearly a short-term fluke.  Now, after a sample size of seven poor games (okay, seven atrocious games), indisputable proof is finally upon us that Shea Hillenbrand is incapable of playing the game.  If these seven games were red-hot, it would be, of course, a hopeless fluke and meaningless alchemy.

Hindsight rules, baby!

I thought after Opening Day, Hillenbrand was going to be Mr. April again like last year.  He drove in the season's first run with a sac fly on an 0-2 pitch off Santana to tie the game at 1-1.  That was a clutch play that was overshadowed in all the hoopla of opening day.  He did go 2-for-3 that night as well. 

Unfortunately, that's pretty much all he has done.  With his penchant of hitting into double plays, it's almost getting to the point that if it's less than 2 outs, you're  rooting for the strikeout.  With the way this club hits into DP's, could this be the slowest Blue Jays team on record?

Yes, Mike D.  Those are first negative words that I have ever written about Hillenbrand. 

He is a .290ish hitter who walks 25 times a year and grounds into 20 double plays per year and will slug between .450 and .470.  That's fact, Mike.  The difference between us is how useful or harmful we feel that a hitter who produces - with remarkable reliability - those numbers is.  Reasonable people disagree all the time, and this is one such instance.

You know damn well that I am not basing anything on this young season.  Anything that he ever does, over a short period of time, that deviates from the above noted performance level should be regarded as a fluke, whether good or bad.

So long as that's your argument, Leigh, I have no problem with it whatsoever.  It's well-said, and it frames the debate much better than I feared it was before.

I will note what Greenfrog said, though -- it's hard to do more to draw a walk than to take five straight pitches, including a borderline 3-1 pitch, and then foul off a few strikes.  Unfortunately, the soul-destroying double play ball, to which Shea is surely prone, followed next.

I wasn't intending to suggest at all that these 7 games are representative of what can be expected offensively from Hillenbrand.  He will hit into double plays, but he's also likely to hit for a better average and with medium range power.

Having a slow #5 hitter who gets on base a lot, such as Overbay, followed by two hitters who hit into a large number of double plays is not good lineup construction.  The #5 hitter leads off more innings than anyone save the #1 hitter in the lineup.  Slow runner on 1st with nobody out and two double play machines behind is not recommended by central casting.

If you're putting Hinske in the lineup, it's obviously for his bat rather than his glove.  He could hit ahead of both Hillenbrand and Molina, or between them to reduce the risk.

Batting average would be a lot more useful metric if it took into account a double-play.  Every time a player hits into a double play, he should have a hit taken away from his total, for the purposes of calculating batting average, because that's what he essentially did to the team - he took the previous player's hit (or walk) away.

Actually, a double play not only takes another hit away, it also adds an extra out, which is like an extra unsuccessful at-bat.  So a more accurate measurement of the GDP impact on batting average is (H-GDP)/(AB+GDP).  Of course, we should then take away the at-bat from the player who gets erased as well, but that's getting too complicated.

I personally cringe whenever people try to do it during a close game, but I've taken to Parker's opinion about it and I take comfort in the fact that Jays fans aren't alone in doing the wave. I won't partake in it unless the Jays are up considerably, but I can hardly fault people who are having fun. Of course there's a line at some point in how far fun goes, but it's a harmless act.

I'm a little bothered by so many people badmouthing the people at the Dome (the fans gave Doc a really good ovation on Sunday and DepecheJay was bashing us for it!). The RC always comes through in the clutch (see Halladay, Roy, Win 22 and 2005, 2006 Opening Night) so can we please leave the good fans there alone?

Parker,

The problem is when those "entertaining non-baseball activities" interfere with a crucial 3-2 count with men on and two out. And it's almost always in those types of situations that the wave rears its ugly head.

The problem with the wave (well, one of the problems with the wave...) is that it's energy that could easily be re-directed towards more constructive activities - say, supporting the team... It's a piss off that Toronto crowds are so bloody lifeless, yet when they finally decide to get off their rear ends and do something other than gossip with the person next to them, it's to do something that not only has nothing to do with the game, but in many instances takes away from it.

There's also the issue of the token "wave starter". Anyone who's ever been to a ball game knows what I'm talking about. There's always one. Typically mid 20's to early 30's. Jock type. A beer in hand. The ones who act like it's their life's ambition to start the wave, and to do it as obnoxiously as possible.

"OK EVERYBODY! WE'RE GOING TO DO THE *WAVE*!!! ONE.. TWO... BOOOOO!! COME ONE!! OK... ONE.... TWO....THREEEEEEE!!!"

