Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - 21 May 2007: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

21 May 2007: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

That would be me.

Still working on getting the new computer up to speed. I am completely out of touch.

I think today is an off-day. I could be wrong. What happened yesterday, anyway?

Posted by Magpie on Monday, May 21 2007 @ 01:08 PM EDT.

21 May 2007: Out of Sight, Out of Mind | 50 comments | Create New Account

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FanfromTheIsland - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 01:39 PM EDT (#168394) #

You got it right, today is an off-day.

A solo homer from each of Rios, Wells, and Stairs (me-oh-my!) was all the offense we got. Jesse Litsch gave up 4 ER in 4 IP, getting the L. 3 times we hit into lineout double-plays.

In the end, it was a 5-3 loss.

John Northey - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 02:51 PM EDT (#168399) #

Not quite a full offday as there is the exhibition game which is being shown on Gameday on MLB.com

Ohka found a way to pitch poorly even on an off day - 3 runs allowed on 6 hits, no walks, 2 strikeouts, one home run allowed in 2 innings (so far).

Big bench today as it looks like the whole AAA team just about is there. Mottola the DH, Roberts at third otherwise the regulars are there to start.

Original Ryan - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 05:46 PM EDT (#168401) #

Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci returned to the Jays and went 0-3 with two strikeouts. He also made an error in right field.

Gerry - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 05:48 PM EDT (#168402) #

Very interesting gameday boxscore on mlb.com for the hall of fame game. Balbino Fuenmayor was 1-2 with a two run home run. Playing right field was Alex Rios (0-1); travelling secretary Mike Shaw (0-1, K) and Tom Verducci (0-3, 2 K's). Verducci played in one game in spring training with the Jays in 2006. Most of the pitchers after Okha were from extended spring, Joe Wice, Wilfreddy Aguirre, Adam Rogers, Luis Perez and Ben Harrison. Syracuse position players played while the pitchers did not, John-Ford Griffin and Howie Clark went deep.

Chuck - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 07:22 PM EDT (#168403) #

Prefacing a link to online all-star voting over at mlb.com:

After earning a starting job on the All-Star team last year, Vernon Wells is doing his best to please the voting base, jumping out to a fast start in '07.

I'm not sure that 278/339/468 screams out fast start.

ayjackson - Monday, May 21 2007 @ 10:26 PM EDT (#168407) #

I saw on the Score ticker that the Jays were thinking Doc could be back to start against the White Sox on May 31. That's good news.

I hope that League comes back in good form soon or another reliever steps up, because I would feel extremely good about a rotation of Halladay, Burnett, Marcum, MacGowan and Janssen for the rest of the year (and into next).

BTW, Janssen - after striking out 2 in 13.2 innings in April - has struck out 6 in 7.2 innings in May.

VBF - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 10:30 AM EDT (#168410) #

Ohka found a way to pitch poorly even on an off day - 3 runs allowed on 6 hits, no walks, 2 strikeouts, one home run allowed in 2 innings (so far).

Not that we should be putting any stock into that game, but the home run off Ohka was hit the glorious distance of 312 feet.

Other than the outcome, which nobody cared about, the Hall of Fame Game was an incredible experience. Two hours before the game, the players, along with other local politicians, and whatnot trolley'd their way down Main Street to the cheers of about 15,000 fans. The players seemed to get a real kick out of it. The trolley dropped them off in front of historic DoubleDay Field where the players walked in together as the fans bottlenecked their way into the stands. A lot of the players were signing autographs and it was good to see a solid showing of Jays fans. (Still, both teams fans were outnumbered by Yanks and Mets fans but hey, we're in New York). Vernon Wells stole the home run derby competition, overcoming the disadvantage of being a righty in that park.

