“I thought that the way Eric came up last year and handled himself offensively, he hits with a lot of confidence, he believes in himself when he’s in the batter’s box. Thought he worked extremely hard and improved his defense, which is still an area where there is some development left.
“Yet, Travis Snider, who is probably a stronger defender right now, the consistency, the production, the swing and how he maintains that swing is really how we’re going to continue to monitor in Travis’ case. But it will be a head up competition in camp.”
On Snider’s chances…
“There has been some references to time running out and I would dispute that emphatically. He is a talented player, has a multi skill set. We want the best player in that position, and as Travis has come up and done very well, it has been the consistency of that production that has been a little elusive and that has been the course of three different times that has taken place. So, he’s well aware, as is Eric, of the situation that he comes into and it will be a battle.
“We’ll make the decision on which player makes us the best team. While they’re not the same, we’re going to factor in what each player can do individually and what gives us the best 25-man roster when we break and go north.”
On starting staff…
“We’re confident in the guys that are here … We know that we’ve got to get a greater number of quality innings pitched by that three, four, five slot. If guys hadn’t had success previously it would leave a little bit more in question but the fact that you have Cecil, who has been a 15-game winner, the way Dustin is throwing the ball in the early, going on top of the way he finished out last year, he we all feel will continue to improve and get better. Henderson did an outstanding job in the time that he was here, the 10 starts that he made.
“What our focus and emphasis will be in camp is to create a much mor clear mindset that the our starters intent is to go deeper into the game. That stems from their physical work, that stems from being efficent and attacking the zone … We’ve got the people here that we feel like will make up the difference — and I refer to that 10-game difference in the standings — and that’s going to primarily come from an improved starting rotation.”
On Cecil losing 32 pounds during the offseason…
“It speaks volumes and he is to be commended for it. We sat down and had some very candid conversations with him at the end of the season. He was well aware of it, he wasn’t pleased with the way things went last year and to his credit, he went out and made the committment from a body composition standpoint to get him in better shape. Whether that transitions into increased velocity we’ll see but I think more importantly his body control and ability to repeat his delivery is where this will really help him.”
On McGowan being treated the same as other SPs…
“Right now, he’s grouped in. For lack of a better term, he has mainstreamed into the routine and the throwing program we’ll go through with every starter. Once we get closer to games, and the intensity as it picks up if he needs — because last year he didn’t throw bullpens between starts — we’ll monitor that. If that is needed to where it’s some flat ground and loss toss rather than throwing off a mound inbetween starts that’s not uncommon for starting pitchers to use that type of routine.
“We know more about him after going through a full year last year. Both from a rehab standpoint and what he did in September. But like any other starting pitcher, regardless of whether it’s Dustin or not we’ll monitor their needs and adjust accordingly.”
“Honestly, he pitched with more velocity in September than I anticipated, or any of us anticipated. Those are all positive signs. Any time a pitcher goes through what he has gone through, you’re going to go through a bit of a learning curve again to pitch effectively with the stuff that you have now versus pre-injury but he’s a smart kid and he’s making the adjustments along the way.”
On who bats second…
“The hope is that Kelly Johnson takes that spot and runs with it. We’re still going to try to alternate through the lineup as best we can. If there are matchups that will dictate otherwise then we’ll make that adjustments. Yunel will lead off but I’d like to see Kelly in that two hole.
“He’s had years where has been very good at getting on base. To me, that’s the most important things. Guys that can get on base at a higher rate in front of Bautista, Lind, in front of Lawrie, Encarnacion that’s where we’re looking to build it from.”
“The hope is that Kelly Johnson takes that spot and runs with it. We’re still going to try to alternate through the lineup as best we can. If there are matchups that will dictate otherwise then we’ll make that adjustments. Yunel will lead off but I’d like to see Kelly in that two hole.
I like it. Hopefully this leads to several 3-run home runs for the Jays in addition to the inevitable bases loaded GIDPs by Lind.
Also, I'm gonna grab Dirk Hayhurst's new book on Amazon. I downloaded his first one and liked it a lot so I figured I'll give the guy some money for his work this time around.
SURPRISE, ARIZ. The Texas Rangers have hired former All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez as a special assistant to general manager Jon Daniels.
Fernandez went to five All-Star games and won four straight Gold Gloves with Toronto, where he spent most of a 17-year career that ended in 2001. He reached the playoffs with five different teams and won a World Series with the Blue Jays in 1993.
The 49-year-old Fernandez was a career .288 hitter and had a .327 batting average in 43 post-season games.
