I As I write this late Monday eve I admit to being in just a bit of shock, or at the very least hugely surprised, that the Toronto Blue Jays are down three games to none versus the Cleveland Indians.
It is highly possible at this point that by the time this reaches readers the Jays will be out of the American League playoff picture.
Admittedly, the Jays haven’t lost big, so if their bats can catch fire even a bit, they could well have rolled up a couple of wins in TO in games four and five and sent the series back to Cleveland for weekend action, but even as a Jays or nothing fan I can’t envision a scenario where the team rebounds to win four straight to take the series.
Credit the Indian pitchers. It was recognized the back end of their bullpen was lights out, but I had expected the Jays offence to give Cleveland starters problems. But those starters have been on their game, and over the last couple of seasons the Jays have shown they have a style which can be thwarted by good pitching. That comes from the bomb a home run, or head back to the dugout approach TO has built the team around.
When the bats are on, as they were against Texas, everything is tickety boo, but once the home runs are quelled, the team has never been great at scratching out a run when needed.
This is a series where had the Jays scratched out a run here and there, they could well be up in the series. Game one of course is the obvious contest where early base runners were stranded.
Of course right now the Indians can manoeuvre through the TO line up without much fear. Josh Donaldson is batting a huge .448, but as solid as he has been, he can’t do it all.
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have been quiet against Cleveland, and Russell Martin at .074 simply makes a case that maybe Dioner Navarro deserved a start, although we know Martin can handle pitchers.
Interestingly, pitching, at least middle relief was expected to be something of an Achilles Heel with the Jays, but that has not been the case. Pitching has been solid over the entire playoff run, keeping the team in games against the Indians so that one swing might have put them back in the games. That of course has fed the problem in a sense. Needing a run, or two, the idea of one swing doing it, has to have been on the minds of hitters, hitters who already have a penchant for swinging for the fences. It has been a near self-fulfilling prophecy that the team as a whole only knows how to swing for the long ball. Had they been down more, it might have fostered more of a just get on base attitude.
With several notable free agents this off season, the Jays are in for a re-tool, and while the home runs have been nice, a slightly more versatile offence is needed. There is a need for the guys who can beat out an infield hit, steal a bag, score from first on a hit and otherwise scratch and claw to plate a run on days when hits are rare, or in a series where your power has been negated by good pitching.
Ultimately a series loss to Cleveland will be a bitter pill, and a sweep if it occurred, completely unexpected. Once past Texas I think every Jays fan was feeling anything short of a World Series appearance would be unacceptable, and yet here we are, a second season losing in the ALCS. It will make for a very long winter for baseball fans in Canada, especially with the looming uncertainty of what free agency will do to the team.
Rider Pride rekindled
It is late in the season, aspirations of a Canadian Football League playoff spot reasonably gone for weeks, but low and behold our Saskatchewan Roughriders are finally where I expected Chris Jones to have the team this season.
I was not among those who daydreamed in technicolour that Jones was going to create a winner just by showing up on the sidelines.
Admittedly, half way through this campaign I was beginning to wonder whether Jones had left his bag of magic in Edmonton. The team was bad, bad in frankly every facet of the game, including shenanigans by management and subpar talent.
But Jones kept tinkering, rebuilding the ’Riders in his own image in a sense, and suddenly with a 29-11 win over Toronto Saturday the team has boosted its record to 5-and-10.
And ahead this weekend in Montreal, a team in such disarray they released Duron Carter and Kenny Stafford after a loss to Calgary. In the case of Carter at least, he has some growing up to do off the field, but the pair are capable receivers on the field.
Still, their being cut by the Alouettes, suggests Montreal is in a rebuild for next year already, and the surging ‘Riders should pick up win six.
Then the real test of how far the Roughriders have come hits as they take on B.C. in a home-and-home set. The Lions are playoff bound and are the best team the ‘Riders will have played in weeks. It is hard to envision two wins, but if the green and white can manage a split it will go a long way to validating the direction the team is headed. Personally, I was calling for an 8-10 record this year, so 7-11 is about on course.
Certainly a key in the off season is resigning quarterback Darian Durant as there are no alternatives in Riderville at present, and it’s not quality experienced CFL QBs are easy to find.
That said, what has transpired in recent weeks has to have fans dreaming better things in 2017. My son pointed out just Monday that it’s unusual to be as excited by a five-win team as he is with the Roughriders, but that is exactly what fans should be. The expectation for 2017 should be a playoff berth, although the west will remain a frighteningly competitive division too.
Next week a look at the National Hockey League start, or at least that of the Canadian teams.
