Blue Jays Discussion: Off-Season Madness the 15th: How's that dream job now, Farrell?

[Eyedea]

Well technically you made it pretty bold.

I thought someone would bring that up. I guess I should have italicized it.

 

[King Mapes]

What are peoples thoughts on trading for 1B Justin Smoak from Seattle?

Still has potential but its dying down. I remember a couple seasons ago, someone I played fantasy with tried telling me he'd hit 40 home runs

 

[LV*]

Jose Reyes
.290% 14HR 52RBI

Melky Cabrera
.275% 11HR 65RBI

Jose Bautista
.265% 42HR 125RBI

Edwin Encarnacion
.275% 35HR 102RBI

Colby Rasmus
.245% 26HR 80RBI

Brett Lawrie
.255% 15HR 70RBI

Adam Lind
.260% 25HR 65RBI

JP Arencibia
.240% 32HR 58RBI

Maicer Izturis
.270% 4HR 20RBI

 

[King Mapes]

32 by JPA?

 

[darko]

Bold prediction:

Lawrie puts up a .300/25HR season

 

[darko]

32 by JPA?

More likely than a .240 batting average.

 

[LV*]

32 by JPA?

I know, pretty bold but I think he'll have a great season.. Most likely not 32, but I think he'll hit high twenties.

 

[King Mapes]

I know, pretty bold but I think he'll have a great season.. Most likely not 32, but I think he'll hit high twenties.

He also won't play any of Dickeys games which makes it bolder

 

[Natey]

Guessed low on averages and high on HRs.

 

[Puckstuff]

Melky will hit .300
Bonifacio and izturis will be a strength and prove to be above average for second basemen
Rasmus will hit .260 and people will be ok with it
Romero loses his starting job and we end up trading him for bullpen help
Santos won't be on the 25 man roster by the end of may

 

[Puckstuff]

He also won't play any of Dickeys games which makes it bolder

Arencibia will learn to catch the knuckleball during the season and could catch dickey 4-5 times this year

 

[Nick0930]

Bold predictions, eh?

Cabrera will hit .336 and flirt with .400 until the end of May.
Bautista will hit 152 RBIs.
Lind will hit .300.

 

[pooleboy]

Guessed low on averages and high on HRs.

agree with this, i could see reyes melky lawrie all over .300.

the HRs are very high but i could see people hitting those marks (well beside JPA)

 

[King Mapes]

Arencibia will learn to catch the knuckleball during the season and could catch dickey 4-5 times this year

Now THAT'S bold

 

[Epictetus]

Bold prediction:

Arencibia will become a good baseball player by the end of the year.

 

[Bomber0104]

Arencibia will learn to catch the knuckleball during the season and could catch dickey 4-5 times this year

Arencibia has a hard enough time catching at the best of times, nevermind a knuckleball.

 

[Nick0930]

Man...You guys really hate JP. I'll be more than happy with him driving in 75 runs at the bottom of the order.

 

[topched]

My Bold Prediction:

Jose Reyes wins the batting title, his first in the AL and 4th all time. Also leads the league in runs scored.

 

[Felstead]

Jose Reyes
.290% 14HR 52RBI

Melky Cabrera
.275% 11HR 65RBI

Jose Bautista
.265% 42HR 125RBI

Edwin Encarnacion
.275% 35HR 102RBI

Colby Rasmus
.245% 26HR 80RBI

Brett Lawrie
.255% 15HR 70RBI

Adam Lind
.260% 25HR 65RBI

JP Arencibia
.240% 32HR 58RBI

Maicer Izturis
.270% 4HR 20RBI

Talk about a ****** Lawrie prediction haha

 

[theaub]

John Farrell is managing the Blue Jays by mid-June

 

[Leaf Rocket]

John Farrell is managing the Blue Jays by mid-June

now that's jokes haha

I hope JPA actually gets his game though

 

[smitty10]

Talk about a ****** Lawrie prediction haha

It's an improvement over last season outside of his avg.

 

[Puckstuff]

Arencibia has a hard enough time catching at the best of times, nevermind a knuckleball.

Yeah obviously he will have difficulty at first... But he's a pro athlete and he will have a lot of time over the coarse of the season to learn.

 

[topched]

Man, he's a pretty awesome guy:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/pens-bittersweet-farewell-mets-article-1.1225987

A little over a year ago I was knocking around book titles with my publisher when we finally found a keeper. The minute I heard the words, “Wherever I Wind Up,†I liked the cadence of them. I liked the mystery of them.

Most of all, I liked the way they captured the essence of my nomadic pitching life — which has now taken another completely unforeseen turn.

I never expected to be writing a farewell “holiday card†to Mets fans. I never expected to be doing anything but celebrating the joy of the season with my wife and kids and looking toward the spring, and the start of my fourth season with an organization that gave me maybe the greatest gift an athlete can get:

A chance.

A chance for a fresh start. A chance to prove that maybe I could be somebody on a big league mound, an authentic and trustworthy pitcher, not just a retread with a weird name and an even weirder pitch — a man who was so in need of financial stability that he had to get talked out of taking a guaranteed contract to go pitch in Korea.

The Mets gave me that chance almost exactly three years ago, and I will always be grateful to them for that. Only God could’ve written the narrative that has played out in the three years since. That is what I want to focus on, and what I want to hold in my heart.

I am not going to lie to you, though. The trade was hard for me at first. This is where my heart was, where I wanted to be, where I lived out a story of redemption and felt that every one of you shared it with me in some form or fashion. I loved pitching for you. I loved your passion, the way you embraced me from the start, and the way you seemed to appreciate the effort I was putting forth. Every time I’d walk off the mound after an outing, I’d look in your faces, the people behind the dugout, and felt as if all your energy and support was pouring right into me — even when I was lousy. It gives me chill bumps thinking about it even now.

Every organization has to do what it feels is in its best interest, and I have no doubt that that’s what the Mets did by trading Josh Thole, Mike Nickeas and me for two young players who, by all accounts, are terrific prospects. It doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier.

From the beginning of last season to the end — when you cheered with all you had that Thursday afternoon when I won my 20th game — I felt that this was a shared journey, that we were all in it together. What a great way for an athlete to feel.

There were so many special relationships I formed that made my time with the Mets so much richer. Not just in the clubhouse, either. I enjoyed talking with Bill Deacon, the head groundskeeper, about his craft, and all that went into it. The security people who helped my wife and kids get in and out of the family lounge, the policemen who helped me get out of the parking lot, the folks at the Hodges Gate — so many people went out of their way to be kind to me, and they should know how much it was, and is, appreciated.

I was going to take out an advertisement to express these thank yous, but decided in the end that there was too much I wanted to say. So I am writing this instead.

As I move beyond the sadness over leaving here, I know I have a tremendous amount to look forward to. The Blue Jays may need name tags on the first day of spring training, but once we get acquainted, well, this team could be something. I appreciate the welcome I’ve already gotten from them, and what they’re trying to build. We’ll see how it all unfolds.

God has blessed me in so many ways. His grace and mercy are at the center of my life. I may not pitch for the home team anymore (a friend told me I now have to start calling myself a Canuckleball pitcher ) but wherever I go from here — wherever I might wind up in the future — I hope you know that I will never forget my three years in New York, and never be able to adequately thank you for everything you’ve given me.

 

[Felstead]

It's an improvement over last season outside of his avg.

His average is what I'm refering to.