The Conundrum Out in Left Field

Some folks spend a lot of time trying to imagine the Blue Jays bullpen next season. For us, the item of greater interest is in whose direction the members of the 2012 bullpen will be spitting their sunflower seeds.

Somewhere along the line, the Jays' left field situation got really interesting. At the beginning of the year, we would have figured that Travis Snider would have locked it down and settled into a full-time, long-term role with the team as the Eternal Rebuilding Plan came closer to fruition. But as the season played out, the situation in that corner of the outfield was muddied by the emergence of some and the rejigged roles of others.

By the time next March rolls around, some of the names and faces may well have changed or moved on. Regardless, we've enumerated the long list of candidates for the left field job based on what they've done this year and our view of the likelihood that they'll assume the role at the beginning of next season.

1. Eric Thames: By the end of the weekend, Thames will trail only José Bautista in plate appearances by outfielders this season. He's also second in OPS among Jays outfielders with an unspectacular .770 mark. He's had plenty of opportunity to nail down the position as his own, but a less-than-convincing defensive performance will mean he'll still have to fight his way onto the big league roster next season. His performance at the plate (.314 OBP) doesn't make up for his defensive liabilities, though we get the sense that his aggression (51.3% swing rate, highest of anyone not named Corey Patterson with 100 PAs) is not contrary to the team's philosophy. Apparently, you don't walk your way out of Vegas.

He has options, and if the Jays are squeezed to find room on the 25-man roster, we wouldn't be surprised to see him parked in in the PCL to rake at the start the season.

2. Travis Snider: Were it not for his history with the Jays and his role as the perpetual prospect on the cusp, we'd slide Snider further down this list. If you were to try to resolve this quandry with a cold-eyed statistical approach, there's at least a marginally better argument for Rajai Davis, who bettered Snider in OBP (.273 to .269), and slugging (.350 to .348).

By the eyeball test, Snider is a better fielder than Thames who improved that aspect of his game greatly last year. (If you must, his UZR/150 is 11.4, while Thames is a -18.8 and Davis is a -12.) If they Jays feel as though they can place Snider at the bottom of the lineup and let him work his way through a full season of playing with the big boys, then he's likely to start the season with the team. But his late season injury and his remaining option (yes, he apparently has one for 2012) gives Alex Anthopoulos a fairly legitimate rationale for starting him in the minors.

3. Rajai Davis: The Jays have Davis signed for $2.75 Million next year, with a $3 Million option ($500K buyout) for 2013. That's not a monstrous contract, and it would be easy to move if the Jays were so inclined. But Davis' long list of health issues means that he'll likely have to get at bats in Toronto before he'll be enough of a marketable asset. (Plus, the temptation to have a "prototypical" lead-off hitter might be too much for John Farrell to resist, even if he has toned down the relentless running game through the later part of the season.)

If Davis has a role with the Jays beyond May of next year, our guess is that it will most likely be as a fourth outfielder.

4. Adam Loewen: The Jays won't be able to park Loewen in the minors next year, which means he either makes the 25-man roster or they risk losing him on waivers. Loewen's versatility (he can play all three outfield slots and first base) might earn him a bench role next year, and if the battle for the starting LF job falls between him and Davis, we could see the Jays opting for his bat over Rajai's feet.

In his limited time in the Majors thus far, he hasn't looked out of place (five hits in five games), though the value of September performances are tough to quantify. Still, he's started to make a believer out of us. His Canadian passport means that he'll be the choice of the chattering class, for whatever that's worth.

5. Mark Teahen: It's entirely possible that the Jays choose to eat his $5.5 Million salary for 2012 and move on. If letting that much coin sink to the bottom of Lake Ontario is the cost of getting Colby Rasmus, then so be it. But if they somehow decide to bring him back, he'd be as likely to get plopped into left field as anywhere else. It's a long shot, but then again, he is sorta-Canadian.

