Jose Bautista re-ups w/TOR......5/65

[DuWayne Steurer]

http://sports.espn.go.com...11/news/story?id=6129630

 

There's been a few folks leery of the Weeks deal because he's had 'one good year'. Some (including myself) would argue that he's had one great year, and several injury hampered years in which he put up good number while on the field.

 

Well, Bautista's had one amazing year, and a bunch of bad years. Before this season, his career's highest OPS was .757, Age 30, with about 5 full seasons worth of previously being a poor hitter at the MLB level, does anyone expect Bautista to be a .900+ OPS guy going forward? They just got rid of Vernon Wells' awful contract, and are going right back into doling out stupid (and unnecesarry, Bautista is still a year from free agency) contracts.

[chuckiehacks]

Like a moth to a flame, the Blue Jays just these types of love long-term deals.

[JumpinMacFlash]

I can't believe Bautista is getting that much. He's actually getting more per year than Alex Rios did at the time.

 

I suppose if he has another .950 OPS season and then hits free agency, there's no way they'd be able to afford him and someone would give him well above that amount. It's a big risk, for sure. The Blue Jays must see something in him that gives them an incredible amount of confidence. Alex Anthopoulos has done a nice job so far. The fact that he traded Vernon Wells means he'll probably be given the benefit of a couple hundred doubts from Blue Jay fans and ownership.

[NievesNoNO]

I hate to say the word, but when a previously below average hitter suddenly smashes more than 50 home runs...well let's just say I'm skeptical. Maybe he really did figure out something will his swing, but he'll have to make more adjustments this season as pitchers will have been studying more film on him. I'll predict he hits 26 bombs this year and regresses more towards his old self. Personally, I'd have made him prove it one more year. There's some weird stuff going on with those Blue Jay hitters Bautista goes from below avg. to stud, Aaron Hill and Adam Lind fall flat on thier face after monster years. I'd give Hill and Lind more of a chance to bounce back to their previous year than I give Bautista to come close to repeating last year. Not a smart deal IMO.

[joepepsi]

The only hope going forward is he carries a pretty good obp in relation to batting average. So he's not just a free swinging hack that got lucky last year. (well, he's never going to hit that many hrs again!) From '06-09 he was a pretty useful bench player-good obp, decent power, .742 OPS over that span. But that's hardly worth this contract. He must be stunned with this offer.

[Warning Track Power]

This is just an awful deal. It would be the equivalent of the Brewers giving Hall this deal after his one season. You could even argue that Hall would have been the better bet to produce based on his limited track record. Look at the comparison:

 

Bill Hall Batting Stats for Years 2002 to 2006

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2002-2006	MIL	491	1763	1606	239	428	108	16	67	225	39	24	132	425	.267	.322	.479	.801	104	769	33	4	11	10	9
Average		98	353	321	48	86	22	3	13	45	8	5	26	85						154	7	1	2	2	2
per 162 games		163	582	530	79	142	36	6	23	75	13	8	44	141

Jose Bautista Batting Stats for Years 2006 to 2009

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2006-2009	PIT,TOR	500	1911	1638	232	396	86	8	59	208	13	8	210	387	.242	.334	.412	.746	95	675	49	26	21	16	9
Average		125	478	410	58	99	22	2	15	52	3	2	52	97						169	12	6	5	4	2
per 162 games		162	620	531	76	129	28	3	20	68	5	3	69	126

 

This has the potential to be a historically bad deal. I would be real nervous as a Blue Jay fan today.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I started this thread a few hours ago, and I'm still scratching my head about this. I'm just stunned about the amount of money this guy earned for one season in which he quadrupled his normal home run output.

[LouisEly]

Actually I recall hearing that before last season he made a significant adjustment in his stance/swing, opening his stance so that can see the pitch better with both eyes. I seem to recall hearing him say it made all the difference in the world.

[Funketown]

Actually I recall hearing that before last season he made a significant adjustment in his stance/swing, opening his stance so that can see the pitch better with both eyes. I seem to recall hearing him say it made all the difference in the world.

FWIW, Bautista's FB% spiked to 55% last year. I know we always hear about guys changing things in the spring, but this may be a case of a guy actually making significant changes.

 

I have no clue what to expect from Bautista. I doubt he'll ever hit 54 HR's again, but he could be a pretty good player over the course of his contract.

[topper09er]

This is not final yet and based on an ESPN rumor from a "source". It is not on MLB Trade Rumors yet which in my book does not mean it is true.

[apirk]

If I remember correctly he changed it the September before last year and he hit well that September. I remember him being a huge sleeper for Fantasy baseball before the season started because of it.

[RockCoCougars]

These guys just can't resist burning loonies can they? I guess who's to blame them with the White Sox bailing them out on Rios and the Angels bailing them out on Wells?