The park itself is what you would expect the birthplace of baseball to be. The backdrop is the green hills of upstate New York and along the hills are various brick churches, and historic landmarks. The place holds just under 10,000 people so the feeling was intimate. Big, old, trees surround the ballpark offering shade to a few fans. The players were having a blast with the fans, and Sal's Pals Rogers Centre Edition showed up. I saw a few fans donning Jays jerseys that read "Cheek 4306" on the back. It would be been splendid if management had put that on the back of all the Jays jerseys to really send the message. In the end, the whole experienced just had a charm about it--and like I said, not that artificially created charm you see in touristy places. Just things like the PA Announcer leaving his mike on and having the stadium listen to a conversation between him and his wife, and vendors who were kids selling iced cream, it just had a very authentic baseball feel, you never see in the majors.

Hopefully Robbie Alomar gets in on the first ballot and we can go again!

braden - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#168412) #

Rotoworld is reporting that old friend Jason Smith suffered a burst appendix and is out for two or more months. Could have been much worse for Roy, it seems. Also shows that the bad luck of 2007 can travel.

jgadfly - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 12:53 PM EDT (#168414) #

ok VBF...How did the great Balbino look in his first at bat ?

John Northey - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 12:57 PM EDT (#168415) #

Thanks for the report VBF. Sounds like they have done things right down in Cooperstown!

So, Robbie Alomar is a likely guy to go into the HOF as a Blue Jay (he pretty much said he would years ago and there is little reason for him to wear any other hat). Who else is likely to get there and be a Blue Jay there?

1) Carlos Delgado - 12 years as a Jay, 9 as a regular. Would have to stay in NY for another 7 seasons after this one to match. Has 410 HR, 140 OPS+ so he has counting numbers and 'real' numbers to justify it. Should easily have 2000+ hits, 500 HR, 1500 RBI to go with being viewed (generally) as a 'good guy' thus getting in.

2) Fred McGriff - 4 1/2 years in Atlanta, 4 in Toronto. 1 HR titles as a Jay, 1 in San Diego. If he makes it in he'd have a hard time (as would the HOF) on this one. He did make the playoffs 4 times in Atlanta though so I suspect he'd go in as a member of that team instead should he get in. Qualifications are his 493 HR's, 1550 RBI's, 2490 H, 134 OPS+, 5 time All-Star. His markers are all close but not quite over - 100 on HOF monitor (100+ is in), 47.9 on HOF Standards (50 is viewed as in) - just like his 493 HR are close but no cigar.

3) David Wells. Yup, Boomer is close to a HOF career with 231 wins, a 606 winning %, a 20 win season, 109 ERA+ (not bad enough to keep him out), and 8 seasons as a Blue Jay (5 as a starter primarily). The most time he spent elsewhere is 4 seasons as a Yankee. I'd prefer if he makes it he would go in with pinstripes but the HOF decides these things based mainly on playing time unless it is really tight (see Gary Carter for a guy who wanted to go in at first as a Met then was told he was an Expo like it or not).

4) Halladay - pluses = viewed as a 'real #1', Cy Young award, nice guy and bulldog. Negatives - will reach 100 wins at age 30 so a long way to go, lots of injuries could put extra wear on body ending career too soon. No HOF'ers on his most similar list, Mussina the only guy on it with a shot.

5) Vernon Wells - Will reach 1000 hits, 150 HR before he turns 29 plus Gold Glove and strong defensive reputation, negative is he needs a long career to get to the magic numbers. His most similar players include just one HOF'er (Billy Williams) with the most similar being Shawn Green. Lots of guys who are Hall of the Very Good caliber (Bobby Murcer, Dawson, Reggie Smith, Beltran, Bobby Thompson, Jim Ray Hart, Gary Sheffield, Harold Baines).

No other players have shown enough so far, or spent enough time as a Jay to go in as a Jay (Roger Clemens and Frank Thomas for example) imo. I list Delgado/McGriff/David Wells first as all 3 are at 'bus test' levels - namely if their careers ended today they would get serious consideration. Halladay and Vernon Wells are not near that point yet and any fans from the 80's will remember how we all thought Dave Stieb & Jimmy Key & George Bell were near locks to make it at one time or another (along with Tony Fernandez, and for some Jesse Barfield and Lloyd Moseby - Tom Henke started too late to ever be viewed as having a shot).

jgadfly - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 12:58 PM EDT (#168416) #

Never mind Joe DiMaggio ... where have you gone Named For Hank ?

