Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Zaun won't be playing for another week and a half sooooo

BTW I was listening to Rob Neyer with Chuck Swirsky just a while ago and he said what I've believed since last year that that horrible season was a fluke in that anything that could go wrong did. He then said he thinks the Jays are in the right direction and will contend for a Wild Card this year and for the next few years.

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

What an impressive win against a pretty good Twins team especially since it was against their ace. I'm very curious as to why Gibbons took Towers out of the game after 5 innings.

So what do you fellow Jays fans think of the incredible power surge for Alex Rios? I'd never thought Rios would be a Leadoff guy but as long as he gets on base i'd keep him in that spot.

I'm also starting to think that the MacDonald/Hudson combination may be the best middle infield combo in Blue Jays history. We've had a couple great middle infielders in Tony Fernandez and Robbie Alomar but they never played together in a Jays uniform. It would be a crying shame if ODawg doesn't get a Gold Glove this season.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

I'm dissapointed Koskie is injured again. He was already DHing a lot in the past 2 weeks and now he's headed to the DL again.

I'm going to be glad to see Aaron Hill in action although I hope they DH him. He's only played 10 games at 3B and that was in the AFL. What was more telling than calling up Hill was that they didn't call up John-Ford Griffin instead. Ford-Griffin is playing well with the Chiefs and would have been perfect for the DH role. Crozier and Gross should be punching the wall because if they were actually playing quality baseball, they would be on the Jays right now.

[Vince]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

It would be a crying shame if ODawg doesn't get a Gold Glove this season.

I'm gonna stop watching Baseball if he doesn't get it.Boone aint what he used to be.Apart from him there really isn't much else.Maybe Scutaro,but it ends there.

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Was Koskie this fragile in Minny? Sheesh he seems to have nagging injuries and such. It'll be interesting to see how the Jays do for the new few weeks. As for this series Dave Bush pitched well enough to earn a victory but the offense wasn't there. I tell you I think one of the things that make me cheer for Bush is the fact that he's a hard luck loser. This guy can't seem to catch a break at all.

[Vince]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

I think Kos was injured last year also.I think he's always had durability issues.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Prior to this season, Koskie has been on the DL 5 times in the past 7 seasons.

Ever since 2001 his games played has dropped from 153, 140, 131, to 118. It looks like his injury could be really serious which means he'll even play less than 118 games this season.

The Jays are already struggling to hit for power with Koskie in the lineup, and now without him the Jays are going to be worse off.

The AAA and AA clubs are also struggling to hit.

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Vernon Wells has busted out of his slump!


I say that quietly in case I jinxed him. Ted Lilly finally showed his good stuff against a streaking Nationals club. Aaron Hill looked solid with the bat tonight and I can't wait to see him play some defense.

[Sully]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Vernon Wells has busted out of his slump!


I say that quietly in case I jinxed him. Ted Lilly finally showed his good stuff against a streaking Nationals club. Aaron Hill looked solid with the bat tonight and I can't wait to see him play some defense.

Say it proud, and say it loud! I picked him up off waivers a couple weeks ago in my work league. This is the first week I've really played him, and he's doing the job.

[Spear]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Halladay on the mound today at the Rogers Centre at 4:05pm, it sure would be nice for the Jays to win this series or even sweep the Nats, as momentum has been slowing down lately for the team.

[Vince]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

It just seems that after a good series,we follow that up by losing 2 out of 3 or getting swept.We need to make a little 5-6 game run going.

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

It's nice to see the Jays give Roy some run support. The thing that most impressed me was that even tho he wasn't very sharp he still threw a darn good game. If Jon Garland wasn't having such a hot year i'd say Roy is a leading Cy Young candidate.

Oh yeah and Aaron Hill is just on a roll with his bat! I have a good feeling we'll sweep the series.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

I've been keeping tabs on the farm system and the Jays are stacked with quality arms right now.

Rosario should be the first person called up if a starter gets injured. Rosario had a major setback when he had TJ surgery but it looks like he's rounding back to his old self. He only gave up one hit in his start yesterday. His ERA is down to 2.56.

Gaudin has also pitched well and it looks like the Jays see him as a middle relief guy althought he's starting with the SkyChiefs right now.

Arnold has also gotten back on track as a reliever. I felt like if he didn't produce this season the Jays were going to release him. He's a potential September call-up if he can keep up his production.

On the negative side, League has regressed badly. He's not striking out guys and getting hit hard. I hope he doesn't flame out like Adam Peterson.

Down at AA, Banks and Marcum have been outstanding. Both have excellent K/B ratios. Both should be called up to AAA within the next few months. Banks and Marcum aren't "stuff" guys but should be solid in the Dave Bush mold.

Vermilyea has been lights out as a reliever and should end the year with the Skychiefs.

Down at Hight A, Jackson has been brillant. He should be up at AA soon. Purcey needs more work. He's striking out more than a batter an inning, but he has trouble commanding his pitches.

The Jays best pitching prospect before last season, Dustin McGowan, is still in extended spring training still recovering from TJ surgery. He should be starting out at High A, hopefully working his way to AAA to end the season.

[SPTO]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

Thanks for the insight AF. I was thinking about this lately and it seems to me the Jays are going about things the right way. I have a feeling we'll have a very strong pitching staff no later then '07.

I've also been hearing on telecasts that the Jays are interested in drafting a SS (sorry his name escapes me) The Jays have a glut of middle infielders and I think JP may parlay that into some future trades to get talent in areas that we're not very deep in.

The only thing i'm worried about is that the Jays could end up bringing up all this young talent and they may get rocked. This is why JP will need to continue bringing in vets who have a concept of team ball.

I'm also very happy that JP hasn't been meddling into John Gibbons' business the way that he did with Tosca. The emphasis on more small ball aspects is something that will benefit the club and gives an added dimension to the Money Ball theory.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Official Toronto Blue Jays "Birds Nest" Thread

The SS the commentators were talking about is Troy Tulowitzki. He won't be there when they Jays pick. I'd be stunned if the Mariners don't take him in the 3rd spot.

JP has been scouting lefty Ricky Romero. He's the best left hander in the draft and has plus makeup and 3 solid pitches. I'm not really sure I'd take him though. He just drafted 2 leftys last season (Purcey, Jackson) although you can always use them as trade chips later. With the 6th pick he should try to get a really high impact player. The Jays don't have a potential franchise player in their farm system.

Even with the increase in budget I don't expect him to draft a Boras client so that rules out Weaver, Drew, Hoschaver, and Pelfrey. I personally would like to see him draft catcher Jeff Clement. He's a catcher with power and good plate discipline. He has improved his defence. I don't know if Quiroz will pan out (he's injured right now and probably won't be back until September) and Thigpen is still at High A.

I feel like the first round pick is going to be huge for the long term success of the organization. There's also more pressure to select a good player because the Jays don't have a 2nd round pick this season.