jaysblue

If Anderson was on the Blue Jays, you would be hailing him as the next great Pete Walker reclamation project. How about Manoah and his innings? Heaney is injury prone, though he's still been more effective than Kikuchi haha who isn't even lasting 4 innings. Does the Dodgers highest payroll have anything to do with their pitching depth? Has more to do with their main roster pieces. Outside of Kershaw, the rest of the starters like Urias, Buehler, May, Gonsolin, Anderson and Healey aren't costing a lot at all. Price is a different story since they took on his bad contract to get Betts, but he isn't even in the conversation for pitching depth. Dodgers could very well fall short in the Postseason again. Teams like the Mets and Braves in the NL could pose a challenge for them. Though the Dodgers have built a roster perfect for 162 games and they should be in a good position to go far into the Postseason if Kershaw gets back and May returns to elite form.

And what makes you have faith in Berrios, Stripling, White or Kikuchi? Or even Manoah who has never pitched in the Postseason before?

Rays have been the better team so far this season, even with a mediocre roster. On paper, I take the Blue Jays for sure, though the Rays are always a thorn in the Jays side. Rays still have a solid rotation with McClanahan, Springs, Rasmussen and Kluber. Also, give them the edge in the bullpen. Cleveland just won a series against the Blue Jays. Bieber and McKenzie are still a pretty good #1-2 along with Quantrill as a No. 3. Rotation is a wash IMO, though if Berrios get back on track I'll give the edge to the Jays. Cleveland's bullpen has the edge. Lineup wise, agreed I'll take the Blue Jays. If the Blue Jays are playing better baseball, I would move them ahead of Cleveland.

The power of Zeus!

Where is Brownie19? I want to hear his post-game analysis haha.

The aircraft the Blue Jays fly on park at North Lounge on Derry Road. They don't go through the same nightmare regular passengers go through at Pearson. CBSA officers drive and clear them on the plane before the deboard.

The Jays are missing a John McDonald or Reed Johnson type player. Bring them both out of retirement.

They ended up beating the Yankees. You gotta love Rays baseball!

That "not good roster" is ahead of the Blue Jays in the standings though lmao. Even without Baz and Glasnow, McClanahan + Springs + Rasmussen + Kluber is a great rotation in the Postseason.

That's what great organizations do. They buy low and roll the dice on players with previous success. Gallo was a great under the radar pickup for them.

Rays have won two games already against the Yankees and are ahead of the Blue Jays in the Wildcard. So far they've played better than the Blue Jays based on the standings and like you said on paper their roster is mediocre. Though they still always manage to be a thorn in the side for the Blue Jays and in the AL East, even with a mediocre roster. On paper I take the Blue Jays roster, though my gut feeling inside says the Rays beat them in a 3-game Wildcard series, especially with the way the Blue Jays are playing right now. Rays have an edge in the rotation and bullpen IMO.

He's probably packed it in and just finishing out the remaining of his contract. I bet he retires after this season. He's won a World Series in 2018, he knows he's no longer an elite workhorse like he was, and he's probably enjoying the California lifestyle and beaches. He's not even used in high-leverage situations out of the bullpen. Not a bad gig for making $32 million (16M owed by Boston) haha.

Everyone has been pretty bad lately, they have to bat somewhere.

Agreed. But selling him when he's raking with the bat, many disgruntled Blue Jays fan now wouldn't want that and would be begging Atkins to sign him to a $200 million extension.

If Anderson was doing that with the Blue Jays, he would be considered an arm that's "for real" from some homers on this board. Like you said, if the Jays lost Gausman and Manoah at the same time or even one of them for an extended period of time, their season would become a dumpster fire.

Even with Kershaw and Buehler gone, being without May for the entire season and after trading Mitch White, it's very impressive how the Dodgers can still field a solid rotation one through five! They're a team built well for a 162 game season. This shows you how roster depth is important. Something the Blue Jays front office should focus on addressing in the offseason. Dodgers current rotation: Urias Gonsolin Anderson Heaney Pepiot Those five are better than the Blue Jays right now IMO. May is expected back very soon, and Danny Duffy likely will be back in September. I'm also shocked why they don't have Price stretched out a starter but like you said they might know something we don't. For the Postseason, if they get Kershaw back, and along with May in top form, their rotation is fine. They can run a rotation of Urias, Gonsolin, Kershaw and May along with Heaney, Anderson, Duffy and Pepiot in the wings in case someone gets injured again. Now lets talk about their lineup and bullpen depth

