Teahan's a sunk cost, I doubt he makes the team. Valbuena will end up on the bench (maybe even McCoy) manning the 4/5/6 and maybe even a little 7.
Agreed. Teahen plays 1B/3B/LF, but the Jays have others who can cover those positions in a pinch. Valbuena gives them a backup middle infielder, which is what they need.
Also saw this:
Quote:
Best national play-by-play announcer
THE PICK: Dan Shulman(ESPN and ESPN Radio). While he might not have the same cachet as Al Michaels, Jim Nantz or Joe Buck, Shulman is the best national play-by-play announcer today. He is exceptional at multiple sports (NBA and MLB), and he and his baseball partner, Dave Campbell, form as splendid a duo as there is on radio. As ESPN's lead announcer, Shulman has made Dick Vitale palatable (at times) and deserves an award for that alone. The guy is a pro's pro.
Good for Dan. Guess we're not likely to steal him back for the Jays now.
EDIT: almost forgot that those are SI's picks for the decade, 2000-2010.
EDIT 2: also just realized the article is from 2009. I found it through a link from a news story today. Derp...
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Last edited by The Nemesis: 01-01-2012 at 04:34 PM.
I'm bored so thought I'd draw up the roster for this upcoming season. Just putting guys in their place, so we get an idea of the type of competition we could see in spring training.
That middle relief spot could be filled with one of Perez, Carreno. Drabek or McGowen have an outside chance of filling that role as they could be better utilized as a starter. I'm a fan of having two lefties in the lineup so I'm a little biased towards Perez.
Romero
Morrow
Cecil
Alvarez
?
The last spot is a battle between McGowen, Drabek, and Laffey. It will be a great story if Laffey came in and stole a spot but I seriously doubt it. McGowen is the favourite imo.
The starting lineup is pretty much set in stone so lets take a look at the bench:
OF/ Francisco
OF/ Davis
C/ Mathius
1b/3b/ Teahan
It will be tough to deal with Teahan's contract, but for now lets concentrate on what he can bring to the team which is infield position flexibility and decent pop. Hopefully in the not too distant future EE will take over the "bench bat" position full time.
Well obviously there will be a battle for left field between Thames and Snider, with the loser going to AAA. I don't like the idea of carry two OF on the bench. IMO we are going to have to choose between Davis and Francisco as our 4th OF eventually, as we need that extra spot on the bench for a utility man which would likely either be McCoy or Valbuena.
Well obviously there will be a battle for left field between Thames and Snider, with the loser going to AAA. I don't like the idea of carry two OF on the bench. IMO we are going to have to choose between Davis and Francisco as our 4th OF eventually, as we need that extra spot on the bench for a utility man which would likely either be McCoy or Valbuena.
I completely agree. In my opinion it should be McCoy who's got speed and can play almost every position. Davis is interesting because he has just ridiculous speed, but is it worth keeping him for 1 inning where he steals 2 bags? Could be very clutch, but won't be used the majority of the time.
LF will sort itself out, with the loser of Thames/Snider spending time in AAA (where the OF and 1B situations are deep) or as trade fodder.
Interestingly, this team is constructed well in a small to big kinda fashion. Really, you could argue that with the bullpen and bench built - its just two pieces away from competing for the wild card. Admittedly, they're big pieces, but are available for nothing more than money (though probably lots of it).
There's still Fielder on the market to be the big bat. Unlikely yeah, but fun to imagine.
Then there's Oswalt or Jackson to be the front/mid rotation starter. Also unlikely, but also fun to imagine.
And neither signing would block anything in the system - in fact, it would just make it deeper.
I completely agree. In my opinion it should be McCoy who's got speed and can play almost every position. Davis is interesting because he has just ridiculous speed, but is it worth keeping him for 1 inning where he steals 2 bags? Could be very clutch, but won't be used the majority of the time.
I haven't completely given up on Davis yet. He hit much better before he got here and hopefully he can do it again.
Oh yes hitting .276 with 23 HR is definitely hall of fame worthy. He had a good second season but not enough to say he is going to be a star.
He is young and extremely talented. But he has a loooooong way to go before he lives up to all that potential. I'm not saying he cant but it is far from a sure thing.
Did I say hall of fame worthy? It was the 3rd highest OPS out of centerfielders last year with the two ahead of him (Hamilton and Carlos Gonzalez) don't even play CF full time. Rasmus had a decent rookie season and followed it up with a great year with everybody thinking he is headed towards being the next superstar. Then, of course he has a bad a season (though .753 OPS for a centerfielder isn't even that bad but he was clearly underachieving so they shipped him. He was starting to do well with us before the wrist injury and flat out sucked after that and it was a small sample size.
He is still from a sure thing of course but the fact is, he has shown that potential and young (well, actually even good old players) have down years. I believe in his potential.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nemesis
One side effect to the bullpen additions would seem to be that it puts a lot of pressure on McGowan to make the rotation. With him out of options there's not really much room to squeeze him into the pen.
I think they will make room for him even if it is a role like long relief role which I think would suit him well for now. It helps guys like Carreno, Perez, Litsch all have options so there should be some flexibility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tootoo Train
I'm bored so thought I'd draw up the roster for this upcoming season. Just putting guys in their place, so we get an idea of the type of competition we could see in spring training.
That middle relief spot could be filled with one of Perez, Carreno. Drabek or McGowen have an outside chance of filling that role as they could be better utilized as a starter. I'm a fan of having two lefties in the lineup so I'm a little biased towards Perez.
