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

Tied for the third WC, and even though they lose the tiebreakers against both Seattle and Texas, that's something.

It was a miraculously ugly win though, hardly one of those days that makes you think they're ready to go on a run.

If it happens, it won't be a run, no. It'll be an Alejandro Kirk double. Wish I could find a screenshot of him standing on second base Friday night, half-heartedly (or maybe just in shock) holding up his hand in celebration.

I got u
https://i.postimg.cc/KcJ6ZZLT/IMG-9593.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/ncWND03c/IMG-9596.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/m2k0k0N5/IMG-9595.jpg
No closeups of him with the raised fist on either broadcast though

That's it--thank you! The expression on his face in the last shot sums up this season perfectly.

That was exhilarating...One pitch away from winning, Devers hits a game-tying HR, Chapman wins it with a walk-off double (that was almost caught) in the bottom of the inning. Biggio's been in the middle of everything the past few games.

Plus: Rangers lost, and Seattle's down 4-0 in L.A. (Houston won.) Quite improbable turnaround since Thursday's end-of-the-world feeling.

Good: it's again up to them.

Good: Seattle and Texas have seven games with each other.

Maybe good: six games against the Yankees. (Who knows what their mindset is?)

Bad: six games with the Rays.

Bad, good, no idea anymore: it's this team.

I’ve never identified with a player so much in my life

#BlueJays starter Yusei Kikuchi thinks he’ll be fine for his next start after he left the game with cramps. The biggest revelation was that he said it may have been caused by only getting 11 (!) hours of sleep last night instead of his usual 13 or 14 hours (!!)

— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) September 20, 2023

a+ sleeper

Satchel Paige would approve.

I'll ensure that the Yankees win tomorrow by saying this, but this is the most anemic team of theirs I can remember since the early '90s. Stanton especially looks lost.

Over/Under on the Yankees scoring 10 or more runs in their final 10 games? I’ll taking the under

Anyone who's watched baseball for a while, you internalize this certainty that the Yankees will come back in the late innings to beat your team. Didn't feel like that yesterday or tonight.

We completely outclassed them, it's been awesome! The problem with my own particular feelings of schadenfreude is that I'd been waiting since they signed Stanton for him to bury that team. Now it just seems sad to me.

anyway, we got Berrios v. Cole tonight. Yanks will give us a game. 6-4 rest of the way wins a berth, but of course we're headed to the den of horrors and defeat known as the Trop next

I was doing the math in my head today, and 6-4 leaves the door open a bit (if I've calculated correctly). Seattle-Texas go 4-3, and whichever one wins 4, they win their three others for a 7-3 finish. Which picks up a game on the Jays, and they've already won head-to-head.

6-4 should do it, but not guaranteed.

I just heard on the podcast At The Letters (i think) that those were the numbers. i don't know, i can't calculate it lol.

I actually bailed on watching the game last night - kinda weird because i've been watching/listening constantly unless i'm out. I'm tired of the Jays being so hopeless against the very good/great starting pitchers. Tonight the Trop. all the games are big, so at least they're compelling (minus last night lol)

I play tennis Thursdays so missed the whole game. I was probably telling myself they're going to lose to Cole anyway, while the optimist secretly expected them to win.

This series could be brutal. If you were guaranteed one out of three in Tampa, would you take that? I might.

Some interesting Manoah talk on the radio this morning. Blair thinks he'll do a sit-down with somebody in the spring and we'll finally get the real story. Obviously, not a pressing concern at the moment.

i did hear he got a shot in the arm (literal), so maybe it was physical issues? i would love to know what's going on.

again Clem, I can't do the math, but 1 out of 3 i think i would take it! but they would probably have to win the series at home.

I finally clued into something--they're trying to stay ahead of Texas or Seattle, not Texas and Seattle. There are a bunch of scenarios there, but with the seven games between the Mariners and Rangers, 4-5 for Toronto might just be enough; 5-4 would be tough to beat.

Wish I had a clip of Blair talking on the radio this morning. Asked about Toronto's chances tonight, he said the Jays would have to depend on Glasnow gift-wrapping them two or three runs with walks and/or wild pitches. Jays scored six runs on eight hits tonight; the key inning was the sixth, when they scored four on three singles, three walks, a HBP, a SB, and a wild pitch.

God, Texas almost blew an 8-4 lead in the 9th against Seattle...Because Seattle has three games left against Houston (Texas's other three games are against the Angels), intuition tells me it's better for the Rangers to win the majority of these seven games with the Mariners.

yes! all about the guaranteed losses between those 3. better for texas to go ahead.

i attribute the win to the TORONTO script all-grey kits. I feel more like an old man every day, but I really think the away team should have their city on the jersey, and Jays hardly ever do. the greys look so great, why mess around and put them powders on all the time?

Hopefully that'll all be forgotten soon; if not, it'll be remembered alongside the Texas series as the disaster that killed the season. Mystifying: four times--in the bullpen and on the mound--the camera catches Romano looking at his finger like there's an issue, but both he and Schneider are content to go ahead like there's nothing wrong.

