Blue Jays Extend JA Happ - Now What?

So this evening  Jays nation I think was taken by a bit by surprise with the announcement that JA Happ was signed to a 2 year extension + a team option for 2015. This comes approximately 6 days before the season opens and the day after we learned that Happ would now be Jays 5th starter when the season breaks.

So most of the evening I've been racking my brain to try to make some sense of it.....So i'm going to try to put some things down to help me understand it.

What do we know:

- Brandon Morrow is signed though 2014 + a team option for 2015
- RA Dickey is signed through 2015 + a team option for 2016
- Mark Buehrle is signed through 2015
- Ricky Romero is signed through 2015 + a team option for 2016
- JA Happ is now signed through 2014 + a team option for 2015
- Josh Johnson is signed through 2013
- Kyle Drabek is controllable until 2017
- Drew Hutchison is controllable until 2018
- Dustin McGowan  even though he's a band aid and now more of a bullpen arm, is signed through 2014 + a team option for 2015
- Aaron Sanchez is currently one of the most highly touted prospects in the MLB with a lot of potential.

- At the very least there is some certainty within the arms that we have minus Josh Johnson.

- Both Drabek and Hutchison are recovering from Tommy John surgery and should/could be available to the team near the later part of the year, but both should end up playing most of their time in Buffalo.

- Adam Wainwright has signed a 5 year extension with the Cardinals worth approximately 97.5 Million.

- Ricky Romero's status as a starter with the Blue Jays going forward has taken a big step back with his optioning down to single a Dunedin

I'm sure there are some other factors that may have some effect on the Jays pitching staff going forward...Robert Osuna, Sean Nolin, Daniel Norris, Free Agent signings etc....but for the sake of right now the above is what i'm focusing on.

So what does the signing mean?

Does it mean that AA is just looking to sure up his 2014 starting rotation now?
Does the $$$ that Adam Wainwright just got give us a good idea of what Josh Johnson could sign for if he has a good year?
Does it mean that the Jays are willing to let Josh Johnson walk at the end of 2013 and collect a draft pick for him if they provide him with a qualifying offer?
Does it mean that we could see 3 LH pitchers in the Jays rotation for 2014?
Is it AA giving Happ some financial security even if he has to be the 6th starter if Romero finds his 2011 form?
Does it mean that the Jays don't either Drabek or Hutchison won't be in the Jays rotation plans going forward?

I have no clue what AA is thinking exactly, but here is what I have deduced.

Josh Johnson more than likely will not be a Blue Jay in 2014.  I don't think AA thinks Johnson will be in his price range and is looking for ways to create some insurance for his team if this is the case.  ( I think AA also sees this as an opportunity to get another 1st rounder and build up his farm system again)

Given that I think AA may see his 2014 starting rotation will look like this at this time. (No particular order)

RA Dickey
Brandon Morrow
Mark Buehrle
JA Happ
Rickey Romero

Although both Drabek and Hutchison were both highly touted prospects, I don't think the Jays see either of them as true options for the rotation other than them fail safe's if someone were to go down to injury and Sanchez or any of their other prospects are just still too far away from being MLB ready by next year.

This move is in true AA fashion and is him eliminating some questions regarding what may happen if Josh Johnson is not a Blue Jay in 2014.

But what do I know.....

**AA and JA Happ will have a presser tomorrow to announce the signing officially, i'm sure there will be some questions asked & answered to help bring some light to the extension.

Go Jays Go!

My Spring Training Experience! Toronto Blue Jays VS Atlanta Braves

We'll today I got to scratch something off my bucket list!  I went to my first spring training game in Dunedin Florida, and it was awesome!

To be honest it wasn't exactly how I expected it to go, but in the end I had a great time and I can honestly say that it's not something I will soon forget.  So instead of just letting it be, I figured I would let anyone who wants to read about it have the chance to....

So let me preface this whole re-count by stating that I have two very small children, and an amazing wife, all who really made this trip to the game unique in itself. 

So as anyone has ever gone to a game in Dunedin can probably attest to, the ball park pretty much just sneaks up on you.  I didn't even know we were in Dunedin until I saw this sign literally a block from the stadium!

Parking reminded me on going to a game at the old Tiger stadium in Detroit.  Tons and tons of people holding up make shift signs letting you park on their front lawn for $10.  Much different than the concrete jungle that i'm used to going to games at the Roger's Center.

