Well, if we remove the damage inflicted upon Sean Nolin in his MLB debut, then last night doesn’t look so bad. There were some positives, y’know, like Brett Lawrie hitting a home run, and pretty much everyone not named DeRosa or Arencibia collecting a hit.

Then there was Lawrie getting #umpshow’d following a gentle (by his own acrimonious standards) discarding of his batting gear. Crew chief Wally Bell told reporters that Lawrie was ejected for violating “baseball etiquette”.

A 10-6 loss to the Orioles, compounded by Lawrie and John Gibbons getting tossed – and Sean Nolin’s 1.1 inning premature shitstorm of a debut – made for a frustrating night of Blue Jays baseball… But hey, R.A. Dickey takes the ball today and he’s had three nice starts in a row, so let’s pick ourselves up from last night and hope the bats come out for a feast of Freddy Garcia.

Scuttlebutt

John Lott’s excellent game story features quotes from both Brett Lawrie and Wally Bell. FWIW, Bell’s explanation of the ejection comes across as forthright as a DJF author claiming he didn’t know carrying open alcohol was against the law.

If you’re into such things, Brooks Baseball‘s pitch f/x tool shows Bell made the right call on the third strike.

Ok, last bit on the Lawrie ejection…

Shi Davidi serves up some quotes from Nolin and Gibbons.

Thad Weber will join the Blue Jays to take Nolin’s spot, according to this Mike Wilner tweet.

No teenagers playing hockey this afternoon, yet the game is on Sportsnet ‘Nis.

TV: Sportsnet One

And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with theScore app…

Toronto Blue Jays

LF Melky Cabrera (S)
RF Jose Bautista (R)
DH Edwin Encarnacion (R)
1B Adam Lind (L)
3B Brett Lawrie (R)
CF Colby Rasmus (L)
2B Emilio Bonifacio (S)
C Henry Blanco (R)
SS Munenori Kawasaki (L)

R.A. Dickey RHP

Baltimore Orioles

LF Nate McLouth (L)
3B Manny Machado (R)
RF Nick Markakis (L)
CF Adam Jones (R)
1B Chris Davis (L)
SS J.J. Hardy (R)
DH Danny Valencia (R)
2B Yamaico Navarro (R)
C Chris Snyder (R)

Freddy Garcia RHP

Sean Nolin takes the hill for the Jays tonight, making his Major League debut and hoping to fare a little better than Kevin Gausman, who made his far-more-heralded debut for the Orioles in last night’s Jays win. It’s… uh… yeah, another win would be nice.

Scuttlebutt

Earlier today, to make room on the roster for Nolin, the Jays– rather than D’ing Ramon Ortiz FA– placed Darren Oliver on the 15-day DL with shoulder soreness, and moved J.A. Happ and his injured knee to the 60-day DL (meaning the earliest he can return is July 7th). Oliver’s stint is retroactive to his last appearance, which was back on May 19th.

Speaking of Happ, Chris Toman tweets that John Gibbons says the left-hander’s head is fine, but that he’s waiting on a brace for his knee, which has kept him from being able to throw since the incident in Tampa.

Mike Wilner tweets that Nolin will wear number 35 tonight.

Tim Micallef throwing out the first pitch. Nice!

Jose Reyes running? Jose Reyes running. Fuck yes.

No, seriously, junior hockey?

TV: Sportsnet One

And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with theScore app…

Toronto Blue Jays

LF Melky Cabrera (S)
RF Jose Bautista (R)
1B Edwin Encarnacion (R)
DH Adam Lind (L)
C J.P. Arencibia (R)
3B Brett Lawrie (R)
CF Colby Rasmus (L)
2B Emilio Bonifacio (S)
SS Munenori Kawasaki (L)

Sean Nolin LHP

Baltimore Orioles

RF Nick Markakis (L)
3B Manny Machado (R)
SS J.J. Hardy (R)
CF Adam Jones (R)
1B Chris Davis (L)
C Matt Wieters (S)
DH Danny Valencia (R)
LF Steve Pearce (R)
2B Yamaico Navarro (R)

Chris Tillman RHP

The Jays are easily one of the most GIFable teams, whether on the field or off. If you frequent our blogs, Scott Lewis usually does a Friday GIF post from around the league, but this post will focus only on the Jays. So here we go:

The Aaron Loup ball caress is simply mesmerizing. And maybe even a little creepy. Even more when it’s x2:

There’s no love for DeRosa, as he gets shut down TWICE. First by Morrow:

Then by Brett Cecil:

