Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 11th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 4-8 vs. Louisville Bats

CF Antoan Richardson 0-5
LF Jose Pirela 0-5, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-4, HR, RBI, BB - hitting .283 over last 30 days
RF Zoilo Almonte 2-5
DH Kyle Roller 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, K
3B Zelous Wheeler 2-4, 2B, K
1B Corban Joseph 1-4
C Francisco Arcia 2-4, K
SS Carmen Angelini 0-2, RBI, BB, 2 K

Matt Tracy 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 2 K, HBP, 54 of 85 pitches for strikes, 9 GO/2 FO
Jim Miller 2.0 IP, H, BB, K, HBP - 13 of 18 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/0 FO
Matt Daley 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, K, WP, HBP - 17 of 27 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/0 FO
Diego Moreno 1.0 IP, K - 6 of 10 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/0 FO

Double-A Trenton Thunder: off

High-A Tampa Yankees: vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

Game 1: L 1-3

CF Mark Payton 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI - .932 OPS on the season
SS Cito Culver 0-4, K
3B Eric Jagielo 0-2, BB, K, HBP
RF Aaron Judge BB, 3 K
1B Matt Snyder 1-3, K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-3, K, SB
C Trent Garrison 0-3
LF Ericson Leonora 0-1, BB, HBP
DH Danny Oh 0-2, BB, K

Brett Gerritse 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K - 2 GO/2 FO
Conner Kendrick 2.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR - 3 GO/0 FO
Philip Walby 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, K, WP - 2 GO/1 FO

Game 2: W 5-2

CF Mark Payton 1-4, 3B, K - first career triple
SS Cito Culver 1-4, RBI, 2 K
3B Eric Jagielo 1-3, HR, RBI, BB
RF Aaron Judge 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, K - hitting .292 over last 30 days
DH Matt Snyder 1-3, 2 K
2B Jose Rosario 2-3, 2B, RBI - hitting .361 over last 30 days
LF Anderson Feliz 0-3, 2 K
1B Reymond Nunez 1-3
C Kyle Higashioka 0-3, K, PB

Taylor Garrison 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 5 K, WP, HBP - 2 GO/2 FO
Cesar Vargas 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, HR - 3 GO/1 FO
Alex Smith 2.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K - 4 GO/0 FO

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 2-5 vs. Hickory Crawdads

DH Tyler Wade 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K, 2 SB
C Kale Sumner 0-3, BB, SB
RF Dustin Fowler 2-4, 2B, K
3B Miguel Andujar 0-4
1B Mike Ford 0-4
LF Yeicok Calderon 2-4, RB, K, SB
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, BB
SS Abiatal Avelino 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, K - first stateside home run
CF Brandon Thomas 0-2, 2 BB, K, 2 SB

Gabriel Encinas 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K - 25 of 44 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/1 FO
Chaz Hebert 4.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K, WP - 52 of 83 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/2 FO
Giovanny Gallegos 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K - 28 of 43 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/2 FO
Stefan Lopez 0.1 IP, K

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees: postponed

Gulf Coast League Yankees 1:L 7-14 vs. GCL Phillies

SS Tyler Palmer 1-1, 3B, throwing error (6)
2B Billy Fleming 0-5 RBI, K
3B Drew Bridges 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K, fielding error (7)
RF Alexander Palma 3-5, 2B
CF Leonardo Molina 0-5
1B Dalton Smith 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, K
LF Dominic Jose 0-3, BB
C Roybell Herrera 0-4, PB
DH Miguel Mojica 2-3, 2B, BB

Preston Claiborne 1.0 IP - 1 GO/1 FO
Caleb Cotham 1.2 IP, 2 H, K - 3 GO/1 FO
Orby Tavares 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, WP - 4 GO/3 FO
Francis Joseph 0.2 IP, H, 4 ER, 2 BB
Christopher Cabrera 1.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R/ 3 ER, 3 BB, HBP
Dayton Dawe 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 K, WP, HBP - 1 GO/0 FO

Gulf Coast League Yankees 2: postponed

Some links for the morning:

Empty Blue Jays get thumped in Seattle - Sportsnet.ca Mike Wilner (with an autoplay ad) talks about last night's game.

After playing 19 innings for more than six-and-a-half hours and then flying east to west across an entire continent, it was difficult to imagine that the Blue Jays would have anything left in the tank in the opener of their series in Seattle, especially given the fact that they were facing one of the best pitchers in the game in Felix Hernandez.

38 years ago today: The Blue Jays were born - Sportsnet.ca

On August 12, 1976, Toronto’s new baseball team unveiled their nickname. They went with the Blue Jays of course, and the last 38 years have shown that they made a prescient choice.

Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ back on track | Toronto Star Brendan Kennedy tells us about the improvement of J.A. Happ

He has nearly a 25 per cent swing-and-miss rate on pitches above the top of the strike zone this season, likely aided in part by the fact his average fastball velocity is up by more than two miles per hour this season compared to his career average.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Colby Rasmus is crawling when he should be running | John Lott National Post

They call it the "walk year," the season when a player is bound for free agency. The greater a player’s production in a walk year, the greater the payoff when he walks.

Blue Jays: Skipper does right by his boys ahead of big series with M’s: Griffin | Toronto Star Richard Griffin tells us about the decision not to send down Chad Jenkins.

"I never like to send him down, period," Gibbons said. "But the guy’s got options. After yesterday’s game, if we send him down that could be a morale killer too, what he did for the guys."

Tigers coach Vizquel remembers days with Blue Jays | MLB | Blue Jays | Sports |Omar Vizquel isn't John Farrell's biggest fan.

"Some days I was sad ... that it was my last year playing," Vizquel said. "Other days I was happy that it was my last year and some days I thought I was going to get released. It was a respect thing that the Jays had for myself and for my career ... I think that’s why they didn’t release me."

