Well, I guess we can all disregard my last negative post on how the Jays are not likely to do much better over the rest of the season.
After three strong series wins over the Rangers, Red Sox, and Yankees, new life has sprung back into the team who are now looked at as serious contenders once again. To top this all off the Jays also traded Erik Kratz and Liam Hendriks to the Kansas City Royals for third-basemen Danny Valencia. This would most likely affect the lineup by moving Brett Lawrie to second (once he's off the DL), and send one of the young platoon players back to Buffalo.
While the move wasn't a blockbuster trade by any means, it's definitely a significant one to cement the strength of the Blue Jays hitting rotation. He will most likely be used in situations against lefty pitchers, as he currently sports a .354 average against left-handed pitchers.
The only thing holding him back from being a full starter is his weakness against right-handed pitchers, where he currently has a .178 average. No matter how he's used, this move is still something, and it is indeed better than nothing. Only time will tell if the Jays decide to improve the starting rotation before the end of the trade deadline.
Despite the Jays winning ways since the all-star break, support for the pitching is still a big concern. Since the break, the Jays pitchers have had the 27th best (poor use of the word best) ERA in the majors, with 4.75. Before the break, they were 24th in ERA with 4.07 That isn't good.
There isn't anything major the Jays will do to overhaul pitching in a few days, but something is better than nothing. Anything would be nice.
All negativity aside, the Jays are still getting W's, against good teams as well. Once Lawrie and Encarnacion are healthy once again, the Jays will surely be performing at an even higher level. Only time will tell how this season ends, and we're all sitting on the end of our seats waiting to see how it all wraps up.
And that 14-1 lead the Jays currently have doesn't hurt.
No comments:
Post a Comment