Let's Bitch About Our Stupid, Annoying Baseball Team: the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays Thread

Vlad's birthday yesterday:

https://jaysjournal.com/posts/a-look-at-vladdys-career-accomplishments-as-he-turns-25

Their conclusion: "It's easy to forget how young Guerrero still is considering how long he's been around, but it's important to remember what he has done for this team and that his best years are still ahead of him."

My conclusion: "There's 2021, and then there's everything else."

To be fair, one day before Bryce Harper's 26th birthday, I would have summed up his career exactly the same--there was 2015, and then there was everything else. So I know there's lots of time to turn things around. Whether that happens or not--and if it does, whether or not it hpapens in Toronto--nobody knows.

Votto homers off Wheeler on the first pitch he sees as a Jay. Rolls ankle on a bat immediately afterwards, leaves game

(as previously reported in the Votto thread)

I haven't a clue what Santiago Espinal is worth, but this is what we got:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcelva000chr#

Hasn't pitched in the majors yet.

the main thing, i think, is he doesn't need to be on the 40 man. inning eater at best if he makes the bigs, by the looks of it.

Something else fell through for tomorrow, so think I'll watch the opener at the Canadian HOF. They're going to be showing every Friday game there for the rest of the season.

Going to leftfield with the girlfriend to watch. Screw work and making money!

Varsho Cove, I think they call it.

Watched the first six innings at the (Canadian) HOF, left because their feed was kind of choppy. I had a cardboard stand-up of Fergie Jenkins looking over my right shoulder the whole time. About 30 people were there.

They flashed a graphic of Berrios's GS the last five years (excepting the COVID season):

2018 - 32
2019 - 32
2021 - 32
2022 - 32
2023 - 32

Not as amazing as Khris ".247" Davis's streak--GS is a lot more predictable than BA, plus the COVID year intrudes--but still eye-opening. Apparently Berrios has never missed a start in his career.

Not watching--down on them already!--but Turner has a single/double/HR is his first three AB...ah, just walked. Should get one more AB, but hasn't had a triple since 2020.

Jays are getting n__-h__ by Benny Blanco from the Bronx, a 30-year-old making his eighth major league start and with a career ERA near 5.00.

(My sourness and sarcasm is 100% directed at the Jays. His name is Ronel Blanco, and obviously a great story.)

He's thrown 81 pitches through 7, has a 10-0 lead; who knows, but hope they give him one baserunner.

Whoah--10 pitches, 1-2-3. Kiner-Falefa, Biggio, and Springer left to go. (He walked one earlier in the game, so back to Springer.)

One.

Two! Jesus, this is fast.

Did it! CG no-hitter. Almost got in under 100 pitches but walked Springer on a full count. Even exciting on a laptop.

Just seeing the highlights now. Great play by Abreu in the 9th.

Third game in five where the Jays have been hapless at bat. Even with their big first game, now hitting .184 as a team.

Well todays (technically yesterdays) went much better. Glad I stuck around until the end

Looks like their haplessosity was in effect for most of the game, till Groucho took charge, but a win is a win is a win. Hope Berrios keeps it up; a Cy contender would be something to root for if the team meanders.

Pathetic. Now hitting .176 as a team.

It turns out that the big off-season strategy to overhaul the offense by signing every utility infielder on the market wasn't such a bright idea.

Now I get it: we've built our offense around wild pitches and passed balls.

Green made it interesting in the 9th, but the pitching at least came through today.

manoah in dunedin today: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 58 pitches, 26 strikes

"Manoah walked the first four batters he faced, throwing just two strikes in his first 18 pitches."

José Berríos: 18.2 IP, 2-0, 1.45 ERA

rest of team: 75.0 IP, 3-6, 5.98 ERA

From the Canadian HOF FB feed: Davis Schneider's parents at the Hall today.

https://i.postimg.cc/zf6Vy7Mj/davis.jpg

Is he Canadian?!

Just looked him up--no, New Jersey. You don't even need to be Canadian to be inducted, much less displayed.

Ya. He hasn’t reallly done much. Pretty low bar imho !

C'mon, he's probably the game's greatest hitter right now. Career slugging pct.:

1. Schneider - .607
2. Alvarez - .589
3. Judge - .584
4. Trout - .583
5. Ohtani - .559
6. Acuna - .533
7. Stanton - .529
8. Betts - .529
9. Arenado - .526
10. Soto - .525

*minimum 161 career plate appearances

Lol. I guess that’s something

I think playing the Mariners has cured your team.

Painful playoff memories will not fade so easily.

as evidenced by John Schneider being booed as he went to take Berrios out, lol

oh why did i remember that as the M's. all the playoff losses are a sad blur

i think that one was the twins. the bullpen implosion was against the Ms

About 15 minutes before the game today, I messaged my brother-in-law about putting down $100 for me on Berrios to win the Cy, like I did two seasons ago with Manoah. I found an odds tracker that listed him at 58 to 1 on April 10:

https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/mlb/cy-young-odds/

My brother-in-law messaged back that the bet would be placed at 28 to 1; considered it, but figured it wasn't worth it.

Obviously still a very long shot (and it's not like the Jays are suddenly a good team), but less of one with Cole out of the picture. I may regret this.

(I can still place the bet, of course, but the odds will go down still more after today.)

Murderer's Row:

Springer: .215/.329/.338
Guerrero: .188/.316/.359
Bichette: .217/.277/.333

I like that they all have eight letters...Miracle that they're 9-8--Berrios, Kikuchi, and Turner.

Stroman's second return start in Toronto today, up against Gausman, who's having a miserable year thus far.

I really love Gausman. Iirc he missed some of spring training? Hopefully it’s just that.

He got a late start, yeah--didn't start until their fourth game, and he was fine (one run in 4.1 innings. 11 runs in his last 5 innings since. Lots of stories about lost velocity. (I mean "velo.")

Another great start by Berrios: 6 shutout innings, 5 hits, 6 K, 2 walks. The bullpen's already lost the shutout, but if they can hold on for three innings, Berrios will be 4-0, 0.95. I may revisit those Cy Young odds tomorrow.

You should have gotten in at 28 to 1!

The offense is still a disaster, but with expected (?) improvement we may have something here? It feels as though the pitching hasn't peaked, even though Berrios won't finish with a sub-1.00 ERA.

I think it’s weird with Guerrero - there’s always talk about his crazy exit velocity; but he’s been hitting it right at defenders or into the ground for outs, and his hits seem to be coming off these light contact bloops lately.

Got the bet down.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6QHdx19/bet.jpg

I know that, realistically, his odds are longer than that, that he's hardly on the ideal team to win a Cy Young (don't expect many games where he can pitch five or six innings and leave with a big lead), and that chances are he won't even finish with a sub-3.00 ERA. But one thing that doesn't make sense to me is that Cole is still among the favourites (fifth right now; Burnes is #1 at ~5 to 1). One of my rationales in placing the bet is that Cole's out of the picture...I don't know, when is he due back? Losing a month even really hurts his chances, I would think.

Wins haven’t been a big deal since king Felix won it. But strikeouts still stand for something and WAR is obv a big factor for many voters and I don’t see Cole making up ground enough there even if he’s only out a month

Got the bet down.

#freeippei

I do too, sometimes finding some excuse to play it in class. Pretty sure I'll never experience another baseball moment like it.

https://www.facebook.com/TorontoBlueJaysBaseballFans/videos/1575967349663775

I don't know if that will work--Teoscar talking about Toronto with Hazel Mae.