Toronto Blue Jays tried to sway the two-sport star Alford to play only baseball. It seems like a good idea to me:

It was a five-year deal, Alford admitted, and it was easy to see why the Blue Jays would want to further their initial $750,000 investment in the player it drafted in the third round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Alford showed up this summer after spending much of his energy on football and hit .320 with a home run with four stolen bases in five games for class-A Lansing.

A night of joy, triumph, runs, and sound.

1) Sweltering humidity smells like chaos. It feels like a SEC football game could break out around you at any moment. Sweating profusely while shuffling through cramped restrooms and long concession lines with thousands of other sweating, largely undressed human beings is an irrefutably stupid thing to do. The stickiness in the air hangs around like a blood thirsty predator breathing hot death on your neck. You've made a mistake, it says. You should have stayed inside. I'm on the hunt. But you came, because fealty is not something left to convenience and your fealty was demanded.

2) I assume that most Blue Jays fans in Safeco Field make an annual tradition of buying tickets to all 3 games Toronto plays in Seattle, and then plan a vacation around it. I assume the tickets are purchased as soon as single game tickets are available. I saw their giant, moose-drawn buses outside the stadium and I assume this is all a fun tradition. I've been to many SEA-TOR games over the years and Blue Jays fans typically have their run of the place. There may be a few of us who attempt to cheer back. But we're outnumbered, we're losing and lord knows we aren't going to score any runs.

Before the game a group of chanting Jays fans attempt to run across 1st and Edgar to Henry's for pregame beers. They get halfway when a Seattle Police Officer strides towards them, hand extended. The fans stop chanting and retreat to the curb.

Not today Canada. Not today.

3) The stadium is alive. The crowd is split almost in half by seas of yellow and blue. Constant, competing chants of "Let's Go Blue Jays" are drowned out by chants of "U-S-A U-S-A". You'd cringe but this isn't real life. This is theater. We're all playing a part. And we're all putting our full selves into our performance. 

The show in the stands goes on. Every time Felix gets to 2 strikes we rise. No one complains to ushers. No one complains to us. They all just stand and cheer, lost in purpose.

4) When Robinson Cano hit it to left you could already see it being caught at the warning track. Safeco is built with the bones of murdered power hitters, their tears the mortar in the bricks. But somehow this ball cleared the fence, bouncing a samba dance with gleeful drunks in Edgar's. Opposite field home runs to left at Safeco are among the rarest species of home runs in baseball. This one summoned The Storm.

The hits came freely now. Torrents of doubles, triples, and runs. Runs upon runs upon runs. Rain started to fall. We put our heads back, opened our mouths and roared. There was no beginning to this game, and no end. Nothing mattered but the endless runs, the bottomless well of joy we had somehow tapped into. When Robinson Cano came to bat the 2nd time in the inning Zeus himself joined.

If you were on the 1st base side you saw the bolt. You couldn't miss it. But it was so fast that it didn't feel real. Then the thunder rolled and the crowd roared with a triumphant, primal scream. Cano countered the Thunder God with another bolt off the wall in left center. Nothing has meaning. There is no joy or sadness. Only energy, limitless energy. I watch myself scream for the thousandth time.

5) The 6th ends, the rain increases, and Thunderstruck comes on. We scream. We scream for Felix. We scream for Cano. We scream for the ghost of JJ Putz. We scream for ourselves. We are nothing but noise and fuel for gods at play. And we scream on.

More from Lookout Landing

Follow @LookoutLandingFollow @SBNationMLB

• Podcast episode 22: Jeff Nusser of CougCenter
• Lookout Linkage, 8/12/14
• Mariners win 11-1, eliminating Blue Jays from Wild Card race
• 63-55: Chart
• 8/11: Felix Thread Part 2

Now that the Blue Jays have more than just Brad Mills out of the bullpen, this game seems like it could be a little more winnable tonight. The newly dependable J.A. Happ goes up against righty Chris Young in an interesting pitching matchup, which is more than you could have said about these two about a year ago. Young is a 35-year-old righty from Dallas who has bounced around the major leagues since he was drafted in the third round of the 2000 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Young has flashed some promise through his decade-long major league career, but has faced an endless list of injuries and surgeries in the past few years that always stopped him from stringing together a solid full season.

The EXTREME fly ball pitcher has spent most of his career in parks like Petco, Citi Field, and Safeco so he's been pretty protected from the dangers of producing some of the lowest GB/FB rates of all-time. The 6'10" righty has never had a BABIP over .300 and actually has a career .251 BABIP, which is quite unheard of. Chris Young looks extremely boring on the surface, but when you start to look into it you discover he's some sort of enigma. His 3.27 ERA this season is pretty sexy, but his FIP of 4.75 begins to show the true talent, and the xFIP of 5.14 really shines Young in a negative light. It's debatable how long his .229 BABIP and 23.2% FB-rate can last but for the time being, it's quite an interesting story to follow.

The weirdness continues with Young when you look at his repertoire that is mainly made up of just fastballs and sliders. The massive righty only averages 86 mph with his fastball and throws it nearly two-thirds of the time. His slider hits the radar gun in the high-70's and seems to cause hitters more problems than you would expect as it only has a .176 batting average against. It seems that Young has slowly started to ditch his fastball for the slider, but he's still pretty predictable:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista DH
4. Dioner Navarro C
5. Adam Lind 1B
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Juan Francisco 3B
8. Munenori Kawasaki 2B
9. Anthony Gose RF

Bullpen Usage

• Yesterday: Brad Mills (2.1 IP, 64 pitches) DFA'ed
• Two Days Ago: Todd Redmond (2.2 IP, 50 pitches), Aaron Sanchez (3.0 IP, 37 pitches), Brett Cecil (1.1 IP, 27 pitches), Dustin McGowan (1.1 IP, 28 pitches), Aaron Loup (0.1 IP, 5 pitches), Casey Janssen (1.0 IP, 16 pitches), Chad Jenkins (6.0 IP, 73 pitches)

• Yesterday: Joe Beimel (1.0 IP, 9 pitches), Danny Farquhar (1.0 IP, 17 pitches)
• Two Days Ago: Dominic Leone (1.2 IP, 14 pitches), Tom Wilhelmson (2.0 IP, 27 pitches), Fernando Rodney (1.0 IP, 27 pitches)

Find The Link

It's a good news / bad news kind of day.

