The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays - Moses

 

      Here is a look at how our 2025 look going into May; 

      Manager - John Schneider

      Projected Record - 98-64

      Current Record - 15-16

      With Daulton Varsho just returning from the disabled list here is how our Toronto Blue Jays shape up;

Batting Lineup against Lefties                 AB   R  2B  3B  HR  RBI  AVG   OBP  SLG  OPS SB

1.  Bo Bichette (SS) - bats right               591 122  33   7     23   112   .304    .356   .522  .878   31     

2.  George Springer (RF) - bats right       545  92   31   3     28    92    .283    .367  .525   .892    7 

3.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B) - bats right     579  119  30   2     45  127   .322    .410  .645   1.055  3  

4.  Anthony Santander (DH) - bats both 569   93   27   0     33  100   .280    .350  .510    .860   2  

5.  Alejandro Kirk (C) - bats right          522    78   26   0     20   73    .265   .330  .463    .793   0

6.  Ernie Clement (3B) - bats right         370    65   22   2      7    57    .267   .321  .403    .724   6   

7.  Daulton Varsho (CF) - bats left         470    83   30   7     27   90   .290   .367   .553    ..920  22

8.  Myles Straw (LF) - bats right           290    44   17   2      5    40   .250   .300   .400     .700  12  

9.  Andres Gimenez (2B/3B) - bats left 550    87   29   3      12  77   .277   .347   .465     .812  15     

Batting Lineup vs Righties

1.  Bo Bichette (SS) - bats right

2.  Daulton Varsho (CF) - bats left

3.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B) - bats right

4.  Anthony Santander (DH) - bats both

5.  Andres Gimenez (2B/3B) - bats left

6.  George Springer (RF) - bats right

7.  Alejandro Kirk (C) - bats right

8.  Addison Barger (3B/RF) - bats left  376   65  25  4  15  71  .288   .378  .521   .899   12

9.  Alan Roden (LF) - bats left              320   55   22  2   7  50   .263  .321  .422   .743    5  

Bench

1.  Tyler Heineman (C) - bats right    220   39   14  1   5   40  .278  .358   .427   .785    1 

2.  Will Wagner (2B/3B) - bats left    191   23   10  1   3   25   .245  .291   .358   .649    3   

3.  Myles Straw (OF) - bats right

4.  Alan Roden (OF) - bats left 

5.  Nathan Lukes (OF) - bats left     220   31   12   1  4  30   .250   .310   .389   .699      1

Pitching Staff

Starters

1.  Chris Bassitt (RHP)

2.  Kevin Gausman (RHP)

3.  Jose Berrios (RHP)

4.  Bowden Francis (RHP)

5.  Max Scherzer (RHP) *

6.  Easton Lucas (LHP) 

7.  Yariel Rodriguez (RHP)

8.  Paxton Schultz (RHP)

Relievers

1.  Yariel Rodriguez (RHP) 

2.  Paxton Schultz (RHP)

3.  Brendan Little (LHP)

4.  Mason Fluharty (LHP)

5.  Chad Green (RHP)

6.  Nick Sandlin (RHP) *

7.  Yimi Garcia (RHP)

8.  Jeff Hoffman (RHP)

* - currently on the disabled list

The 2028 Canadian Men's Olympic Basketball Team - by Moses (a.k.a Stacey Marc Goldman)

 

Canadian Men's Basketball Team for the 2028 Olympics

 

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (PG/SG)
2. Jamal Murray (PG/SG)
3. Andrew wiggins (F)
4. R.J. Barrett (SG/SF)
5. Zach Edey (C)
6. og anunoby (sg/f)
7. Bennedict Mathurin (sg/SF)
8. Shaedon Sharpe (SG)
9. andrew nembhard (SG/PG)
10. luguentz Dort (sf/sg)
11. Brandon Clarke (PF)
12. dillon brooks (sf/sg)
13. dalano banton (PG)
14. Olivier-maxence prosper (PF)
15. Chris Boucher (PF/C)
16. Trey Lyles (PF)
17. Tristan Thompson (C/PF)
18. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (SG)
19. Kelly Olynyk (C/PF)
20. Cory joseph (pg/sg)

   

