BlueJaysPlus Podcast Episode 3: One Week In

Just fooling around with different logos...

Time flies when you're having fun(and losing 13-0). After 6 games, the Jays sit at 2-4, yet have been entertaining every time they've gone out their and played. 3 episodes into our podcast,we hope we're even more entertaining(although it's not likely cause the Jays have Jose Reyes and we just have skype). Int his weeks episode, we look back at the week that was in Jays land, from the Blue Jays horrific defines, to Brett Cecil's awesome first few games, to Colby Rasmus' sweet swing. We also talk about John Farrell's return, whether or not players should be wearing Roy Halladay's number(we're looking at you Esmil Rogers), and as always, have our Jays MILB player of the week. Hope you enjoy!

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Links mentioned on the Podcast:

Gideon Turk predicting how awful the Jays will be defensively in 2013, way back in December.

Gideon Turk examining Brett Cecil's opening day performance.

Ewan Ross on Danny Knobler's Anti-Canada article.

Photo Gallery of Johnny Damon's return to Boston after signing with the Yankees (courtesy of @emilyg819)

Blue Jays Mid-Season Grades:Part 1

Time flies; Right? It seems like just yesterday that JPA won the longest game in Opening Day history with his 3 run home run in the 16^th inning against the Cleveland Indians on April 5^th. Tonight will mark the 81^st game for the Jays this season, and, as expected, they have hovered around .500 the entire season. The fact that they have been able to be .500 is astounding due to the fact that they lost 3 starting pitchers in 1 week, have had no offensive production from C,1B and LF(in the case of C, there has been no defensive production either), and have had minimal offensive production as well from SS and 2B. The 25 man roster I will be grading is the 25 players with the most action (PA for batters, IP for pitchers).  Here are the highest 5!

Darren Oliver-A+

Oliver has easily been the most reliable
pitcher this season for Toronto.

The 41 year old Oliver has been untouchable this season for the Jays. He has pitched to a 1.59 ERA, a 270 ERA+, and a FIP of 2.80. The lefty Oliver, who sits in the high 80’s with his fastball co-leads the Jays with 8 Shutdown appearances, to go along with just 3 meltdowns. He has 100% been the best pitcher on the staff this season, and is the best off-season move by AA to this point. In a bullpen that has not produced to what was expected, Oliver has been a constant success, a pleasure to watch, and has quickly become a fan favorite. If the Jays do go into sell mode before the deadline, Oliver will probably be moved, as he has a lot of value on the trade market, but if not, which is more likely, I don’t see any reason why his $3 million 2013 Anthoption will not be picked up at the end of this season.

Jose Bautista-A

The lone Blue Jays 2012 All Star is coming off of one of the best months that I can remember as he hit 14 home runs this past June. Bautista’s June raised his stats to A level, as his OPS is back above .900, he is on pace for 54 home runs, and is also on pace to break 100 walks again. The average isn’t there, but who really cares about average anyways? His OBP is very good at .361, nowhere near last year’s unsustainable mark of .447, but above .360 is great for anybody. He, along with the other 3 players in the top of the order, has kept the Jays in the playoff hunt, and has spoken out recently that he wants the Jays to be buyers, and to try to contend this year. This grade would have been an A+ if he put up these same numbers by averaging them out per month, but because of his horrible April, it is only an A.I can see him finishing the year with around 50 home runs, 100+ RBI, and an OBP of close to .400 if not more.

Bautista and Encarnacion have been the most
 powerful 3-4 punch in all of Baseball this season.

Edwin Encarnacion-A

EE was keeping the Jays afloat in April and May until Jose regained his robotic form, and has been one of the most consistent players to play for the Jays so far this season. Edwin is among the league leaders in HRs, OBP, SLG, OPS, and for some strange reason, HBP. Encarnacion has been hit by 8 pitches this season, but has also been walked 32 times. I believe Edwin should have been an All-Star, but because he plays for the Jays, who get no recognition by the MLB at all, he is not. He has also added a bit of a speed element to his game, as he has stolen 8 bases so far this season, while only being caught twice. The only thing keeping him from being an A+ in my opinion is his defense, which has been below replacement level this season.

Brett Lawrie-B+

The major league leader in WAR (According to Baseball-Reference, not FanGraphs) has been very consistent this season, but has not had the power we expected from him. Since moving into the leadoff spot he has been seeing a lot more pitches, and as a result of this, he has seen his power numbers go up a little. His defense has been stellar at third, and his incredible athleticism has let the Jays use him in unconventional shifts that have been the reason for him leading the league in DRS and WAR. In order to get into the A- to A+ level by the end of the year, I think we need to see Brett start hitting for power, and to get on base more, as his .337 OBP is not very good for a leadoff hitter. Even though his power numbers have not been there so much this season, Brett has been somebody the Jays can count on all season long offensively and defensively.