Edwin Encarnacion

Slugger Edwin Encarnacion is slotted into the leadoff spot--which gives him the maximum number of plate appearances as possible--as he begins his rehab stint with the Buffalo Bisons, who will host the Norfolk Tides at 7 pm in a game that is threatened by a pretty nasty-looking rainstorm. Encarnacion only got four plate appearances with Dunedin earlier this week because of a few rain outs in Florida--and now it looks like he brought the weather with him.

#Bisons lineup lists Encarnacion in leadoff slot at DH. #Bluejayspic.twitter.com/ltBkf8kWIK

— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) August 12, 2014

Here is a Vine of him swinging in the indoor batting cage:

I don't hear him screaming in pain so I guess he's ready to go! Encarnacion hasn't played with the Blue Jays since July 5, which was a little over a month ago, but it seems like he has been gone for longer than that. The aim, Gregor Chisholm tells us, is for EE to return the roster this Friday in Chicago.

UPDATE: The rain has come and gone, according to the Bisons' official Twitter account.

Weather Update #Bisons fans: The rain has stopped at Coca-Cola Field. Looking real good for baseball tonight vs. Tides. #BlueJays

— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) August 12, 2014

Adam Lind

Chisholm also tells us that Adam Lind played in a simulated game in Dunedin yesterday and should be already in Seattle if everything went according to schedule.

UPDATE: Barry Davis informs us that Lind is in Seattle and will be activated before tonight's game. Yay!

I can confirm Adam Lind is here in Seattle and at Safeco. Will be activated for tonight's game. #bluejays

— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) August 12, 2014

Neil Wagner

It's been a tough year for Neil Wagner. First, he, as a reliever with options, was sent down to Buffalo in April despite posting good numbers. Then, he was recalled for one game where he took a shelling, giving up six runs against the Indians in that forgettable 15-4 loss at home (Dustin McGowan's final start). He returned to Buffalo and threw four games before he again was shelled, giving up four runs before being pulled after launching a pitch to the backstop (Ricky Romero also got a season-ending injury that game).

By mid-June he had already seen Dr. James Andrews who prescribed a three-week rest period. About six weeks later he threw to one batter, 18-year-old Astros prospect Luis Payano, in a rehab stint with the GCL Blue Jays before he was pulled. Unfortunately for Wagner, Payano homered off of him, so now has an infinite ERA in the GCL.

The Blue Jays officially announced today that Wagner will be undergoing Tommy John surgery on August 19, which means he will likely miss all of 2015 as well. He remains on the 40-man roster, at least for now.

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler

Tonight, Lansing Lugnuts radio broadcaster Jesse Goldberg-Strassler will be conducting his annual tribute to the old days of baseball broadcasts, when radio guys would sometimes call the game without actually being at the park.  He and Trey Wilson will be making fake crowd noises and low-tech sound effects to make the blind call as real as possible. Listen to the online broadcast for free here.

The threat of rain aside, @treywilson757 and I will re-create tonight's #Lugnuts game with canned crowd noise and sound effects. #tradition

— Jesse G-S (@jgoldstrass) August 12, 2014

Big (O), if true!

After the tremendous success of this season's exhibition games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets in Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Blue Jays are close to returning there for spring training 2015, according to a report from 98.5 FM's Jeremy Filosa.

Les #Reds et les #Jays s'affronteraient au Stade olympique en mars http://t.co/IAr7nZwrbk#MLB#985fm

— jeremy filosa (@j_filosa) August 12, 2014

This piece of good news for Montreal baseball fans came out today, on the 20th anniversary of the start of the 1994 major league players' strike, which interrupted the Montreal Expos' great season as they led all baseball with a 74-40 record, six games up on the Braves in the National League East. Instead of enjoying a playoff run and possibly getting to hang a World Series pennant at home, Expos fans had to settle with a "1994 Meilleure Équipe du Baseball / Best Team in Baseball" banner.

Filosa's report revealed that evenko will be organizing the event again, which will see Toronto facing Canadian Joey Votto an the Cincinnati Reds. This sounds like a great event for baseball in Canada with the country's only major league team facing against team led by a four-time Tip O'Neill Award winner in the former stadium of the country's inaugural major league team.

The report also noted that the Russell Martin and the Pittsburgh Pirates were in consideration as the Jays' opponent. Filosa indicated that "several" teams actually reached out to the Blue Jays after seeing the 96,350 fans who came out to see the games again the Mets. I'd imagine playing those two games in Montreal made more money for both the Jays and the Mets than if they had played in Florida.

Despite a late spring cold spell--there was a snowstorm after the second game--I had a fantastic time that weekend in Montreal. There were so many Blue Jays fans and baseball lovers who travelled there and the atmosphere and noise at both games were unlike anything I've experienced in any ballpark. I know that many of the players who were there had a great time to playing in front of the huge crowd. The Blue Jays, the Reds, Montreal, and evenko will find it difficult to replicate the feeling from this year now that some of the novelty of playing in Montreal has worn off.

