GDT: 1/4 Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sux (7:10pm et)

[mphenhef]

 

It may seem strange to mention Guerrero, given he is on pace for a great season, just seems the big time power and clutch hits aren't there yet, and he could easily end up more like 2022 then 2021... hope to be 100% wrong on that.

 

As much as I hate to say it, 2021 is the outlier season right now.

[glory]

Biggest issue tonight....why was Swanson unavailable again

 

Swanson has pitched in half of the team's games. They likely need to start trusting other relievers in the late innings to avoid him and Romano burning out. Pearson is the logical guy to thrust into that role given his stuff. Hopefully last night was the start of it, although I suspect Jimi will be trusted more.

[BigCecil]

These are games you can't lose. It’s just a comedy of errors and bad decisions. You can't win the Division early but you can certainly lose it. Rays pitching is way too good to get into a huge hole.

 

It’s not fair and it can be a lot of luck, but it’s true. A division winner in the AL East should win at least one of the last two close and winnable games ideally. Our record is very good, but it’s all relative. The Rays and Os will cool but they are still good teams and no guarantee we can keep up this pace either.

[Brownie19]

Swanson has pitched in half of the team's games. They likely need to start trusting other relievers in the late innings to avoid him and Romano burning out. Pearson is the logical guy to thrust into that role given his stuff. Hopefully last night was the start of it, although I suspect Jimi will be trusted more.

 

This. So many fans complaining we didn't pull Berrios earlier. It's f***ing May 1st and it's a long season. You're going to burn out everyone if you don't give the pitchers a bit more rope and trust others in the bullpen.

[Jonn]

Swanson has pitched in half of the team's games. They likely need to start trusting other relievers in the late innings to avoid him and Romano burning out. Pearson is the logical guy to thrust into that role given his stuff. Hopefully last night was the start of it, although I suspect Jimi will be trusted more.

 

Yimi has pitched himself out of leverage if we’re relying on him we’re in trouble.

 

I’m usually supportive of Starters going deeper in games. But Berrios was walking a tight rope the entire game. He should have never seen that onslaught of lefties a third time.

 

He was very bad again last night and was quite frankly lucky he didn’t blow up much earlier than he did.

[Solaxys]

At this point, I am scared of what this lineup is going to do against Manoah, they have so many slugging leftys.

[Olerud363]

At this point, I am scared of what this lineup is going to do against Manoah, they have so many slugging leftys.

 

 

Don't worry, if it's a slugfest we have a secret weapon. If we need a slugging lefty to counter a righty relief pitcher in a game changing situation in the slugest we'll just pinch hit Kirk.

 

Check that. Kirk catches Manoah, so we'll pinch hit Jansen instead.

[Stangstag]

As much as I hate to say it, 2021 is the outlier season right now.

 

Guerrero feels better this year IMO. Haven’t really looked at the stats but he feels somewhere between 2021 and 2022, which I will definitely take on any given day

[Stangstag]

Yimi has pitched himself out of leverage if we’re relying on him we’re in trouble.

 

I’m usually supportive of Starters going deeper in games. But Berrios was walking a tight rope the entire game. He should have never seen that onslaught of lefties a third time.

 

He was very bad again last night and was quite frankly lucky he didn’t blow up much earlier than he did.

 

I’d still use Yimi in leverage situations, just after Romano/Swanson/Mayza vs Lefties.

[mphenhef]

This. So many fans complaining we didn't pull Berrios earlier. It's f***ing May 1st and it's a long season. You're going to burn out everyone if you don't give the pitchers a bit more rope and trust others in the bullpen.

 

My complaint would be that he didn't pull him in this game after pulling him after 77 pitches in games recently when he was dealing. Although I suspect part of that is that at the bottom of the lineup those lefties would have immediately been pulled for righties against Mayza.

[Olerud363]

Guerrero feels better this year IMO. Haven’t really looked at the stats but he feels somewhere between 2021 and 2022, which I will definitely take on any given day

 

Hasn't found his power yet, but in a normal year if he hit .300 .380 .480 with gold glove defense that would be like a giant Keith Hernandez. That's good enough.

 

Except Belt and Biggio are on the team, so feels like he needs to hit .350 .450 .650 to make up for them.

