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Game Threads Game Thread — 5/1 vs. Boston
Earth below us drifting, falling, floating weightless, calling, calling home...

Clay Buchholz (5-0, 1.19) for Boston, lefty Mark Buehrle (1-1, 6.35) for Toronto at 7:07 p.m. Eastern.
@ShiDavidi: #BlueJays lineup vs Buchholz: Lawrie 5 Rasmus 8 Bautista 9 EE 3 Lind 0 Cabrera 7 JPA 2 Izturis 4 Kawasaki 6.
Posted by #2JBrumfield on Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 03:02 PM EDT.
Game Thread — 5/1 vs. Boston | 30 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
hypobole - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 05:03 PM EDT (#271358) #
Amusing reading on MLBTR today. Dbacks sign Juan Rivera. Mariners sign Corey Patterson. Dodgers sign Aaron Laffey. Reds trade for Mark Teahen.

Ahhhh memories.
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85bluejay - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 05:28 PM EDT (#271360) #
With the Leafs set to start the playoffs, I'll be interested in attendance and viewership.
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Richard S.S. - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 06:18 PM EDT (#271362) #

Checking Mark Buehrle's game logs for April's 2010-2013, he's not an April pitcher, usually pitching poorly.   This year he's had 2 good starts, 15th (W, 4-3) and 20th (NDL, 3-5) of April.  Of his not that good starts, 4th (NDW, 10-8), 10th (NDW, 8-6) and 25th (L, 3-5) of April.   His record is 1-1, while the Team's record is 3-2.   He's not the problem we think he is.   Would better defense help?  Would better offense help?  Yes, to both, and for all pitchers.

Yesterday the offense was stringing their hits, walks, HBP together allowing 5 runs to be scored, which was very good.   Edwin's two 2-run HRs were icing on the cake.   Both were needed because pitching wasn't quite good enough.   Toronto is 3-6 in games of 1-run leads.   Toronto is 4-4 in games of 2-run leads.  These are numbers that need to improve, because that's a lot of close games.   In games of 3 or more runs difference, Toronto is 4-5.

It would be nice if yesterday was the start of something good for this Team.

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ComebyDeanChance - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 08:08 PM EDT (#271364) #
I saw the strike 3 pitch to Lawrie using Pitch FX on MLB.COM. It appeared to be an obvious ball. Did it appear that way on TV? Was there an argument?
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Chuck - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 08:49 PM EDT (#271366) #
The ump's strike zone has been very creative tonight. Compound that with poor discipline on the Jays' part and you've got a "struggling" Buchholz throwing a shutout.
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ComebyDeanChance - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 09:04 PM EDT (#271367) #
I have no idea why Gibbons removed Buerhle when he did. Neither does Buerhle. He had 2 out and issued a walk on a bad call. The first man out of the pen invariably puts the first batter on.

Gibbons has seemed both temporally and figuratively to be halfway between a minor league and major league manager.
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Mike Green - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 09:06 PM EDT (#271368) #
Do all the Red Sox position players have the same freaking beard so you can't pick them out of a lineup?

That was impressive.  He coulda been ours.
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laketrout - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 09:12 PM EDT (#271369) #
This is exactly how Gibbons was last time round. If he warms up a reliever they're going in - regardless if the situation warrants it.
Relievers love him. Starters... well, let's just say they can get frustrated with him.
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Richard S.S. - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 09:23 PM EDT (#271370) #
The Umpire is the bane of most Teams.   First, it's a union, with all the inherent problems existing with unions.   Secondly, there is no independant oversite on Umpires, only inhouse which is inefficient.   Lastly, there is no reason for an Umpire to get any better, and nothing to keep them from getting worse.   After watching the Umpires of the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's and 10's, I can say that today's Umpires are terrible in comparison, and we're stuck with it.
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dan gordon - Wednesday, May 01 2013 @ 11:22 PM EDT (#271373) #
A bit of a shocker to hear that recent Jays 2nd round draft pick Jake Eliopoulos died on Monday.  No word yet on how he died.  He was 21 years old.
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Four Seamer - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 12:09 AM EDT (#271375) #
Amusing that the same Richard who would have Aaron Loup, who makes somewhere near the league minimum, walk the gangplank is trying to convince us that Mark Buehrle, one of the highest paid pitchers in the game, had a decent April. I guess that makes the fact that May looks like more of the same from him something of a cause for celebration.

