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The Blue Jays are in San Francisco for a pair for round two of the Bergen Bowl. #LetsGoBlueJays

Image from CBC.ca


Series Schedule / Probable Starters

Tuesday at 9:45 pm ET - Trent Thornton vs. Nick Vincent
Wednesday at 3:45 pm ET - Edwin Jackson vs. TBA

The Giants will use the opener strategy for the first time this year with Nick Vincent. Tyler Beede-the former unsigned Blue Jays 2011 first rounder-and Derek Holland are expected to be next in line according to this preview. Edwin Jackson is expected to make his Jays debut Wednesday after being acquired from Oakland for cash. San Francisco is in the basement of the NL West at 17-23 but they swept the Jays in Toronto during the two-game Kevin Pillar lovefest. Speaking of Superman, he is not having a super season with the bat as he is currently slashing .232/.263/.416 with six home runs, 21 runs batted in and four stolen bases. Yangervis Solarte is faring worse by hitting just .205 with a .562 OPS. Rule 5 pick Travis Bergen is 2-0 with a 5.14 earned run average with a 12-6 K/BB ratio in 14 innings.

The Jays lost two of three to the Chicago White Sox over the weekend to give them 24 losses in their first 40 games. They're only 2-1/2 games out of last in the AL East. The Toronto Sun looks back at the first quarter of this season.
Blue Jays @ Giants - May 14-15 | 45 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
scottt - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 08:18 PM EDT (#374071) #
The Toronto Sun is not where I look for baseball insight.

Tonight's game is too late for me.
Jackson wasn't very good in his PCL outings.
They'll have to make some moves before Wednesday.

Nigel - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 08:59 PM EDT (#374072) #
The early returns on the Pillar deal don’t look promising for either team - to put it politely.
SK in NJ - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:08 PM EDT (#374073) #
Morales has been traded to the Yankees.
greenfrog - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:16 PM EDT (#374074) #
If you want a decent return on your players, you have to move them when they still have market value. You can't have it both ways, that is, by holding on to them for as long as possible to extract maximum value and then trying to trade them when it's clear that they really aren't worth that much anymore.
greenfrog - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:25 PM EDT (#374075) #
7 3 2 2 0 17

I think Chris Sale might be getting back to his usual self.
SK in NJ - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:30 PM EDT (#374076) #
This FO definitely has a tendency to wait too long before moving a player, whether due to ownership or their own choosing. Of course in the case of Donaldson it was injury and with Osuna it was unexpected legal trouble, so bad luck has also factored in.

With Pillar, it's hard to say when the right time to move him would have been. Teams typically don't trade good prospects for defensive-only outfielders so Pillar definitely had more value to a team that wanted to make the playoffs in 2016-18 than he would have as a trade asset. De Paula is a lottery ticket but I don't think waiting would have accomplished much better. Between what the Jays got back and what they did immediately afterwards, it seems Pillar was more of a salary dump for the Grichuk extension.
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:36 PM EDT (#374077) #
making quick decisive moves is too risky.
hypobole - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:45 PM EDT (#374078) #
Shapiro said he wanted to tear down after 2016, but ownership said no. You can believe him or not, but I'm sure Rogers is aware of his comments and he wouldn't still be here if he was outright lying, since it's ownership's prerogative to retain or fire him.

There was a Hardball Times story last year on contention cycles. The one team that went into rebuild mode while many felt they should still be attempting to contend was Frank Wren's Atlanta Braves. For that (and I'm sure other things) Wren ended up with a pink slip.
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#374079) #
there it is.

what a shot, baby boy.
Magpie - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 10:55 PM EDT (#374080) #
Can't be very often that an AL pitcher gets his first hit before his first win.
hypobole - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:09 PM EDT (#374081) #
Vladdy's 438-foot blast to center field was the second-longest by a Blue Jay this season and the exit velocity of 111.3 mph was third-hardest home run by a Blue Jay.

A shot indeed.
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:20 PM EDT (#374082) #
Ian Hunter @BlueJayHunter
1h
That home run for Vladdy was 111.3 MPH off the bat to dead centre field.


Ben Nicholson-Smith @bnicholsonsmith
57m
Now a single for Vlad Jr. at 111.6 m.p.h.

