2014 Blue Jays

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

It's like we were all a year too early proclaiming this a great team.

The one thing that really impresses me is that the defense has improved by leaps and bounds and EVERYONE is contributing in one way or another.

Oh, and if any team tries to hire Seitzer as a manager somewhere I move heaven and earth to keep him here. He's made a HUGE difference in the approach of the hitters.

Bang on about Seitzer. Frankly the Jays were lucky Dwayne Murphy retired. Not that Murphy was horrible (at least not all the time), but a lot of the guys in this thread the past two seasons pointed to some of the team's shortcomings in the hitting side that Murphy needed to do a better job with.

The players seem to uniformly love Seitzer, and he's only 52. Seems like he'll be a top candidate for a head job after the season, unfortunately for us.

I've been impressed by the variety of games the Jays have been able to win over this streak. From a pitchers duel against Darvish, to several permutations of close games, shutouts, and tonight, though it's not over, a slugfest. Mojo is a mysterious force unknown to physics, but the Jays are tapped into it right now. Definitely as fun a team to watch as you're going to find in baseball. Truly impressive stuff going on all over the diamond.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

This is obviously warranted.

[AC]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

OH MY GOD THAT GIF^

Also, pimping a prospect time. Did anyone see the prospect feature pregame? If not:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/canadian-juniors-profile-andrew-yerzy/

That guy went to my school last year!

[Majingir]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

As much as people(specifically non Jays fans) make fun of the stadium for being ugly, pictures like this,don't get how you can entirely call it that ugly(field does suck,but aside from that...looks good doesn't it?)

[AC]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

Stadium is great. Grass will improve it. Love RC.

[Majingir]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

The only thing about the stadium is that aside from the CN Tower,you can't really see anything else around the Rogers Centre compared to many other MLB stadiums where you see many buildings downtown and stuff. They just built the non retractable part of the roof on the wrong side of the stadium. That roof should've been on the home plate side of the stadium since there's no sightline behind home plate compared to the OF side which has lots and lots of buildings.

[SPTO]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

The only thing about the stadium is that aside from the CN Tower,you can't really see anything else around the Rogers Centre compared to many other MLB stadiums where you see many buildings downtown and stuff. They just built the non retractable part of the roof on the wrong side of the stadium. That roof should've been on the home plate side of the stadium since there's no sightline behind home plate compared to the OF side which has lots and lots of buildings.

Yeah, but on the flip side who wants to see rows and rows of Condos and skyscrapers?

I am working on a post that should be up before game time today.

[Majingir]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

Yeah, but on the flip side who wants to see rows and rows of Condos and skyscrapers?

I am working on a post that should be up before game time today.

......

Better than seeing abunch of metal bars and stuff.


Also....I've been mentioning this on multiple sites....8000 Jays fans voting 35 times a day(since it's the max amount) for a month would be more than enough votes to get every Jays player into the all star game! Try and get as many people as possible to do this!

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

I think this really speaks to what SPTO was saying about Seitzer. How can you not love the guy.

[bhurst99]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

I think this really speaks to what SPTO was saying about Seitzer. How can you not love the guy.

Curious as to the context of that gif.

I've never understood the hate for Skydome. It's a great place to watch a game when it is close to full. We just can't have a non-dome in this climate. (What in the world were they thinking in Minnesota?) Every time I watch TFC play a home game it's either raining or freezing cold and I thank my lucky stars that we have a dome.

[SPTO]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

Curious as to the context of that gif.

Melky got a base hit on a ball that was way out of the strike zone and Seitzer did that to remind him that even though he got a positive result he still swung on a pitch he had no business swinging at.

[SPTO]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

As promised.....



I've been a Blue Jays fan since I was 9/10 years old (1989) and i've seen the good and bad. It's been a LONG time since there's been legit optimism. Last season saw a lot of sky high expectations to the point that some Jays fans (including myself) went a little cuckoo. We all saw how that played out however something changed between 2013 and 2014. This is a different ball club or at the very least it feels like one. There are 3 factors to this IMO:

1. Kevin Seitzer: I know we've talked about him to the point of nausea but if there's one addition this season that's completely turned this team around it's him. Seitzer has brought in a gameplan that the hitters have bought into completely. He's one of those guys that believes in grinding out ABs and making the opposing starters work their asses off. The Jays have tried that approach in the past with little success. (Gary Denbo's tenure is most associated with this) Seitzer has been smart enough to take the aggressiveness of his hitters and mold it to hitting the other way and lengthening ABs rather than tearing the hitters' approach down and starting from scratch. This has led to guys having a lot more success and we've seen the Jays wear out opposing SP a lot more this year than in the past.