This was a strike 3 call to end the game against Tampa on Tuesday:

Brett Lawrie hears the news that the CityPlace Sobeys stopped carrying Red Bull #BellLetsTalk:

Brandon Morrow spazzing out in the dugout:

Lawrie and Abraham Cibia change emotions in a second:

Gibby is tired of your shit:

Kawasaki and his pre-game stretches are always entertaining:

This might be my last post after Stoeten sees this, so it’s been fun:

Judging by the picture of a mountain of donuts he posted on Instagram this afternoon, Kevin Gausman is ready. Or, at least, as ready as he’ll ever be to jump into the fray against Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

Gausman, you may not be aware, is a superstitious sort, including when it comes to his in-game dining, telling reporters last year, “I eat four doughnuts in between innings.” He has apparently since given up the practice, on the advice of nutritionists, but obviously that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t come prepared, just in case.

With only a small slate of games on the schedule throughout the Majors tonight, and nothing with nearly the appeal of a potential duel between the O’s top prospect (sorry, Bundy) and Brandon Morrow, the eyes of the baseball world will all be on the rugged carpet at the Rogers Centre. Let’s hope for an unfriendly welcome.

Scuttlebutt

Both John Lott and Brendan Kennedy were at the Rogers Centre today as Brett Lawrie did some work in the cage, hitting balls off a tee and with hitting coach Chad Mottola.

Chris Toman tweets that Gausman was throwing 97 when the Jays saw him back in Spring Training, while Mike Wilner adds that Mark DeRosa was the only Jays big leaguer to face him, and he doubled.

To make room for Gausman, Shi Davidi tells us, the O’s have optioned down Jake Arrietta, and D’d former Jays waiver claim Alex Burnett FA.

Brendan Kennedy notes that John Gibbons says Josh Johnson will make three rehab starts before he begins, the remaining two of which will be for Buffalo. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports spoke to some scouts who saw Johnson’s first rehab start, in Dunedin, and came away unimpressed– we mentioned on today’s podcast, however, that it’s certainly not implausible that Johnson was simply trying to get balls over, and not being too fine, which could explain why the scouts felt that “there were a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate.”

Not to give away the main picture for tomorrow’s Game Threat, but apparently the Orioles came to town wearing Canadian tuxedos.

No, seriously, junior hockey?

TV: Sportsnet One

And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with theScore app…

Toronto Blue Jays

LF Melky Cabrera (S)
RF Jose Bautista (R)
1B Edwin Encarnacion (R)
DH Adam Lind (L)
C J.P. Arencibia (R)
3B Brett Lawrie (R)
CF Colby Rasmus (L)
2B Emilio Bonifacio (S)
SS Munenori Kawasaki (L)

Brandon Morrow RHP

Baltimore Orioles

LF Nate McLouth (L)
3B Manny Machado (R)
RF Nick Markakis (L)
DH Adam Jones (R)
1B Chris Davis (L)
C Matt Wieters (S)
SS J.J. Hardy (R)
CF Chris Dickerson (L)
2B Alexi Casilla (S)

Kevin Gausman RHP

Leading off, as always (or usual), it’s today’s edition of the Getting Blanked Podcast– which for the duration of the season will be coming at you daily! We’re not double posting this year, but I’ll be sure to include the link in the first Daily Duce or Game Threat that follows the post going up over at Getting Blanked. Otherwise, you can find the podcast at Getting Blanked on iTunes, get it via the RSS feed we have setup, or like Getting Blanked on Facebook in order to get each day’s podcast straight into your news feed (if we bother to post it). While you’re at it, go ahead and like DJF on Facebook, too.

Sad news for the Jays and their extended family, as word from the Dominican Republic came today that legendary scout Epy Guerrero passed away at the age of 71. Shi Davidi has a put together a piece on it at Sportsnet, and while the man who was so instrumental in bringing so many terrific young Dominican players to the Jays certainly deserves a remembrance in full over here, it goes to show, I think, just how unsung scouts are that I don’t know enough about him, beyond the vaunted reputation and the names of the many excellent players he was the first to take notice of, to say a whole lot. Our condolences and sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Guerrero visited the Jays facility in Dunedin back in March, prompting an excellent profile from Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, which serves as a fitting tribute, I think.

Shi Davidi tweets that John Gibbons has confirmed that Sean Nolin will start tomorrow for the Jays. Chad Jenkins will go on Sunday, he says, taking Ramon Ortiz’s spot. A corresponding roster move will come following tonight’s game, which you have to assume is the D’ing FA of Ortiz.

