OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Nice to Meet Yu: A whirling Darvish hits Toronto [2012 Toronto Blue Jays]

Daletiel · 10-22-2012, 11:22 PM

March 27, 2012
Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter
Baseball World Shocked by Resignation of Toronto GM Anthopoulos

After bringing a boatload of excitement to Toronto with the signing of Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish a few months ago, the baseball world was shocked today by the sudden resignation of Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Reading from a prepared statement, Anthopoulos was as characteristically vague about his reasons for leaving as he typically was in his dealings with the media and other major league executives. "This day isn't about my resignation, it's about leaving the Toronto Blue Jays organization in the best possible position moving forward. My reasons for leaving are wholly personal and won't be disclosed to the public," Anthopoulos said, before introducing his successor, seated to his right. "The future of Blue Jays baseball is in good hands with my colleague and the new general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Winston Neumayer."

What followed was arguably the standard in new GM introductory press conferences, replete with glowing praise for his predecessor, confidence in the team's prospects and a firm stated plan. The only difference being that such press conferences don't generally come barely a week before the season opener, and Neumayer was quick to acknowledge this fact. "The timing certainly isn't the greatest, but it couldn't be helped. We want to thank Alex for all the hard work he put into the organization. He's put the building blocks in place that are putting us well on the road to consistent contention."

When asked if he could handle the job, Neumayer was blunt, "That's why they hired me. If I wasn't qualified I wouldn't be standing here."

Time will tell how the Blue Jays will do with Neumayer at the helm, but for now it's hard to feel anything but some sense of confusion until the reasons for Anthopoulos leaving are eventually revealed.

March 28, 2012
Bradley J. Michaels, MLB Insider
2012 AL East Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

2011 Record/Finish: 81-81, 4th Place in AL East

Manager: John Farrell (2nd season; 81-81)

Arrivals: RHP Yu Darvish (Free Agency), RHP Sergio Santos (Trade, CHW), RHP Francisco Cordero (Free Agency), RHP Jason Frasor (Trade, CHW), LHP Darren Oliver (Free Agency), IF Omar Vizquel (Free Agency), OF Ben Francisco (Trade, PHI), CA Jeff Mathis (Trade, LAA)

Departures: RHP Jon Rauch (Free Agency), CA Jose Molina (Free Agency), RHP Frank Francisco (Free Agency), OF Dewayne Wise (Free Agency), RHP Nestor Molina (Trade, CHW)

Projected Rotation:LHP Ricky Romero, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Henderson Alvarez, RHP Kyle Drabek

Bullpen: RHP Sergio Santos, RHP Francisco Cordero, RHP Jason Frasor, LHP Darren Oliver, RHP Casey Janssen, RHP Carlos Villanueva

Regulars: SS Yunel Escobar, 3B Brett Lawrie, RF Jose Bautista, 1B Adam Lind, DH/1B Edwin Encarnacion, CF Colby Rasmus, CA J.P. Arencibia, 2B Kelly Johnson

Positional Battles: Left Field (Travis Snider, Ben Francisco)

Role players: CA Jeff Mathis, IF Mike McCoy, IF Omar Vizquel, OF Rajai Davis

Rundown: Prior to his sudden resignation on Tuesday, Alex Anthopoulos quietly rebuilt the farm system in Toronto and changed the atmosphere since his hiring as General Manager in 2009. The club is now left in the hands of newcomer Winston Neumayer, who has been toiling in a number of front-office jobs in Toronto but for all intents and purposes is an unknown quantity. Whether the appointing of a rookie GM to take over a team with lofty expectations and aiming for their first whiff of playoff baseball in more than a decade remains to be seen.

The bullpen has been dramatically remade since the end of 2011—when they led the AL in blown saves–with the acquisitions of emerging closer Sergio Santos, veteran Francisco Cordero and the return of past bullpen anchor Jason Frasor. Offensively, the Jays finished 6th in runs scored and 10th in slugging percentage in 2011, and the prospect of further development from young starters Brett Lawrie, J.P. Arencibia and Colby Rasmus looks to keep them at that same level. The big question going into the season is whether one of Adam Lind or Edwin Encarnacion, who have ranged from unimpressive to staggeringly disappointing over the last two years, can provide some measure of protection for 2-time home run leader Jose Bautista.

For the Jays to truly contend, however, one of Travis Snider, Ben Francisco or Eric Thames (who starts the year in AAA after Travis Snider's phenomenal showing in Spring Training) will have to take the reins in left field and run with it to provide at least league average production from the other corner. The top of their rotation looks to be solid, with newcomer Yu Darvish slotting in at #2 behind incumbent ace Ricky Romero, taking a bit of the pressure off of Brandon Morrow to continue his progress into the inning-eating strikeout machine the Blue Jays envisioned when they acquired him from Seattle. Otherwise, they'll be faced with another middling season at the .500 mark or lower, perpetually stuck in fourth place in the AL East.