[Stangstag]

It’s not fair and it can be a lot of luck, but it’s true. A division winner in the AL East should win at least one of the last two close and winnable games ideally. Our record is very good, but it’s all relative. The Rays and Os will cool but they are still good teams and no guarantee we can keep up this pace either.

 

Are you guys forgetting the close winnable games that we DID win on Friday and Saturday??

 

Sunday game was just poor pitching all around. Monday we got super unlucky with the bats IMO.

[jaysblue]

You can't win every game.

 

Yes Sunday and even last night's game were winnable. Unfortunately, in the AL East with Tampa and Baltimore playing so well, you need to win as many games as you can. The Jays won some games that could have went the other way as well. So far this season, more games like Sunday/Monday have gone their way.

 

If the Jays win the next two games in Boston, many posters will forget about Game 1.

[Solaxys]

If the Jays win the next two games in Boston, many posters will forget about Game 1.

 

We have to take all 3 of the remaining games.

 

Of all the teams we are facing in May, Sox and Yankees are the weakest. We need to take as many from them as possible.

[Olerud363]

Hasn't found his power yet, but in a normal year if he hit .300 .380 .480 with gold glove defense that would be like a giant Keith Hernandez. That's good enough.

 

Except Belt and Biggio are on the team, so feels like he needs to hit .350 .450 .650 to make up for them.

 

I'm sort of old, but not old enough to have watched Keith Hernandez in his prime, never got to enjoy a great and responsible coke head, lead a bunch of younger coke heads to an all time great season. I'm familiar with Keith mostly through his excellent broadcasting skills on the rival network to the YES network.

 

(though I did watch the 86 Mets documentary and the Keith Hernandez documentary recently. I think Keith's Dad and Whitey Herzog both abused him (at least verbally)).

[Stangstag]

You can't win every game.

 

Yes Sunday and even last night's game were winnable. Unfortunately, in the AL East with Tampa and Baltimore playing so well, you need to win as many games as you can. The Jays won some games that could have went the other way as well. So far this season, more games like Sunday/Monday have gone their way.

 

If the Jays win the next two games in Boston, many posters will forget about Game 1.

 

I just feel like people are panicking more because Tampa and Baltimore are doing so well.

 

Unfortunately we just can’t control that right now. We took 2/3 from Tampa when we had the chance. Can’t be angry with that.

 

Our record is 18-11 which is 3rd best in the American League and 5th best overall MLB

[jaysblue]

Are you guys forgetting the close winnable games that we DID win on Friday and Saturday??

 

Sunday game was just poor pitching all around. Monday we got super unlucky with the bats IMO.

 

Bassitt settled down after the first. Walked a bunch of guys and gave up a Grand Slam. Shame he couldn't pitch deeper into the game, especially when some arms in the Jays bullpen weren't available. He was at 96 pitches with the lead 8-4. He's your No. 3 starter who you're paying big money for and a veteran. Shocked they couldn't squeeze an extra inning out of him given the circumstances.

 

I know some posters on here were going crazy about how good the BP has been, but Sunday was an example where they had to be called upon early and close up the game over 4 innings. A lot of guys used were middle relievers in critical spots, not Swanson or Romano.

[jaysblue]

We have to take all 3 of the remaining games.

 

Of all the teams we are facing in May, Sox and Yankees are the weakest. We need to take as many from them as possible.

 

Ah 4 game series haha. Of course, try to take the 4 remaining games!

[jaysblue]

I just feel like people are panicking more because Tampa and Baltimore are doing so well.

 

Unfortunately we just can’t control that right now. We took 2/3 from Tampa when we had the chance. Can’t be angry with that.

 

Our record is 18-11 which is 3rd best in the American League and 5th best overall MLB

 

Yeah the Blue Jays have no control obviously of what Tampa and Baltimore do.

 

Sunday and Monday were winnable games for sure, so that's why I suppose it's frustrating. Lets hope it doesn't turn into a losing streak or something. They can't afford losing 4 or 5 in a row or going 4-6 or 3-7 over 10 games, especially with what Tampa and Baltimore are doing.

 

These games in April/May are important. Better to bank wins earlier so you're not playing catch-up in the standings when the schedule is winding down. Overall though, I have been impressed with the Jays this season in terms of the close games they've been able to win. Last years team seemed to miss a lot of those opportunities in the early going.