Romero
Morrow
Cecil
Alvarez
?
The last spot is a battle between McGowen, Drabek, and Laffey. It will be a great story if Laffey came in and stole a spot but I seriously doubt it. McGowen is the favourite imo.
The starting lineup is pretty much set in stone so lets take a look at the bench:
OF/ Francisco
OF/ Davis
C/ Mathius
1b/3b/ Teahan
It will be tough to deal with Teahan's contract, but for now lets concentrate on what he can bring to the team which is infield position flexibility and decent pop. Hopefully in the not too distant future EE will take over the "bench bat" position full time.
I still think another outfielder or two will be traded because it seems like a complete waste to have Francisco and Davis. I guess it could some sense if Teahen were cut and we could use McCoy who can play anywhere because in that line-up, I don't see a back-up SS/2nd baseman.
I think they will make room for him even if it is a role like long relief role which I think would suit him well for now. It helps guys like Carreno, Perez, Litsch all have options so there should be some flexibility.
I still think another outfielder or two will be traded because it seems like a complete waste to have Francisco and Davis. I guess it could some sense if Teahen were cut and we could use McCoy who can play anywhere because in that line-up, I don't see a back-up SS/2nd baseman.
Litsch still has options? i was under the impression that he didn't?
Litsch still has options? i was under the impression that he didn't?
He might I dunno for sure. He had options last year so im hopeful. If he doesn't, things will get a little tight and one of Mcgowan, CV, or litsch might have to crack the rotation.
Gotta think Litsch makes the pen, with either Carreno/Perez moving to AAA to accomodate Frasor. And if another starter is acquired/signed (my hope), both go there to develop. The allignment would be really beautiful.
Again, a pipe dream and all, but say Oswalt's brought in. Cecil could move to the pen to give it L/R balance or even tandem start with McGowan. AAA would have Drabek, Carreno, Perez, and lower-upside guys Beck/Farquhar/Magnuson on board, plus all those guys in AA pushing their way up.
With Oswalt, Frasor and Rhodes on one-year deals, all the replacements (high upside guys, too) are at AAA, and at AA you have emerging in-house options to replace other guys who either underperform or get over-pricey.
The same can be said for the bats. Say you get Fielder signed, AAA would have D'Arnaud, Hecchevaria, Thames, Gose, Sierra, McDade and Cooper to challenge/replace Mathis, Johnson and other one-year deal guys by the time 2013 roles around.
It's too beautiful, really.
Then factor in the last big draft to replenish the system even more, and things look pretty self-sufficient for a VERRRRYYYYYYY long time.
**All said with the rosest of glasses on, obviously, but you can just see it....
Not to mention of course, the offence looks pretty damn good with or without Fielder (obviously much better with him or one other big bat).
Biggest question marks all have very good, recent pedigrees:
C? JPA was a AAA MVP in '10.
2B? Johnson was superb in '10. Even if you take his career season average OPS.
CF? Rasmus was superb in '10 and still a pup. Take his OPS somewhere between season average and his best year.
LF? Snider has quite the minor league pedigree, and Thames in the wings.
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jason Frasor shortly after the trade that he's now satisfied with the look of his bullpen
•The Blue Jays now have 40 men on the 40-man roster after acquiring Frasor, which means that the club will need to make another move in the coming days to create space for Oliver
Frasor and starter Zach Stewart were shipped to Chicago prior to the trade deadline for starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen. Of course, the Blue Jays dealt Jackson to the Cardinals that very same day in order to land center fielder Colby Rasmus.
Nice move bringing Frasor back. The pen should be pretty good with Santos, Oliver, Frasor, Jannsen, Carenno and Villanueva as the main pieces.
I actually like what we have done this offseason. A true rebuild is long and sometimes annoying/painfull but I like that we arent all the sudden abandoning it and throwing money at people just for the sake of it Maple Leafs style.
This team prolly has as much potential for internal growth next season as any team in the league. The two most important players that need to step up are Morrow and Rasmus. If those two can elevate there games then I think this team has a chance to make a playoff push if the bullpen is solid.
No it isn't. It's still uterly mediocre. The Yankees and Red Sox aren't shaking in their boots about having to face Santos, Frasor and old man Oliver. Insane good?
No it isn't. It's still uterly mediocre. The Yankees and Red Sox aren't shaking in their boots about having to face Santos, Frasor and old man Oliver. Insane good?
What is wrong with our pen? Santos is a K machine that is far more intimidating then anything we had in the pen last year. Janssen established himself as a great high pressure pitcher. Frasor in a lesser role still brings a hard fastball and durability to the pen. Oliver has had a declining ERA over the past 4 years and theres no risk signing to a 1 year deal. It is certainly better then Francisco, Rauch and Camp.
What is wrong with our pen? Santos is a K machine that is far more intimidating then anything we had in the pen last year. Janssen established himself as a great high pressure pitcher. Frasor in a lesser role still brings a hard fastball and durability to the pen. Oliver has had a declining ERA over the past 4 years and theres no risk signing to a 1 year deal. It is certainly better then Francisco, Rauch and Camp.
He can also be pretty wild at times too (walking around 4 per 9). The pen will be (should be) better than last year's but that doesnt make it good.
You can have an all world pen but if the starters do not go at least 6 or 7 innings a start the pen will get overworked and be less effective than otherwise be.
They need at least 5 starters who can give them 170 innings each thru the season which will allow the relievers to be fresh and in certain roles.
