Toronto Blue Jays

[2014olympicgold]

JBJ plays CF which is 420 feet deep. not a small CF at all

The rest of your points are fair.

What’s it to the BP wall that’s still CF but Mookie covers it? Genuine question, seems like 380?

Pillar’s dWAR is 2.1, while JBJ is 1.1.

The BP/Green monster hole is weird tho.

[LawMan]

Running discussion I have with some friends: which Jays 1B is better defensively EE or Smoak? Gibby seems to like to bring Smoak in late in close games for defensive purposes but nothing I've seen says he's better than EE. For a big man and a big bat EE is remarkably agile with the glove and has a solid stretch. I can really only remember one error of EE's all season where he dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Tulo. Looking it up each has 2 errors (Smoak with 90 GP to EE's 42) on the season EE's dwar is -0.9 and Smoak's is -0.7. So more or less neck and neck.

Looking at the playoffs, assuming Gibby decides to start Smoak I say he'd be better off with EE at 1st base and Smoak DH's because its far more likely Smoak will get lifted for a pinch-hitter/runner than EE. If Gibby lifts Smoak at DH for a player there's no problem, if however he lifts Smoak at 1B he'll be tempted to bring EE (backup 1B) in to play first, waiving the DH. Now everytime the DH spot comes up you're burning a bench player for a single AB, and are forced to change the pitcher. This all assumes Smoak is starting of course if somehow end up with Smoak on the in favour of the 4 OFs hitting (Bautista, Pillar, Upton and Saunders) then one of Bautista/Saunders (likely Bautista) can DH and EE starts at 1st.

Second question: Are we going to see Collabello at all this year? I believe his suspension is up and he's eligible to play the rest of the regular season (though not playoffs) could we see him added when the roster expansion occurs in September or are the Jays wanting nothing to do with him this season?

[2014olympicgold]

@LawMan

Think it’s more resting EE than Smoak being better. Smoak is good at 1B, and he throws left (easier to throw to 2^nd around a runner). I wouldn’t say he’s better at 1B, but he plays just as well, and lets EE rest. Also, EE was a 3B in the league before the Jays got him, he would cover the ground very well, but can’t throw for crap. So when he got to the Jays, we converted him to a 1B because you don’t throw much there. If it wasn’t the Jays converting him 1B, it was another team, right before the Jays got him.

Colly can’t play in the playoffs. May see him when the rosters expand in September, but I doubt he’ll see much time. No point getting a bat up to form before playoffs when he can’t play there.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, I think depending how Upton does in RF, you may see EE at 1^st, Upton at RF, and Bautista DH.

[LawMan]

@LawMan

Think it’s more resting EE than Smoak being better. Smoak is good at 1B, and he throws left (easier to throw to 2^nd around a runner). I wouldn’t say he’s better at 1B, but he plays just as well, and lets EE rest. Also, EE was a 3B in the league before the Jays got him, he would cover the ground very well, but can’t throw for crap. So when he got to the Jays, we converted him to a 1B because you don’t throw much there. If it wasn’t the Jays converting him 1B, it was another team, right before the Jays got him.

Colly can’t play in the playoffs. May see him when the rosters expand in September, but I doubt he’ll see much time. No point getting a bat up to form before playoffs when he can’t play there.

- - - Updated - - -


Also, I think depending how Upton does in RF, you may see EE at 1^st, Upton at RF, and Bautista DH.

Tried to rep you but apparently I've done it a bunch recently. Fair point on Smoak's throwing and resting EE, although I've heard both sides on the resting vs. playing a guy. Some people claim (Buck Martinez) that many 1B/DH's prefer to play in the field because they're more "into the game" and it helps they keep loose and warm. I can see how over the course of an entire season you'd want to limit field time for a big man but in the playoffs it may be different.

This whole discussion becomes moot if Smoak is not one of the Jays 9 best hitters, in that case he makes a solid switch hitting power bat to come off the bench late in games.

[2014olympicgold]

Tried to rep you but apparently I've done it a bunch recently. Fair point on Smoak's throwing and resting EE, although I've heard both sides on the resting vs. playing a guy. Some people claim (Buck Martinez) that many 1B/DH's prefer to play in the field because they're more "into the game" and it helps they keep loose and warm. I can see how over the course of an entire season you'd want to limit field time for a big man but in the playoffs it may be different.

This whole discussion becomes moot if Smoak is not one of the Jays 9 best hitters, in that case he makes a solid switch hitting power bat to come off the bench late in games.

Keeping a balanced lineup is something Gibbons likes too. He kept the lineup as EE-Saunders-Tulo-Martin for so long to separate all the RH batters. It makes bringing in a specialist pitcher easier for the opposing batter when you face the same side hitter. The extra LHB may be what Gibbons actually likes more than EE playing 1^st.

[2014olympicgold]

Somewhere, Ted Lilly and Shea Hillenbrand are having a chuckle at today's dugout scene.

I don't mean to defend Donaldson there, as he's obviously out of line, but Gibbons should wait until after the game if he wants to confront him.
Rookie manager move.

What happened?

---edit---

Nevermind I saw it on twitter. My guess was Gibbs said don’t smack a bat on the field/in front of me?

Donaldson and Gibbons highfived after he scored later, nothing major.

[Axeman33]

The last thing they need right now is Donaldson missing games due to injury.

[Zorro]

I hope his thumb is all good.. I also hope Gibbons doesn't even think about talking to our MVP like that ever again, HaHa..

[blayze]

[2014olympicgold]

Gibbons also was asked after the game what it was all about. Gibbons said, “well, after the 1^st AB I told him to grab a new bat that one wasn’t working. He took the same one up the second time and well you saw. He agreed with me at the dugout steps. And I told him to grab a new bat”.

Something along those lines lol.

[The Black Panther]

Classic Donaldson..

Shutup Media!!!

[2014olympicgold]

Jays fired some scouts yesterday:
http://www.tsn.ca/jays-fire-scouting...davis-1.549415

Let’s see, these are the guys who liked Jenkins over Trout, Deck McGuire over Sale, Tyler Beede over Joe Ross, DJ Davis over Corey Seager and Wacha.

I know it's hindsight is 20/20 tho.

[Axeman33]

Jays fired some scouts yesterday:
http://www.tsn.ca/jays-fire-scouting...davis-1.549415

Let’s see, these are the guys who liked Jenkins over Trout, Deck McGuire over Sale, Tyler Beede over Joe Ross, DJ Davis over Corey Seager and Wacha.

I know it's hindsight is 20/20 tho.

I am surprised Shapiro took this long to do this.

[2014olympicgold]

I am surprised Shapiro took this long to do this.

My guess is that it’s for the next draft. Shap had too much to do to fire someone only a few months before the 2016 draft (early June).

[Axeman33]

Gibbons also was asked after the game what it was all about. Gibbons said, “well, after the 1^st AB I told him to grab a new bat that one wasn’t working. He took the same one up the second time and well you saw. He agreed with me at the dugout steps. And I told him to grab a new bat”.

Something along those lines lol.

It went like this:

http://globalnews.ca/news/2889758/te.../?sf33712710=1

When Gibbons was asked about the incident during a post game interview, he failed to corroborate Donaldson’s potent interpretation of the encounter.

“I told him after that first at bat, ‘get a new bat, that one ain’t working,'” Gibbons said. “He took the same one up the second time, that didn’t work so he chose to break it.”

“So I went down and told him, ‘you should have listened to me,'” jested Gibbons. “That was basically it.”