Pregame Thread: June 8 – Houston Astros (36-26) @ Toronto Blue Jays (35-28) – 7:07 PM

5 comments

1. ah yes, ace vs ace.

2. It’d be huge if we win this four-game series, basically a sweep of the defending world series champ

3. Happy John Gibbons Birthday to all who celebrate it!

   To commemorate Gibby turning 61, here’s some pointless random facts about the Blue Jays.

   – Did you know that Sandy Koufax and Rance Mulliniks have a career achievement in common? Both of them were on a World Series roster without getting into a game. In fact, each of them has done it twice: Koufax was on the 1955 and 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers and Mulliniks was on the 1980 Kansas City Royals and 1992 Blue Jays.

   – It occurred to me the other day that “Whit Merrifield” sounds like a fictional name of a baseball player in a book written for boys. But that’s only because it does: “Frank Merriwell” was a fictional character that appeared in a number of books written by Burt L. Standish, as well as in radio dramas, other books, etc., etc. According to Wikipedia, Merriwell “excelled at football, baseball, basketball, crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs.” The real-life Merrifield isn’t that good, but he does play multiple positions and hustle.

   – Do Vlad Jr. and Juan Soto ever hang out together or at least stay in touch? They really should: they’re both 24 years old (Soto is 142 days older), both from the Dominican Republic, and both have had monster years followed by (to some people’s way of thinking) disappointments. Soto’s arc is even more extreme than Vlad’s: Soto had a 1.105 OPS in 2020 but has hit in the .240 range the last two years.

   Anyway, happy Gibby day!

4. I don’t know about you guys but I’m here for another 3 game sweep 😃😃😃

5. I still feel like our bullpen doesn’t get the credit it deserves this year. Often overshadowed by the great starters but the bullpen has legit been one of the better bullpens in the entire league. I hear complaints about not having a real closer or not having more pitchers throwing 100 mph+ but statistically it clearly hasn’t matters.

   These are entire bullpen numbers as well. Including everyone struggling, injuries and short term AAA call-ups.

   **Blue Jays Bullpen in 2023:**

   * K/9 – 4th
   * BB/9 – 6th
   * K-BB% – 2nd
   * WP – 2nd
   * HBP – T-5th
   * Balks – T-2nd
   * Blown Saves – T-4th
   * LOB% – 5th
   * OBA – 5th
   * WHIP – 4th
   * ERA – 8th
   * xFIP – 5th
   * SIERA – 2nd

   The only issue the bullpen has had is **HR/9 where they are 29th in baseball** but it hasn’t hurt them cause they don’t really allow many baserunners due to ranking top of the league in hits, walks, HBP, balks, wild-pitches, etc. against.