Sunday Afternoon Musings
Happy Sunday afternoon, Monkey Army. I hope you're having a swell finale to your weekend.
It's just after three in the afternoon, and even a fourth glass of wine isn't making this Steelers / Bengals game any more interesting.
I'm not sure if it's the vino or the boredom, but I've been thinking a lot about the Toronto Blue Jays today, and the same thought keeps popping back in my mind: Why shouldn't the Jays resign John McDonald to play shortstop next season?
I can understand how it might seem hypocritical to roll my eyes at the Reed Johnson fucktard fans who were dismayed at his departure a couple years ago while championing the return of another fan favourite who gets on base roughly half as much as the ferret-bearded skinhead.
However, at that time, the Jays were at least still clinging to the illusion that they could be competitive. No such illusion exists anymore.
No matter what management might tell you in the coming months, the Jays will enter the 2010 season without much of a chance at winning the Wild Card, never mind the American League East.
If, as expected, the team lets Marco Scutaro sign elsewhere in exchange for Type A picks, Toronto will not only be without hope, they also won't have a starting shortstop. With no shortstop prospects close to being Major League ready, the Jays will be forced to bring in a stop gap measure.
Facing yet another season of meddling mediocrity while the team rebuilds, why not do the fans a solid and bring back an inexpensive option that can provide excitement on the field, even if he doesn't provide much with his bat?
Yeah. Sure, it's a move right out of the Tank Nation playbook, but fuck, what else is there going to be to cheer for next season? It's not like the second coming of Ernie Banks is available anyway, even J.J. Hardy has already been moved.
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44 rational and reasonable comments:
Completely agree. As long as he comes cheap and we don't have immediate prospects, why not?
I'd rather see some exceptional play on the defensive end consistently than a half assed player on both sides of the ball.
your excited!? look @ those nipples!!!
Keeping him around makes sense given the defense he would provide for young pitching.
However I wouldn't be adverse to giving Angel Sanchez a bit of a shot too. No expectations but he had a decent year and there isn't much else.
I'd love to get a blue chip prospect as part of a Doc package but given the oh so many holes at various positions, they'd be better inclined to just get the best players they can.
Crapdonald is garbage
Jesus Christ enough with the fucking JMac bullshit. These fans that love him...I'm looking at you DJF...you guys obviously don't constitute enough of the fans who attend games to justify having the WORST starting SS in the majors...and that is what JMac would be, more or less.
MLBTR mentioned Orlando Cabrera as a possibility. Makes sense if the Jays don't get a SS back in a Doc trade...
Millar will be back to be the starting SS
I agree.
i have changed my position. i no longer want the toronto blue jays to play on real grass. i want them to stay @ rogers centre. with only us (i can say that because i have rogers stock in portfolio and technically i am a part owner!) and tampa bay playing on carpet (tampa will soon be on real grass because i believe much like the washington nationals situation they need a new stadium to stay in business and mlb will make that happen), i believe that this will become a positive for the jays.
and here's why....
i saw some of the boston celtics atlanta hawks game this weekend. the faux parquet reminded me of the old boston gardens and the nbc "game of the week" with larry bird & friends during the 80's. even as kid back then i remember marv albert talking about the mystical/distinct home court advantage of the parquet floor. how kevin mchale knew where all the dead spots were, and how visiting point guards had the highest turnover rates when they played in boston.
this got me thinking of the checker board seam fest @ the rogers centre.
now stay with me as i explain this further. remember back in the 80's fenway park was considered by some to a dump (kinda how the rogers centre is perceived now). it was out of touch with the new style of stadiums. years went by and then in time fenway became this mystical relic from the past. so unique because every other stadium were modernized. it became a place full of wonder with the garage doors, a green monster, and generally viewed with intrigue because "anything could happen", and "no lead was safe".
i believe that a similar type mystique can/will eventually happen @ the rogers centre. "the only turf stadium in baseball", "a ball could hit a seam @ any time", " you can't feel the warning track well under your feet".
now if you have hard time seeing the similarities let me say this; 80's music was not considered fashionable by many in the 90's, but in time when the musical landscape changed it had a revival and was appreciated. it's kind of the same principal.
i'd go on, but the point has been made.
thoughts?
p.s. happy Louis Reil Day eve!
sorry, Riel!
I'd rather go with Orlando Cabrera, Jays would have signed him last year if they didn't have to give up a draft pick for him. This offseason they don't.