Yeah I acknowledge their #1-2 punch with Gausman and Manoah. One of the best and can match up with any of the Postseason bound teams. Outside of them, a lot of question marks including Berrios, who is the big missing piece. Who knows if Stripling is pitching like he did prior to his IL stint when he comes back, and even still he's only a max 5-6 inning guy in the Postseason. He won't be facing a lineup more than twice through, leaving the bullpen to close out a tight game for 3 or 4 innings. The bullpen is solid but I don't have much confidence in them closing out a one run game from the 6th or 7th inning on. I love the Blue Jays core lineup pieces. Obviously sucks many of them have been underachieving and are slumping together right now, though that's baseball. Like you said, Jose Berrios is the big key. He needs to be more consistent and pitch like a front of the rotation starter. Would be a huge help. The lineup will get out of the rut they're in at some point. Right now, I consider the Blue Jays one of the weaker teams heading into the Postseason if they started today. Who knows in September: if Berrios gets back on track, we see a couple of arms down in the bullpen pitching lights out and if the lineup starts hitting like they're supposed to, I'll definitely move them up. In a short series, I'll still take the Astros, Mets, Braves, Dodgers, Mariners, Guardians, and Rays over the Jays. Toronto can definitely beat any of those teams, though they need to be playing better baseball in order to do so.

Dodgers have so much depth, it's ridiculous. If the Blue Jays lost Manoah, season would be over.

Aren't we allowed to be critical and question some decisions made by this organization or any other organization for that matter? I know some posters overreact and vent way too much in the GDT threads, though some of us actually have been rational and logical in our criticism and observations of the Blue Jays this season. You on the other hand have blinkers on when discussing this team. You're probably the biggest homer on this board reaching Mike Wilner levels and you never are open to considering other possibilities or accepting logical criticism. To be honest its quite annoying.

Astros, Dodgers, Mets, and Braves would be my top picks. I do think teams like Cleveland and Seattle are better positioned than the Jays to go far if they make the Postseason. I like the Cardinals as a sleeper in the NL. Yankees are a hot mess right now. I never count out Tampa since they always can cause trouble. Out of the 12 teams that make the Postseason, I probably would rank the Jays between #8-12 if they make it in. I think there is a wide gap between those top 4 or 5 teams vs. those bottom 4 or 5 teams. Though yes, anything can happen in a short Postseason series. You're really a Blue Jays homer which shows in majority of your posts. It's a bit much!

This is GOLD!

I'm not freaking out haha. I do believe the Jays will get out of this funk at some point with the talent they have and they should still have a good chance at nabbing one of the wildcard spots. I'm also not a complete homer and defend every move made my by this front office or player in this organization like you and some other posters do. This team had glaring weaknesses and we've seen them since Day 1 of the season. I don't have any high expectations on this team winning a World Series this season with the current roster in place. I also think teams like Seattle, Tampa and Cleveland won't fold that easily, and even Baltimore might try to spoil the fun as well. So still, making the Postseason especially if the Blue Jays keep playing like this will be challenging. I'll admit and acknowledge they can get hot in September and carry that into October, and I hope they do. Get into the Postseason, anything can happen in a short series. Though not confident at all in their bullpen in close games and their rotation outside of Gausman and Manoah. Also, this lineup which is very streaky can get shutdown by elite pitching easily. Though otherwise, hope this season is a learning curve for this roster, they get a taste of Postseason baseball and hoping that they could get lucky and go deep like at least play in the ALDS or ALCS. More work needs to be done with this roster and hope they don't let this core they've built up go to waste in 2023 or 2024.

Agreed! Blue Jays are still World Series contenders and its just all bad luck! This team is one of the best in baseball! Every player on this roster is amazing especially Raimel Tapia! Ok on a serious note, yes this team has hit a rough stretch though they will turn it around at some point soon. Too much talent not too. It's unfortunate they are s***ing the bed right now especially when the Yankees are as well. Anything short of making the Postseason would be a huge disappointment with this club however. I don't think the Orioles have enough to win one of the WC spots though who knows. Not going to be easy for the Jays though. Don't write off the Mariners, Guardians and Rays.

Hey Mike Wilner!

Tapia's No. 1 fan right here!