[mphenhef]

Guerrero feels better this year IMO. Haven’t really looked at the stats but he feels somewhere between 2021 and 2022, which I will definitely take on any given day

 

Guerrero feels like he hasn't really hit a groove yet and is just missing pitches frequently. When he does hit a groove I'm hoping we start seeing a few more go over the fence.

[Brownie19]

Guerrero feels better this year IMO. Haven’t really looked at the stats but he feels somewhere between 2021 and 2022, which I will definitely take on any given day

 

I think every stat possible suggests this is correct. wRC+ up, K% down, BB% up, Chase Rate down, Barrell % up, xwOBA up, xBA up, xSLG up

 

Last year he seemed antsy at the plate - expanding the zone too much. He seems a lot more comfortable at the plate this year - making the pitcher come to him. I hope he keeps it up. I expect the power will come as the weather warms up. Perhaps not to 2021 levels, but above 2022.

[BigCecil]

Guerrero feels better this year IMO. Haven’t really looked at the stats but he feels somewhere between 2021 and 2022, which I will definitely take on any given day

 

He has a 147 wRC+.

 

2021 has spoiled us forever.

 

He has a ton of swing movement and generates so much torque but the timing has to be brutal to manage.

[BigCecil]

Are you guys forgetting the close winnable games that we DID win on Friday and Saturday??

 

Sunday game was just poor pitching all around. Monday we got super unlucky with the bats IMO.

 

No. Not at all. We did win some squeakers. Fair point. But its just math - Ws and Ls. Got to keep pace...or not.

[Laika]

I think every stat possible suggests this is correct. wRC+ up, K% down, BB% up, Chase Rate down, Barrell % up, xwOBA up, xBA up, xSLG up

 

Last year he seemed antsy at the plate - expanding the zone too much. He seems a lot more comfortable at the plate this year - making the pitcher come to him. I hope he keeps it up. I expect the power will come as the weather warms up. Perhaps not to 2021 levels, but above 2022.

 

He's just barely missing some of these pitches. Lots of sky high flyballs that he could have put in the seats.

[Terminator]

No. Not at all. We did win some squeakers. Fair point. But its just math - Ws and Ls. Got to keep pace...or not.

 

We are on pace for over 100 wins…

[Terminator]

They are really pissing away any shot at the division.

 

Rays/Os not losing these kinds of games! (Well Rays lost one like this) They are consistently destroying teams if they give them chances.

 

We are playing keep-up and we have the hardest schedule in May.

 

Terrible takes guys. We are on pace for 100 wins and while it can be fun to look at the standings on a nightly basis it’s probably a good idea not to get your tittles so twisted over it on May 2.

[jaysblue]

The Sheriff has just entered the building haha.

[Jonn]

Its more so the ways the Jays are losing that’s annoying me. It’s already been a handful times this season where better decision making would have altered the outcome. John Scheneider doesn’t appear to be cut out for this job.

[Solaxys]

Terrible takes guys. We are on pace for 100 wins and while it can be fun to look at the standings on a nightly basis it’s probably a good idea not to get your tittles so twisted over it on May 2.

 

Again, there is precedent.

 

Last year, on May 2nd - we were 15 - 9 (.625), this year 18 - 11 (.620).

Yankees were 17 - 6 (.739) while Rays are, well 23 - 6 (.793)

 

We need to win these games, can't be throwing away games against basement teams. When Braves roll around, we need to be able to have enough breadth that if we were to get out of that series with only 1 win (or no win), we can still be within striking distance.

Can't be treating this as 'just another game', when one team is on a historic streak and the other team is winning with a fraction of our payroll and has a farm system that can get a trade done for some major pieces at deadline, and hell, we had more agency against AL East last year than we have this year.

 

As for SoS, Os have the hardest sure and Rays are 3rd (for the rest of the season) but the Jays are like 5th or 6th. We don't have it that much easier considering we faced KC/Tigers/Chi Sox already.

 

I don't want another Wildcard banner hanging next year. Take the f***ing AL East.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Solaxys

[Stangstag]

Terrible takes guys. We are on pace for 100 wins and while it can be fun to look at the standings on a nightly basis it’s probably a good idea not to get your tittles so twisted over it on May 2.

 

Tell em term