Once parked we picked up our tickets and made our way into Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

I've heard a number of things about the  ball park over the years!  How it's outdated and it's probably the worst of all the spring training venues, and I can  see where those comments have came from.  The Stadium is indeed old and probably needs a little more than just some TLC, but I loved it!  It has character coming out the wazoo!

We got the the park fairly early so once we got inside we decided to explore all it had to offer.  Here are a couple pictures we took while we waited for the game to start.

Pretty neat big board as soon as you walk in that shows both teams line-up in a old school kind of way!

Me and my oldest waiting for the Braves to come take batting practice!  It's crazy how small the whole park is.  Seeing the park on TV makes it look huge when it's actually very intimate.

You can typically see this on TV, but the big building is the Jays training facility.  It's cool I guess, but you can't really see much even when your right beside it.

Here are a couple pictures of the Sportsnet desk located in shallow left field. Arash Madani, Jack Morris (Not Pictures) and Stephen Brunt were all down at the desk while we were there.  Weirdest thing I found was that around this desk were tons of fans and not one of them noticed that Jack Morris was standing right beside them. 

Reed Johnson was signing Autographs!  Always loved him as a Jay and he signed a ball for both of my kids, so he'll always be good in my books.

I thought this was pretty cool!  Our own Grill!  

I thought this was pretty cool!  Over in the RF concourse there's a plaque for each player that spent time in Dunedin and went onto the Majors.  There are a tone of great players on the list, it's pretty cool to reflect on all the players who started out in the minor league systems. 

About 30-40 min or so before the game started all the players made their way out to do all their stretching.  It was kinda boring except for when Reyes started playing the the crowd and then went over and signed autographs for about 10 minutes. 

So all that was just before the game even started!  We finally got to our seats and i'm not proud to say it, but we only really spent all of 2 innings in our seats. You try to keep a 2 year old boy entertained for more than that!

We were treated to pretty much an opening day line-up, which was awesome and most of them played 6 innings or more!  Greatness!

After we left our seats we found some the Dunedin Mascot!  I didn't catch his name, but he was nice enough to take a picture!

 
Funny story!  We asked some random guy to take out picture in-front of the line-ups and it turns out we asked the Jays photographer to take it.  He did an alright job I guess!

We then hit up the Canadian Grill again for a re-fuel!  Looks like the kid in the carrier had one too many himself!

Once the starters were taken out we made our way over to the clubhouse and JP Arencibia came out and signed some autographs.  Told by the locals down there that he does it after every game!  Baseball needs more guys like him!.

I don't know why I got so excited for this picture, but I almost jumped over two small kids to get it.  This is a picture of the Managers scrum after the game with Gibbons and all the Toronto Baseball media.  I thought it was pretty cool!

As for pictures the above was my last.  Your prototypical family shot outside the stadium!

There were actually a number of other highlights that I didn't capture on my camera.  And they are......

- The contingent of Canadians in the ball park all signing the National Anthem.  It's nice to know even when were in another country we Canadians band together.

- My Kid was being a little difficult and wanted a baseball and a security guard over heard the conversation we were having and brought him over a ball from BP.  He was jacked.  It's nice to know there are still nice people out there.

- My Wife sweet talking  Raja Davis into bringing her over a ball from BP!

- My kid almost taking out Pat Tabler when he wasn't looking where he was going!  I shook his hand to apologize.  My kid just acted like it was Tabler's fault and moved on.

All in all I had a great time.  Would I have liked to watch more of the game?  Sure...but I got to really experience almost everything that I would have thought a spring training game has to offer and I did it all with my family!

It was a busy day, but a great day! Go Jays Go.

Toronto Blue Jays VS Detroit Tigers - A Rivalry Renewed,

I think one of the biggest tragedies in the MLB today is that the Toronto Blue Jays and the Detroit Tigers are not in the same division!

Back in the day I fondly remember the rivalry that existed between the Jays and the Tigers from the 80's & somewhat 90's, but that all changed when the got rid of the two divisions and moved the Jays to a division with the Yankee's, Red Sox, Orioles and Rays.

