2018 Toronto Blue Jays General Season Thread

[hockeyfan1]

A win that spells relief!

The Jays edged the Phillies 6-5 on a homer by Justin Smoak, a pair of doubles by Pillar & Solarte, and an excellent outing by starter Sam Gaviglio.

Gaviglio went to six innings and struck out seven for the win.  Ryan Tepera closed out the ninth with the save.

Story:
https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/blue-jays-hold-on-to-defeat-phillies-6-5-052518

 

[hockeyfan1]

Osuna, what's the deal with administrative leave extensions? Why don't they just extend it to the court date and go from there?

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-pitcher-roberto-osunas-administrative-leave-extended/

How does all this work? Does he have to be proven guilty in court before a MLB suspension can be applied? That could take forever.

MLB Commisioner Manfred will ultimately decide when & how long the suspension will be.  It does not (apparently) rest on the outcome of the case, or whether there is or ialsn't any physical violence involved:

Major League Baseball immediately placed Osuna on administrative leave and have since extended his leave in order to continue the information gathering process.

It should be noted that when a player is on administrative leave he continues to receive his regular pay and credit for major-league service time. Once MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred considers the information gathering process finished, they have the right to punish Osuna however they see fit, regardless of how the legal system handles the case.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/jaysjournal.com/2018/05/17/what-baseballs-second-chance-culture-means-for-roberto-osuna/amp/



Also:

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has complete latitude based on MLB rules ? though the players union can grieve any decision, so rulings are made with their knowledge.

https://frsbaseball.com/mlb/blue-jays/heyman-blue-jays-closer-osuna-could-be-facing-significant-ban/


So far, MLB has extended Osuna's asministrative leave (with pay) until June 7.  After that, it's anyone's guess what MLB Commissioner Manfred decides as he has sole discretion of imposing a suspension, whether it is a minimum 15 days (accusations/allegations of a  non-physical nature) or a lengthier 30+ days (accusations/allegations of a physical nature).

Once MLB gathers all of the information, it will make it's decision.  They could wait until after the court date (June 18), when the nature of the case will be heard.

Major League Baseball has extended the administrative leave for Roberto Osuna for another week through June 4.

It's the third time his leave has been extended as MLB continues to investigate Osuna's arrest for assault. He's due to appear in court on June 18 and a lengthy suspension is likely coming sometime after that.    - May 25 - 1:09 PM
Source: MLB PR on Twitter

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/mlb/7438/roberto-osuna

 

[sickbeast]

Guys Osuna is gone.  He will never play another game as a Blue Jay.  Look at what Rogers did with Gregg Zaun.  Osuna will be traded and I don't think the Jays have any chance of getting fair market value for him.  I guess the good news is that there was some merit in trading Osuna anyway.  However we have seen lately what happens without him.  Clippard has been blowing games late and he was shaky again last night.

 

[Andy007]

Quick Vlad update:

Hitting .435 with a 1.211 OPS with 10 HR and 48 RBI in 168 At Bats. He has a 18:17 BB to SO ratio.

He turned 19 two months ago 

 

[sickbeast]

Quick Vlad update:

Hitting .435 with a 1.211 OPS with 10 HR and 48 RBI in 168 At Bats. He has a 18:17 BB to SO ratio.

He turned 19 two months ago 

His defense is suspect from what I hear.  If he came up to Toronto he would probably DH.  And Morales would be gone or else used off the bench.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Jays win 5-3 Sunday afternoon on a two-run homer by Granderson, and some doubles by Devon Travis.  The Blue Jays took two out of three in this series.

Jays' starter J.A.Happ pitched six innings allowing three runs but striking out eight.  A solid outing by Happ no doubt.  He is currently the Jays' winningest starter to date.  And Mr. Consistent. 

Recap:
https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2018/5/27/17400988/blue-jays-series-win-philles

 

[hockeyfan1]

vs

Starting Pitchers:
Monday May 28  1pm
Aaron Sanchez RH (Blue Jays)  2-4  4.07 ERA vs David Price LH (Red Sox) 4-4  4.08 ERA

[]Tuesday May 29[/u]  7pm
Marco Estrada RH (Blue Jays) 2-5  5.40 ERA vs Rick Porcello RH (Red Sox) 6-2  3.74 ERA

Wednesday May 30  7pm
Sam Naviglio RH (Blue Jays) 2-0  2.30 ERA vs Eduardo Rodriguez LH (Red Sox) 5-1  4.02 ERA

All games on SN & SN590 radio.


Source:  MLB.com,  thestar.com,  FOXSports

The Blue Jays venture to Fenway Park for a three-game series against the Boston Red sox.

The Jays are 11.0 GBL Boston, who reclaimed the top spot from the Yankees (the Bosox are just a game ahead of New York), and 7.5 GB the wildcard spot.