I suppose in fairness to the pitching staff there wasn't much point wasting a good effort on that pathetic effort from the offence tonight. Interesting to hear Dirk Hayhurst on the radio broadcast take issue with AA's comfort level with the love affair JPA and Rasmus have with the strikeout. Jack Morris has been surprisingly ok on the radio, but he's been able to only thinly disguise his contempt for the quality of the team's play to date; maybe he'll quit in disgust and open up a full-time role for Hayhurst.
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katman - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 12:14 AM EDT (#271376) #
Jake E's family is apparently recommending donations in the field of mental health (CMHA).

Speaking from experience, that usually hints at a sad reason. Ault and Flanagan lost their battles, too. And it really affects the people around them.

What I tell people is:

  1. It really can happen to anyone, so don't be afraid to get help.
  2. If you have a depressive condition or a more serious issue, never, ever forget that your condition is trying to kill you. And it will cheerfully lie about that. All means to combat that are acceptable, and cheating is allowed.
  3. There is going to be a better day. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But there will be one. You want to be there when it happens. It will be worth it.

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Richard S.S. - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 02:05 AM EDT (#271377) #

In Buehrle's first two starts, he pitched poorly (9.2 IP, 12 R -11 ER), but most of the Starters (not named Happ) didn't pitch well in their first two starts.   In those two starts by Buehrle, TORONTO WON, so don`t complain unnecessarily.   In his next two starts, he pitched well (13.1 IP, 5 R - 4 ER), as most should.   In those two starts by Buehrle, Toronto was 1W -1L, basically poor offense as usual, and Esmil Rogers.   His next two starts, he pitched poorly (12.0 IP, 10 R - 10 ER), another two losses by the Team during the despair period.

Buehrle isn`t pitching as well as he could, but then, few other are.   He`s just making too much money to give up on yet.   People are talking of evaluating the Team after 40 games, or 50 games, or doing as Atlanta has always done: 60 games.   Not all bad defense goes as an error, most go as hits/runs scored.

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Mike Green - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#271381) #
Strangely, last night's game made me more optimistic.  Brett Lawrie looks much better at the plate and in the field.  He is not as jittery.  I am confident that he is going to return to his 2011-12 levels (or a little better) now.  When Reyes returns, this should be a very, very good ballclub.

There are some obvious changes that need to be made, but I remain of the view that the talent is here (and in Buffalo). 

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MatO - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 01:50 PM EDT (#271382) #
Per twitter.  Johnson to the DL, Lincoln up and Romero gets the start tomorrow night.
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China fan - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#271383) #
So, in response to our earlier speculation about who is the 6th starter, we've now got an answer. The 6th starter is Romero. For now anyway.
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Magpie - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 02:21 PM EDT (#271385) #
Now that Tim Hudson has cleared 200 career Ws, I'm wondering - Hall of Fame? I never thought of Hudson as a Hall of Famer, but then I never thought of Blyleven as one while he was active, either.
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ComebyDeanChance - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 02:33 PM EDT (#271386) #
I have a feeling that tonight is the unofficial 'cut bait' date. If Toronto loses tonight, they will have lost all but 2 of 9 series, and won only 1. They will be 11 games out of first in the loss column and many games behind everyone else in the division as well. They will have lost 5 of 5 series against divisional rivals. It will be remarkable to me if the team loses tonight and the FO does not at least begin to contemplate the changes necessary to make the 2014 version of this franchise anything better than the marketing nightmare it will surely be.

I suspect the first round of changes will involve the PED cheat in left field, who has a .580 OPS and a 58 OPS+ since the needle came out of his butt, as well as the manager/coaching staff.

Perhaps next year before writers like Shi Davidi and Jeff Blair pander to the pro-PED interneters and hold up for them their ballots honouring the PED frauds, they might reflect on post-PED Melky and what frauds these guys truly are.
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Mike Green - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#271387) #
It's a bit of a strange move.  Romero doesn't pitch in a game for a month, has one good outing in high A and immediately gets the call to the Show.  Presumably, Germano will be sent down after tonight's game.

As for Hudson and the Hall, he's in the "probably outside" category on merit right now. He may make it if he keeps it up for another few years.  He has been a lesser pitcher than Mike Mussina or even Luis Tiant so far, and a better pitcher than Key or Guidry.  He is pretty comparable to Dave Stieb, but with a less impressive peak.  He has thrown only 2700 innings, which isn't that many for a 37 year old who was never truly dominant like Koufax or Dizzy Dean.  The other player I think of with Hudson is Roy Halladay.  Halladay is a year younger, has thrown about the same number of innings, has been more effective in those innings (ERA+ of 132 vs. 125 for Hudson) and has won more games with a better winning percentage (for the old-timers).  Doc has had a rough start to 2013, but I still think that he's the better pitcher and will ultimately get in.

