Memory Wipe: Blue Jays win Series vs. Twins; Brewers.

It was a very rough journey through the AL East that landed the Blue Jays in 5th place in that terrible, awful horrifying division.

There is no question the Jays didn’t play well, mostly owing to the fact that they couldn’t hit and left thousands on base.

Easily the most satisfying part was putting up a 20-spot on the Rays, a team that basically doesn’t lose at home in 2023. The Rays are the best team in baseball and the Blue Jays absolutely destroyed them for a game.

And some in the media said that one game didn’t mean much and that the Blue Jays were still trying to find themselves. That is true, and thank you for removing any joy one might find in the 20-spot, but it is important to remember that José Berríos held the potent Rays’ offence to one run over seven innings. The Rays’ pitching was a mess, but that doesn’t diminish the good work. A win is a win. There is no asterisk.

When things when really sideways, the Rays, as is tradition, put in position players to save their bullpen. It wasn’t pretty. Slugger Luke Raley did, however, manage to strike Vlad Jr. out and got a present for his effort.

After Luke Raley pitched on Tuesday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed the strike out ball for Raley & wrote on the ball:

“You got me.”

Love it. pic.twitter.com/Px65c75b2T

— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) May 25, 2023

Guerrero got a present of his own later that inning when he strolled up, sans batting gloves, and launched a Grand Slam into the night.

The Twins were a relief. The Blue Jays probably could have/should have swept that series because they were playing better and the palpable relief of getting out of the AL East beastliness helped.

The one loss featured Bassitt giving up the go-ahead home run. A homer late in the start often means the starter was just left in too long.

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This series win, as well as the series win versus the Brewers, was, for the most part, a respite. It doesn’t solve the AL East problem, and it didn’t help to realize that both teams, with near-identical records to the Blue Jays, are leaders of their respective divisions.

Alek Manoah is still searching for whatever is evading him this season as his inability to consistently throw strikes continues. Watching him beg Schneider in the dugout to stay in the game and then sit on the bench with what looked like tears in his eyes was rough.

Kevin Gausman settled everything down today, and Bo Bichette continued his assault on baseballs everywhere.

Ready, Set, FLOW! pic.twitter.com/5r8gba36zB

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 1, 2023

And Kevin Kiermaier doing all the things. And the things.

😱 KEVIN 😱 @KKiermaier39 pic.twitter.com/1zoPPMwPU8

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 1, 2023

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Late Spring of Our Discontent: Blue Jays Flail vs. AL Rivals

This is an absolutely horrifying stretch of baseball. The Blue Jays have now failed to step up against various AL East rivals. I will discuss some thoughts, in order of no importance, that have occurred to me while we experience this hell.

The Yankees and their fans defending Aaron Jude from the “peek”, it’s fine, but it completely distracts from German getting ejected for having a foreign substance on his hands, for the second time.

First time:

Second time:

German’s statement about not fighting his suspension was hilarious with his “I have no choice but to just accept my fate” like it wasn't the second time he did something and it wasn't the second time he got caught.

The bitchery back and forth between the Yankees and Blue Jays, with the line policing and the name calling and the bad blood between them seems to be almost entirely between the coaches. No one is getting plunked. Next, I suspect it’ll be a slap-fest between middle-aged men while the players look on.

I made the argument that the Blue Jays should stop pitching to Aaron Judge in the Rogers Centre. One guy won that series. One guy beat the Blue Jays. I mean, putting Judge on to face Rizzo might be a risk, but Rizzo isn’t killing them like Judge is.

Also, don’t do things like throw sliders up to Judge, especially when you are a relief pitcher who mostly throws fastballs/cutters, and your slider was touched up by a hitter who wasn’t Aaron Judge. Put that pitch in your back pocket, Swanson. Never again.

The Baltimore Orioles rolled into town and the mess continued.

When the Yankee series ended the way it did it left everyone tense, and everyone was trying to do everything. Questionable baserunning, no hitting, men left on base in numbers equivalent to a small city. The starting pitching was pretty great, as it was during the Yankees series, but it can’t hold everything up.

I think Vlad Jr., with his lack of offense, is still injured. Guerrero out of the lineup going out really shows the weakness. They have great pieces, but there is no margin for error.

I have no idea why John Schneider put Jordan Romano in with inherited runners to give up a three-run bomb to tie the game late in Saturday’s game. I'm sure this is not a hard and fast rule but as a general principle, I assume that closers aren't necessarily the best with inherited runners because most of the job is getting the final three outs with empty bases. I’m sure it isn’t unreasonable to ask Romano to get out his mop, but it’s not been his forte in the past. My question is if Yimi Garcia is available for the 9th, why not put him in to get the out in the 8th and let Romano start fresh in the 9th?

It’s all woulda, shoulda, coulda, at this point, especially how Garcia gave up a bunch of runs to the Orioles in extras on Sunday. It’s also a moot point if the hitting was at all where it should be. But it does make me question Schneider’s bullpen usage.

It was a stretch like this last season that got Montoyo fired. Schneider is far more the golden boy for this front office than Montoyo ever was, but if it gets much worse, there may be questions.

