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Las Vegas lost their bats at crucial points in last night’s game. Dunedin suffered a slow loss as their opponents chipped away and came back to win. Meanwhile, Deck McGuire shook off a couple of sub-par starts and turned in a fine performance for New Hampshire.

Las Vegas 4 @ Fresno 6Boxscore

The middle of the lineup had an off-day for Las Vegas, as Travis d’Arnaud and David Cooper combined to go for 0-for-8 with d’Arnaud drawing a walk. Travis Snider had a nice game, hitting a double over three at-bats with two walks. Anthony Gose and Adeiny Hechevarria, who have started the season on different paths, both went 2-for-5 with Gose showing his speed with a triple and Hechevarria notching two doubles.

Yan Gomes was 2-for-4 and Moises Sierra went 2-for-2 with a walk. Danny Perales added a single and Mike McCoy added a walk. If that sounds like the 51’s must have a lot of opportunities to score, it’s true. However, Las Vegas went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and had one two-out RBI all game. In other news, Sierra was caught stealing and picked off (it’s unclear if those were the same or different plays), Hechavarria made his second error of the year, d’Arnaud allowed his second passed ball of the year and Gose nabbed Ryan Langerhans wandering too far off first base on a fly ball.

Joel Carreno started for Las Vegas and didn’t do well in what may have been an audition for the much-coveted April 21st start (although Bauxite JB21 says Anthopolous says it’s down to Chavez or Hutchison). Regardless, Carreno gave up eight hits over 3 innings. He struck out one and allowed five runs, three earned. Carreno only threw 62 pitches. He was relieved by Bobby Korecky and Jim Hoey, who combined for 5 innings of one-run relief with four strikeouts against no walks. Korecky and Hoey combined to throw 40 strikes in 54 pitches over some very efficient innings.

Binghamton 0 @ New Hampshire 2Boxscore

There was a pitching matchup to write home about in Double-A, as Deck McGuire faced off against top prospect Zach Wheeler. McGuire, who had taken losses in his first two starts, fared much better yesterday. He picked up his first victory since August 2, 2011, with 6.2 innings of one-hit ball. McGuire walked three and also struck out three, one of them coming with runners on first and third and one out. Clint Everts struck out four over 1.1 innings of relief and Ron Uviedo notched his fourth save with a hitless ninth.

Wheeler pitched well, striking out eight and only allowing three hits. However, in the fourth inning Kevin Howard doubled home Mike McDade for the only run the Fisher Cats would need. New Hampshire added an insurance run in the 8th inning when John Tolisano walked and came around on a Ryan Goins single. Tolisano drew two walks and McDade was the only notable performer at the plate going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Dunedin

Scheduled day off. Dunedin tries to pick up its 11th win of the year when Asher Wojciechowski faces Brevard County tomorrow night.

South Bend 4 @ Lansing 3Boxscore

The Lugnuts lost a tough one as South Bend battled and clawed back with a run in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th innings to grab a come-from-behind victory. Marcus Walden started for Lansing and had a good outing. Over 5 innings, he only allowed one unearned run, allowing two hits and a pair of walks. Walden only struck out one, but got groundouts from 8 of the 9 batters he retired on balls in play. Kramer Champlin allowed two runs, one earned, over 2.2 innings, as he allowed three hits and two walks. Javier Avendano had a poor outing, surrendering two hits and three walks over 1.1 innings and taking the loss.

Kevin Pillar and Chris Hawkins led the offensive attack as each had a 2-for-4 evening. Pillar drove in two runs. Hawkins also contributed defensively with two outfield assists. The top of the lineup did its job in getting on base, as Marcus Brisker was 1-for-4 with a walk and Kenny Wilson was 1-for-3 with two walks. Brisker scored twice and Wilson came home with the other run. Carlos Perez drew a walk, as did KC Hobson, who also contributed with a double and an RBI. Kellen Sweeney was 1-for-4.

Three Stars:
3rd Star – Marcus Walden, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
2nd Star – Mike McDade, 2-for-3, R, BB, 2 TB
1st Star – Deck McGuire, 6.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Deck Delivers | 34 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
zeppelinkm - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 10:52 AM EDT (#254724) #

Can't wait till he gets his final call up.  More walks than K's. The power is coming back.

In Snider we trust.

