Marcus Stroman won't stop tweeting; 2019 Vlad Guerrero Jr/Blue Jays thread

Yes!

One thing I've gathered from all the post-game chatter is that the other players have a deep reverence for Semien.

Sheehan:

Their run differential, +182, is better than that of the Red Sox and Yankees combined. They had the best record in the AL after August 31, at 22-9. If you line up the rosters as they are today, the Jays certainly look the best of the three. Eliminating the Blue Jays and limiting their potential Division Series opponents to the Yankees and Red Sox was the best thing the Rays could do for themselves yesterday.

The Blue Jays should be back, with their young core and talent on the way, for years to come. They head into the winter as a clear #2 to the Rays for 2022. It is reasonable to be concerned that two of the top seven or eight players in the AL this year were on this team and can be free agents, Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray. That’s a lot of wins to replace, although the consensus is the Jays will compete for one or both on a free-agent deal. Ray was great this year, but I’d be more comfortable betting on Semien for the next four years.

Keep this thread title!

https://dailyhive.com/toronto/marcus-stroman-open-to-blue-jays-return

Ya but are the Jays?!

Lose Semien, get Stroman--that doesn't affect clubhouse chemistry at all.

If they took his Twitter away, and he accepted that Vlad and a few other guys are the engine of the team, not him, I wouldn't be averse to that; he has pitched very well the past two seasons (missed 2020). Ryu, him, Manoah, and Berrios would be a nice front four.

After two games of the ALCS, I'm fairly confident that the Jays are better than both of these teams. We have actual SP's for one thing! And an offense that is just as good.

i basically said the same thing to my dad yesterday and in classic dad fashion he just says “then why didn’t they win”

I’ve been asking myself that question too. We have a Cy young, a mvp runner up, and second baseman that will also get mvp votes and set a home run record. Plus two big name free agents out there. Possible silver slugger RF, elite closer. A big name trade deadline addition.
I honestly think it’s embarrassing they didn’t make it.
I can’t point to anything Montoyo did wrong (outside of maybe trotting out struggling relievers in close games), but I really feel a need to finger point somewhere. This is a team that should have made the playoffs.

i'm wondering what, if any, effect this craziness going on over at rogers will have on the team.

happy joe carterversary

love this Berrios deal! i never thought of him as an "ace" like many were calling him when he came over, but this is good value for a very dependable arm. in terms of prospects i thought it was an overpay for a 1.5 year rental – but this deal obviously makes it a lot more palatable.
his similarity scores through age 27 are also pretty encouraging:
John Lackey (983.0)
Trevor Bauer (977.5)
Max Scherzer (974.0)
Michael Wacha (972.5)
Ubaldo Jimenez (968.0)

He does look solid, doesn't he? Put his rookie year aside, and he's had five straight seasons of ERAs under 4.00 (one exactly 4.00) and less than a-hit-per-inning, and his career K/BB ration's over 3.00. And he's durable.

Ratio, not ration--I don't think strikeouts and walks are rationed these days. (And suppose a K/BB over 3.00 isn't all that noteworthy in this era; that was still a benchmark of excellence 20-25 years ago.)

I think this is the most money and years (by far) that the Jays have ever paid for a pitcher?

Watching Berrios down the stretch, I felt he was "better than his stats" ... or maybe pennant race euphoria was clouding my judgement? True #1 SP's are getting $30M-plus/yr these days, so $19M/yr for a strong #2 is good I guess? And if we learned anything in the playoffs this year, you can win the WS without any semblance of a rotation at all! So having a couple of decent starters is a great bonus.

not your imagination. apparently (according to some rando on reddit) he made a mechanical adjustment at the end of August and pitched:
6 Starts
46 Innings
6 and 2/3 per start
2.93 ERA
2.87 FIP
53-5 Strikeout-Walk Ratio
0.98 HR/9
0.98 BB/9
6.3 H/9
45 percent ground ball rate

Didn't see this when it came out last August.

https://www.stadiumtalk.com/s/best-mlb-lineups-by-team-2564e2426da3434a

Catcher: Ernie Whitt (1977-89, .253/.327/.420)
First base: Carlos Delgado (1993-2004, .282/.392/.556)
Second base: Roberto Alomar (1991-95, .307/.382/.451)
Shortstop: Tony Fernandez (1980-1990, 1993, 1998-99, .297/.353/.412)
Third base: Josh Donaldson (2015-18, .281/.383/.548)
Left field: George Bell (1981, 1983-90, .286/.325/.486)
Center field: Devon White (1991-95, .270/.327/.432)
Right field: Jose Bautista (2008-17, .253/.372/.506)
Pitcher: Roy Halladay (1998-2009, 1969-84, 148-76, 3.43)

Don't think I'd change anything there...this one kind of writes itself. (Maybe Vernon Wells in CF? Not White's equal as measured by WAR.)

