Goins is under team control, I think, so I'd expect him back next season. As we've long discussed, the front office will be tasked to find a further backup infielder who is good enough to tolerate for long stretches of playing time, given the fragility of the starting 2B and SS. Finding someone good enough to start who won't be given a starting job could prove challenging.

Caught Wilner for a few minutes last night. First time all season. A caller phoned in to specifically comment on much he enjoyed watching the Goins/Barney tandem this season, and how great they were. I guess his enjoyment is a subjective experience, so there's no point arguing that. But what an unexpected comment to hear.

No evidence of sarcasm, whatsoever. And no evidence that he was "playing" Wilner. Never mind the varying opinions at this site, there is a big group of people that see Blue Jay matters very differently.

1.'09 R.Ruiz (31): 130pa, 164wrc+

Remember when Randy Ruiz was going to be the next big thing? (No, really, this time it's different. This guy has got something.)

3.'11 B.Lawrie (21): 171pa, 157wrc+

Lots of excitement in these parts over his rookie "season" (all of 150 AB). The countdown to Cooperstown was underway.

5.'02 J.Phelps (24): 287pa, 141wrc+

That was around the timing of the start of this website. Phelps is going to be something big. Really. This guy is going to be huge. The ball sounds different coming off his bat.

You're right. All this Hernandez shade seems preemptive and not in direct response to any one person's hyperbolic's claims.

The poor bastard has hit 7 homeruns in a month and all he's getting is grief!

Thing is, if you're a 7-WAR player, and lose 0.5 WAR per year, you're still a damn good player several years later. Donaldson's starting point in his descent is just so much higher than most everybody else's.

A quarter century ago, Kevin Maas made the world unsafe for wild-eyed optimists.

If the defensive metrics are to be believed, he was worth over 8 WAR on defense alone during those 3 seasons.

It should be noted that Kiermaier has been worth 10 defensive WAR over the past 3 seasons, and that's in just 340 games, not much more than 2 full seasons.

The value of defense has gone up over these past years (I recall Kiermaier's current contract raising some eyebrows), but a defensive WAR is still vastly underpriced. I wonder if that stems from the lack of trust in defensive valuations or the age old siren's cry of offensive juggernauts (which, admittedly, has abated some in recent years).

I am surprised now to see White listed at only 6'1". I was expecting 6'3" or 6'4". In a sense he reminds me of his fellow countryman, Usain Bolt. Both took longer strides than their peers, making what they were doing seem easy, and not an exertion. White won 7 gold gloves in 8 seasons, so it's not like he wasn't being recognized for his defense. But he didn't inspire the same Superman passion among fans that Pillar does, optics leading to strong subjective opinions.

The value of defense has gone up over these past years (I recall Kiermaier's current contract raising some eyebrows), but a defensive WAR is still vastly underpriced. I wonder if that stems from the lack of trust in defensive valuations or the age old siren's cry of offensive juggernauts (which, admittedly, has abated some in recent years).

I think the large error bars for defensive metrics continue to make it hard to value (especially things like catcher and 1st baseman defense).

The other problem with defense is that it peaks very early like speed, so it is mostly found in cheap, pre-arb players. There are obviously outliers like Beltre, Yadier Molina, Heyward, Kiermaier, etc, but in general, defense is freely available and cheap if you don't care about corresponding offensive output and only depreciates as it gives expensive as defense seems to peak and decline very early on

Look at a guy like Ryan Goins. Defensive metrics over the last two years suggest that at 29 he's lost all his defensive value in addition to his negative offensive contributions, dragging his value below replacement. This is just when he's about to leave his pre-arb years and become not quite as cheap anymore

The Jays obviously don't fully agree with the defensive metrics, but the truth likely lies somewhere in between. At 29, he's already lost a few steps defensively, has lost any little value he had and is about to start getting paid

I think it's actually the other way around. We're talking about Goins because people are saying good things about him. For the first part of the season he was hanging around -2 WAR but now, because of that clutchiness--which is just luck, really--he's popped himself up to replacement level.

There's so much money in baseball right now, neither figure to suffer too terribly, so I'll save my tears. But the existence of the other should, in theory, lower each one's value. The age disparity should mean that Machado fully expects to receive a longer offer, and maybe that sends suitors with shorter offers in mind Donaldson's way.

I have no idea how all this will play out. But I'm sure each wished they were the only belle at the ball.

In his three years in Toronto, Donaldson has hit 59 HR at home and 52 on the road.

A scene right out of Chinatown. I'm Joey, I'm Albert, I'm Joey, I'm Albert...

I think the final record projection is about right, but the run differential is definitely off. A team outscored by 667 runs would have a seasonal total around, say, 400RF, 1067 RA - pythag says that would lead to about 20 wins.

If each position player was about replacement, or -20 runs, you'd be down 9x20 = 180 runs. With an average pitching staff, you're around 60 wins at that level. Another way to look at it is that WAR is split between position players and pitchers 57%-43%. So a replacement team for position players should still get 43% of the average league WAR with an average pitching staff, or about 14 wins above replacement total (62-100)