6. Moises Sierra: The 22 year-old Sierra has had a decent year at New Hampshire (.342 OBP/.436 SLG/ .778 OPS, 18 HR and 16 SB in 133 games), posting numbers that were marginally better than those of Anthony Gose (who's still just 21.) Will likely merit a promotion to Las Vegas, where the typical PCL inflation will have tongues wagging by June over a possible callup. Unlikely to start the season with the Jays (barring a slew of trades and injuries), but will be on the far outer edge of the conversation.

7. Anthony Gose/Jake Marisnick: Included here because, you know, why not? Both will be in their 21 year-old seasons next year, presumably with Gose in Vegas and Marisnick in New Hampshire. Neither is likely to see Toronto before September at the absolute earliest. But you know you'll be asking about them all year long.

8. Edwin Encarnacion: Allegedly, this is happening. We have yet to see him play the outfield, though we've seen some brief video of him tracking fly balls from a machine. (He looked like he's able to catch soft fly balls shot directly towards him, though for that matter, we'd probably be able to pull that off.) Farrell has said that he'll get some innings out there at the end of games before the season is out, though sometimes we think he makes those sorts of comments to entertain the beat writers.

The Wisdom of Solomon?

Our interest was piqued by a tweet last night from the New Hampshire Union Leader's Kevin Gray, who is covering the beat as the Fisher Cats play for the Eastern League Championship:

Fisher Cats owner Art Solomon told the players before the game: "The way you played (in Game 1) was embarrassing."

This followed a game which the Fisher Cats lost 10-9 in the ninth inning to start the series. (Did we mention that this was the League Championship that they're playing for? We'll probably mention this again.) We were left gobsmacked at the notion that the Jerry Jones of some third-level market could take it upon himself to scold the Jays' prospects as though they were his players. Gray assured us via Twitter that Solomon feeds the boys steaks and looks after them whilst in New Hampshire, but we can't get past the fact that he has no authority to lecture the Jays prospects.

If there were speeches that needed to be given, there's a manager in Sal Fasano who can do the talking.

If Solomon wants to tear a strip off the ushers, or tear into the marketing department, or yell at a popcorn vendor, then have at it. Those are his employees. The future Jays? He should probably keep away and enjoy the fact that these players who have embarrassed him so have managed to get four additional home gates for him. A little less scolding and a little more gratitude might be in order.

The AA affiliate of the Blue Jays is giving away what?!

A Clay Buchholz Bobblehead.

This is so wrong on so many levels.

First and foremost, shouldn't there be some sort of moral imperative that prevent any the Blue Jays farm team from promoting one of their chief rivals? Are the Fisher Cats so hard up for fans that they feel the need to tap into the douchey Red Sox Nation in order to market to the Massholes? (Or more to the point, pseudo-Massholes!)

And more to the point, is the effigy of a 2-8 pitcher with a 6+ ERA really going to be an attraction? We guess there is no accounting for taste.

And to think that we were planning our summer holidays in Manchester, N.H. next summer. Never more!

A messy pile of All Star thoughts

We wish that we had one coherent thought on the state of the Jays, but because the little nut that sits inside our skull is still a little frazzled from the past week, and because pondering the state of the Jays is such a sad excercise right now, we'll offer up one of our patented messy piles of whimsical statements which may or may not offer any insight.

There are Kiwis in your Futures
The only representative of the Blue Jays system to be named to the rosters for the All Star Futures Game is New Zealand's Scott Campbell. The 23 year-old second baseman from the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats/Primaries has been a revelation this year, leading the team in OPS (.891), runs (48) and hits (95). He kinda seems like he slots into the Aaron Hill (MVP of the 2004 Futures Game, for whatever that's worth) mold of good-not-great offensive second baseman, and we hit our knees every night and pray to the baby jeebus that he'll continue to progress.