But I won't care too much; it's baseball in March and it's baseball in Montreal, so I will be there. Hopefully it will be to cheer on the defending World Series champions.

Hat tip to Rob Silver (@RobSilver) for the link.

UPDATE

Sportsnet's Shi Davidi confirms through his sources that the Blue Jays are indeed going to play in the Big O next spring, but the opponent is yet to be finalized.

The Jays will return to Olympic Stadium in 2015 after hosting a successful two-game set there prior to the 2014 season.

The Toronto Blue Jays will return to Olympic Stadium in Montreal for two spring training games in 2015, according to 98.5 FM Sports' Jeremy Filosa (via Bluebird Banter).

The Blue Jays will take on the Cincinnati Reds at "The Big O" a year after hosting the New York Mets in a pair of exhibition games that were attended by more than 96,000 people. Multiple teams reached out to the Blue Jays to participate in the 2015 event, according to Filosa, but the Reds -- featuring Joey Votto, who is arguably the best current Canadian player -- seemingly made the most sense.

The series between the Jays and Mets in 2014 marked the first time Major League Baseball returned to Olympic Stadium since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington after the 2004 season. The stadium was problematic throughout most of the 27 years the Expos called it home and played no small part in the team's departure. As of 2006, the total cost of the facility exceeded $1.47 billion, including the $770 million price tag for its initial construction -- a figure that, with inflation, would equate to more than $3 billion today.

The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-3 with a couple dingers and a gentle giant. They have won the series against the playoff berth seeking Blue Jays.

54°40′ North: Chris Young (.197 WPA)

49°00′ North: Brandon Maurer (-.130 WPA)

Questions:

1)  Re-sign Chris Young, yes?

2) What is your favorite territorial dispute?

3)  Your 12 August 2014 Seattle Mariners POG is:

The series finale goes tonight at 10:10 EST as the Blue Jays try to avoid a painful sweep at the hands of the Mariners and reverse the growing bleakness surrounding their playoff position. Wily old veteran R.A. Dickey gets the ball at Safeco this evening as he faces off against Japanese starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who is in the midst of another dominating season. In a 2014 campaign that looks remarkably similar to his 2013 year, the righty has a 2.86 ERA and a 3.18 FIP, while having a minuscule 2.2% BB-rate. It seems Iwakuma is criminally underrated thanks in large part to playing in Seattle and sharing a rotation with Felix Hernandez. Mariners fans should feel extremely fortunate to have Iwakuma playing out a two-year $14 million contract with a $7 million option for next season. In free agency you would have to think that the righty could land a contract about five times that size.

Hisashi Iwakuma has a style similar to Japanese counterparts Hiroki Kuroda and Yu Darvish, focusing on a sinker, slider, and splitter combination of pitches. The sinker thrown by the righty is the shuuto that is so popular among right-handed pitchers from Asia, as it features a reverse slider action that breaks in on the hands of same-handed hitters. Iwakuma's isn't quite as good as Kuroda's or Darvish's, but it does a good enough job setting up the slider and splitter.
The splitter is undeniably Iwakuma's bread and butter, with seemingly every at-bat being an attempt to get in a pitcher's count so he can embarrass the hitter with the nasty pitch. If hitters find themselves in an unvfavourable count, then there's a solid chance that the splitter is coming and an even better chance that they won't be able to do anything with it. The pitch actually has a 709.9 GB/FB rate this season, so it's pretty clear that the amount of damage you can do against it is minimal. It's also only had four extra base hits off of it this season to go along with 23 singles, although two of the extra base hits have been home runs! Iwakuma also has "dog whisperer" command over the pitch, always starting it in the bottom of the zone and dropping it off the table glove side:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera DH
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Adam Lind 1B
5. Juan Francisco 3B
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Josh Thole C
8. Munenori Kawasaki 2B
9. Anthony Gose LF

Bullpen Usage

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers chapter of the careers of a pair of players came to a close on Wednesday. The team placed infielder Chone Figgins on unconditional release waivers, and lost pitcher Colt Hynes to the Blue Jays on a waiver claim.

Figgins was designated for assignment on Aug. 6, and Hynes was designated for assignment on Sunday.

The waivers for Figgins are irrevocable, meaning the Dodgers can't pull him back off waivers. If no other team claims Figgins by Friday at 10 a.m. PT, he will be a free agent. The 36-year-old, who was out of baseball in 2013, hit .217/.373/.267 in 38 games.

Hynes was acquired by the Dodgers from Cleveland on April 6 for minor league pitcher Duke Von Schamann, and spent the whole season in Triple-A. The 29-year-old left-hander put up a 4.08 ERA in 42 games with the Isotopes with 46 strikeouts and 10 walks in 53 innings.

Toronto optioned Hynes to Triple-A Buffalo.

The Blue Jays have claimed Colt Hynes, a left-handed pitcher, off waivers from the LA Dodgers. He's 29, was a 31st round draft pick in 2007. And, with a name like Colt, of course he's from Texas.

Colt has been pitching for Albuquerque of the PCL this season. He has a 4.08 ERA in 42 games, all in relief. He has 10 walks and 46 strikeouts in 53 innings. He pitched for the Padres in 2013, 22 games, a 9.00 ERA, 25 hits, 9 walks and 13 strikeouts in 17 innings and that's the extent of his MLB career so far.

I imagine he's going to be depth at Buffalo, they are down a couple of pitchers lately, with Neil Wagner's Tommy John surgery and Brad Mills sitting in DFA limbo at the moment. Beyond that, I don't see that he's really worth a spot on the 40-man roster.

Welcome to the Jays Colt.

As hitters adjust to what Chris Young is throwing, Young adjusts right back.

It feels weird to trust Chris Young. It isn't wrong to trust Chris Young, as he is most certainly an above-average pitcher, and at home he's even better than that—but still, it'll never not feel weird to trust a guy who's firing 83mph pipeshots over the heart of the plate.