It's becoming a tough winning act to follow for the Jays but this most recent series against the Phillies where they took two out of three gives reason to smile.  Not since May 2 has Toronto been on the winning side of a series.  Some positive results that gave way to some positive starting pitching, particularly along the likes of J.A.Happ & Sam Gaviglio.

These two -- Happ & Gaviglio -- have been consistent, something so lacking in the Jays' starting rotation.  Also, Kendrys Morales, the Jay fans are keen to dislike due to is sometimes lacklustre performances, has gone 6 for 19 in the last two series with four RBIs.
None of that compares to the Red Sox' Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez who've burned up the A.L. in the offence category.

Regardless, the Jays need to keep on rollin'.

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS!

 

[sickbeast]

Donaldson is hurt again and Sanchez was really shaky again today.  There is speculation that he's not throwing his curveball due to more finger issues.  It's looking more and more as though this team will be blown up at some point this season.  The sad news is that they won't get much for Donaldson the way he has been playing and battling through injuries.  Happ is their only true trade piece at this point.

 

[hockeyfan1]

vs

Starting Pitchers:
Friday June 1  7pm
Jaime Garcia LH (Blie Jays) 3-3  5.52 ERA vs Blaine Hardy LH (Tigers)  1-0  2.70  ERA

Saturday June 2  4pm
J.A. Happ LH (Blue Jays)  7-3  3.84 ERA vs Matt Boyd LH (Tigers)  1-1  2.40 ERA

Sunday June 3  1pm
Aaron Sanchez RH (Blue Jays)  2-5  4.77 ERA vs Michael Fulmer RH (Tigers)  2-4; 4.00 ERA

All games SN & SN590 radio.


Source:  MLB.com,  thestar.com,  ESPN.com


The Blue Jays play the Detroit Tigers for a three--game series at Comerica Park.

While the Tigers sit in second spot at 4.5 GBL Cleveland in the A.L.Central, the Blue Jays are a whopping 13.5 GBL Boston and in fourth in thw A.L. East.

That's where the differences end and the similarities begin in terms of the WC race for these two teams -- Detroit being 8.0 GB and the Jays 9.0 GB -- right now a bit of a mountain to climb, so to speak.

Of course, as Jays fans we're concerned about Toronto's place both in the standings and on the field.  Having just gotten swept in their most recent series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Jays had not won back-to-back games in the month of May -- for the first time since 1979.  Ugh!  That long!?!  Yes.

Add to that the fact that their starting rotation including their relievers appear a ragtag bunch, with only J.A.Happ and Sam Gaviglio resembling a sense of consistency, it's safe ro say that a starter like Marco Estrada leads the Majors in runs allowed.  That alone tells the sad tale of T.O. starters.  The Jays relievers have also allowed an unusual number of walks.  Not having Osuna as the closer isn't helping the situation neither. 

The Jays offence certainly didn't help in the Boston series or in prior games especially this past May month, where they averaged just a little over 3 runs per game.  When the bats are not hitting the rubber much, the results are equally abysmal.

The Jays had the day off Thursday. 

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS!

 

[sickbeast]

Another loss today.  It's not going to be too much longer until we're going to have to say "stick a fork in it, they're done".  I liked the off season moves by Shapiro and Atkins however they have not panned out at all.  Grichuk with his .100 batting average really stands out.

I'm guessing Happ and Donaldson will be gone at the trade deadline.  Perhaps some others also.  Maybe some of their bullpen pieces.  Too bad.  Hopefully the pain won't last too long.  It seems like baseball rebuilds are much quicker than hockey rebuilds.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Another loss today.  It's not going to be too much longer until we're going to have to say "stick a fork in it, they're done".  I liked the off season moves by Shapiro and Atkins however they have not panned out at all.  Grichuk with his .100 batting average really stands out.

I'm guessing Happ and Donaldson will be gone at the trade deadline.  Perhaps some others also.  Maybe some of their bullpen pieces.  Too bad.  Hopefully the pain won't last too long.  It seems like baseball rebuilds are much quicker than hockey rebuilds.

JD (Josh Donaldson) was placed on the 10-day DL (calf tightness).  Don't see how this increases his trade value considering the season he's been having. 

Morales (the $11M man),  Martin (the team's strikeout king), Stroman (and his sesson from hell), etc., the list is endless.  Where will management take it is anyone's guess, but expectations are that there will be changes , that's for sure.

Feel sorry for Gibbons.  There's a Twitter thread #firegibbons that's merciless & unforgiving in wanting Gibby gone.  Many fans blame his inability to adjust accordingly and his usage of players in situations that they believe makes the team the laughing stock, a circus of a team that can't get it's act together, because the manager can't get his either.
Hey, this is cruel.  Can't blame Gibbons completely.  In fact, it looks to me as though Gibbons & the Jays are playing "distracted" ever since the Osuna situation happened.

