Weekend Holiday Hiatus

Rather than watch yet another interleague game against the Pirates, I'm going to see the new X-Men movie tonight. I probably won't be posting about the next couple games either as I'll be on the road to Toronto on Friday and I'll be watching Roy Halladay's return to T.O. on Saturday. I'll probably do a post on Monday about the trip, so unless Jose Bautista gets traded, don't expect any posts here until then...

Post Game Thoughts - Ricky Romero Reaps What He Sows

Today's pregame coverage started with yet again another Ricky Romero explanation of how he had to have a meeting with his teammates to clear up the media-created controversy of his post game comments after his last start. Whether the meeting was warranted or not, Romero pitched a complete game shutout and got his first career base hit (and RBIs!). So hopefully this outing will put the "controversy" surrounding him to rest.

The buzz over this series has been about Jose Bautista's imminent shift to 3rd base. While I completely agree that this is necessary to get more bats in the lineup (and also to take Encarnacion/Nix out of the lineup), I worry about the general arm strength in the outfield. I'm assuming that Eric Thames is going to be Jose's replacement in right field, though I really don't know how strong of a thrower he is, I'm predicting that you'll be seeing Jays' opponents testing his arm often on the basepaths. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out...

I'm trying to find something nice to say about Corey Patterson, and the only backhanded complement I can come up with is that he's a good "One Tool" player. This interleague roadtrip has been rather brutal for him, he's had two horrible errors in the outfield and he's a terrible baserunner. It's a good thing that he can hit, although he's only hitting .260 at the moment. On that note, I sort of like Aaron Hill in the #2 spot...

3 Stars:
1. Ricky Romero - Complete game shutout, base hit, 2 RBI's
2. JP Arencibia - solo HR
3. Yunel Escobar - 2 for 4

Is Selig Throwing Salt on the Dodgers' Wound?

I just checked the schedule on mlb.tv and apparently the Dodgers vs. Tigers game is a free preview. The timing is curious after rejecting the Dodgers TV Network deal with Fox. I suppose they need all the goodwill they can get...

Speaking of MLB.tv, I didn't sign up for it this year for one simple reason: regional blackouts. If they didn't block the Jays games, I'd be more than willing to spend the money. Just a suggestion...

Random Interleague Thought: Faulty Logic

Apparently MLB is attributing this weekend's surge of ticket sales to interleague play. Using that logic, the rest of the games should be played against either the Yankees or the Red Sox. This strategy will help to maximize attendance and profits for all teams.

You're welcome Emperor Selig...

Post Game Thoughts - Hudson Beats Toronto Singlehandedly

Nice game by Tim Hudson from both sides of the plate. He almost got the complete game, but the tie breaking homer he hit more than makes up for it. Also, in the past few games, it seems like Romero throws a solid game and then gives up a home run in the late innings. I guess this is a pretty short Post Game Thought... I was half paying attention to today's game. For you banjo geeks out there, I spent the whole game learning the drop thumb technique for claw-hammer banjo. I've got the basics down, and the next step is learning how to incorporate it into my repertoire of tunes...

Weekly Standings Check In - Short and Sweet

In honour of last week's existential Weekly Standings Check In, I'll keep this short. After all, this'll all change in a week or so anyways, right...?

Brief Thought About "The Extra 2%"

I just started reading Jonah Keri's book The Extra 2%. I'm only up to chapter 4 so far and he's talking about the mismanagement that caused the Rays to field losing teams year after year.

He makes a point that losing teams are rewarded with high draft picks and successful teams are penalized with low picks. While I agree that this helps to level the playing field, there should also be some checks and balances. If a team (like the late 90's/early 00's Devils Rays) picks near the top for, say, 5 years in a row, they should move down in the draft order with the World Series winners. This would give teams a little more motivation to draft well and would be a more effective way to create more of a competitive balance.

Existential Weekly Standings Check In

Remember when Boston had that horrid start back in April...? Yeah, so until we get into August and September, it all means nothing.

Also, I didn't get the chance to see any of the games this weekend against the Red Sox. Based on the lopsided scores I think this series shows just how much work the Jays still need to do before they'll be considered a "contender". And is it me, or does Kyle Drabek have a temper tantrum after every start? Maybe if he could control his emotions a little bit, he'd have better results on the field...