In the Toronto Star, Brendan Kennedy talks to scouts, comparing young third basemen Brett Lawrie and Orioles phenom Manny Machado. “They’re both terrific players, any club would die to have them,” a rival scout told him. “Emotionally, it looks like they’re wired differently and right now that seems to be helping Machado more than Lawrie.” Uh… you think?

Elsewhere in the Star, Richard Griffin’s latest Bullpen post looks at Anthony Gose, and much, much more.

More from Shi Davidi at Sportsnet, who looks at two high profile prospects about to be sent out to a short-season affiliate: last year’s draftees D.J. Davis and Anthony Alford, both of whom may end up with the Vancouver Canadians, we’re told. “Davis and Alford, both from Mississippi, are said to be close and the Blue Jays like the idea of keeping them together,” Davidi writes, which may explain why Alford, who played just five games in the Gulf Coast league last year before turning his attention to football, may be getting a more advanced assignment than you might suspect.

Interesting stuff from the Globe and Mail, where Jeff Blair tells us about how Roberto Alomar is making his presence felt around this Jays club.

As part of a notebook post at BlueJays.com, Evan Peaslee speaks to Chad Mottola about the club’s hitting approach, including his efforts to get hitters to be ready for a pitch early, and to disrupt elite opponents in the early innings, before they find their groove.

Jays Journal notes that the worst (qualified) K:BB ratio ever posted for a single season was by Juan Encarnacion in 1999, with 114 strikeouts to 14 walks, for a ratio of 8-to-1. At his current pace, J.P. Arencibia would smash that record, though, having struck out 27 times for every walk he’s earned so far in 2013.

Elsewhere at Jays Journal, it’s a bunch of stuff about Casey Janssen struggling in non-save situations, which– don’tcha know– closers often do. I’d wager that’s the case because they’re usually coming into those situations just to get work after a layoff, rather than any lack-of-adrenaline bullshit, but hey… that’s me.

Minor League Ball makes tonight’s Orioles starter, Kevin Gausman, their prospect of the day, while Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gets the baseball world set to turn their attention to the scraggly carpet at the Rogers Centre for tonight’s big debut.

At gamereax, we have the GIF of the fun on-field celebration from last night, following Jose Bautista’s walk-off single.

This week marked the twenty-year anniversary of B.J. Birdie being ejected from a game by umpire Jim McKean. Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times recounts the tale.

Lastly, a bunch of great stuff from Getting Blanked, as Drew looks at Jose Bautista’s performance last night, which produced the sixth-highest WPA since 2000, while Matt Klaassen dives into some defensive rankings for catchers, wherein J.P. Arencibia comes out rather poorly, and Craig Robinson’s infographic brings us the wonder of a parallel universe in which baseball was played on a pentagon rather than a diamond.

Now a little something to kill time on a Thursday afternoon: it’s the DJF podcast!

And today it’s just Drew and me, with no one filling in for the hopelessly disinterested Wally Pip, as we talk about the Jose Bautista’s fantastic game, Brett Lawrie’s struggles, J.P. Arencibia (again), Sean Nolin, and a bit about my moment on last night’s broadcast (GIF after the jump!).

If you’re more inclined to download today’s podcast, hit up the mp3 link.

The DJF iTunes page remains up and running, so get on over there and subscribe– or update the subscription you already have to find the latest episode (once it’s up). You can also find it via our podcast RSS feed. Follow DJF on Facebook, too, while you’re at it.

We’ll be be back again next damn week, and we still want to hear from you! Call us (hammered) at 1-855-FOUL-TIP, or email us (hammered) at GettingBlanked@theScore.com with whatever is sticking in your craw, and we’ll dissect the best the Monkey Army has to offer!

Unless it’s about this! Which, y’know, we will never speak of again:

Ugh…

Mintmusical interludes courtesy Toronto’s own Optical Sounds. Be sure to check them out and buy every single fucking thing you hear at their site.

Hat tip/fuck you to Dave Burrows for the pic and @Matt_HBB for the GIF.

Sounds like we’ll get the rare treat of back-to-back big league debuts for a couple of impressive young pitchers– one, albeit, far more heralded than the other– at the Rogers Centre this week, as it appears that Kevin Gausman’s debut tonight for the Orioles will be followed tomorrow by Sean Nolin’s first taste of the big leagues for the Jays.

As early as last night word was getting out that Nolin had been scratched from his start today for New Hampshire. In fact, Nolin himself admitted he’d been bumped to Friday:

@bigfourinsider friday

— Sean Nolin (@Sean_Nolin) May 23, 2013

Friday was to be Marcus Stroman’s next start for the Fisher Cats, but he was pushed back as well.

