Article: Somewhere Between Panic and Perspective

[Mike LeSage]

I’ll put the disclaimer right up top. This article is about me and my conflicting feelings as I watch the Blue Jays play September baseball from atop the AL East. It might be that you share some of these feelings with me, or maybe you swing strongly in one direction. A lot happens over the course of 162 games. The last time the Jays led the division before this season was in April of 2022. The last time they led the division in September? That would be 2016, where a one-game lead on September 5 saw the Jays end the season four games back of Boston, holding third place in the division. This year and these Blue Jays are different, somehow. The majority of them are the same Blue Jays as last season – the same Blue Jays that finished 20 games back of the division lead. This year, the Jays have been in the driver's seat since finishing their four-game sweep of the Yankees on July 3. I can’t explain it, and I’ve spent a large chunk of the season waiting for the wheels to fall off. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed every come-from-behind win (a win condition the Jays lead the league in), but I prefer the blowouts. 

It’s easy to support a team with lowered expectations. When you don’t expect them to win, the losses are easier to stomach. When they’re rebuilding? Easier still. But when they’re winning? And they keep winning? And they’ve defied the odds to go from a coin toss to even make the playoffs to being the favourites (among AL teams) to win the World Series? It’s a different story. Flipping the calendar back to February, when we were all counting the days until pitchers and catchers reported, I thought about the Jays and the upcoming season. I just wanted to see improvement. Playoffs would be nice, but just being in the hunt in September was where I set my expectations. Now, the Jays aren’t just in the hunt – they’re the hunted. They’ve clinched a playoff spot, they hold a two-game lead over their closest competition, and they're the odds-on favourite for a first-round bye and the AL pennant. So why do I feel so nervous?

The Jays might be the most well-rounded AL team heading for the playoffs. There are causes for concern, sure. I can’t trust anyone in this bullpen, but I also find myself questioning John Schnieder’s use of them. Two thoughts seemingly at odds with each other. We’re going to debate endlessly the final decisions made for the playoff roster. Injuries and IL stints and rehab assignments might force a move here and there too. The pitching rotation went from having too many options to I don’t know who starts Game 3 in a real hurry. Every decision on every play is now under a microscope in a way that we haven’t seen in Toronto for years. The Wild Card losses of recent memory weren’t the same. Sure, they each brought their own kind of painful ‘what if’ moments against Minnesota, Seattle and Tampa Bay, but we didn’t go into those playoffs in the position that we have the potential to now. I’m already on the edge of my seat.

I'm reminded of an old gambling joke that goes something like this: A man and his wife are in Las Vegas on vacation. After a day of walking the strip and taking in the sights, they return to their hotel/casino for a rest. The man says, “I've got $10 left over burning a hole in my pocket, I'm going to hit the casino floor first, and then I'll meet you back at the room.” He walks over to a roulette table and, being a Blue Jays fan, throws his money down on Roy Halladay's #32. Sure enough, it comes up 32, and that $10 becomes $360. He starts placing bets on more former Jays’ numbers, and on every spin he's hitting one of them. Soon his pile of chips begins to swell, and the number of observers does too. By the time he's pulling back the chips from hitting on Tony Fernández’s #1, the crowd around the table is eight or nine people deep, and he’s up over $10,000. Bystanders are clamoring over each other, yelling out former Jays' numbers. Cult heroes left and right. Soon, the man is up over six figures and starting to think about the extravagant things he’ll be buying in the near future. He takes a second to ponder his next move. He takes all of his winnings and splits it into two piles. One goes to George Bell’s #11 and the other to Josh Donaldson’s #20, two Jays MVPs. The croupier spins the wheel in one direction and the ball in the other. For a moment, anything is possible, the magical run continues. Then the ball begins its descent, it hits the wheel and begins bouncing, it bounces in and out of the #11 section and comes to rest on the zero. Al Oliver had never even been a consideration. A groan runs through the gathered observers, and then the crowd disperses. The man walks away alone. He heads back to his room where he’s greeted by his wife. “So, how’d you make out?” she asks. He replies with a shrug, “I lost ten bucks."

I expected very little from this team, and they’ve given more than I could have asked for. No matter what happens over the last week of the season and into the playoffs, the 2025 Blue Jays have to be considered a success. That’s the objective side of my thinking. The flip side is one of squandered chances and a history of playoff disappointment. This team has found a way to defy expectations all year, and I just hope it continues. When the dust settles on the playoffs and the off-season begins, we’ll take time to reflect on the remarkable things we’ve seen in individual moments and cumulative performances. Until then, I will remain stuck – somewhere between panic and perspective.

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