Will the Toronto Blue Jays make the playoffs?

[PalaceOfLove706]

Yes or no, and a detailed explanation why.

[diskdocx]

I don't think they do - which is a shame, because this is the best their pitching has been in forever. Arguably they have one of the best starting 5 in all of MLB, and a very solid back end of the bullpen.

 

Gausman has been phenomenal, but must be terribly frustrated by the lack of offense he has seen during his starts.

 

The hitters have just not done their job. The revamp to get away from power to a more balanced attack has been a spectacular failure. They just can't hit with RISP. There's absolutely no clutch on this team.

 

It's a shame really, one of the better Jays teams and looks like they will waste it. That said, if they do sneak in, they are also the type of pitching heavy team that actually could take a deep run in the playoffs.

[willows_blessing]

the glbobs from the glipnar galaxy.... underrated...

[PalaceOfLove706]

1 minute ago, diskdocx said:

I don't think they do - which is a shame, because this is the best their pitching has been in forever. Arguably they have one of the best starting 5 in all of MLB, and a very solid back end of the bullpen.

 

Gausman has been phenomenal, but must be terribly frustrated by the lack of offense he has seen during his starts.

 

The hitters have just not done their job. The revamp to get away from power to a more balanced attack has been a spectacular failure. They just can't hit with RISP. There's absolutely no clutch on this team.

 

It's a shame really, one of the better Jays teams and looks like they will waste it. That said, if they do sneak in, they are also the type of pitching heavy team that actually could take a deep run in the playoffs.

I totally agree with you about the pitching staff, including the bullpen. I grew up watching guys like Roy Halladay get absolutely wasted with sub-par teams. The offence has been a failure.

 

However…what about the minor league talent getting the job done? I mean, if Davis Schneider didn’t play, we would likely be mathematically out of it by now. And we’re not.

 

if we do make it, it will be a squeak in. But as you say, unlike their playoff runs in 2020 and 2022, they have the starting pitching depth to make a run in that kind of atmosphere. But I caveat that by saying if we don’t hit with RISP, no point being in the playoffs. Vladdy, Springer etc. must come up big if we’re gonna do it.

[djb5f]

They fall short, like the Bo$ox and Yank$.

 

Just amazing that the Orioles are running away with the AL East with a fraction of the payroll.  Ok, Tampa Bay is lingering.  Of course with the expanded playoff, some meandering wildcard team will probably make the World Series again.  

Edited September 4, 2023 by djb5f

[VersusCA]

No, and honestly I'm fine with that as I'm still not over the awful playoff choke from last year. Really have no use for Romano or Manoah after that lol. But as much as that collapse was on bad pitching I think this year is just hitters not pulling their weight + Orioles and even Rays doing much better than expected. We're in too tough of a division to only be middle of the pack in runs and expect to get away with it.

[Conker]

Nope they won't, there will be 3 from the AL West getting in though, hopefully my Mariners winning the division  . you really need to hope 1 those 3 goes bad down the stretch and Bluejays go .500 or better and they can be in

[PalaceOfLove706]

2 hours ago, Conker said:

Nope they won't, there will be 3 from the AL West getting in though, hopefully my Mariners winning the division  . you really need to hope 1 those 3 goes bad down the stretch and Bluejays go .500 or better and they can be in

It will likely all come down to the Texas series. Toronto takes 3/4 they win the season series and would win a tie break. Houston not looking great right now either. We’ll see.

[PalaceOfLove706]

UPDATE Sept. 6, 2023

 

With their convincing defeat of Oakland, Blue Jays have moved ahead of Texas in the Wild Card race by 0.5 games.

 

Does that change anyone’s prediction?

[PalaceOfLove706]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:44 AM, Conker said:

Nope they won't, there will be 3 from the AL West getting in though, hopefully my Mariners winning the division  .

Say that again?

[NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR]

The Mariners have the toughest remaining schedule which is why the Jays have a better chance of making it. Jays are standing at a 98% chance of making it as of today.

 

Houston choked against KC & Texas is streaking at the right time.

 

So it looks like it will either be Seattle or Houston eliminated. Houston has to play Arizona - they are also fighting for a wildcard spot.

 

I think Seattle misses it but that's not really going out on a limb here. There are only 5-6 games left for these teams.

[PalaceOfLove706]

1 hour ago, NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR said:

The Mariners have the toughest remaining schedule which is why the Jays have a better chance of making it. Jays are standing at a 98% chance of making it as of today.