2. Commitment to the Bench: The last 5 years at least has seen the Blue Jays awfully thin with their bench from a production standpoint. There has been very little flexibility until now and it's one of those things that have hurt this ballclub for some time. The addition of Juan Francisco and the commitment to having 3 catchers on the roster has created a situation where we've seen platoons being utilized for an extended time for multiple positions for the first time since the days of Bobby Cox and Jimy Williams. These aren't just for defensive purposes either as guys like Tolleson, Pillar, Gose Kratz and Thole are actually getting it done with the bat as well. Speaking of the first two players on that list.....

3. Integration of youth: Gose and Pillar have made huge strides this season and you can see them maturing before your very eyes. I'm not sure what they'll max out as but they will be productive major leaguers IMO. Last night was a great example of how they've come along. Gose after bunting and being oh so close to getting a hit immediately went to Gibbons and they talked things out. Pillar after reaching on an error and battling like hell during the AB goes and sits on the bench with Seitzer where they share a laugh together. This shows that these two are open to being coached and are getting the support they need. Gose has said that last year he was HORRIBLE and has worked hard at hitting the breaking pitches and the same goes for Pillar. They both have a plan at the plate and are doing their best to execute it. On the pitching side we've seen Stroman in relief and it looks like he'll be coming back at some point as a SP. Stroman has shown a willingness to learn and he has the confidence that comes from competitive fire. The same thing is true of Drew Hutchison, despite a poor start last night he battled his way through 5 innings like a bulldog. He's only 23 years old but he has the mentality of a pitcher that's been around for a while. Let us also not forget that Brett Lawrie isn't exactly an old guy either himself. There is definite youth that has mixed in well with the veterans here. The Jays also have prospects that are ready to climb up the ladder to the big league club in the next few years and I daresay we could see further integration of the youth element. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing one or two young guys a year sticking on the MLB roster and melding together with the solid core that's already there now. It's the young guys that help to invigorate the older guys as the season goes along and it doesn't hurt that a lot of the older guys on this club don't have much playoff history as they'll all be playing with reckless abandon.

There are other factors to this team's success such as the improved defense and the chemistry especially from the Dominican contingent. I've noticed that this is a club that has gelled chemistry wise as we've seen Buehrle go into the bullpen to chat with the relievers a few times this season. Dickey, who can be a little standoffish has actually been sitting and talking with the hitters more this season. In fact, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of cliques at least visibly this year. Last year we saw all the SPs sitting together and the Dominican guys being to themselves but this year i've seen an intermingling and EVERYONE is just hanging out and having a great time. Winning breeds chemistry and vice versa. This team right now has chemistry up the wazoo and that leads to a team wanting to work together as a complete unit. I'm not the biggest Gibbons fan in the world but he's taken more control this year and the results are speaking for themselves.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

I'd add to SPTO's post the removal of that tumor from Melky's spine. He's obviously a huge talent when not debilitated by such an odd condition.

[AdamJones113]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CuWQfMGjZF4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Majingir]

Re: 2014 Blue Jays

Can Toronto media get any worse.....Was watching news for brief moment and I saw them interviewing Jays fans who had just left the Rogers Centre(this was around bottom of the 8th). Interviewer didn't interview them to see why they left early or anything, they were basically acting like it's no big deal and like a whole "So, what'd you think of the game" type of thing.....(no shock,both people gave a flat out generic answer)

Really...Out of everyone to possibly talk to regarding baseball,you interview people who flat out don't care at all about the Jays and probably just won free tickets somewhere and decided to go to the game until it got too late for them.

Reminds me of Raptors playoffs when one of the interviewers interviewed the biggest bandwagon fan imaginable who was outside of the ACC(that fan flat out admitted they didn't even watch regular season,but turn out for the playoffs),despite fact that there were several thousand die hard fans outside of the ACC surrounding them.