Gerry - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#254729) #

Kevin Gray has an interview with Deck McGuire wherein Deck explains what was different last night for him.  In summary Deck pitched with more of a downward plane last night which helps keep the ball down and the angle makes it harder to hit.

Gray also has an interview with Brett Cecil and Brian Jeroloman on his site from a few days ago.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 12:03 PM EDT (#254731) #
Here's some video with slo-mo of Drew Hutchison.
sam - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 05:02 PM EDT (#254756) #
Thanks Gerry and Mike for the links. That youtube channel has lots of videos on Jays prospects.

Do people have a preference on who gets the fifth spot in the rotation. Part of me says Hutchison just because I'd like to see him pitch and he'll likely factor into the rotation long term. Chavez on the other hand has pitched well so far and there's something to be said for rewarding players who have performed at higher levels than those who are "prospects" at lower levels. Not to say that Hutchison hasn't performed.

Also on AA's comments on a middle of the order bat. What do people make of this? I guess it's nothing new and something he's mentioned before, but it does seem a bit curious this early in the year. LF and 1B are the two positions most vulnerable on the roster and open to change. I was wondering if people had a gut feeling on who he might target? Just like a front end pitcher it's a pretty tall task to find the type of bat that would be a tangible improvement in both those positions that would be controllable/cost affordable.

The only guys I could think of would be Ike Davis, Paul Goldsmicht, Kendrys Morales, Mark Trumbo, Logan Morrison, Freddie Freeman, Brandon Belt. Even then, you could say well none of these guys are proven commodities. I don't know.
92-93 - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 05:06 PM EDT (#254757) #
Jesse Chavez, lol. Remember when the meme of the offseason was how the Jays weren't going to be wasting playing time on retreads?
China fan - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 07:52 PM EDT (#254767) #
To be fair, the Jays haven't wasted any time with retreads this year. Laffey didn't play a single inning. The Jays beat reporters are predicting that Hutchinson, not Chavez, will get the promotion tomorrow. And the Jays have one of the youngest rotations in the majors, with Drabek and Alvarez playing key roles.
Mike Green - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 08:33 PM EDT (#254770) #
Anybody know what happened with Cecil tonight?  He was out in the first inning after two ground ball outs, a walk and two singles. 
damos - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 08:47 PM EDT (#254771) #
I follow this fellow on Twitter & he was at the New Hampshire game:

@alskor    Brett Cecil was all over the place with a 88-90 fb. Just had a pitch fouled & walked right to the dugout hurt. No idea. #BlueJays

@alskor    Very strange. Cecil was suddenly hobbled over by the 3b line and insistent on coming out of the game. No discussion. Immediate exit.

@alskor    Cecil looked fine before that. Velo fine. My total guess would be groin/something lower body. No info yet. #BlueJays

@alskor    Just watched replay on my camera. Cecil immediately reached for left side of his groin after the pitch. Appeared to be in pain. #BlueJays



Mike Green - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 08:51 PM EDT (#254772) #
Thanks, damos.
92-93 - Thursday, April 19 2012 @ 11:13 PM EDT (#254779) #
Even better; call up a kid with 5 starts above A ball.
See-Hech-In-July - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 12:02 AM EDT (#254781) #
Like the Hutchison call up. He was unfazed during Spring training so why not see what he has?

Guessing the jays want to pull the trgeer on a trade for a big bat but they want to see what they have in their young arms.

If all the young pitching they have in their farm even comes close to reaching potential, they have the pieces to make some moves early this year.

Jays have catching, pitching, Snider and Kelly johnson to offer up. Could make a 3 or 4 for 1 to a rebuilding team for a slugger.
See-Hech-In-July - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 12:21 AM EDT (#254783) #
Two players that could be traded:

Rebuilding Twins with Justin Morneau

or the LA Angels with Mark Trumbo
TamRa - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 12:46 AM EDT (#254784) #
I, for one, am not expecially interested in Trumbo.
sam - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 12:59 AM EDT (#254786) #
Morneau is way too much of a risk and there's 30 million dollars there and I don't see AA taking that on. I'm not a big fan of Trumbo either. There's too much swing and miss in his game and not enough obp. I mean ya he'll give you some pop, but he's not the complete hitter you need in the middle of your lineup. I think highly of Ike Davis and would be thrilled to see the Jays trade for him.
stevieboy22 - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 01:59 AM EDT (#254787) #
With Morneau.. You wouldn't be acquiring a 30 million dollar contract..
If acquired at the all star break it would be more like a 22.5 million/1.5 year contract...

