‘THE TIME IS NOW’ FOR BLUE JAYS
They are kids no more. Yes, there are still sons of major-leaguers with the Blue Jays in prominent positions and yes, they are a relatively young team. But the group here preparing for a season of rejuvenation seems amply motivated to elevate the storyline to something more meaningful than an anecdote.
The baby Jays vow they are ready to play grown-up baseball and laying the foundation for it happens over the next six weeks.
“We have expectations and the time is now,” Jays closer Jordan Romano said in interview on Friday morning prior to throwing his first bullpen session of the spring. “I think the attention to detail needs to be high and the urgency needs to be high as well.
“It’s not like 2020 anymore, where you are just happy to make it to the playoffs as you’re finding your way in the big leagues. We’re expected to get to the playoffs now and we’re expected to win. That needs to be the focus. Not just happy to be here, happy to be in the league. It’s no, we have to excel in the league now.”
Romano’s point is a common theme around the Jays this spring, a powerful way to ease the sting of the way the high hopes of 2023 disintegrated.
The disappointment of last year’s playoff exit — and lesser success in the regular season than expected — is palpable. It was a point first made by Bo Bichette in a radio interview with Sportsnet earlier this month, but one echoing around the expansive clubhouse at the player development complex.
If there is an early message at camp, this is it.
External expectations may be down from a year ago when the Jays were viewed as favourites to win the AL East and contenders to win it all. Internally, the players sound like they are ready to take ownership.
“I love it,” manager John Schneider said of the motivational approach. “When players like that who are leaders on your team and are obviously really talented (say those things), it holds a lot of weight.”
The kid angle has certainly run its course with the Jays, as attention-grabbing as it is. But Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio now have a combined 15 seasons and 1,634 bigleague games among them. It was impressive that the Jays had a collection of big names and equally notable that they all had talent. But that can’t define the group any longer.
“Their dads played and they all came up together and it’s fun and all that stuff, but we’re grown up now, we have to act like that and play like that,” Schneider said. “You love that as a manager because it’s (players) taking ownership of what they’re doing.”
Romano said the sense of urgency is already being felt — and in a good way. Though pitchers and catchers are the only ones who have officially begun, several position players are here already as well — from Bichette and Biggio to George Springer and Daulton Varsho and Friday’s notable new-guy arrival, Justin Turner.
If the team was collectively pissed at the way things unfolded in each of the past two post seasons, well, it’s time to do something about it.
“For me it’s day to day,” Romano said. “It’s not getting lazy in the routines. Sure, the season is six months and it would be easy to take a day or two here and let it get loose, but ... no. Every day is huge. The routine needs to be rock solid every day for six months even though that’s tough to do.”
It sounds like the urgency issue has been a point of discussion around the team and that the buyin has been an easy sell.
“For sure everyone knows,” the Markham, Ont. native said.
“Everyone knows where we are with the timeline of things. Everyone is aware of it and it needs to be now.”
Romano has been a standup guy throughout his career with the Jays and stressed that in his comments he is speaking for himself.
But he’s well aware of the downturn in expectations surrounding this group and understands the sentiment.
“I don’t think it’s unfair,” Romano said. “It’s up to us to set that bar and become the team to beat. We haven’t done that the last couple of years, so that’s not unfair that people are saying that. It’s reality. It’s up to us to get the ball rolling.
“I need to be better in some big spots to help this team. It’s on us and I think we’ve got it.
“It’s contagious. If we all do it. That’s kind of the feeling right now. We’ve got to get back to who we are and it starts today right here in spring training.”