Bluebird Banter
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Happy Birthday Pat Hentgen and Santiago Espinal
It is Pat Hentgen’s 57th birthday today. Pat will always be one of my favourite Blue Jays. He was the Cy Young winner (the first Jay to win the award) in 1996, going 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and pitching an outstanding 265.2 innings. He won the prize on this day in 1996, a terrific […]
Wednesday Bantering: Jays Bits
There isn’t all that much for Jays’ news, which isn’t a surprise. John Schneider came in second for the Manager of the Year award. A lot of us figured he would win, because he took the Jays from last to first in the AL East. Of course, he was the manager when they finished last […]
Free Agent Poll: Dylan Cease
We’ve been doing this for several years now. We reviewed some of the top free agents, as rated by Keith Law in The Athletic and Ben Clemens at FanGraphs, using the contracts FanGraphs suggests they will receive, and asked if we should sign them. Number 3 on Ben Clemens’ list and number 9 on Keith […]
Happy Birthday Homer Bush and Addison Barger
Homer Bush turns 53 today. Bush came to us from the Yankees, along with David Wells and Graeme Lloyd, for Roger Clemens. Clemens wanted out of Toronto after winning two Cy Youngs in a row for a poor Blue Jays team (we finished 5th in 1997, then moved up to third in 1998 (we finished […]
The season that was: Bo Bichette
Coming into 2025, Bo Bichette had spent seven seasons with the Blue Jays (one of them was a Covid-shortened season). All of them were good, until 2024. He had received MVP votes in 2021, 22 and 23. He led the league in hits. Then came 2024. He went from a 4.8 bWAR in 2023 to […]
Remembrance Day
Last year, my wife and I helped put candles at each of the 3500 crosses at Calgary’s Field of Crosses. With many other volunteers, we placed candles and said a little thank you to each person represented by a cross. It was a sobering thing. The men and women listed on the crosses were mostly […]
Free Agent Poll: Alex Bregman
We’ve been doing this for several years now. We reviewed some of the top free agents, as rated by Keith Law in The Athletic and Ben Clement at FanGraphs, using the contracts FanGraphs suggests they will receive, and asked if we should sign them. Free Agent number two on Ben’s list and number four on […]
The season that was: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Coming off an excellent 2024 season, and six seasons into his career, with free agency a possibility after the 2025 season, we were all wondering what 2025 would bring. We knew he was going to get a big payday at some point this year. Either from the Blue Jays or from someone else after the […]
The Season That Was: José Berríos
Coming into 2025, José Berríos was three seasons into a seven-year, $131,000,000 contract. He does have an opt-out after next season, but then he has $6 million salary bump after next season, which I think will keep him satisfied. 2022 wasn’t good, but 2023 and 2024 were quite good, with a 2.5 bWAR and a […]
Free Agent Poll: Kyle Tucker
We’ve been doing this for several years now. We got through some of the top free agents, use the contract the FanGraphs suggests they will get and ask have a poll asking should we sign him. Both Keith Law and Ben Clements have Kyle Tucker as the number one free agent this year. He’s been […]
Today in Blue Jays History: Roy Halladay
It is hard to believe that it has been eight years (yesterday, I thought I had scheduled this for yesterday) since Roy Halladay died in that plane crash. Few deaths have affected me as much. Talking about another friend who died a few years ago, a friend said, ‘Time flies when you are dead.’ It […]
Friday Bantering: Roster Moves
There were bits of Jays’ news yesterday that I missed. Not that it was news, but the Jays game Bo Bichette a Qualifying Offer. $22.025, which sounds like a lot of money. Bo will be looking for a contract for around ten years. That’s a longer contract than I’d want to give him, but if […]
Happy Birthday Buck Martinez
Everybody’s favourite baseball analyst, Buck Martinez, turns 77 today. Buck had a 17-season career as a catcher in the major leagues. 6 of those seasons were with the Blue Jays. He worked as the right-handed half of a very successful platoon pairing with Ernie Whitt. Buck was a good glove/bad bat, serving as a backup […]
