Toronto Blue Jays

[The Black Panther]

Brett Cecil of old. Holy cow he was nasty.

[hockeyrobot]

Why would Bautista say something about the pitcher tomorrow "probably shaking in his boots"?!?! What does that accomplish? About as much as throwing your bat down and walking to 1st before the ump assigns a walk....that's how much.

[2014olympicgold]

Why would Bautista say something about the pitcher tomorrow "probably shaking in his boots"?!?! What does that accomplish? About as much as throwing your bat down and walking to 1st before the ump assigns a walk....that's how much.

The reporter asked if they knew anything about the pitcher and the full quote was something like, “We'll try to look at videos, look at some scouting reports, see how his ball moves," Bautista told reporters. "Not having seen him is something that could go either way. With our experience and our lineup I'm pretty sure he's going to be shaking in his boots more than we are. I like where we're at."

I think it sounds not as bad with the full quote.

[Axeman33]

Nice to see the offense show up to help out the pitchers for a change.

[2014olympicgold]

Merritt Pitching Profile:
Pitch – Speed (% he throws it)

4-seam FB – 87.3mph (52.8%)
2-seam FB – 80.9mph (6.3%)
Cutter – 85MPH (3.9%)
Slider – 85mph (11.0%)
Curveball – 71.9mph (3.2%)
Changeup – 79.8mph (22.8%)

Merritt doesn’t walk guys (normally). He walked just 1.4/9IP during his 6minor league seasons. He didn’t walk anyone in his 11IP with the Indians this yr. He’s going to fill the strikezone up, hopefully the Jays are ready to swing. The best part is the Fastball too Changeup isn’t the ideal 10mph difference, and he throws his fastball OFTEN. Against the Jays, that could be good news for Jays Fans.

[PenguinHunter]

Why would Bautista say something about the pitcher tomorrow "probably shaking in his boots"?!?! What does that accomplish? About as much as throwing your bat down and walking to 1st before the ump assigns a walk....that's how much.

This is more like UFC smash talk then Baseball... haha

[bondon]

I've actually felt like the Jays have had more success sitting on breaking pitches so far in the post season. They keep huffing their swings on fastballs right down the middle it's pretty unreal.

And yes, EMG you're absolutely right. You should never underestimate a starter that you've never seen before/very limited opportunity to see. It's incredibly common for a young pitcher to make a debut or start out a season with amazing stat lines because guys simply have not seen them before and don't know a whole lot about them. If this guy has a tough mental game, it wouldn't surprise me to see him blank the Jays.

Bautista's comments were laughable. Guy needs a gag.

[hockeyrobot]

At least he's a leftie!!!

[Zorro]

I applaud Bautista for actually speaking his mind and not giving us the same old boring stuff!!

GO JAYS GO!!

[Kofax]

Here's hoping Estrada settles in. Was looking a little shaky in that first inning.

[hockeyrobot]

Jays need to swing at this guy holy crap! He's not gonna be shaking in his boots if he already has 3 K looking

[Godin]

Here's hoping Estrada settles in. Was looking a little shaky in that first inning.

...and the 2nd. Time to pull him me thinks. Their pitching is too good for us. Plain and simple. Rookie or not.

[Axeman33]

The kid doesn't look like he's shaking in his boots at all.

[Godin]

Miller time. He is due to get beat isn't he???

[PenguinHunter]

Miller time. He is due to get beat isn't he???

Not if he comes in and gets 2 outs with 1 pitch. dang!