Although it’s an amazing, indescribable experience, few fans can make it to watch Jays spring training games in person. But whether it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or 2012 just isn’t your year to travel to Dunedin, there are still ways to catch up with your pre-season Jays.

Jays TV Broadcasts

Unlike many of the other teams, the Jays just aren’t receiving much television broadcast coverage this year. Still, a handful of a pathetic, measly TWO games will be broadcast on Sportsnet.

Sunday, March 18: Phillies at Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, April 1: Pirates at Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.

Two.

To be fair, the Astros are in the same boat.

Other TV Broadcasts

And courtesy of some other teams, if you have access to these channels… although if you want Jays coverage, you might have to put it on mute and DIY commentary…

Saturday, March 10: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:05 p.m. (MLB Network)
Saturday, March 17: Blue Jays at Phillies, 1:05 p.m. (TCN) – rebroadcast at 4:00am Sunday on MLB Network
Saturday, March 17: Blue Jays at Braves, 1:05 p.m. (FSS)
Monday, March 19: Phillies at Blue Jays, 10:00 a.m. – tape delayed (MLB Network)
Tuesday, March 20: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:05 p.m. (NESN and MLB Network)
Sunday, March 25: Red Sox at Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m. (NESN), rebroadcast 10:00 a.m. Monday on MLB Network
Tuesday, March 27: Blue Jays at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. (YES and MLB Network)
Saturday, March 31: Blue Jays at Phillies, 1:05 p.m. (PHL 17), rebroadcast 1:00 a.m. Sunday on MLB Network
Monday, April 2: Pirates at Blue Jays, 6:00 a.m. – tape delayed (MLB Network)

If you have access to the MLB Network in the US, you’ll be interested in the Full Schedule of Spring Training Games. They’re doing quite a bit tape-delayed, so keep an eye out for that.

On MLB.tv

In previous years, owners of AtBat for computers and mobile devices (including iPhone and iPad) were given free access to MLB.tv during Spring Training. This will likely continue for 2012, and bonus, there are no blackouts in play.

(For Jays fans in Canada, a subscription to MLB.tv is pretty much worthless; Jays games are blacked out throughout the country.)

Saturday, March 17: Blue Jays at Phillies, 1:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 17: Blue Jays at Braves, 1:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 20: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 25: Red Sox at Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 27: Blue Jays at Yankees, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 31: Blue Jays at Phillies, 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, April 1: Pirates at Blue Jays, 1:05 p.m.

Look familiar? Yep. Those MLB.tv games will just be pulling in the broadcasts from the Phillies, Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees.

Radio Broadcasts
The only way to get your Jays Spring Training fix before St. Paddy’s day – without actually being there, of course – is to turn on your radio and listen to Jerry Howarth broadcasting from Dunedin. A few feeds are only available on MLB.com, presumably because they use opposing team broadcasters.

These 14 audio feeds will also be pulled into MLB.com’s free Gameday feature.

Saturday, March 3, Pirates at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Sunday, March 4, Jays at Pirates, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Tuesday, March 6, Phillies at Jays, 1:05 PM, MLB.com
Saturday, March 10, Astros at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Sunday, March 11, Braves at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Wednesday, March 14, Yankees at Jays, 1:05 PM, MLB.com
Saturday, March 17, Jays at Phillies, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Sunday, March 18, Phillies at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Thursday, March 22, Phillies at Jays, 1:05 PM, MLB.com
Saturday, March 24, Braves at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Sunday, March 25, Red Sox at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Tuesday, March 27, Jays at Yankees, 7:05 PM, AM 590
Saturday, March 31, Jays at Phillies, 1:05 PM, AM 590
Sunday, April 1, Phillies at Jays, 1:05 PM, AM 590

This afternoon, manager John Farrell announced that the slimmed-down and shaped-up leftie will take the mound for this Saturday’s game against the Pirates.

To say that Brett Cecil had a rough season in 2011 would be to make a dramatic understatement. Let’s put it this way. Cecil lost more games, walked more batters, and gave up more home runs than JoJo Reyes. To make things worse for Cecil, he was coming off of a true career year in 2010 when he went 15 and 7.

