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

Switched back to the jays when they’d closed the gap to 8-6. Been a real fun two innings.

Only saw the first few innings, but Manoah looked sharp today. He gave up a 3-run HR later on, but it was preceded by an error and all the runs were unearned. At a team level, it doesn't matter--they're deader than dead. But promising for him.

was a very unexpectedly strong performance.

Also was not expecting a win tonight against that team. With that pitcher.

Thou will not be swept; thou will not sweep.

wild game.

I could not make sense of some of the umpires calls. And then that 9th inning. Think I’m going back to not watching their games for a while

I actually enjoy listening to "Jays Talk" when everything's falling apart. Instead of feeling silly over my own disgust, I get to vicariously experience that through the disgust of others.

It makes it so much worse!

The big topic today, of course, was the decision to put in Pearson. Hosts were livid.

Why on earth would they send Manoah out for the 7th? I haven't been watching, but it looks like he's pitched six dominant innings (1 walk, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, 90 pitches). They're up 3-0. What good can come by extending that? He's already got the confidence-building start he needs.

Looks like he finished the seventh right around 100 pitches, with a one-hitter. Nice to see him maybe getting things sorted out.

I think it was a risk, but it worked out. He's a guy who thrives on confidence and swagger, so this feels like it could be a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, the Jays continue their streak of not sweeping and not being swept. They almost blew it the other day by sweeping the Orioles, but they came through again by squandering a 9th-inning lead.

Ah - I think Zack Pop’s 9th was a good example of why Schneider wanted to stick with a starter that was dealing.

I knew that was the consideration--their bullpen has been terrible lately--but to me that's an easy call. Maybe this is blasphemous, but between a win or a loss for a team going nowhere and getting Manoah back on track for next year, I'd risk the win.

(If that makes sense...I'd rather risk the bullpen blowing the game than risk Manoah blemishing a great start.)

I thinks it’s fair to say Manoah would have pushed back against getting pulled. Leaving him in was the obvious choice. “Letting the bullpen blow another game” would not have been good for anybody.

Next 13 games against the White Sox, Tigers, and Pirates. It will be a real challenge not to sweep the White Sox especially, but I believe the Jays are up--or down--to it.

I'm sure Ross Atkins saw some encouraging signs in tonight's shutout loss to the White Sox, but I'm hoping this gets us that much closer to the point where they turn the page and start over (whatever that might mean).

Justin Turner by the month:

https://i.postimg.cc/KYyNSKFn/turner.jpg

I wonder if he’s playing through something. I was really shocked at how much the Jays played him in the field. He was awful after days he played in the field last year. Wonder if he picked up an injury then.

Sickness seems to be part of it but not the whole story. Falling off a cliff at age 39 or thereabouts is not unusual--it's possible the one has hastened the other.

https://jaysjournal.com/posts/justin-turner-epic-collapse-proving-to-be-worst-case-scenario-for-blue-jays

Maybe. Hate to see it either way.

I have to laugh at one line in that Jays Journal link: "He had been dealing with a sickness that ran through the Blue Jays' clubhouse for over a week..."

Diagnosis: Offensiva Anemicosa, a complete inability to score runs.

RISPitis

Pretty accurate, I'd say:

I feel like Ross Atkins watches a lot of those disney movies where a sports team is shitty until an amazingly talented dog joins, or until they host a bake sale that gives them the ability to buy all new equipment, and then suddenly they become amazing and win the championship.

— female jays fan (@femalejaysfan) May 19, 2024

An amazingly talented dog--how did nobody else see this?

They couldn't find an amazingly talented dog, so--next best thing--they've brought the home-run jacket back. Sure enough, worked its magic on the White Sox tonight. Beware, league.

So bummed. I was supposed to be at the game but had a brutal migraine. It was so bad I didn’t even put on the tv or even radio - and then when I’m finally able to lift the phone to my face, they’ve scored 9 runs!!

Something I heard on the radio today that was so unbelievable I had to check it: Bo Bichette's home run yesterday, in the Jays' 48th game, was their first HR out of the clean-up spot this season.

It's true.

Ya. Heard about that a couple days ago.

This whole time, it's been that fucking jacket--that's all it took.

Was listening on the car radio--Manoah's line tonight looks worse than he actually pitched. Had a really messy 4th that involved some bad luck.

Yimi Hendrix is well ahead of mlb in %ge of the side-wind sinker or some such thing? haven’t heard of it, it’s increased spin rate of some kind

xxp that bo home run was the best moment so far. highest scoring in/updated home run jacket/rolling out the red carpet in the dugout?
moar pls

inning*

I hope today is the day they give up their dreams of the third wild-card and get going on whatever comes next.

This game was brutal.

I hope today is the day they give up their dreams of the third wild-card and get going on whatever comes next.

I'm not sure whether this was written before, or after the Jays came back and then blew the game. The post works either way!

I think the Tigers were up 9-5 when I posted.

They're five games out of the last wild card spot, behind a bunch of team that also have their flaws. Last year's DBacks were under .500 in August and made it to the WS, so most teams definitely shouldn't be punting the season in May.

The real problem with the Jays is that the grand strategy is "wait for the offense to come around", without any acknowledgement that the team on the field now is who they are. The offense of 2020 and 2021 isn't happening again, and last year's pitching and defense was due for some regression. It's that simple, but the front office brainiacs don't seem to get it.

I don't disagree with any of that, but to me, hanging around and hoping you catch a third WC spot--and they've have to play .560+ baseball to even win 85; what reason is there for thinking this team could sustain .560 for 110 games?--just prolongs this charade. (Which is one reason I didn't want Arizona to win the WS last year--I think the ripple effect on a team like the Jays, who are happy to drift along tinkering on the cheap, is not good.) I'd rather just start over, even though I don't really know what that would entail.

they've = they'd

and the championship Braves I believe were .500 at the AS break. Wouldn't you wait until at least July to sell? they'll go on a good streak at some point - i think the Jays are reasonably set up for the Postseason (pitching is good enough with some small sample offensive luck). A lot of teams seem to set themselves up to be just good to grab a WC; it's just a matter of whether their shit does (or doesn't) work in the playoffs.

Yeah the lesson of the 2023 Diamondbacks isn't "don't get your hopes up".

.560 baseball to win 85 games can be accomplished with three more months of .500 baseball and a 14-2 run. A lot of teams have snuck in that way. There's some luck involved, even if it means they're a lot closer to being a true talent .500 team than a .560 team.

I think I see this team very differently than you guys. A 14-2 run seems a tall order for a team that hasn't yet swept a series, even if only two games.

I'd sell at whatever point in the season will normally get you the best return. Don't know when that is.

They haven't swept a series -- that's true. But that's past performance. And it reflects their true talent level -- arguably that of a .500 team that can't dominate opponents. It doesn't mean that they can't get lucky and go on a mini-run.

I'm not optimistic. It means that the entire offense has to wake up at the same time over at least a two week stretch. Again, take last year's Diamondbacks. They were essentially a .500 team. They were outscored on the season. They had a strong first two months, then were bad until mid-August, and were barely good enough in September. And this year, they're back at .500. Things can happen.

i'm still with this team, they're very interesting. I think they'll make the playoffs, esp. with HOU faltering early. they did go on a 19-6 run last year (.684), I posted last year regarding the SP stretch of about 10 games with 1.00 ERA with the same staff as now. Vlad is over .400 the last month and Bo is looking like he's back. as for old men, Springer is moved to 7 and JTurn needs to sit regularly to keep smt in the tank, i think. who knows? i'm not optimistic but would be bummed to see the window close even earlier than it is closing now