The Jays continue to get way more help than they deserve. Mariners and Astros both just lost, so right now it's:

TEX - 86-68
TOR - 86-69
HOU - 85-70
SEA - 84-70

All of Seattle's games are against Houston and Texas, so if they went on a 7-1 run or something, that knocks back the other two, and Toronto needs maybe three wins to hold one of them off; it Seattle doesn't, it'll probably be them who misses out.

(Include the Rays among the teams trying hard to hand this to Toronto: three errors and a blown 4-0 lead and the Jays still couldn't win.)

They had their chances with the runners LOB in the first few innings. In the ninth they barely missed turning the DP and the winning hit was fair by a foot. The Rays have plenty to play for, I hoped for a competitive series and we're getting it.

Despite the loss to the Rays, think their playoff odds increased because of Houston and Seattle both losing.

I think ...

Not bringing in Mayza for Lowe was one of most obvious John Schneider 9th inning gaffs

Definitely. And I'd add pitching Romano past a batter--or even at all--when he was clearly dealing with some finger issue. Fangraphs has them at 91% right now, so yesterday helped. But it'd be nice to see them win their way in instead of backing in.

https://jaysjournal.com/posts/dreadful-in-game-decisions-by-john-schneider-once-again-cost-blue-jays-a-win

Glad they got Kikuchi out of there. 9 hits in 4 innings, Jesus.

They really need another run or two. The odds of them holding on to a one-run lead, not good. (The odds of them holding on to a three-run lead weren't much better.)

Wow--don't think anybody saw that coming, least of all doomsayers like me.

Texas again beating Seattle, and--amazing--KC up on Houston in the 8th.

Vladdy heating up for the Post-season? I think so! how about those 5 2-out runs capped with a Springer 3-run in-the-park Dinger?

It's been so long where he felt like a threat; that would charge up the whole offense considerably.

I'll be at Saturday's game with a friend and his two young sons. He said he hopes the Jays clinch when we're down there. As much as I'd like that too--never been to a clinching game--with this team, I want them to lock things up a.s.a.p. Anyone who remembers 1987 isn't going to be particular about how, just if (and the 2023 Jays aren't nearly as good as the '87 team).

Do the other three Jays fans on here have any confidence in Romano right now? Even when he's saving games, it's never easy.

Earlier in the game--I was bowling but following--I couldn't believe the two strikes Vlad stood and looked at with the bases loaded.

Romano needs to be in a save situation to activate Maniac Mode. but seriously, I enjoy the ride with him and he pulls it off much more often than not

I need the Jays to get to Cole tonight. Getting owned by King was no fun

Did not quite get to Cole...My guess: they figure out a way to win tomorrow, win one out three from the Rays, and back in. I'd sit down and figure out different scenarios if these last two games--zero runs at home in 17 innings as I type (great pitchers, I know)--weren't so dispiriting.

Ha--watching the TV crew's post-mortem and heard the '87 Jays mentioned for the first time...

Posnanski evidently knows a little bit about our history:

The Blue Jays are still in good shape for a wild-card spot; they’re a half-game up on Houston for the second wild card and two games up on Seattle for the third. But they’re the Blue Jays, and history has been pretty cruel, and they might want to win some games and not put their playoff lives in the hands of fate.

Hopefully having a team meeting this afternoon about whether they might want to win some games.

apparently they still have more than half a chance to get in if they lose all their remaining games! Will they put us through that? 😫

That's what they said on the radio yesterday: 0-6 = 55% chance. That's wild, considering how bunched together they all are.

"Will they put us through that?" They just might. One of the lessons of this season for me is "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." In the spring, I was one of those people clamoring for them to switch the emphasis to pitching and defense, assuming that there'd still be enough hitting for a 2015-type Royals offense. Never again. A team that hits home runs is at least always entertaining. Even when they're four or five runs down, you're still fully engaged.

playoff odds up to 75% even if TB sweeps (who i guess we'd probably face Round 1). It's very important that they don't burn Gaus in game 162, so cinch it up tonight or tomorrow, pls.

Even though I'm there tomorrow, tonight please!

Good for Bassitt on the 200 IP--he was great last night--but it is weird for an old guy like me to see a pitcher ceremoniously removed mid-inning so he can get a standing ovation for his 200th IP. He'll probably be one of only four pitchers to get there this year.

Also weird: the Jays became only the fourth team in history--the fourth--to have four pitchers with 175+ strikeouts. I would have thought that's the kind of thing that would have been done many times.

Three is probably common enough, four less so. I wondered if the early 2010s Giants did, but this was the nearest I could see:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/2012.shtml

They came within 17ks (Vogelsong) of doing so in 2012.

Really surprised that afaict the Braves rotation led by Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz never managed it.

They didn't? That is a surprise. Smoltz was a gimme, I think. Maddux struck out more batters than people remember; hit 200 once (just barely), and there were consecutive seasons of 198/199/197. Glavine wasn't a strikeout guy, but I would have guessed 175 regularly...nope. Then you had guys like Avery and Millwood filling out the rotation.

It's looking good, francisF.