Adding further to that, ever since Oauna's administrative leave happened, the Blue Jays pitching & bullpen has been in confusion and disarray.  It has thrown not only the team's but the manager in a state of influx.

Read somewhere the other day, comparisons between the before & after the Osuna factor for the relievers is astonishingly different.  Without Osuna, the ERA went sky-high compared to with Osuna there as their trusted closer.

And people out there are blaming Gibby for every ill that's befallen the Jays?  That's odd.

 

[Highlander]

Its not Gibbys fault but he will probably take the fall. My personal opinion is they are playing the string along to give development time to the 3 or 4 prospects that could change the face of this squad.  Vlad, Bo, Jannsen etc. 
I would like to see the following happen: Donaldson gone, Martin gone, Morales gone, Troy T gone, unfortunately I think Osuna will be forced out by corporate Rogers.  I had a feeling the moment I heard about his incident that the wheels were going to come off, like the pin on the top of the helicopter blades.

So the 19 Jays are going to look a lot different and with a new Manager to boot. And will be a lot more fun to watch than this bunch of fading hacks.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Can't agree more with sickbeast & Highlander.  You are both correct, changes are required and the Jays need to clean house, so to speak.

Can hardly wait for the prospects to take up their positions with the club when that happens.  Surely looking forward to better days. 

 

[sickbeast]

Can't agree more with sickbeast & Highlander.  You are both correct, changes are required and the Jays need to clean house, so to speak.

Can hardly wait for the prospects to take up their positions with the club when that happens.  Surely looking forward to better days. 

Things will be ok.  Next season will be interesting.  They probably won't do much, but the prospects will be fun to watch.  The real question is, how are they going to fill out the starting rotation?  What they do there is going to be extremely telling in terms of their plans.  If they just get some cheap guys like Garcia, that tells me there will be some pain.  That's what's so brutal about the current situation with Josh Donaldson.  An elite pitching prospect sure would have been nice in return for him.  But the way it's looking now, we will be lucky to get a sack of baseballs.

 

[hockeyfan1]

A victory.  Feels good.

The Blue Jays avoided a Detroit Tigers series sweep Sunday afternoon coming away with an 8-4 win.

Randall Grichuk and Justin Smoak each hit two-run homers and starter Aaron Sanchez went into six innings allowing just one run.  It was a fine performance from the Jays' beleaguered pitcher.  Hopefully this starts him on the road to consistency.


Blue Jays get an off-day today bedore facing the Yankees on Tuesday.

Game recap:
https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2018/06/03/blue-jays-cap-lost-road-trip-with-win-over-tigers.html

 

[hockeyfan1]

vs

Starting Pitchers:
Tuesday June 5  7pm
CC Sabathia LH (Yankees) 2-1  3.73 ERA  vs  Marco Estrada RH (Blue Jays)  2-6  5.68 ERA

Wednesday June 6  7pm
Sonny Gray RH (Yankees)  4-4  5.50 ERA  vs  Sam Gaciglio RH (Blue Jays)  2-1  3.32 ERA

All games on SN & SN590  radio.


Source:  MLB.com,  thestar.com,  FOXsports


Thw New York Yankees (37-17) come to town in a two-game series against rivals Toronto Blue Jays (26-33) .at the Rogers centre.

The Bronx Bombers aptly lead the A.L. in OPS and home runs and are first in the A.L. East, 1.0 games ahead of arch-rivals Boston Red Sox.  The Yankees started the season sluggishly but their "stacked" lineup sure got going and it looks like there's very little in the way of stopping them right now.

On the other side of the fence are the Blue Jays, in direct contrast to New York's weighty accomplishments.  Toronto sports an anemic .229 offence second worst in thw A.L. next to the Texas Rangers.  Add to that 14.5 GBL Yankees  and fourth in the division.  The Jays are seven games below .500 and 10.0 GB for the A.L. WC spot.

This for a team that started the season (make that the opening month of April) with a bang, only to finish the following month of May with a whimper and a thud.

Perhaps there's nothing that gets the adrenaline flowing like facing a top team such as the Yankees are, nothing like bringing one's "A" game to the fore.  True, the Blue Jaya got side swiped by another top team recently, the Red Sox in Boston, but this time the Jays are at home and not on the dismal road.  Might make a difference for this struggling team.

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS!

 

[Kin]

The Jays draft #12 today. Admittedly the MLB draft isn't all that exciting but the direction the Jays go in could lend some hints as to whether or not they think they'll be competitive soon(College pitcher) or if there's some waiting ahead(HS anything).

 

[Kin]

https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1003637805183111169

 

[Andy007]

Oh my, that is quite the list...

I think Handsome Monica takes the cake for me

 

[Kin]

Well the Jays drafted Josh Groshans. A HS infielder from Texas. MLB.com says he's got a lot of power and ultimately projects as a 3B.