July 21, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher

The Jays couldn’t muster anything against he A’s. Travis Snider drove close to getting over the wall, but aside from that, the bats were docile in the latest loss to the red hot Oakland squad. There isn’t much to talk about on the Jays front, aside from saying Ricky Romero had nightmares last night and needs to find himself ASAP. What everyone really wants to know is just how long will J.P. Arencibia be out of action after taking a ricochet off the hand and fracturing it.

The current word is “at least 6 weeks”, which in my mind means just short of the rest of the regular season. We certainly hope that he makes a full recovery and gets back to action as soon as possible, but we can’t help but ask who’s going to take over behind the plate over that span?

Jeff Mathis is the first name that will likely pop out of people’s mouths. Well, he certainly fits the bill as a dependable and defensive specialist catcher, but the most games Jeff has caught in the majors in one season was 94 in 2008. He currently sits at 27 games caught in 2012 and is going to need some help behind the plate, no doubt about it.

Yan Gomes is the next obvious choice, since he has worked with most of the pitchers currently up with the Jays. However, he has only caught 4.1 innings while up with the Jays this season while also filing in at 1B, 3B, and in LF. He’ll need to sharpen up to take on the backup role, if that’s the current plan, but at least he has 33 games caught while in Las Vegas and will likely be good-to-go for the amount of playing time he’ll get behind the plate. One note for Gomes is that he only caught 22% of base stealers this season in AAA.  (more…)

Joining me in a Q&A to help kick off the three-game set is Derek Stykalo, editor of FanSided’s great Red Sox site BoSox Injection, and head on over there to if you’d like to see my answers to his questions as well.

Jared Macdonald: After some expected regression from 2010 in an injury-plagued 2011 campaign, what exactly has happened to Clay Buchholz now in 2012?

Derek Stykalo: The exact reason on why Buchholz is struggling hasn’t been confirmed by the club, at least they haven’t released it.  But it’s safe to say it comes down to his back that he injured last year.  While he has been better in three of his last four starts there is still concern over the inconsistency and inability to avoid multiple walks and allowing the big inning.  Early on he wasn’t getting his fastball down in the zone and was being punished for it, a result of his mechanics in which he wasn’t getting low enough on his delivery.  Speculation was that he was either still feeling the effects of that nagging back injury or he was timid to fully let out in fear of re-injuring his back.  The rough outings compounded and now it appears his confidence has been shaken, although he is showing signs of rounding into the form that we all expect to see from Buchholz as evidenced by his 6 K’s and 1 walk over 7.0 innings last Sunday against Tampa Bay.

JM: Will Middlebrooks has been a feel-good story for the Sox so far this season, hitting .316 with a .922 OPS in the first 24 games of his career. What would you like to see happen with him when other players finally return from their injuries?

DS: This kid plays the game the right way; a hardnosed, gritty and full out hustle on every play and he’s fun to watch on top of that.  He is quickly becoming a fan favorite thanks to his 6 home runs, something he’s done on a regular basis since he first came up to the big club and two more than both Youkilis and Adrian Gonzalez.  Keeping Middlebrooks has been the center of debate recently given the return of Kevin Youkilis to third base and everyone knows Middlebrooks is the future third baseman, making Youkilis expendable.  I would like to see Youkilis dealt to allow Middlebrooks to show he can handle the job on a full time basis, but moving Youkilis will prove to be more difficult than one thinks.  In the mean time, a platoon at third base between the two players along with shifting Gonzalez to right field is an option, albeit not an ideal one.  The problem with dealing Youk is proving he can stay healthy to play the infield and in order to do that he needs playing time.  The other challenge is trying to extract a decent return for Youk given the other GM’s in the game know the Red Sox are trying to move him and won’t necessarily panic to send a top tier player back in return.

JM: Middlebrooks’ fine play, along with the return of Kevin Youkilis, led to three-time Gold Glove first baseman Adrian Gonzalez logging starts in right field. Where did this come from, and do you think this will continue providing the injuries continue?

DS: Gonzalez will continue to log starts in right as long as both Youkilis and Middlebrooks are on the roster.  The club won’t send Middlebrooks down to triple-A and as I said above, dealing Youkilis will be a challenge that will take some time to sort through.  As long as both Youk and Middlebrooks platoon at third base and sporadically move Gonzo to right so Youk can play first, we will see the $154 million dollar first baseman in the outfield.  Personally it terrifies me to run the risk of injury on Gonzo, but given the offense the kid has given, it’s hard not to pencil him into the lineup.  The real challenge will be when the regular outfielders start getting healthy, ie: Jacoby Ellsbury, Darnell McDonald and Carl Crawford.  Not only will there be a plethora of regulars who only play the outfield, trying to juggle Gonzo in right will only complicate matters, making a Youkilis trade almost a necessity.

