Lawrie was suspended for four games, appealed the suspension and then dropped the appeal in a span of 24 hours, and took his lumps sitting out against the Yankees and Mets. With that hullabaloo mostly over, Lawrie was in the spotlight again Tuesday night (again playing the Rays), having gotten past second base on a fly ball, and after it was caught, missing touching it on the way back to first. His protest there was less demonstrative, and just as productive; one wonders if having to run to confront the umpire took some of the steam out of it.

May 15, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell (left) holds back third baseman Brett Lawrie (right) after he was ejected in the 9th inning by home plate umpire Bill Miller (14) against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre. The Rays beat the Blue Jays 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

Lawrie’s style makes him a polarizing kind of player. Not so much his on-field talent, which is indisputable, but the way he plays the game. He’s brash. He’s showy. He’s physical, in a way that few baseball players are, throwing his body around with reckless abandon. Watch him yell and celebrate after scoring, or his basketball-esque leaps into home after his walk-off home runs. The bold, confident nature was something that the Blue Jays have lacked the last several years, their locker room filled with the quiet nature of a Vernon Wells, or the reclusive, focused intensity of Roy Halladay, someone who didn’t tend to inspire with action. Lawrie isn’t as established as those two were, but the Blue Jays clearly hope he can get there.

For those who are fans of the Blue Jays, Lawrie can be fun to watch; if you’re not a Jays fan, then you probably don’t like him. Even if you’re put off by his approach, you can’t deny he’s a draw. Every at bat is an event, Lawrie twitching in the batters box with coiled energy. When he’s in the field, he’s in constant motion fielding ground balls, and when he’s in the dugout, he’s constantly talking (which we always see, thanks to Sportsnet showing him with a frightening consistency).

It’s not my intention to further debate either of the calls against the young Jays star, that’s been done better in other quadrants of the internet. This is more about Lawrie himself, and how important it is we understand the kind of player that he is. The intensity (and sheer talent) that makes him such a great player is something even he is learning to harness. He’s going to rub some people the wrong way- opponents, umpires, and probably teammates at some point, even in the seemingly-harmonious Blue Jays locker room. As good a player as (we think) he’s going to be, we should hope the Jays don’t work too hard to change that.

While it’s important that Lawrie learns to control that intensity, it’s equally important that he doesn’t stifle it entirely. It’s so much a part of his makeup, of how he plays, that to eliminate it would take away from the player he is. Whether he reacted to the calls against him correctly in either instance isn’t the point. He’s going to react. That’s how he is. We’ll occasionally roll our eyes at the over-the-top enthusiasm, but who wasn’t smiling after his walk-off home run against the Red Sox last year, watching him wag his tongue around the bases, and take to the air as he leaped onto home plate?

With Brett Lawrie, it’s all part of the experience.

Given his inconsistent history with Atlanta, it’s surprising that we haven’t seemed to hear more about Escobar’s struggles so far. From here, it’s a good thing, though; the Braves ran him out at the first sign of trouble, rather than looking at his history and writing off the struggles as a blip on the radar. The Blue Jays went out of their way to welcome Escobar to the organization when he was traded here in 2010 (perhaps that’s part of why we haven’t heard anything) and the club is continuing to take a thoughtful approach. But let’s take a look at the numbers and see what’s gone wrong so far.

We mentioned a .628 OPS for Escobar so far, compared to his more respectable .782 last year. His isolated power is currently .082, down from a career mark of .110, and his 3.79 groundball-to-flyball ratio is much lower than his career 2.14 mark. Watching him hit, we can see more ground balls and not as many balls driven into the gaps, which is what he needs to do to be successful. I was among those who were scratching their heads when John Farrell flipped him and Johnson in the order, because while getting KJ more at bats was a definite plus, I thought that, given what we had seen from him so far this season, Escobar would be a near lock for grounding into a double play with a man on first. Lyle Overbay‘s frustrating ground balls to second? Same idea, other side of the diamond.

