Expect new Blue Jays to work hard, be efficient
Coaches preaching fundamentals, writes Rob Longley.
BRADENTON, FLA. The observation came in a casual conversation with a member of the revamped Blue Jays coaching staff, one who was with another big-league team in 2018.
By late in the season there was borderline shock at what was happening in Toronto. Effort? Hustle? Fundamentals? All were lacking at times, it seemed, when the coach’s team faced the Jays. “It was tough to watch,” said the coach, who for obvious reasons didn’t want his name used. “It was tough to go there because they didn’t play hard. They didn’t run balls out. Even the years that they were good, they didn’t always play hard.”
The rebuilding Jays may be shy on proven talent entering the 2019 season, as the majority of established veterans have been jettisoned while a promising cadre of prospects remains. Among the priorities under first-year manager Charlie Montoyo is to field a team that is hungry and mentally sharp. For much of spring training, so far the task to lay that groundwork has fallen to major-league field co-ordinator Shelley Duncan. Most recently a minor-league manager in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, Duncan has been the drill sergeant of Jays camp, making sure the daily plan runs efficiently. It’s all designed to carry into the season where the plan is to have a team committed to smart and efficient play. “We’re going to be a fundamentally sound baseball team that is smart and plays the game aggressively,” Duncan said. “We’re going to do the little things the right way. We don’t want to run into outs. We want to make the routine play.
“We want to be mentally prepared for every single pitch and we want to play the game harder than anybody.”
While much of what Duncan preaches sounds obvious, it wasn’t always a strong suit of recent Jays teams. It’s difficult to quantify how much it might mean in terms of wins and losses, but Duncan believes the benefits will be noticeable.
“If we do all the little stuff right, we’re going to be in a position to win,” Duncan said. “There might be more talented teams out there, but we want to be more prepared and work harder.” Duncan is indicative of the mindset Montoyo is bringing to his first big-league managerial post. A Tucson native, he spent many hours with Montoyo at his off-season home in the same town, refining and aligning philosophy.
“I came in with a clean slate,” said Duncan, who is not the coach mentioned above. “I didn’t want to do too much homework on it. I didn’t want to dive in and start finding negatives. I wanted to come in with a clean slate and start forming a clean view with my own eyes, with my feet on the ground.”
In his first major-league coaching gig, Duncan says it’s far too early to make conclusions. “Two weeks into spring training, you can’t start judging ... There’s some shyness with the new coaching staff and that’s too be expected, but it will all come together. Let’s wait a bit. There’s still a lot to settle.”