If you care to remember back a year or so, you might recall that one of the ongoing stories of last spring was Cecil’s “loss of velocity”. His fastball – typically clocking in around 92 or 93 mph – was down to a max of just 86 to 88; hardly a ‘fast’ ball at all. Looking back, it’s maybe not surprising that he had a tough time of things, even just from the overthinking these kinds of stories can cause in any young starter.

He ended the season with just 4 wins and 11 losses in 20 starts, all wins posted before the end of July. Add his temper to the list of Cecil’s losses in 2011. He threw multiple televised tantrums in the dugout, and although many fans sympathetically echoed his frustration at home, it didn’t sit well with the team.

Reports are coming out that Alex Anthopoulos and Cecil had some frank conversations in the post-season, focused on responsibility and accountability and the ability to get those emotions back in check.

And yet, 2011 did have highlights for Cecil.

July 24, just a month after returning from 12 starts in Las Vegas, he threw his first career complete-game, a 4 hit shutout of the Texas Rangers in Arlington. In fact, July as a whole, Cecil showed good command with some of his best numbers of 2011. In medium and high leverage situations, Cecil actually got sharper, increasing strikes and reducing walks dramatically.

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But, thankfully, all of that is in the past for Brett Cecil. He came to camp a dramatic 38 pounds lighter, and lighter in attitude too. Reporters have been describing him as “upbeat” and “confident”.

All signs point to a great 2012 for Brett Cecil, and the leftie should be a core part of the Jays rotation this year.

Other announced starters:
Sunday at Pirates: Henderson Alvarez
Monday at Tigers: Drew Hutchison

As the final week of workouts winds down before the Spring Training matchups start, Blue Jays fans are beginning to get signs that perhaps the question of Left Field isn’t as much of a question as we’d previously thought.

A year ago, Travis Snider seemed cemented in the starting lineup. But that was before a rib injury that sidelined him for the early part of Spring Training. And then a disappointing April that saw him bat only .184 in 25 games.

He was sent down to Las Vegas AAA to work on his swing mechanics. After showing good progress, Snider was brought back to Toronto where he continued to struggle. He spent the tail end of the season in Las Vegas and then nursing a wrist injury that kept him from being a September call-up.

In his place, rookie Eric Thames started 95 games in left field and hit reasonably well, particularly against righties, with an overall .262 average. Thames needs to work on his plate discipline, but that should come with experience. If he can learn to spot the ball a bit better, he’ll be able to improve on his walk and strikeout rates and leverage a bit of his power more often.

This off-season, Thames worked on his muscles, gaining incredible guns through more than his usual yoga workouts. He also worked on his throwing game after being criticized for a lack of range and accuracy.

In comparing the two players, most sources agree that Snider has the greater potential, but analysts are beginning to wonder if he’ll get the chance.

Last season, left field was Snider’s to lose. This year the tables are turned, and the ‘question of left field’ has been touted as one of the most compelling stories of the Spring.

But is it really a question at all?

As reported by Gregor Chisholm, Blue Jays Beat Reporter, Snider’s been noticeably absent from the presumed opening day outfield workouts. Thames has been in left field for all of the team workouts with Bautista and Rasmus, along with Rajai Davis and Ben Francisco; all expected to be part of the 25-man roster when the season starts.

Thames has also done a significant amount of promotional work for the team. He recently filmed a scoreboard promo for the Blue Jays. We learned this from this photo from the Blue Jays Official account. Among others recording similar features; Ricky Romero, Sergio Santos, Brett Cecil. Along with JP Arencibia, Ricky Romero, and Brett Lawrie, Eric Thames traveled around Canada to meet Blue Jays fans in other provinces as part of the Winter Tour.

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Farrell and Anthopoulos have practically stated that the job is Thames’ to lose this Spring, and it sure feels that way. From the outside looking in, Snider’s still the odd man out. He’ll have to show significantly improved discipline at the plate and a return to that potential we saw earlier in his career.

