Routine vs. rest: Blue Jays clubhouse split on benefit of extra days off down the stretch
BRENDAN KENNEDY PHILADELPHIA— The Blue Jays are in the midst of one of the more bizarre scheduling stretches of their season. In addition to the adjustments required of a three-city, three-timezone road trip, they also have three off-days smushed together in little more than a week. Usually they have that many spread over an entire month. Drew Hutchison was victimized by the unusual schedule when he was sent down to the minors on Monday as the Jays opted to go with a four-man starting rotation.
Most players will take all the rest they can get at this time of year. When you include spring training, they have been playing almost every day for more than six months now. But baseball is a game that rewards repetition. A hitter’s timing can be fragile, pitchers constantly hone a delicate feel for their pitches, while fielders take ground balls and shag flies by rote, endlessly sharpening their hands and instincts. Is it possible this stretch for the Jays could be too much of a good thing?
“For myself, I don’t really like taking a lot of days off just for the sheer fact I like staying in a rhythm,” Josh Donaldson said after Tuesday night’s game. It should be noted that Donaldson went 3-for-3 on with two home runs, while reaching base all five trips to the plate after Monday’s off-day.
“I don’t feel like it disturbs my momentum,” Jose Bautista said Wednesday.
“I can’t speak for the group, but I much rather would have days off than not.”
Manager John Gibbons agreed with Donaldson that too many off-days can throw off players’ rhythm, especially in a game of refined skills. “You notice sometimes late in the season you get an off-day you get a little sluggish,” he said.
R.A. Dickey, who started Tuesday, admitted his day-before routine was disrupted a bit by Monday’s off-day. “Sometimes you can get lethargic when you have a lot of off-days in a row,” Dickey said. “I don’t think we will be victims of that because we’ve got some experienced guys in the clubhouse. But I have known that to happen, where you have a bunch of off-days in a short period of time and you just kind of get lethargic.”
The Jays looked a little lethargic in the early going on Wednesday with a sloppy first inning in which they made fielding errors on back-to-back plays.
Kevin Pillar, who is tied for the major-league lead with 119 games played this season, said he’ll definitely take the days off. “I don’t think rhythm and timing gets disrupted with off-days,” he said. “We’re 400-500 at-bats into our season. For the most part a lot of guys in here are playing every day, too. So when we get a chance to sit back and let the body rest and get away from baseball for a day, it’s always nice.”
Reliever Aaron Sanchez said he didn’t see any downside to the offdays. “Absolutely not. It’s late in the year. I kind of feel we’re getting the days off right when we need them to keep guys fresh, especially in the playoff race that we’re in.”
Though he welcomed the off-days, Bautista admitted he’d never “been in this position before” — playing meaningful baseball this late in the season — so he doesn’t know how it might affect him.
“We have a chance to go to the playoffs. Normally (the games) wouldn’t matter, so who cares?” Meaning, who cares if you’re wellrested. “But if the games mean that we still have a chance and we’re fighting for it, I would much rather have the break than not.”