Fuck off Parkes
Yeah sign Cabrera for cheap. If not, JMac is fine. Better be for cheap too though.
JMac at shortstop or someone else- who gives a fuck.
Why the hell don't we just re-sign Scutaro?
RE: stadium: I still prefer the idea of renovating the Rogers Centre as a full-time football venue for the Bills, and moving the Jays to a dedicated outdoor park (and the Argos to an expanded BMO Field). Rogers could earn a pretty penny selling the revamped Dome to the new Bills owners, and could use that money alongside public funds to finance a new park.
RE: Johnny Mac: I love it. I'd rather watch an exciting team lose games (think '07 Jays) than watch an excruciatingly boring team lose games (think '08, '09 Jays). And Johnny Mac is a one-man defensive highlight reel.
(I also secretly hope that playing full-time would raise his average to .260 or so, but that takes some seriously wishful thinking.)
Now... who the hell is going to play right field? (In an ideal world, Vernon Wells, but I'm talking about the world we live in, where Cito Gaston is the manager.)
"Why the hell don't we just re-sign Scutaro?"
Scutaro put up career numbers in 2009. He's unlikely to continue to play at that level next season, and even more unlikely to do so beyond 2010, which is when the Blue Jays aim to win.
The two compensatory draft picks give them about a 50/50 shot at landing an everyday-calibre player in the draft; if you believe they're improving their scouting the way they say they are, then maybe the chances are even higher.
I'll take an everyday player a few years down the road over a Marco Scutaro next year, for sure.
Unless Brad Fullmer Fan okays this, the Jays wouldn't dare resign Mcdonald.
Parkes you dumb shit. Ernie Banks? First baseman Ernie Banks? You're such a dumb fuck. Why do you even bother? You're such a joke.
The two compensatory draft picks will also give the Jays a 10% chance of actually drafting a fucking player they actually attempt to sign.
Luckily, everyone responsible for that fucking fiasco is gone. Except Beeston and the pieces of shit that own the team. Everyone else though. Except Cito.
Are we in the fucking National League? We might as well be with McDonald hitting ninth. Defense is nice to watch (and for the record, Mac is an overrated defender) but a sub .600 OPS isn't.
To this idea I say, fuck off Parkes.
Mac sucks a defense now! He's and old never was, let him rot somewhere else.
I'm pretty sure Ernie Banks was a SS for the majority of his career. If not, then at least for his best years.
I think you guys are missing the point. Parkes isn't pretending that J-Mac is going to set any batting records. He's saying that if the team is going to be shit they might as well be exciting to watch shit.
The person who brought up 2007 has the right idea. The Jays had a bad year but they were worth going to games just to see John McDonald play.
The Jays are going nowhere next season. Is a shortstop with .040 higher OPS really going to make much of a difference?
We've paid this guy $3.8 million over the past 2 seasons and according to fangraphs he has provided us with -$1.8 million in value. I think its time to cut ties. The man can't hit.
For the record McDonald does not suck at defense. How do you measure that he's overrated?
why the fuck not. he had a career year in homeruns (4) and walks (0) but who the hell walks johnny mac? also, his ops was .655
and he made three errors over 35odd games last year (two at 3B) so his defense is on par with OC.
only thing that bothered me is he didn't steal a single base...
The guys is 36 and has never amounted to shit...Fuck'em
"The person who brought up 2007 has the right idea. The Jays had a bad year but they were worth going to games just to see John McDonald play."
And Aaron Hill stealing home. And Frank Thomas with multi-homer games. And Alex Rios as a promising young player. And Matt Stairs as Mr. Clutch. And Gibbers... can't forget the one-man sideshow that was Gibbers.
That team was great fun to watch. There was always something interesting happening on the field — and then I got to come home and see Stoeten bitch and moan about his awful job, and Parkes pen absolute masterpieces that would draw 0 comments.
Johnny Mac comes cheap, plays his heart out, and can bust out a game-changing play at any moment. I say sign his ass!
I don't get why you shit all over Cito for being old school and then come up with dumb ideas like playing Johnny Mac 'because he's fun to watch'.
Its fun to think about now in the off-season, but come August and JM is batting 187 you'd be calling AA a worthless greek and yelling for Cito's moustache to be burnt in effigy.
Sign him. Great insurance regardless. Are we that lame that we can't have a defensive, multi position player to call on. This wouldn't be an issue if any of our players not named Hill and Lind could hit. If Wells was even AVERAGE we could carry Johnny Mac's needle bat.
