The Future of North American Sport - by Moses

       It is now 2021 and I question the direction North American sport is moving towards.  I mean we live in lands of prosperity yet there is exactly one professional woman's league in North America to date, the WNBA.  Soccer has resurfaced in North America in a men's' league, yet a Woman's professional league in soccer and baseball has been negated for years.  Likewise that of a Disabled Sports league in wheelchair basketball.  This makes me wonder when a movie like 'Field of Dreams' comes out and we start to believe 'If you build it, they will come.' yet higher powers negate the efforts of stories of inspiration and determination like that of 'A League of Their Own' and we end up seeing a stagnant mindset, one of being closed to stories that must be told.  In 'A League of Their Own' the story of a Woman's Baseball League in America was told.  If the MLBPA and the NLBPA were listening to the intonations of the current situation of the Woman Ballplayer of today, there would at least be the acknowledgement that Woman can play sports at a high level, a professional level.

  When it comes to wheelchair basketball I speak from experience when I say it is an extremely hard sport to master.  Making a 20 foot shoot from a wheelchair is almost impossible, yet there are a few men around the globe that can make that shot.  My Uncle's old friend Flo played for the Toronto Spitfires Organization and they played in Worldwide Wheelchair Basketball Tournaments for years.  Flo was known to be one of the greatest Wheelchair Basketball players of all-time and it is a resentment of mine that modern day society didn't think enough of their disabled population to at least give credence to those people who are good at what they do within the disabled community.  Modern day society could in fact create Leagues in sport that would accommodate those that excel at sports, hence a Woman's MLB, a Woman's Professional Hockey League, a Woman's Professional Soccer League, and a Professional Wheelchair Sports League.

  In fifty years how will leadership look at an apathetic society that had no problem negating efforts to build professional sports leagues for Woman and the Disabled.  If it were up to me our leadership in Canada should rethink their position on the matter for at least the sense of acknowledging those that excel at sports.  

The 2022 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

       The 2021 Toronto Blue Jays were perhaps the best baseball team in the Majors.  Although they fell one game short of making the playoffs, they had a ridiculous runs scored - runs allowed compared to other teams around the League.  We had seven men hammer 20+Home-runs this year and four men drive in 100+ RBI's.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. led the way as the igniter of the most potent offence in baseball alongside Marcus Semien, George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Cavan Biggio, and Randal Grichuk.  An offence of the ages setting a team record for most home-runs in a season with 258 dingers.  The 2021 Blue Jays were a shining example of how to run an offence.  They also have speed on the base-paths encouraged by the likes of Bichette, Semien, Hernandez (and Biggio in the future).  The team defense is above par and will likely take home Gold Glove at second base in one Marcus Semien and possibly one for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who had 16 outfield assists in leftfield.  

  The starting staff was spectacular this year and had we not had breakdowns in the bullpen throughout the year we would have won 100 games easily.  With Robbie Ray the Jays have a legitimate Cy Young Pitcher, with other southpaws Hyun Jin Ryu and Steven Matz the Jays are three southpaw deep in the starting staff, something no other team in baseball can claim.  With Alek Manoah we have perhaps the best young arm in baseball.  With Manoah's pedigree he's right where Roger Clemens was in 1985 in his development as a young gun and producer at this stage of his career.  With the acquisition of Jose Berrios the Jays are truly five deep in their rotation.  The problem the Jays were having this year came down to the seventh and eight inning men.  Until we acquired Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber at the trade deadline we had no solution to the problem.  We probably lost 12 games this year to that deficiency.  Injuries hurt our bullpen as aside from an impressive year by first year closer Jordan Romano, we lost Julian Merryweather, David Phelps, and A.J. Cole all early in the year to injury.  These were guys that we were expecting big things from early on in the year. Our bullpen southpaw situation was pretty good with Tim Mayza carrying most of the load.  Ryan Borucki will be back strong next year after an injury plagued season, and between Kirby Snead and Tayler Saucedo as the third lefty in the mix could be dominant.  

