Richards and Cimber should be replaced with better options in this bullpen. There always seems to be 2-3 unknown relief arms on other teams rosters that don't have a book out on them yet. The Jays bullpen is all established players with well established "reads" on them by opposing hitters. It's why it's always a gamble with our bullpen.

Romano - slider and fastball, see if he has control of both or sit on one that he misses with

Garcia - fastball on the corners, wait for a mistake or control issue

Cimber - all deception, pick a pitch/quadrant and sit on it

Richards - change up, lay off until you get your pitch

Mayza - let the umpire call the corner fastball a ball/strike and wait for get me over fastball

Maybe go sign Madbum for long relief role/mop up.

Manoah has been a bust so far.

Varsho has been good but somehow seems to be underperforming.

KK has been great.

Merrifield great.

Biggio meh.

Schneider says Chapman will bat fourth tonight with Varsho fifth.

One thing struck me recently. Last year around this time a couple of Jays were out with injuries (Teo was one) and a few people here were questioning the competence of the training staff.

I check MLBTR a few times a day and there have been plenty of injuries around the league, but the Jays players have been remarkably healthy. White is only injury this season, and the 26 man at the start of the season hasn't had one IL stint yet.

With the Raptors firing Nurse, I’m hoping the Jays can bring me some joy by winning the series this weekend against the Yankees

Sadly very few will see tonight's game as it is on AppleTV+ which has a free 7 day trial, then $9 a month. Last year the MLB games were free so I watched them, but I'm not using the 7 day trial as then I'll feel a need to try other stuff and I feel zero desire to add another monthly bill to my list.

I get why MLB is trying new platforms but this blocking of local broadcasts is very annoying. At least we still have the radio version.

Heck yeah John.  something about baseball on the radio in the summer ....
although the improved pace of the game has made me a lot more likely to catch the average game on a weeknight.  count me a fan of the rule changes. 

We've replaced that this year with criticizing the manager for giving a day off to a 33-year old, injury-prone player. Imagine how ornery we'd be if the Jays were playing to their Pythag (8-11).

It's nice having a rested bullpen heading into the Bronx. Swanny Pops (his MLB.com nick) hasn't pitched since last Saturday.

Baseball on the radio is great...unless your favourite team, a media conglomerate, is too cheap to actually send the radio guy on the road. It's quite pathetic, and it severely impacts the broadcast. A truly bizarre decision, considering the cost is a rounding error for running the team.

I can only watch Sportsnet Ontario. During the hockey playoffs, the Blue Jays only appear on Sunday afternoons.

Sportsnet Ontario regularly broadcasts NBA games. However, Toronto Raptors games virtually never appear.

The name " Sportsnet Ontario " is a misnomer and completely incongruent with the network's priorities.

* * *

John Gibbons looks like James Cagney.

At least we're dodging Cortez.
The hitting has cooled down over the last week, but that's not unusual for a trip out west.

One game behind the Yankees, half a game behind the Orioles.
It's not bad considering the schedule.

Overall, Manoah has been the Jays' worst starter and Gausman the best.
The others have been pretty much equal; Fangraphs ranks them 84th, 85th, 86th.

It's been 6 days since Swanson pitched. Soreness?

Nothing printable to say about Apple TV.

"Nothing printable to say about Apple TV."

Things I like about Apple TV:

Ted Lasso (have not seen current season)
Shrinking
The Big Door Prize
Schmigadoon (have not seen current season)
Slow Horses (have not seen current season)
Loot
Severance
Mythic Quest
(Probably a few others I am missing)

Also enjoy that it's less expensive than Netflix, with stronger original programming.

And since my wife and I tend to watch scripted entertainment rather than sports on Fridays, I'm fine with Apple showing games those nights, cuz I likely wouldn't be watching anyway

I am annoyed at AppleTV and MLB for agreeing to black this game out on mlb.tv (which I pay for).

If you are so inclined, you can express your displeasure by using the following site:

https://v2.sportsurge.net/list-baseball

I’m with you 92. Wilmer does a good job, but the writing seems to be on the wall regarding radio

nice link, Chris!

nice dinger, Vladdy!

God these guys on Apple just blab blab blab on unrelated stuff right through some of the plays. Seem to think viewers dialed in to listen to them.

Hard to believe …but I’m missing Buck

So Kikuchi is actually good.

nice.

Why... a Belt.

Big Brando just waiting for the bright lights of the big city.