Mick Doherty - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 01:16 PM EDT (#168418) #

I think Sheffield will get into the Hall, but also assumed Dawson would ... so who knows? Both are a cut above Murcer, Smith, Hart ... Baines needed to get to 3,000 hits to have a chance, but is really just a "Hall of Incredibly Long Career" guy. Maybe it was different in Toronto, but living in Ohio (and near Detroit) in the '80s, I never once thought of Steib, Key or Bell/Barfield/Moseby as HOF guys, and Fernandez would have been a stretch, though probably the best candidate.

Wells likely won't have the counting stats he needs -- same with Halladay, though he will be an interesting test case of starting pitchers in the new era of five-man rotations, six-inning quality starts and 18-win Cy Young Awards. He racks up two or three more 20-win seasons, he will have a real case, even if he ends up with 190 or so wins, in David Cone country, that is. The times, they are a-changin'.

AWeb - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 01:51 PM EDT (#168419) #

Other possible current Jays who could make the HoF as a Jay : Rios who started his career early enough to accumulate quite a few hits. I wouldn't bet on it, and he'll have to both improve and continue on for a long time, but then what HoFer didn't meet those criteria? Rios is about a year behind Wells in terms of production at certain ages.

Wells could make it interesting. He's got a long-term big contract, and so will get to play almost every day barring injury or terribleness for at least 6 more years. By the end of this year, he'll be over 1100 hits. Maintaining 170 hits/year for the contract puts him over 2100 after his age 34 season, plus another GG or two (keep in mind, I'm looking at HoF qualifications, not better measures of actual goodness). I don't like his chances (I see him aging like Joe Carter, for no particular reason), but it could happen. None of his other counting numbers will look good, so his best (only?) chance is to accumulate those hits.

Also, I was poking around, and remember when it seemed almost indisputable that the Jays would hit into a lot of double plays this year? Well, they're last in the league right now. Of course, only Glaus and Stairs are getting on base at a decent rate....

John Northey - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#168420) #

At the age of 30 Stieb had 131 wins, an ERA+ of 126. By 32 he was at 166 wins. He made the All-Star team at age 32 and was still going strong in 1991 (133 ERA+ through 9 starts) when the roof caved in. Just 6 more wins (10 counting age 33). For comparison Jack Morris had 92 wins after age 32 vs 162 before it (114 ERA+ pre-33).

Stieb had horrid run support, and thanks to that was not noticed by the writers (thus not winning a couple of Cy Youngs he earned) but was in 7 All-Star games - the record for a pitcher is 9 (Clemens) despite the short career. 5 of those appearances came when the Jays were a contending team (83 on).

Stieb was a HOF caliber pitcher who just ended too soon. Sad really. I hoped the Jays would let him start regularly in '98 to see if there was more in the tank but instead he was spot starting/long relief and retired for good at the end of that season. Glad I went to his last start though.

VBF - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 01:54 PM EDT (#168421) #

Unfortunately, with the long road back to Toronto ahead of us and the score 10-5 O's, we opted to start the trip home during the eighth inning. Just leaving the stadium I heard Balbino's name announced and with curiosity, looked back and saw him at bat for the first pitch. Unfortunately I missed the home run.

Here's a picture I took of the game.

http://imageshack.us/?x=my6&myref=http://load.imageshack.us

christaylor - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 02:40 PM EDT (#168423) #

Is League even ever going to come back? Mike Wilner stated pretty strongly that his career might be over and JP has hinted that he's probably done for the year.

Hearing the vague reports we've been hearing, I don't have any hope of him every coming back let alone coming back this year and being effective.

Manhattan Mike - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 02:52 PM EDT (#168425) #

What's the deal with the Jays not getting a home game on a long weekend? It seems that with no home weekend series against the big boys of the East and with no home games on the Canadian holidays (a benefit for the Jays only at the box office), MLB wants to do whatever it can to prevent Uncle Ted from turning around the attendance figures!

