In this regular Sportsnet.ca feature, Blue Jays Talk host Scott MacArthur answers some frequently-asked Blue Jays questions.
I will limit my weekly preamble to this: Stay up late, this week, if you can to watch the Blue Jays and Angels. Not only is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. playing his first major league road games in a stadium in which his father starred, it will give you the opportunity to watch the Angels’ Mike Trout.
Trout is the best player in baseball, still is only 26 years old and when his career ends, hopefully many years from now, we’ll be debating his name alongside Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and others among the best to have ever played the sport.
On with this week’s questions…
Q. Let’s give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a nickname. What should it be?
A. This responsibility is too great for me.
"Vlad the Impaler" came up, except said nickname belonged to his father, Hall-of-Famer Vlad Sr. Since the original Vlad the Impaler, he of 15th century pre-Romanian lore, had "Dracula" in his name, "Count Smackula" was suggested as a possibility.
I will happily vacate my seat at the judges’ table and let others decide what, if any, nickname other than "Vladdy" he should have.
[relatedlinks]
Q. I love how much this team is bunting this season!
A. It’s not a question but, fear not, I’m happy to weigh in! As a general rule, I oppose the intent of making an out. Granted, most of the best players record an out more than six out of every 10 times to the plate; I’d like to believe, though, they’re trying to reach base each time up.
I’ll give you one example of where I didn’t mind the sacrifice bunt and even then I don’t give it a 100 per cent endorsement, the reason for which I’ll explain as we go through it.
After Vladdy led off with a double in the ninth inning of his debut game Friday night, Alen Hanson pinch-ran for him as the winning run. Billy McKinney sacrificed Hanson to third.
Why I like it: This is one of those situations where you’re genuinely playing for just one run. If Hanson scores, the Blue Jays win and there are many more ways for Hanson to score from third base with less than two outs (sacrifice fly to the outfield; increased likelihood of a base hit thanks to a drawn-in infield), let alone a wild pitch or a passed ball.
Why I don’t like it: This is the day and age of the strikeout and Teoscar Hernandez, due up after McKinney, has worked to a 30 per cent strikeout rate in his young big league career. While Teoscar didn’t strike out, he did line out to the second baseman (a bad luck result as he made hard contact and it was a great reaction play by Jurickson Profar, who was playing in to cut down the run at home).
Brandon Drury ended up hitting a two-out, two-run walk off home run.
Turns out the bunt was irrelevant.
I understand the notion there’s something heroic about being willing to sacrifice oneself for the greater good of the team. I just think there are so few circumstances in which the result of a sacrifice bunt matches the intent.
[snippet id=3305549]
Q. Why has Charlie Montoyo pinch-run for Vladdy Jr. twice already?
A. The first of the two situations is contained in the bunt talk above; the decision to pinch-run in that scenario, as with the bunt, I’m mostly okay with but maintain some reservation.
The second occurrence, to put it diplomatically, I didn’t like.
To set the scene: Sunday, bottom of the ninth of a 1-1 tie, Vladdy singles with one out. Once again, Montoyo goes to pinch-runner Hanson.
Vladdy had run a three-ball count and my thought, then, was you only consider pinch-running for him if he gets into scoring position. A runner on first base and one out? The percentage chances of scoring just aren’t high enough to remove Vladdy’s bat from the five-spot in the order, replacing it with Hanson’s, knowing his turn could come again in extra innings. Who would you rather have up?
It turns out it didn’t matter because Oakland’s stalwart closer, Blake Treinen, walked Hanson in the 11th inning, presumably as part of his fatigue-induced (Treinen rarely throws a second inning in an appearance – he’d pitched the 10th) meltdown, which culminated with a Brandon Drury game-tying three-run home run and, ultimately, a Justin Smoak game-winning single.
Q. Have the Blue Jays found something in Eric Sogard?
A. I answer questions about players like Sogard by referring you to their Baseball Reference pages.
Sogard’s 17 hits in his first 10 games, including at least one hit in each game, with the Blue Jays ties him with Yunel Escobar (2010) for the third-longest hit streak to start a tenure with the franchise (Dave Martinez, 21 games in 2000; Roy Howell, 15 games in 1977).
Eric had two lead-off home runs against his old team, Oakland, last weekend, adding to the excitement. His success adds length to an order which got longer with the arrival of Vladdy Jr.
However, history dictates it won’t last and whether it’s Sogard or Freddy Galvis or someone else, ride the hot hand while it’s going. Sogard has shown an ability to get on base before, working a .393 clip in almost 300 plate appearances with Milwaukee two years ago, so there’s more reason than usual to be hopeful.
