Toronto Baseball Guys
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Brett Lawrie and the Bench
It was disappointing to hear that Brett Lawrie will start the season on the disabled list. After all, this is the shiniest new Jays lineup in quite a while, and it's a shame that it won't be at its shiniest right out of the gate. The growing body of Lawrie injuries start to make one wonder if he's headed for a Cam Neely/Wendel Clark career path: excellent when healthy, but hard-pressed to stay healthy.
As Bill James has observed, staying healthy is a skill, and while it's too early to proclaim that Lawrie doesn't have that skill at just 23, his list of injuries and the fact that he attacks the game like a B.A.S.E. jumper without a chute leave some room for concern.
The heartening fact to take away from this news, is that the Jays will have a competent major leaguer in Lawrie's stead in Macier Izturis.
For the last couple few years, the Jays had John McDonald and Omar Vizquel as backup infielders. Great stories, wonderful individuals, terrific defenders and essentially useless with the bat.
This year, Alex Anthopoulos has provided his team with a serviceable bench. Here are all of the Blue Jays to come off the bench for at least 150 plate appearances over the past two seasons, along with their On-Base-Percentage Plus Slugging, adjusted for the league and park. 100 is average.
Aside from Jose Molina's career year, there's not a lot there. Here's what the Jays will have coming off the bench this season, with their adjusted OPS over the past 4 years.
Some caveats apply.
As Bill James has observed, staying healthy is a skill, and while it's too early to proclaim that Lawrie doesn't have that skill at just 23, his list of injuries and the fact that he attacks the game like a B.A.S.E. jumper without a chute leave some room for concern.The heartening fact to take away from this news, is that the Jays will have a competent major leaguer in Lawrie's stead in Macier Izturis.
For the last couple few years, the Jays had John McDonald and Omar Vizquel as backup infielders. Great stories, wonderful individuals, terrific defenders and essentially useless with the bat.
This year, Alex Anthopoulos has provided his team with a serviceable bench. Here are all of the Blue Jays to come off the bench for at least 150 plate appearances over the past two seasons, along with their On-Base-Percentage Plus Slugging, adjusted for the league and park. 100 is average.
PA OPS+ Mathis '12 227 71 Gose '12 189 70 Sierra '12 157 74 Vizquel '12 163 49 Rivera '11 275 80 Snider '11 202 65 McCoy '11 228 53 Molina '11 191 104 McDonald '11 182 70 Nix '11 151 49
Aside from Jose Molina's career year, there's not a lot there. Here's what the Jays will have coming off the bench this season, with their adjusted OPS over the past 4 years.
Derosa 87 Davis 89 Blanco 84 Bonifacio 83 Izturis 99
Some caveats apply.
- Derosa might be done at 37, though he's claiming to be fully healthy and did show some pop during the spring.
- Henry Blanco is 168 years old and wouldn't be called upon to carry the lion's share of catching duties, even if J.P. Arencibia gets trampled by a herd of wildebeests Opening Day.
- OPS+ does not take into account the speed of Davis or Bonifacio, which comprises the bulk of their value.
Labels: 2013, bench, Blue Jays, Brett Lawrie
¶ posted by Jim Turner at 1:45 PM | 0 comments
Friday, July 20, 2012
Top 5 Ways to Keep Brett Lawrie Healthy
Brett Lawrie is nuts.
That's not meant to disparage. In the year that Lawrie has been a Blue Jay, he's put together a highlight reel that would be the envy of most 5-10 year veterans. He runs the bases with abandon, chases every ground ball like a rabid squirrel and launches himself into camera bays with no regard for human life.
The problem is, his life is one of the ones for which he seems to have no regard. If he's throwing himself into the abyss of the Yankee Stadium camera well in a July game in which the team is trailing 4-0, what on earth will he be willing to do in a meaningful game?
Lawrie has the chance to be a generational talent, already having established himself as a major league regular at 22. He can't do that if he can't stay on the field.
Here are 5 ways to keep Brett Lawrie in the lineup:
5. Lawrie-Only Water Cooler
Lawrie plays as if he chugs a Red Bull between each inning, so this might help to take the edge off. Since we don't want any somnambulent Blue Jays out there, this is off limits for everyone except Brett.
4. Deployable Base-Running Drag Chute
Lawrie breaks out of the batters box after every routine ground ball thinking "double." This is admirable, but he's been pulled from games after tweaking his legs and back. This device, controlled remotely from the dugout by manager John Farrell, will give the skipper the option to slow Lawrie down if he feels he's about to overdo it.
3. Sumo Base-running Suit
Bautista has his elbow pad, Escobar his shin guard, Davis his base-stealing oven mitt - so here's something to keep Lawrie intact once on base. Now, this would only be for situations in which he winds up on third, since it's not much for wind resistance, but it will protect him from those home plate collisions he seems to relish, such as last season's memorable meeting with Jason Varitek.
2. Everything Nerf
Forget the TD Canada Comfort Zone, it's time for the Nerf Brett Lawrie Preservation Zone. Simply resurface the camera bay, seats, corners of the dugout, etc. in soft, yielding Nerf foam. Then Lawrie can launch himself anywhere he pleases. Of course, this would only work for home games, which would necessitate...
1. The Brett Lawrie-Bjorn
Since Lawrie can't be trusted NOT to throw himself over railings, down dugout steps, into shark-infested waters, we're going to have to go with a buddy system. Since Omar Vizquel has been in the majors longer than Lawrie has been alive, what better person to tether him to? Sure, you sacrifice a little bit of infield range with this particular device, but remember: safety first.
This way, he can still CHASE foul balls to the ends of the earth, but just in case he's about to go overboard, Uncle Omar will be there to pull him back.
That's not meant to disparage. In the year that Lawrie has been a Blue Jay, he's put together a highlight reel that would be the envy of most 5-10 year veterans. He runs the bases with abandon, chases every ground ball like a rabid squirrel and launches himself into camera bays with no regard for human life.
The problem is, his life is one of the ones for which he seems to have no regard. If he's throwing himself into the abyss of the Yankee Stadium camera well in a July game in which the team is trailing 4-0, what on earth will he be willing to do in a meaningful game?
Lawrie has the chance to be a generational talent, already having established himself as a major league regular at 22. He can't do that if he can't stay on the field.
Here are 5 ways to keep Brett Lawrie in the lineup:
5. Lawrie-Only Water Cooler
Lawrie plays as if he chugs a Red Bull between each inning, so this might help to take the edge off. Since we don't want any somnambulent Blue Jays out there, this is off limits for everyone except Brett.
4. Deployable Base-Running Drag Chute
3. Sumo Base-running Suit
2. Everything Nerf
Forget the TD Canada Comfort Zone, it's time for the Nerf Brett Lawrie Preservation Zone. Simply resurface the camera bay, seats, corners of the dugout, etc. in soft, yielding Nerf foam. Then Lawrie can launch himself anywhere he pleases. Of course, this would only work for home games, which would necessitate...1. The Brett Lawrie-Bjorn
This way, he can still CHASE foul balls to the ends of the earth, but just in case he's about to go overboard, Uncle Omar will be there to pull him back.
Labels: Brett Lawrie, injuries, Omar Vizquel
¶ posted by Jim Turner at 5:09 PM | 0 comments
