Stray Thoughts... - 'YOFFS!!!!!1!!!1!
On a weirdly successful stretch so far, Brandon Belt, Davis Schneider, sitting Davis Schneider, not pinch running for Alejandro Kirk, Spencer Horwitz, Vlad, Manoah, Bassitt, Alex Ríos(?), and more!
The Blue Jays are back in a playoff spot. See! I told you not to sweat it!
*COUGH*
As with absolutely everything else this season, the Blue Jays certainly haven’t made these last few wins against garbage teams easy on themselves but with one final game in Oakland upcoming, followed by an off-day and a visit from Cole Ragans and the Royals before a massive series against the freefalling Texas Rangers, they’ve mostly done what they’ve needed to do. Is that damning with faint praise? Absolutely. But three straight series wins isn’t nothing, especially with the Mariners flagging and the Rangers getting beat down by Houston.
The Jays have started the MUST WIN EVERY GAME 15-game stretch at 7-4 and it's been fine.
Well, not fine fine. It's been a frustrating slog inspiring precisely no one that they'll be able to continue to bag wins against better teams. But hope still exists. And while that’s not what anyone would have wanted or expected or considered good enough back when the season began, right now it’s all we can ask for.
Well, that and another win. Then a few more. Then more still. Then Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman coming back. Chapman not sucking. Vlad maybe eventually getting his act together before the season closes. Alek Manoah actually getting on a mound long enough to provide some depth (what on earth is going on with that?). And… well…
OK, we could ask for a lot of things. And while I can’t, personally, give anyone any of those, I can give you something nobody asked for: more Stray Thoughts! (Today in an extra-quickly edition).
I’ll be honest here, friends. This site keeps the lights on for me, but it isn’t a cash cow. And I could live a lot more comfortably than I do right now if I was willing to put some of my work behind a paywall and push a bunch readers who are on the fence into becoming paid subscribers. But, the thing is, I know that times are tough for a lot of people and I really don’t want to become inaccessible to anyone. So, if you can afford it, and you value what I do and aren’t already a paid subscriber, I’d ask that you consider upgrading your free membership to a paid one. Thanks. — Stoeten
• Brandon Belt will not be in the lineup for Wednesday’s finale in Oakland due to either a stomach bug, back tightness, or both. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be making an impact on the team. Kaitlyn McGrath has a great piece up at the Athletic here on Wednesday, in which she talks to both Belt and some of his teammates about the impact the two-time World Series-winning veteran has had on the club. Notable tidbits include:
That Belt is a “classic flat-liner who keeps a consistent demeanour every day” (something we hear about constantly in this sport, but that few fans ever think might be worth trying for themselves during the ups and downs of a season).
That Belt hilariously kept warning teammates “don’t let me get hot” during his awful start to the season, and that he’s learned along the way that “something that works one year doesn’t necessarily work the next year. We try to fall back on stuff (we’ve) learned in previous years, but it doesn’t necessarily work that way all the time. It’s almost like you’ve got to re-learn yourself every single year.” (Something I think a few more Jays hitters could probably have used thinking about over the course of this maddening season).
That obviously, unlike the weird conception some have about this team being dumbly led around by dumb hitting coaches asking them to do dumb things, these guys are talking to each other about their craft all the time, as well as picking each other up, telling each other uncomfortable truths, etc.
That he was a big help to Davis Schneider when the youngster struggled for a few games following the incredible start to his big league career, picking up just one hit in 17 plate appearances over five games. Per Kaitlyn: “You are worthy of being there — don’t try to change anything,” Schneider said Belt told him. “We’re kind of similar. We like to take our walks, we know what works for our swing. And so he just sat me down and he put a little bit more confidence in me that I had because you always have doubts. But having a guy like that put in a good word for me and just sit me down and tell me that I am worthy of being here, it was pretty cool.” (You love to see it. Also, could their similarities extend to struggles with high heat? Hmm.)
That Belt is contemplating retirement at the end of the season. (This is something he told the Foul Territory podcast nearly a week ago, but I hadn’t mentioned it here yet. Don’t go, MVP! You can watch the interview below. Also, be sure to read Kaitlyn’s piece!)
• If this season has taught me anything about fan psychology—and it probably hasn’t—it’s that you’ll never find yourself short of support if you’re telling angry fans exactly whatever dumb thing it is they want to hear. You’ll also probably never do a worse disservice to the conversation about your team. Take the tweet below. No, seriously, take it the fuck away from me. Analytics is information. In the MLB sense it’s often proprietary and therefore opaque, so I suppose I understand how it can come off as some spooky spectre a manager might be in “servitude”—LOL—to, but good lord is this 2007? The guys making the decisions have skin in the game and a lifetime of experience in the sport. They’re not just dummies with zero recognition of the fact that Davis Schneider has been hitting well who’ve been hoodwinked by esoteric numbers or are scared not to do whatever Professor Dingus tells them his computer printout says. These are the opposite of ill-informed decisions. Which isn’t to say that information from the analytics department can’t be applied in misguided ways just as easily as whatever someone’s gut is telling them. Just that maybe we should at least try to appreciate the nuance here before smashing that like button.