Sure seems like he's hitting his stride #BlueJays


Ben Nicholson-Smith @bnicholsonsmith
21m
Vlad Jr. just hit a foul ball 120 m.p.h.

For context: no one does that
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:31 PM EDT (#374083) #
Oh my.

The monster is unleashed.
hypobole - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:33 PM EDT (#374084) #
Vlad and Thornton - the backbone of our offence.
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:34 PM EDT (#374085) #
113.7mph exit velo
Magpie - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:38 PM EDT (#374086) #
The kid looks ready.
uglyone - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:38 PM EDT (#374087) #
And just like that vladdy's up to a 101wrc+.

Now watch him fly.
Nigel - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:43 PM EDT (#374088) #
Thornton looks infinitely more capable at the plate than any OF on the team not named Grichuk. Free Thornton CFer!!!!!
Magpie - Tuesday, May 14 2019 @ 11:56 PM EDT (#374090) #
Pillar played that one like Clark Kent.
hypobole - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 10:07 AM EDT (#374099) #
The Jays are a bad team. The Nats have Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin. The Jays have a better W-L record than the Nats.

We also pulled even with the Giants last night. Jays and Giants have been very similar under-achievers the past 2 seasons. The Giants had a bet-hedging offseason, similar to the Jays a year prior. Seems highly likely the Giants will finally do their sell-off this year.

If you ran the FO of an aging fringe contender, what odds % would it take for you to keep trying? Dan Zips at FG suggested 10%, but for me it would have to be double that.
uglyone - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 10:43 AM EDT (#374104) #
Depends what you mean by trying.

If all trying means is spending more money to keep a winning core together, then there's not much downside to trying.
Gerry - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 11:02 AM EDT (#374109) #
Edwin Jackson activated. Pannone to Buffalo. Shoemaker to 60 day IL.
hypobole - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#374115) #
There's not much downside as a fan to just keep spending money on an aging core, even though almost invariably it doesn't work. It may stave off the inevitable for a season or 2 or it may not.

And unless the FO has a really strong relationship with the owner, it will probably cost their jobs, which again as fans, has no downside.
GabrielSyme - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 01:16 PM EDT (#374122) #
If the Jays decide to sell off at the deadline, as seems extremely likely, our main trade chips look pretty good: Giles has been one of the best relievers in the game again, Stroman has started fairly strong, and Smoak, though unlucky, has excellent underlying numbers. Add to that the unexpected contributions of Sogard and Galvis, and there aren't really significant trade candidates who have thus far underperformed. The problem, of course, is that few of the putative replacements for these guys have stepped up. Our bullpen without Giles would look pretty terrible, for example.
PeterG - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#374124) #
I don't think that Smoak has any trade value.
Glevin - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 02:06 PM EDT (#374126) #
Smoak has minimal trade value and that isn't going to really change. Too many 1B types available. Giles, Stroman, and Sanchez are the guys with value/potential value of the veterans. Best hope of getting more value is hoping some of the middle relievers pitch well because teams always need relievers.
rpriske - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#374130) #
The Jays just picked up Jimmy Cordero off waivers from the Nationals.
bpoz - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 03:12 PM EDT (#374131) #
Our OF is young now. Probably the main positive.

I think we should obtain a young, quality, OF that can play CF, RF and LF. We probably do that in the off season because we are not trying to win this year. Next year I think is a "see as it goes" year.

We have a list of young OFs on the 40 man roster but the "quality aspect" is not yet evident. We should know by seasons end who is good.

Other examples of surplus assets are A Diaz, T Thornton and Pillar. Thornton is the only player who has to establish what value he has.

We traded DSJ, E Olivares and Lane Thomas all in minor deals. St Louis traded Grichuk and S Piscotty in deals where they did not fleece anyone. I think Oakland, St Louis and Toronto are all happy with those trades. Everyone gave up something surplus for their individual needs.