Speaking of the lone representatives
For the fifth time, Roy Halladay will represent the Jays in the All Star Game, and it seems appropriate that he's the only one getting the nod given that the rest of the team kinda sucks. Okay, if Shaun Marcum wasn't hurt, and if Scott Downs wasn't giving up as many walks, we could have imagined them making it. But aside from that, this is either a lousy team or a team having a lousy season.

But is there hope for the future?
If nothing else, there are five members of the Fisher Cats/Primaries playing in a Double-A midseason sorta classic. Pitchers Brett Cecil and Zach Dials, catcher Brian Jeroloman, and The Great Big Giant Pasty White Hope^TM Travis Snider will join Campbell and take the field in front of the home crowd at Merchantsauto.com Stadium for the Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game. (When you market it that way, it sounds so ultra fine doesn't it?)

Incidentally, while trying to find more info on Zach Dials, we came across his Facebook listing. And while we can't see anything more than him with his arm around some tart in a tube top at the TGIFriday's, we feel like we know him a little better already. Go Dials!

We're sure the Fisher Cats will commemorate this great event in Blue Jays minor league history by handing out bobblehead dolls of Jacoby Ellsbury performing unnatural acts on Rico Petrocelli, or maybe one of Dustin Pedroia shining Dwight Evans' shoes. Whatever makes the Red Sox Nation happy. Turncoats!

Off days and Mondays
They always get us down.

The Farm Fresh Report

After an ugly series like the one that just finished against Oakland, it's time to cast our eyes to the next generation of Jays, if only to keep ourselves from doing something rash. Like tossing ourselves out the window. (Then again, since we are like all bloggers and writing this from our parents' basement, throwing defenestrating ourselves out and up onto street level isn't a very effective way to deal with our frustrations.)

First, allow us to introduce the experts
You may have seen this posted elsewhere, but we'd be remiss if we didn't tip our retro caps to Dave Rouleau and Marc Hulet for the bang-up job that they are doing with their new electronic magazine Behind the Dish. Blogging for shits and giggles is fun, but the BTD dudes are doing an excellent job of taking on real reportage on the Blue Jays' farm system. You can find the first two issues here, and they are worth your time, especially as we try to determine who is going to get the call to salvage our hopes and dreams for a playoff season. We highly recommend it.

Adam Lind makes his case
Obviously, these are early days, but Adam Lind is flat out raking in the first week-plus of the season. With two homers, nine RsBI and a gaudy 1.259 OPS over the first eight games of the season, one has to wonder how long the Jays can keep him in the 'Cuse.

David Purcey might be a good pitcher
Making the case that he should be the first hurler to get the call when the inevitable pitching staff DL stint arrives, David Purcey has been stellar through his first two starts in Triple-A. In 12 innings, he's struck out 14 (against four walks), allowed two earned runs (for a 1.50 ERA) and is rocking a 1.00 WHIP.

On the other hand
There's that other left hander, Ricky Romero. Sigh. Yeah, sure, it was one bad game at Double-A, but still. Sigh.

Travis Snider can still hit
Three doubles and two homers (and a stolen base!) so far for our Great White Hope.

How are things on the farm?

• Syracuse: 3-5, taking on Rochester and Buffalo next week.
• New Hampshire: 0-6 (yikes), taking on Connecticut and New Britain.
• Dunedin: 6-2 (first place in their division!), taking on Tampa and Clearwater.
• Lansing: 6-1 (first place in their division too!), taking on Cedar Rapids and Burlington.
  

Lansing Roadtrip!!! Go Nuts!

Sure, there's been plenty of malarkey about the Blue Jays' top farm team setting up shop in Ottawa. Meanwhile, back here on planet Earth, the team has re-upped with their minor-league affiliate in New Hampshire for four years, and signed two-year agreements in Auburn (the Doubledays of the Single-A NY-Penn League) and Lansing (the Lugnuts of the Single-A Midwest League).

