National Post (National Edition)
Traditional powers dominate AL East
Red Sox, Yankees are heavyweights
Has the MLB All-star Game become an event that has left the Toronto Blue Jays behind?
And, more importantly, did it really happen this quickly?
Yes, J.A. Happ is there with a Jays cap and the big, soft-spoken lefty is deserving of the honour. It speaks loudly, however, that the only Toronto player remotely qualified to participate in the Midsummer Classic will almost certainly be dealt within the next two weeks.
With Kevin Pillar injured and out for six weeks or so and Josh Donaldson’s status forever to be determined, star power is certainly diminished in Toronto with Rogers Centre attendance already being down by some 500,000 fans overall reflective of the demise.
How the once mighty have fallen. For the first time since 2012, when Jose Bautista was the man, the Jays have just one representative here among the game’s best. And it’s a far cry from 2016 when there were five Jays on the AL team and the craziness of 1993 when there were seven.
But where the real and obvious problem with this development lies is also reflective of the challenge facing president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins. We present to you the American League East.
The Boston Red Sox (five) and New York Yankees (two) were well represented on the AL team at Nationals Park Tuesday night and for good reason. Both are well on their way to 100-plus-win seasons and each have set the table for a wild secondhalf race between the historic rivals.
It’s no surprise, either, as few expected the Jays to be in the mix this season other than the wishful thinkers among the fan base.
“It was the talk of the off-season going into the spring,” Red Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel said when asked about the two-horse race that has resulted. “We saw this coming and it’s happening. We just have to keep doing our part to have the better of (the Yankees.)”
Now in his third year in the AL East, Kimbrel has a reasonable handle on what it takes to compete in the division and said it’s essentially the formula employed by both Boston and New York.
“There’s a lot of power, a lot less chances for mistakes,” Kimbrel said. “Go to the top and the bottom of the lineups and with each of the teams there’s a good chance if you make a mistake, they’re going to hurt you.
“I just think the quality of the hitters are a little more advanced than some of the other divisions I’ve seen in my career.”
In other words, Kimbrel sees a lot of what the Jays haven’t had this season.
The challenge is not lost on Happ, who was with the Jays last weekend when they dropped three of four to the Red Sox. On the season, the two beasts of the east have beat up on Toronto with Boston winning 10 of 13 and the Yankees nine of 13. The Jays are 11 games under .500 overall and 12 games under .500 against their two rivals.
“They’ve taken off; you just look at their record,” Happ said. “You don’t see that very often with two teams running away by that much. They’re juggernauts in every sense of the word.
“It’s tough to chase that, but it’s part of the game. We still have to show up every day and try to do that.”
Just how the Jays plan to make that chase real remains unclear and, for the short term anyway, unrealistic. The Yankees and the Red Sox should be loaded with young star talent for years to come. The Jays are a great unknown.
Over the coming months, Toronto is likely to lose its best player in Donaldson either at the trade deadline or to free agency, and its best pitcher at this year’s deadline. The regression of young starters Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez has been alarming.
The prospect of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is enticing, but one mighty bat that has yet to play at the bigleague level will need plenty of support.
While the All-star Game is a ceremonial event, a purported celebration of the game, it is also reflective of a team’s status. Voters can skew that of course by stuffing the ballots, something Jays fans used to do when the team had a position player even remotely qualified. This year, that constituency reacted with indifference on the all-star ballots.
Kimbrel can talk about anticipating the duel with the Yankees and hoping it isn’t the Red Sox that get stuck with the wild-card spot. How exciting it must be to be a supporter of either of those two teams.
What do Jays fans have to look forward to in the second half ? In no particular order, the return of closer Roberto Osuna on Aug. 5 (which promises to play to mixed reviews), the return of Donaldson (whenever that happens) and the day Stroman completely snaps (you won’t want to miss it.)
And to think that in 2016 at San Diego’s Petco Park, Donaldson, Sanchez, Edwin Encarnacion, Marco Estrada and Michael Saunders all wore a Jays cap at the Midsummer Classic. Was it really just two years ago?