Opening weekend a bust for Montoyo
Heightened expectations mean increased pressure on Charlie Montoyo. This will be the year we find out what the Blue Jays manager is all about. With a full season now under his belt, there are no more free passes. It’s time to get down to business.
Three days into the 2020 regular season and Montoyo arguably has spent more time on the hot seat for in-game decisions than he did all last year.
On Saturday, it was opting to use right-hander Sam Gaviglio in a high-leverage situation during a 4-1 loss to the Rays. The following day, it was sticking with closer Ken Giles as he winced through a right elbow injury and another crushing loss.
By Sunday evening, Montoyo was trending on social media. His bullpen decisions picked apart on television, online and in print over a span of 24 hours. Some complaints would have existed a year ago, particularly the Giles situation, but most of them wouldn’t have. This year, more people expect the Jays to compete, so when something goes wrong the manager hears about it first.
“An old-time manager told me that whatever moves you make, if you can sleep at night, that was the right move,” Montoyo said when asked how he deals with the criticism. “Whether it works or doesn’t work. I’m happy, grateful that I have this job and I’ll do the best I can every day — as a manager, communicating, and as a leader.”
It was impossible to fully evaluate Montoyo’s performance a year ago because the Jays were doing whatever they could just to get through each game. The club lacked five viable starters, Giles and Daniel Hudson were the only reliable relievers. Openers were used, not for strategic purposes but because the Jays had nothing else to offer. Montoyo could have made his decisions by flipping a coin and it wouldn’t have changed much, If anything, it might have made for better TV.
This year is different. The rebuild isn’t over, but this is when the Jays are supposed to start playing for the present, not just the future. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Matt Shoemaker and Nate Pearson have the makings of a strong front end to the rotation. Giles (whose status is now up in the air after Sunday’s 6-5 loss), Anthony Bass, Jordan Romano and Rafael Dolis provide options out of the ’pen. The lineup is filled with young stars who should improve as the season goes on.
Toronto has reached the point where it must advance beyond moral victories. Hanging tough with the Yankees and Rays is no longer good enough. Wins are required and participation trophies will not be handed out, which only adds to the frustration of the opening series. The Jays could have come away with a sweep. Instead, they lost two of three and will spend their first week playing catch up.
Montoyo, as per usual, sees it differently and attempted to find the positives while a sea of negativity started to surround him.
“You know what’s funny?” Montoyo asked reporters midway through one of Sunday’s post-game answers. “Everybody is asking me all kinds of stuff … I was right there in the (clubhouse) entrance telling people, ‘Man great, we’re competing with one of the top five teams in baseball, (the Rays) right there.’ All of a sudden you lose games like this, now people are looking for stuff. We played great. We just didn’t finish it.
“I’m proud of my team. They were right there, three good games against one of the best teams in baseball. So, you can nitpick, everybody can say here and there. I think we played great. I think we outplayed them, but they’re that good, so they beat us two out of three.”
Handling a bullpen is by far the most difficult task in a manager’s job description. There are other coaches to help with defensive shifts and player progression, the medical staff often decides who isn’t available to play and lineups can be made out well in advance based on matchups.
In-game pitching decisions are a different beast. Montoyo can consult with pitching coach Pete Walker or bench coach Dave Hudgens on timing, but ultimately he’s the one who owns the final decision.
When the moves work out, they’re often overlooked. When they backfire, the manager assumes all blame.
To be fair, context has been missing from the recent criticism. Teams had two weeks to get ready for the season, instead of six. The lack of prep time meant relievers had not progressed to pitching on back-to-back days, which typically is required to make the team. Two exhibition games, down from 33 in the spring, forced coaches to make decisions on how guys looked in the past, not how they look now.
“It’s tough to know where they are,” Montoyo said of his relievers. “I can tell when somebody comes in throwing 97, 98 like Romano, he’s got it — Dolis and how Bass was pitching. But for the rest of them, it’s tough to evaluate when you’re just playing intrasquads and not seeing many innings ... The only way to find out is to put them out there and see how they do.”
There will be those who feel Montoyo made an egregious error in his handling of Saturday’s ball game, but the real mistake would be allowing it to happen a second time. If Montoyo wanted to give Gaviglio a chance in that situation, fine. It just shouldn’t be repeated, and it likely won’t be. Sunday’s decision with Giles, on the other hand, appeared far less defensible, but the final verdict will not come until results of the MRI are known.
One of the most famous quotes from a Toronto athlete over the last decade occurred in 2015 when Josh Donaldson said: “This isn’t the try league. This is the get it done league.” A lot of Blue Jays fans have since subscribed to that mentality. If Montoyo didn’t realize that a year ago, after this weekend he does now.