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Mike Green - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 02:46 PM EDT (#271388) #
CBDC, if the Jays trade Melky (say) and bring up Gose or Pillar or somebody else, I am not sure that I would call that cutting bait.  The club could be expected to be better immediately.
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ComebyDeanChance - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 03:00 PM EDT (#271389) #
Mike. Fair enough.


I don't suspect the Jays would actually be so much 'trading' Melky as much as looking for anyone who would be willing to take on any portion of the salary owing him for this year and next, and getting back as close to nothing as nothing itself. I'd anticipate Sierra getting the call. I think their interest in Gose is more long term.
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Thomas - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 03:11 PM EDT (#271390) #
The fact that the Jays didn't backdate this move to the 21st isn't encouraging. One would imagine that if they had any hope Johnson would be back sooner, they would have done that.

I understand that injuries can be difficult to diagnose, but these incidents of saying things are minor and then they turn out otherwise isn't giving me the greatest confidence in the medical staff.
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92-93 - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 03:17 PM EDT (#271391) #
.214 .260 .304 Hamilton
.260 .315 .340 Kemp
.214 .270 .408 Beltre
.212 .279 .263 VMart
.243 .292 .288 Melky

There are a lot of stud hitters across baseball having very poor seasons. I want to believe Melky is just off to a slow start, but it's getting harder by the day. At some point we need to start questioning the ability of all these Blue Jays scouts if they thought players like Izturis, Bonifacio, Melky, and Buehrle could hack it in the AL East, but I'm not there just yet.
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hypobole - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 03:30 PM EDT (#271392) #
"At some point we need to start questioning the ability of all these Blue Jays scouts if they thought players like Izturis, Bonifacio, Melky, and Buehrle could hack it in the AL East, but I'm not there just yet."

I highly doubt our scouts were in agreement on all or even any of these individuals. It's the GM that makes the final call.
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Mike Green - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 03:31 PM EDT (#271393) #
I had projected Melky as an average hitter, and I still think that he will be.  He is however even slower than I expected and a little poorer in the outfield (as a consequence). 

The bizarre part about Melky is that if you look at his age 21 line and his age 27 line (last year), it looks like a normal development pattern.  He hit .280/.360/.391 at age 21 and .346/.390/.516 at age 27.  His power went up modestly (entirely typical), he hit more line drives (a bit unusual but not what one associates with PEDs) and his BABIP was up even more than reflected by the LD rate (presumably a luck thing primarily).  The typical PED profile is a significant unexpected increase in IsoP, with consequent changes to W rates as pitchers become more leery.  Cabrera's walk rate was down from age 21 to 27.
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ComebyDeanChance - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 04:29 PM EDT (#271399) #
we need to start questioning the ability of all these Blue Jays scouts if they thought players like Izturis, Bonifacio, Melky, and Buehrle could hack it in the AL East

I suppose at some point we could wonder about the quality of scouting, but it would have been pretty difficult to scout Cabrera recently. He was suspended for PED's much of last year and on them prior to that.
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Nigel - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 05:40 PM EDT (#271401) #
In Vancouver we get a lot of SF games on Sportsnet Pacific - it was really easy to scout the defense and running problems with Melky last year.  You only needed to watch one game.  If you sign Melky as anything other than a 4th outfielder then you are signing him for his bat. 
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ComebyDeanChance - Thursday, May 02 2013 @ 10:55 PM EDT (#271411) #
Nigel, the discussion, or at least my comment, concerned his offence. He could be Lou Brock in the outfield but you can't play left field if you have a 58 OPS+
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Nigel - Friday, May 03 2013 @ 01:20 AM EDT (#271421) #
Oh I agree. My comment was directed at the surprise that Cabrera is a defensive liability and has lost his speed. His signing was a gamble that his offensive bloom wasn't all PED related (because he offers nothing else otherwise). I thought it was a bad gamble but I guess others may feel differently.
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James W - Friday, May 03 2013 @ 08:22 AM EDT (#271425) #
I'd read that the backdating to the 29th was so the team could recall Brad Lincoln, who'd been optioned on the 28th. Had they backdated earlier, Lincoln would have been ineligible to return.
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Game Thread — 5/1 vs. Boston | 30 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.