Apr 29, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar (5) hits a double in the 7th inning against the Seattle Mariners at the Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays beat the Mariners 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

Not only is Escobar not hitting for as much power, he’s not as patient as he has been in the past. His walk rate is at a paltry 5.3%, which is just over half of his career mark of 9.4%. As someone who hits early in the order, the Jays need him to be drawing walks and seeing more pitches, which is something he has done well previously. Yunel has typically been a very patient hitter, so it’s troubling to see that he’s not getting on-base as often. It could possibly mean that he’s pressing and feeling the frustration of not hitting as well. Additionally, his .274 BABIP is .274 compared to his career mark of .312 is not terribly low, but it’s still a slight variation from the norm, so we can’t write off any slow start to him being unlucky.

Thankfully, Escobar hasn’t brought any struggles at the plate into his play in the field. He has been dependable with his glove as usual, and his 13.4 UZR/150 backs that up. While that’s probably unsustainable, it’s still an excellent sign, and a big part of why the Jays have been continuing to play him every day. Defense is obviously still an organizational priority at that position, and continuing to play Escobar when he struggles to hit shows the value they place on it and allows him to relax and figure out his issues without looking over his shoulder — an issue that we’ve seen with other managers at other positions on the diamond.

Looking at the statistics, we can see that there are some unusual indicators from Escobar’s hitting so far. Fewer walks and less power suggest a player who might be pressing some at the plate, though perhaps it’s a normal monthly variation that we’d see over the course of a season (like, say, Escobar’s September last year). Personally, I’d say it’s still early yet to be very concerned about it. He’s 9-for-20 (.450) in his last five games with a 1.126 OPS, and he has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, so he should return to his norm before long. The Blue Jays’ patient, measured approach with their players helps if one is inconsistent, and in a month or so, we’ll all forget this happened. If Escobar continues to struggle deeper into the season, then perhaps we can start to wonder if and when the much-hyped Adeiny Hechavarria will be ready to go.

What do you think? Should we worry about Yunel Escobar, or is it too early to be hitting the panic button?

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In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve been among those voices before. I’m a huge Travis Snider fan, and have been pulling for his success since he came up and started hitting moon shots off unsuspecting pitchers. The Blue Jays front office doesn’t have the luxury of cheering, however; they need to have a more nuanced approach, and make sure they’re doing right by all the players on the team, and what’s best for their success going forward.

I didn’t initially agree with the decision to keep Thames (how much of that was influenced by my Snider fandom is uncertain, but we’ll ignore that for the purpose of this write-up). However, after some consideration, we can notice how this is not only the best solution for the Blue Jays right now, but going forward, regardless of how Alex Anthopoulos feels about the individual players.

April 10, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Eric Thames (14) hits a single against the Boston Red Sox during the eight inning at the Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Boston 7-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

I think the most important point is that the Blue Jays believe Thames deserves a real chance at starting every day in left field, without having to look over his shoulder. If they had kept both on the team coming out of spring training, it would have been even more of a topic than it is right now. Everyone would have been looking at John Farrell’s lineup card, and second guessing whether or not he made the right call, or if they’re playing enough. And how would it have affected the players? Would they have had to field questions, day after day about whether they wanted to start/play more/liked the other guy? It would have been a big, blinking, red “DISTRACTION” sign that loomed over the locker room.

There are several reasons the Blue Jays believe this. Snider might have been the highly touted first round pick, but not everyone knows that Thames had his own stripes as a prospect, before injuries set in. After being drafted in the 39th round by the New York Yankees in 2007, he returned to Pepperdine for another year. In 53 games (mostly as the designated hitter) he batted .320, with nine doubles, five triples, and 44 RBI. He was considered to be a “borderline first round talent” before tearing a quad muscle, and the Jays snapped him up in the seventh round. He didn’t play at all in 2008, which set back his development, and kept people from noticing just how good he might have been.

Thames’ rise through the minor league system was rapid, and he improved his OPS at each stop, managing .789 and .864 with GCL and Dunedin in 2009, .895 with New Hampshire in 2010, and an eye-popping 1.033 with Las Vegas in 2011 prior to his call-up. Regardless of how you feel about Las Vegas, if the Blue Jays believe Eric Thames is a first-round talent who got hurt, then they need to see what he can do on the major league level. From his tenure with the Blue Jays, we can notice that GM Alex Anthopoulos wants as much information as he can about the players at his disposal, and will give good talent a chance to succeed. We don’t have enough information about Thames at the major league level, and whether he can be successful. We’re close to one seasons’ worth of at bats- would anyone give up on a prospect after that long?