Since he retired, Fernandez has earned several degrees in ministry school and is an ordained minister. He helps run the Tony Fernandez Foundation, a nonprofit with offices in Canada, the U.S. and his native Dominican Republic.
Fernandez will be in uniform during this year’s Spring Training and assist the Rangers throughout the season.
"We're excited to welcome Tony to our organization,” said General Manager Jon Daniels.
“His work ethic and performance on the field are matched only by his grace and commitment to the community. He'll be able to help our players in a number of ways."
2012 will be an interesting year after such an exciting offseason. Though there will be many players who could excel, here are seven who I think are poised to really open some eyes this year and take their game to new heights.
All of them have the talent, maturity and ability to make a name for themselves in 2012 and be pleasant surprises for their respective major league clubs. I'll be watching them all very closely this spring.
4. Colby Rasmus, CF
The Cardinals might have won a World Series after trading Rasmus to the Blue Jays last summer, but Toronto will celebrate its part of the trade after Rasmus breaks out this season. He is a five-tool player with .900 OPS potential, but he underperformed in 2011 while dealing with a wrist injury, conflicts with former manager Tony La Russa, and the pressure of being the Cardinals’ next star.
The change of scenery should jump start his career. He has a clean, simple swing, and when he makes contact he tends to square up the ball cleanly. He also has above-average bat speed and terrific pitch recognition, and he is poised to become a star north of the border.
6. Henderson Alvarez, RHP
Alvarez quickly flew past Kyle Drabek and Dustin McGowan on Blue Jays manager John Farrell’s depth chart for the starting rotation after blowing through the Double-A Eastern League last year with an 8-4 record, 2.86 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.
After being promoted to the Blue Jays, he continued his success with a 3.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 10 starts. Alvarez’s quick ascent to the major leagues had mostly to do with his ability to pound the strike zone and allowing his stuff to take over. Last season was the first time the 21-year-old’s results matched his potential. The velocity on his sinking fastball reached the mid- to high 90s, and coupled with his above-average changeup and developing slider, the Blue Jays have a possible future top-of-the-rotation starter.
I noticed something today looking at the projected lineup.
Every player in the batting order is capable of hitting 20 home runs.
The only player that you'd question (power-wise) is yunel escobar.
It would not be unrealistic to see the final numbers something like:
My only real concern for this team is the starting pitching.
and hitting. Getting on base. I suppose Kelly Johnson should be better, so should Rasmus. But we don't get on base a lot. Without Bautista, Yunel and Lawrie, I don't think there is a guy that you can confidently say can get on base 35% of the time. Lawrie is still a rookie of sorts; this will be his first full year...
and hitting. Getting on base. I suppose Kelly Johnson should be better, so should Rasmus. But we don't get on base a lot. Without Bautista, Yunel and Lawrie, I don't think there is a guy that you can confidently say can get on base 35% of the time. Lawrie is still a rookie of sorts; this will be his first full year...
agree OBP is a concern for this team.
Last year Bautista, Lawrie, Escobar and Johnson (while in TO) were above 350 and encarnacion was close and in fact had an OBP of 361 when he was dh.
So that is 5/9.
Rasmus was at 360 in his good year in ST.Louis so there is hope he will get there again. Lind has been as high as 370 though it doesn't look likely he will return to that level.
Arencibia was at 360 his last year in vegas, but I would be surprised if he gets much over 300.
Thames averaged an OBP of 385 over his 3 seasons in the minors (including 420 his last season) and was never under 350 so there is hope there.
I think the main thing is the approach of the organization. We went from being primarily concerned with OBP in the early JP years, to complete disregard in favour of the long ball. It will be interesting to see the offensive game plan in the second year of the farrell. Personally I prefer a patient approach. My favourite Jays team was when we had Olerud, Molitor and Alomar.
...The occasion was also marked by the first public showing of Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos at spring training.
...Anthopoulos met with reporters where for almost 30 minutes he discussed the state of the franchise as it heads into the 2012 season.
Here are some of the highlights from that conversation;
*A full season with Brett Lawrie at third base:
AA: "I’m cautiously optimistic because I just know from experience with young players that they don’t always just hit the ground running and don’t stop. The league will have to adjust to him; he’ll have to adjust back. I think even his last 10 games or so before he got hurt, he started to chase a little bit more and so on, but at the same time he obviously was great. He was great when he came up and played for us – defensively, offensively, everything he brings, great teammate. And I thought the quality of his at-bats were outstanding. That being said, I don’t think it’s fair to take the stats he had last year and try to pro-rate them over 500 at-bats.”
