nextyear

Here is a Tweet from David Price. I hope he has lots to cheer for today in the dugout.

Colabello's numbers have been more than decent since September 1st with a wRC+ 148 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=13051&position=1B/OF&type=&gds=2015-09-01&gde=2015-10-04&season=

If the Blue Jays win today then I think they will win the series in 3 straight.

Good point, since statistically their strikeout rates are almost identical: 26.7% for Colabello - http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13051&position=1B/OF 26.5% for Smoak - http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=9054&position=1B However, Colabello wRC+ is higher at 142 versus 105 for Smoak. I no longer mind having Colabello at 1ST.

It sounds like the Bringer of Rain (Donaldson) is feeling fine and can still hit the ball hard.

Stroman seems confident. He Tweeted after yesterday's loss: I hope Donaldson will be back today and Bautista back in full form.

Can the Rangers turn their upset win into a series win; very unlikely since the Blue Jays are by far the best team.

I am rooting for the Astros. They are the underdog and have the shortest player in the major leagues since 1981 in Jose Altuve who also happens to be a star baseball player.

The Blue Jays still have a good chance of winning this series since they are the better team. Now that they got their feet wet in game one with many players who haven't played in the playoffs before, I think they will just go out tomorrow and play the way they have since the All Star break. No matter what happens, it will be an entertaining game with Stroman pitching tomorrow.

There are actually many examples of the home team losing the first game and then coming back to win the series (quite often in 3 straight games). Here is the Wikipedia link, if you are interested you can click on the yearly series - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_League_Division_Series. However, what happened in past series between different teams has no influence on what happens in this series. I think if the Blue Jays win tomorrow then they have the ability to win the series in 4 games (3 straight wins). I am glad that the game is early tomorrow so there won't be much time waiting around for it.

I didn't know that. is that just for the playoffs?

I don't think David Price pitches well in cool weather. The first game of the year was very cold in Detroit and he gave up something like 8 straight hits without retiring a batter. Whether or not this is the real reason, I would like the comfort level to be perfect when David Price pitches. Is it much noisier in the Rogers Centre when the roof is closed? I am going to leave work at 3:30 and since I can be home within 10 minutes, I might even see the first pitch on TV. (I can't endure work until 4 pm with the Blue Jays playing in the playoffs)

I am surprised they put Goins ahead of Pillar in the lineup. The 7, 8 and 9 guys include Martin, and Goins and Pillar have been hot so we can expect production at the bottom of the lineup. The top 6 should do their usual damage.

The Rangers don't scare me at all. I think this will just be a typical regular season Blue Jays type of game (with much more hype) and the Blue Jays will whip the Rangers 8 - 2. I am looking forward to watching the game on TV. I will leave work early and be back home by 4 pm so I won't miss much of the live action. As usual I will PVR the game so I can rewind back to the first inning and be caught up with the live action in no time .

No one knows the future, but I feel confident that Pillar will have a wRC+ of over 100 in the 2015 playoffs and contribute to the Blue Jays getting to the World Series. If he does, this will be more evidence that Pillar is really an outstanding player (I have little doubt that he is).

I am a big Pillar fan and feel that he was an important contributor in getting the team to the AL East winner. In my opinion, there is little doubt that Pillar will be a future All Star. I think Pillar's MLB career can be split into two sections: 1) The frustrating, swing at everything Pillar from August 14, 2013 to May 31, 2015 whose stats were: 438 PA, 4.1% BB, 21 K%, wRC+ 67 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2013-08-14&gde=2015-05-31&season= 2) and the confident, future All Star Pillar who benefited the Blue Jays both on offense and defense from June 2, 2015 to October 4, 2015 whose stats were: 422 PA, 4.3% BB, 11.8 K%, wRC+ 111 - http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=12434&position=OF&type=&gds=2015-06-02&gde=2015-10-04&season= Pillars strikeout rate has been cut in half during the second half of his short (to date) MLB career. This shows that he has become more disciplined and it has resulted in a run production that is 67% higher than over the first half of his career. From now on, I think I will just call him All Star Pillar.

I don't actually have a comment on what you posted but I like the new avatar.

I think the superimposed strike zone box is great. It doesn't really stand out but gives an instant indication of whether a pitch is a strike or not (with some uncertainty). I hope the Blue Jays telecasts will adopt it next year. PS: I don't really care who wins, but I hope Altuve does well. An interesting note from Wikipedia - Originally listed at 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), Altuve is now listed at his correct height of 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m), making him the shortest active player in Major League Baseball, and the shortest since Freddie Patek retired following the 1981 season. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Altuve

I looked it up, and surprisingly the first World Series night game was 1971 - http://www.hardballtimes.com/tht-live/40th-anniversary-first-world-series-night-game/ . It is surprising considering how uncommon working day afternoon games would have been by that time (except at Wrigley Park).

I did. Even if this is the way things were done in the past, many professional leagues and TV networks correct past mistakes and consider the hardship they are causing for fans. This isn't some baseball tradition. After all, there was only one round, the World Series, for close to a hundred years up to 1969. From 1969 - 1993 there were only two rounds. I can understand there being afternoon workday games back in the early to mid 1900's, before artificial lighting, but there is no reason for it in 2015. The scheduled times are completely absurd, that's why the NHL, NFL and NBA would never even consider have afternoon working-day games.

I can get off work early on Thursday, take a day off work on Friday and Monday is Canada's Thanksgiving so I will see all the games live on TV, but I am still peeved that MLB schedules games this way; in my opinion, it is indefensible.

The schedule shows no consideration for the fans who have supported teams throughout North America. This isn't baseball tradition, it is just a lack of consideration by MLB for their fans. How long has this tradition even existed; at one time not too long ago there was only one NL pennant winner and one AL pennant winner that played in the World Series. Did this afternoon tradition exist in the not too distant past when there were only 2 playoff teams in each league? It doesn't just affect so called bandwagon fans, it affects even die-hard baseball fans. That's why baseball introduced artificial light way back in 1935 - http://www.crosley-field.com/FNG/index.html. Work-day afternoon games isn't some cute baseball tradition, it is just a lack of consideration for the fans.

Thank you for the information. I have watched playoff baseball but it has been a long time since I have watched early playoff rounds in the afternoon (1981 to be exact when the Expos played the Phillies and then the Dodgers, and for that I had to miss university classes). However, I now have a real life outside of watching baseball so I feel no shame in not devoting my life to staying at home and watching non-Canadian teams play playoff baseball in the afternoon. How many people outside of Toronto and the Dallas area are going to stay home from work to watch the Blue Jays play the Texas Rangers on TV in the afternoon. Having separate, early playoff times in the afternoon when people are working (or going to class) is ridiculous; I doubt that it increases overall TV ratings. The NHL, NBA and NFL don't schedule games when people are at work for a good reason. Baseball switched from predominantly afternoon games to night games 70 - 80 years ago when artificial lights were installed; the MLB could easily have simultaneous playoff games like the other sports and it might even increase TV viewership.

Don't be such a troll. It means that I only follow the Blue Jays, and in the past the Expos, who haven't been in the playoffs for 22 years. I didn't ask anything about the magic number. But if you think these things are really important then it is time for you to get out of the house more.

Does MLB actually schedule playoff games for a weekday afternoon? Don't they know that people have to go to work?