It Was An Amazing Season
My wife is treating me like I had a serious illness I’m recovering from and a relapse is imminent. Honestly, it’s not that bad. I saw My Boys play an amazing season. They had an epic, life affirming run through The Godless Yankees, then crushed The WaterBoarMen beneath their sandalled feet. Man, did we hear […]
Mattingly Leaving The Blue Jays
Jon Heyman, in the New York Post, tells us that Don Mattingly is leaving the Blue Jays. The story says that he is not retiring, but ‘looking for new opportunities’. Mattingly isn’t loved around here, getting, likely, too much blame for their terrible 2024 season (and no credit for the excellent 2025 season). I was […]
The Season That Was: Chris Bassitt
Coming into 2025, Chris Bassitt had played two of the three years on his big $63 million free agent contract. Chris was a late bloomer, he didn’t make the majors until he was 25 and had pitched in only 40 MLB games before his 30th birthday. Guys that don’t pitch a lot of innings in […]
Happy Birthday Ricky Romero and Alejandro Kirk
Ricky Romero turns 41 today. Ricky was the Jays’ first-round pick in the first round of the 2005 draft (6th overall), out of California State University, Fullerton). As we all know, Troy Tulowitzki was the next pick by the Rockies. No one mentions that the Mariners used the third pick on Jeff Clement. Ricky didn’t […]
Happy Birthday Lloyd Moseby
Former Blue Jays center fielder Lloyd, ‘The Shaker,’ Moseby, turns 66 today. Lloyd was our first-round pick in the 1978 draft, number 2 overall. The Braves picked third baseman Bob Horner as the number 1 pick. The Mets selected Hubie Brooks with the next pick (Expos fans will remember him from the Gary Carter trade). […]
Bieber Stays With Jays
Shane Bieber has decided to take his $16 million player option and stay with the Blue Jays. I’m shocked. I was sure he would opt out and get more money, even if he went with a short-term contract. Apparently, he liked his Jays teammates and wants to stay with them, at least for another year, […]
The Season That Was: Kevin Gausman (now with poll)
2025 was year-four of Kevin Gausman’s fourth year of his five year contract. In his first three seasons, he had a 38-30 record and a 7.4 BWar, in 93 starts, with a 3.45 ERA. 2024 was a step down from the other two, so we were interested in how 2025 would go. Was he aging? […]
John Schneider Finalist for AL Manager Of The Year
MLB announce the ‘finalists’ for the major awards of the year. There is only one Blue Jay in the running, John Schneider is one of the three finalists for Manager of the Year. He and Steven Vogt of the Guardians and Dan Wilson of the Mariners are the final three. Schneider, of course, took the […]
Monday Bantering: Jays Notes
Happy Monday. I will admit, I’m ok with no longer having GameThreads and Game Recaps hanging over my head every day. Getting into the off-season routine will take a few days; there is enough to discuss about the season just passed to carry us through to the new year. The Jays have four days where […]
Happy Birthday Paul Quantrill and Ryan Tepera
Former Blue Jays reliever Paul Quantrill turns 57 today. He spent six seasons with the Jays and pitched in 386 games, sixth in team history for games (and no one will be passing him soon). His best season with the Jays was 1997, when he had a 1.94 ERA in 77 relief appearances. He had […]
Hat Tips To Some Great Blue Jays Performances
With a few sleepless hours between us and the end of the World Series, I want to give a hat tip to several Blue Jays players. Yesterday’s game hurt, but this was an incredible ride and a fantastic team. I learned a lot about how a team that pulls for each other can do more […]
MLB Off-Season Dates
Now that the World Series is over, as tear-inducing as it was, the off-season starts, and off-season things happen. The morning after the World Series is decided, players can file for free agency. For four days, they can only negotiate with their current team, then, on the fifth day, God (or the commissioner) lets them […]
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