Breakout Candidate: Sergio Santos could become one of the game's dominant closers.

Rookies to Watch: CA Travis d'Arnaud, OF Anthony Gose, SS Adeiny Hechavarria

Predicted Record/Finish: 72-90, 4th Place in AL East

April 1, 2012
Joan C. Ramirez, Phillies Beat Reporter
Victorino Signs For 6 Years

April 4, 2012
Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter
Blue Jays Add Pieces, Land Oswalt and Kendall

Team insiders were tight-lipped prior to today's deal that brought 34-year-old starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to Toronto for $8M in 2012 with a $10M team option for 2013. Oswalt is considered one of the league's A-list players and certainly will enhance any chances the Blue Jays have to win a playoff spot this year.

"There's been a lot of talk about tumult in Toronto since Mr. Neumayer came on the job, but the bottom line for me was looking at this roster and the commitment the front office has to contending for the playoffs, it was an easy decision to commit to being a part of the Blue Jays this year," Oswalt said. "I'm prepared to be here for two years, and fully expect us to be playoff-bound both years. We'll see how the year goes."

"Roy gives us a 5-man rotation that I feel stacks up favourably against any rotation in the league," Jays GM Winston Neumayer said when asked by reporters how the signing of Oswalt improved his team. "With 5 starters who we feel have the stuff to go deep into games on a regular basis, how can I not be thrilled?"

Meanwhile, the addition of 37-year-old Jason Kendall on a $1M deal for 2012 looks to be a low-risk signing for Neumayer to shore up the lineup against lefties and provide some additional catching depth at the major league level, limiting the danger of rushing top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to the big leagues before he's ready.

In order to free up spots on the 25-man roster, Toronto sent Kyle Drabek down to AAA Las Vegas, where he figures to anchor their rotation and start knocking on the door at some point during the season, while waiving 25-year-old starter Joel Carreno and designating him for assignment. If he clears waivers he figures to slot into the rotation in Las Vegas as well.

April 5, 2012
Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter
Romero Gets Opening Day Start, Confident of Team's Prospects

For the second consecutive year left-hander Ricky Romero will take the mound for opening day as Toronto visits the Cleveland Indians. Coming off a 15-11 season in 2011 with a 2.92 ERA, excitement was evident in the 27-year-old's voice about the game. "I'm just excited to get out there and start winning ball games," he said. "We've got a fun, exciting young group here and we're going to keep the teams ahead of us in the standings looking over their shoulders all year."

When asked about the additions of recent acquisition of Roy Oswalt, Romero spoke of the level of confidence a strong rotation would give the positional players during the long grind of the MLB season. "I started watching Roy work out when I heard the rumors of us signing him, and he's still got he stuff to be a #1 guy on a lot of teams. Having that veteran presence is going to help us out in spades," he said. "I've been working on my Japanese a bit to try and understand Yu [Darvish] a bit more, but it's honestly not going very well. Luckily, the way he pitches says a lot more than my attempts at speaking his language does."

April 5, 2012
Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter
Question Marks Abound as Blue Jays Enter Season of Promise

As we enter the 2012 MLB season the Toronto Blue Jays probably have more uncertainty than a lot of the clubs out there. If the Jays are to compete for the playoffs in 2012, there are three things they need answers to right away:

1) Left Field. One way or another, the situation in left field has to be resolved. Whether the answer is perpetually rubber-banded Travis Snider (who enters the season as the everyday left fielder), Eric Thames (who was outplayed by Snider in Spring Training and will start the year in AAA Las Vegas) or some combination of veterans Rajai Davis and Ben Francisco, the Blue Jays need the revolving door in the corner of their outfield settled. And if none of those options work, Winston Neumayer needs to have the resolve to go out and plug that hole, even if it means upsetting a particularly vocal part of Toronto's fanbase who have backed Snider for years.

2) Brett Lawrie. The youngster put up scorching numbers in 2011 after being called up, with a slash line of .293/.373/.580 in 43 games. Expectations are high that he'll put up those kind of numbers over a full season and keep incumbent home run champ Jose Bautista in right field where he's most comfortable, but it's easy to forget that he's only 22 and may have some maturing to do.

3) Pitching. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen have been totally remade in the offseason, and with such a high level of turnover comes the potential for the group not to mesh. From an objective standpoint, Toronto's pitching corps is a definite upgrade over the 2011 model with the additions of Yu Darvish, Roy Oswalt, lefty-specialist Darren Oliver and closer Sergio Santos. The question is, can they deliver?