     In my estimation this will be the strongest a team as canada has ever fielded for an Olympics in Men's Basketball.  While there are powerhouse U.S.A, france, camaroon, Croatia, Serbia, bosnia and herzegovina, Greece, turkey, Spain,, and germany,.  here is my forecast for the 2028 Men's Basketball Tournament;

1.   Canada

2.  U.S.a - Stephen Curry (PG/sg), trae young (PG), Damian Lillard (PG), KArl-Anthony Towns (C/PF), anthony davis (PF/C), KAwhi Leonard (SF/sg), jalen brunson (pg/SG), jayson tatum (F) , jarrett allen (C), donovan mitchell (SG)

3.  France - Victor wembanyama (PF/C), rudy gobert (C), guerschon yabusele (PF/sF), bilal coulibaly (pg/SG/sf), zaccharie risacher (F), rayan rupert (PG/SG), alexandre sarr (PF/C), moussa diabate (PF), ousmane dieng (SG), pacome dadiet (SF)

4.  Camaroon - Joel Embiid (C) Pascal Siakam (SF/PF), yves missi (C), and ulrich chomche (PF)

5.  Croatia - Luka Doncic (PG/SG) and ivica zubac (c/pf)

6.  Serbia - nikola Jokic (C/pf) and bojan bogdonovic (F)

7.  Spain - Santi Aldama (PF/C), serge ibaka (PF) and Ricky Rubio (player/coach - pg)

8.  Bosnia and HErzegovina - jusuf Nurkic (C/PF) and Karlo matkovic (PF)

9.  greece - giannis (C/PF), kostas, thanasis, and alex antetokounmpo

10. Germany - franz wagner (SF) and Dennis Schroder (PG/SG)

11.  Italy -  Marco Spissu and Davide Moretti

12. turkey - alperen sengun (C), omer yurtseven, and cedi osman

13. Austria - Jakob poeltl (C) and rasid mahalbasic  

14. Israel - zach lavine (SG/SF/PG) and norm powell (SF/SG)

15. united kingdom - OG Anunoby (F), luol deng and nikola jovic

16. Switzerland - Nikola Vucevic (C) and Toni Rocak (F) 

17. Brasil - tristan da silva (F) and gui santos (g/f)

18.  Portugal – neemias queta (C)

19.  Latvia – Kristaps Porzingis (C/PF)

20. Nigeria – Precious achiuwa (PF)

 

  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win the tournament MVP.  By 2028 Canada will have Shaedon Sharpe Bennedict Mathurin, and Zach Edey performing at All-Star levels and also Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, and R.J. Barrett to go along with Shai.  My thinking in the here and now would be to secure OG. Anunoby to play for Canada in the 2028 Olympics.  He was born in Great Britain so for him to compete for Gold he really only has a plausible chance to do so for canada (as great britain are not basketball giants)   With Anunoby in the mix for Canada that gives canada a versatile sixth man who can play shooting guard, small forward, or power forward. at the highest levels.  keep in mind that to compete in the N.B.A today a successful team is usually 8-9 men deep.  Canada has the look to compete at every position on the court with vigor.

  Shai gilgeous-alexander is the best point guard in the game today and Jamal murray is an all-star shooting guard.  Andrew wiggins was a former 1st overall pick who won a championship, played in an all-star game, and was rookie of the year in his inaugural campaign.  R.J. barrett was traded by the knicks for anunoby last year and has showcased his talents in his hometown toronto with the raptors.  I look for all three barrett, mathurin, and sharpe to be 25 ppg men by the year 2028.  zach edey looks to be poised to be a 37 mpg player.  i forecast him to be in the vicinity of 22 ppg and 14.3 Rpg.  if anunoby plays for canada he'll be at a 22-23 ppg by the year 2028, and andrew nembhard looks poised to be at least a decent 6th man by then.

Advancements in Pro-Baseball Analysis - Moses (a.k.a Stacey Marc Goldman)

 

      When I researched my Baseball Book 'Eyes Within the Diamond' in the years 2011-2015 I formalized new statistical formulae.  For batters, for starting pitchers and for relief closer's.  In the past there have been many monster offensive seasons.  Batters like Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Henry Greenberg, Buck Leonard, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays stake claim to some gaudy numbers.  When it comes to analyzing a player in the context of my book 'Eyes Within the Diamond' we see how extra-base hits and stolen bases are equally revered.  I also take into account a players ability to draw walks and minimize striking out; Willie Randolph, Nellie Fox, and Jackie Robinson comes to mind when thinking of who was proficient at such. 

