To What Extent Does Your Life Revolve Around Alejandro Kirk? (The 2023 Blue Jays Thread)

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, with the Rays due for a reality check, but I am. And if they sweep, wow.

As perplexing as ever. (I mean, I know the Rays were due, and the Astros are the Astros, but still.)

"I know the Rays were due"--that didn't quite come out right. Due to bounce back from the two losses, I meant.

Third good start in a row by Bassitt. I feel a little sorry for him, in that he got hammered so badly his first start, it'll probably take him till the All-Star break to get his ERA under 4.00, and maybe not even then.

i think he's having some serious trouble with the new pitching rules. the short timeframe to select a pitch and start your motion is a lot more deal-able with for a two-pitch closer vs a 6-pitch Bassitt. looks like he (and possibly Schnider) had a talking to from the ump last night about something... my guess is he maybe wasn't coming all the way set each time before starting his motion and they maybe got a warning after someone noticed

As Lou Reed once said, it's called bad luck.

https://ca.yahoo.com/sports/news/blue-jays-star-george-springer-is-off-to-a-cursed-start-to-mlb-season-200820692.html

Found this rather surprising: Gausman's 11 K today only the second time ever a Jay has struck out 11 in Yankee Stadium (Clemens the other).

Starters’ combined ERA last 7 games, including tonight: 0.96

(all QS)

ok i’m not sure the total numbers but we can add on 5.2 IP 0 RA for the starter Kikuchi to this run of amazing starts, but the main story today might be that the bullpen struck out 9 of the last 10 batters!? for a total of 17.

Looking forward to the at least competent Mariners. Firing on all cylinders right now

Really happy to see them sweep the kind of team they need to periodically sweep.

so the last 8 starts: 0.86 ERA / 0.69 WHIP

Manoah's struggling (100 pitches in five innings, four walks), but he bulldozed through. If Springer and Varsho can get going, their offense will be tough 1-9.

Kind of bored with the whole Gatorade thing, but today--Varsho's walk-off--I loved it.

Kind of amazed by this: first time the Jays have ever started 18-9.

Down 4-0 by the time I turn on the TV; Jays go up 8-4, I head out to the gym. Come back, down 10-8. What the hell happened!?

Jays started 18-9 in 2009 & 1992 fwiw

what happened wuz: Richards, Bass and Garcia. Romano and Swanson unavailable.

did you see Merrifield seemingly walking and striking out in the same AB? Apparently there was a balk called on the first 3-2 count

Disgruntled old guy looking for new favourite team.

Jays have scored 51 runs in Kikuchi's seven starts (not all while he was still in the game--a better road-to-recovery even than developing a new pitch.

Missing end bracket after "game"...

I don't know what's going on with Manoah, if it's just a normal shaky stretch or if it has something to do with not adjusting to the pitch clock. Eight starts: two exceptional, the other six mediocre or poor.

Was at a movie, so just caught the tail end on the radio, but, if I heard right, Bassitt threw the Jays' first CG since Stroman in 2017, and first CG shutout since Buehrle in 2015. That's almost a decade--I know I shouldn't be amazed, but I am.

Me, three weeks ago: "it'll probably take (Bassitt) till the All-Star break to get his ERA under 4.00, and maybe not even then."

He's down to 3.49. Minus his opening-day meltdown, he's given up 10 earned runs in 45.2 IP: 1.97.

Whoah! Highlight of the year so far.

what, all the times the Braves ran into each other like Little Leaguers?

I was at a movie this afternoon, so just caught the last inning.

Manoah getting roughed up again. Two excellent starts out of 9, not even one other quality start. I've probably forgotten someone obvious, but Judge might be the biggest Jay killer since Brett.

Judge (before tonight's HR): 98 G, 28 HR, .285/.385/.558
Brett: 163 G, 22 HR, .321/.402/.551

Judge and possible sign-stealing last night seems to be a story. Going by his career record against the Jays, I'm not putting much stock in it.

Yeah, there's no way he'd hit that AAAA-pitcher's hanging slider that drifted into his hot zone like a gigantic meatball without some covert tech.

You may as well be talking about Manoah these days.

(Just realized you are! I thought his second one was off someone different.)

Um, good company at the bottom at least!

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/blue-jays-alek-manoah-is-experiencing-a-near-unpredented-fall-from-grace-185226741.html

Couldn't watch tonight, but wow, Bassitt almost has his ERA under 3.00. When you start the year by giving up 9 runs in 3 innings, that's a pretty remarkable thing to manage by mid-May.

Don't mean to fixate on Manoah, but thought this was something: last year, batters hit under .200 off his slider; this year, almost .370.

Had some fantasy they were going to win 100 games this year; scratching out another wild-card seems to again be the best possible outcome.

Par for the course these days:

https://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/blue-jays-forced-to-pull-alek-manoah-from-game-due-to-incredible-mistake/615378

Not that they weren't going to find a way to lose anyway.

Schneider may be a bit of a bozo

He seemed to be toying with sending Kikuchi out to run in extras today, until Baltimore blew it wide open. Not sure how long a leash he has, but this is turning into a disaster in the making.

We're currently in last place, but are tops in the league in another very important stat:

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2023/5/18/23728526/blue-jays-hot-dogs-loonie-stat-mlb-toronto

I'll be down for the Aug. 15 game against the Phillies, but (diabetes II) will avoid the hot dogs. So maybe this guy need to make an adjustment (xHD+) for medical factors.

If there's a silver lining to this nightmare (there isn't--I'm just pretending), it's that Manoah probably needed a dose of humility. He's getting enough to last him till he's 30.

Curious as to how they handle this: write the year off and wait, do something dramatic (top of the list would be bailing on either Vladdy or Bo), fire Schneider (seems doubtful, but who knows). They fired Jimy Williams 36 games into the season in '89, but there was no WC then.

Bo is so streaky, that I expect he'll go into funk at some point in the near future, so I'll enjoy this while it lasts: one of the best players in the game right now (tied with Acuna for second in bWAR behind Franco), has pushed his career average over .300 and career slugging pct. to almost .500, is following through on Dave Fleming's MVP prediction, and has three HOF'ers on his Similarity-Score list through 24 (Lazzeri, Berra, and Banks). Also on there: Tulowitzki, Cano, Nomar, and Hanley Ramirez, which sounds about right: I still wonder if he's Juan Samuel, and could see him flaming out before he's 30.

Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass is under fire after he shared a social media post promoting the anti-LGBTQ campaigns to boycott Target and Bud Light over their Pride-themed partnerships and campaigns. https://t.co/u87oebUwBl

— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) May 30, 2023

I read about this and it didn’t surprise me that he is a right wing piece of shit, but it did that he did this in spite of the Jays having some Budweiser sponsored home run thing?

Oh ok, just saw he was doing a press conference in an hour. Expect him to eat shit as well as innings in lost games. Feel sorry for Toronto fans.

'the Pride community'

I KNOW

Pretty common observation about your hometown team, but a third of the way through, they are puzzling. Except for Manoah's total implosion (getting worse), a number of things have gone well or even better than that: Bo, Chapman, Kiermaier, Gausman, Bassitt, Berrios, Merrifield. Another half-dozen guys have been just okay--not gaping holes or anything. So other than Manoah, it's hard to point one place and say "That's the problem." A bunch of the okays just have to play better, Vladdy and Springer especially, of course. (I haven't watched enough to vouch for this, but a couple of the FAN guys were saying they do a lot of boneheaded stuff on the basepaths.)