The Jays of the Future Will be an AL East Division Destroying Robot Army

So it looks like almost all the Jays draft picks have been out of high school. The thinking seems to be that they'll offer them big signing bonuses to convince them not to play university ball. If this is the plan, I have absolutely no problem with the Jays investing in their future (including allotting more cash for the scouting staff as well). My theory on the Jays leaning heavily towards high school players is that it'll be easier to mold and coach them than it would under a coach in a university program. I read an article somewhere saying that they want to create an atmosphere where players will be 100% ready and in a position to succeed when they get called up to the big leagues and that they'd be taught how to play baseball "the Blue Jay way". So in essence, the Blue Jays of the future, under Alex Anthopolous' guidance, are being groomed to become an AL East Division destroying robot army... Which is a good thing, assuming they sign all these high schoolers...

2011 MLB Draft - Arms Race

I watched a bit of the first round of last night's MLB Draft coverage and I found it pretty flat. Part of it might have been the tacky Tropicana faux-baseball field set, but I found it to be pretty boring. I pretty much just fast-forwarded everything after the first pick on my PVR until it was time for the Jays-Royals game. Maybe I expect more based on all the drama that's created in the NHL draft by the possibility that teams can trade up in the draft, but that's currently not permitted in the MLB.

And a note on the players drafted. Is it just me or were the vast majority of the players selected in the first round pitchers? I thought that GM's tended to lean towards position players who can make an impact on the field every day... Also the Jays selected high school players with their first couple of picks. Unless they have a guarantee that these players will sign, it seems like a waste of a draft pick if they opt to go to college and then later re-enter the draft. We're not likely to hear about these players for years to come anyways, but it all seems to go against Alex Anthopolous' cautious and calculated gameplan.

Weekly Standings Check In - Draft Day

Nothing too groundbreaking to note in the standings this week. The only interesting thing that I've noticed is that Detroit's only 2.5 games behind Cleveland for the lead in the Central division. And it's possible that one of those two teams will win the wild card instead of a team out of the East division. It looks like all the teams in the East are gonna devour each other until one team eventually emerges as the division winner, while the rest will have records around .500...

Oh and today's draft day for the MLB. I have no clue who the Jays will target, but the only one that I don't want them to draft is Wayne Gretzky's kid. For 2 reasons: He's only 18 years old, so lots can change about him after 4 years in college and the 2nd reason is that he's Wayne Gretzky's son. There's no way that he'll get the opportunity to progress quietly in college or the minors. It'll be 10 times worse then the Brett Lawrie situation.

Post Game Thoughts: Buck Martinez's Tech Tips

According to Buck Martinez this is an iPad:

Also, AWESOME game for Adam Lind and to top it off, JoJo gets his second straight victory. I've said it before, but I really like his attitude and composure this season. He's still allowing too many baserunners, but he's young and will hopefully grow as a player be a key part of the rotation for years to come.

3 Stars:
1. Adam Lind - 4 for 4 with 2 HR's
2. JoJo Reyes - It's just nice to see him get another win
3. Yunel Escobar - Only 1 for 5, but the one hit was a HR and gave the Jays the lead. Also, he should be on the all-star team this year

An honourable mention goes to Jose Bautista. He influences the outcome and success of his teammates by merely standing in the batter's box. And now I'm off to purchase Mad Men Season 4 and then takeout poutine at The Works #hangovercure...

Brief & Tardy Post Game Thoughts - Tampering Tabler?

Looking at the blog lately, I've realized that it's pretty much all Post Game Thoughts. I'm thinking that I'll post a few less of these and hopefully a do some more non-game-related articles. So on that note, unless something spectacular happens, I'm not planning on posting anything after the game tonight. Even if Jose Bautista hits a home run, let's be honest, we all are expecting him to get at least one or two by the end of this weekend - they're facing Baltimore after this series with Cleveland.

That being said, while watching last night's game, Pat Tabler said that he talked to Jack Hannahan's agent during the off-season and found out that he was debating between signing with Cleveland and Toronto. Apparently Tabler told the agent that he should sign with the Indians because Brett Lawrie will eventually take his spot. Although offensively, Hannahan's only slightly better than Jayson Nix, he'd be still a much better option than Edwin Encarnacion. So yeah, I think that's enough evidence to charge Pat Tabler with tampering. His punishment? I suppose we'll make him stay in the booth and announce games with Buck Martinez for the rest of the year...

Speaking of play by play commentary, it seems like the entire Cleveland lineup was acquired from the Brewers in the CC Sabathia trade. Pretty impressive!