I actually don't mind this PBP announcer. Has a Sean McDonough/Bob Costas sounding voice.

I am not a huge fan of Wagner on the radio. I think he'd be much better on television.

He has a very irritating habit of not informing the listeners if a ball has been hit foul or fair. It's hard to explain..

It’s remarkable what Yusei has done this spring, both in spring training and in the regular season, most recently against the red-hot Rays and the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.

Double Belt

just a fantastic at bat by Belt.

down 0-2 on slider in then 97 top corner, 2 outs. battles all the way back and crushes it.

A while back I said I was optimistic about Belt. I feel he’s going to have a good season.

lol rays come from behind win in the bottom 9th

This is the Kikuchi we all hoped for - one that took over where Ray left. The theory was with our pitching coach he'd improve but instead he had a nightmare first season just like Ray did. But year 2 is going well, and we have him for year 3 at $10 mil as well. If Manoah can get back to his usual pre-2023 form the Jays should be in good shape.

Nice W tonight. Bit of drama with Vlad vs the Yankees which is always fun - tomorrow should be fun with Manoah on the mound. If I was Rizzo I'd be ready to move quickly on every pitch.

I would not be surprised to see a Yankees player plunked in retaliation by the end of the weekend.

UO, when I read your post I checked the boxscore. I thought, I bet Brandon Lowe won it. Sure enough — two-run HR B9 to win the game 8-7.

Was Vladdy safely plunked or did he get hurt?

Vlady was plunked but no damage. Just a lot of arguing back and forth while he walked to first base. Umpires did a good job calming things down for a change. Vlad never looked like he was going to charge the mound, but a few Yankees really took offense to whatever Vlad said, especially Rizzo it seemed.

Just checked highlights and it was right on the elbow but he has TONS of padding there. you can see it here just scroll a bit to see it. They don't show the aftermath though which is a shame.

Vlad getting the home run, Belt a homer and a double 4 RBI, both very good signs. In typical fashion Biggio had a walk but the ump called ball 4 strike 2 and he K'd instead. Nice to have the pen go 3 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 4 SO. Mixed with 6 innings from Kikuchi the Jays have to be very happy going to game 2.

Thanks, John.

You explained it well, Petey, and I’d go one step further. Even on plays that are within the field of play, Wagner calls the action in a way that it’s often very hard to tell if the play is a potential positive or negative for your rooting side. It’s only once he relays the result that the listener can decipher what happened. The proper anticipation just there.

Biggio made an impressive play on the back end of a caught stealing throw from Jansen to end the 3rd inning. All 3 2Bs have had some success against Cole, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see each of them in the lineup tomorrow, though only two is the likely scenario. Chapman, Bichette, and Kiermaier have struggled.

It looked like Belt thought he got all of that 2-run double, and it was nice to see Judge is a mere mortal who can drop a ball he should easily catch.

Here's the "official" 9 minute MLB highlight package.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvlEKz61C34

There are longer ones from other sources on youtube as well.

Here is the reaction after Vlad is hit.

I hope Manoah keeps his cool and beats them on the field, although I wouldn’t bet on either one.

I'd be OK with Manoah plunking a key player.
This is the worse match off of this series.

The Blue Jays needed a championship Belt.

It was interesting watching Belt last night. In his first at bat, he looked awful- totally flummoxed and swinging awkwardly like a minor leaguer.

But his two extra base hits looked effortless - quick bat speed and a shortened follow through. He's now 7 for his last 20 with four extra base hits, so hopefully we'll see less of the former and more of the latter.

*The proper anticipation just isn’t there.

The Yankees ain’t exactly rolling out the A-team today, so hopefully Manoah can bounce back and the Jays take the series.

Are we seeing an overmatched Varsho?

Only one inning, but Manoah looks like he’s back.

Springer not running. That could have been close.

Manoah-Gausman-Bassitt-Berrios-Kikuchi is looking like a very good rotation 1-5 at the moment.

I wouldn’t mind Vladdy trying to steal a base here.

Nice job by the Jays to run up Cole’s pitch count. And good job by Varsho to hang in and knock out Cole with a base hit.

i don't get the criticism of varsho. the WAR projections were silly for a C/CF moving to LF. I expect he runs in to a few more balls he can take yard, but the average is where it could be expected. again, i didn't love this trade in teh context of the kiermeirer signing, but more because i think they gave up too much, not that i don't like the toolkit/player. defence doesn't slump.

