House of the Bluebird - Latest Comments

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Matt_HBB — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:17:37 -0000

Fair enough, in 2012 he was pretty bad, which was more what I was referring to, but he has been good in the past

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Jon Williams — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:15:50 -0000

Good article. I would point out that while Jamey Carroll is a powerless hitter he is not a bad hitter. There is a difference.

Re: The Mark DeRosa Signing, Michael Bourn Rumours, and Other Jays Tidbits

Give Jon a Dollar — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 10:14:58 -0000

I really don't see why everyone has stuck a fork in DeRosa and declared him done or simply "a great clubhouse presence". The guy has been injured and most likely can still put up the numbers. I was aggravated the Cubs didn't pick him up with our gaping hole at 3B. DeRo is tearing it up right now in ST for the Jays.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Matt_HBB — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 23:10:10 -0000

It is kind of funny. It's odd sometimes how different each individual player's swing is, but different things work for different people and different body types. For the most part it's a 'to each his own' kind of thing.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Matt_HBB — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 23:02:28 -0000

1) I'd say close to borderline average, perhaps slightly below, but in that ballpark for sure.

2) I think it could be feasible, though it's hard to say at this point. Both Bautista and Encarnacion kind of came out of nowhere so their declines are harder to predict than most. There is two things to keep in mind. One, after 2016 Bautista will be 36 and Encarnacion will be 33. If one is to assume a natural decline for each of them, they'll be 2.7 WAR and 2.9 WAR players respectively. At that production level I'd guess that the Jays could keep both of them. The second thing to consider is the potential for additional payroll, if the Jays reach expectations both now and in coming seasons attendance will likely rise and with that so will the payroll. It's definitely an interesting question though, one that might be worthy of it's own blog post in a couple of years.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

RyanMueller — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:18:34 -0000

I just want to say that I am not an EE fan. Never have been and maybe never will be. EE has always been a player with a high ceiling bat. The wrist injury he sustained as a Red took a toll on him. I think that what we saw last year had more to do with EE finally having a fully healed wrist, than EE reaching his potential. Look at his stats when he was a Red and you could see that he was starting to trend up.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

TBJFAN — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:20:10 -0000

Questions.
1) Would you rate EE's defense at 1B to be borderline average?
2) Both EE and Bautista have contracts that end after 2015, with a club option for 2016. Beyond 2015 or 2016, do you think it's feasible to keep both Bautista and Encarnacion?

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Ian Hunter — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:30:59 -0000

I've often wondered how Edwin turned it around, because it didn't really seem like a very pronounced difference between before and after. With Jose Bautista, the changes were very obvious, but it looks like EE's were much more subtle.

It's funny because Jose Bautista's swing pre-Cito Gaston/Dwayne Murphy had almost no leg kick a la Edwin 2012.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Caleb Meyer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:38:24 -0000

The '12 swing probably isn't any less powerful than his '11 Swing, when you consider how much of the energy he wastes with that wild '11 swing. You see the loss of balance because of all the energy he is throwing to his left side, and the positioning of his feet due to the high leg kick. Whereas his '12 swing puts all that power connecting through the plate and because he is maintaining his balance he is wasting a lot less energy. (Using Power and Energy somewhat interchangeably). A Wild swing isn't bad, (See Jose Bautista) but if you are throwing your balance off with a wild swing (Unlike Bautista) then you are wasting a lot of the power you are generating.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

Steve McEwen — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:45:11 -0000

Great stuff man, just fantastic.

Re: The Root of Edwin Encarnacion’s Improvement in 2012 and its Effect Going Forward

SherLander — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:04:21 -0000

Great stuff dude!

Re: GIF: Two Over The Shoulder Catches in CF, 21 Years Apart

Ian Wisniewski — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:15:37 -0000

We got a keeper!

Re: The Mark DeRosa Signing, Michael Bourn Rumours, and Other Jays Tidbits

Ian Hunter — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:32:12 -0000

I'm cool with DeRosa as the 25th man so long as he brings one skill set to the table. If anything, at least he can get on base and has hit lefties well over the course of his career, so there are two things right there. Plus, all those intangibles (aka "veteran presents").

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Matt_HBB — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:01:26 -0000

Sure, it may be true that d'Arnaud and Syndergaard carry their caveats, but almost all prospects do. In the aftermath of the trade some of d'Arnaud and Syndergaard's cons have been pointed out, but they also have plenty of pros.

d'Arnaud is a catcher with a plus hit tool who can stay behind the plate, which is hard to come by. Syndergaard is a 6'5" and can throw 100 MPH. Both of them have extremely high ceilings that they may not hit, but there's also a chance that they do hit their ceilings.

As well prior to the trade they weren't ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects in the system because of their numbers, but because of their profiles and their tools. They are legitimately great prospects, who will be missed.

With that said Dickey is also a great player, as of now, the way I see it, the trade can be argued either way...it will be interesting to see how it eventually pans out.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

BR4D0013 — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:33:51 -0000

You have to remember, that Travis for such a young catcher, is fragile, and Synd... Well, he currently only has 2 pitches and may never develop out of a long relief role. I am not so sure that they truly where our no. 1 and 2 prospects, regardless of the numbers.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

AnakinCorleone — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:15:48 -0000

You're welcome Matt_HBB. Toronto is one of my favorite/favourite places to visit so I'm glad if there was a team that he and Jose Reyes will play for in 2013 that it turned out to be the Blue Jays.