“New Hampshire now listing Nolin for Friday and Stroman Saturday meaning #bluejays can delay making Fri. start decision until later,” tweeted Richard Griffin this morning. He added, however, that there’s a decent reason to think Nolin may be getting the call– that is, beyond the fact that nominal fifth starter Stephen Chadwick Jenkins hasn’t pitched since May 12th:

Why might #bluejays choose LH Sean Nolin over RH Chad Jenkins Friday? O;s splits vs. LH-starters .243Avg .697OPS vs. RHS .277Avg .795OPS

— Richard Griffin (@RGriffinStar) May 23, 2013

Eventually, though there has still been no official word from the club, because a roster spot would need to be created to add Nolin, Shi Davidi went ahead and tweeted that the left-handers big league debut on Friday is “expected,” and followed it up with a piece on Nolin for Sportsnet.

So… who is Sean Nolin?

Back in December, after Baseball Prospectus released their Jays top ten for 2013, I passed this along:

Nolin is just ten starts behind where Henderson Alvarez was when he first got the call to the Majors– at 88 innings deep into his New Hampshire career, a whopping number compared to Hutchison’s 31.2 over six starts at the level– so it’s not entirely crazy to believe that he could be the club’s real sixth starter. Parks sees him as close, suggesting that “Nolin looks to be on the fast-track, and if he performs well at the Double-A level, he could reach the majors at some point during the season. Some sources think his arsenal is on the way up, especially if the slider develops into a consistent plus offering.”

We’re told that his stuff “doesn’t need major grade jumps” to compete at the highest level, and while he lacks a “high-end out pitch,” he spent 2012 “maturing with each start at the High-A level,” and has the look of a number three starter– and a close one at that.

Nolin got a late start on the Fisher Cats season due to injury, but he’s certainly looked good enough for Double-A, striking out 16 and walking five in 15.1 innings over three starts, allowing just two earned runs. Scarily, though, he’d have had even less Double-A experience than Hutchison, if he really is on his way up.

Marc Hulet of FanGraphs wrote about having watch Nolin’s May 12th start earlier this week, and by his eyes, the pitcher still seemed to be a bit rusty from his injury layoff.

“His full windup lacked fluidity in the first inning but got better as the game went on,” he wrote. “Early on, the left-handed pitcher struggled with his fastball command and the opposing hitters were having some really good hacks on his offerings. He was also not throwing his curveball for strikes on a consistent basis. The good news is that those issues should be correctable.”

He adds that, as the mechanical issues improved over the course of the game, so did the command issues. Another negative, though, was the fact that “Nolin doesn’t do himself any favors with his delivery because he ends his follow-through in a very poor fielding position and I watched two catchable bouncers get past him.” And he concluded by explaining that he’d “have to rate Nolin as a future No. 4 starter. He doesn’t look ready for the majors but another 10-15 minor league starts could make a world of difference.”

So… yeah. Granted, that’s just one start, he’s had another one since then to refine the mechanics, and other evaluatorrs have been slightly higher on Nolin than all that, but it’s a bit grim. I guess when your other option is Chad Jenkins, though, on eleven days rest, in an intra-division game that you really want to give yourself the best chance in, maybe it’s not so bad. But still, blowing an option on a thoroughly untested Nolin at this stage? Yikes. Should be interesting, at least. 2013, you guys!

Image via Henican.com.

There has been lots of Jays stuff coming out of MLB’s Fan Cave so far this season, thanks in no small part, I’m sure, to Jays fan April Whitzman (aka @Alleycat17), who is one of the select group imprisoned taking part in it this season. Case in point? This gem of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion dropping bombs on the driving range at Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers.

Check it out after the jump…

Clip via MLB Fan Cave.

We’ve got ourselves a manatee! Er… matinée!

The Jays play an oddly– read: spectacularly– timed businessman’s special today, in a getaway-ish game for the Rays beginning at 4:37 PM ET. As someone with an office downtown, uh… moar please.

The Rays send Jeremy Hellickson to the hill, facing Mark Buehrle and a lineup led-off by Anthony Gose, who will give Melky Cabrera a rest and take over in left field. It’s… another game in 2013. I don’t even know anymore…

Hey maybe an actual series win though, huh?