Now sure over time there have been rivalries develop with the teams in their division, but there's nothing quite like the one that we had (& could be having) with the Tigers.  Sure it helped that the Jays were slugging it out with the Tigers year of year, and there were a bunch of Tiger fans in Canada due to the proximity of Detroit to the Canadian border,  but that is where rivalries are built and grown.  With the Jays moving divisions and only playing the Tigers around 6 - 9 times a year, the rivalry that was built slowly faded away.  Kids who go to the Ball park in Toronto or Detroit now have no idea that these two teams were at one time bitter rivals. Guys don't jump in a car and make the 400km drive to Detroit just to boo the tigers anymore. The Tigers are just another team now to Jays fans.

I know it may sound like i'm a terrible person, but I want to have a team to hate!  I have it in Hockey...i'm a long time Pens fan and can tell you that If someone tells me there a Flyers fan, it's very difficult for me not to hold that against them.   As for the Jays, it would be easy as a fan to have it out for the Red Sox and Yankee's, but they have there own thing going on (You know how to piss off a Yankee/Red Sox Fan?  Tell them there's no difference between a Red Sox or a Yankee Fan....They hate that),  the Rays are just too far away and the O's are the O's.  I want to get back to having a team close that no matter what/who they bring to the line-up i'm going to say he sucks! I still to this day have a very strong dislike for the entire 1987 Detroit Tigers.

There's obviously a lot of hype for the Blue Jays this year in Canada, and i'm sure its much the same in Detroit for the Tigers.  I tell you this though.....I'm jacked for just the thought of the Jays and Tigers meeting up in the post season in 2013.  I really think if something like this happens it could ignite the hatred/passion that existed between these two great organizations....and that is only good to baseball in Toronto.

John Gibbons - Blue Jays Manager on PTS

This evening the Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons was on Prime Time Sports for a hour long sit down with Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt.

If you didn't get a chance to check it out click the link below to see it.  (Make sure you don't miss the part 2)

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/john-gibbons-on-pts-part-1/

I don't know how John Gibbons is able to make me like him more each and every time I see him, but he does.  The guy just seems real to me and someone that most people could relate to, not some robot who has everything he's going to say planned prior to saying it.  

He's our Lou Brown!

The two segment interview featured questions from Jays fans that ranged from "Who do you plan on using the Jays new found speed? "to "Will JA Happ be using in the AAA rotation or in the Bullpen?".  Yes there were a number of pretty standard questions that have been asked numerous times over the course of the off season, but what made the interview great was how Gibbons answered everything. 

He was not shy to say how things were going to be and laugh at himself on a number of occasions.  He was not afraid to take an objective view at himself as to who he was as a Manager prior to this year and who may end up being his second time around.  Is this what the Blue Jays need?  I don't know...I'm no mind reader, but I like the way it's going so far.  

My 10 highlights from the interview....

1. Said there's so many rules these days in the MLB regarding options that he can't follow them all. 

2. Reyes, Bonifacio & Davis will pretty much always have the green light in base stealing situations. 

3. He believes in base running if you have the guys with skills to do it. 

4. Would put Happ in the Pen if it meant bringing the best team to Toronto, but kinda prefers him in AAA to help with depth.

5. He's talked to Bautista about his attitude in certain plate appearance and said there's a time and place for it, just needs to make sure he's doing it at the right time. 

6. Jeffress's arm could be the best in the Pen, just needs to harness his skills. 

7.  Bob asked him if he had to punch anyone yet.  Said no...and laughed

8. Explained how they bring in signs at the start of the year and will alter then against teams that are known for being good sign stealers.  They just can't make them too complicated so the team doesn't get confused. 

9. He's given a vote of confidence to both Romero and Lind.  Likes what both have done so far, minus Romero's last start. 

10.He's pretty confident that the pitchers coming over from the NL may have to learn the AL game, but should be able to cope very well and settle in.

All in all a great interview and he's very excited with how things have gone so far in camp!

This interview got me excited again for baseball, not that I wasn't before hand, but the tole of a long spring training was really started to strain on my patience. 

Only 2 weeks to go! Go Jays Go! #lovethisteam

Emilio Bonifacio - Another reason to believe he'll be playing 2nd for the Blue Jays on April 2nd!

Anyone who's read a few of my posts may be aware that I firmly believe that Emilio Bonifacio is going to be the 2nd baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2013 season.  