And VBF, that link doesn't work.

Paul D - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 03:52 PM EDT (#168427) #

I'm pretty sure that the Jays don't want home games on long weekends.

And speaking of Stieb, The Hall of Merit folks discuss his candicy.

vw_fan17 - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 05:52 PM EDT (#168429) #

Stieb was a HOF caliber pitcher who just ended too soon. Sad really. I hoped the Jays would let him start regularly in '98 to see if there was more in the tank but instead he was spot starting/long relief and retired for good at the end of that season. Glad I went to his last start though.

Stieb was always my favourite pitcher, throughout the 80s.. In the late 90s, a friend and I went to one game a year for a few years in a row, and as it happened, were there when Stieb pitched in his last game (in relief). I think the Jays lost, but Stieb didn't give up any runs, IIRC.

VW

Flex - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 07:49 PM EDT (#168431) #

Is League even ever going to come back?

The last I heard, in a piece by Blair, was Ricciardi saying he thought League had turned a corner in his rehab. Apparently he was hitting the mid 90s.

ahitisahit - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 10:42 PM EDT (#168437) #

I don't think David Wells or McGriff are hall of famers. I'm not sure Alomar gets in on the first ballot either.(although I think he was great, he played in Canada for a lot of years, plus the spitting incident).

John Northey - Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 11:22 PM EDT (#168439) #

A great game with the setup/setup/closer combo of Downs/Janssen/Accardo working well again. Fun to have a lead after 6 innings start to look like a sure thing for the first time since '92 (Ward for two then Henke).

Lind really has to be sent back to AAA though. From May 11th to 20th he hit 182/182/364 - 4 for 22. Add an 0 for 1 today and it just gets a bit uglier. In AA we have Aaron Matthews who is 25 and hitting 331/395/526 in LF with 2 games in CF, bats right and is mainly in LF. Might be a good platoon partner for Stairs until Johnson is back. Given he is 25 he is at the make or break period. Mike Vento is at AAA, a right handed outfielder, and is 29 and hit well so far after going 341/396/502 last year in AAA and has had 20 AB's in the majors going 250/375/300. He has gone 357/413/595 over 42 AB's in Syracuse so far this year.

Btw, no one is sponsoring the 92 Jays page ($30 per year) on Baseball-Reference. Just a suggestion to anyone here who has $30 to blow and wants to promote Batter's Box or something else.

ayjackson - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 12:16 AM EDT (#168440) #

I think Ryan Roberts could fill the platoon role with Stairs. But I agree sending Lind down might be wise. It wouldn't hurt to have a look at another prospect. Although only Santos is on the 40-man roster. If we add another prospect to the 40, we have to drop somebody. Plus we have to drop somebody when Reed comes back. The Jays have to be careful.

VBF - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 12:27 AM EDT (#168441) #

Sorry for the bad link. Let's try that again.

Pictures of the Hall of Fame Game

Pictures of the Hall of Fame Game Parade

Pictures inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame

John Northey - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 08:20 AM EDT (#168442) #

On the 40 man right now we have the following easy to remove guys...
15 day DL's...
Chacin - last pitched on the 28th of April, if not coming back until the end of June the 60 day would be fine
League - been injured more than 60 days so might as well

Hitters who wouldn't be picked up...
Robinzon Diaz - 23 year old AA catcher who is hitting 286/313/397, was in A last year going 306/341/383 - could be risk to remove but doubt anyone would give him a ML spot right now, probably wouldn't risk it myself though

Pitchers who wouldn't be picked up...
Ryan Houston - 27 years old AAA reliever, 6.16 ERA, 21K in 19 IP so could be tempting for a desperate team
Jean Machi - 25 year old AA reliever, 3.91 ERA, 10 K in 23 IP - looks like a prime candidate to be pulled
Tracy Thorpe - 26 year old AA reliever, 4.03 ERA, 23K 8 W in 22 2/3 IP - again, could be tempting for a desperate team but really isn't worth much as many others are just as good

In truth I see the 2 DL'ed guys and Machi as prime 'remove from the 40 man' candidates, Houston next in line followed by
Thorpe as minor league relievers are a dime a dozen, especially as they get older. Towers and Ohka are both in the 'lets dump them before others get healthy' camp thus could be used to free up slots for Johnson and (should they be moved) League & Chacin. Once Zaun is back Fasano will be pulled from the 40 man I'm sure.