I found the mlb.com video recap of that game here: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play....

The knuckler from the GIF is 35 seconds into the clip and looks much nastier at full speed than in slow motion. And yes, it was 81 mph, along with many others in the video clip. If Dickey keeps pitching like this in a dome every time out, I have a feeling the Rogers Centre roof will be closed every fifth game the whole season.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Steely_D89 — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 11:54:33 -0000

I think one thing we have to remember is that the valuation of prospects has taken a bit of a nose dive these days. A writer from Seattle had a column arguing the same with regards to the Mariners upgrading their team through prospect trades. As we saw with the Rays-Royals deal, those prospects we the fans seriously value aren't being balued to the same extent by GMs when compared to those with MLB experience.
Having said that I agree with you that there had to be someone out there that could have been gotten using one of either TDA/Syndergaard + low end prospects vs. Dickey. While Dickey is a great pitcher I'm not sure we needed such a great pitcher to essentially fill our #5 slot (No way is Dickey a/the #5 on the Jays, just saying that that was the spot that was open at the time to be filled). I think I would have even been more in favour of Marcum but that's probably an extra 3-5 million this season that wasn't in the budget (without trading Lind and opening up that hole i guess (possibly a hole for TDA to play in this season haha???)), As it is, what's done is done and that Jays have themselves a very good pitcher either way. Just seemed like overkill at the time.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Taso — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:06:30 -0000

For me it would of been the perfect trade if Rajai Davis was in it. But overall i give the trade a 9 out of 10. Alderson is doing a great job of turning this ship around. I hope Toronto absolutely buries the Jankees!

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Frank Tangorra — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 08:29:28 -0000

This was a no brainer for the Mets. It was a good baseball trade. The Mets weren't winning with Dickey. When you can get the two top prospects in a teams system it's a win-win. The Mets had a major hole at catcher. Hopefully they filled that. As far as Syndergaard, if he turns out to be a no.3 that's a major move. Teams that win are stacked with pitching. I have slammed Alderson in the past but now I have a different view because both trades he made were for teams top prospects and never budged. I'm excited with the future of the Mets and I'm sure other teams in the NL East ate saying the same. In a few years when all these kids come together its going to be exciting to watch.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

AJ_Leight — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:12:28 -0000

You are an A-THOLE. Just kidding :-)

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

AJ_Leight — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:10:54 -0000

You should find a way to get Olt and move him or Duda to LF. Its not ideal defensively by any means, but I think the offense would make up for it. Plus I doubt Olt will ever be as easy to obtain as he is right now. The Rangers are just begging someone to take him.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

AJ_Leight — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:07:24 -0000

I wonder if he drinks Dos Eques (spelling?). When he drinks beer, that is.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

AJ_Leight — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:02:26 -0000

I wouldnt say hes overrated at all. Prospects arent judged based on the normal stats that major leaguers are. They are young, cheap and most importantly, controllable. When a 'spec shows the physical attributes that make him better than the norm then hes even more valuable. And then when, after years of being critiqued in every way imaginable, a spec reaches the plateau that Travis has, the value is immense. Hed be a top prospect as a 1B, but the fact that hes a catcher just amplifies it. Many scouts, who get paid for their opinion unlike you or I, belive he could hit 30 HR in the majors right now. 3 years?! Try 3 months. The Mets will keep him down long enough to get the extra year, but then he'll be their starting catcher. The only downside could be health, but even that has been blown out of proportion recently. Could he come up and suck? Sure; thats baseball. But if you always think your prospects, especially the elite ones, are nothing but unproven wildcards then you wont have much success, I can guarantee that.

With that said, Id have pulled the trigger on the deal if I were Toronto too. The Marlins have handed you an opportunity you havent been familiar with in a very long time. I believe in dickey after 3 very good years. But the Mets probably still got more than they should have. It just doesnt matter to AA because he wont have many more chances to compete with Boston, New York & Tampa.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Herb Goldstein — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:01:34 -0000

This trade will definitely benefit the Jays, and we Met fans can only hope that the prospects pan out and it benefits the Mets too. Meanwhile you can bet that most every Met fan will be rooting hard for the Jays to take the AL East and embarrass the Yanks along the way. We all loved R.A, admired him as a person and were awed by his progress to the elite level as a pitcher. I was enthusiastically for the trade because I think the Mets desperately needed to acquire the talent to build a winner in the long run. While no prospect is ever a sure thing, Travis and Noah both have the makings of future stars, and Wuilmer has considerable upside. I only wish that Alderson had been able to expand the trade, and give AA something to warrant including Emilio Bonifacio. We really need another outfielder, and I will be totally bummed if he goes to Atlanta and scorches the Mets during the season.

Re: Evaluating the R.A. Dickey Trade

Henry Sanchez — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:36:12 -0000

hope it works for both teams as well, those are best trades when both teams win