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Series 45: Jays @ Braves

L K

L K

Well-known member
Date Team Time Road Trip Record Overall Record
Mon Sept 7 @ Red Sox 1:35p 0-1 78-59
Tues Sept 8 @ Red Sox 7:10p 1-1 79-59
Wed Sept 9 @ Red Sox 7:10p 1-2 79-60
Thurs Sept 10 @ Yankees 7:05p 2-2 80-60
Fri Sept 11 @ Yankees 7:05p 3-2 81-60
Sat Sept 12 @ Yankees 4:05p 4-2 82-60
Sun Sept 13 @ Yankees 1:05p 4-3 82-61
Tues Sept 15 @ Braves 7:10p 4-4 82-62
Wed Sept 16 @ Braves 7:10p 5-4 83-62
Thurs Sept 17 @ Braves 7:10p 6-4 84-62

Drew Hutchison has been removed from the rotation for Marcus Stroman. 

Magic Numbers for the Blue Jays
Team  Remaining  Magic Number
C - Royals  16  16
E - Blue Jays  16  N/A
WC1 - Yankees  17  14
W - Rangers  16  12
WC2 - Astros  15  9
Twins  16  8
Angels  16  7
Indians  17  6
Orioles  16  5
Rays  16  3
White Sox  17  3
Mariners  15  3
Red Sox  17  3
Tigers  17  1
DIVISION    14
WC1    9
WC2    8
 
You could probably say this about most line-ups I suppose but without Tulo and Edwin, this really isn't that great of a lineup. There are three guys who are hitting everyday who are just bad hitters, when you add to them with Smoak it's a pretty mediocre group.
 
Nik the Trik said:
You could probably say this about most line-ups I suppose but without Tulo and Edwin, this really isn't that great of a lineup. There are three guys who are hitting everyday who are just bad hitters, when you add to them with Smoak it's a pretty mediocre group.
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Agreed. It's too bad the top of the order couldn't do anything to make use of a pretty good day at the plate from Goins and Pennington.
 
That 9th inning.  I'm not sure what was going through Gibbons' head.  I'm just going to assume that he didn't care whether the Jays lost or not?
 
TML fan said:
Nik the Trik said:
You could probably say this about most line-ups I suppose but without Tulo and Edwin, this really isn't that great of a lineup. There are three guys who are hitting everyday who are just bad hitters, when you add to them with Smoak it's a pretty mediocre group.
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Agreed. It's too bad the top of the order couldn't do anything to make use of a pretty good day at the plate from Goins and Pennington.
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I wonder if the Jays might consider splitting up their hitters.  It just seems like it's a lineup where 1-3 you worry about a little and when Colabello isn't in the lineup 4-9 are a break for the pitcher.
 
I think the DH would have made a huge difference. I'd be hesitant to mess with the lineup too much for some BS interleague series, even though it is important to win the next two games.
 
TML fan said:
Potvin29 said:
TML fan said:
Good to see Gibbons didn't learn anything from the New York series.
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Smoak scoops the throw it looks completely different.  Sanchez getting a bit BABIP'd there.
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Most 2Bs don't even get to that ball.
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Yeah, as much as it would have been great for Smoak to grab that (as far as balls in the dirt go, that wasn't the toughest play and he's generally very good at those), the fact that Darwin Barney even got to that ball is impressive.  That's a base-hit up the middle for most teams. 

Hitters simply aren't missing any of Sanchez's pitches of late.  He's throwing well but I think that 2nd time out he gets into trouble because they know exactly what he's going to to.
 
Sanchez threw over an inning 12 times in relief last season and allowed an ER twice.  I'm not willing to say these last 2 outings are anything more than randomness at this point.
 
What scares me about Gibbons is he lets guy stay in for the extra pitch and what really scares me is Sanchez did exactly the same thing with the Yankees a few days earlier. In a closer role it seem evident he is a one inning wonder but why did Gibbons leave him in when he had other options in the 9th. The bigger question is why he didnt pull Sanchez in the 9th right after he walk?
Cecil certainly was so overpowering he could have pitched one more than he did, even Lowe has the power to go two or more. 
I wouldnt mind Cecil try to return as a starter next year or Sanchez.  Would be nice to have Price, Strolman, Estrada and Sanchez (or Cecil) in the starting line up next year.
 
Price's command has been off all night but he's battled and benefited from some great defense and small ball from the Jays, 7-1 in the 4th right now. Pennington and Goins having productive games in all areas once again.
 
Who are these strange people that like national league baseball? It's so boring... This void at the 9 spot is such a waste of time. Strategy my ass....
 
Joe S. said:
Who are these strange people that like national league baseball? It's so boring... This void at the 9 spot is such a waste of time. Strategy my ass....
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I've never bought the argument regarding strategy either. Bill James once wrote something interesting about it, where he said that it actually greatly decreases strategy because 90% of the time the decision of what to when the hitter is up is so obvious and easy as to be essentially automatic. Occasionally there are situations where you have to weigh the value of a pinch hitter vs. letting the current pitcher continue to pitch but that's relatively infrequent.

Conversely, having a DH allows a manager all sorts of line-up options that he wouldn't otherwise. Everyday Gibbons has to decide how to rotate in Colabello or Smoak or how to use the DH spot to give guys days off and so on. So I think it probably adds to the general strategy of the game.

The problem, though, as I see it is that it's a little similar to the problem the NBA is going through with the strategy of intentionally fouling bad free throw shooters. People argue that it's terribly boring to watch these guys try to hit free throws when they can't but, I mean, why should they be exempt from a basic part of the game? Pitchers are baseball players, baseball players hit. They should learn to be better at it.
 
Starting pitchers only play every 5 days. No amount of BP and batting cage time is going to make up for the infrequency that they face live pitching. A starter may get 1 or 2 at bats in a game depending on how well they pitch. I would imagine most pitchers get less than 100 AB per season. It's easy to say "be better hitters" but it's not terribly practical.
 
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