The Difference Maker

Serious question leading things off here - has there been too much or too little said about Jose Bautista?

Here's what prompted me to muse aloud about the Blue Jays difference maker: Justin Verlander mowing through the lineup with absolute ease. Of course, 101 mph fastballs assist considerably and this post is BY NO MEANS meant to take away from the performance (masterful & absolutely dominant).... but with every failure of an at-bat, I couldn't help but think at the approach Bautista would have taken in each.

And isn't that what gives you comfort that Bautista's success is sustainable, even if not at his current Pujolsian (not a word, but should be) levels? That patient, no panic, fuck you 0-2, "why swing if you don't want to hit the ball as hard as you can" approach? Because it is for me.

Now go back to today's game, then imagine this Blue Jays club with no Bautista to pencil in.... ever. I'm still seeing arguments that the contract might work out, but the logic and process in doling it out was flawed. And there may be validity to that argument, I guess. But I have to be frank with you here.

I really don't give much of a shit how the decision was made to hand Bautista a market-value five-year deal. This is the easiest statement a Blue Jay fan can make - it's like a kid approving a Mars bar 'fer the love of God. And in years four and five, maybe we will all be groaning about the dead-weight/big dollar black hole that is 2014 JoBau (blasphemy!). But can you imagine the team sans JoBau today? Can you?

Jose Bautista is about as clear-cut an MVP candidate - if such judgements are even allowed to be made in May - as you will find. He's all of George Bell and Carlos Delgado, regardless of team success. His at-bats should not be missed and they bring me great joy.

Can he keep it up? Holy shit, I hope so. Because the alternative for this season, with today providing a glimmer of evidence, would not be quite so appealing.

JP Arencibia has a message for the Catching prospects up & down the system
Take your time, fellas.

A quick note on young John Paul: he's exceeding expectations (if even only my own) and looks every bit the part of a young catcher growing into the role of everyday backstop.

His power has never been in question; his patience and control of the strike zone has. And while he'll never be Jose Bautista (see gushing above), his 8th-inning walk - the lone blemish on Verlander's potential perfecto - was, as respected analysts would say, a professional at-bat.

Moreover, it looks like John Farrell is feeling it too, turning over the keys to Kyle Drabek's car with post-game praise despite Young Kyle's melt. Perhaps complaints of JPA getting just 3/5ths of the catching at-bats can go by the wayside, and all the whiny whinertons can shut up about it already.

Oh wait, that was me.

Hey, you know what sucks? Corey Patterson getting every-day at-bats.....

(Heyo!)

Before you undervalue a Royal thumping...

...Keep in mind that the Jays were 3-4 against the Royals last season. So the opportunity to beat down on one of the few teams that you can look down upon in the standings should be greeted with as much joy as pulling out a squeaker against the Sox, Rays or Yanks.

(At least that's what we're saying now. Come back and ask us again when the Jays get into the AL East portion of their schedule.)

No, really though. Who can't get behind a Run the Table on the Royals rallying cry?

Who doesn't love Jo-Bau?
A couple of days ago, we were whingeing about José Bautista' struggles at the plate as much as any Jays Talk caller from Woodbridge or Barrie. But two swings of the bat later, JoBau's OPSing over .840 and is second on the team in RsBI and everything is all good.

Or maybe, just maybe, this is a reminder that it is still early in the season, with more than 90% of the games yet to be played. We might not want to shove some guys who've had a bad two week stretch off the plank just yet.

Afternoon blogging? We really hope not.
So this thing about a "semi-big" player getting dinged for PEDs is sitting out there, and our mind races as we start to think of the Jays who might fit that description. We're so sick of talking about PEDs that we really hope that the news comes out and it's some guy that we don't care about on a team we never think of.

Because we're not sure that we've got the stomach to go over it if it turns out to be one of our own.

Behold the awesomeness of Jo-Bau

Assume all of the standard caveats about these being fake games, and the Ghosts of Jason Lane and Simon Pond, and what have you. And also assume the caveats about how it doesn't matter if you are crushing fastballs that are slow and straight (like Adam Carolla fans!) in March. Or April. Or September. And possibly May. Maybe August too.

But set all that aside for a brief moment, and let's drink this in. Let's savour the sweet spring of José Bautista. Let's swish it around in our mouths, and let it just sit there for a moment or two.

Here's what the man has done in five Fake Games so far: He's got 22 total bases in 14 at bats. He sports a 2.214 OPS (.643 OBP, 1.571 SLG). He's got nine hits, of which seven are for extra bases (four doubles and three homers). He's scored six and driven in six. And he's played third base while certain other Jays tend to the health of their fat, injured wrists.

Sure, we know it's totally wrong to fall in love with something so young and as-yet-unformed-and-immature. But if the Spring of Jo-Bau is Lolita, then we're the fumbling, bumbling Humbert Humbert, tripping over our own better sense to fall for it.