What if you think that Snider will be the better player? If we believe that, does going with Thames make sense? It does, and the reasoning is based on how the organization has erred with Snider previously.

March 16, 2012; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Travis Snider (45) against the Tampa Bay Rays during a spring training game at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Thames was the everyday left fielder through the second half of last year, and played well at times. Not well enough to guarantee his spot, but well enough that, coming into spring training, he should have been the favourite for the job (and was). If the team had kept Snider and sent down Thames, and the positions were reversed from what they are now (with Snider struggling, and Thames tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A), we’d be having the same argument we are now, except flipped. And the organization is placed in the difficult spot of again shuffling Snider between Triple-A and Toronto. Would either player be confident in such an arrangement? What would that do for their development, knowing they’d be shunted back and forth depending on who was playing better at a particular time?

The team going with Snider out of spring training would be a clear endorsement of him as the better player, and put a tremendous amount of pressure on him to succeed right away with the former incumbent  Thames breathing down his neck. Given them team’s history with Snider- shuffling him up and down, playing and not playing- it’s more than understandable that they would want to be absolutely sure that he’s ready before giving him his spot on the team, and do it without any second guessing or reservations.

The argument is easier if you think that Thames will be the better player. The team endorsed him as the favorite for the left fielder’s job out of spring training, emphasized that he’s the starter from his performance last year, with Snider having to earn his way onto the roster. If Snider ends up playing his way onto the team, great. Injuries, ineffectiveness, or trades may open up a roster spot, or maybe the Blue Jays flip the former first rounder for something of value, from a team with an open outfield position. Maybe they trade Adam Lind, and Jose Bautista ends up moving back to the infield. Maybe Colby Rasmus gets injured in a horrific hunting accident. Who knows? The Blue Jays on opening day this year are much different from the team that broke camp last season- a lot changes over the course of a year.

When we step back from our fandom, and look at it rationally, we can see the direction that the Blue Jays took in picking Eric Thames as the Blue Jays starting left fielder out of spring training, and continuing with him now amidst a growing chorus for Snider. Though Thames has struggled some in the early going, the team needs to let he and Snider play it out for a while, and get past the hot/cold starts they’re having to evaluate who ends up being the better fit long term.  The Blue Jays have committed to letting this play out, and let Thames play himself into (or out of) a regular spot. As for Snider, if and when he comes back, the team wants to make sure it’s for good, and not the uncertainty that they’ve subjected him to previously. As we mentioned in the prior paragraph, things change over the course of a year– there’s still a lot of the season left to play out.

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April 13, 2012; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow (23) throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the second inning at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

Though Morrow is entrenched in the Toronto rotation, he’s still somewhat of an enigma. He clearly has a lot of talent, and though he has some experience, he’s lumped in with the Jays’ young pitchers in the “if they perform up to expectations, they’ll be great” category as someone with potential that has yet to be reached. For anyone that’s watched him pitch, it’s easy to see why; his stuff is excellent. Morrow sports a fastball, slider, curve and changeup, and when he’s pitching well, they all move, with his fastball in the mid-to-high 90s.

The overall numbers on the surface, like his ERAs of 4.49 and 4.72 in the last two years, respectively, aren’t necessarily eye-popping, but his 203 strikeouts last year, coupled with his stuff and velocity, cement his status as a power pitcher. His FIP (a measure of all things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible) however, shows a player outperforming his traditional statistical measurements. Morrow’s FIPs of 3.16 and 3.64 in the last two years are much better than his ERA. Between his overpowering stuff, and the contrast in FIP to his ERA, there’s a lot of people who think that Morrow is primed for a breakout year and could become the ace of the Blue Jays’ staff.

Watching his first couple of starts, I saw both sides of the coin. There was Morrow, showing his pitches, working both sides of the plate, allowing but two unearned runs over seven strong innings against Cleveland.  ’Yes,’ I thought as I watched that game, ‘This is what he could be.’ And then, seeing the box score after losing to Baltimore, I sighed. ‘This is what he is,’ I thought. Someone close, but not quite there, not putting it together every game.

