Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Toronto Blue Jays/MLB Thread.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    TORONTO -- For the Blue Jays, Tuesday's signings of Venezuelan prospects Adonis Cardona and Gabriel Cenas served as a statement to the rest of the baseball. Toronto is becoming a force in the international marketplace.

    "It's a great time to be a Toronto Blue Jay," said Marco Paddy, the club's director of Latin America operations. "We're going to be everywhere and we're going see whoever we've got to see and we're going to evaluate the players and try to sign every one that we think is going to help us win a championship.

    "We're covering every inch of the world to try to get the best players."

    Paddy spoke via conference call from the Netherlands, where he is currently monitoring a tournament that includes teams from the United States, Europe and Cuba, among other places. Next on his itinerary are trips to Aruba, Canada and possibly a third stop in Japan to see more players.

    Since Alex Anthopoulos took over as the Blue Jays general manager at the end of last season, the organization has taken a more aggressive approach to scouting and player development. Budgets were increased, a surplus of scouts were hired and every highly-touted prospect suddenly became a realistic target.

    "We're certainly energized since he's been here and we're very aggressive," Paddy said. "We're not going to get in a race that we're not willing to win."

    That includes players such as Cardona (a right-handed pitcher) and Cenas (a third baseman) -- both 16 years old who became eligible for signing on July 2. Anthopoulos confirmed that Cardona received a $2.8 million signing bonus -- the largest given to a Latin American amateur player in club history -- while Cenas garnered $700,000.

    Comment


    • #32
      Anyone got a viewpoint on the trade that AA made yesterday - Wallace for Gose?

      AT first glance, it looks like a horrible deal for the Jays - a guy who's thought of to be a top 25 prospect and a good hitter for an unproven 19-year old outfielder at Single-A. But as you look deeper into the stats - Wallace was doing okay at Triple-A Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League - which is known as a hitter's league, and Vegas being known as a hitter's paradise, Wallace didn't exactly set the world on fire, which raised some questions. There was also a lot of questions about his conditioning and the lackthereof. In addition, the Jays have a lot of guys at the LF/DH/1B position right now.
      Gose, only 19, stole close to 80 bases last season, has a lot of speed to burn, a cannon for an arm and has a real swagger to him. A lot of people compare him to Carl Crawford. He's definitely got a high ceiling. Maybe higher than that of Wallace's. Sometime you gotta take a chance. I think this move will pay off dividends in a couple of years.

      Comment


      • #33
        Yeah, that's exactly what AA was saying, if he can improve his hitting a little, I don't really mind about the power.. He'll be able to steal a ton of bases, just has to work on what pitches to steal on, imo. He's been caught 27 times this season, with 37 steals up to now.. Not the greatest percentage, but I'm pretty sure he just has to make a few adjustments and he'll be fine. He's still really young, and with Lind being able to play some first next season, hopefully he can put up some decent numbers and not commit too many errors, and we can forget about Wallace.

        They came back pretty quickly with acquiring another first baseman for depth in Mike Jacobs, 32 homers and 93 RBI's in 08', not so bad.. Hasn't done so well the last couple years, but we're known for putting hitters back on the right track. It's for depth, this wasn't a bad move either (though he seems to be a lot like Lyle Overbay).. Even if he doesn't work out.

        Comment


        • #34
          JP Arencibia

          Have to put this here, for posterity’s sake if nothing else: JP Arencibia, a 24 year old catcher, drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft made his Toronto Blue Jays debut today, several weeks earlier than expected due to an injury to catcher John Buck.

          Unless a trip to Vegas included taking in a game of the Blue Jays Triple-A team there, fans and followers of the team have only been able to read about Arencibia’s exploits, where he’s been tearing it up of late (especially), hitting 31 home runs to go along with a .303 batting average.