I've said it before and i'll say it again.....I'm sure Alex A did promise the 2nd baseman job to Macier Iztruis when he singed him, but that was before he ever thought he could get his hands on a player  Bonifacio.  Bonifacio is a AA type player...blah blah blah, Izturis works well as a Super Sub wadda wadda wadda...I've been there said that......In fact, here is my post that I dedicated totally to the battle for 2nd.  http://guywholikesbaseball.blogspot.ca/2012/12/bonifacio-vs-izturis-battle-for-2nd.html

What made me think of this again (besides the numerous articles written recently about the same topic) were the new run of Toronto Blue Jays commercials that just came out.  Now I don't know everything about Marketing....but if you have a guy that is more than likely going to spend most of the time out all over the place, then I doubt you put him in your commercials! (Just as an FYI, Macier or any other rumored bench player is not in the commercials at all..... so far)

So couple this with the host of other reasons why I think he'll be a the 2 bag on April 2nd, i'm fairly confident Bonifacio is our Blue Jays 2nd Baseman in 2013. 

Go Jays Go!

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?tcid=mm_tor_vid&c_id=tor

How long before Jose Bautista is the Blue Jays DH or 1B?

I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about this topic, but every now and then I wonder if Jose Bautista would end up being the Jays 1st baseman or DH in the near future.

I realize that he has a ridiculous arm and you can't really replace what he can do as an overall RF, but hear me out here.  I think ultimately one of the most important factors for the Jays this year is going to be how Adam Lind produces.  If Adam comes out and hits .280  and is a force in the 5th spot in the order, then this isn't even a topic of conversation for at least a couple years when Bautista's fielding skills start to decline, but if Adam Lind struggles then I think I can make a case for Bautista making a move to the DH or 1st base role.  (I'm leaning more towards 1st base myself)

If the Jays have to do something with Adam Lind's position , moving Jose Bautista to 1b/DH will allow the Jays to bring in someone who can definitely fill the offensive needs that a position like this desperately needs, in fact if Bautista were to move to play 1st we could easily say that we have one of the best defensive & offensive 1st basemen in all of baseball.  Sure there may be some time to get used to the position, but I think we all know that he could figure it out pretty quickly.  

So what happens to RF then? Well if Adam Lind is gone we would need another LH bat in the line-up to help bring some balance to it.  We would need someone who is great defensively and has a great arm to boot, and we would also need someone who could be a game changer much like Jose is.  We'll if those are the elements we need, then a guy like Anothony Gose may work out pretty good for us.  Sure he's low on experience and will never come close to Jose's power, but Gose has the tools that can make him a player that can take over a game in a number of different ways.  He's been impressive in the spring of 2013 so far, but I think the one thing that's impressed me the most  is how you can see the desire that he has to be great. He hasn't been shy to say that he's embarrassed that he's going to have to go to AAA and that to me is a great thing.  He wants to be in the Majors and he's going to do whatever he needs to get back and stay there. I think it's just a matter of time we see him as an everyday player, we just need to find some room for him.  (Could you imagine a line-up with Gose, Reyes, Bonifacio, Lawrie and on certain days Davis in it?  Just crazy how fast that team would be)

So do I think Jose wants to play 1st of DH?  No not at all.  I think he knows where he is the most effective and how he can help the team the most, but if things don't fall into place, it may end up being the best case scenario for everyone if he makes the move.   The good thing is, I really think that if Jose things a move like this will help the team then he would be willing to do it. 

Go Jays Go!

*Just realized I pretty much just bagged on Lind even thought he's been killing it so far this spring!  Sorry Lindy!

Who's the Blue Jays 5th starter again? Another POV in the Happ vs Romero Debate

We`ll I didn't think I was going to end up doing a Romero VS Happ piece, primarily because i`ve  read/listened to about 108 different versions of the story already, but in the end this is my blog and if I decide to write about it I can't really be stopped!

Anyways.....To start off I want to preface that  heading into spring training I was totally on board the Ricky Romero band wagon. I even drafted him as a late round sleeper in my Fantasy league convinced I pulled the wool over the eyes of all the other owners in my league.  I was sure that Romero would be able to bounce back from last year's adversity and turn the page on what was a black mark on his relatively young career.

Neither good nor bad, it's been well documented that no matter what happens (a +7 ERA in the spring, Walking way too many, not throwing enough strikes..etc) in Spring training for Ricky he's pretty much going to still be the 5th starter for the Toronto Blue Jays when they break camp at the end of March.  This vote of confidence from the Jays front office seems to have given Romero a chance to forget about results and just work on getting himself ready for April 2nd. I mean that must be what he's thinking cause he's been God awful.

