A's at Jays, 22-24 April

Friday, April 22 2016 @ 08:55 AM EDT

Contributed by: Magpie

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.


Don't you know by now? If it's April, the Blue Jays must have a losing record.

This is not a new thing. Just look at the last 15 Aprils.

Data Table Time!

Year     W    L     RS     RA    Pct. 
2016    8    9    65    62    .471
2015    11   12    122    115    .478
2014    12   14    120    119    .462
2013    10   17    104    137    .370
2012    12   11    105    96    .522
2011    13   14    125    118    .481
2010    12   12    110    108    .500
2009    15    9    142    112    .625
2008    11   17    116    112    .393
2007    13   12    129    106    .520
2006    12   11    135    125    .522
2005    13   12    122    118    .520
2004    7   15    100    120    .318
2003    10   17    149    178    .370
2002    8   16    124    172    .333
They've played really well in April exactly once, and that was the year they were supposed to lose 90 plus games.

In fact, since the team began playing way back in 1977, they've posted their worst over-all record (424-456, .482) in the cruellest month. But it's also somewhat characteristic of teams managed by John Gibbons. Gibbons has a winning record as a major league manager, but in April his teams have played .463 (82-95) ball. This was also practically a defining characteristic of teams managed by Earl Weaver, of course, so it's not something that actually bothers me.

In the process of looking at Gibbons, all the other Jays' managers were swept up into the net. The best guy to run the team in April? Cito Gaston, by a mile. This has little to do with the quality of his teams - Gaston managed a lot of pretty bad teams while he was here - Bobby Cox, Jimy Williams, and Tim Johnson all have better winning percentages as a Toronto manager. But Gaston's teams played .559 (119-94) ball in April. This is something that strikes me as highly ironic, because twice Gaston came on board as a mid-season replacement - he didn't manage any games at all April 1989 or April 2008. But Gaston and Bobby Cox (42-38, .525) are the only Toronto managers whose teams won more games than they lost in the first month of the season.

Do not read too much into this. The most successful managers in September were Tim Johnson in his one year (17-8, .680) and Jimy Williams (51-31, 622). If you were there, you remember Williams' 1987 team losing their last seven in a row, and four of those games came at the end of September. But prior to that fateful losing streak, they'd gone 19-5 in September 1987. The following year, having fallen three games below .500 and 10.5 games out of the pennant race, they posted a 20-7 mark in September to make the final season mark look a little more respectable.

All right, Oakland comes to town. We have matchups!

Fri. - Gray (2-1, 2.33) vs Sanchez (1-0, 1.35)
Sat. - Bassitt (0-0, 2.79) vs Happ (2-0, 1.89)
Sun. - Surkamp (0-1, 3.68) vs Hutchison (---, -.--)

Danny Valencia is headed to the DL with a strained hammy. The A's are expected to call up utility infielder Tyler Ladendorf to fill the roster spot, while playing Chris Coghlan at third.


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