Our image consultant told us that we'll need to back off some of the sexism and nerdity, and offer ourselves out to new audiences as a softer, more inclusive and comforting blog.And thus: Kitties! Look at how fluffy they are!
And now: The pleasantries.
Adam Dunn: Why Not Us?
Fox's Jean-Paul Morossy (I just Frenchified him! Ah! C'est tellement cute!) makes the case that the Jays might make sense as a landing place for Adam Dunn. In spite of whatever defenses we may have made for J.P. Ricciardi's anti-Dunn screed a few years back, we've loved the giant lug of a slugger ever since the first time we saw him step to the on-deck circle as a Louisville Bat back in the day. (Seriously, we were wondering where the fuck his blue ox was, he was so big.)
We'd love to see Dunn in a Jays uni, so long as he's at least willing to consider some at bats as a DH. (Which is no small caveat, we're led to believe.)
Jesse Crain is the Most Canadian Canadian in All of Canadian History of Canada's Canadians
Actually, he was born here by happenstance, and spent the majority of his life in the U.S.. (He's probably never tasted poutine! Or doesn't own a Tragically Hip CD! He has never seen the Air Farce, and he totally doesn't get any of their jokes!) Still, it's seemingly impossible for folks to talk about him and his potential as a potential acquisition without trotting out the fact that he was born in Toronto. Even the aforementioned Morosi can't help himself.
(To be fair, we could hardly hold ourself back from the "pseudo-Canadian" angle when we mentioned Crain as a potential closer for 2011 back in a mid-September Tweet Bag.)
Beyond any passport implications, Crain would make an intriguing acquisition. He pumped up his strikeout rate last year (to 8.21) and dropped his walks (3.57 per nine.) He might have been a touch lucky (his BABIP dropped 35 points to .270, which might have something to do with the new park...?), and there is a bit of concern that some of the success might be attributed to his fly ball rate increasing in the allegedly cavernous Target Field. One would imagine that a 44% fly ball rate might be a bit more of a problem in the Rogers Centre.
One last thought on Crain: You put his numbers up against Jason Frasor's, and the Sausage King pretty much comes out on top across the board. Which only helps to feed into our notion of a "Return of the Sausage King" campaign. (T-shirts, undoubtedly, to be sold at an online retailer near you soon.)
Get Out the Jumpsuit - It's Fat Elvis Time
So Lance Berkman kinda fell off a cliff last year, and will be 35 this season. (If you'd asked us before we looked it up, we would have sworn he was 31. Time flies.)
And we're certainly not interested in adding a fat man to the roster so that we can admire him for his former glories. Still, his .368 OBP is attractive, and his 2.1 WAR last year was better than all other returning Jays except for Bautista and Wells.
We wouldn't give him anything over $3 million on a one-year contract with options, but we wouldn't mind seeing what a healthy and possibly chastened Berkman could do for a year with his career hanging in the balance.
Dunn or Berkman could be great additions to the club, at the right price. Dunn could be the DH and he can play first if Lind doesn't pan out. That is of course assuming he would be willing to DH if Lind played well in the field. Berkman also has experience as a first baseman and could be used in the same role if the Jays were looking for a cheaper option or they can't get Dunn for any reason. Both have high career OBP. The only downside to Dunn I can see is that he strikes out. A lot. Obviously that's not the end of the world if he gets on base 38% of the time, but it is something to consider.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Dunn in the middle of the lineup, looking at a lot of pitches and letting the guys around him get a good sense of what the pitcher has on any given day.
ReplyDeleteWait: Does that actually happen? I think I've heard Pat Tabler talk about that sort of thing, but maybe it's all hokum.
the Hipster Doofus is no longer a Jay. I really hate that Cito made me dislike Tallet so much. I can't think of a pitcher that was more poorly handled by a Jays manager in recent memory.
ReplyDeletebest wishes as a Cardinal you tall lanky mess.
Hmmm, if we get Berkman, its kinda like we traded Wallace for Berkman and Anthony Gose, isn't it? If we did, I think that's a good trade.
ReplyDeleteOH God - please let Farrell realize that Frasor shouldn't be the closer next year!
ReplyDelete