Will it happen for Snider this year? We won’t know for some time yet. But you can bet that if he gets lots of work – and shines at it – early this Spring, the ‘battle’ may get more serious than it feels right now.

If one can read anything into Casey Janssen’s latest tweet, it’s that the 30-year old RHP has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Blue Jays.

Janssen and the Jays had filed for arbitration at a mere $400,000 apart, so an agreement is unsurprising.

Details to be announced as soon as I have them!

 

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Nothing confirmed yet, but Shi Davidi is reporting the deal is 2 years plus options.

This isn’t a surprise either; the Jays won’t negotiate post-filing for anything but multi-year deals, and aren’t fond of signing longer player-friendly contracts.

I’d put my money on the $4 mil range over 2 years with a team option for year 3. But that’s just me.

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OK, so I was a bit short on the dough. The two-year deal is worth $5.9mil, with a third year team option of $4mil more.

In 55 games in 2011, Janssen pitched to a 2.26 ERA and posted 6 wins and 2 saves, no losses. Casey was actually one of the most consistent relief pitcher for the Jays in 2011, with by far the best WAR at 1.3. If he can stay injury-free for 2012, I’m expecting him to be a solid part of the vastly-improved bullpen for 2012.

I’m still lobbying the Jays to bring back “Dog Day” this summer, but from what I heard last season, it’s a long shot at best. One of the hallmarks of Toronto’s Dog Day was the pre-game dog parade around the outfield. With a new (and very expensive) turf in place at the start of 2011, the team just couldn’t justify it.

The schedules are still being announced, but here’s a preliminary list of opportunities to take your pooch to the park.

Jays fans, so far you’re out of luck, even on the road-trip front.

Maybe next year?

» Continue reading “Take Your Dog to the Game 2012″

Looking for news on Yu Darvish? Join the club. I’ve been glued to Twitter for the past 12 hours, reading into tweet after tweet after tweet.

This morning, MLB announced that four teams placed bids for the right to negotiate with the Japanese-Iranian pitcher; the Cubs, Rangers, Yankees, and your own Blue Jays.

Of course, it’s no surprise the Jays would be in on Darvish – he fits the team perfectly. He’s 25; young and controllable. The team has stated, again and again, that they’re not interested in building a one-year success. They want to win, and they want to win for years. In order to have a shot at the AL East, the Jays desperately need a top-of-the-rotation starter to work with Ace-du-jour Ricky Romero.

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So, what’s a “Whopper of a bid?”

In 2006, Daisuke Matsuzaka’s posting fee was just over $51 million, with a contract through 2012 worth at least $52 million. Injuries have plagued Matsuzaka for the past 3 seasons, and it’s widely believed that the Red Sox simply paid too much to bring in a starter unaccustomed to the 5 day rotation of the MLB.

Does Matsuzaka’s experience impact the bidding here? It doesn’t sound like it, if any of the buzz is to be believed. I keep hearing “surprisingly high” and “eye popping” and I can’t help but think that for any bid to be a surprise, it must surpass all historical precedent.

Personally, I’m guessing the winning bid here is somewhere in the low $60s. Let’s say $62, just for kicks and giggles. Successfully winning the bid and negotiating a contract with Yu Darvish could easily place the team in the $120 million range.

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Is Yu Darvish worth $120 million to the Blue Jays?

Even if we get to see Darvish in action this Spring in Dunedin, the answer will still be unclear.

If I’ve learned anything in baseball, it’s that every move is a risky one. Players disappoint. Injuries happen. Attitudes get in the way of success.

The best any team can do is be informed; do research, consider fit, and if that risk feels acceptable, take a leap.

But for now, for at least a few hours longer, we wait.

This past Spring, I was lucky enough to con Brian Jeroloman into spending a couple of minutes after a game to chat a bit about training, about (then) new manager John Farrell, and about his hopes for the year.

Brian did get his wish; he was called up to Toronto last Tuesday August 22, in a puzzling move that has fans and analysts scratching their heads. Jeroloman makes the third catcher on the Jays’ active roster. According to John Lott’s report for the National Post, GM Anthopoulos said that Jeroloman would “rarely play”.