 In the analysis for offence the formula is as follows;  

1000 (Batting Average + OBP + SLG %) + 3 (SB-CS) + (BB - SO)                                                                    3                                                               2                                                          + Extra Base Hits + RBI's + Runs Scored

  To see how impressive the last two seasons have been in offensive statistics is amplified in the names of Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., and Aaron Judge to name but a few.

  When we see how impressive Ohtani's numbers were last year in becoming the first Major Leaguer to have a 50+ HR / 50 + SB campaign we see his score was 935.7 in my statistical analysis.  

  In 2023 Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first Major Leaguer to ever bash 40 + Dingers with 70 + Stolen Bases.  His score in my formula was 959.7.  The record post-WW2 in my book was Barry Bonds monster years from 2001 - 2004 when he was drawing 200 walks a year and striking out less than 50 times.  Bonds topped out at 1013.6 in 2001 (his record 73 Homerun season) and almost equaled that with 1012 in 2004 (the year he drew 232 walks and struck out bit 41 times).

  In 2022 Aaron Judge led the Majors and set the A.L Record for most Home-Runs in a single season with 62 and won the A.L M.V.P.  The worst decision made by sports writers in a Major League MVP vote if you ask me.  We should take into account that Shohei Ohtani was a Pitcher AND a Batter clubbing 34 Home-Runs with a ridiculously low 2.33 in over 162 IP for the year.  Aaron Judge scored an impressive 835 in my formula for 2022 and an equally impressive 865.7 for last year.  The problem in the voting in 2022 was that Ohtani scored 598.7 in offence but was also a dominant starting pitcher and scored a very high 511.4 in my pitching formula (500 + in pitching signifies Hall of Fame potential).  Therefore he actually scored 598.7 in offensive totals + 511.4 = 1110.1 in Total or 275.1 points higher than Judge for the 2022 calendar year !!!  The reality was that Ohtani topped out at 1189.7 in scoring in my analysis in the 2023 campaign.  He scored 747.7 in offensive totals and 442 in pitching totals for the calendar year of 2023.  Higher than Acuna Jr.'s 2023 campaign by 230 and topping his own monster season of 2024 by 254 Points !!!.  

  In this writer's mind the Bobby Witt Jr.'s, Ronald Acuna Jr.'s and Shohei Ohtani's are the way teams are paving the way for their organizations.  Guys that can do 30 + Hr's / 30+ SB's are revered and bring an intangible to the table as multi-dimensional ballplayers.  Hell Aaron Judge stole 10 bases last year and didn't get caught once.  It was Willie Mays that made this kind of ball come to the forefront (as in the twenties until 1947 the sport didn't have the kind of base-stealers that we see today) with the likes of the Rickey Henderson's, Maury Wills, Lou Brock's, Tim Raines, and Jackie Robinson's.  Base-stealing existed in the dead ball era in plenty but became a lost art in twenties, thirties, and forties, and was re-pronounced in the fifties in the name of multi-dimensional African-American ballplayers that could hit 30+ dingers and steal 30+ bases in a single season; like Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, and Eric Davis (when African-Americans were introduced into Major League Baseball in 1947).

  This being 2025 we now see ballplayers from around the World in the hunt as the ultra elite.  Shohei Ohtani's ability to hit homers, steal bases and win games as a starting pitcher.  The Ichiro Suzuki's, Omar Vizcael's, Roberto Alomar's ability to steal a base.  The World was brought to the Majors ever since droves of Dominican Ballplayers came into the league in the 1970's.  With the efforts of the Juan Marichal's, Rico Carty's, Alou brothers, Cesar Cedeno's, Julio Franco's, George Bell's, Tony Fernandez', we now see a truly mish-mashed World Series these days of teams comprised of many Nations. 

  It is an exciting time to be a baseball fan as the greats of the game in the past thirty years have brought us to a number of players that topped 60+ Homeruns in a season;  Barry Bonds (73), Mark McGuire (70 and 65), Sammy Sosa (66, 64, and 63), and Aaron Judge (62).  In all likelihood there will be more players reaching these stratospheric numbers again in the near future.