Naturally when there's a pitcher not living up to his potential like Ricky has been so far this Spring,  the Media, Fans, Bloggers will all gravitate to the story and try to come up with the best possible options  for the team......Enter JA Happ!

Happ joined the team last year in the huge (only huge by volume of players traded) trade with the Houston Astros.   He made a couple starts, but ended up fracturing his foot and was forced to miss the last month or so of the season. It actually looked pretty good that Happ was going to be a part of the 2013 starting rotation, but the Jays went out re-built their rotation with the additions of Johnson, Buehrle, & Dickey, and pretty much gave Happ a one way ticket to Buffalo.

Yes I know pitching in Spring Training is nothing to be measured on, but Happ has been great so far this year.  He's pitched 9.1 innings and only given up 2 runs,  walked 1 & K'd 5.  Quite the contrast to Romero's lackluster showing so far.

Happ has been vocal about his desire to be in the Majors and starting, and Romero continues to claim that he's just getting himself ready for Opening Day and he isn't worrying about results, but as I see it the Blue Jays have committed to 2013 as a year that they want to win and they need to ensure they put that best foot forward to do so.

So what does that mean Guy?  Well I would be sending JA Happ to the bump every 5th day right now.  Ricky has some options left and a lot of questions marks surrounding his abilities. I would much rather go into the 2013 season with the hot hand  and ensure the team doesn't get off to a slow start.

Right now JA Happ is the better of the two options to make that happen! The hard throwing south paw could make be very nice complimentary piece to this rotation and with how Romero's been pitching for the better part of 8 months I can't say that for him anymore.

Here's hoping I'm wrong!  Go Jays Go!




**If you want to read some more on this whole situation check out the link below for an interesting POV from one of Romero's former teammates Dirk Hayhurst
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/hayhurst-on-blue-jays-woe-is-romero/

*** UPDATE: Well it looks like Ricky will be starting the year in Dunedin.  I hope this will give Ricky some time to work out all the things he's had to work on this spring training.

The more I think about it it makes more and more sense for all parties involved.....

Ricky Romero will be able to work on all the himself as a pitcher.  I think due to the off season surgery he and the team didn't focus on the real issue...his mechanics. They put him through his normal routine and when it was too late they realized that it wasn't the physical issue that was the problem really....it was delivery.  I do think he'll turn it around...he just needs the time to put it all together.

JA Happ will be able to prove himself, which is especially important as he's in a contract year....and I love contract years!  Players are extremely motivated and hopefully this leads to more W's for him and the Jays.

The Jays now have the opportunity to put there best team on the field come opening day!  Right now Happ is the best option for the rotation and in a year when they are all in you can only have your best going.  Also having a healthy and confident Ricky Romero as your 6th starter isn't a bad thing.

Kyle Drabek, Drew Hutchison,& Beyond!!!!

I read an article the other day on the current rehab of 2012 starting rotation pitchers Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison.  It was an interesting read and actually made me start to think about what the Blue Jays stating rotation is going to look like when both of these guys are healthy.  (here is the article if you want to read it http://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/09/road-to-recover-for-jays-drebek-and-hutchison)

Which got me wondering about Josh Johnson's status going forward with the Jays......He's only member of the current Jays starting rotation that is a free agent at the end of the 2013 season, and if everything works out to how the Jays and Johnson want for the upcoming year he'll be in line for a huge multi year deal and more than likely will not be back with the Jays in 2014.

So where does this leave Hutchison & Drabek if Johnson leaves?  Both pitchers still have some potential left in them, but which one of them would be the next in line for a rotation spot?  Could it be someone else from the minors that jumps over both of them to be the next Jays starter? I don't know, but if I had a choice between the two of these guys to fill out the Jays starting rotation I would want it to be Hutchison.



Drew had a less than stellar 11 starts in 2012 before his injury but  looked cool & collected during his time in the Majors, never really let the pressure overcome him, and improved with each start.  If he's able to come back from his injury and get some experience pitching in Buffalo for half a year or so, I would not be surprised at all to see him in the Jays starting rotation in 2014.

BTW I know it's too early to be thinking of  2014 rotations, but i'm bored right now!