Still, that's what most of us are coming around to, trusting Chris Young. Last night, as I was checking in on the At Bat app during the first inning, I was disappointed that Young surrendered a run early. But while past instances, now months ago, may have bred a bit of a "Oh no, is this it? Are we going to see him finally get shelled?" sentiment, it wasn't there.

Instead, it was replaced by the welcome, and now nearly commonplace "Well, there's a good chance that's all they're going to get. And if that's it, we can still win this." And that's how it played out, that is all the Blue Jays got, as Chris Young strolled to that nice 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 K, 2 BB line.

For a long time, it felt as though Chris Young was simply tricking opponents. Eventually, the voodoo would fade as whatever the hell he was doing would be figured out, and the whole scheme would come crashing back to earth. Chris Young was an absolute, and hitters being flummoxed was a variable that would inevitably change.

Well, that's not how baseball works. I think we all here are aware of that. As hitters adjust to pitchers, pitchers adjust right back—or even do the adjusting first. I don't know, there's just lots of adjusting. Let's get to the point.

Chris Young has been in a constant state of adjustment. Just by watching, it's easy to see what he's doing, but here's a graphical interpretation. This is Chris Young's pitch usage by month, courtesy of Brooks Baseball.

Over the course of the season, Chris Young has been using his fastball less and less and less as he works in more of his off-speed stuff—mostly the slider, but also changeup a little bit as well.

Now, as you can tell, there's been of a bit self-correction lately. Where it had increased every month previously, there had been a bit of a drop-off. Why? Well, that approach just wasn't working as much anymore, so Young's continued to alter his offering.

Here's Young's swinging strike percentage, by month, on those three pitches:

With just two August starts, the sample is small, but the evidence is still clear: hitters haven't been swinging and missing on the off-speed stuff as much, but they've been missing the fastball more, so he's adjusting.

And how have the results been? Are hitters really fooled? Well, here's his strikeout rate by month.

Yeah, I'd say it's working.

For as much as we enjoy well-reasoned quotes on why Chris Young hates pitcher wins, what he does on the field is as much, if not more, reason to celebrate Young as a genuinely cerebral pitcher. We've long wondered how in the world he gets by with his raw stuff, long suspecting that something like a effective velocity strategy might be in play, but stuff like this makes it clear to see simple attention-to-detail and a thought-out strategy are a big component.

Chris Young's been a treasure this year, and after everything he's shown, I have no problem trusting Chris Young to keep that voodoo working in the heart of a pennant race.

Blue Jays 0  Mariners 2

I'm so glad I didn't make the trip to Seattle. I thought about it, but there was too much going on here to make the drive and I'm glad I didn't.

Once again good pitching shut us down. It seemed to me that in May we could face a good pitcher and beat him, but lately it's been tougher. Tonight, Hisashi Iwakuma kept us off the scoreboard for 6.2 innings and we didn't have much better luck against the M's bullpen.

We managed 7 hits, all singles except for Jose Reyes' double. Reyes and Adam Lind had 2 hits each. Jose Bautista, Colby Rasmus and Munenori Kawasaki each had a hit. It was another night where we couldn't get a hit with RISP. Colby seemed particularly snakebit, he had some hard hit balls go for outs.

R.A. Dickey was pretty good. Went 6 innings, allowed 7 hits, 4 walks with 2 strikeouts. The only hit that really mattered was the Kendrys Morales 2-run homer in the first. Back in May, a 2-run homer against us in the first wouldn't win the game, but we aren't hitting.

Brett Cecil looked unhittable over the last couple of innings. Nice to see him back pitching like an All-Star.

No Jays of the Day today. Suckage goes to Juan Francisco (-.140 WPA, 0 for 4, 2 k), Cabrera (-.109, 0 for 4, 1 k) and Dioner Navarro (-.100, 0 for 4).

The good news is that the team is flying out east again. After tomorrow's off day, we play the White Sox in Chicago for a three game series. And Edwin Encarnacion should be back.

We had 817 comments tonight. Pikachu continues his winning streak, great job again.

Another one of the Blue Jays injured stars is on his way to rejoin the team in Chicago today after a short rehab stint in Buffalo. Edwin Encarnacion played two games with the Bisons this week going 2-8 with a monster grand slam in his first game against Norfolk:

This season Encarnacion has played in 88 games with the Blue Jays, hitting .277/.368/.591 with 26 home runs, which leads the team. He's also second on the team behind Jose Bautista in terms of rWAR and will be a welcome addition back to a squad that struggled mightily as of late to score runs. With both Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion returning to the lineup this week, the only injured Blue Jay still expected to return and make a contribution this season is Brett Lawrie who is projected to be back in September.

BREAKING: Encarnacion leaves #Bisons to join #Bluejays in Chicago. Story upcoming at http://t.co/QRgMZSJsaN. Lineup: pic.twitter.com/J8uZOCPlvF

— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) August 14, 2014

A corresponding move has not yet been announced and it will be interesting to see what the Blue Jays do. If the team wants to platoon Steve Tolleson and Munenori Kawasaki at second base and Juan Francisco and Danny Valencia at third base, then one of Anthony Gose or Nolan Reimold will be on their way off the roster.

Over at Grantland, Ben Lindbergh has a 'Managerial Meddling Index' and not surprisingly, John Gibbons ranks as the most 'active' manager in the majors.

Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons claims the title of most active manager, largely on the strength of his fondness for replacing his starters. Gibbons is conservative when it comes to intentional walks and pitchouts, but he's very aggressive in challenging umpires and in fiddling with his lineup card during games: The Jays lead the majors in pinch hitting for position players and in inserting defensive subs, as they pursue the handedness advantage at positions where they platoon and try to reduce their exposure to defensive liabilities such as Juan Francisco.

