While there's no real point in getting upset over projections about the Jays season, I thought this was somewhat deserving of a good ole fashioned beat down. So with that in mind, let's start off with Matt Stairs.
Wow, he's still here? The Jays don't have an obvious spot for Matt Stairs, with a full-time DH and good young players on the outfield corners. Nevertheless, they signed the veteran hitter to a two-year deal for just $3.25 million this winter, a bargain.
Personally I thought the most obvious position for him to play was LF. Lind would have been a good option, but Stairs is a pretty good one for LF. But that's just me, and I just thought it was pretty obvious that Stairs would play in LF.
Winter grade: B- The Stairs deal was canceled out by the inexplicable decision to sign David Eckstein on the heels of giving a two-year deal to John McDonald. Judging Glaus-for-Rolen is guesswork, because it's all about whether Rolen can stay healthy. The trade does upgrade the infield defense for a team that is loaded with ground-ball pitchers.
Actually, it's the other way around. See, the John McDonald signing, to have him as the starter, was batshit insane. Yeah, he's a great defender, but that 279 OBP he achieved last year kinda makes me worried as a starter. If anything, the Eckstein signing bailed him out of that. I think what you meant to say was the Scutaro deal was stupid, because later on he'd sign Eckstein. This next one is a dandy though...
NRI to watch: Jamie Vermilyea remains one of my favorite minor-league pitchers, a ground-ball machine with a career major-league ERA of 0.00 in six innings. It would be nice to see him get a chance while he's young enough to turn it into something. He's a healthier version of Brandon League.
So apparently Vermilyea throws 100 MPH and gets 70 or so % GB ratios. Go figure, I never knew that!
If anything, League is going to be one of the best RP on the team, and I fully expect him to outperform Accardo.
Job battle to track: McDonald is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the AL, one of the few players whose glove really does carry his bat. While Eckstein provides more OBP, McDonald's overall value will be higher. This is especially true for the Blue Jays, who have four ground-ball pitchers in the rotation, and four others in the bullpen. If Eckstein is the starter, the Jays will be hurt considerably, but if McDonald is the starter, they could be among the league leaders in run prevention.
Like I said - I'm a fan of McDonald. He can play terrific defense, and in limited time he's an asset. But McDonald better than Eckstein? I want whatever he's smoking.
Now, he's right that the Jays COULD be league leaders in run prevention with Mac. But what he fails to realize, is that having a 279 OBP is detrimental to the team, to the point where all the extra D he provides isn't valuable enough to cover for a 279 OBP.
Finally...
With Thomas and A.J. Burnett probably leaving after this season,
Yeah, someone should probably tell him if Thomas plays well, his option vests.
So there you have it. The Jays are apparently retarded for signing Matt Stairs when he had no position, but geniouses for making it a good contract. They're bad for signing Eck when they had Mac, and Thomas's vesting option is irrelevant. How do these people still have jobs?
3 comments:
The most laughable bit, is that Jamie Vermilyea was a minor league FA this year and not one other GM in baseball was smart enough to scoop up this amazing talent so he had to crawl hat-in-hand back to the Jays.
Please.
~W
Yeah I didn't understand how a guy who had trouble breaking 90 (IIRC) is a "healthy League" (100 MPH, 70% GB rate...good controll...)...
Twitch.
I think they just meant he's a wicked surfer. They cover a broad range of sports, you know.
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