          His much anticipated first at-bat, coming in the second inning, was one that’ll be long remembered. The first pitch delivered by Tampa Bay Rays James Sheilds was a 93-mph fastball and Arencibia wasted no time, crushing it over the left-field wall for a rare first-at-bat, first-pitch in the Majors, Home Run.

          http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news...=.jsp&c_id=tor

          He wasn’t done. By the time the dust had settled and the buzzing crowd left Rogers Centre after watching the Blue Jays paste the Rays, 17 - 11, JP Arencibia finished the day going 4 for 5, hitting a SECOND home run, as well as a double and a single.

          Welcome to the show, JP Arencibia!

          Comment


          • #35
            That was an amazing start to this kid's career. I hope he's the real deal, because that was quite the statement game yesterday.

            Speaking of statement games, how about Morrow and his 17 K's today. I love this team's future and am very optimistic.

            Comment


            • #36
              Doc Naismith wrote: View Post
              That was an amazing start to this kid's career. I hope he's the real deal, because that was quite the statement game yesterday.

              Speaking of statement games, how about Morrow and his 17 K's today. I love this team's future and am very optimistic.
              Morrow was incredible Sunday afternoon. That one single hurt but gotta keep those things in perspective, I guess. Fun team these days.

              Comment


              • #37
                Is Bautista on Roids?

                More HRs this year than in the previous three combined

                Something here doesn't compute.
                Avatar: Riverboat Coffee House 134 Yorkville Ave. billboard of upcoming entertainers - Circa 1960s

                Memories some so sweet, indeed

                Larger Photo of the avatar



                “As a captain, I played furiously. I drew a lot of fouls, but I brought everything I had to every practice and to every game. I left everything on the court because I simply wanted the team to win”
                Quote from well known personality who led their high school team to a state championship.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Nah.. He's always had the power, he's a big guy. It's all in the mechanics of his swing. Everyone has up and down years, and this is just a break out one for Bautista.. He has a home run swing, mixed with the fact that he's seeing the ball well.. Don't see what's so surprising about it.

                  This is kinda like saying Aaron Hill was on steroids last year, he hit more home runs last year than his whole career up to that season, combined. If you followed their careers though, and saw what they've done, and have been able to do.. It's not such a surprise.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    It's because Bautista has actually received some PT this year. Not to mention that Cito and Brantley cleaned up some of his mechanics at the plate. JB has some real torque in that swing. The bat just whips through the ball.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      A shame that the Jays have decided to call it a season for Morrow after his next start. While I understand why, it would of been nice to see him pad his stats a little bit more. Especially his K's/game average. WOW.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        I know what you mean, he's done outstanding lately.. I'm sure a lot better than most anticipated.

                        Just try to look at it from a different perspective though, now you have guys coming up who can showcase what they have for next year.. I assume probably Richmond/Mills. I'd like Drabek to get a start, but I think it's probably unlikely.

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Ryan_1523 wrote: View Post
                          I'd like Drabek to get a start, but I think it's probably unlikely.
                          Drabek would be nice, but with his team in the heat of a race in NH right now he won't be coming up. I think he's ready for the big time though and think we could see him in the rotation next season. How great would a starting rotation of Marcum, Romero, Cecil, Morrow & Drabek be? WOW. If you can't get excited for that possibility, then your not a Jays fan.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Marcum's gonna want a pretty hefty payday. AA better get to work.

                            Too bad we couldn't reel in Chapman in the offseason. Did anyone catch his performance last night? The kid touched 102 mph.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Yeah, you're right about the playoff situation down in NH.. I wish I could see that on TV, honestly.

                              That is a pretty solid rotation.. With the whole John Buck situation, what do we do? He's impressing everyone this year.. He wants to stay here, but we have Arencibia coming up.. Thoughts?

                              Chapman, how did we not get this guy.. We offered him like just as much, maybe more than the Reds at the time. He's impressive, let's see what he does in a full year at the big league level before we decide how good he'll be.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Kyle Drabek, being called up to make the start on Wednesday, the 15th, versus the Baltimore Orioles.

                                New Hampshire didn't get very far in the playoffs, but just making it is a big achievement right now.. It's a sign of things to come.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X