But I look at the numbers, and wonder: is this one where the traditional measurements have it right? Is there something that Morrow does that FIP doesn’t measure? The annals of Jays’ history- heck, the history of any baseball team- is littered with pitchers who were loaded with talent, but never reached the ceiling we’d all placed for them while wearing the blue and white. Anyone remember Kelvim Escobar? Chris Carpenter? Al Leiter? Woody Williams?

Luckily for us, Morrow’s case isn’t decided. He’s a supremely talented pitcher who’s still got some learning to do, and the Jays clearly believe that he’s going to turn out great, having extended him beyond the 2014 season, with a team option for 2015 at $10 million- which could be a relative bargain if he plays up to his potential (his contract once again begs the question of how GM Alex Anthopoulos manages to get these guys to agree to club friendly team options, but we’ll crack that mystery later). Given the uncertainty and youth that makes up so much of the Jays’ pitching staff, Morrow becoming a more reliable pitcher would be a more than welcome development. From what I’ve seen, I think this is the year he finds the consistency, where he settles in behind Romero in the rotation. What do you think?

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©Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE 4/7/2012

Deja-vu jokes aside, the visiting Blue Jays again triumphed over the Indians 7-4, in a game where neither team’s offense distinguished itself. Here are a few things your humble writer noticed while watching this contest.

This game featured the first start of the season of soon-to-be-suspended Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who was locating his pitches well early on, and sinking them in the zone — something we saw a lot of in the first game from Justin Masterson, and seems to be a feature of this Cleveland starting staff. Jimenez took a perfect game into the sixth, until Colby Rasmus forced a walk.

Brandon Morrow had an odd line (as he often does) at the end of the game: he’d allowed one hit and two unearned runs to go with three walks and three strikeouts. He, like Jimenez, was moving the ball around, and doing a good job keeping an admittedly weak Indians lineup off balance until exiting after seven innings. He didn’t get flustered when J.P. Arencibia‘s error ended up prolonging an inning early.

It’s early, but I do like how Rasmus is looking at the plate; the numbers aren’t there, but he’s staying patient, and has hit the ball hard a few times. In the same vein of preemptive judgement, I’d be a little concerned about Eric Thames, who doesn’t seem to have progressed now that the games have started. It doesn’t seem like he has an approach at the plate, and that it’s still a bit of an adventure for him in the outfield.

Brett Lawrie‘s pretty good, you guys. In a game where few players distinguished themselves offensively (a nod to Kelly Johnson as well, who did alright), Lawrie went 3-for-5, with a few well hit balls, and still entirely unable to contain his manic energy, much to the delight of anyone who watches him. He had an aggressive fist bump with Jose Bautista after scoring in the 12th, and Bautista was shaking his hand out after. So great.

The in-game analysis seemed sharper than I remember: Pat Tabler made some good points about Jimenez losing velocity, and showed some love to a young Tampa Bay rotation, saying that rookie Matt Moore may be the best of them very soon. Gregg Zaun was off: He seemed to think the Jays were struggling against Jimenez because they were “window shopping” (looking at pitches), and then used Brett Lawrie‘s RBI single to make hit point- when Lawrie waited until 2-1 to take his cut.  Buck Martinez startled me when he talked about Jays bench coach Don Wakamatsu taking notes on Arencibia blocking balls (something he’s done well this year).

Apr 5, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher

The shot of the retro Martinez and Tabler jerseys in the crowd was great. Also on the subject of jerseys, how great is it to have blue jerseys back?

Sergio Santos blew the save, but it was one mistake pitch up that Asdrubal Cabrera took advantage of.  The Blue Jays bullpen as a whole has been very good so far this season, having survived two extra inning games. I bet they were glad for the extra day before the first and second game, and that Morrow went a little deeper than Ricky Romero did in the first game. The Indians’ bullpen, so good last year, has had a few hiccups so far, with Chris Perez blowing the save in the opener, and Tony Sipp‘s hiccup last night leading to the Jays’ win. Though there’s not many bullpens that would take as many innings as these two teams have in the first two games without a few hitches here and there. To me, it illustrates the volatility of relief pitchers, not just from year to year, but even game to game- Alex Anthopoulos’ strategy of building them cheaply appears to be the right move.

