no nerves, only excitement. This is gonna be fun.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ZBOL3M6B0

It's been 32 years and 1 day since the last World Series game in Toronto. (Was anyone else in the house that Saturday night?)

If you haven't heard, Bo Bichette and Ty France have been added to the World Series roster, in place of Joey Loperfido and Ty France. The Dodgers have added RH pitchers Edgardo Hernandez and Will Klein in place of Ben Casparius and Alex Vesla (and I know we all wish the best for Vesla and his family.)

If he gets into a game, this will be the last we see of Clayton Kershaw, the greatest pitcher of his time.

in place of Joey Loperfido and Ty France.

In place of Joey Loperfido and Yariel Rodriguez. Duh.

I was at game 2 in 1993, and will be at game 2 this time as well. I’m hoping for a better result this time around!

Go Jays!

Honestly not a fan of Kershaw. 12-13 with a 4.63 ERA in the playoffs versus 13-8 with a 3.75 ERA for Sherzer.
Kershaw got to the show early with a perennial first place team but didn't exactly amass the rings.

Bo starting would just give us so much more depth.

suddenly we're able to pinch hit freely for all of Barger Gimenez and even Lukes if we want and still have defensive and offensive coverage everywhere.

one thing that i keep noticing is that Heineman is probably actually a solid hitter vLHP. I understand why we never use him as a pinch hitter, but the option is there in a...er....pinch.

I was at game 2 in 1993

Same. I don't recall having to sell any organs to finance the endeavour.

I watched most of those games on the big screen outside the HMV. Good times.

I was at game 6 in 1993. Obviously memorable. I don't really get France on the roster because Jays already have two right hand DH types on roster. Punch hitting for a lefty? I'd rather have Schneider do that and you don't need to use a second player to play defense either.

I was there in '93. Section 520, row 13. 12 years old. Tonight will actually be the first WS game in Toronto that I'm not in attendance for.

Bo starting at 2B

Lineup:

4. 2B Bichette

Lineup is all righties except for CF/SS (Varsho/Gimenez)

Schneider Straw in for Lukes Barger

"Schneider Straw in for Lukes Barger"

As it should be.

High chance we'll see Lukes and/or Barger later in the game.

Still think ned flanders should be moved down to after Varsho and everyone else should move up and thus Vladdy hits 2nd.

I don't think Schneider reads BB or maybe he does and thinks the idea stinks?

Really I just want Vladdy to be up earlier and potentially more often.

Why do you want Vladdy to hit 2nd so badly? He does way better as a 3rd place guy and is comfortable there. He's having one of the beat postseason ever. Don't mess with it. Schneider is an amazing #2 hitter because he sees so many pitches and gets on base a ton.

Key to this game will be laying off Snell's pitches outside the zone. Make him throw strikes and you'll make him throw way more pitches and have a decent chance to get some baserunners. If the Jays are chasing everything, they're in trouble.

"Why do you want Vladdy to hit 2nd so badly?"

Vladdy's a better hitter than Schneider. I like the idea of starting off with your best two hitters. I personally don't believe that someone hits better in one particular spot or that you don't mess with anything because things are going well. I think you should tinker all the time no matter how things are going and that you should force LA pitchers to deal with your best hitters more often and right from the get go.

So far this post-season, the Blue Jays no 2 hitter (mostly Lukes) has had 51 Plate Appearances. The No 3 hitter (Always Guerrero) has had 50 (the extra one came in Game 3 of the ALCS.) It's not that big a deal in the post-season. Just make sure he bats in the first inning.

Now over the six months of the season, you might get 20 extra Plate Appearances moving someone from third to second, and not quite as many people on base. But whether anyone wants to believe it or not, Guerrero hits much better out of the 3 spot, both this year and in the years before this one. Some guys are like that. Some guys aren't. I think you need to manage the players you actually have, not the ones you want them to be.

"Guerrero has long said he prefers batting third to second, giving him an extra batter to gauge the starter" - Shi Davidi, 6/18/25

Certainly a gutsy move to put a guy in a defensive position that he has never played in Game 1 of the WS. Not to mention, a guy who hasn't hit for 2 months in the cleanup spot. Decisions not for the faint of heart.

As I've said before, John Schneider does not manage scared enough.

I'm optimistic that the defensive side of things will be fine. Its hard to imagine that, like Santander, it won't take a handful of games to get up to speed at the plate. That's the part of this that I think is a massive gamble and one that might well backfire. I admire the courage though.

Thumbs up on the lineup. My understanding is that Bo played some 2B in the minors.

IKF is hitting .238/.238/.333 this postseason, so I think starting Bichette was a no-brainer decision. I'm surprised he's playing 2B, though.

My understanding is that Bo played some 2B in the minors.

Not much! 6 games for the Gulf Coast League Jays in rookie ball in 2016; 14 games for Lansing in A ball in 2017; 9 games in AA New Hampshire in 2018; and 1 game for AAA Buffalo in 2018.

Maybe it's like riding a bicycle, no? You never forget?

On average, how many plays does a second baseman have to make on a given night, with a pitcher like Yesavage on the mound? Probably not that many…

I have no issue with starting him, I'd probably think twice about him batting cleanup though. You're inviting intentional walks to Vladdy in leverage situations.

I think I’d be more worried about Bichette clogging the bases than whether his swing can catch up to the heat. If his bat speed and contact ability is close to where it usually is, he’s not a guy the Dodgers will be delighted to see with runners on base.

I worry about the double play threat, which you already had with Kirk batting cleanup anyhow.

I do think baserunning is a concern with Bo. If he was a 20th percentile baserunner before his injury, he’s probably a 1st-10th percentile one now.

Then again, Santander was very slow as well.