JM: After hitting a career-low .255 with a .694 OPS last season, Carl Crawford is still weeks away from making his 2012 debut. Are fans getting frustrated with Crawford’s $142 million tenure so far with the Red Sox?

DS: Fans are beyond frustrated with Crawford and are ready to write him off for the year in 2012.  Most fans were willing to give him another year to prove 2011 was an adjustment period that took way to long, but after multiple injuries and now the elbow in which Tommy John Surgery hasn’t been completely ruled out, the natives are getting restless.  I’ve ready in multiple mainstream media coverage that perhaps the Dodgers would take on Crawford given their new ownership and the boatload of money they have.  I think it would be easier to get Brett Lawrie to not show emotion during a game than it will be to move Crawford.  In short, we’re stuck with him and a July return is questionable.  He’s just now hitting off the tee and has yet to begin throwing, something that could start in a week to ten days.  His hour glass is quickly running out of sand with Red Sox Nation before he becomes the latest town villan and quite possibly the worst contract in baseball history.

JM: Daniel Bard‘s transition to being a starter hasn’t exactly gone as planned. Could he be the odd man out instead of Felix Doubront and return to the bullpen when Dice-K comes back?

DS: If it comes down to Bard or Doubront, it’s hands down going to be Bard who would go the bullpen.  Felix Doubront has been everything the Red Sox have needed out of a number four starter and although he has yet to go deep in any of his 10 starts, the numbers are impressive; 5-2, 3.86 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 2.42 K/BB ratio through 56.0 innings.  He’s been the one consistent starter since Opening Day, something Bard is struggling with greatly.

Bard has lost an alarming amount of velocity on his fastball, dropping from an average last year of 98.4mph to 93.7mph this year.  A decrease was expected with the move to the rotation, but he can’t reach back and find that high 90’s heat when he needs to put guys away and this is concerning to the club.  His control has been a struggle all year reinforced by his 0.97 SO/BB ratio.  His last 28.2 innings he has walked 19 batters and struck out just 12.  Something is up with him and a move to the bullpen with Dice-K returns may be the best remedy for him.  Bard wants to start but he may need to put his ego aside and do what’s best for the team which is give up his roster spot and try and rediscover his blazing fastball from the bullpen.

- JM

Jared Macdonald: Matt Moore came into the season with such high expectations, ranked as the second-best prospect in the game, but he has struggled out of the gate so far in 2012. The home runs and walk rate are what stand out to me, but what’s been the main reason for his performance so far this season?

Robbie Knopf: One word: command. This isn’t a Phil Hughes or Brett Cecil situation here. Moore has just been unable to find his release point and his command has suffered. But has stuck has remained electric. His fastball stays in the mid-90′s except for when he purposely takes something off of it (and even then it’s usually 93 MPH) and his change and curve have mostly moved as dynamically as normal, but he just has not been able to command his pitches. Luckily for the Rays, Moore looked to figure something out in the 4th inning of his last start, tossing 3 perfect innings to end his outing. If he has truly found his release point, the Blue Jays are going to be miserable on Tuesday night. His stuff is just that electric. The big thing holding him back has been his command and control, but if he has found his release point he should be fine. Right now Rays fans are nervously optimistic about Moore, but all the ability is certainly still there and maybe he has turned a corner.

JM: After an impressive first month back with the Rays, Carlos Pena has struggled over the last few weeks. How was the fan reaction to him returning to Tampa Bay, and what’s been so different in May for him than in April?

RK: One of the coolest moments in the short history of the Rays was Pena’s grand slam of CC Sabathia in this first plate appearance in his return to the Rays on Opening Day. Throughout April, we thought that maybe Pena was exhilarated in his return to Tampa Bay and had become if not a vintage 2007-2008 Pena, something of the sort. However, we’re realizing that Pena is what he is. He strikes out, he struggles against lefties. He hits for power, but not nearly as much as he used to. Pena is in a slump right now but the big thing is that he looks lost versus lefties.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they start moving Sean Rodriguez and others to first base occasionally to give Pena some days off against tough lefties. One thing he should maybe do a little more is showcase his bunting ability when the shift is played against him and hopefully a few bunt hits will get him going. Overall, Pena needs some time to escape this slump. But at the end of the day he’s probably a .220-.230 hitter with a .350 OBP and 30 homers. The Rays will take that. Expectations following April, though, were much overblown.

