A Week in Baseball: Jays Lost Their Brooms, Joey Comes Home and more

The Blue Jays, partly because they didn’t have to play the Yankees this week, seem to have righted their ship.

The Jays rode quality starting pitching and took two of three from the Mariners and two of three from Joey Votto and the Reds. This habit of failing to sweep teams, particularly middling or just outright bad teams, might start to matter more.

I’m usually a relaxed sort of person about these things, but after missing the playoffs by a single game in 2021, these type of things worry more than they might otherwise be.

Now for random thoughts in no particular order:

RISP: BAD

It’s no secret the Blue Jays offense is not what was expected or to the level of their talent, which is vast. The underperforming offense is really the only thing that is preventing this team from being truly great. I still have faith they can turn it around but doing that sooner rather than later would be to their advantage.

I made some comments on Twitter about Bo Bichette calling his dad during his slow start in April, and given that Bichette has turned it around, I’ve decided just to give Dante Bichette some credit.

I don’t know what Dave Hudgens does as Major League Hitting Strategist (or even what that job entails, because that sounds like a made up title.) And I’m not arguing that anyone should be fired, but I am arguing that the Blue Jays hit like gangbusters in 2021 when Dante Bichette was in the dugout and they are no longer gangbusters in his abscence. I have no proof, I just want it to happen.

I know Bichette Sr. had to quit during the lockout, but bring him back.

MANIFEST THIS:

On the subject of Dave Hudgens, I had completely forgot he was the hitting coach for 2017 Houston Astros.

The wonderful Alexis Brudnicki talked to him about that in 2020.

Robbie Ray

Robbie Ray won the 2021 AL Cy Young as a member of the Blue Jays. He signed with the Mariners as a free agent in the offseason and this series in Toronto would have been the first opportunity for the Toronto media to see and talk to him. The Jays did a nice little ceremony for Marcus Semien for his Silver Slugger at the start of the season. Crowd ovation/hat tip etc.

However, Robbie Ray didn’t make the trip north. And the Mariners provided no explanation, other than he was available for their series in Boston which was to follow the one in Toronto. And while Robbie Ray wasn’t put on the restricted list, as is the typical practice in such cases, it became very clear that Robbie Ray didn’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore, couldn’t cross the border. And the Mariners didn’t want to talk about it.

And my own opinion on that is one thing, but it is very interesting that Aaron Judge got roasted for his comments on this issue and it was a big story, and Ray’s team essentially hid him.

One player is fed to the wolves. Another is protected.

It makes me wonder if the lack of protection had something to do with the somewhat acrimonious back and forth the Yankees had with Judge regarding his pending free agency.

Anyway, Kevin Gausman has replaced Ray in the rotation, and I don’t think the Jays are sorry about that decision.

Joey Votto

Joey Votto returned to Toronto this weekend in what may well be the last time.

“I grew up 11 kilometres from the stadium,” Votto said during a Zoom call this week. “I used to bike downtown all the time. My father worked right down Spadina, across one of the islands. I was always down there working. I was very much a part of downtown Toronto. I have great, great memories of the city, and certainly the Jays.”

And his first homer of the season was the game winner. And I couldn’t hate him for it.

The Jays should start sweeping these series, but Votto can have his hometown homer.

Tim Anderson and Josh Donaldson

There is somewhat of an uncomfortable truth about a player who was such an integral part of great Blue Jays teams from the previous decade: Josh Donaldson can be an asshole.

And while it could be argued that calling Tim Anderson, one of the biggest Black players in the game, “Jackie”, might not be the worst thing to call someone, it’s probably also not the best thing to do.

(P.S. We don’t need context, Josh. We get it.)

So, yes, it’s racist, and while people can argue back and forth about how racist it is and the intent behind it, Donaldson should just apologize and not do it anymore. The Yankees should probably just be good and stop being such bitches about it. And their fans, who don’t have the reputations of some for being pissbabies, really showed their whole ass on this.

As for Tim Anderson, he responded to the Yankee Stadium faithful who booed him all game following the accusation of racism in the best way: Revenge Dinger