Devil’s in the details now for Jays
Stretch drive will magnify the small things in big way as post-season comes into focus
When the weekend was over the Blue Jays knew where they stood, and they didn’t. A 3.5-game lead over the worn Yankees in the American League East: good. A shortstop with a cracked shoulder blade, and a prognosis that could be positive, depending on the next two of three days deep in his muscle tissue: worrisome. The return of Marcus Stroman: well, hell, would you look at that.
“I thought he looked great,” says general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “I was very, very encouraged.”
So here we are: 19 games left, and everyone can see the other side of the ocean. This Toronto team should reach the playoffs, and should win the division, and has a shot at the best record in the American League. That’s where they are. It’s clear now.
But they have to get there, and as it gets closer, the details loom. Because Kevin Pillar and Troy Tulowitzki couldn’t hear one another on a single play, Tulowitzki cracked a bone. The Sunday game was scoreless when Pillar was picked off second base. Saturday’s best news was Stroman commanding his fastball, instead of missing by inches. This Jays team is so often an absurdity, blasting teams off their foundations. But the little things are starting to get bigger, now.
“At this time of year every play is magnified, every decision is magnified,” says Anthopoulos.
“So we’ve got the core of our team in place, and any incremental upgrade — it’s a tight race, and it’s going to be a tight race all the way to the end. So we go get Darwin Barney. He’s not eligible for the playoff roster, but these next 19 games are huge.”
“So if Darwin Barney can help us win one game with a defensive play . . . who knows what happens in the next two weeks? What if somebody else goes down? We don’t want to take our foot off the gas.”
The Jays have got the big things down. They are a roaring Mad Max cavalcade, leading the majors in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS (obviously), you name it. The bullpen’s good and the starters are great to fine, but it’s the drumbeat of this offence that makes this team go. The offence is ridiculous enough that they can probably afford to lose Tulowitzki, who has been a stubbornly below-average hitter as a Jay. If ever there was a team that could sit around and wait for the home run, it’s these guys.
They haven’t, because their GM hasn’t. The day that he acquired David Price, two days after landing Tulowitzki, Anthopoulos drove home as the evening game began, because he hadn’t slept all night. He lay down, and neither his mind nor his phone would stop whirring.
So he drove back to the office. Anthopoulos has thought more about defence this year, and about clubhouse chemistry, and about filling every hole. The next day, Anthopoulos traded for Ben Revere and Mark Lowe. Revere is hitting .336 as a Jay, and when Anthopoulos watches him make contact, he thinks of how Luis Gonzalez once blooped one off Mariano Rivera. Lowe has been one more stabilizing arm in the bullpen. Later, Anthopoulos spirited in utility man Cliff Pennington after the non-waiver deadline, just in case, because Devon Travis wasn’t healing as fast as he would like.
Now Pennington will play second base for Ryan Goins, who will play shortstop for Tulowitzki. There are enough pieces to knit together around the cannonades. It should get them there.
It was a little over a week ago, on the night Josh Donaldson had flown through the air like a dolphin underwater to touch home plate and taken an extra base in a display of pure instinctive thievery, that he talked about details.
“People might call it baseball IQ,” said the Blue Jays third baseman and putative American League MVP. “I try to think as the game is going on, and what opportunities I’m going to have, and when they show up I try to take advantage of it.
“That’s what separates a lot of guys. You have guys that are very talented in the minor leagues, and they could be in the big leagues, but it’s kind of that focus factor, and the ability to think throughout the game. You know. Just be a baseball player, and be able to take that to the field day in and day out. I think that’s a very huge part of being a good player.
“We expect to play with intensity, and play smart. Because I think that’s one thing that’s probably lacking more so than earlier on, not this season but more 10, 15 years ago — because the home run became so popular, guys don’t think so much throughout the game, because the home run allows you to make up for mistakes. And the more that we can take advantage of opportunities, the better ball club we’re going to be overall. We think that’s very important here.”
For all their power, they’ll likely need just that. Just because you have the big things, it doesn’t mean you don’t also need the little things. Real autumn baseball is finally coming to Toronto, and better opposing pitchers with it. The weather will cool, and the margins will shrink. The big stuff is in place, and will remain essential. And the little things are about to get huge.