Blue Jays GDT: 2023 v11 | Wed, Sept 21 | @ NYY | 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT | Berrios vs Cole

[Discoverer]

For all the talk Rutschman gets about being an elite defensive catcher with great pitch framing and game calling… bowling ball Kirky is somehow right there with him.

And blocking. Kirk is the best catcher in the league at blocking balls the last two years.

 

[the valiant effort]

Alejandro Kirk put on a pitch framing master-call today. This was Berrios' called strike map today:

That's ~7 stolen strikes.

I think it must have been the sinker that Kirk pulled right up into the middle of the zone. Thought the ump might scoff at that lol, but nicely done Kirko

 

[dredeye]

Gotta keep kk
(Whit and chapman too tbh)

I disagree with this

 

[tmlms13]

Alejandro Kirk put on a pitch framing master-call today. This was Berrios' called strike map today:

That's ~7 stolen strikes.

WTF? There is exactly one strike there that should have been a ball. Don't know where you got 7 from

 

[fancy lad]

WTF? There is exactly one strike there that should have been a ball. Don't know where you got 7 from

I'm thinking the same thing.

Although i guess the point remains that A LOT of those types of pitches get called balls. There is no denying that Kirk's pitch framing is strong.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I disagree with this

I don't think w ekeep Chapman and I'm just fine with that

 

[Suntouchable13]

If they don't bring back KK and move Varsho to CF full time, who are some LF targets out there for Atkins to acquire?

 

[weems]

If they don't bring back KK and move Varsho to CF full time, who are some LF targets out there for Atkins to acquire?

We should sign Cody Bellinger.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

I have never seen what I witnessed yesterday afternoon. How a guy who has been on such an incredible run can lose composure so easily speaks to how important confidence is in anything we do. If i was the conspiratorial type, I'd think he was doing that on purpose to help the Jays win lol....just kidding.

 

[Puckstuff]

We should sign Cody Bellinger.

If they don't bring back KK and move Varsho to CF full time, who are some LF targets out there for Atkins to acquire?

Ya Bellinger would be my #1 target for LF. Failing that a right handed outfielder to platoon through the outfield like Bader (he hits lefties well) or a right handed bat for DH and spot duties in the outfield like Hernandez (also mashes against lefties)

Urshella would be a decent stop gap option for 3B if the price was right to platoon or serve as a 1 year stop gap for Martinez. Or just provide some insurance at 3B. He hits lefties well.

 

[Suntouchable13]

10-9 rest of the way should do it? 3-1 against Texas, 2-1 against Boston, 4-2 against the Yankees, 3-3 against the Rays. That will take us to 12 wins. So even things don’t go as ideally, they can still get to 90 wins which should be enough. There is some room for error here.

 

[LaP]

I don't think w ekeep Chapman and I'm just fine with that

Don't think the Jays keep Merrifield either. He'll be 35 next season.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Don't think the Jays keep Merrifield either. He'll be 35 next season.

Maybe if cheap. Nice utility guy

10-9 rest of the way should do it? 3-1 against Texas, 2-1 against Boston, 4-2 against the Yankees, 3-3 against the Rays. That will take us to 12 wins. So even things don’t go as ideally, they can still get to 90 wins which should be enough. There is some room for error here.

Much better spot than a week or so ago! They control their own destiny now

 

[notDatsyuk]

I have never seen what I witnessed yesterday afternoon. How a guy who has been on such an incredible run can lose composure so easily speaks to how important confidence is in anything we do. If i was the conspiratorial type, I'd think he was doing that on purpose to help the Jays win lol....just kidding.

Apparently he said there was something that went weird with the mound, and Berrios also mentioned that it can happen with the roof open.

The mound is built on a fibreglass dish that is raised and lowered by hydraulics. I can understand that sometimes direct sun can affect the texture.

As for never having seen anything like it, certainly not at the pro level, but (many) years ago when I was playing fastball at University I had something similar. The pitcher threw over the catcher on his last warmup pitch as I'm walking to the plate. I said "I'll take four the same, please." He never threw me a strike - five consecutive 4-0 walks.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Apparently he said there was something that went weird with the mound, and Berrios also mentioned that it can happen with the roof open.

The mound is built on a fibreglass dish that is raised and lowered by hydraulics. I can understand that sometimes direct sun can affect the texture.

As for never having seen anything like it, certainly not at the pro level, but (many) years ago when I was playing fastball at University I had something similar. The pitcher threw over the catcher on his last warmup pitch as I'm walking to the plate. I said "I'll take four the same, please." He never threw me a strike - five consecutive 4-0 walks.

Great story. Just wondering, did he fall over on two of those four pitches in any atbat?

 

[Eyedea]

Ya Bellinger would be my #1 target for LF. Failing that a right handed outfielder to platoon through the outfield like Bader (he hits lefties well) or a right handed bat for DH and spot duties in the outfield like Hernandez (also mashes against lefties)

Urshella would be a decent stop gap option for 3B if the price was right to platoon or serve as a 1 year stop gap for Martinez. Or just provide some insurance at 3B. He hits lefties well.