With the starting pitching (hopefully!) turning a corner, they have to start hitting with RISP to really become a force.

0/6 so far today with 7 LOB. They have to do better if they’re going to be a successful playoff team

Belt missed a glorious opportunity in the sixth: bases loaded, two out, 2-0 count against a wavering Marinaccio. Result: easy fly out to right-centre.

I don’t know about overmatched. I just think tempered expectations of Varsho’s offensive contributions are warranted. There isn’t a history to support that.

Garcia is more of a “high leverage” reliever than an actual high leverage reliever. Manoah must be pretty upset right now.

Yes. Maybe tempered expectations for Varsho’s hitting contributions. He looks, to my eyes, a little better than Keirmeire offensively, and a little weaker defensively.

Agreed. I see a very good defensive OF, not the elite defender that last year’s numbers suggest. A very solid player but not the borderline All Star from last year. It’s early though and a period of adjustment should be expected.

Love the Jansen home run. Loathe the failed bunt attempt by Biggio.

Meanwhile, Biggio looks like a AAA player. At least get the bunt down..

Get the bunt down and the team would have had Springer and Bichette coming up with two chances to drive in the go-ahead run with a base hit, and Romano available to close it out. Biggio’s inability to execute significantly changed the complexion of the game.

Tough loss after that tremendous Jansen PH HR to tie it. If Chapman makes that play, the 9th looks much different.

And maybe don't pull your cruising starter at 85 pitches with the 7-8-9 due up.

Also, it’s a detail, but the ump missed a strike call on the first pitch to Gleyber in the ninth. Might have been a different outcome had Romano been able to get ahead of that batter.

It seems like the Blue Jays collectively want the starters to only go 7 innings, regardless of pitch count or effectiveness, before going to the pen. I have no idea why that is, but that seems to be their logic with both Berrios last time and Manoah today taken out of the game after 7 innings when they didn't even throw 90 pitches (in Berrios' case he didn't even throw 80). The pen is going to be exhausted/possibly injured by June at the pace the Jays have them going, and the fact that they are overusing the pen even when the starters are doing well on low pitch counts is concerning.

When they handed Schneider an extension rather than do an extensive search, that was probably the first clue of what they wanted. For whatever reason this is the way the Jays want to manage the team.

I'll always be annoyed when we pull a starter who's cruising and nowhere near a pitch limit.

Especially when the 'pen has already been hit or miss.

Schneider has usually been good about this tho so i won't get too upset unless it becomes a trend.

Manoah hasn't been good this season. You pull him early as positive reinforcement rather than risk it coming undone as he tires.

Its a possible part of the reason, maybe not the only one.

Naturally, the Giants are whipping the New York Mets after 2 innings.

3rd inning, Brandon Nimmo hits a solo homer to centre field in Oracle Park.
I forgot San Francisco relocated the bullpens a couple of years ago.
I think the Mets are better than the Yankees and Tampa Bay.

You pull him early as positive reinforcement

You could argue that pulling him is the opposite of positive reinforcement. It sends the message that the manager thinks he's fragile right now and needs to be babied.

Well, if the Jays pen is exhausted I hate to imagine everyone else. Before today Jays were 28th in innings by relievers

Bullpen innings: Jays 67 1/3, only Milwuakee and Minnesota have fewer. Boston has the most at 85 2/3 IP.
Starter innings: Toronto 8th at 108 2/3. Tampa Bay is 26th at 95 1/3 (81 2/3 by relievers). Poor Oakland is 29th with 93 IP with a 8.42 ERA (yikes!)

Right now starter/reliever innings isn't an issue imo. The starters are stretching out more, Manoah was the last to crack 20 innings (19 1/3). Berrios/Bassitt/Kikuchi all had 21 2/3 or 21 1/3 IP over their first 4 starts, 24 2/3 for Gausman (6 IP per start).

8 IP start: Gausman 1
7 IP: Manoah 2 (including today), Berrios 1
6 IP: Gausman 2, Bassitt 3, Kikuchi 2
5 IP: Gusman 0, Berrios 2, Kikuchi 1
under 5 IP: Gausman 1, Manoah 3 (ouch), Bassitt 1, Berrios 1, Kikuchi 1

So only Gausman has an 8 IP start so far, but all of them have 2+ 6 IP+ games with only Manoah having serious issues getting 5 done. Hopefully Manoah crossed a big bridge today and will be himself from now on. I was getting Dave Stieb 1986 vibes from him before (bad first playoff experience, then troubles the next year after a Cy worthy season).

