Blue Jays (Scherzer) vs Nationals (Yean): 7/27/26, 6:45pm

[bronson44]

3 minutes ago, Omar said:

Cue the return of Spanky!

Spanky is very happy in his new home. Plenty of open space to run around.

[Terminator]

4 minutes ago, Omar said:

Cue the return of Spanky!

[Jays24]

I think we're about to get Marte at the deadline and go on another magical run folks!! 

[Jays24]

4 minutes ago, Terminator said:

You called and he shall arrive lol

[G-Snarls]

Nice win Bros 

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, Jays24 said:

Attaboy Hoffman! What could have been if this front office realized Hoffman wasnt a closer a year ago like most already knew lol.

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, Terminator said:

I’m going to get absolutely tarred and feathered for this…BUT…we are only 5 games back from the playoffs you guys…just saying

 

I still believe! 

[jaysblue]

Jays bullpen at the end of games with Hoffman/Rogers/Varland like damn! 

We just need some of our starters to go a bit deeper and pick up the slack like Bieber & Yesavage and maybe if we could score around 5 or so runs a majority of the time, things wouldn't be that bad geez! 

[Brownie19]

12 hours ago, Ryu In My House said:

Just tuned in, did Max get hurt?

No - but he's on a pitch count as he's returning from injury.  He threw 50 pitches in the first 2 innings and thus didn't have enough bullets to go deeper.  

[max silver]

12 hours ago, Jays24 said:

Attaboy Hoffman! What could have been if this front office realized Hoffman wasnt a closer a year ago like most already knew lol.

That version of Hoffman would have success in any inning of the game. Don't give me this nonsense about him pitching well because of the inning as he's coming off of a stretch of several shaky outings in recent games despite not throwing a single pitch in the 9th.

[jaysblue]

29 minutes ago, max silver said:

That version of Hoffman would have success in any inning of the game. Don't give me this nonsense about him pitching well because of the inning as he's coming off of a stretch of several shaky outings in recent games despite not throwing a single pitch in the 9th.

Pretending the mental side of the game doesn’t exist is incredibly simplistic.

[max silver]

3 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Pretending the mental side of the game doesn’t exist is incredibly simplistic.

Pretending that Hoffman throwing his best pitch like 80% of the time and shelving his worst pitch is a non factor is incredibly simplistic. It's low hanging fruit to point at the inning and ignore the drastic change in pitch usage. I just pointed out that Hoffman had a recent stretch of poor outings where he had poor stuff and command despite not pitching in the 9th inning. The inning he's pitching in hasn't been the issue behind his struggles and that's not something I'm going to budge on as it's nothing more than a narrative.

[Terminator]

1 hour ago, max silver said:

That version of Hoffman would have success in any inning of the game. Don't give me this nonsense about him pitching well because of the inning as he's coming off of a stretch of several shaky outings in recent games despite not throwing a single pitch in the 9th.

I did a deep dive into the stats, and I've reached an undeniable conclusion. Jeff Hoffman is the Goldilocks of relievers.

Hoff is at his best in the 8th inning. The numbers back it up.

The 7th inning is his worst. Apparently there's just not enough pressure (aka the porridge is too cold). Avoid using him in the 7th at all costs.

The 9th inning is much better than the 7th and statistically it is almost indistinguishable from the 8th for him. But that doesn't fit my scientific theory that the 9th inning contains extra pressure (aka the porridge is too hot) that prevents him from reaching his true potential.

The 8th inning, though, is the porridge you want Jeff to be eating. It's juuuuust right. It has the perfect amount of pressure for Hoff to be at his absolute best.

[Laika]

Jeff Hoffman is an X-Man and his superpower is that the flyballs he gives up in save situations all travel ten percent further 

[jaysblue]

27 minutes ago, max silver said:

Pretending that Hoffman throwing his best pitch like 80% of the time and shelving his worst pitch is a non factor is incredibly simplistic. It's low hanging fruit to point at the inning and ignore the drastic change in pitch usage. I just pointed out that Hoffman had a recent stretch of poor outings where he had poor stuff and command despite not pitching in the 9th inning. The inning he's pitching in hasn't been the issue behind his struggles and that's not something I'm going to budge on as it's nothing more than a narrative.

I never said pitch usage was irrelevant. The point is that you’re treating it as the entire explanation while dismissing the psychological side as a “narrative.” Poor outings outside the ninth only prove the inning isn’t the sole issue - not that closing pressure plays no role. You can’t throw just any reliever into a save situation and pretend there’s no mental difference between protecting a lead in the ninth and pitching in an earlier inning. Some pitchers handle that pressure without issue; others clearly don’t.

At the end of the day, I think we can both agree that Hoffman has pitched much better since moving out of the closer’s role, while Varland has continued to do an excellent job taking over the ninth inning. Whatever the reason, the Blue Jays’ bullpen is in a much better place now than it was in April and early May, which we can both applaud. 

[Omar]

14 hours ago, Omar said:

Hoffman turning elite. 

 

 

[Jays24]

3 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Pretending the mental side of the game doesn’t exist is incredibly simplistic.

Some people are such computer people who have never played sports of any kind at any level.  Its absurd to think that the mental side doesnt exist lol. 

[Terminator]

23 minutes ago, Jays24 said:

Some people are such computer people who have never played sports of any kind at any level.  Its absurd to think that the mental side doesnt exist lol. 

Yeah I could always tell that you were an elite athlete who really understood the mental side of what it takes to compete at the highest levels and definitely not one of those "computer people".

[max silver]

29 minutes ago, Jays24 said:

Some people are such computer people who have never played sports of any kind at any level.  Its absurd to think that the mental side doesnt exist lol. 

Some people are so incapable of looking beneath the surface that they cling to simplified narratives instead of digging deeper.

[Brownie19]

4 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Pretending the mental side of the game doesn’t exist is incredibly simplistic.

I think most understand there's a mental side to the game - I most certainly do.  I think the question is how much of a factor it really is and/or how you factor that into your decision making.

How much different is it pitching in the 8th instead of the 9th?  Over his career, Hoffman has pitched better in high leverage than he has in medium or low leverage and as Term pointed out, he's pitched best in the 8th, worst in the 7th, with the 9th somewhere in between.  How do those results suit your narrative that he lacks mental fortitude?  Why would he be worse in the 7th than the 9th if he struggles with the mental pressure of closing?

The reality is the mental side of things will be different for every player in baseball - and it is something that is constantly changing.  Players may learn to handle the pressure more as they age and mature, some people go into slumps and lose their confidence altogether.

I think it's also incredibly simplistic to just label someone as being unable handle a certain role.  We see players who've failed as a closer for a couple of years suddenly figure it out and dominate for several years.  We see players who have dominated as a closer for several years, who suddenly struggle with it.  We see closers who are dominate one year, then suck the next, then dominate again.  The only consistent thing about relivers is their inconsistency.

The reality is there's really not black or white answer.  It's similar to the discussion on lineup protection and whether it exists or not - and if so, to what extent does it matter.  Anyone claiming their right and the answer is clear is ignorant.