Toronto Blue Jays Thread

[Diesel_Power]

WOw! Unfuckingbelievable! Jays give up a 7-0 lead.

Our pitching was absolute garbage last night. Litch is alright, but he's definitely not up there with the best.

[Paul29]

Ugh.
We'll see how the bullpen comes back from this though. The last few years they've been streaky. Old Jays, start of a bad streak, new Jays...........?

[current]

National Post article:

Former Jays Slugger Delgado ‘at peace’ as He Retires at 38

John Lott Apr 13, 2011 – 1:08 PM ET | Last Updated: Apr 13, 2011 1:45 PM ET


Carlos Delgado, the greatest slugger in Toronto Blue Jays history, announced his retirement Wednesday, ending a 17-season career in which he hit 473 home runs.

Delgado, 38, had not played since May 2009 and underwent three hip surgeries in a bid to make a comeback.

“I did everything that I could,” Delgado said at his retirement announcement in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “We did the rehab that I needed to do. It just, at the end, it wasn’t there.”

He was just 16 when the Jays signed him as an amateur free agent in 1988. Originally a catcher and briefly an outfielder, he became a fixture at first base for Toronto. After a brief callup in 1993, he went on to play 1,423 games for the Jays, batting .282 with 336 homers and 1,058 RBIs and a .949 OPS.

Delgado’s best season was in 2000, when he batted .344 with 41 homers and 137 RBIs and a 1.134 OPS for the Jays.

He signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins in 2005, staying one season, and finished his career with the New York Mets.

After Delgado’s retirement announcement, his friends and family, including his father, spent almost an hour offering tributes and thanks. Delgado was presented with a rocking chair engraved with a plaque that reads: “Puerto Rican home run king.”....



....“I’m at peace. I’m happy. There’s other stuff that I would like to do. Obviously it came at a time where I wasn’t expecting it. Nobody would like to get hurt. Nobody likes to get surgery. Nobody likes to get a second surgery, let alone a third one. But I did everything that I could. We did the rehab that I needed to do. It just, at the end, it wasn’t there.

“So I do want to say thank-you here with my friends and family in Puerto Rico that played a crucial role in the development of my career, and I’m thankful for that. But I also want say thanks to all the fans that I had in Toronto that over the years supported me, all the fans that I had in Miami in that 2005 season, and all the fans in New York. It was great experience in New York, very challenging, and I do appreciate it. I think it made me a better player....


Read More: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/...retires-at-38/

[current]

National Post article:

Seattle Struggles in the Past for Jays’ Wakamatsu

John Lott Apr 12, 2011 – 7:29 PM ET

Don Wakamatsu returned this week to the place where he was acclaimed as a saviour one year and fired as a failure the next. Understandably, he declined to grant interviews.

When he stepped onto familiar Safeco Field in Seattle, Wakamatsu would take no more questions about his reported rift with Ken Griffey Jr., his dugout altercation with Chone Figgins or his firing as the Mariners’ manager last August with his team in a 42-70 rut.

He is the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach now, serving as right-hand man for new manager John Farrell and catching tutor for rookie J.P. Arencibia.

“I’m really happy here,” he said in a recent National Post interview. Listen to him further, watch him interact with players and peers, and there is no evidence to doubt his sincerity.

Wakamatsu hopes to manage again. In the off-season he interviewed for three managing jobs, including Toronto’s, but knew the timing was not ideal for a man whose team had gone on to lose 101 games.

“I was realistic,” he said in an interview several weeks ago. “When you’re associated with a club that loses 100 games, it’s very difficult to get a managing job right away. And along with that, it’s OK to go back and learn more, and go back to developing and teaching players.”

Wakamatsu has been doing that since 1995. Long regarded as a gifted teacher, he coached for Texas and Oakland before Seattle made him the game’s first Japanese-American manager in 2009....

Read More: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/...ays-wakamatsu/

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Paul29

Don't worry, the Red Sox will pick up their momentum when the Jays arrive in Boston next week.

Kinda wish I hadn't said that.

[Travis007]

^ LOL! Rays picking up steam too!

Hopefully with Morrow returning, it will add some stability in the rotation. I understand the situation on why Litsch was sent to the minors instead of Reyes, but I don't have faith in Reyes. Has been unconvincing so far, and career stats are horrendous.

*EDIT: Cecil sent down to the minors for Chris Woodward.