I'm glad he is conservative in intentional walks and pitchouts....I hate intentional walks. I'd imagine a good part of the 'fiddling with the lineup cards is due to tall the injuries. He uses pinch hitters and bunts because he has a bunch of lousy hitters in the lineup. Challenges? He seems to be quite willing to use his challenge before the 7th inning if there is anything close at all.

He's about league average in ordering hit and runs, I've never been a big fan of the hit and run, I think there is the odd moment when it is a good idea, but those are few and far between. He's about average in using pinch runners too, we have some really slow runners.

I generally don't think that being 'active' is a good thing for a manager, Cito has a couple of World Series rings, and he was as inactive as any manager you'll ever see. But, given the season, the Jays have had,  Gibby has to be more active.

Go take look at the article, and let us know what you think about Gibby being so active.

This week's title: Our Magnum Opitz

We are closing in on the end of the minor league season, so there are only a few 'Around the Nest' episodes left, so give us your questions in for the Blue Jays' minor league radio broadcasters in the thread below.

It's getting down to the playoff stretch drive. My question would be, 'do the players think about making the playoffs in the minors?'

I've really enjoyed listening in the to guys that see every pitch of each of our minor league teams. It is nice to get the first hand view point.

The link for this week's episode is right here. Tune live in this evening at 5 pm Eastern or download it at a later time to listen in.

The question of the week is:  What are the best nicknames on your team?

While you are waiting, you can listen to last week's show:

So it's time to give them questions for this weeks' episode.

After throwing 52 pitches in 2.2 innings of work tonight in Chicago, reliever Chad Jenkins has been optioned to Buffalo for seemingly the 100th time this season. The righty gave up one earned run off five hits, while striking out three White Sox hitters. Jenkins has actually been a fairly reliable long man  this season and his option status has allowed the Blue Jays to rearrange their roster depending on the work load of the bullpen from game to game.

Jenkins optioned to Buffalo. #BlueJays

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) August 16, 2014

Jenkins has appeared in 21 games this season and has a 2.56 ERA with a 3.48 FIP. His sinker has featured a ton of movement and has lead to the righty having a 57.3% ground ball rate. With all of the pitches that had to be thrown by the Jays bullpen in Chicago tonight, it's likely that the player coming the other way from Buffalo will be a reliever. Barring an injury, Jenkins will have to stay in Buffalo for at least ten games before coming back to the big league squad.

Will this be the time we see Sean Nolin make his return to Toronto or maybe the Blue Jays will promote Daniel Norris to try and save the season (they're definitely not going to do that). It could also be a former bullpen piece like Steve Delabar or Sergio Santos getting another opportunity to showcase their quality stuff in Toronto.

#BlueJays did not announce a corresponding move for Jenkins but it will obviously be a reliever. And it won't be Norris, who pitched tonight

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) August 16, 2014

The M's defeated the Tigers on Friday, 7-2.

Well it was another one of those games where you hear the phrase "if the season ended today" tossed around. That is a meaningful phrase, to be sure, but it really obfuscates a bunch of nitty-gritty things that happened between the first and the last pitch of the evening.

It was also a game that saw the Mariners surpass the Tigers to become sole possessors of the second Wild Card spot--one that treated Seattle fans to August baseball with playoff implications, gave ESPN headline fodder, and even featured a home run from everyone's favorite quarter-of-a-billion-dollar second baseman. These are all byproducts of the fact that the Mariners beat the Tigers tonight, 7-2, but they also kind of swing the pendulum a little too far in the other direction.

I know, I know. I say this knowing full well that holy shit, what are the Mariners doing and is this real? If you were to put on your Mariners hat and walk out your front door right now to stop by any sports bar in town, there is a good chance that someone would bring up the M's in conversation to you--Jake from Ballard who is sitting at the booth next to yours, that goofy looking bartender that is trying to hit on you because you're a girl interested in sports without needing a male to justify it it, or even that weird guy who strikes up conversation in the stall next to you mid-piss with a Bud Lite-fueled toothy grin. This is what a city looks like when they are excited about their baseball team for the first time since Billy Corgan had hair, and even though nobody wants to talk to someone while they are peeing, it's kind of exciting.

I get all that. I'm excited too. But casting tonight's win as reclamation of the last wild card spot reflects a reality that only lasts for about 12 more hours. Imagining this (continued!) offensive performance as indicative of a now-elite club ignores regression and even just dumb bad luck that could tank the rest of the season. Proudly exclaiming that the Mariners are eleven games above .500 for the first time since 2007 is...woah, wait, 2007? Holy shit, I'm ready for the fucking playoffs.

Alright on to tonight's game.

The M's struck first tonight, notching three runs in the second inning. This is somewhat surprising, because Rick Porcello does a lot of things but giving up three runs in the second inning isn't usually on the list. How did they get it? Kyle Seager single. A Mike Zunino Ty Cobb special. A Logan Morrison RBI single, followed by another from Endy Chavez. I could have made up a bunch of things in this paragraph, and you would have had just as much justification for rolling your eyes at those series of events as you did at this one, except for the fact that things like this are starting to not be that weird anymore. Which is, in itself, weird. A giant, weird vicious circle of weirddom.

Before the inning was over, Chris Taylorreached on an intended sacrifice bunt, and Austin Jackson grounded into a double play for the first two outs of the inning, plating Logan Morrison but denying him an RBI because you only get a tepid cheer during introductions upon your return to your former ballpark. What, they aren't giving those runs away!

Except they kind of were:

This is a picture of Robinson Cano. If you notice, he is kind of casually holding his bat out, leaning over his scrunched waist with a calm curiosity that doesn't seem to suggest he is going to immediately start running towards first base. He doesn't look like that because he didn't have to run to first base because he hit his 11th home run of the year because he's Robinson Cano, and why were you ever worried about any of this?