So. Why, with infield depth initially reduce by the departures of Hill and McDonald, would the Jays want 3 catchers?

My first thought was that either JP Arencibia or Jose Molina are in line to be traded. As much as I love Jose Molina, he would be a fine addition to a team looking towards the post-season. Perhaps the Giants?

Another option… would Travis d’Arnaud get the call up to Vegas? D’Arnaud, the Jays’ likely catcher of the future, has been heating up the eastern seaboard with a season .315 batting average and the honor of being chosen as a mid-season All Star.

But as time passes from the date of the callup, with no moves being made, the situation gets curiouser and curiouser.

Why bring up Jeroloman to have him sit in the bullpen? There’s been very little coverage in any media over the move, likely because of Anthopoulos’ comments that Jeroloman wouldn’t see much playing time, if any. It’s the kind of news that’s non-news… except that it doesn’t make sense.

Why waste space on the 25 man roster?

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I enjoyed speaking with Brian in Spring Training. He’s a genuinely nice guy who seems to enjoy what he does. I only wish I’d had more than five minutes to come up with some better questions!

Next time!

That earthquake you might have felt this afternoon was my heart breaking a wee little bit.

This just in: the Jays have traded Aaron Hill and John McDonald to the Diamondbacks in exchange for 2B Kelly Johnson.

A career .260/.342/.432 hitter, Johnson is having a slump year, and has struggled at the plate for Arizona. 2010′s numbers tell a different story; Fangraphs ranked Johnson second in the NL, behind Rickie Weeks.

It’s no question the Jays needed a 2B for the 2012 season. With no hot prospects coming up soon, the hole made by Hill was one that needed filling. Although fans like to claim the 2B solution is Brett Lawrie (with Bautista back at 3B), it’s a tired suggestion that has yet to receive even a smidgen of support from the team’s management.

The obvious move was to eye some new talent now, or in the off season. Johnson brings likely Type B status, same as Hill. But it may be easier, should Johnson work out, to sign him to a more team-friendly contract in the off season.

I’m a fan of the Johnson-Hill exchange. But I’m uncertain whether or not it’s worth the price of the man who many consider to be the heart of the franchise.

John McDonald is, without question, a fan favorite. Toronto adores the man with a flare for the infield, and often surprising delivery at the plate. He’s loved on – and off – the field.

McDonald and Hill will now join ex-Jay Lyle Overbay for a chance at post-season play. I wish them luck. I know if the Diamondbacks go to the playoffs, I’ll be rooting for them, if only for the chance to see McDonald get his first world series ring.

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Updated: The press conference at 3:30pm confirmed the trade, and also revealed that John McDonald had inquired about moving to a team with post-season potential. Good for him! As tough as this is going to be for many of the fans, it’s hard to argue with what the man wants.

He’ll be missed here, and will hopefully return soon, either as a player or a coach.

One: The Jays took the series against the Angels. More specifically, they won 2 out of 3 against the number 3 and 4 ranked starters in the American League; Jered Weaver and Dan Haren.

These wins put the Jays 2 games over .500, and again within striking distance of Tampa for third place in the AL East. While the Jays head to the West Coast to face the struggling Mariners, the Rays take a trip to Boston.

Two: Is it just me, or does it feel like Brett Lawrie’s been with the team for, oh, forever?? In his nine games with the team, Lawrie’s batting .355 with 2 home runs. This weekend? He produced every game; 2 doubles, a triple, a single, and a walk. He also made some fine plays over on third base.

Yesterday, I heard Buck and Tabby wonder if Lawrie will get distracted by the ‘hometown’ crowd out in Seattle. I’d be surprised. Kid looks like a pro out there.

Three: Did Jose Bautista get his groove back yesterday? It sure looked like it. After getting Saturday off, he returned to the Sunday lineup and went 3 for 4, smashing his 34th homer of the year over the centerfield wall.

Bautista hasn’t looked right at the plate in awhile. I’m not alone in my joy to see him back in form. Hopefully this is the start of another hot streak. And thankfully, Encarnacion, Lawrie, Rasmus, Lind and Escobar have all contributed offensively.