With 8 relievers there shouldn't be any tired pen problems. Romano sucked today, but that happens. Every reliever has those days where nothing goes right. Just sucks to do it vs the Yankees but at least it was a tied game, not a save blown. Big question now is who comes up if Espinal is out? I'm guessing Lopez despite his ugly 185/241/278 line in AAA. Ernie Clement deserves it more (256/304/488) but isn't on the 40 man and has just a 50 OPS+ lifetime in the majors so probably just got a few lucky hits early. Depends on what the Jays want out of a backup right now. Lopez is the logical one to call up if Espinal is out though.

I would expect Clement to come up with Luplow DFA'd. He showed nothing during his showcase (albeit in limited action). They won't bring up Lopez... They want him to play regularly and he's been pretty bad so far at AAA. And Clement is the exact type of player the front office loves.

The Jays decision makers seem to have blinders on when dealing with Biggio. Neither he nor Belt can handle a good big league fastball.

Lukes seems to be filling the 4th bench spot adequately.
If Espinal can't play, they need someone who can fill up at shortstop.
I don't think that's Clement.

Take a flyer on Bumgarner? Would he consider being a reliever? He's a good hitter too. Though, likely ineligible to pinch-hit.

Is there a new rule that pitchers can’t PH? Silly if there is. Presumably Bumgarner will choose a place he has an opportunity to start. He’ll probably become an ace again in the Bronx knowing their luck.

Kirk should bat 4th. He’s been a better hitter than Chapman and Varsho since coming up.

All 5 of our SPs have had at least 2 very good starts. Which is great. Number 6,7 and 8 if needed is a question mark regarding performance. Ryu could be back by early August. Best I can come up with.

Espinal's x-rays came back negative.

Varsho is back hitting cleanup, Chapman to five.

Only if Bumgarner would be willing to go to AAA which I doubt would happen. Our 5 are doing decent right now, not 'wow' but not 'ugh'. The Rays might take a flier with 2 starters on the IL right now, the O's have 2 starters with ERA's in the 6's and averaging fewer than 5 IP per start (Grayson Rodriguez & Dean Kremer). Rodriguez might benefit from a few more weeks in AAA. Yankees could also be interested with Clarke Schmidt not doing well as a starter so far (51 ERA+, under 4 IP per start). I'm sure others are also better matches than the Jays. Pre-season I'd have been interested but with Kikuchi doing well I don't see the need or opportunity right now.

SD made the post season last year with 89 wins. They made good moves but I gave a lot of credit to Bob Melvin. For some reason I did not give Showalter credit for the NYM success last year. This year I expect that Bochy will receive credit from me if Texas does well.

Is this the greatest, zero downside rule change in sports history?

Otto Lopez was placed on the taxi squad by Buffalo so he is probably in New York, just in case.

Love that visual Ugly, and agreed

That's an amazing graph ugly, thanks.

I can't actually remember a time in recent memory where the Jays have had 5 very good starts in a row.

I'm calling a Bichette Yankee stadium special here.

Vladdy, oh my.

Oh, and don’t set your expectations too low for Varsho…

3-0 Jays.

Schmidt gives up two HR and zero ER. neat trick.

Gausman to pitch the eighth? Another judgment call for Schneider.

Probably go to the pen.

if he had a quicker inning maybe but up over 100 pitches maybe he gets yanked.

another reason why you don't yank your cruising starter on 85 pitches yesterday.

Springer is in a big big slump btw.

Maybe Richards or Pop or Cimber in the eighth, Swanson in the ninth?

nice clutch hustle Danny!

5 hard hit balls in a row on Cimber. Lucky 2 of them were caught by nice defensive plays.

could have easily been a sweep. schneider gotta feel bad for his part there.

game over in 2.5hrs again. so good.

Springer is in a big big slump btw.

5 for 6 in the opener, 13 for 85 since.

The loss yesterday isn’t on Schneider. He didn’t go 0/9 with RISP.

He also pinch hit Jansen, who’s home run scored their only runs. Or Schneider not credit for that?

Schmidt gives up two HR and zero ER. neat trick.

That's a flaw in the official scoring system where after three should-be outs, you're playing with house money. Absent Volpe's error, those homeruns would theoretically have opened the next inning, where they would have been earned (if you're going to play the whole "pretend the error never happened, but everything else did" game).

