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2011 Blue Jays/MLB Thread

Deebo said:
McGowan will start for the rest of the season, 4 starts scheduled.

I think there is reason to be optimistic given how he played the other night.  Good for him.  If he can get back to close to what he was before the injuries, the Jays will be better for it.
 
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2011/09/05/moneyball_neyer/


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CORMACK: What about Toronto and market inefficiencies and the moves Anthopoulos has made when it comes to getting guys that still have some upside, but maybe have fallen out of favour with their clubs.

I?m thinking of Escobar, Rasmus and Morrow. Does that jive with Beane?s thinking, and an example of an inefficiency in the market?

NEYER: Absolutely and I think those are even tougher because sometimes those players are seen as undesirable for reasons that have nothing to do with performance.

Rasmus was not getting along well with his manager, so now we?re throwing personality into the mix, but I certainly think if you?re the Blue Jays you got to take a chance on getting some of those guys.

I think that?s a great example of a potential market inefficiency; a player who might be fine personality-wise who just doesn?t get along with his manager. If you can get those guys on the cheap, as the Blue Jays did, I think you?re in good shape.

---


 
Jays get shut out on a great 3-hit pitching performance by the amazing... wait, Jeremy Guthrie? 17-loss man Jeremy Guthrie?

Jays hitting can be as inconsistent as their pitching (well, maybe not that much :)). They have made a lot of mediocre pitchers look good lately.
 
Derk said:
Jays get shut out on a great 3-hit pitching performance by the amazing... wait, Jeremy Guthrie? 17-loss man Jeremy Guthrie?

Jays hitting can be as inconsistent as their pitching (well, maybe not that much :)). They have made a lot of mediocre pitchers look good lately.

Also, none of the callups are playing but, hey, Mike McCoy and Mark Teahen need playing time, right?
 
Someone suggested Brendan Morrow would fare better as a closer.  Some proof.....

From:  http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2011/09/09/carson_looking_for_relief/

A statistical breakdown of Morrow's career to date certainly adds to the debate:

STARTER > 4.73 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .243 Opp Avg, 0.97 HR/9 IP

RELIEVER > 3.65 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, .217 Opp Avg, 0.84 HR/ 9 IP

While Morrow hasn't exactly been an automatic in save situations (16 for 22 career), the fact that he's one of the top strikeout artists of his generation adds to the intrigue. Over his two seasons with the Blue Jays, Morrow's rate of 10.41 Ks per nine innings is tops in the majors....

...one has to wonder just how durable the 27-year-old diabetic is and what affect the disease might have on his performance.


One of the reasons the Jays were unable to move on up in the standings...

.... the lack of a credible closer -- leading to an A.L.-high (or worst, depending on how you look at it) 23 blown saves to date -- was the biggest reason the Jays were unable to at least reel in the Tampa Bay Rays and stay within striking distance of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.


Some feel-good news on the offensive front...

Jose Bautista's defence of his home run title, the full throttle arrival of Brett Lawrie, the speed element brought to the table by Rajai Davis and ...... the breakout performances by Eric Thames and Henderson Alvarez.

All in all, we can say that the Jays had offensive highlights, pitching inconsistencies and inefficiencies, etc., etc.

There is hope in the likes of McGowan making it a full season next year (so desperately needed to help support an already weak pitching staff); Ricky Romero's improvement after several disappointing starts; Brett Lawrie (at least some prospect talent!, though his defence needs work); all these prospects -- Cooper, Hecchavaria, Loewen, et al. for the future (eventually as semi-permanent call-ups), and, the presence and promise(?) of some $$ to take the chance on a free-agent or two(??) if Anthropoulos feels the need to buy time, so to speak, to give the team a boost in climbing higher in the A.L. East ladder while the Jays' prospects are developing.   











 
hockeyfan1 said:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/2011/09/05/moneyball_neyer/


---

CORMACK: What about Toronto and market inefficiencies and the moves Anthopoulos has made when it comes to getting guys that still have some upside, but maybe have fallen out of favour with their clubs.