  The Jays had a strong bench with Santiago Espinal filling in admirably for Biggio when he went down to injury.  Breyvic Valera was a pleasant surprise when Espinal got injured and the Jays had enormous depth at the Cather Position with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Reese McGuire.  Ironically the best Catcher in the Jays chain is Double A New Hampshire standout Gabriel Moreno.  Bo Bichette claims Moreno to be the most promising hitter in the Jays Farm System as evidenced by his .373 batting average alongside 45 RBI's in only 126 At-Bats this year before getting injured.  Just returning from injury a couple of weeks ago, Moreno was promoted to Triple A affiliate Buffalo and the Jays are considering fast racking him through the 2022 Spring Training as a viable number one to start next year.  Moreno is the best defensive catcher we have by far having thrown out 38% basestealers in his minor league career to date and there is no reason to doubt his batting prowess (even at the Major League Level).  The problem the Jays will have in Spring Training is how to treat the endowment of our catching situation.  We've got four capable catchers for two spots.  My picks would be Moreno and Kirk.

  In terms of intangibles and Coaching the Jays are going to be a powerhouse for years to come.  I was most impressed by the work of Pete Walker in instilling a starting staff that refused to walk batters.  Charlie Montoyo worked magically with our youth in the clubhouse to get them to believe in themselves and has a legitimate shot at winning Manager of the Year for his role.  What is truly impressive about this team is how many things they do well.  Hit for power, hit for average, high OPS %, high RBI rates, high stolen base %, high Batting Average with men in scoring position, the Jays were at the top of the leader-board in every category.  

  With the future looming it will be interesting to see if the Jays will pay Marcus Semien's asking price on a long term contract.  Personally I would offer Semien $22-$25 Mil U.S.D/year for four years with a performance clause in his contract that redeems a fifth year @ $30-$35 Mil U.S if he achieves the teams goals.  I would draft up; Scenerio One - Should Semien win the Gold Glove at second and/or win A.L MVP and/or hit 40+ Home-runs in a year and/or steal 20+ bases - in other words create provisions to increase the dollar amount of the contract should Semien meet or exceed expectations.  The problem is that current performance clauses are somewhat limiting in their rewards (compared to what I'm proposing).  The upside of a player like Semien is that should he exceed expectations in each year of the contract, pay him $35 Mil U.S.D in the fifth year - he'd be worth it at that point.  The reality is that Toronto is a wealthy city and can afford to spend money on their superstars.     

The 2022 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

Manager - Charlie Montoyo

Pitching Staff

1.  Robbie Ray (LHP)

2.  Jose Berrios (RHP)

3.  Alek Manoah (RHP)

4.  Steven Matz (LHP)

5.  Hyun Jin Ryu (LHP)

6.  Nate Pearson (RHP)

7.  Tim Mayza (LHP)

8.  Ryan Borucki (LHP)

9.  Kirby Snead (LHP)

10.Tayler Saucedo (LHP)

11.Trevor Richards (RHP)

12.Adam Cimber (RHP)

13.Julian Merryweather (RHP)

14.Jacob Waguespack (RHP)

15.Jordan Romano (RHP)

Batting Order vs Righties

1.  George Springer (CF) bats right

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right

3.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (DH) bats right

6.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right

7.  Cavan Biggio (3B) bats left

8.  Corey Dickerson (RF) bats left

9.  Reese McGuire (C) bats left

  

Batting Order vs Lefties

1.  George Springer (CF) bats right

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right

3.  Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (DH) bats right

6.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right

7.  Randal Grichuk (RF) bats right

8.  Gabriel Moreno (C) bats right

9.  Santiago Espinal (3B) bats right

Bench

1.  Alejandro Kirk (C/DH) bats right

2.  Breyvic Valera (2B/SS/3B) bats both

3.  Jarrod Dyson (OF) bats left 

The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers vs the 2021 Toronto Blue Jays - by Moses