I still can't fathom any reason he pulled Manoah at that point. It's no biggie - I love most of what Schneider has done with the SP so far. I just don't get what he was thinking this time.

but pinch hitting the bottom 4 slots in the order for matchups is automatic with this lineup I think. Should be happening all the time this year.

So Toronto and New York split, obviously. Tampa and Baltimore playing outside the division both won already, and Boston's up 12-4 in their game. If that holds the AL East will be 32 wins over .500 already. It's April 23.

They Jays took the series. You mean tied?

I'm talking about the results of today, as regards the division as a whole

There some bad luck on hit balls, but it seems to me that Springer is struggling with strike zone awareness.
He's taken a lot of strikes that were clearly over the plane, just to argue with the umpire after the call.

Hopefully, that's just an April thing.

The weather report suggests the Rogers Centre roof might be closed all week.

Every team in the AL East is currently over .500. The Rays are 19-3. The O's are 14-7. The Jays and Yankees are tied at 13-9.

Tough division.

I have more confidence in the head to head records than the overall records this early in the season. The Jays showing well against the Yanks and Rays bodes well, and the rotation is rounding into form.

Vlad and Bo are really showing a more mature approach this year.

The only gripes are our lefty DH Belt looks done like dinner and the bullpen is a little up/down. I still think I would rather have Tellez instead of Richards.

Belt is hitting approximately as well as Springer overall.

Belt has twice the strikeout rate as Springer.

It's going to be fascinating to see whether Ohtani ends up on the trading block this summer. I could see a team like the Yankees, Dodgers or Rangers trying hard to snag him. Or maybe a surprise team with an abundance of minor-league talent, like the Rays.

Which non-Rays team has the best record in MLB?

Unsurprisingly, it's the 16-7 Pirates. They've swept 3 at Fenway, 3 at Mile High and a 4 gamer vs Cinci.

So who is next in the queue as a left-handed hitting DH (until the trade deadline) if Belt doesn't work out? Biggio, Lukes, Horwitz? Barger doesn't seem to be a fit because he needs reps in the field (and he is off to a cool start this year). Horwitz seems to be a long shot but there is a potential fit there if his bat heats up a bit more. He's a .297/.390/.449 hitter for his career in the minors. He's now 25 years old so it's go time for him.

Belt

* First 25pa: 8.0bb%, 60.0k%, .043iso, -44wrc+
* Last 25pa: 8.0bb%, 32.0k%, .261iso, 158wrc+

The Rays have a run differential of 4.0. The A's are at -4.7. Both are quite remarkable.

Belt has had a 91 wRC+ over his last two seasons or 350 PA. His strike out rate is in the bottom 1% of the league this year, and 1 good game in New York out of the last 25 are not enough to convince me he lá turned it around.

You have to use the eye test with Springer and Belt. The former Giants' bat speed is noticeably impacted and very slow through the zone. He can be beaten with well placed 91 mph fastballs. He has slider bat speed, as they would say.

Springer is expanding the zone badly. He needs to start thinking RF on all swings to get back in the proper hitting groove. He's being exploited away like Vladdy was last year and hitting way too many weak GBs. I'd move him down to fifth or sixth to take some of the pressure off an maybe let Merrifield ride up top for a bit.

Belt is coming off of a long injury lay off. Rust is expected.

I don't expect every move to work out for the Jays or any team. Belt and KK signed for $10mil each. The budget can handle that even it that money is wasted.

The only gripe I have with the pitch clock is I wish they'd done it sooner. I've wanted one for years.

We've wanted Robo-umps for years, too. I hope that works out as well when they finally arrive.

Belt is one of the challenges for the team. A 59 OPS+ won't cut it as a DH. His WPA (win percentage added) is positive in just 4 games out of 13 with one of them being just barely over 0 (0.004, his best game was a 0.227). For comparison, Biggio having a nightmare year with the bat (WPA is only for the bat) has 2 positives in 13 games, while Chapman (over 200 OPS+) has 12 positives out of 21 games (one negative is barely at -0.001). Bo is 13 of 22 positive, Vlad 14 of 22.

Now, if Belt can get back to his old 120 OPS+ self or close to it then he is very valuable. He was worth a flier. I figure the Jays will give him until the end of May to get rolling and if he is still OPS+'ing in the 50's or 60's then it's good bye time.