Additional non-game related note: Watching on Sportsnet West, they cut from the Jays game in the 12th inning with the Jays leading 5-3 (right after Rajai Davis‘ steal), to go the opening of Ducks/Flames. And here, we have the downside of living in a hockey crazed nation, where they’ll go from an extra-inning baseball game to the first period of the last game of a season for a team well out of the NHL playoff race.

After the first couple of games, we have to be encouraged by what we’ve seen from this Blue Jays team. Despite getting behind to the Indians’ starters, they were able to scratch out wins against a bullpen that was quite good last year. That resilience will help while some of the offensive pieces they’re counting on find their way, and the pitching staff settles down.

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Mar 3, 2012; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

As the majority of you who are Blue Jays fans know by now, Dustin McGowan signed an extension with the Blue Jays earlier this week. There was a collective head-scratch from armchair analysts across the nation, and I’ll count myself among those who weren’t sure what the front office was thinking. It was covered fairly well here, so I won’t add anything extra to that.

One line of thought I pursued after hearing about the extension wasn’t what it meant for Dustin McGowan, but what it meant for rotation hopeful Brett Cecil. It doesn’t change a lot for him this year, but it’s certainly something he should take note of, given his status on the team currently. Though it feels like he’s been around the Blue Jays for some time, he’s still only 25 years old. Having a few years’ history with Toronto, the team still isn’t sure what to make of him. While this is natural for a young pitcher, it’s been hard for fans to see the peak of Brett Cecil. What is he capable of?

Cecil’s been with the Toronto Blue Jays for parts of three years now, with mixed results. His best year was 2010, where he finished with a 15-7 record and a 4.22 ERA in 28 starts. Expectations were higher in 2011, but Cecil struggled to a 4-11 record with a 4.73 ERA. The record was as much a function of luck as anything, though Cecil did allow a higher slugging percentage in 2011, which contributed to the rise in ERA. His best game was a complete game shutout against the Rangers in July 2011, where he allowed four hits and walked two, striking out seven. Very good? Absolutely. Has he shown he can be that dominant regularly? I wouldn’t go that far. Looking at his game log, these performances are few and far between. Some of this is a young pitcher developing, but we haven’t seen too high a ceiling. Cecil had been assured a rotation spot going into 2011, but after that year, it’s understandable that the Jays would want to see what he had.

Early reports out of spring training for the Blue Jays had Cecil as being in “the best shape of his life”. Though we can take that cliche with an appropriately sized grain of salt, it can only be a positive for the young pitcher coming off an up and down season last year with Toronto. The better shape he’s in, the better a chance he’d pitch well, and secure one of the rotation spots for the Blue Jays that are up in the air.

Other reports were less positive: Cecil’s velocity was down, with his fastball somewhere in the 87-89 mph range, which would probably be fine if he were a senior in high school and pondering whether he should go to Maryland, but less ideal when facing major league hitters.

There are several schools of thought to consult here. One is that it’s less about velocity and more about changing speeds, and movement on pitches. This is a solid argument- there are several examples throughout major league history of pitchers who were effective with that approach. The Braves made a living off painting the corners throughout the 90s with pitchers like Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. If someone has a fastball that’s 100 mph, and straight as an arrow, major league hitters WILL hit it.

That said, if you’re given the choice between two equally competent pitchers in terms of stuff/location/command, and one of them is 5 mph faster on average, major league teams will take the guy with the heat. Additionally, if you don’t have that velocity, you need to have better command.

With these in mind, can Cecil be successful with less velocity? Has he shown the control necessary to be more than a league-average pitcher? Thus far in his major league career, his control has been problematic at times, showing a BB rate of 3.1 per nine innings. He’s never been a strikeout pitcher, spotting a low K rate of 6.3/9 over his career. Though he’s had some success this spring (before getting tarred and feathered to the tune of 5 runs over 2 and 2/3 innings last Friday), we know that spring stats aren’t necessarily the best indicator of future performance.

Cecil has several arbitration years remaining (information on Cot’s Contracts was unclear as to his 2012 contract amount, he was pre-arbitration in 2011), whereas McGowan was eligible for free agency at the end of the year, so certainly the Blue Jays braintrust had more urgency to lock up McGowan, who was a pending free agent- if they believed he was a sure thing to produce well in a rotation spot. Do they think that of Cecil? It doesn’t seem like it- and given Cecil’s production so far, it’s hard to blame them.