We know SFA about Lansing aside from the fact that Magic Johnson was born there, and that it's home to Michigan State University, but the ballpark looks like a great place to spend a summer night. We were going to suggest a road trip to the see the Jays of the Future this year, but Lansing's just about 100 miles further into Michigan than we would dare venture.

We're way too soft and would be too much of an easy target to last more than 15 minutes west of Flint.

Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me? Playoffs?

Don't mention playoffs to the Jays' AA NH Fisher Cats, who fell to the Red Sox' Portland Sea Dogs 7-4 in a one-game play-in. (Hat tip to Neate for following up on our post from yesterday.)

Of course, the loss put the Fisher Cats at 70-73 for the season, so by all rights, they probably didn't belong in the postseason.

Unless they were in the National League Central.

Long balls end Fisher Cats' season (Manchester Union Leader)

Playoff fever - AA style

While their parent clubs will be squaring off in Beantown, the AA affiliates of the Jays and Red Sox will face each other down in a one-game death match to get into the Eastern League's playoffs.

Why should this matter? We firmly believe that players who learn to win and compete in a playoff atmosphere in the minors will learn a lot from the experience.

While there are only a handful of the Fisher Cats that we can forsee as future Jays, the idea of having Ricky Romero, Tracy Thorpe or David Purcey pitching under that sort of pressure can only help with their personal development. If fifty percent of this game is half mental, then the hope is that they can learn to win in a pennant race and in the playoffs, and can bring that experience with them to the big club, sooner rather than later.

UPDATE: More Jays Minor League Playoff Mayhem!
We'd be remiss if we didn't note that the short season A ball Auburn Doubledays have already clinched their division title, and will be playing postseason games starting later this week, while the advanced A ball Lansing Lugnuts have clinched a playoff spot as well.

Dear Diary
Speaking of Romero, he was one of four players to have a player journal on MiLB.com this year. They're not exactly earth-shattering in terms of insight, but it is interesting to track Romero's thought process through this year's injuries and struggles. At just 22, Romero is the youngest player on the AA club, but he seems pretty well-adjusted. Hopefully, he'll be able to contribute within the next year or so at the major league level.

New Hampshire on our minds

Given that Art Martone at the ProJo Sox Blog has sent some New Englanders in our direction today, we have a few Jays-related items on the fine state of New Hampshire.

Jays AA affiliate in Ottawa? In the Sun chain's articles on the decline and fall of the Ottawa Lynx, there have been vague mentions of the Jays relocating their Eastern League affiliate to the nation’s capital. We think this is an absolutely brilliant idea…except that we don’t see how it will happen.

At present, the AA Fisher Cats draw more than three times as many fans as the Lynx do, and they play in a relatively new ballpark (the rather clunkily named Merchantsauto.com Stadium). We can see how if Rogers Media were to purchase the team and move it to Ottawa that attendance would be less of an issue. We figure that attendance would likely increase if Toronto’s farmhands were in the capital, and, as we noted in the comments at Neate Sager’s blog months ago, this would further expand the Jays’ brand (not to mention Rogers’) into the closest major media market in Ontario.

All of this supposes that someone in Manchester is selling. And if they're not, this is all just wishful thinking.

Fisher Cats promotions, The Good: Maybe it is the PoliSci geek in us, but we love the fact that on August 25, the Fisher Cats will take the field as the “New Hampshire Primaries”. The team was originally named the Primaries for a few days before a petition was circulated to change the name. It’s a pity, really, but that’s democracy in action. (BTW, dig that awesome logo!)

New Hampshire promotions, the Bad: When looking at the list of promotions on the Fisher Cats’ schedule, it’s hard not to get the feeling that the AA club is selling the parent club out, and buying bad juju by the truckload. How else to explain multitude of Red Sox related giveaways at the ballpark. David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis bats? Curt Schilling and Mo Vaughan bobbleheads? Yikes.

New Hampshire promotions, the Absurd: July 7 was George Weston Bakeries Salute to Bread Night. We salute bread every day, in every way.