I dont think its that much risk... The risk would probably lie in what you're giving up...
If the team is in a position where they can make a run at a wild card spot AND the Twins are shopping Morneau AND Morneau is looking like his old self... I would fully expect the Jays to be in on him..  Especially with AA recent comments he is looking for a middle of the order bat..  I'm not too sure who else he could be eluding too... The Twins probably should be looking to dump players at the deadline... But with the new stadium they may not want to rebuild to spite every rational reason to do so.....

Im just speculating but the other teams I see totally out of it are: White Sox, Indians, Orioles, Cubs, Astros, Pirates, Athletics, Mariners, Padres and Mets.... 

Lets say the criteria for this type of player, is an aging veteran who MIGHT be considered a middle of the order bat (some of these are a real stretch):
Suzuki, Morneau, Mauer, Willingham, Choo, Konerko, Dunn, Rios, Markakis, Reynolds, Lee, Soriano, Manny, Quentin, Bay and Wright

Its also possible that good young players under control become available in which case its nearly impossible to speculate...

It will be more fun to speculate in two months when we see how the Dunns/Morneaus/Rios types of the world have rebounded and we have a better idea of who is completely out....
But if AA actually does acquire a "middle of the order bat," my early money is on Morneau or Konerko....


TamRa - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 03:39 AM EDT (#254788) #
IF Lind were still mediocre in July
and IF the Jays could get someone to take him in a deal (even the Twins for that matter)
and IF Mourneau looked like his old self, even if only as a DH
and IF the price was not nutty


then yeah, I could see a fit there.

There are not that many "fits" out there, IMO.


zeppelinkm - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 09:17 AM EDT (#254792) #

Brandon Belt. He's far from a proven commodity, but he has upside and it seems like the Giants are doing their absolute best to mess up his development and that he has fallen out of favour with their coach.

Ike Davis is a really nice player too. For some reason I can't see the Mets parting with him though. Alderson would be harder to pry a good young player away from, methinks.

whiterasta80 - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 09:38 AM EDT (#254793) #

Doubt the Mets move Ike. 

Brandon Belt is attractive, but he seems a little bit like Travis Snider in that you'd expect/hope to get him for way less than it will actually cost you.  I doubt the Giants would move him for less than Snider/Deck. I'm not sure he's worth Snider, although from a roster balance standpoint that deal makes sense for both teams.

I for one would be happy rolling the dice on Morneau. From what I've seen he is on his way back to being that same guy he was pre-injuries.  Its easy to forget how elite he was pre-injury, but he was the type of 1B you need in the AL East. He's not Votto, but he is the type of undervalued asset we usually look to acquire under AA. If he is able to show health over the next month I wouldn't hesitate to go after him.  Heck, if I could move Lind the other way in the deal (say with Knecht, Nicolino and Jiminez) I'd make the deal right now. 

damos - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 09:43 AM EDT (#254794) #
RE: Drew Hutchison
Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote this about Hutchison & his call up today:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/04/blue-jays-to-call-up-drew-hutchison/

greenfrog - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 12:15 PM EDT (#254801) #
"if I could move Lind the other way in the deal (say with Knecht, Nicolino and Jiminez) I'd make the deal right now"

I think that's too much to give up for Morneau (who will earn $14M annually this year and next), though I wouldn't mind the Jays' making a play for him.
sam - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 01:00 PM EDT (#254804) #
I wouldn't mind the Jays making a play for Morneau, Belt, or Davis either. My preference is Davis, but I think people are right to say the likelihood he's the one moving of the three is highly improbable. That's a lot of money in the Morneau contract for the Jays to take on and I don't see what in AA's track record or organization philosophy that might indicate that the Jays would make a play for a player with the injury track record/contract Morneau has. Belt hasn't exactly produced at the ML level either, and there are some questions about his swing and ability to handle a ML fastball. Davis obviously has questions of his own. He was hurt most of last year and has the type of swing that is always going to lead to some strikeouts. The power and OBP are there though, and solid to plus defense.

