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

the image for #6 D':<

sorry – 5 &6 are the really tough ones. tho i had also forgotten about #4

I added the question about the Caribbean pipeline this morning and made #10 a bonus, which shifted some of the numbering.

What an epic game to start the season

Saw the Jays score their early runs, went for dinner, tied when I got back, skipped out, caught the end online while in the middle of my trivia thing (where people mostly tanked on my Blue Jay quiz).

It was pretty tough!

Can't remember an Opening Day game as good as that.

you'd think we'd just won the world series judging by the celebrating going on at the (very awesome) bar i was at. after that wild up and down, back and forth game; Romano coming in and just shutting things down was epic.

Was surprised Manoah coughed up the lead. No cause for concern, right? I didn't see much of him, but in the little that I saw, it struck me that he felt a little rushed by the pitch clock (yet I always thought of him as a fast worker).

he did get down to one second once. later on, his rhythm was obviously disrupted as he was futzing around with the buttons on his arm. wouldn't be surprised if he lets Kirk call his next start

Bassitt gave up nine runs in 3-1/3 today.

Apparently he is not a fan of the new pitching rules

Starting staff not off to the best start.
Wonder if Kikuchi can keep that spring training energy going tomorrow

Jays starters so far: 18.1 IP, 10.94 ERA
Rays starters so far: 23.0 IP, 0.39 ERA

Didn't see any of today's game (afternoon?), but way to go, Manoah.

It literally just ended 10 mins ago!

My internal clock is still back in February.

What a wild game today. Missed the Jays' comeback--dinner--but caught the last three innings. 12-10, bottom of the 10th, two out, bases loaded, Trout and Ohtani coming up. Richards goes full on Trout, bounces the next halfway to the plate--lucky two runs didn't come in. So 12-11, Ohtani up, Mayza came in and got him to ground out.

Matt Chapman might be a good guy to lay a modest MVP-bet on--he's not even on this tracker yet:

https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/mlb/nl-al-mvp-odds/

I do realize how ridiculously early it is. I only bring it up because he did have 6th- and 7th-place finishes with the A's, and his glove means he has to do less on offense, and right now he's hitting lights out.

Kind of amazing that the Jays have had 10-9 and 12-11 wins already...and I thought it was a team built on pitching and defense!

Those last two games were just nuts. Reminds me of the 92 team where even if they fell behind early you knew there was a good chance they could catch up

I think sometimes announcers and mlb.com overdo it on certain catches in search of highlight reels--you watch the clip, and you'll see an outfielder jump a few inches when he doesn't even really need to. That Kiermaier catch last night, though, was something to behold. (Followed, of course, by "Are you kidding me?", because every announcer has a recording of that programmed into him at birth.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUTfNhDNoEQ

Reminds me of the 92 team where even if they fell behind early you knew there was a good chance they could catch up.

― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall)

I hereby anoint you Thermo the Magnificent.

was at the game last night and my god was it a blast.

6/8 wins are now come from behind!!

Bo 5-5, hitting .391.

Disappointed they had the lead the entire game!

was at the game today. busy, sunny. got to see a lot of the new features, enjoyed the standing area in rf where it kinda overhangs the field. great game, great defensive plays. feels good man, to be the brick wall that the rays ran into. hoping for a sweep, our 4/5 SPs did a terrific job!

gotta say i'm thrilled with how this series has started! no expectations for tomorrow tho, vs McClanahan

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.