*The quality of talent throughout the organization:
AA: “There's no doubt about it, this is probably the best I've felt about the talent we have in the organization top to bottom. I just feel we're really starting to solidify. We did a lot of work drafting and developing and so on, that's going to continue, but at the same time, the big-league roster just continues to get better and better and there's more talent there. I just think the organization is in a great place. From that standpoint, I think we have a very competitive team and I told our players that today, I don't think there's anything wrong with any expectations at all, I think they all believe in themselves and I certainly do as well. This is the best the group has been since I've been the GM.”
DUNEDIN, Fla. — When he walks past a batting cage, Sergio Santos still gets the itch.
“Always. Every day,” he said with a smile. “I’d love to get in there in batting practice and hit in the cage. But I’ll stick with pitching right now.”
With good reason. Once a hitter, Santos is the Toronto Blue Jays’ new closer. By restoring a changeup to his repertoire, he expects to improve on his 2011 season, when he saved 30 games for the Chicago White Sox.
He was a shortstop for eight seasons, including three in the Toronto system. But he stalled as a .226 hitter at Triple-A. So in 2009, the White Sox made him a pitcher, triggering an improbably rapid ascent to the big leagues.
Now, after an off-season trade, he is back with the Jays, sharing a clubhouse with several teammates from his days in Triple-A Syracuse.
Carlos Villanueva good to go for the Toronto Blue Jays
Adam Lind, the Jays’ first baseman, remembers Santos the hitter, as well as Santos the shortstop with the golden arm.
“Not only were we teammates, but Dwayne Murphy [Toronto’s current hitting coach] was our hitting coach,” Lind said. “Sergio put in hard work every day in the Syracuse batting cage.
“Everyone knew he had a great arm. In Baseball America’s mid-season lists, where they have ‘best power, best hitter,’ the best infield arm was always Sergio, at every level he played.”
Today that arm delivers a fastball in the 96-98 mph range, along with a devastating slider that averages 87. Then there is the changeup.
In his first year with the White Sox in 2010, he used it a lot. But when he became Chicago’s closer last year, he stuck to the closer’s typical two-pitch formula.
“As my slider got better, I just concentrated on the fastball and slider and I kind of neglected my changeup,” he said. “So this year I want to focus on getting that feel for the changeup and adding one more pitch to be that much more effective. I’d like to throw it as often as I throw the other two pitches.”
His changeup sits in the 87-90 mph range with filthy movement. Earlier this week, Jays hitters were mumbling unprintables when they faced Santos during a batting practice session.
Many pitchers try for years to master a changeup. Roy Halladay used to vow every spring training to add it to his repertoire. It took him until 2010, his first year with the Phillies, to feel comfortable with it.
But when Santos switched to pitching, the changeup came quickly, even more quickly than the slider. Now, after a year of disuse, he says it is back.
“Pitching is so based on feel,” he said. “When I throw two or three good ones, I kind of sit back and think, ‘What did that feel like?’ Then I just try to repeat that as many times as I can until I have a good feel for it.”
Manager John Farrell expects the Santos changeup will trigger anxiety in both right-handed and left-handed batters.
“When you’re running it in the mid-90s with a wipeout slider, and you’ve got the ability to throw another pitch into the mix that they have to defend against, there’s no reason to take that away,” Farrell said. “It is a true weapon for him.”
The Santos story is even more remarkable when you consider that he logged an 8.16 ERA in the minors in his first year of pitching. But he won a job with the White Sox the next year and posted a 2.96 ERA.
He vividly recalls the uncertainty he faced when he agreed to give up hitting and switch to the mound.
“When you kind of play your last hand — that was my last hand in baseball — to have it work out the way it has is a blessing,” he said. “I feel fortunate every day coming to the park.”
Makes sense. I'd shocked if Adeiny is ever close to as good as Escobar and Escobar just signed an extension. I don't think he'll ever be as good as Kelly Johnson either but he may not be around for the long run.
Makes sense. I'd shocked if Adeiny is ever close to as good as Escobar and Escobar just signed an extension. I don't think he'll ever be as good as Kelly Johnson either but he may not be around for the long run.
He may never be as good as Johnson offensively but he will be far superior defensively. You can get by with one bad offensive player in the lineup.
you can, if the rest of your lineup is above average. Which ours isn't...
I think it definitely could be. A big part of that depends on Colby Rasmus and one of the Snider/Thames hopefully becoming a competent enough bat to play every day in LF. Then you have Arencibia's looming replacement by D'Arnaud possibly in a year.
Toronto Blue Jays 2012 Season Thread