10-22-2012, 11:22 PM	#3
Daletiel Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 80	March 27-April 5, 2012 March 27, 2012 Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter Baseball World Shocked by Resignation of Toronto GM Anthopoulos After bringing a boatload of excitement to Toronto with the signing of Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish a few months ago, the baseball world was shocked today by the sudden resignation of Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Reading from a prepared statement, Anthopoulos was as characteristically vague about his reasons for leaving as he typically was in his dealings with the media and other major league executives. "This day isn't about my resignation, it's about leaving the Toronto Blue Jays organization in the best possible position moving forward. My reasons for leaving are wholly personal and won't be disclosed to the public," Anthopoulos said, before introducing his successor, seated to his right. "The future of Blue Jays baseball is in good hands with my colleague and the new general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Winston Neumayer." What followed was arguably the standard in new GM introductory press conferences, replete with glowing praise for his predecessor, confidence in the team's prospects and a firm stated plan. The only difference being that such press conferences don't generally come barely a week before the season opener, and Neumayer was quick to acknowledge this fact. "The timing certainly isn't the greatest, but it couldn't be helped. We want to thank Alex for all the hard work he put into the organization. He's put the building blocks in place that are putting us well on the road to consistent contention." When asked if he could handle the job, Neumayer was blunt, "That's why they hired me. If I wasn't qualified I wouldn't be standing here." Time will tell how the Blue Jays will do with Neumayer at the helm, but for now it's hard to feel anything but some sense of confusion until the reasons for Anthopoulos leaving are eventually revealed. March 28, 2012 Bradley J. Michaels, MLB Insider 2012 AL East Preview: Toronto Blue Jays 2011 Record/Finish: 81-81, 4th Place in AL East Manager: John Farrell (2nd season; 81-81) Arrivals: RHP Yu Darvish (Free Agency), RHP Sergio Santos (Trade, CHW), RHP Francisco Cordero (Free Agency), RHP Jason Frasor (Trade, CHW), LHP Darren Oliver (Free Agency), IF Omar Vizquel (Free Agency), OF Ben Francisco (Trade, PHI), CA Jeff Mathis (Trade, LAA) Departures: RHP Jon Rauch (Free Agency), CA Jose Molina (Free Agency), RHP Frank Francisco (Free Agency), OF Dewayne Wise (Free Agency), RHP Nestor Molina (Trade, CHW) Projected Rotation:LHP Ricky Romero, RHP Yu Darvish, RHP Brandon Morrow, RHP Henderson Alvarez, RHP Kyle Drabek Bullpen: RHP Sergio Santos, RHP Francisco Cordero, RHP Jason Frasor, LHP Darren Oliver, RHP Casey Janssen, RHP Carlos Villanueva Regulars: SS Yunel Escobar, 3B Brett Lawrie, RF Jose Bautista, 1B Adam Lind, DH/1B Edwin Encarnacion, CF Colby Rasmus, CA J.P. Arencibia, 2B Kelly Johnson Positional Battles: Left Field (Travis Snider, Ben Francisco) Role players: CA Jeff Mathis, IF Mike McCoy, IF Omar Vizquel, OF Rajai Davis Rundown: Prior to his sudden resignation on Tuesday, Alex Anthopoulos quietly rebuilt the farm system in Toronto and changed the atmosphere since his hiring as General Manager in 2009. The club is now left in the hands of newcomer Winston Neumayer, who has been toiling in a number of front-office jobs in Toronto but for all intents and purposes is an unknown quantity. Whether the appointing of a rookie GM to take over a team with lofty expectations and aiming for their first whiff of playoff baseball in more than a decade remains to be seen. The bullpen has been dramatically remade since the end of 2011—when they led the AL in blown saves–with the acquisitions of emerging closer Sergio Santos, veteran Francisco Cordero and the return of past bullpen anchor Jason Frasor. Offensively, the Jays finished 6th in runs scored and 10th in slugging percentage in 2011, and the prospect of further development from young starters Brett Lawrie, J.P. Arencibia and Colby Rasmus looks to keep them at that same level. The big question going into the season is whether one of Adam Lind or Edwin Encarnacion, who have ranged from unimpressive to staggeringly disappointing over the last two years, can provide some measure of protection for 2-time home run leader Jose Bautista. For the Jays to truly contend, however, one of Travis Snider, Ben Francisco or Eric Thames (who starts the year in AAA after Travis Snider's phenomenal showing in Spring Training) will have to take the reins in left field and run with it to provide at least league average production from the other corner. The top of their rotation looks to be solid, with newcomer Yu Darvish slotting in at #2 behind incumbent ace Ricky Romero, taking a bit of the pressure off of Brandon Morrow to continue his progress into the inning-eating strikeout machine the Blue Jays envisioned when they acquired him from Seattle. Otherwise, they'll be faced with another middling season at the .500 mark or lower, perpetually stuck in fourth place in the AL East. Breakout Candidate: Sergio