Should have included a DH (McGriff?) and closer (Henke, obviously).

Bell was the best LF we ever had?! I think we’d be better off moving Wells or Barfield over.

I didn't read the guy's intro, but I'm guessing he stuck to a natural-position rule. Honestly, I think I'd rather have Bell anyway. I know he's diminished some by current analytics, but he's crucial to the franchise's history, and he was kind of the Jim Rice of his day (meant in the good sense--one of the three or four most feared hitters in the league from '84 to '89).

Stieb had a higher WAR for the team than Halladay, and just as many great years. It's a close call.

I have no issues with Bell in left, but yes, Barfield had a higher WAR (thanks to his defense).

If they had picked both a right-handed and a left-handed starter, as these lists sometimes do, I think Jimmy Key's the lefty, right? Am I forgetting someone obvious? For manager, it has to be Cito, controversies and all--unless you think it should be Bobby Cox. Mascot, I'll take Munenori over B.J. Birdy.

David Wells...Would have to compare their time with the Jays, but my intuition is that Key was better.

I think Key for sure over Wells. Well’s best years were elsewhere and was a reliever for a while here. Key was solid for a long time and I think went kind of unnoticed in Stiebs shadow.

Clear advantage Key:

Key - 9 years, 3.42 ERA, 1.196 WHIP, 122 ERA+, 2.34 K/BB, 3.70 FIP, 29.7 bWAR
Wells - 8 years, 4.06 ERA, 1.275 WHIP, 110 ERA+, 2.67 K/BB, 3.84 FIP, 15.0 bWAR

Better K/BB for Wells, nothing else.

I still remember Wells best as the dude who threw the ball into left field because he didn’t want to get taken out of the game.

Didn't he have the opposite controversy too, where Cito left him in to get absolutely shelled one game?

Aug. 20, 1992: 4.1 IP, 13 earned runs.

https://tht.fangraphs.com/tht-live/20th-anniversary-david-wells-hung-out-to-dry/

Cito was right to do it!

He’s no longer a Jay - but Stroman continues to tweet stroman things.

And continues.

The source is me. https://t.co/ZGVvuRDV6h

— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) November 27, 2021

Seems to have removed the above tweet. Agent to Stroman: "Shut up!"

well now he's in trouble for liking a tweet where a reporter got called a "wop"
this dude literally cannot stop embarrassing himself online. this has to be having a serious impact on incoming offers at this point.

the best RHP in jays history is…roger clemens

*ducks*

If you think of peak as two years, unquestionably--those were two of the greatest seasons by any post-war pitcher anywhere. Obviously the guy was thinking more in terms of players who represent the franchise, though, and Clemens probably had one eye on the Yankees the minute he arrived here.

(The guy who gets lost in the shuffle for the Jays is Carter. Overrated, for sure, and you can't put him ahead of Bautista, but still crucial to Jays' history, beyond even the big HR.)

Is there anybody else ever who did what Clemens did with the Jays--stay for one or two seasons only, both epic (11.9/8.1 bWAR...I guess the second wasn't quite as epic), then move on? There must be.

Last thing, looking over his stats: to show just how much K/BB ratio has been cheapened the past few years, Clemens lifetime ratio is 2.96 (Maddux and Johnson are over 3.00; Pedro is over 4.00). Of the 14 guys who pitched 30+ innings with the Jays last year, all but two exceeded 3.00.

Ray is probably about to do it :,(

Apparently Ray and Matz are both unvaccinated and would not have been allowed to play in Canada next season, which may have made those decisions a little easier for the Blue Jays

Signed with the Cubs, apparently, a few hours before the lockout? And broke the news himself you-know-where.

MLBTR had predicted stroman would land at Five years, $110MM. I am certain he tweeted away at least a year off what he could have gotten.

He's pitched in 29 MLB parks--every park except, yes, Wrigley.

I don't really have any strong feelings about this--pre-COVID, I was getting out to three or four games a year.

https://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2021/12/toronto-blue-jays-rogers-centre-upgrade/

Marcus Stroman won't stop tweeting.

Manclown and his boys need to figure it out and stop ruining the game of baseball. https://t.co/gfQz4ctQas

— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) February 6, 2022

I wonder if other players feel about Twitter Stroman like I felt when Madonna would let loose with some harebrained comment as Obama tried to make his way through a landmine during the 2008 election: please, just disappear for a few months.

(Hoping I can dodge the expected Madonna-love/Obama-antipathy such a post would be greeted with on ILX.)

RIP, Morbs

excellent dave stieb video

(48 minutes...part 1 of 4?!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlviajJlctQ

Will definitely take a look. Jays thread title circa 1985: "Dave Stieb Won't Stop Tweeting."

Jesse Says Relax

Jack Morris or Dave Stieb? https://t.co/CceTcM6f4V

— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) February 25, 2022