Brownie19

Oh that's a good point. I don't think the 3 batter rule was in effect when this was happening. You're right, that probably squashed that plan.

Today's the day boys. Today's the day. BELIEVE!

This has been done before. I believe it was in the NL back before there was the DH. Pitcher would throw an inning, then go play LF, the come back in to pitch again. I don't remember all the details, but I know it's been done. It was probably a lefty, who faced a lefty, then played LF for a batter, then came back to face another lefty. You don't get warm up pitches the second time around (if it's in the same inning). Obviously nobody is going to do that in the World Series and it certainly didn't catch on. I want to say it was the Cardinals or the Dodgers who did it.

So we didn't need to big power bats this offseason? Did we even need any? 😘

You can't spell Snell without 2 L's...

Lauer would be available for Game 7 too.

I 100% agree. I think it would mean the world to him after all these years. Is it the same as winning one as a player? No, it's not, but coaches coach because they love helping others achieve their goals. It would still be incredibly rewarding to help other players win. It is absolutely nowhere near the same, but I can tell you that I won an OBA Championship ONCE in my life. I think we lost in the finals another 7 or 8 times. I won it at age 35 and it was absolutely incredible. I was lucky enough to win my second OBA Championship a few years ago while coaching my oldest son at U13 and I ran out of that dugout and celebrated with those boys like I was a player - until I realized I was the only coach doing so. The video is hilarious. I also lost in the OBA Championship this past summer while coaching my youngest son's U10 team and I felt that pain deep down.

He reminds me of Kenta Maeda with the Dodgers. Soak up innings as a starter in the regular season, then crank it up a notch and pitch great out of the pen in the playoffs. I know Bassitt makes it look easy and some believe all starters have this ability, but I don't think everyone has that ability. I'm certainly open to keeping Bassitt here for another couple of years in that role. I love that he as instrumental in recruiting Schrezer to sign here this offseason. He sold this clubhouse/team to Max and here we are - 1 win away from the title. It seems clear to me that all the complaining about Atkins and Schneider (and even previous comments from Bassitt?) were overblown.

I believe they've put the hit and run on twice in the World Series - both times with Ernie at the plate. I think he fouled off both pitches. Just keep doing what you've been doing boys - find a way. It's time.

So I had to look this up, and for once, my memory was correct. I originally started posting on the ESPN message boards. I don't exactly remember the year, but it was probably in the late '90's when I was a teenager, and the internet was finally improving (holy f*ck I'm old). ESPN had message boards for all professional teams at the time. Although I was 11 & 12 when the Jays won B2B World Series, I was obsessed with Frank Thomas in the early 90's and ended up a diehard White Sox fans in the mid-90's when the Jays went in the sh*tter. My username was wsox_fan95 or something like that and over the years, I started to posted on the Blue Jays message board under that handle. I was still a White Sox fan in 2005 when they finally won the World Series and really enjoyed that - but by that time, my heart had moved back to the Jays for good. When those message boards died in 2013, I remember being asked to come join this new Blue Jays message board (when I changed my handle), which I believe was the one we used until Brock took over this year. I believe it's been 25+ years of shootin' the sh*t with random fans on the internet for me. I've learned so much about the game through it. Love it. 1 more win boys.

Man - I'd go with you. 100% serious. But I can't abandon my kids. Too special for them.

To be fair - some of that is BABIP luck. Not many triples hit with 79 MPH EVs or HRs with <100 MPH EVs. I think what he's saying is that he feels as though he pitched better than the results suggest. This type of thing happens all the time. I'm sure it's incredibly frustrating when it happens in Game 5 of the WS.

100%. Enjoy it!!!

BOYS - WE'RE ONE F*CKING WIN AWAY FROM WINNING THE WORLD SERIES. PINCH ME! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!

Springer returning and playing a big role in these final 3 games would be absolutely legendary stuff. I am 100% here for it. I also support Barger over Straw. He's been incredibly solid in the playoffs. LFG boys.

The Jays have the best offense in the playoffs by a landslide - all with IKF starting most games. You know they're going to value defense over offense and start IKF. This game gets a lot more difficult to navigate if Trey can't give us 5 or 6 innings and thus a strong defense to help avoid the big inning is going to be valued. At some point, you could probably show an ounce of faith in the decision making process that has us 2 wins away from the World Series title eh? Just a thought.

Jonn - I believe the issue is that everyone has a different definition for what "valid criticism" is. As John tries to articulate below is that a lot of us believe those who regularly criticize the FO and managers sit firmly atop Mount Stupid. Even when others try to introduce another point of view, or try to justify the thought process, it's often met with loud opposition. Although you suggest you like to hear other peoples opinions and reasoning, that isn't the case with everyone. As is VERY common in society today - most people become anchored to their opinion, unwilling to admit they might be wrong (or even less right) and thus even in the face of new information, they put up their shields and choose to fight instead of listen. I really have no issue with people developing opinions - I just think in most cases, they shouldn't be so firm on them - as they should acknowledge there's probably a lot more information they aren't privy to. This team is 2 wins away from their first World Series win in 32 years and people still believe that's in spite of the FO and Manager. I suspect if the Dodgers end up winning, there will be LOTS of people who blame that on Shatkins and Schneider and suggest they should lose their jobs. I've been alive long enough to realize nothing is going to change - people are always going to be like this, but I often find that disheartening. Obviously I enjoy supporting the FO/Manager and try to see that most of the decisions aren't anywhere near as clear cut as some suggest. I also don't expect them to be perfect - they are human and make mistakes. I choose to be more supportive than not, but understand most take the opposite approach. I also know that at times, people are just venting out of frustration and I should just let them do that - instead of poking them. I hope that helps. My last thought on this is that while most people rip on the tactical decisions, I do think Schneider deserves a lot of credit for the softer side of the job. I certainly appears he's created an awesome environment for this players. I don't think you become such a resilient group without strong leadership in the clubhouse. I don't really know how much that stuff matters in comparison to lineup, bullpen and substitution decisions during a game, but there's certainly a possibility that John's biggest strengths are things we don't see on a daily basis.

The resiliency of this team is off the charts. The sign of a well coached, close knit team. Tomorrow we go ahead for good...

Broken record.

If that's true - then just keep him on the bench tonight and see how he feels tomorrow. If we need to use Loperfido tonight, then we're f*cked anyway. If you can sub out George and bring in a fresh arm - it "could" give us a bit of a leg up on the Dodgers. It would be Yariel I assume.

Yeah - that seems like the most obvious one.

It's a different decision to be made when you're up 1 v. tied. It's also a different decision when you already got burnt earlier in the game. You do need to factor in that Dominguez generally has no idea where the ball is going to go out of his hand, but he's a vet - he needs to execute better. It seems pretty clear to me who should be blamed for that at bat. Here's an interesting thought - maybe we don't have to blame loses on a single person? I know that's a crazy thought around these parts.

It's all hindsight man. You obviously run the risk of making a mistake, but Ohtani strikes out 1/4 of the time - so yes, Ohtani is "dumb enough" to swing and miss at pitches off the plate. On the season, he had a 26% chase rate (62nd percentile) and a 33.4% whiff rate (4th percentile!). He was almost an auto out in the playoffs until the final game v. the Brewers. Putting the tying run on base intentionally isn't some fail proof decision - especially with a guy who stole 59 bases last year. He can be in scoring position in a blink of an eye. The probability of him hitting a HR there isn't actually that high (7.5% of all PAs in the regular season). We just ended up with the worst possible outcome of course. That's baseball.

100% pivotal moment. The was the only batter they trusted Kershaw to face. Lukes battled, but lost.