Santos could become one of the game's dominant closers. Rookies to Watch: CA Travis d'Arnaud, OF Anthony Gose, SS Adeiny Hechavarria Predicted Record/Finish: 72-90, 4th Place in AL East April 1, 2012 Joan C. Ramirez, Phillies Beat Reporter Victorino Signs For 6 Years April 4, 2012 Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter Blue Jays Add Pieces, Land Oswalt and Kendall Team insiders were tight-lipped prior to today's deal that brought 34-year-old starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to Toronto for $8M in 2012 with a $10M team option for 2013. Oswalt is considered one of the league's A-list players and certainly will enhance any chances the Blue Jays have to win a playoff spot this year. "There's been a lot of talk about tumult in Toronto since Mr. Neumayer came on the job, but the bottom line for me was looking at this roster and the commitment the front office has to contending for the playoffs, it was an easy decision to commit to being a part of the Blue Jays this year," Oswalt said. "I'm prepared to be here for two years, and fully expect us to be playoff-bound both years. We'll see how the year goes." "Roy gives us a 5-man rotation that I feel stacks up favourably against any rotation in the league," Jays GM Winston Neumayer said when asked by reporters how the signing of Oswalt improved his team. "With 5 starters who we feel have the stuff to go deep into games on a regular basis, how can I not be thrilled?" Meanwhile, the addition of 37-year-old Jason Kendall on a $1M deal for 2012 looks to be a low-risk signing for Neumayer to shore up the lineup against lefties and provide some additional catching depth at the major league level, limiting the danger of rushing top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to the big leagues before he's ready. In order to free up spots on the 25-man roster, Toronto sent Kyle Drabek down to AAA Las Vegas, where he figures to anchor their rotation and start knocking on the door at some point during the season, while waiving 25-year-old starter Joel Carreno and designating him for assignment. If he clears waivers he figures to slot into the rotation in Las Vegas as well. April 5, 2012 Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter Romero Gets Opening Day Start, Confident of Team's Prospects For the second consecutive year left-hander Ricky Romero will take the mound for opening day as Toronto visits the Cleveland Indians. Coming off a 15-11 season in 2011 with a 2.92 ERA, excitement was evident in the 27-year-old's voice about the game. "I'm just excited to get out there and start winning ball games," he said. "We've got a fun, exciting young group here and we're going to keep the teams ahead of us in the standings looking over their shoulders all year." When asked about the additions of recent acquisition of Roy Oswalt, Romero spoke of the level of confidence a strong rotation would give the positional players during the long grind of the MLB season. "I started watching Roy work out when I heard the rumors of us signing him, and he's still got he stuff to be a #1 guy on a lot of teams. Having that veteran presence is going to help us out in spades," he said. "I've been working on my Japanese a bit to try and understand Yu [Darvish] a bit more, but it's honestly not going very well. Luckily, the way he pitches says a lot more than my attempts at speaking his language does." April 5, 2012 Jan Hayes, Blue Jays Beat Reporter Question Marks Abound as Blue Jays Enter Season of Promise As we enter the 2012 MLB season the Toronto Blue Jays probably have more uncertainty than a lot of the clubs out there. If the Jays are to compete for the playoffs in 2012, there are three things they need answers to right away: 1) Left Field. One way or another, the situation in left field has to be resolved. Whether the answer is perpetually rubber-banded Travis Snider (who enters the season as the everyday left fielder), Eric Thames (who was outplayed by Snider in Spring Training and will start the year in AAA Las Vegas) or some combination of veterans Rajai Davis and Ben Francisco, the Blue Jays need the revolving door in the corner of their outfield settled. And if none of those options work, Winston Neumayer needs to have the resolve to go out and plug that hole, even if it means upsetting a particularly vocal part of Toronto's fanbase who have backed Snider for years. 2) Brett Lawrie. The youngster put up scorching numbers in 2011 after being called up, with a slash line of .293/.373/.580 in 43 games. Expectations are high that he'll put up those kind of numbers over a full season and keep incumbent home run champ Jose Bautista in right field where he's most comfortable, but it's easy to forget that he's only 22 and may have some maturing to do. 3) Pitching. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen have been totally remade in the offseason, and with such a high level of turnover comes the potential for the group not to mesh. From an objective standpoint, Toronto's pitching corps is a definite upgrade over the 2011 model with the additions of Yu Darvish, Roy Oswalt, lefty-specialist Darren Oliver and closer Sergio Santos. The question is, can they deliver? Last edited by Daletiel; 10-22-2012 at 11:32 PM.