• Oh, hey, this is weird. That day’s Oakland starter, Luis Medina, throws a ton of elevated four-seam fastballs—a pitch he averages 96 mph on. I wonder if anyone has noticed the Sportsnet telecast mentioning every single game that there’s a particular type of pitch and part of the zone Schneider has struggled with?
• That all said, could someone in the analytics department—or anywhere, really—please tell Schneider to start pinch running for Alejandro Kirk in crucial spots. And that, between college, summer league, the minors, and the majors, Daulton Varsho has played in 467 games as a catcher since leaving high school. Over 2,200 innings! And while I understand that it’s not ideal to have him forced into a game, or to lose Kirk’s bat in case his spot comes up later on, GUESS WHAT ELSE ISN’T IDEAL??? Like, bro, this isn’t even a “if you keep tempting fate you’re going to get burned” situation, you already got burned! What is going on?
• Look, I’ll be the first to tell people that I don’t really think the whole Buffalo Boys thing is great long-term thing to get too emotionally invested in, or a particularly sustainable way for this club to win baseball games. I do get that same instinct as everyone else that they should probably ride the hot hands for as long as they can here, but I also wonder if maybe fans don’t appreciate the amount of sense there probably is in not asking too much of these guys too soon (much in the same way that fans don’t really appreciate that some of the scheduled off days and things from the High Performance department that they hate likely have contributed to a lot of the good health the team has had this year). But whether you’re screaming apoplectic at dumb-dick Schneider for once again not starting Spencer Horwitz or a little more reserved about how much the kids should be leaned on in the heat of a pennant race, it’s impossible to deny that him being open about his mental health struggles is very cool, or that the way he talks about his mom here with Hazel Mae is really quite lovely. NOW PUT HIM IN THE LINEUP, JOHN!
• I can’t tell anyone how mad or not mad to get about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. not always running hard after contact, but I can tell you I find it funny that the fan base that nearly blew the roof of Rogers Centre in October 2015 is getting cranky about guys admiring their wallops.
• Speaking of being cranky, if I never have to hear the word “conditioning” again it will be too soon. (Yes, I’m talking about Manoah.)
• And speaking of Vladdy, this small Shi Davidi piece for Sportsnet from early in the season sure offers up some food for thought, considering how the struggling slugger’s season has gone since. In it Shi reports that Vlad had been scratched from a game in the first week May due to left wrist soreness—the same ailment that forced him to miss games in late May of 2022, and that caused him to skip last year’s home run derby out of fear that he may reaggravate it. He also noted this at the time: “The 24-year-old is off to a monster start this season, batting .318/.389/.530 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 33 games.”
Since then? Vlad's slashed .251/.330/.409 (103 wRC+) with 14 HRs in 99 games.
• Chris effing Bassitt. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
• Hey, here’s another one for the anti-analytics crowd: Bassitt now leads American League pitchers with 14 wins. We take you live to noted Analytics Guy John Schneider outside the ROM for his response…
• OK, OK. I scoff, but Bassitt and his wife have pledged to donate $10,000 for every game the Jays win when he pitches, meaning they’re now up to $170,000 for the year. Pretty great stuff.
• Bo Bichette “tracking towards a weekend return, possibly as early as Friday,” according to Arden? Yes, please.
• Great stuff, as always, over at Yahoo from my Blue Jays Happy Hour cohost Nick Ashbourne, who looks at what unsung hero Cavan Biggio has meant to the season half of this Blue Jays season. Surprisingly, it’s not nothing!
• Lastly, I’ve long been an avowed hater of any fan who is absent-minded enough to interfere with a ball in play, and this guy is actually making me change mind. Either I’m getting soft—probably (see: above item on Horwitz, Spencer)—or this tweet is accurate.
• NOW SWEEP THIS DAMN SERIES
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My god the conditioning discourse is tired. Yes, Vladdy, Kirk, and Manoah aren't skinny dudes, but that doesn't mean they're out of shape. So many couch jockeys screaming at their TVs for these guys to get in the gym, as if they're not in there every damn day of the year. Different body types exist, zip it you lunkheads.
Regardless of what happens, I hate to say it, but I'm kind of going to be glad when this season is over...it's felt like a slog or a dream when you're running and getting nowhere. Which is odd given we're in a playoff spot and 14 games over .500! Imagine if we did a Phillies and made the World Series - how fun would that be just to see the 180 degree shift in fanbase reaction!
As for Vladdy's weight/physique - to be honest, he looks pretty fit and athletic to me. He's got a natural big build. He's not fat. I would be interested if someone talked to Ryu about his significant weight loss and asked him if it he feels it has benefit his pitching in any way.