I like all of them, and I think all of them would be an improvement over our current options. For you statistically inclined readers, I was trying to pin down why I detest Adam Lind so much. I mean a cursory look at his stats and his "one big year" and you'd might say well he could turn it around and be an OK first basemen, but if you look at his "clutch" stats on baseball reference, he hits 40 points below is career average with runners in scoring position and two outs, When it's "late and close" he hits almost 50 points below his career average. Even if you look at his big year, in those situations he hit well below his season averages.

When it comes to Belt, Davis, Morneau, a lot of it will rely on what the Jays ML scouts are saying and whether they think any of them can play at the required level.

For Belt, if they could swing Lind, Thames, and Carreno/Jenkins. I think that would be a good trade for the Jays.
uglyone - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#254805) #
praise the lord the Jays have refused to follow through on their second flirtation this year with an heir to the eveland/reyes legacy, and just like with laffey refused to insert chavez into the rotation either. Thank jesus.

No doubt Hutch is being rushed here, but man it's a new feeling to have them just promote the highest-upside near-mlb-ready guy at their disposal instead of trying to be too cute by half.

not expecting huge things from Hutch, but I am expecting MLB competence, with flashes of more.
whiterasta80 - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 02:00 PM EDT (#254806) #

Remember we were sending Lind back the other way in the Morneau deal that I proposed. It cuts significantly into the financial commitment which is why I paid the price in prospects.  Even still there was only 1 B prospect in the package.

Absolutely love the call on Hutch.  We have enough pitching prospects at this point that you throw your best ones out there and see which ones stick. 

greenfrog - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#254807) #
Right now Nicolino, Syndergaard, Sanchez and Hutch are among our best pitching prospects. I wouldn't give up any of them for Morneau. To me, Knecht/Nicolino/Jimenez sounds more like the kind of package you might give up for someone like Garza (not sure AA would even do that deal, as Garza is more of a short-term acquisition that might not be enough to get the Jays into the playoffs).
John Northey - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 02:48 PM EDT (#254808) #
Justin Morneau would be a nice guy to get - another Canadian, just 1 1/2 years left on his deal, coming off a lost season thus might not be too expensive plus coming from a team that has been known to do fire sales in the past (but with a good GM always so they were able to not be burned).

125 lifetime OPS+ is probably what I'd hope for from him though, not the 130-180 level he was at. That isn't amazing, but would be nice to cover the position until something better comes along. At age 31 (in mid-May) he is a bit long in the tooth for this team but again, if the price is right (ie: very low) then he'd help.
greenfrog - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 02:59 PM EDT (#254809) #
In the what-might-have-been category, Mike Napoli is now hitting 289/391/711 (with Arencibia weighing in at 111/158/222 plus a handful of tweets).

Had the Jays kept Napoli, the Wells trade would have been utterly ridiculously lopsided (instead of just massively one-sided).
hypobole - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 03:17 PM EDT (#254811) #
The reason Morneau might be a relatively inexpensive (prospect-wise) acquisition is the fact he may be one seemingly innocuous collision from being permanently DL'ed. Do the Twins take the chance and hold on to him @ $14 million per season even if they see no real hope of contention the next 2 seasons?
sam - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 03:41 PM EDT (#254813) #
I don't understand the point of even trying to rationalize a Morneau trade given that this team will NEVER make an acquisition like this that would add 10+ million a year to the roster. Management doesn't operate like that, it's all about value and control and Morneau offers neither.
TamRa - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 08:11 PM EDT (#254820) #
^^^
that would depend entirely on whether the jays evaluate the situation in July and think they have a full, legitimate shot at the playoffs THIS year and he's the sort of bat that would be a difference maker.

I don't think you understand the plan if you think they won't make a move like that when the time is right (unless you are taking the cynic's approach that they will never ever do that because they are not really trying to make the post-season)

I can't possibly guess whether or not they will reach that conclusion, or would reach it in the same conclusion that I would looking in from outside. but I'm confident that when they reach that conclusion, they would easily make such a deal.
sam - Friday, April 20 2012 @ 08:27 PM EDT (#254822) #
I think I understand the plan plenty. The Jays are nowhere near the quality needed to make the playoffs at the moment and the best course of action is to keep acquiring potential high impact players who are cost affordable and controllable.