The general rule is not to let the 40th best guy on your roster stop you from improving your ML team.

Dr. Zarco - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 09:15 AM EDT (#168444) #

VBF, those are great pictures. Growing up in Western NY, I've been to Cooperstown at least a dozen times, and it's such a neat place. Doubleday field is very quaint, and your pics of inside the Hall itself show just a tiny fraction of the amazing history inside its walls.

I think my favorite picture was the team on that tour bus. Reminds me of an elementary school field trip, but with Doc, Vernon, and Glaus instead of little kids.

Mike Green - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 09:32 AM EDT (#168446) #

Lind's career line after 174 at-bats is pretty respectable for a 23 year old. He should be simply given the job notwithstanding his current struggles at the plate.

Squiggy - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 10:04 AM EDT (#168448) #

VBF (or anybody else who knows), who is that to the right of Dave Stieb's no-hitter ball in your HOF photos? I see Valenzuela to the left but there is an Expo on the right that I cannot make out... I checked the list of Expo no-hitters and none of those names match that face.

Dr. Zarco - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 10:34 AM EDT (#168449) #

Squiggy, it's Mark Gardner. I never would have known that, but the picture came in clear enough that I could read it. July 26, 1991, he had 9 no hit innings and lost in 10, 1-0 giving up 2 10th inning hits.

John Northey - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 01:13 PM EDT (#168453) #

Love Baseball-Reference... 
<a href=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN199107260.shtml>Mark Gardner's Game (114 pitches)</a> <a href=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE199009020.shtml>Dave Stieb's 123 pitch No-Hitter</a> His 3 games where he lost the no-no with 2 out in the ninth had 126 pitches, 90 pitches, and 90 pitches (this was the perfect game with one out to go). I mention pitch count just to see if they went high or not. Sadly they don't have Stieb's pitch counts pre-88 so we can't see just how hard he was pushed then. 120+ in 88 three times, just once in 89, 2 times in 90, none in '91 then his arm fell off. No sign of 130+ games.

John Northey - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 01:14 PM EDT (#168454) #

Grr..post screwed up...

Love Baseball-Reference...
Mark Gardner's Game (114 pitches)

Dave Stieb's 123 pitch No-Hitter

His 3 games where he lost the no-no with 2 out in the ninth had 126 pitches, 90 pitches, and 90 pitches (this was the perfect game with one out to go).

I mention pitch count just to see if they went high or not. Sadly they don't have Stieb's pitch counts pre-88 so we can't see just how hard he was pushed then. 120+ in 88 three times, just once in 89, 2 times in 90, none in '91 then his arm fell off. No sign of 130+ games.

Squiggy - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 01:37 PM EDT (#168455) #

Thanks guys - i saw the Gardner/Fassero no-hitter listed on BBRef too, but it looked nothing like him to me - he is much heavier in my memory. The photo actually resembles Jack Morris a bit.

ayjackson - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 01:44 PM EDT (#168458) #

Moving Chacin and League to the 60-day DL doesn't help unless they're finished for the season. If they're coming back, they require a spot. I agree, though, that there are candidates for removal, the Jays just have to be careful (eg. Roberts is as good a platton partner as Matthews). They also may want to add somebody in September.

I think a prime candidate for removal is Ohka. Hopefully he can be moved soon. We have a lot of pitchers on the 40-man roster that would seem to be able to huck a ball as well as Tomo (Ramirez, Banks, Litsch, Thomson, Zambrano).