I?m thinking of Escobar, Rasmus and Morrow. Does that jive with Beane?s thinking, and an example of an inefficiency in the market?

NEYER: Absolutely and I think those are even tougher because sometimes those players are seen as undesirable for reasons that have nothing to do with performance.

Rasmus was not getting along well with his manager, so now we?re throwing personality into the mix, but I certainly think if you?re the Blue Jays you got to take a chance on getting some of those guys.

I think that?s a great example of a potential market inefficiency; a player who might be fine personality-wise who just doesn?t get along with his manager. If you can get those guys on the cheap, as the Blue Jays did, I think you?re in good shape.

---

I have yet to figure out why anyone would want to emulate Billy Beane's managerial style. The guys had little (10 years ago) to no success on the field, and his drafting record is pretty average, unless you have a thing for Swisher or Brown.
 
How Television could launch a Rangers dynasty

Interesting article from over at Grantland about the way Baseball teams are taking in huge money from their local TV deals. Seems especially interesting for a team like the Blue Jays who, because they're owned by Rogers, probably won't see the same sort of financial windfall but may very well be invested in by the parent company as if they had a similar sort of deal.
 
Hard to imagine that a GM wanting to capitalize on market inefficiencies would strike anybody as controversial.
 
skippy said:
I have yet to figure out why anyone would want to emulate Billy Beane's managerial style. The guys had little (10 years ago) to no success on the field, and his drafting record is pretty average, unless you have a thing for Swisher or Brown.

I'm not sure I'd call 5 playoff appearances, including 4 division titles, and a pair of 100+ win seasons "little to no success." That's a lot more than most of the league has accomplished in that same time frame. Sure, they never went anywhere in the playoffs, but, for a good chunk of Beane's time running the show, they were among the best teams in baseball.
 
Also, if people are genuinely curious about the fuss over Billy Beane it should be noted that he took over the A's in 1998, a year after the team went 65-97. Their records from that time until Moneyball was published were:

98: 74-88
99: 87-75
00: 91-70
01: 102-60
02: 103-59
03: 96-66
 
Also, I think it's a little misleading to say that the A's went "nowhere" in the playoffs. The '03 A's, who the movie is probably going to focus on, got knocked out in the ALDS but took the Red Sox, a team that more than doubled their payroll, to the full five games, losing the three games by a combined 4 runs.

But, again, that's another of the criticisms that doesn't really seem applicable to what the book is about. What Beane was noted for was for building the most competitive team possible with the comparatively limited resources at his disposal. I can't think of anyone who's done a more successful job of that in the history of Baseball.
 
Jays take two of three from the Orioles, another come from behind in the late innings. McGowan wasn't too sharp, but there is still plenty of time left for him to get back into the swing of things. Francisco saved the game, too! :o
 
Derk said:
Jays take two of three from the Orioles, another come from behind in the late innings. McGowan wasn't too sharp, but there is still plenty of time left for him to get back into the swing of things. Francisco saved the game, too! :o

And Loewen hit a home run.
 
What is wrong with Morrow? Yet ANOTHER horrible start in a winnable game. Maybe the Jays need to shut him down for the rest of the season so we don't have to watch him lose the rest of his games. Boston was down and out, Wakefield was wavering and Morrow handed them an easy win (okay, so Perez came in and gave up four hits without getting an out).

I would really like to see Tampa catch Boston, but the Jays don't seem to be doing them any favours tonight. :(
 
Derk said:
What is wrong with Morrow? Yet ANOTHER horrible start in a winnable game. Maybe the Jays need to shut him down for the rest of the season so we don't have to watch him lose the rest of his games. Boston was down and out, Wakefield was wavering and Morrow handed them an easy win (okay, so Perez came in and gave up four hits without getting an out).

I would really like to see Tampa catch Boston, but the Jays don't seem to be doing them any favours tonight. :(

From what I can tell, there are two major problems with Morrow right now - his breaking pitches are inconsistent, so he can't rely on them, and he's leaving his fastball up in the zone, which makes it a lot more hittable. Shutting him down may not be a bad idea, as it's probably a mechanical issue that will be easier to fix outside of game situations.
 

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