Is there even a point to committing long term to Bellinger if we have Barger/Roden in the system? You could even stopgap with Davis out in LF for the first part of the year.

Or, considering Martinez/Barger/Palmegianni/Morris all play similar positions and are all up at AAA, might be time to consolidate and package up some guys for a big leaguer. I know the Jays had interest in Seiya Suzuki/Lars Nootbaar in the past.

 

[tmlms13]

Apparently he said there was something that went weird with the mound, and Berrios also mentioned that it can happen with the roof open.

The mound is built on a fibreglass dish that is raised and lowered by hydraulics. I can understand that sometimes direct sun can affect the texture.

As for never having seen anything like it, certainly not at the pro level, but (many) years ago when I was playing fastball at University I had something similar. The pitcher threw over the catcher on his last warmup pitch as I'm walking to the plate. I said "I'll take four the same, please." He never threw me a strike - five consecutive 4-0 walks.

He hadn't thrown many pitches from the stretch going into that sequence. His landing spot may not have been dug in that well, or he kept stepping partially into Barrios' who was pitching from the stretch a lot more. Also being the 6th the mound is probably not in great shape.

Looking it up

Ist - 0
2nd - 2
3rd - 1
4th - 9
5th - 0

6th - first pitches of the 6th from the stretch is when he went full Rick Ankiel...... Schneider Walk, then the 3 wild pitches to Kirk..... Only the 4th pitch to Kirk actually registered on MLB gameday's plot

 

[notDatsyuk]

Great story. Just wondering, did he fall over on two of those four pitches in any atbat?

No, but he was just an amateur.

 

[notDatsyuk]

He hadn't thrown many pitches from the stretch going into that sequence. His landing spot may not have been dug in that well, or he kept stepping partially into Barrios' who was pitching from the stretch a lot more. Also being the 6th the mound is probably not in great shape.

Looking it up

Ist - 0
2nd - 2
3rd - 1
4th - 9
5th - 0

6th - first pitches of the 6th from the stretch is when he went full Rick Ankiel...... Schneider Walk, then the 3 wild pitches to Kirk..... Only the 4th pitch to Kirk actually registered on MLB gameday's plot

No point in the last pitch to Kirk being wild - there was nobody left on the bases.

 

[Puckstuff]

Is there even a point to committing long term to Bellinger if we have Barger/Roden in the system? You could even stopgap with Davis out in LF for the first part of the year.

Or, considering Martinez/Barger/Palmegianni/Morris all play similar positions and are all up at AAA, might be time to consolidate and package up some guys for a big leaguer. I know the Jays had interest in Seiya Suzuki/Lars Nootbaar in the past.

Couldn't you say that with every position though? For the rotation, we have Tiedemann coming up and Manoah as a 5th starter. For 3B, we have Barger/Martinez. For DH, we have Horwtiz, etc. Technically we could put in rookies at every position that isn't filled by a regular. But the Jays have 56+ million coming off the books and LF is our weakest position.

Jays stats by position 2023

 

[Eyedea]

Couldn't you say that with every position though? For the rotation, we have Tiedemann coming up and Manoah as a 5th starter. For 3B, we have Barger/Martinez. For DH, we have Horwtiz, etc. Technically we could put in rookies at every position that isn't filled by a regular. But the Jays have 56+ million coming off the books and LF is our weakest position.

Jays stats by position 2023

View attachment 742329

That money (and more) is going straight to arb costs though.

I am not suggesting to plug every hole with rookies. In this specific case I even mentioned Davis Schneider as a candidate to play LF with Biggio/Espi being the 2B tandem.

3B is a need and I could see a more likely trade option appear for that position with one of Barger/Martinez as a piece in the deal.

What I am anticipating is more trade chatter this time around as opposed to free agent signings like in years past.

 

[EpochLink]

Gotta take care of business against Texas, if we come out good we got this by the bag..

 

[Suntouchable13]

Gotta take care of business against Texas, if we come out good we got this by the bag..

Starting to feel a little anxious, like just before a big playoff game. Hopefully the Jays got dis.

 

[The Nemesis]

Gotta keep kk
(Whit and chapman too tbh)

Kiermaier: yeah I'd like him to stick around for one more year.
Merrifield: sure, if the price is right but I won't be heartbroken if he leaves.
Chapman: lol nope. He can get his bag of money and move on and that's fine by me.

 

[Puckstuff]

That money (and more) is going straight to arb costs though.

I am not suggesting to plug every hole with rookies. In this specific case I even mentioned Davis Schneider as a candidate to play LF with Biggio/Espi being the 2B tandem.

3B is a need and I could see a more likely trade option appear for that position with one of Barger/Martinez as a piece in the deal.

What I am anticipating is more trade chatter this time around as opposed to free agent signings like in years past.

Wait, 56 m in arb costs!?

The 56 million I originally referred to was only from the departing salaries of Ryu, Chapman, Belt, KK Whit and Hicks before any possible extensions. The arb guys will eat up some salary, but it can’t be as high as 56, right? Or where do you get those numbers? I wasn’t thinking it was that much.