Ah to be in a pennant race as August arrives.
The Toronto Blue Jays have had something of a roller coaster season to-date. There have been times the team has looked ready to fold, and had me eager to see the team blown up, with a list of veterans on my list to move out in favour of a rebuild.
It’s not that I am a huge fan of wholesale rebuilds in sport where teams should have a long range plan for at least respectability, if not top spot contention.
But the Jays have managed to overcome the wheels wobbling at times, and through July climbed back into serious contention in the American League East.
July 30, the Jays actually climbed into top spot 0.5-games up on Baltimore after taking a pair from previously front-running Baltimore.
But the Jays couldn’t hold the lead into August, dropping game-three against the Orioles 6-2 in extra innings, after holding a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning.
The loss leap-frogged the Jays with the win, going 0.5-games back in front in the AL East.
And the Boston Red Sox are chasing a couple of games back.
There is no reason this far into the season to expect all three teams won’t stay in the mix. It is highly likely two of the three make the playoffs, the second place team a front-runner for the first wild card spot, and as it sits as of July 31, both wild card teams would come out of the AL East.
What is interesting is that the Jays are back in contention in large part based on starting pitching, a staff led by two unlikely arms.
The first is Aaron Sanchez. He has a crisp 11-1 record and leads AL starters with a 2.72 ERA. Those are ace-like numbers to be sure.
However, the Jays are likely to take their best starter out of the rotation, in favour of a bullpen spot, to keep his innings-pitched under control. He is on pace for 200+, double his most-innings pitched at the major league level.
Remembering baseball is a business, I do understand players are simply an asset, with a value that in a sense is amortized over a career, the protection of Sanchez makes sense.
But winning should be the goal. Sanchez as a starter is your best option to do that.
This of course will not be popular, but a six-man rotation might be the best solution. If the Jays are confident they have a starter who can take Sanchez’s spot in the rotation, they should have faith in that pitcher to be the sixth man.
The extended rotation should help Marcus Stroman, who is essentially in a sophomore year, and has looked tired at times, and would help Marco Estrada who has missed starts with injuries too.
But alas the Jays will move Sanchez to the bullpen, weaken the starting rotation, change the bullpen dynamics, and upset Sanchez’s routine which risks injury.
A situation verified at Monday’s trade deadline as Toronto sent Drew Hutchinson, clearly a pitcher the Jays gave up on months ago, to Pittsburgh for Francisco Liriano. Liriano is a shadow of his once solid self with a 6-11 record and a bloated 5.46 ERA, a woeful line compared to Sanchez.
Long term the Jays added prospects catcher Reese McGuire and outfielder Harold Ramirez, but this is a year to win, not one day down the road, maybe.
This is a situation which could blow up big time, and only time will tell which way this decision goes.
The other key pitcher is J.A. Happ, which still has me shaking my head. This guy has been fantastic with a 14-3 record, more wins by July 31, than I thought he’s get this entire season.
I suppose most top teams have a player who has a break-out year, and that is certainly what Happ has done for the Jays.
‘Rider woes
The Jays might be in contention but the Saskatchewan Roughriders are not.
The woeful ‘Riders managed a win over Ottawa as the RedBlacks who were relegated to their third string pivot for most of the game.
But that win was just an opportunistic victory, and one barely won at that; 30-29.
If anyone thought the win over Ottawa was a sign of a righted ship in Saskatchewan was in for a rude awakening Friday.
The Roughriders were in Montreal Friday, and they were frankly embarrassed.
Saskatchewan was shut-out in the first half, a rarity in the CFL. It’s hard to keep even the most inept teams off the board for entire half in this league.
And that was proven in the second half where the ‘Riders managed to kick a field goal.
The offence sputtered. Newcomer running back Michael Dyer showed signs of being solid, but only had 38-yards on the ground when the game was over.
Mitchell Gale threw for 211 yards, no TDs, and one interception. It was a competent enough effort, but won’t win many games in the CFL with such numbers. Again something to build on, but then again every aspect of this team needs building on.
And, to be fair, the offensive line was a cobbled together unit after a rash of injuries, so Mitchell was not the problem.
While the offence was bogged down for most of the game, more concerning is the defence which Montreal pivot Kevin Glenn and company shredded for 76 yards on the ground, just more than 300-yards via the pass, five majors and 41 points.
Chris Jones is known for his work as a defensive coordinator in the past, but the ‘Rider defence is at best struggling. They have allowed a league-worst 179-points, which is basically 36-points a game. The CFL has seen a jump in offence this year, which is what the league should be about - scoring, but a team won’t win often giving up near 40-points a contest.
It was clear the Roughrider defence the past couple of years was aging and faltering, so a rebuild was clearly needed. A look at the season-starting roster confirmed that was the plan by Jones and the coaching staff.
A complete rebuild takes time to be sure, so is a work in progress. However, five-games in to the season that progress is hard to see. In fact, against Montreal it would be hard to point to one bright spot on the defensive side of the ball.
The rebuild is on, but after Friday’s contest the foundation looks a bit shaky still.
