Title: Henderson Alvarez’ Smoke and Mirrors
Date: May 14, 2012
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: With Henderson Alvarez mowing down lineups in the early going, I looked under the hood at some scary signs the peripheral stats show.
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Title: An Early Look a the 2012 Blue Jays Offense – ZIPS Projections
Date: February 7, 2012
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: With ZIPS releasing their individual projections recently, I took a look at the projections for Blue Jays’ hitters, tried my best to adjust for playing time, and deemed the outlook to be mildly favorable compared to 2011.
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Title: On J.P. Arencibia’s Rookie Season
Date: September 13, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: I still love JPA, but looking back this piece was a bit hyperbolic about his rookie season. While I didn’t nominate him for Rookie of the Year honors, I basically just gave him the “I like this guy” approval and disregarded things like, oh I don’t know, OBP. That said, he’s shown improvement in 2012 so maybe it wasn’t so misguided after all.
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Title: Holy Hell, Nestor Molina! Prospect Watch
Date: August 25, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: The Blue Jays’ relatively unknown pitching prospect Nestor Molina was destroying the minors, so I took the time to look at his ridiculous numbers and whatever scouting reports I could find online. Molina would later be dealt to the White Sox for Sergio Santos and as of this writing (May 2012) is struggling for Chicago’s AA/AAA affiliates.
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Title: Jays Trade Aaron Hill and John McDonald for Kelly Johnson
Date: August 23, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: The Jays sent fan-favorites Johnny Mac and Aaron Hill to the desert, but I felt good about the return they got in high-OBP keystone-man Kelly Johnson.
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Title: On Intangibles
Date: August 19, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: This piece was a bit self-reflective, looking at the disconnect between how I view sports at a personal level (intangible-laden) and how I view them at a professional level (statistically-minded).
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Title: Henderson Alvarez Gets the Call, Will Start Wednesday
Date: August 10, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: The Blue Jays’ called up rising pitching prospect Henderson Alvarez, so I took a look at the 21-year old and where our expectations should be set.
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Title: The Jays Steal Signs?…C’mon Son
Date: August 10, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: When news broke that the Blue Jays’ were notorious sign stealers with no talent who only won by cheating (source: ESPN), I briefly reacted and linked to some more elaborate reaction pieces from around the internet.
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Title: Brett Lawrie’s Debut Weekend, Play-by-Play
Date: August 7, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: Mega-prospect Brett Lawrie finally made his much-anticipated Blue Jays’ debut, and what a weekend it was! This was the somewhat tongue-in-cheek recounting of the events.
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Title: Blue Jays Acquire Colby Rasmus in Whirlwind Deal
Date: July 27, 2011
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: All it took to get me going again was a blockbuster trade! With the Blue Jays shipping out multiple spare parts to acquire young, talented, but maligned center-fielder Colby Rasmus, I broke the deal it down piece by piece.
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Blake Murphy Sports Writing 