Four: Rajai Davis, base stealer extraordinaire, is likely out for the rest of the season with a torn hamstring. He sprinted out from home and winced in pain before being escorted from the field by the trainers.

Maybe using a speed demon off the bench late in the game isn’t such a great idea after all. In the 8th inning, Davis’ legs would have been pretty cold. That’s prime injury time.

To replace Davis on the roster, Mike McCoy gets yet another call up from Vegas.

Five: What the heck is up with Edwin Encarnacion lately? Eddie’s batting .415 in the month of August. Yesterday, he scored the walk-off RBI. Enough said.

Six: Alex Anthopoulos has to be feeling pretty good about this team he’s building. They’re not contenders, but they’re shaping up nicely with the additions of Lawrie and Rasmus. I’m looking forward to seeing what moves are made in the off season. With Hill continuing to struggle, the team could use an offensive upgrade at 2B. I don’t see anyone hot coming up through the ranks in time for next year, so this might be an obvious place to look to free agency.

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With just about 6 weeks left in the regular season, and 42 games left to play, it’s looking possible that the Jays can beat their 2010 finish of 85 wins. The bigger question? Can they get into third place?

It’s now been months since the surprise deal that sent Vernon Wells to the Angels in the first move of Anthopoulous’ chess game to contention. The team had faced their old Center Fielder before; at the beginning of April in Anaheim. But last night was Wells’ first return back to his home turf.

Vernon was the face of the franchise for 10 years. Whether or not the contractual move to Anaheim was something fans have fully accepted, one thing was clear when he left; although he’d embrace his new team, Vernon didn’t want to go anywhere.

Within seconds of Wells’ stepping up to the plate for his first at-bat at the top of the 2nd, most of the 24,000+ crowd had risen to their feet, applauding the veteran Blue Jay.

In an interview with the Canadian Press after the game, Vernon described the moment as being understandably emotional.

“I just tried to hold back the emotion in that moment,” he said. “I didn’t think there would be much but there was and I just tried to enjoy it an obviously not be a crybaby at home plate. It’s just a moment I’ll never forget.”

Hold it back? I’m not sure if he did. Vernon Wells seemed to harness that emotion to smash Brandon Morrow’s first pitch out of the park. In the same moment? The cheers turned to boos.

Wells’ solo home run in the 2nd gave the Angels an early 1-0 lead, one they extended with 3 more runs in the 3rd. The final score was 5-1; the Jays only on the board with Eric Thames’ 6th major league home run in the 9th.

The game was a collection of errors and missteps for the Jays. The Angels scored 5 on only 4 hits. 3 Jays errors helped them out. So did Morrow’s lack of control.

Morrow, a pitcher known for his high strikeout totals, only struck out 3 in 7 innings, making this performance by far his lowest strikeout rate of the season. He walked 4.

It’s easy to point to Morrow to find what went wrong. Certainly, the more batters who reach base, the more runs will probably come in to score.

The errors didn’t help either. Over the past 2 games, the Jays have racked up a whopping 5 defensive errors.

After the game, Manager John Farrell criticized this, saying that defense is something the team needs more control over, and that the clumps of errors are “glaring”.

But the Jays offense also made a right mess of the 3rd inning at the plate. Jose Molina (my Molina!) hit an outstanding double to Center Field. For some reason, he kept going around second. Molina is many wonderful things, but he’s no speed demon. It was unclear to me whether he got the green light to run, or just misjudged Wells’ accuracy. He was tagged out at third.

Following that play, Brett Lawrie took a walk to first. And was soon after caught stealing second.

Had both stayed on for Escobar’s 1-out at bat, the team may have been able to get some runs early in the game, and build some positive momentum.

Oh well.

The Jays are back at .500, and are now 14.5 games out of first place. More importantly, they’ve slipped to 5 games back of 3rd place Tampa.

Today’s game should be a tough pitching duel as Ricky Romero faces Jered Weaver. With an ERA of 1.78, Weaver leads the AL starters. Romero, with 2.96, ranks 8th.