After Cano's dinger in the third, it was 4-0 Mariners, and James Paxton was back out to continue facing one of the most efficient offenses in all of baseball. Paxton was having a lot of trouble early in the game, really only locating his fastball while bouncing curveballs off the dirt a good inch in front of the plate, which is not where curveballs are supposed to go. For an example, look at this series of pitches against Victor Martinez in the first, who reached on an error by Chris Taylor:

Although he still has very limited major league experience, Paxton has kind of been known as a strikeout machine who can hit his spots with regularity. Today, he was lucking into grounders and being forced to leave a few of his pitches back in the dugout while pitching to the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. What happened? One run in the third, really only thanks to a bizarre triple from Rajai Davis and a fielder's choice grounder off the bat that scored him a minute later.

Blowers and Aaron Goldsmith were joking after the game that the Seattle Times' headline should be something along the lines of Paxton throwing a clunker, except with a noted mention that the Mariners still won. If today was a clunker, then we have a lot of incredible baseball awaiting us from Canada's newest and freshest left arm. I have ESPN on in my hotel room, and their little bumper to end their coverage of this game was focused on Paxton, reading "Seattle has a Prince and a King." I think we all know that this isn't probably the best way to describe all this, or the right nickname. But hey. Neat. Or something. I guess.

In the top of the fourth, the Mariners put another run on the board off the bat of Chris Taylor, who sent in Logdog from second. To end the inning, Austin Jackson was caught stealing, and Lloyd came running out to the dugout, ostensibly to challenge the call. After a brief conversation, he decided to return to the dugout with his challenge intact. This was a good decision, because literally two minutes later, in the very next at-bat, this happened:

(cue Benny Hill music)

It didn't seem like anyone had any idea what happened here, but the end result was an out, and that made for a quick fourth, bringing the Mariners right back to the plate in order to get another run off the bats of Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano, and a little Detroit Tigers defensive specialty that put Kendrys on first.

Paxton made it through six innings to get his third win of the season, and was effective even with poor command, walking one and striking out only two. The Mariners combined for 11 hits, combining a cycle amongst the team, and Tom Wilhelmsen broke a few more ankles he can add to his broken-ankle-bone necklace he will be wearing in the post-apocalyptic Cormac McCarthy dystopia that surely awaits once the Mariners make the postseason.

Also Brad Miller (in for Cano in the eighth after a minor baserunning injury that you don't need to worry about) sort of stole home in the ninth after hitting a triple, but it was only because Chris Taylor was stealing second on a pickoff attempt, and someone forgot to tell the Tigers that there are four bases. When you hit that many dingers, maybe you start to forget that fourth isn't just a given.

But for today? They own that second wild card spot right out, and leave a series sweep of the Blue Jays to have the chance to take another against the next rung on the ladder. The excitement may be there in Seattle sports bars, and the taste of even the idea of the playoffs is certainly going to be a palpable experience over the next couple of weeks, assuming the M's keep all this up.

But you have to know that that locker room is as dialed in as it has ever been. Cano, like everyone else, has been praising Lloyd's consistency. Players are remaining locked down and humble. They are probably talking to each other while they pee, but that's only because they are all in a locker room at the same time and you just kind of have to do that.

And at the end of the day, today's 7-2 victory over the Tigers was great, but tomorrow Felix faces David Price in an August baseball game that directly impacts the playoffs without the qualifier "spoiler." A year ago that's all you or I would have ever asked for. Tonight, it almost feels like it's owed to us. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but holy shit I'm excited.

Five-run attack knocks out Toronto starter in first inning

After scoring 13 runs over its previous eight games combined, the White Sox offense returned to U.S. Cellular Field and teed off on well-regarded Toronto rookie Marcus Stroman. They battered him and batted around for five runs over two-thirds of an inning, and the Sox would have another five-spot in them before the night was over.

I spent the first two hours of this game at a Jason Isbell concert (spoiler: he's really good) and tuned in after all but one run of the scoring, so let's do this in bullet points:

*The Sox scored 11 runs on 17 hits, and all of them stayed in the park. Alejandro De Aza, Conor Gillaspie and Adam Dunn each had a double.

*The Sox started the fifth inning with six straight singles, leading to four runs, and Wild Pitch Offense brought the fifth run home -- and all before nobody out.

*Every Sox starter but Tyler Flowers and Gordon Beckham had at least two hits. Beckham had a single, while Flowers had a tough night, going 0-for-4 with a walk, three strikeouts and eight stranded. One of those strikeouts was yet another replay hosing, because Tim Welke said he struck out on a foul tip that even Toronto's broadcast couldn't see.

*Jose Abreu and Dunn led the team in hits (three); Abreu led the Sox in RBIs (three); Alexei Ramirez led the way in runs scored (three). De Aza did his best Adam Eaton impersonation out of the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

*Hector Noesi chose to imitateJohn Danks, creating substantial scoring opportunities for the opponent after his offense gave him some support. After the White Sox took a 5-1 lead, the Blue Jays narrowed it to 5-4, including a two-run homer by Melky Cabrera. When they scored five in the fifth, he allowed the first three batters of the sixth to reach, giving Javy Guerra a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation to inherit.

*Lucky for Noesi, the bullpen was incredible. Guerra limited the Jays to one run, getting a double-play ball and a strikeout to end the threat. He pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, and Maikel Cleto and Daniel Webb each added scoreless, walkless innings themselves.

*Moises Sierra ran for Viciedo; after the game, it was said Viciedo was dizzy. Leury Garcia replaced Sierra in the ninth, because it was said Sierra had back problems. With 15 days left in August, consider this the groundwork for a convenient DL stint that allows Avisail Garcia to rejoin the club.