JM: Wade Davis‘ numbers look good out of the pen this year, has he found his niche as a reliever?

RK: Davis has not exactly looked as dominant as his ERA (and FIP) and has allowed a whole bunch of inherited runners to score that make his performance seem more shiny than it truly is. That being said, maybe Davis could be an effective reliever moving forward. We have seen an uptick in velocity on his fastball from 92-93 to 94 MPH and his offspeed pitches (curve, slider, changeup) have been more effective. You see moments where Davis looks like the closer that Baseball America once projected him to be. I don’t think Davis is comfortable relieving yet, and I think that that’s one reason that he hasn’t always been sharp. But he has excellent stuff for a reliever and does have a late-inning arsenal if the Rays keep him in the bullpen. Whether that actually materializes if the Rays keep him in the ‘pen is anybody’s guess, but he does have the ability to be an effective reliever moving forward. We’ll never know how he would be pitching if he was starting right now. But his stuff has looked unhittable at times in a relief role and he may just have found his long-term role.

JM: What did you think of the Jose Molina signing at first, and what are your thoughts on him so far this season?

RK: The Jose Molina signing was an interesting move for the Rays from the start because he has never been a starting catcher except on an injury-riddled Yankee team and although he hit well in a small sample as a member of the Jays in 2011, his hitting ability isn’t exactly top-notch. But we know about his ability to work with pitchers and his great arm and he was a good fit to work with the Rays’ young staff. We also have heard volumes about his ability to frame pitches, although there was also reason for concern as Molina’s defense has deteriorated with age. The Molina signing was vintage Rays deal: it was a move that would have baffled any other fanbase (signing Molina as a starting catcher) but we get it because of the Rays’ emphasis on pitching and defense. I didn’t love it, but especially considering the Rays’ current organizational hole at catcher, he was a good fit as stopgap for this team. Molina has been right in line with expectations. It’s frustrating to watch him swing weakly about as often as any non-pitcher in the major leagues, especially with our lineup riddled with injuries. It’s frustrating to see him allow more wild pitches and passed balls because he just can’t move as well as he used to behind the plate. But I have to appreciate his ability to work with the staff and his ability to frame pitches. Is Molina the deal catcher for the Rays? Absolutely no chance. But he does the little things that the Rays and their fanbase appreciate, and I’ll take him for now. I will say that the Rays better come up with a real starting catcher for next season.

JM: How did Rays fans generally react to the Fernando Rodney/Brett Lawrie/Bill MIller incident in Toronto?

RK: Our first collective thought was “what the heck just happened?” Our second thought was Jose Molina’s framing ability. Was that pitch and the pitch before both balls? Most people, even Rays fans, would agree that the answer to that is yes. But Molina framed them perfectly as strikes and got the calls. Jose Molina always seems to be the catcher in cases like this and his framing ability is the reason why. (We saw that also happen with Mike Aviles- although he didn’t throw his helmet- when the Red Sox came to the Trop.) We all laughed at what transpired with Lawrie (maybe the Jays should make the surface behind home plate a little softer) and got to appreciate just how incredible Jose Molina is at his art of framing.

-JM

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Joining me for the series preview is Nathaniel Gilmore, Site Writer over at FanSided’s great Twins site Puckett’s Pond. He will be handling everything from a Twins perspective in the preview after the jump, including a few questions in terms of what to expect from the team. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Joining me for the series preview is Ben Ice, Lead Writer on FanSided’s Rays site Rays Colored Glasses, and he’ll be adding everything on the Rays after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Joining me for the series preview is Ben Ice, Lead Writer on FanSided’s Rays site Rays Colored Glasses, and he’ll be adding everything on the Rays after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

(more…)

Joining me for the series preview is Andrew Corselli, Lead Writer on FanSided’s great Yankees site Yanks Go Yard, and he’ll be adding everything on the Yankees after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Joining me for the series preview is Derek Stykalo, Staff Writer on FanSided’s great Red Sox site BoSox Injection and he’ll be adding everything on the Red Sox after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Joining me for the series preview is Harrison Crow, Lead Writer of FanSided’s great Mariners site Sodo Mojo and he’ll be adding everything on the Mariners after the jump. Here’s everything you need to know:

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