Every game there's always one, and it's always the same schtick, and they're almost always shmucks with little interest in the game, the type that would, through a drunken haze, try and start a wave while Greg Zaun is laying motionless on the field, which is exactly what happened.

Those people are everywhere at all baseball stadiums, unfortunately. It isn't a Toronto thing. As I mentioned earlier, the wave usually does fail at least 5 times more than it's successful and these wave starters represent .01% of the actual crowd.

It's quite unfair to label fans at the RC a certain way because of such a small population of jerks. Though while we're on this topic, it would be nice to see the crowds get behind their team and consider themselves one with the team, instead of sitting back and expecting some show to be put on before their eyes.

I think you guys are being too harsh. The wave passes through your direct vicinity in a period of 3 - 4 seconds. There are seldom ever moments so crucial in baseball that will unfold in that time span. If you guys can honestly say you can't tune out the wave while it passes you by, or that it somehow always manages to come up at a critical moment (although I think that is false, chances are its happened once or twice during a critical moment, but those are the instances that stay in your memory) then maybe you have a legit case. Otherwise, suck it up and let it slide, and let those people enjoy the wave. They're the ones that will make or break the jay's ticket success because they are the flimsy fans who will just as soon leave.

And leave that joe-wavestarter alone. He's just there and trying to get the fans energetic and worked up. You should be thanking him for trying his damnest for trying to increase the fun factor for all those casual fans - because if they have a good time, they'll come back.

I am not trying to say that doing the wave will either make or break a fan's experience and dictate their future return to the game. Just based off experience, when I went to a hockey game with my girlfriend - who has NO interest in sports, she certainly seemed to enjoy the atmosphere that was created by fans being rowdy and doing the wave. She said she had a good time and would come back again in the future. I highly doubt she would have had a good time if all the "FANS" just sat around, and analyzed (silently, of course, don't want to ruin anybody's concentration) the game, and quietly celebrated each good play made, etc.

Parker,

Ok, let’s ignore how the wave affects me. Let’s focus on how it affects the players. Imagine you’re Roy Halladay; you’re on the mound and you’re facing a crucial at-bat, one that could make or break the game. It’s at this point that you expect the fans to take it up a notch and really get behind you. Instead, they do the opposite. Someone starts the wave and the impression you're left with is that the fans would rather amuse themselves by waving their hands in the air than concern themselves with helping you get out of a jam. It screams apathy on the part of the fans and it’s a slap in the face to the players. I’m often left feeling embarrassed for them because I can only imagine how let down they are by the lack of support. And yes, this has happened (it happened during the home opener), and while you may be right that these types of situations stick out in my mind, the fact is that they do take place, and that’s a problem.

As for Mr. Wave Starter… why can’t he be Mr. Chant starter? Or Mr. Slow Clap starter? Again, it’s energy that would be better off spent actually supporting the team.  

I didn't even catch this:

I highly doubt she would have had a good time if all the "FANS" just sat around, and analyzed (silently, of course, don't want to ruin anybody's concentration) the game, and quietly celebrated each good play made, etc.

We're not anti-noise, we're anti-wave (and I'm not even totally anti-wave).

You're Troy Glaus, there's a runner on first, none out, in the bottom of the ninth. The score is 3-3 and you're facing Joe Nathan. The crowd does give you a noisy boost when your name is announced, but it gets quieter when you step into the batter's box. Then all of a sudden, you hear, from section 113D, a loud "ONE, TWO THREE, YAAAAAY", and you look up and the fans have started the wave. You take a closer look at the crowd and see that people all over the stadium are following the path of the wave, as supposed to the path of the baseball.

Does that make you want to win the game for the fans? You definitely want to win the game and will do whatever it takes, but you definitely notice the the fans have minimal interest in what's actually happening on the field. It doesn't feel good.

Doesn't anyone notice that it's been ages since a player has actually said something good about Jays fans? Yea, there's been whispers here and there about fan interest, but the only time I've actually ever heard someone say that they 'did it' for the fans was Doc after his 22nd win in 2003. Doesn't that bother people?

Yes, I realize I've somewhat jumped ship on this issue, and due to the renewed interest and expectations this year, I don't think the situation listed above will happen in the future (it most certainly happened in the recent past), but it doesn't feel good as a player when the people who paid money to see you play, aren't actually paying full attention.

Once in a while, one of these players writes a book and includes a section about it, making it even more noticeable. To the credit of the fans, that player was later pelted with donuts on the field.