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Laced
August 7, 2017
1. Stretch him out mid-season to put him in the rotation.
2. Let him keep starting, even though he sucks, so that every bit of confidence is completely snuffed out.
3. Put him back in the bullpen where, surprise surprise, he doesn't perform as well as before.
4. Send him down to the minors to start again even though the season’s over.
I'm of course talking about the Blue Jays’ decision to once again make Joe Biagini a starter.
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of the franchise making yet another horrible move.
It’s clear the Jays decision makers have never heard the phrase, "Don't mess with a good thing."
If they had, Biagini would still be a go-to late inning reliever as we speak...or type.
Converting Biagini into a starter was a stupid decision in the first place. It's beyond fucking stupid this time around.
Why? BECAUSE THE GODDAMN SEASON IS OVER.
Even if Aaron Sanchez doesn’t return or Marco Estrada gets traded, just start anyone else. Start Mike fucking Bollsinger (who has since been DFA'd). Heck, start me. Who cares. The season is done.
D-O-N-E, done.
Why risk messing Biagini up even more by continuing to yo-yo him? It doesn’t make one iota of sense.
Joba-ing Joe Biagini
Here's something else the Jays brass have apparently never heard of: Joba Chamberlain.
Once a lights out reliever for the Yankees, his career quickly derailed thanks to some piss poor decision making.
Instead of leaving him in the bullpen where he was all but unhittable, they tried making him a starter. Then they inexplicably moved him back and forth between the rotation and bullpen.
Sound familiar?
Chamberlain finally ended up back in the bullpen, but was never close to being the same pitcher ever again. In fact, he was downright dog shit.
There are many more stories like this in the annals of MLB history. They should be a cautionary tale for anyone in Atkins and Shapiro's position. But, yeah. I guess they’re not.
Biagini’s drop-off
You could already see Biagini wasn't the same guy once he returned to the bullpen. Who could blame him? It's not easy going from reliever to starter to reliever well into the season.
If they wanted Biagini to be a rotation piece, let him have a full spring training as a starter then put him in the rotation from day 1. Not partway through the season.
Of course, the Jays didn't need him in the rotation to start the season since they already had 5 solid starters.
So the decision was made. Biagini would be a member of the bullpen for 2017. And there he should've stayed.
Lucking out
Let's take a little trip back to December 2015, shall we. It’s the Rule 5 draft and the Jays take a flyer on a AA pitcher from the Giants.
That pitcher? None other than Joe Biagini. Weirder than a purple polka dot goat on acid, Biagini.
No one could've predicted that he’d have this much success in the bigs this fast. Or that he’d be a core piece of the bullpen in 2016, which saw the Jays make the playoffs for the second straight year.
The Rule 5 draft is a total shot in the dark. A crapshoot that usually results in crap. It’s like trying to find a microscopic diamond in a Rogers Centre-sized rough.
Let’s just say the success stories are few and very far between.
The Twins plucked Johan Santana from the Houston Astros system through the Rule 5. But that’s an outlier.
By no means am I saying that Joe Biagini is Johan Santana. Not even close.
What I am saying is the Jays struck gold by finding a reliable back of the bullpen arm. And now they’re turning that gold into shit.
The best decision they could’ve made was to not do anything at all. Leave Biagini in the bullpen. Let that play out.
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But as the Jays have proven time and time again – especially in respect to how they’ve treated Sanchez this year – if there's a wrong decision to be made, they will make it.
It’s probably too late now, anyway. The damage is most likely already done.
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