1982 Milwaukee Brewers

Pitching Staff

1.  Mike Caldwell (RHP) - age 33

2.  Pete Vuckovich (RHP) - age 29

3.  Don Sutton (RHP) - age 37

4.  Moose Haas (RHP) - age 26

5.  Bob McClure (LHP) - age 30

6.  Randy Lerch (RHP) - age 27

7.  Doc Medich (RHP) - age 33

8.  Jim Slaton (RHP) - age 32

9.  Dwight Bernard (RHP) - age 30

10.Jerry Augustine (LHP) - age 29

11.Jamie Easterly (LHP) - age 29

12.Rollie Fingers (RHP) - age 35 

Batting Order vs Lefties

1.  Paul Molitor (3B) bats right - age 25

2.  Robin Yount (SS) bats right - age 26

3.  Cecil Cooper (1B) bats left - age 32 

4.  Gorman Thomas (CF) bats right - age 31

5.  Ted Simmons (C) bats both - age 32

6.  Don Money (DH) bats right - age 35

7.  Ben Oglivie (RF) bats left - age 33

8.  Charlie Moore (RF) bats right - age 29

9.  Jim Gantner (2B) bats left - age 29

Batting Order vs Righties  

1.  Paul  Molitor (3B) bats right - age 25

2.  Robin Yount (SS) bats right - age 26

3.  Cecil Cooper (1B) bats left - age 32

4.  Ben Oglivie (LF) bats left - age 33

5.  Gorman Thomas (CF) bats right - age 31

6.  Ted Simmons (C) bats both - age 32

7.  Roy Howell (DH) bats left - age 28

8.  Charlie Moore (RF) bats right - age 29

9.  Jim Gantner (2B) bats left - age 29

Bench

1.  Ned Yost (C) bats right - age 27

2.  Ed Romero (2B/SS) bats right - age 24

3.  Marshall Edwards (OF) bats left - age 28

4.  Mark Brouhard (OF) bats right - age 26

5.  Larry Hisle (DH/PH) bats right - age 35

2021 Toronto Blue Jays

Pitching Staff

1.  Robbie Ray (LHP) - age 29

2.  Hyun Jin Ryu (LHP) - age 34

3.  Alek Manoah (RHP) - age 23

4.  Jose Berrios (RHP) - age 27

5.  Steven Matz (LHP) - age 30

6.  Ross Stripling (RHP) - age 31

7.  Tim Mayza (LHP) - age 29

8.  Tayler Saucedo (LHP) - age 28 *

9.  Ryan Borucki (LHP) - age 27

10.Kirby Snead (LHP) - age 26

11.Adam Cimber (RHP) - age 30

12.Trevor Richards (RHP) - age 28

13.Julian Merryweather (RHP) - age 29

14.Nate Pearson (RHP) - age 24

15.Anthony Castro (RHP - age 26

16.Bryan Baker (RHP) - age 26 *

17.Jordan Romano (RHP) - age 28  

Batting Order vs Lefties

1.  George Springer (CF) bats right - age 31

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right - age 30

3.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right - age 22

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right - age 23

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (DH) bats right - age 28

6.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF) bats right - age 27

7.  Randal Grichuk (RF) bats right - age 29

8.  Alejandro Kirk (C) bats right - age 22

9.  Santiago Espinal (3B/2B) bats right - age 26

Batting Order vs Righties

1.  George Springer (DH) bats right - age 31

2.  Marcus Semien (2B) bats right - age 30

3.  Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B) bats right - age 22

4.  Bo Bichette (SS) bats right - age 23

5.  Teoscar Hernandez (RF) bats right - age 28

6.  Corey Dickerson (LF) bats left - age 32

7.  Reese McGuire (C) bats left - age 26

8.  Cavan Biggio (3B) bats left - age 26 *

9.  Jarrod Dyson (CF) bats left - age 36

Bench

1.  Danny Jansen (C) bats right - age 26

2.  Breyvic Valera (2B/3B) bats both - age 29

3.  Santiago Espinal (3B/2B) bats right - age 26

4.  Corey Dickerson (OF) bats left - age 32

5.  Jarrod Dyson (OF) bats left - age 36

* - currently in Minors

      

      In this comparison of teams from yesteryear to today we see many parables between both rosters as they both had the dominant offensive statistics.in MLB for the years studied (1982 and 2021)

