Consistently Inconsistent: Jays Blow Lead vs Astros, but Might be Ok.



Reading the tweets, comments and columns and listening to the radio, part of me understands the desire to freak out about the state of this team. This is a team that can hit their faces off, but has alternately decent starting pitching and a spotty bullpen, or a terrible starting pitching (ugh, the walks) and a bullpen that holds the fort while offense punishes baseballs.

It's frustrating.

Last nights game was a perfect example: Offense scores plenty (back to back homers by EE and Bautista in the first), a decent start by Drew Hutchison (step in the right direction: 1 walk and 9 strikeouts). He departs the game and the 'pen can't hold it.

What doesn't help, however, is the nonsense the certain members of Toronto sports media like to throw out there. I mean,



At the Pitch Talks event a week ago, Sid was on the panel with John Lott and Shi Davidi. He had some spiel about how the Jays don't have an identity or something ("Are they rookies? Are they veterans? ") which came out of my "Why the hell is Miguel Castro starting in AAA Buffalo?" question. (John Lott gave me a good answer.*) There was some discussion about what the Jays do if they are still struggling at the All Star Break. I still had the mic, which wasn't really working, and I ended up sort of yelling that the AL East is wide open because all the teams pretty much suck. So don't give up.

And the division really, really does suck.

I'm not sure how much Seixeiro bought it (or cared to buy it), but that's my point. Wringing hands and rending garments about the team not being fantastic is pointless. Just be the least shitty team in the AL East. Win the division. The only team in the division the Jays haven't handled are the Rays. Work on it.

I would also point out that 2014 Kansas City Royals had a worse record than the Blue Jays at the All Star Break, and that was the team that won the AL. The All Star Break.

That's July.

This is May.

So while May isn't the earliest point in time in the MLB season, one should settle down. Because it only encourages this:


Losing Marcus Stroman was a blow, but say what about Martin? Has that dude not come 100 percent as advertised?

He was advertised as awesome.

He is.

Just stop it.

Not full of nonsense? Drew Fairservice, Champion of the World:



His partner in podcasting, Stoeten, had a pretty good breakdown of Gregg Zaun's visit to Prime Time Sports. 

(The podcast is now available on iTunes. In my head, I've re-named it "Pentulant Manbaby Times.")

Stoeten deftly covers the nonsense of the "Goins vs Reyes" discussion that is circulating for whatever reason in talks about the team.

My very basic view? Ryan Goins would make a very nice backup infielder when Reyes comes back. It's complete and total nonsense that trading Reyes wouldn't hurt the team. While Goins might be developing into someone who is "swinging the bat pretty good" or whatever Zaun said, Reyes is still one of the best hitting shortstops around.

Zaun also talked about José Bautista, and, I think, implied Bautista was a wuss:

There actually has been a public diagnosis. It’s a strained shoulder — they’ve MRI’d it, and we’re told there’s no structural damage in it. OK? OK, I played for 22 years, I had twenty-plus cortisone shots. I played with tears in my labrum, I played with tears in my ulnar collateral, my flexor mass — there isn’t a scenario that doesn’t involve structural damage that could keep me from picking up a ball for three weeks and being ready. I mean, you could take a week off, use all that voodoo and all that witchcraft that they rub on you in the clubhouse, get rid of your inflammation, spend the next week stabilizing and strengthening the shoulder, and then go and throw — he’d already be throwing right now.
Right? It's the baseball version of "I walked through snow to get to school, uphill both ways. I wrassled grizzly bears." Why else bring up old injuries?

I'm not going to start questioning Bautista's work ethic or his desire to be playing because has he not earned enough of our respect? Also, much like Zaun, I'm not in the clubhouse. I don't know exactly what's going on with Bautista's shoulder.

All of it is just filler for talk radio and fuel for the frothing masses.

Moving on to something more positive. Remember the Jays broke camp with 6 rookies? Well 2 of them are totally awesome right now: Devon Travis and Roberto Osuna.

John Lott has a piece about Osuna. The kid is good.

0.98 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, five walks and 18 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.

Gibby credits Martin (remember, the guy whose acquisition ruined the season or something) in Osuna's blossoming by encouraging him to throw his changeup:

“The thinking a lot of times is, you don’t need a changeup for that kind of style of a reliever,” Gibbons said. “But Russ has made him throw it and it’s become a big weapon for him. That’s made him that much better. You really can’t narrow him down.”

Osuna has some things a lot of rookies lack: confidence in his stuff :

“At the beginning (of the season), my speed was like 94, 95, 96,” he said. “Last couple games, I feel much better. I hit 97. I’ve been feeling better with the fastball, and my slider is getting much better – 87, 88, 89. Changeup is getting better too.”

He also has nerves of steel. 

There is a lot of good about this team.


Just pay them.

*Lott's excellent answer to my "The hell? Castro starting?" question. The gist was relief pitching in the minors is different than in the big leagues. The Jays want Castro to get regular work in and a way to guarantee that was to have him start. It doesn't mean the Jays want Castro to start, but it's not ruled out.  Osuna quote re. Castro in Lott's piece: "He got a little bit frustrated after he got sent down,” Osuna said. “He was so sad. I hope he recovers pretty soon."

Que lástima. (It's what my high school Spanish teacher used to say to us when we didn't do our homework.)