Blue Jays' #1 Problem

[DrungoHazewood]

They're not bunting enough. (http://sports.sympatico.msn.ca/How+John+Gibbons+is+hurting+the+Blue+Jays/MLB/Columns/Articles/Brattain-070815.htm?isfa=1)

Nice. On a team full of rake-and-take sluggers who may have vaguely heard of the bunt once in Little League, many of whom are so slow they take the better part of an NFL halftime show to get from 2nd to 3rd, this guy is placing the blame for their offensive woes on not sacrificing enough. It's all John Gibbons' fault that he's not letting Frank Thomas walk and then order Lyle Overbay or Vernon Wells or somebody bunt him up to second.

I'm sure their problems having nothing to do with the fact they've given 11 players with a sub-100 OPS+ 50 or more plate appearances. Or that their starting shortstop and left fielder have sub-.290 OBPs. Or that they have their own Paul Bako clone in Jason Phillips.

It's all about the bunting. Isn't is always?

[rolliefingers]

While in a macro sense, you're obviously right...if the lineup isn't hitting with power, should you throw the "no bunting" ideology out the window? In a macro sense, bunting is bad, but when the conditions on the ground aren't working how they "should" work (e.g. your power hitters are injured and/or aren't hitting for power), don't you have to change strategy?

(Insert lame Iraq analogy here.)

It's an interesting question.

[DrungoHazewood]

While in a macro sense, you're obviously right...if the lineup isn't hitting with power, should you throw the "no bunting" ideology out the window? In a macro sense, bunting is bad, but when the conditions on the ground aren't working how they "should" work (e.g. your power hitters are injured and/or aren't hitting for power), don't you have to change strategy?

(Insert lame Iraq analogy here.)

It's an interesting question.

If the new strategy is attempting to bunt a 40-year-old Frank Thomas up a base I think I'd just wait for their hitting with RISP to regress to the mean.

[CrimsonTribe]

I thought their #1 problem was that they are located in Canada.

It really is time to get Canada jokes into every thread. ;)

[Frobby]

It's not surprising their hitting fell to earth this year,as more than half their lineup had career years last year. But their pitching has been better than I expected.

[bgfield]

I guess if he refuses to bunt in a tie game or when they're down by one run in the late innings and get a leadoff double I can see where the guy is coming from, but to base an article about the Jay's failing to contend around their lack of playing small ball is pretty silly. They weren't going to contend this year and I think everyone but JP Ricciardi knew it.