John Northey - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 02:36 PM EDT (#168459) #

I saw League and Chacin as useful to move as a short term measure until the Jays are ready to cut off Ohka/Zambrano/Thomson/Towers. However, according to Griffen there is a 2 man limit for the 60 day DL thus making it a non-issue anyways (Romero & Ryan are both gone for the year).

Perhaps cutting bait with Fasano (27 OPS+ so far, or less than 1/2 of John McDonald's OPS+...brrr) as soon as Zaun is back will open up space, but who knows when Zaun will be back.

FYI: Looking at B-R for pitching depth I noticed at AAA the following ...
Brian Wolfe - 0.98 ERA over 18 2/3 IP, 4 BB, 19 K
Matt Roney - 0.90 ERA over 10 IP, 3 BB, 12 K

Nice eh? Sadly they are 26 & 27 thus are probably viewed as roster filler rather than prospects.

Overbey has moved to Dunedin and worked a scoreless inning, thus putting him up to 25 2/3 scoreless on the season vs Accardo at 20 IP. Wonder who'll let in a run first (or should I say last among Jay pitchers)? Daryl Harang also is at 0.00 in Dunedin over 12 2/3 IP. Gotta love B-R and the organizational depth data.

ayjackson - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#168461) #

I see where you're coming from on League and Chacin - good point.

We have three guys on the 60-day DL right now, so I don't know what Griffin's on about. I can't imagine the sense of a limit.

As was noticing Wolfe and Roney the other day. I'd really like to see Janssen in the rotation, so if any reliever could step up, I'd be all for it.

Zambrano might be a tradeable commodity with that $4m team option for 2008.

Mike Green - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 03:26 PM EDT (#168463) #

Victor Zambrano a tradeable commodity? I suppose. Bre-X was too, at one point.

ChicagoJaysFan - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 03:50 PM EDT (#168466) #

I don't regard Griffen as someone that is knowledgeable about baseball and he keeps finding different ways to prove me correct (i also read his mailbag today where he talks about the two-man limit). I've also found a variety of articles that state there is no limit on the number of players (example).

Griffen's reasoning for such a rule is also ridiculous - he states the minimum is to prevent GM's from manipulating the roster by removing players ineligible to return for the rest of the season. How does a limit of 2 people prevent such a thing? Wouldn't a deadline be a lot more effective than a limit?

I read Dick for a good laugh now and again, but can't believe that some people actually take him as a source of baseball knowledge. He still doesn't seem to understand the reason the Blue Jays released Chris Carpenter as he calls that one of Riccardi's worst moves. Carpenter has definitely worked out well for the Cardinals, but if Riccardi had maintained him and Carpenter was doing well now, I'd still call it a stupid move for the Jays to retain Carpenter through his injury - they would have had to pay him something like $2 mil and that's a stupid gamble for a team in the Jays financial situation at the time. Calling that a bad move is like saying someone that elects not to buy a lottery ticket is stupid because the guy behind him in line at the convenience store bought a lottery ticket and ended up winning $1 mil.

Mike Green - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 03:51 PM EDT (#168467) #

It's funny. I was away, and totally missed Jack Cust's hot streak. Notwithstanding the release of Jeremy Brown, Moneyball lives!

ChicagoJaysFan - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 03:57 PM EDT (#168468) #

Northey, Matt Roney has been suspended for 50 games for using a drug of abuse. I don't think it's been revealed which one, but the drugs in that category are things like cocaine, acid, and ecstasy. He had a good season last year in the PCL with more than 9K/9IP and more than 3K/BB, but with this drug suspension and his age, I wonder if he's blown his chance. Teams are more than willing to take on above average talent that have problems off the field, but when someone is a marginal pitcher, I don't think too many teams are going to come calling.

ayjackson - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 04:22 PM EDT (#168470) #

Are there any rules preventing a team from removing a suspended player from its 40-man roster, during the suspension?

Chuck - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 05:26 PM EDT (#168473) #

I was away, and totally missed Jack Cust's hot streak.

The first Ken Phelps of the oughts? Have I missed anyone?