Is there anything that the Jays have shown or demonstrated that would suggest that Morneau is the type of player the Jays would target? AA has become fairly predictable when it comes to this stuff.
stevieboy22 - Saturday, April 21 2012 @ 02:20 AM EDT (#254841) #
"I don't understand the point of even trying to rationalize a Morneau trade given that this team will NEVER make an acquisition like this that would add 10+ million a year to the roster."

- They took on about 8 million to put Teahen on the bench for half a season and then send him home...
- They allegedly offered Beltran 3/30
- They gave Philly 6 million in the Halladay trade..
- They gave Bautista a 64 million dollar contract, at a time when they still had him under control for another year and didn't have to take the risk..

The point I'm trying to make is they may be within 5 games of a playoff spot come the trade deadline AND they have shown that they will spend some money (in particular if there is good value there)...
Adding 22.5 million over 1.5 seasons isn't that much these days... Baseball is swimming in cash.....
They also haven't been in that spot in under AA's administration so there isn't an example of where they would be looking to add "Mr. Right Now"...

The Morneau thing is probably a moot point.. Because we don't know the likelihood the Twins are going to want to start a rebuild 2 years into a new ballpark...
bpoz - Saturday, April 21 2012 @ 10:43 AM EDT (#254847) #
Thank you Sam & TamRa for discussing the Plan. Just to be clear this is AA's plan that we are discussing. Please be aware that I am not being sarcastic.

First off, I think that I understand part of the Plan, AA's version. But I don't know how much of my understanding is correct. Lets say 50%, for me.

I have noticed that many Bauxites have made suggestions that are good, but these good suggestions seem to contradict each other. If I have understood these suggestions correctly then my logic says that they both cannot be correct. So I conclude that one Bauxite is wrong and the other right, but which Bauxite, also both being wrong is the other possibility. The problem is that the suggestions are so well presented that both Bauxites sound right and that cannot be can it?

I feel that Sam is right, when he says he understands the plan "plenty" only because he has not claimed that he understands the plan 100%. AA's version.
TamRa is also right as she understands a lot of the plan.

I do not know if this will take us anywhere. I understand that IMO is understood. So differences of opinion may occur from time to time.

I find that once in a while an opinion may be infuriating because it is so different from mine. But it can be right and I could be wrong. But IMO I may contradict myself. Unless its a misunderstanding. IMO that covers all the bases.


sam - Saturday, April 21 2012 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#254849) #
Thank you bpoz and stevieboy for your comments and observations. Your points are well taken. On prior examples of AA taking on money or making offers to free agents. I agree that baseball is doing particularly well at the moment and the prospect of taking on that sort of money is not as frightening as before. However, I'd like to point out that several of your examples perhaps support my point as much as yours. The Jays took on the $8 million in the Teahan contract over a season and a half to acquire a controllable high end prospect/ML player. They gave Philly $6 million as part of the Halladay deal in exchange for high end controllable prospects.

I don't know if the Bautista deal really fits in here. It was not a trade or external acquisition. Granted you're right, it was a significant financial commitment to someone who still had question marks.

You're right about the Beltran deal though. I do wonder though if that was a one off in free agency.

I just think the overwhelming evidence we have of AA's regime points to the acquisition of someone like Brandon Belt over Justin Morneau. And I suspect, if the Jays are "close" come deadline time it will in part have something to do with the production of Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion so I don't see the Jays making that move to take on that money when they have affordable alternatives in house.
greenfrog - Saturday, April 21 2012 @ 11:51 AM EDT (#254851) #
I think the new CBA will make AA even more mindful of dealing premium talent for players close to free agency (unless they're available at a discount for some reason). It's going to be harder than ever to acquire (1) top prospects and (2) cost-controlled ML talent (like Latos or Gonzalez). Also, in part because baseball is flush with cash, the best players are less likely to hit free agency right away (see Votto, Phillips, Kinsler and Cain). So in the new baseball landscape, it is:

- Harder to find top-tier talent in free agency at a moderate price

- Harder to game the draft (via extra draft picks and overslot spending)

- Harder to pry away other teams' best prospects

- Harder to pry away other teams' cost-controlled young talent

The result? You have to develop your own talent and look for new inefficiencies (perhaps trading for distressed assets like Rasmus, Morrow and Escobar - or players from distressed clubs like the White Sox; signing value FAs (like Beltran, perhaps); building up strength in one area like the bullpen to gain leverage at the trade deadline, etc.).
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