There’s an irony in McGowan’s foot injury almost assuring Cecil of a spot in the opening day rotation (Hopefully the Jays aren’t moved to keep perpetual junkballer Aaron Laffey in the unfortunate Jo-Jo Reyes/Dana Eveland tradition). With Cecil’s reduced velocity, his inconsistent showing thus far, and a bevy of talented young pitchers knocking on the door, this was already something of a make-or-break year for the Jays’ young left hander. Adding the McGowan extension to the mix makes it even more interesting.

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Catching is an organizational strength for the Blue Jays right now. J.P. Arencibia is about to start his second full season as the starter at the major league level after a solid (though not spectacular) rookie season, Travis d’Arnaud is moving up to Triple-A with a good pedigree on both sides of the ball, and there’s A.J. Jimenez and Carlos Perez, among others, coming up behind them. Plus, Jeff Mathis is gainfully employed by the Blue Jays to back up Arencibia, for reasons that we have yet to determine.

In any case, it’s Arencibia and d’Arnaud that occupy the forefront of any backstop discussion for the Blue Jays. Arencibia is entrenched as the everyday catcher, and it’s assumed that d’Arnaud will promptly mash his way through Las Vegas and be knocking on the door at the Rogers Centre before too long, maybe even during this season. There’s already been some debate on the subject amongst Blue Jays fans: What should the Blue Jays do with these two talented young catchers?

As the spring is the time for idle speculation, let us present the options and, briefly, the case for each of them. I’ll start by putting a positive spin on it, and then look at it more realistically. I may or may not believe any of these things, but they’re all worth considering.

March 6, 2012; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher

1) Keep Arencibia

The Spin: Arencibia had a solid rookie season offensively with the Blue Jays. 23 HRs and 78 RBIs are nice stats from a catcher without a lot of experience at the major league level. A hand injury in June hampered his offensive output, and steadily decreasing offensive stats was an aftereffect of that injury. possibly showing some fatigue down the stretch as a young player getting used to the major-league grind. Also, Arencibia has a history of improving the second year at a level, which he did during his minor league career. His defense and handling of the pitching staff can only improve as well.

The Slam: The counting stats obscure a ghastly .282 on-base percentage. And though Arencibia admitted he should probably have taken some time off with the injuries, getting dinged up is a fact of life as a catcher. The major leagues are much more difficult than the minors, and  just because he improved drastically there doesn’t mean he will improve at a higher level.

March 2, 2012; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Travis d

2) Keep d’Arnaud

The Spin: d’Arnaud is clearly the more talented of the two.  He had a monstrous split of .311/.371/.542 last year in Double-A New Hampshire last year. He was also named MVP of the Eastern League with the Fisher Cats, and voted the best defensive catcher as well (an oddity, given that Nichols’ Law of Catcher Defense is alive and well). Given his history, he’s no more than a year away from being ready for a full-time job.

The Slam: He’s a prospect, and hasn’t proven anything at the major league level. The Blue Jays just broke in a rookie catcher last year, do they want to have to have the pitching staff break in another one so quickly? If the Blue Jays are ready to contend in 2013, will they want to make allowances for d’Arnaud’s adjustment to the bigs?

3) Keep both

The Spin: If d’Arnaud proves to be an asset at the major league level, why can’t we have both? They have the potential to be good offensive catchers. We could rotate them between catcher and first base/DH to keep them fresh. That way, neither get too tired, and we’re insulated from injury if one of them does go down.

The Slam: This is the kind of thing that works way better in theory than practice; in recent years, only Texas has really done this well (with Mike Napoli last year). That’s even more of a load for Toronto’s young catchers to either learn the first base position, or risk their catching skills not being sharp by playing another position or DHing so often. While teams start the year with a platoon, often, the hot hand ends up being played more, and in this case that would decrease the value of one of the two. Additionally, the offensive standards for first base and DH are much higher than catcher- if you think Adam Lind struggled, think of how Arencibia’s bat would play at that position. Yikes.