No, John McDonald is not a major league starting shortstop. He's also now 35 years old, and his defense is regressing. This makes no sense.
Actually, if the Jays started him, John McDonald would be a major league starting shortstop.
Just sayin'.
FAG, We already have that mystique at the Rogers Centre.
Opposing infielders are always on edge because they never know when shit like baseballs and magnetic calendars will come down on them from the upper level.
Opposing outfielders are always looking over their shoulder because they never know when a drunk woman will pour beer on them.
Opposing pitchers can't properly warm up in the bullpen without worrying if the net above them will deflect coins away.
And opposing catchers are always looking up at the hotel, hoping more women can be seen standing naked near the window.
Yes Rogers Centre is truly a unique experience which gives the Jays an added home team advantage.
Luckily, everyone responsible for that fucking fiasco is gone. Except Beeston and the pieces of shit that own the team. Everyone else though. Except Cito.
But Mike Wilner said it wasnt JP's fault!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually he's not an overrated or declining fielder. He just hasn't had consistent innings, whcih is what is required for UZR to be used as an indicator. In the one year he got consistent PT, he had a UZR/150 of 12.4, which was 5th in the majors for shortstops.
LOL, -$1.8 million, so McDonald owes the Jays money?
might as well hold onto johnny mac as opposed to the best available now.. SS is the most important position to have a quality player if the jays are rebuilding (i'm excluding the battery with that statement) so settling for a SS just because the quality is not available right now would be a terrible move by AA..
"I don't get why you shit all over Cito for being old school and then come up with dumb ideas like playing Johnny Mac 'because he's fun to watch'."
Disagree.
A manager needs to make every effort to win every baseball game with the players he is given. That means you leave Kevin Millar on your bench and play the players who deserve to be playing.
A general manager needs to put his team in the best position to win baseball games. Sometimes, that means sacrificing a few wins now for more wins later, especially when you don't have a playoff-calibre team.
I am ACKNOWLEDGING that playing Johnny Mac may mean sacrificing a win or two. But that's still the most sensible move given the current free agent market, and the current state of the Jays system. I don't see Russ Adams posting a 1.000 OPS anytime soon—in the meantime, why not keep the shortstop you've got, while you take the time to look for better? This isn't hockey; you don't spot prospects years away from the big time and expect they'll make it. Players are flying up and down the depth charts regularly. You hold with your current player while you place some long-term bets, or you wait for the right move to present itself.
The Blue Jays have Edwin Encarnacion at third base and Joe Inglett in right field. I am far more uncomfortable with those players in those positions than I am with Johnny Mac at shortstop.
And, yes, the team's more exciting with him playing at shortstop. Why the hell wouldn't I want my favourite baseball team to play more exciting games?
I've got a better idea, sign John MacDonald and tell him that he's finally going to be the everyday SS. Then close to the start of the season, sign someone else, just to screw MacDonald one last time.
Why? You people wonder why the jays have sucked for so long? Because you settle for a piece of garbage like mcdonald over someone that might actually do somthing worthwhile! And on top of it you praise the fucking piece of shit!? What a bunch of retards!
Mcdonald is not good at baseball. What's so difficult to see about that? There is simply no reason to starts a guy who'se a candidate to have a sub-0.600 OPS. We can find better of the waiver wire.
Jmac is a great dude, we get it. He's also the most over rated player ever. His D is not that great, he just makes easy plays look difficult because of all his flapping around. He reminds me Bill Ranford flopping and sprawling to make a simple glove save.
He just hasn't had consistent innings, whcih is what is required for UZR to be used as an indicator. In the one year he got consistent PT, he had a UZR/150 of 12.4, which was 5th in the majors for shortstops.
If he isn't declining yet (though he is, he's nowhere near as good as he was a few years ago), it's going to happen soon. He's 35.
Surely if the Jays are planning to suck next year and need a SS who can't hit, then they can just bring up some scrubbo from the minors? Manny Mayorson? Jonathan Diaz? Justin Jackson? Taylor Pastornicky?
Man, the SS depth kind of sucks in this system...
So if Johnny Mac hits .260 as a 36 year old SS for the Jays next year, what are the odds that his OPS actually tops .612 (his 2007 "golden year" result)? Hell, last year he managed .655! The fact that he hasn't gotten the OBP over .300 since 2006 might have something to do with it...
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