Hi, from beautiful Blairmore, Alberta, right in the middle of the Crowsnest Pass. My wife’s hiking group came here for a few days of hiking (I went on one of the hikes). I figured I could watch the Jays games and post to the site while they were off hiking, but the place we are staying at has no WiFi (or, for that matter, TV). The polite term is rustic. My term is creepy. It is floor-to-ceiling in old-time bric-à-brac.0 Bedroom doors don’t lock (or, for that matter, close). The good news is that I missed two rather painful looking losses.
One of the hikes today is up the mountain that slid down and buried the town of Frank in 1903. The hike description included the words ‘scramble’ and ‘round rock’, meaning there was a good chance of slipping and sliding.
So, I drove into town (well, two towns over) to borrow Wifi at a coffee shop. I may hang out here all day.
Late add: Alan Roden was named Internation League Player of the Month for August:
The Bisons outfielder led the league with 34 hits in August, as well as finishing the month among the league leaders in several other offensive categories. The 24-year-old’s .354 (34-96) batting average ranked fourth in the league, increasing his batting average by 60 points from the start of August in the process. Roden also led the league with 57 total bases.
He finished August fourth in slugging with a .594 slugging percentage, in addition to a 1.005 OPS that also ranked fourth. He added 10 multi-hit games, including a four-hit game against the Omaha Storm Chasers on August 23 that equaled his career high.
And Arjun Nimmala was named Florida State League Player of the Month:
Dunedin Blue Jays shortstop Nimmala batted .296/.330/.541 and led the league in hits (29) and total bases (53) and was second in runs (18) and RBI (17). He finished third in home runs (five) and slugging percentage (.541) and was fifth in average (.296) and doubles (seven). He posted nine multi-hit games and set a career-high with four hits August 20 at Clearwater. Nimmala, 18, was selected by Toronto in the first round (20th overall) of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Florida.
Now, the Jays would have to go 14-7 to make it to .500, which isn’t going to happen.
The big baseball news is that the Giants signed Matt Chapman to a seven-year, $170 million contract (I guess it is six years, plus next year’s contract, which was part of his original Giants contract). This seems like a long and expensive contract for a guy who turns 32 at the start of next season. Matt is having his usual season, hitting .247/.333/.445 with 22 home runs. With his defense, Fangraphs has him at a 4.8 WAR.
Chad Green, after 16 saves and 7 holds, had his first two blown saves in a row now (with six earned in the 1.2 innings). This adds to the anxiety around putting together next year’s bullpen. I thought they had two spots filled with Green and Cabrera. Ryan Yarbrough and Brendon Little seemed likely to be around next year. Erik Swanson had been okay since his recall in July. With Jordan Romano back, I thought we only needed two or three good arms to fill out the pen. Now? I don’t know, four or five good arms? Is Danner Hagen likely for a spot?
Let’s do some polls:
Chad Green is being paid $10.5 million next year. Batters are hitting just .199/.256/.386 against him.
Jordan Romano can be a free agent after next year:
Genesis Cabrera can be a free agent after next year.
Erik Swanson can be a free agent after next year.
Old friend, Nate Pearson, was part of a no-hitter yesterday. Shota Imanaga threw seven innings, Nate pitched the eighth, and Porter Hodge the ninth. Imanaga came out at 95 pitches and had never thrown 100 pitches or thrown into the eighth inning before.