Rasmus and Lawrie have sparked the offense
since moving into the 1 and 2 spots in the lineup.

Colby Rasmus-B

Since being moved into the #2 spot in the lineup, Rasmus is raking, and has made Tony La Russa look like a complete idiot, or shall I say made him look like a bigger idiot. After a great June that saw Colby hit 8 home runs, Rasmus hit a ball 448 feet last night off of the 5^th deck at Rogers Centre. That home run defined how well Colby is seeing the ball of late. When he gets his pitch, he does not miss. He has changed his stance, and due to that change he is now one of the best offensive center fielders in baseball. For Colby to improve this grade, he is going to need to get on base more, which he has been doing of late, but he still needs to work on it, and he needs to get better reads/jumps on balls,. His defense has been slightly above average, but it could definitely be better.

What do you guys think of the grades so far? Would you have graded them differently? Leave a comment below with your opinion!

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Getting to Know Colby Rasmus

Can any truly honest Blue Jays fan out there say that Colby Rasmus wasn’t starting off this season under the gun already?

Rasmus was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last summer from the St. Louis Cardinals as a part of major three-team swing that send journeyman Corey Patterson, lefty-specialist Marc Rzepczynski, former big arm Octavio Dotel, and innings-eater Edwin Jackson to the eventual World Series champs. However, as a former pro scout once said, “the team that ends up with the best player after the trade, wins.” Colby Rasmus was by far the best player that came out of this trade – and the Toronto Blue Jays got him.

In 2009, Colby Rasmus made his MLB debut with the Cardinals as the centerfielder. Rasmus put his tools on display over the next 2 seasons with a combined .268 batting average, .340 on-base percentage, and .790 on-base plus slugging percentage. This was not a coincidence, and it was certainly not a fluke. Colby was a 5-tool American baseball prospect that with a guaranteed number of at-bats proved that he is a stud, and has the ability to become the horse he was built to be.

With those numbers in mind, Colby went through a process of manager Tony La Russa and the Cardinals organization attempting to alter his approach at the plate. La Russa did not like the amount of movement taking place with Colby’s front leg. This was not the great cause for concern – it was when Rasmus refused to adhere to the advice of hitting coach Mark McGuire or La Russa, instead siding with his high school coach (Mr. Rasmus himself). This rift between the young Rasmus and the Cardinals management, led to Colby being dealt to the Blue Jays in the trade that many major league still consider to be a steal for Canada’s team.

             With guaranteed at-bats and the starting CF position cemented for Rasmus this season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Colby will be the first one to let out a big sigh of relief. His humble, quiet, and hard-working demeanor may not seem to fit in with the rebuilding core of the Blue Jays on the surface, but Rasmus is a big piece of this team’s personality. Rasmus has said that this season is going to be about, “going out there and having fun”; and during the difficult parts of the season Rasmus is “going to just play the game he has played since he was a little boy.” This attitude is exactly what the Toronto Blue Jays need, in fact, the rest of professional sports could use more kids having fun instead of megastar egomaniacs throwing away their millions.

This season we have already seen Colby Rasmsus’ stellar range and defensive ability that should put angry fans crying for the trade of Rasmus in the corner for a timeout. Rasmus has shown his slugging potential with the long-ball and the extra base pop. The numbers that Rasmus has produced in 2012 despite hitting at the bottom of a struggling Blue Jays offence, are second only to his 2010 All-Star season with the Cardinals!

My final thought is this: I had the privilege and opportunity to meet Colby Rasmus at the Jays Care Foundation Curve Ball this April, and he is easily the most misunderstood professional athlete in the city of Toronto. He is funny, smart, and completely excited to be a huge part of this true powerhouse baseball team that GM Alex Anthopoulos is building for Toronto. When I asked Colby about his time in Toronto, especially with the criticism and anger that seemed to follow him from St. Louis, he told me not to worry. Colby was quick to say that he is having so much fun with guys like Lawrie, JP, Bautista, and others that he knows it will only be a matter of time before Blue Jays fans really get behind this superhorse. I say the time is now! I encourage the whole Toronto Blue Jays fanbase to get behind this 25-year old outfield machine, and watch him give us his 100% effort every single game. Rasmus is the real deal. 

-Nick Topolie

Feel free to comment below with your opinion on Rasmus.

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