Someone has to answer for failure, and it won’t be the people in charge that constructed the roster.

Taking the “Blue Jays don’t have any effect on my mood” challenge

— Zubes (@theZubes) May 21, 2023

Peeking: Jays/Yankees Rivarly Heats Up

Last night's game was stupid.

I could really just end it there, but I should probably elaborate.

This team can look excellent against a team like the Braves and barely 24-hours later, it looks hopeless. I mean, some teams just own other teams (the Jays are 9-0 against the Braves over the last couple seasons. Sometimes it just lines up that way.) But…still.

I don't know what's going on with Alek Manoah, but that needs to be rectified. Immédiatement.

It might be as something as small as the fact that he's got he's just such a big dude-a small change, be it a small injury, or some other small little variation in his delivery means that his ability to throw strikes when he wants or needs them has alluded him so far this season. Small variations on the mound become big ones as the ball travels through space/time and reaches the plate. That's true of all pitchers, but the fact that Manoah is such a massive dude I got to imagine that it's even more pronounced.

Seven walks in four innings is just all kinds of bad. Cito Gaston once said, “I can't manage around walks.”

I don't know if there is some sort of strategy about building up a Blue Jays/Yankees rivalry, but it's certainly starting to look like it. MLB.com had a rather hilarious “biggest rivalries in baseball right now” article a few weeks ago and they had the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays as the biggest rivalry in baseball. At the time the Yankees were in 5th place and the Rays were in first place and there were the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, and the Toronto Blue Jays in between them.

So I assumed their clickbaity articles get more hits when they mention the Yankees because you could have just said the Rays versus the rest of the AL East or the AL East in general because all of these teams are currently above .500. The Boston Red Sox are currently in 5th place and they would be in second place in many divisions in baseball. The Rays are clearly the class of the field so far but everyone else is right there in it and it's going to be a dog fight the entire season. So yes, the Yankees are “magical” and “make us want to be better people” or whatever, but I don't think that's the story. But, many would argue, the Yankees are always the story.

And then this:

I laughed off the entire Aaron Judge lookie-loo controversy during the game.

Someone yelled "squirrel" https://t.co/TfmV6qJojA

— Joanna (@HumandChuck) May 16, 2023

But then I saw Aaron Judge's postgame comments. His pants are totally on fire. And it’s a big fire because those pants are very long.

Aaron Judge had a special night at the plate. The Captain became the fourth player in Yankees history with two home runs and three walks in a single game. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/gDVPDBcpV9

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 16, 2023

Aaron Judge said that he has some “choice words about” about the Blue Jays broadcasters insinuating that he was cheating. He declined to share them. “I’m not happy about it, but people can say what they want. I’ve still got a game to play. I’ve got things to do.”

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 16, 2023

Is he gonna beat up Buck Martinez?

This rivalry is fun and all, but it’d be more fun if the Jays kept Judge in the park and started winning some ball games.

"They Don't Boo Nobodies" — Jays take the Series in the Bronx

Though the Blue Jays failed to complete the sweep of the Yankees this weekend, I am still thoroughly impressed by the play.

The starting pitching was excellent.

Kikuchi 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 SO. Nothing but a whoopsie homer over the right-field fence.

Manoah Outlasted Cole and seemed, for a start at least, to have righted whatever was going wrong in previous starts. The game-tying homer from Danny Janssen was thrilling until Jordan Romano loaded the bases and gave up a single. There were so many positives, it was hard to be truly disappointed.

And this was the bitchiest thing I’ve seen in a while:

Hang on, Alek Manoah is making an ✨entrance✨ pic.twitter.com/rjsPBAaxxT

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 22, 2023

Yankees fans with thirteen Twitter followers and blue checkmarks took exception, which made it all the more hilarious.

Gausman was absolutely rude today, shutting the Yankees down and shutting the Yankees up. He was able to summon strikes when he needed them and was able to snuff out whatever hint of a rally the Yankees tried to start. 11 strikeouts.

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Vlad

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. understands how to perform in the moment.

He arrived in the Bronx on Friday and reiterated comments he made last year where he stated he would never, ever play for the Yankees.

“It’s a personal thing. It goes back with my family,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “That’s my decision, and I will never change that.”

I don’t know what the Yankees did to Vlad Sr., but I desperately want to know. How deep does this feud go?

The comments inspired booing in the Bronx because every baseball player should dream of being a Yankee (obviously) and intensified when Guerrero went large this afternoon, after going large in Friday’s win (and getting plunked for his audacity.)

He’s got the POP and he wants the SMOKE 💥 #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/tZJfE2i8MY

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 23, 2023

“That was a huge series from him,” said manager John Schneider. “You get here, you get booed and you can do one of two things. Reggie Jackson said they don’t boo nobodies.”

Per MLB.com, he owns the highest slugging percentage in the history of Yankee Stadium (.614) among hitters who have had at least 100 at-bats. In just 34 games in the Bronx, he has launched 12 home runs and driven in 21 runs.

By all means, New York, continue to boo him.