Please in add other observations as you see fit.

Record: 58-64 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights

A firsthand account of one of the most dominant pitching performances in the minor leagues this season.

On the day that rumors of a possible September callup surfaced, Daniel Norris made an emphatic case that he deserves a promotion. Making only his second Triple-A start, Norris was excellent once again last night for Buffalo as he struck out 13 and walked none over 5.2 innings. I attended the game and will offer my thoughts on his dominant performance below.

Norris, a lefty listed at 6’2", 180-pounds, used an effective four-pitch mix to keep the Lehigh Valley hitters baffled all night. He pitched primarily off of his fastball, which ranged from 87-96 MPH with good life. He sat 91-93 in the early innings and although his velocity dropped a few ticks as the game progressed, he was still able to generate many swings and misses with his fastball during the entire game. Norris worked up in the zone very frequently, challenging hitters to hit his high heat, which they could not. Some of the high pitches were a result of him overthrowing and not finishing his pitch, but he still deliberately worked up in the zone with regularity. He showed some ability to move the ball around to spots on the edges of the zone, although many of his fastballs were of the "here it is, try to hit it" variety. I applaud his aggression with the pitch but fear that consistently working up in the zone could lead to home run issues in the future.

I liked that Norris was able to sit in the low 90’s then reach back for more velocity when he needed it, including one strike three on a 96 MPH fastball at the letters. Furthermore, I loved how Norris was able to generate a high number of swings and misses with the fastball, a terrific sign for a pitcher without exceptional velocity. I’d like to see him work down in the zone a bit more but his fastball is still a quality pitch that plays much higher than the velocity would suggest.

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The lefty featured two breaking pitches, a big overhand curveball and a smaller, tighter slider. The curveball was an extremely impressive pitch with a sharp and large 12-6 break that he could command. He was able to record strikeouts with the pitch in the zone, where he froze batters on multiple occasions, and out of the zone as a chase pitch. The offering ranged from 69-74 MPH, a huge velocity difference from the fastball and opposing hitters had a very difficult time adjusting to the difference.

The slider sat in the 79-85 MPH range and featured a small but sharp break that also missed bats effectively. Norris was able to move the pitch around, getting strike calls on backdoor sliders to righties and many swings and misses on sliders down and out of the zone. He only hung one slider all night, a spinner that was taken high for a ball, and the rest were consistently sharp. None of his breaking pitches found a barrel all night and most swings on these pitches resulted in whiffs.

His fourth pitch is a changeup, a fringe offering that was 83-84 MPH and commanded poorly. He did not use the pitch frequently and when he did, it was pretty flat and only featured slight movement to the arm side and down. Norris did not telegraph the pitch, but other than a few fastballs left over the plate this was the pitch that opposing hitters saw well and were able to hit well. If Norris does indeed move to the Toronto bullpen this season, expect him to scrap the changeup and focus on his fastball and breaking pitches.

While this is easy to say after watching him dominate, I was also impressed with his pitchability and general feel for his craft. Norris was able to sequence well, often using the curve and slider off of each other to keep the hitters guessing. The velocity difference of his pitches, which ranged from 69-96 MPH and everything in between, allowed him to get creative in setting up hitters. It helps that Norris showed three swing and miss pitches, but it was nevertheless encouraging to see him effectively use each of them to record strikeouts. Additionally, I love pitchers with command who do not walk batters, but Norris displayed more control than command in this look. His walks could remain low due to his aggressiveness in the zone, but it would not be accurate to assert that Norris has terrific command simply because he did not walk any batters.

Mechanically, Norris stands tall in his smooth, simple delivery. He has no wasted movements and is therefore able to repeat his motion very well. It is not an extremely slow motion but Norris does a great job of finding and maintaining his balance throughout the entire delivery, which bodes well for his future command profile. Out of the stretch, Norris employs a full leg kick and is slow to the plate at 1.5 to 1.6 seconds. During the few times opposing hitters reached base, they did not hesitate to run on him. Unless he finds a good pickoff move (he did not show one in this look) or cuts down on his times to home, stolen bases could become an issue. On the positive side, his pitches did not lose any effectiveness in the stretch.

I was impressed with the makeup Norris displayed last night as well. He was often the first player on the field each inning, seizing the mound ready to compete. That competitive demeanor continued throughout the game as he worked quickly, showed good body language, and was not afraid to show a bit of emotion when things went well. Even better, when Norris lost his feel a bit during the fourth inning and surrendered multiple hits he bounced back extremely well. He was not pleased with himself but he took the mature approach of channeling that anger and aggression into positive energy. He immediately began throwing harder (without selling out to overthrow) and recorded a strikeout on the next batter.

It was difficult to not walk away impressed after a performance like that, but Norris still has work to do. He overthrew his fastball on multiple occasions, worked up in the zone too frequently, and lacked an effective changeup. He can still help Toronto this season, especially out of the pen where the need for a quality fourth pitch is not as great. This profile is not indicative of a pitcher with an ace-level ceiling, but Norris makes the aforementioned improvements I could see him as a number three starter, and if not, a number four starter. The Blue Jays need quality starting pitching and it would not be far-fetched to imagine a 2015 Blue Jays rotation featuring Norris. For now, however, the bullpen makes more sense and since Norris is probably one of the best 13 pitchers in the organization, the Blue Jays ought to give him an opportunity this season. He is throwing better now than ever before, and for a team trying to win now, Norris can help them do it.

Dan Weigel, who proudly wore his brand new Bartolo Colon shirsey to the game, is a contributing writer for Minor League Ball. For his thoughts about baseball, especially prospects, you can follow him on Twitter at @DanWiggles38.