  Both were teams that had an incredible scoring ability, evidenced by both teams hammering more than 200 Home-Runs in the season in the years studied.  The Brewers were known as the 'Harvey Wallbangers' in 1982 for their hitting proficiency, showcasing Molitor as the catalyst for the offence to get things started and steal bases at a healthy rate.  After Molitor the pitcher had to take on A.L MVP Robin Yount, perhaps the greatest hitting shortstop in the history of the game.  Cecil Cooper batted third and was a left-handed machine in hammering out hit after hit.  Then the pitcher had to take on deep threats Gorman Thomas and Ben Oglivie both 40 HR a year power.  Ted Simmons was arguably the greatest switch-hitting catcher of all-time and many looked at Jim Gantner as a plugger and a team player, Charlie Moore as a good defensive rightfielder, and Don Money and Roy Howell held the fort as the teams' DH tandom.  They were simply dynamite offensively and they almost won the World Series that year of 1982 losing a tight seven game affair against the St. Louis Cardinals and Ozzie Smith.  The Brewers Starting Pitching was strong (maybe not to this years' 2021 Toronto Blue Jays standard) and showcased Mike Caldwell, Pete Vuckovich, Don Sutton (picked up at the trade deadline), Moose Haas, Bob McClure, (and swingman Jim Slaton).  They had poor relief aside from Rollie Fingers (perhaps the best closer in the game that year) and Jim Slaton a swingman who was 10-6 with seven starts. 

  The 2021 Toronto Blue Jays  are a special team for many reasons.  The 2021 Toronto Blue Jays showcase power like perhaps no team before them.  They have a collective 7 men (once Springer belts his twentieth Home-Run of the year) with 20+ Home-Runs on the year.  Vladdy Jr., Semien, Teoscar, Bichette could each have 30+ Home-Runs should Bichette get hot over the last 6 games of the season.  Even leaving Vladdy Jr. and Marcus Semien out of the equation the offence is still powerful showcasing the exploits of Gurriel Jr., Grichuk, Alejandro Kirk, Reese McGuire, Bichette, Hernandez (and Cavan Biggio upon his return for the playoffs).  The Jays pitching this year has been strong from the starters.  Ray, Ryu, Manoah, Berrios, and Matz (and even Ross Stripling could be worked into the equation) are all capable starters.  Romano is arguably the best closer in the American League and has shown he's got the poise for the job.  With Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards in the mix alongside Julian Merryweather, Nate Pearson, Bryan Baker, and Tim Mayza (with another three lefties at the ready) the bullpen just needs to settle.

Starting Pitching

Advantage Toronto Blue Jays (9-8)

Relief Pitching

Even (7-7)

  

Catchers

Milwaukee Brewers - Ted Simmons 8/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Alejandro Kirk/Reese McGuire/Danny Jansen 6/10

Advantage Milwaukee Brewers

1st Basemen

Milwaukee Brewers - Cecil Cooper 8.5/10 

Toronto Blue Jays - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 9.5/10

Advantage Toronto Blue Jays

 

2nd Basemen

Milwaukee Brewers - Jim Gantner 6/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Marcus Semien 9.5/10

Advantage Toronto Blue Jays

3rd Basemen

Milwaukee Brewers - Paul Molitor 9/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Santiago Espinal/Cavan Biggio 6/10

Advantage Milwaukee Brewers

Shortstops

Milwaukee Brewers - Robin Yount 9.5/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Bo Bichette 8.5/10

Advantage Milwaukee Brewers

Leftfielders

Milwaukee Brewers - Ben Oglivie 8/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 8/10

Even

Centerfield

Milwaukee Brewers - Gorman Thomas 8/10

Toronto Blue Jays - George Springer 8/10

Even

Rightfield

Milwaukee Brewers - Charlie Moore 6/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Randal Grichuk 7/10

Advantage Toronto Blue Jays

DH

Milwaukee Brewers - Don Money/Roy Howell 6.5/10

Toronto Blue Jays - Teoscar Hernandez 9/10

Advantage Toronto Blue Jays

Bench

Milwaukee Brewers - 7

Toronto Blue Jays - 7

Even

  The reality is that it will be history who decides who the better team was.  Should the Jays make the playoffs this year they'll be remembered as perhaps the greatest offence of today's' age like was said of the 'Harvey Wallbangers' of 1982.