Jays shut Sanchez down
STEVE BUFFERY
TORONTO — Blue Jay’s manager John Gibbons hinted on Saturday that right-handed starter Aaron Sanchez would probably be shut down for the season.
The organization confirmed that following Toronto’s 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
Sanchez, the American League ERA leader in 2016 (3.00 in 30 starts) and one of the bright young pitching stars in Major League baseball, will not appear on the mound for Toronto again this season — the victim of chronic blister issues on his right middle finger. Sanchez landed on the DL four times this season as he and the club’s medical staff searched for ways to solve his blister problems. He consulted with a specialist in New York as late as this past Friday. But, in the end, the 26-year-old was able to start only eight games and throw 36 innings. Especially frustrating is missing virtually an entire season entering the prime of his career.
RICHARD THE VERY GOOD
Rookie shortstop Richard Urena has showed some promise since being called up this month by the Jays. In Saturday’s 5-4 win against the Tigers, Urena went 2-for-4 with a walk. Through his first six games in Toronto, he hit .280 with a double, home run and four walks, and made some great plays defensively. But the rookie side reared its ugly head on Sunday as Urena booted a routine ground ball in the fifth inning that later cost the Jays a run. He went 1-for-5 at the plate.
“Richie’s been playing good the last few days,” said Gibbons. “He’s a really young kid (21) and coming out of Double A, but he can do some things. I wouldn’t say he’s a blazer, but he runs well. He’s got good hands, he’s a switch hitter and he’s got good hand-eye coordination, so I think he’s got the chance to be a really, really good player. They’re (he and Hernandez) are both very talented and they should both have bright futures.”
COOL HAND LUKE
Catcher Luke Maile smacked a double on Sunday and was praised for the job he did catching starter J.A. Happ and reliever Luis Santos. Even though Maile is hitting .128, the manager and pitching staff keep raving about his work behind the plate.
“You guys saw Luke early in the year when he was playing quite a bit, he brings out the best in the pitching staff,” said Gibbons. “He can really throw, got off a nice throw today (threw out Nick Castellanos in the fourth). When he’s back, you feel good, you don’t worry about anything. He had a good day at the plate (Saturday), swinging the bat well, and just missed a home run today. Luke has done a great job for us.”
A MAGICAL SEASON
RHP Carlos Ramirez tossed another scoreless inning on Saturday (two strike outs), while earning his first career hold. He has not allowed a run over his first four MLB appearances (7.0 innings) allowing only one hit to 23 batters (.048 opposition average). Ramirez has struck out seven batters and issued just one walk in those outings. He has now totalled 44.2 innings between his minor league and major league season without allowing an earned run (17 hits, two runs, 0 earned runs, 11 walks, 52 strike outs) while holding opponents to a .114 average (17149). Since 2010, the most combined innings pitched by a pitcher who didn’t allow any earned runs for the entire season is Christian Turnipseed in 2015 with 28.1 (all in the minors with the Orioles organization).
Toronto relievers have now tossed 529.0 innings and are second in the Majors only to Cincinnati (537.0). Their 564 strike outs are a franchise best and rank second in the MLB as well (Houston - 583).
TORONTO — Amid a season of unquestionable success an aura of anxiety still hovers above the seats at BMO Field.
In my 22 seasons of MLS viewing — seven of which have been spent travelling to almost every stadium — I’ve never seen a better team than Toronto FC (17-3-8, 59 points.)
League statisticians agree: The Reds are on pace to, statistically, be the most complete and dominant team in MLS history.
Still, that aforementioned aura is omnipresent. The Supporters’ Shield, to many, is but a minor achievement compared to winning MLS Cup. They say TFC’s recordchasing season won’t matter if it loses in November or December. They’re wrong. Come playoff time, potential disappointment won’t beget irrelevance. The “Best Team Ever” designation doesn’t hinge on a one-off title game in Arctic-like conditions.
Ask Toronto FC fans if they’d rather have an MLS Cup or a recordsetting, 70-point season and you’d be surprised how many of them would pass up lifting silverware two weeks before Christmas.
Why? Because MLS Cups are handed out annually — and not necessarily to the team that’s most worthy.
The Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers know this.
Record seasons, though, come around once every quartercentury.
It’s not a stretch to say a 70-point regular season — assuming TFC can collect 11 more points through its final six games — won’t happen again given MLS’ parity. After all, the 60-point mark is typically viewed as a Shield-worthy season.
Upon reflection, Toronto FC’s 2017 squad won’t be remembered for whatever it might accomplish come December.
No, it will be remembered for, perhaps, putting up regular-season numbers the league has never witnessed.
While MLS Cup remains the league’s top trophy, a regular season like this will be talked about for far longer than whichever side happens to put together a postseason winning streak.
SEEN AND HEARD
Oh, you don’t think the Supporters’ Shield matters? Fresh off a 4-0 dismantling of the visiting San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night at BMO Field, TFC’s players headed back to their dressing room, took out their phones and followed what was happening in New York City, where the Bronx Blues fell 1-0 to the Portland Timbers, giving TFC a nine-point lead atop the Eastern Conference Standings … Alex Bono was congratulated in the dressing room post-game for earning his eighth shutout on the season, matching Stefan Frei’s single-season record (2010). It didn’t take long for one of his teammates to yell out “congratulations” to TFC’s defensive unit, a group that’s conceding .93 goals per game … Next season will be the final guaranteed year of the mega-contract Jozy Altidore signed before the 2015 season. I’ve contended since earlier this season that Altidore has become TFC’s most important striker.
BY THE NUMBERS
Toronto FC needs 10 points through its final six games to guarantee a Supporters’ Shield title. However, that’s assuming New York City wins six straight to finish the season. In other words, TFC is a statistical lock to win the regular season … TFC (59 points) needs three more wins to match the L.A. Galaxy’s (1998) 68-point season. That said, most consider the Galaxy’s post-shootout era 67-point season (2011) as being the actual record. As a reference, the 2011 Galaxy had 55 points entering Week 29 that year … According to MLSsoccer.com, only three teams have finished a season averaging at least 2.00-points-per-game. The Reds are currently averaging 2.11 … Only one team — the 2014 Seattle Sounders — have won 20 games in the post-shootout era. Toronto FC is at 17 wins with six games remaining … No MLS team has finished a regular season with less than four losses. Reminder: TFC has lost just three times this season … The Reds have been unstoppable at home in 2017, accumulating an 11-0-3 record. More impressive: They’ve outscored opponents 35-6 in those matches … More than 25,000 fans have attended BMO Field in 15 consecutive regular season matches — something that’s only been accomplished by the L.A. Galaxy and Seattle Sounders …
GIVINC-OH-NO
Sebastian Giovinco exited Saturday night’s match at halftime after feeling tightness in his quadriceps.
The change was said to be “precautionary.”
“Optimistically we hope it’s nothing,” coach Greg Vanney said. “We’ll see. After the game he felt OK. But still a little bit tight. We’ll just have to see tomorrow and the next day as we take a look and see where we are at.”
Altidore appeared to limp off as he was replaced midway through the second half. However, Altidore’s people tell me there’s no injury.