Rough times leave fans half-empty
The Blue Jays arrived at the 80-game mark of the 2018 schedule following a Wednesday loss draped in disappointment, boasting the exact 37-43 mark they carried a year earlier. At the season’s approximate halfway mark, this seems like a good time to compare the two John Gibbons squads and how it is that they have struggled through to the same record, especially given the optimism that greeted this year’s team after its fast start in April.
THE MANAGER
Gibbons is not the stumbling, strategy-challenged manager he is portrayed as by much of the fan base and even the Sportsnet studio panel. In fact, he is a better manager now — with a solid coaching staff at his side, particularly bench coach DeMarlo Hale and pitching coach Pete Walker — than when he was first appointed to replace Carlos Tosca by GM J.P. Ricciardi back in 2004. But no matter how solid his in-game decisions are, if players don’t execute he can look incompetent. The fact is that Gibbons is an ideal manager for these Jays under GM Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro. He will understand his role whether the team stays the course at the deadline or trades away veterans and turns to prospects for the final months. The low-key Texan is guaranteed a contract for 2019, but he understands that it is the right of management to replace him. Win or lose, he has other, more important issues in life and is not out to prove himself to a management team that may actually be wanting to tank — with a lower-case t. As the Jays struggled out of the gate in 2017, he did not panic. When they sprinted to the lead a year later, he did not celebrate. The mara- thon continues. THE ROTATION At spring training, after Atkins had signed Jaime Garcia to fill the role of fifth starter, the debate among media in Dunedin was whether the Jays’ rotation could be ranked among the top three in the AL — in a mix with the Astros, Indians, Boston and the Yankees. Now, after averaging fewer than six innings per start with a combined 20-32 record and a 4.87 ERA, nobody is asking anymore. But the main reason why this team was supposed to improve over last year’s 76-win group was because Marcus Stroman was heading towards stardom, Aaron Sanchez was healthy after a lost campaign to finger issues and Garcia was a solid innings-eating veteran to round out the fivesome. But that trio of pitchers has combined for a 5-16 record and 5.60 ERA in 36 starts with four trips to the DL.
THE BULLPEN
Closer Roberto Osuna started slowly in 2017, but regained his groove and posted a solid season. This year he was off to a great start and one of the top ninth-inning relievers in the game when he was arrested on May 8, charged with domestic assault and removed from the 25-man roster by MLB. Since that date, the Jays are 18-27 with relievers trickling up to roles that perhaps they are not well suited for at this stage of their careers. The ’pen is being asked for 10 outs per game.
THE INFIELD
There have been too many games in which the No. 1 option off the bench as an infielder was Russell Martin. What had been expected at spring training to be a starting infield of first baseman Justin Smoak, second baseman Devon Travis, third baseman Josh Donaldson and shortstop Aledmys Diaz has averaged just 52 games per man out of 80. Donaldson played just 36 games and is now out until after the all-star game, while Smoak, coming off his finest offensive season, has a .777 OPS with just nine homers and 37 RBIs. Those numbers for a full season a year ago: .883 OPS, 38 homers and 90 RBIs. Yangervis Solarte and Diaz have eight more combined homers than Donaldson and Smoak. Who guessed that?
THE OUTFIELD
They had five outfielders for three spots before dealing Steve Pearce to the Red Sox for a prospect Thursday night. When Randal Grichuk was struggling in April the Jays were playing well. Now he is back and a valuable piece of the puzzle who needs to play every day, but the team is struggling to win. Kevin Pillar is a fixture in centre field, while Teoscar Hernandez, despite defensive hiccups, is an offensive threat. With Kendrys Morales as primary DH, that leaves Curtis Granderson. It was tough to carry two backup outfielders before the Pearce move.
CATCHING
The Luke Maile of 2018 has been a huge improvement over the motley collection of backup catchers from last year – that included Maile himself, plus Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Miguel Montero, Raffy Lopez and Mike Ohlman. That ’17 quintet combined to bat .152 (47 for 309). Maile’s emergence has allowed Martin to be rested and theoretically ready for important games in September — of which there will be none. Martin has struggled to produce offensively.
STAND PAT OR SELL?
The bottom line is, the Jays will definitely not be buyers at the deadline as they were in 2015, when this three-year stretch of attendance and TV ratings success began. Lefty J.A. Happ has solid value to a contending team, but everyone else would just be a useful piece in trade and not a difference maker. The Jays ended 2017 with 76 wins, a number this group can match whether they trade for the future or stay the course. What might become interesting in the final months is a rebuilt rotation of Stroman, Sanchez and perhaps Ryan Borucki, Sean Reid-Foley and Sam Gaviglio. There’s also the case of Osuna and whether the Jays feel he deserves a second chance when he is eligible to return on Aug. 5. The Jays’ rebuild may play out more off the field with fans than on.