Thankfully, this is something the Blue Jays don’t need to decide today. We might see d’Arnaud if Arencibia gets injured (because otherwise, we’ll see Mathis, and no one with a functioning brain cell wants to see too much of THAT), so it’ll be what these two accomplish this year that determine the brain trust’s decision going forward. Given Anthopoulos’ love of trades, it’s more than likely he’ll turn one of them into another asset if he believes they’re both major-league capable, given the belief that the Blue Jays may contend in 2013.

I’ll throw it out there for comments, though. What do you all think? Is Arencibia the man going forward? Or will d’Arnaud unseat him?

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The Blue Jays are in an aggravating position when we think about it. They’re a team with a lot of promise in a tough division, perpetually beating their heads against a glass ceiling with two of the most successful teams in baseball with the Yankees and Red Sox and one of the smartest with the Rays. It’s easy as a Jays fan to succumb to the frustration of having to go up against those teams, but when we look past the surface at the good work that the team has accomplished under Alex Anthopoulos’ regime, we have reason to stay positive.

Some call him the 'Silent Assassin'. Photo: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

It was a surprisingly tumultuous off-season for the Blue Jays, from a fan perspective. Between Twitter riots over the Jays not actually getting Yu Darvish, the surprising discontent at the State of the Franchise meeting, and the absurdity of jaysfanswantfielder.com, there appeared to be some pent-up frustration from the fan base. With a step back and a deep breath, we can look at the Blue Jays and see more reasons for hope than despair. Yes, this was a fourth place team in the AL East. But it was a fourth place team in a very tough division, that improved itself over the course of the season. In the off-season, the improvements have been more subtle: the bullpen is better, the team is planning on full years with upgrades at a few positions, and some of the talented youth that the farm system has is starting to show up at the Major League level.

Some of the angst is understandable. The Blue Jays haven’t made the playoffs in almost twenty years, and longtime fans might be feeling the frustration and futility of trying to make the playoffs in a division with no fewer than three excellent teams in the division. We saw this manifested at the State of the Franchise meeting: fans declaring their desire for a winning product NOW, occasionally ignoring obvious positives in the building process that the team has embraced. Would some big name free agents have been an improvement? Sure. Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols would have been obvious fits, given the deserved skepticism about Adam Lind‘s ability to play full time. The aforementioned Yu Darvish would have looked nice in the rotation, even with the two-inning spring training sample size we have on him so far.

There are analysts out there who refer to the Jays as a sleeping giant, and it’s easy to see why. Rogers Communications is one of the richest owners in any sport, and Toronto is a large city. The perception of Toronto as a small market is fueled by low attendance, and the fact that they’re in Canada, a country that would play hockey all 12 months of the year if the scheduling allowed it. The corporate ownership, like any frugal businessman, is waiting for the team to show signs of success- and the fans to follow said success- before increasing the investment in the team. Whether that’s right or wrong has been the subject of some debate amongst the fan base (and a source of more frustration).

With Anthopoulos, so much is about the process, building something sustainable and successful. If he adds those big pieces, he wants to make sure they can make them worthwhile, and that they don’t hamstring their ability to do something more important down the line. Though there’s a lot for the Jays to look forward to, it’s hard to believe that this is the year they’ll break through, even with the additional wild card. The playoff-tested Yankees and perpetually-pesky Rays improved from last year, and the Red Sox only needed a historic collapse to miss the postseason.

Do the big names put the Jays over the top now? Maybe, with a few breaks. Anthopoulos doesn’t want maybe. He wants yes. And so should we.

Regardless of how we feel about the Jays’ off-season moves, we have to be optimistic about where they’re headed with Alex Anthopoulos as GM. He traded Vernon Wells for actual players, and extended Jose Bautista before the price skyrocketed. He’s replenished a farm system that had grown barren under the previous GM. He’s shown an eye for value, good drafting instincts, a willingness to take calculated risks, and a knack for unearthing talent in trades.

I’ve often said that while everyone else plays checkers, Anthopoulos is playing chess; looking not just at the board as it is, but several moves ahead. Given what he’s done, and the promise there is in the current roster, we shouldn’t get discouraged over a seemingly quiet off-season — we should remember the positives and continue to cheer for the present while being hopeful for the future.

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