[Skybean]

Trading Shawn Marcum was the worst thing AA could have done.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Skybean

Trading Shawn Marcum was the worst thing AA could have done.

I agree 100%.

But, as time goes on, I believe he does have a plan in place though. The problem with a "plan" in Toronto is, we've been hearing about plans since 1994. But I have more faith in A.A. than I ever did in Riccardi.

What did we get for Marcum anyway? A sack of baseballs and couple of bats, or was that this the trade for the 19 year old second baseman with an attitude?

[Paul29]

And, he has money to spend. Lots of it if he wants. He just needs to find players willing to come to Toronto. Since the '92-93 seasons, that's been a tough sell to play in Toronto.

I also really like Farrell too.

[Travis007]

Aaron Hill is out day-to-day with hamstring injury. Hopefully Woodward to play decent on what should be a short-term stint. Brett Lawrie's bat is big-league ready, but needs to improve on defense (6 errors in 14 games) and mature a bit.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Travis007

Hopefully Woodward to play decent

Johnny Mac?

[Travis007]

^ OMG! So Clutch!! Johnny Mac, what a beast!

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Travis007

^ OMG! So Clutch!! Johnny Mac, what a beast!

[Travis007]

Solid outing for Romero only to be out-dueled by James Shields. =/

S*** happens sometimes, but Jays have wasted another quality Romero start. He needs some run support. We can't be wasting good pitching performances when the rotation is still inconsistent.

[Paul29]

Yeah, the Jays can't go down this road again with a great starting pitcher and no run support.
Mind you, Halladay didn't need any run support, he just shut out everybody.

Not looking forward to Drabek pitching in his home town tonight. That's alot of pressure for a kid.

[koolio]

Didn't we get Brett Lawrie for Marcum? I think it was fair return for Shaun. Frankly I didn't think that Marcum would be able to survive as an ace pitcher in the AL East for too long. His stuff was above average but nothing head turning. In order to thrive in this division on a long-term basis, you need to have something special. Otherwise all the elite hitters will figure you out sooner or later.

[Travis007]

According to an interview with John Farrell, Lawrie should be able to join the big league team sometime later this season:

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/...o-this-season/

Although it's never easy to lose a pitcher worthy to be labeled as a staff ace (Marcum), it's too early to write off the Marcum/Lawrie trade as a bust or not. Baseball is one of the most difficult sports to develop a prospect into a major leaguer. I'd rather have him in the minors polishing his skills and maturing rather than exposing him so early in the majors.

[Paul29]

The problem with Lawrie is (apparently) his attitude. But I heard an interview with someone (I think Bob McCowan from the fan 590), that it shouldn't be a problem since he's only 21 and will mature.
I think his attitude was his problem in Milwaukee.

The thing about Marcus is, he's a gamer. You know every night he pitches he's going to be 100% in it mentally and he wants to win more than anything. I think he's also a little bit old school in that, he wants to pitch the entire game. Most starters these days are only expected to go ~7 innings, then the relievers come in. He wants to be in there every game for 9 innings.
You've got to love that about him.

[Travis007]

Romero has the ability and is starting to show the intensity that Marcum had. His current 1-3 doesn't do him any justice, as the Jays ruined a couple of those outings by not giving him any run support. But you're right, Marcum makes an impact every start and would have solidified our current rotation. We would have a better overall record this season with Marcum still here, but hopefully Anthoupoulous' vision works out in the long run.

Bautista is proving he's no fluke though, continuing where he left off from last season. And Lind was in total beast-mode versus the Rangers last night. Hopefully he returns to his total hitting game and MVP status from a couple of years ago.

[Paul29]

I heard the Bobcat on the Fan590 talking to a baseball reporter from ESPN yesterday. Apparently Lawrie is impressing everyone inside the organization and outside with his positive attitude while in Las Vegas. They said also that he did have public issues with the coaching staff and the general manager in Milwaukee. It's bad enough not getting along with coaches, team mates or management, but the fact he made it public, he probably signed his own ticket out of Milwaukee.

They figure Lawrie would get called up mid-June for some big league experience.
I think they said there are numbers involved in calling him up sooner. Just a guess, but if he came up before June 1st or 15th and stayed up, the Jays would be on the hook for a full big league salary. If he spends less than the allotted time in Toronto, I think they can still pay him as a minor leaguer.