The success is nice to see and I hope it lasts. But he is striking out in over 40% of his at-bats, and that doesn't bode especially well. Still, a little lightning in a bottle when the team desperately needs it. He's just 6 RBI off the team lead despite being 90 AB shy of Swisher. Wonder what Mike Piazza is thinking right about now? Maybe time to get the ol' catcher's mitt out of mothballs? Kendall at 184/228/197 should be awfully worried.

John Northey - Wednesday, May 23 2007 @ 11:43 PM EDT (#168481) #

ChiJayFan - thanks for the update. Totally forgot about Roney's suspension. He isn't on the 40 man right now so releasing him wouldn't help matters. I figure the Jays, like all teams, just want guys who can help the team win. However, if they are debating a pair of marginal minor leaguers and one has a suspension then bye bye to drug guy. His next offense would be a 100 game suspension iirc so I doubt many teams want to have a hole in their system for that long thus he'll have to fight for another shot. If he comes back this season and is lights out for August he might save his career, but any slump and he is off to Japan or Mexico or wherever.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 09:37 AM EDT (#168487) #

The first Ken Phelps of the oughts? Have I missed anyone?

Branyan, perhaps? Didn't quite walk as much. Cust has a career line of .236/.373/.492 in 199 at-bats, and those figures are consistent with his minor league record. He is 28, and I wouldn't bet him on continuing beyond next year, but I do think that he will be able to match his career line over that frame if given a chance.

It's really quite amazing that teams continue to give Shea Hillenbrand chance after chance, but won't do the same for Jack Cust.

Maldoff - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 09:42 AM EDT (#168489) #

Shhhhh......the bats are sleeping!

BTW, best comment was heard on the radio this morning: Steve "The Human Rain Delay" Trachsel

Maldoff - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 12:26 PM EDT (#168493) #

Watching last night's game, I realized the exact reason why Adam Ling should NOT be sent down to AAA, and should continue to get regular at-bats. The reason for my epiphany was Nick Markakis.

I remembered that last season Markakis was having a terrible time getting hits through June, and then suddenly got hot, and is now a bonafide number 3 hitter for the Orioles. Checking BBREF, it shows that as of May 24, 2006, Markakis was hitting .228 with an OPS of .656. Lind is currently hitting .220 with an OPS of .637. By the end of the season, Markakis was hitting .291 with an OPS of .799.

Now I'm not saying that Lind will replicate the success that Markakis had last season, but what I AM saying is that young prospects need time to adjust. And ones that have hit at every level the way Lind (and Markakis) had, will continue to do so once they are getting comfortable at the Major League level.

Jordan - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 01:18 PM EDT (#168495) #

Steve "The Human Rain Delay" Trachsel

I'm afraid that nickname's already been taken.

Jobu - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 01:57 PM EDT (#168498) #

Here's a link to Verducci's article about his in-game experience.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/05/22/hall.game/index.html

I too was in attendence at the game, and am currently trying to figure out how to load a photo of Vernon using Tony Batista's full batting approach during his last AB. I think a good time was had by all.

VBF - Thursday, May 24 2007 @ 04:41 PM EDT (#168501) #

Thanks for that link, Jobu. I recall both of those plays and (this was before Verducci came to bat and with all the substitutions and high numbers, you lost complete sense of who was out there) I was thinking in the lightest of moods, how do you miss those plays? Heck, I would expect anyone from low-A to the bigs and college teams to make that play. And now it makes sense!

Jobu - Friday, May 25 2007 @ 12:32 AM EDT (#168507) #

alright, I cant figure out how to post the pictures, but Verno can do a flawless Batista.

I was hoping the guys we're about to start a game of "Which Batter Am I?" that we've all played on lazy house league nights. I can picture Lyle going up after Vernon, brandishing his bat high in the air while looking into the Jays dugout...

Johnny Mac: I know! I know!!! Craig Counsell?
Lyle: *points to Johnny*
J-Mac: WOOOOO!!!!
AJ: Damnit! I was just going to guess that!!

But that never happened.

21 May 2007: Out of Sight, Out of Mind | 50 comments | Create New Account

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