Glevin - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 03:21 PM EDT (#374132) #
Cordero apparently throws very hard (His 4-seam fastball has averaged 98 MPH in the majors, his sinker 97 MPH). Has terrible control which is why he doesn't succeed anywhere. Worth a shot to see if you can fix something in Buffalo.
Gerry - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 03:23 PM EDT (#374133) #
Cordero was a Blue Jay until the Ben Revere trade.
uglyone - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 03:25 PM EDT (#374134) #
in case you were wondering about the other half of that Ben Revere trade, Alberto Tirado may be out of baseball at the tender age of 24.
92-93 - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 05:49 PM EDT (#374136) #
First and third no outs and the Jays can't score a run (Hernandez K, McKinney GIDP). Hopefully Montoya isn't dissuaded by the result of taking the safety squeeze off for McKinney with a 2-0 count, as it was the right decision.
Nigel - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 06:47 PM EDT (#374138) #
Any time the FO decides to cut bait on Hernandez and/or Mckinney I will be supportive. I’m not saying that it needs to happen right now but I would have no complaints if they decided to try Plan B in the OF.
hypobole - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 07:14 PM EDT (#374140) #
Both McKinney and Teoscar have 2 remaining options. Has there been any update on Pompey?
SK in NJ - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 07:30 PM EDT (#374141) #
I am thoroughly unimpressed by Billy McKinney. He does nothing well. Maybe he will eventually hit RHP well enough to be a passable platoon OF, but so far I see a player who doesn't hit the ball hard, doesn't field well in any corner, and doesn't provide base running value. You can at least dream on Teoscar's 2018 stat cast numbers. There could be some untapped power potential, and his minor league BB% was a lot better so improvement there might be sustainable. Either way, both him and McKinney look like entirely replaceable pieces that should be pushed aside the moment a better option presents itself. Luckily for them the OF across the entire organization is poor, so they have some time.
Nigel - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 08:32 PM EDT (#374142) #
Funnily enough, I’ve always been more optimistic about McKinney than Hernandez because his flaws are less pronounced. But, my optimism was founded on the assumption that he could at least be an average defender in the corners. I don’t see that from him. He’s leaking value defensively, and with the rest of his offensive and base running profile, that isn’t going to cut it. He probably has a longer leash because the Jays really don’t have another LH OF until Pompey comes back or they try Biggio in the OF. As for Hernandez, the power potential is intriguing but he isn’t young and the major league sample size for him is getting big and ugly.
scottt - Wednesday, May 15 2019 @ 09:54 PM EDT (#374143) #
If the season ended today, I'd expect the hitting coach to be replaced.
However, we're barely starting the meaningful portion of the schedule, lots of baseball to play.

Mike Green - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 02:02 PM EDT (#374154) #
Is it just me, or has Teoscar Hernandez lost quite a bit of weight?  Last year, he reminded me in stature of Jesse Barfield.  This year, he appears to me to be closer to Enos Cabell (OK, he's a bit bigger than Enos). 
Mike Green - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 03:23 PM EDT (#374157) #
The Bisons tweet that Richard Urena has been recalled, and that Socrates Brito passed through waivers.  No word yet on the corresponding move for the Urena transaction.
Mike Green - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 03:24 PM EDT (#374158) #
Teoscar has been optioned to Buffalo with Urena coming up.
hypobole - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 03:56 PM EDT (#374164) #
1 option left for Teoscar, 2 for McKinney. Although it's getting to the point where that's about as important as how many options Brito has; as in "don't know, don't care".
hypobole - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 04:02 PM EDT (#374165) #
And the grumpy old man in me hopes that's the end of those sunflower showers.
Mike Green - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 04:15 PM EDT (#374167) #
Stop planting sunflowers on my lawn?
Nigel - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#374171) #
As I said yesterday, no complaints from me with that move. I don’t hold out much hope for it but stranger things have happened than Hernandez reappearing as a useful player down the road but I have zero issues with him working away in Buffalo on that. Now, recalling Urena is an odd choice given the need for an OF. I assume we’ll see a healthy dose of Drury and Sogard in the OF. That wouldn’t be my first choice.
scottt - Thursday, May 16 2019 @ 07:12 PM EDT (#374174) #
I'm thinking the outfield is set with Grichuk, Davis, Mckinney and Drury.
Might as well start McKinney against the righties.

Urena has played well enough when he was here to earn a recall.
Might have to rest Galvis to get him some playing time though.
Alternatively, he's an other left bat for that starter with really bad splits.

Blue Jays @ Giants - May 14-15 | 45 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.