Scuttlebutt

It’s all Brendan Kennedy, all the time, in today’s scuttlebutt, as the Toronto Star reporter tweets that John Gibbons has been reluctant to announce Chad Jenkins as the starter for his club on Friday. The pitcher is preparing to start, but is available out of the bullpen tonight as well, and Richard Griffin notes that with Sean Nolin set to start for New Hampshire on Thursday, and Marcus Stroman on Friday, either could be possibilities instead.

Gibbons, according to another Kennedy tweet, says that “as it stands” Ramon Ortiz is still slated for Sunday.

We’re also given word that Melky Cabrera is available as a pinch hitter today.

Gibbons “had no problem with JPA swinging at Rodney’s first pitch yesterday with the bases loaded,” Kennedy tells us, “saying when closers get ahead they tend to put you away.”

Lastly, Kennedy also says that, while nothing is official yet, it appears as though the Dome will be closed for this afternoon/evening’s tilt. Ugh.

TV: Sportsnet

And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with theScore app…

Toronto Blue Jays

LF Anthony Gose (L)
RF Jose Bautista (R)
1B Edwin Encarnacion (R)
DH Adam Lind (L)
C J.P. Arencibia (R)
3B Brett Lawrie (R)
CF Colby Rasmus (L)
2B Maier Izturis (S)
SS Munenori Kawasaki (L)

Mark Buehrle LHP

Tampa Bay Rays

CF Desmond Jennings (R)
3B Ryan Roberts (R)
2B Ben Zobrist (S)
DH Evan Longoria (R)
1B James Loney (L)
RF Sean Rodriguez (R)
LF Kelly Johnson (L)
C Jose Molina (R)
SS Yunel Escobar (R)

Jeremy Hellickson RHP

Apparently there is no sign of the Getting Blanked Podcast as yet, so just head on over to Getting Blanked and keep refreshing– I’m sure it will show up shortly– or subscribe to Getting Blanked on iTunes, or give @DrewGROF a follow, and I’m sure he’ll tweet it out when it’s ready.

Blake Murphy of Bluebird Banter looks back on last night, and the controversial called strike that ended the game, with the Jays potentially in the throes of a comeback. The Blue Jay Hunter tweets an overhead view of Fernando Rodney’s final pitch, and honestly, that’s going to be a strike against a lot of left-handed hitters, I think. Doesn’t make it right, but that’s within the bounds of how they call it.

A couple others from Bluebird Banter, as Jays182 looks at the good and the bad of J.P. Arencibia, ultimately deciding that A.J. Jimenez is the future behind the plate, and that hopefully “everyone (even Gregg Zaun) can now agree that J.P. Arencibia should not be behind the plate with the Blue Jays going forward if they look to be a contending team.” Elsewhere, Nick Ashbourne looks at smoke, mirrors and Mark Buehrle.

Ben Nicholson-Smith looks at this afternoon’s lineup at Sportsnet, noting that Melky Cabrera will get a day to rest his sore legs, with Anthony Gose taking over in left field and leading off.

Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star wonders whether ex-Jays benefit from getting booed– often for nothing close to good reason– when they make their returns to Toronto.

To help with their woeful rotation, the Orioles have called up uber-prospect Kevin Gausman, and he’s going to make his big league debut tomorrow at Rogers Centre. Drew fills you in on all you need to know about this at Getting Blanked, while Baseball Prospectus gives some scouting report tidbits before their paywall takes over.

Elsewhere at Getting Blanked, Drew takes a look at the renaming of a section of Montreal’s Rue Faillon after former Expo and Hall Of Famer, the late Gary Carter. And he also looks at the surprisingly competent– and then some– Alex Rios.

David Laurila of FanGraphs has an interesting Q&A with recently reinstated Jays prospect Marcus Stroman.

Michael Beraskow of Jays Journal provides some handy tips for watching the Jays while at work– especially useful with today’s 4:37 PM start.

Shi Davidi looks at the Jays’ rotation options, among other items in a notebook post at Sportsnet.

Bill Lankhof of the Toronto Sun reflects on last night’s game, noting that the Jays seem to continue to stumble along through the season. “They are a schizophrenic 10 games behind the Yankees, one moment playing smash-mouth baseball, the next getting smashed in the mouth,” he writes.

John Lott of the National Post speaks to a grateful Casey Janssen, who struggled to shake off some rust on Monday, but welcomed the fact that he’d been rested for so long prior.

Lastly, at Baseball Prospectus, Zachary Levine wishes a happy birthday to the now 40-year-old Ramon Ortiz, while elsewhere, Sam Miller finds the worst thing the L.A. Dodgers have done all year– and be careful, folks, it’s not copywritten. Your team could do it too!