 

Houston choked against KC & Texas is streaking at the right time.

 

So it looks like it will either be Seattle or Houston eliminated. Houston has to play Arizona - they are also fighting for a wildcard spot.

 

I think Seattle misses it but that's not really going out on a limb here. There are only 5-6 games left for these teams.

Give the Jays some credit. After the Texas sweep they bounced back to win two tough series against the Yankees (Cole and King were excellent) and Tampa on the road.

[NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR]

50 minutes ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

Give the Jays some credit. After the Texas sweep they bounced back to win two tough series against the Yankees (Cole and King were excellent) and Tampa on the road.

 

I'm only saying it's a tougher road for Seattle because their last 10 were/are against there own divisions top teams. If they even manage to split w/l they don't gain any ground.

 

Toronto would have to have a total collapse now to miss the playoffs. If Seattle goes 3/3 in the last 6, the Jays only have to win once.

 

But yes, Toronto last 3 series wins including sweeping Boston put them in this position. That Devers homer in the 9th ..  the disappointment started to creep in. ha..

 

For the record, I'm a Jays fan but I grew up a Yankee fan as a kid & Don Mattingly was my favorite player. So now it's like a win/win lol.

 

 

[djb5f]

I find the specificity of this thread pretty funny, not that there us anything wrong with it.  But it’s not like the general MLB thread gets any discussion. 
 

Jays are in great shape.  I can’t believe the O’s are in great shape to lock up the #1 seed even after Bautista went down.  

  

[NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR]

Toronto 0-2 ... Seattle 1-1 with 4 games left. If Texas clinches (wildcard spot) ... Seattle's chances may improve if the Rangers rest up. Rangers need 1 win vs Seattle to clinch.

 

Toronto 1-2

Seattle 2-1

Edited September 29, 2023 by NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR

[PalaceOfLove706]

37 minutes ago, NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR said:

Toronto 0-2 ... Seattle 1-1 with 4 games left. If Texas clinches (wildcard spot) ... Seattle's chances may improve if the Rangers rest up. Rangers need 1 win vs Seattle to clinch.

Jays need to score some runs.

[PalaceOfLove706]

Looks like the answer to this thread was…YES!

 

Go Jays Go! All the best to Mariners fans next year!

[diskdocx]

2 hours ago, PalaceOfLove706 said:

Looks like the answer to this thread was…YES!

 

Go Jays Go! All the best to Mariners fans next year!

It does look likely, but if any team could find a way to retroactively lose a game and miss out on the playoffs via a 3 way tie breaker....it would seem fitting for the 2023 Blue Jays 😜

 

Seriously though, post season should be interesting. On paper Minnesota then the AL West leftovers seems to be the easiest route. But Tampa is so depleted right now and the Jays have played them well. They say pitching and defense wins the World Series, and the Jays have excelled in those departments this year. Will be very interesting week ahead.

[NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR]

I was going to post this before the series started but this Jays team has a hard time with good pitching & stringing together the hits. I will predict Sonny Gray shuts down the bats. I would have preferred to see Bassitt in this game as Berrios is only good for 5 innings when he is ON. If the Jays are able to get the pitch count up on Gray (which I doubt) & get him out early, that's their best chance. Long at-bats, no first pitch outs & no double plays. I won't be watching the game though so I won't get to see what happens. Not a fan of 4:30 starts. That's prime evening time to do constructive things.

 

Checking the Box Score - 39 pitches after 2 innings on Gray. 4 Runners left on base. 0 runs.

 

Gray - 85 pitches after 5 innings - Min 2-0... Berrios out after 3 innings. Jays need Gray out in the 6th.

 

Glad I'm not watching this game... Gray comes out.. Jays get bases loaded and Chapman double play  balls it in the 6th. & Jimmy Garcia is now in... lol.. I lol'd at Garcia and he got 3 k's.... i can't be right all the time.

 

2-0 final 

Edited October 4, 2023 by NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR

[djb5f]

Yeah, that didn’t last long.  Both the Rays and Jays bounced unceremoniously.

 

I do like the MLB playoff setup now.  Best of 3 at the better seed’s home.  The 1-game playoff wildcard was atrocious.

 

Current format also gives an advantage (a bye) to the top two teams in each league which is perfect as the 3rd division winner usually doesn’t do enough to justify earning a bye (I.e. win a bad division).

[diskdocx]

9 minutes ago, djb5f said:

Yeah, that didn’t last long.  Both the Rays and Jays bounced unceremoniously.

 

I do like the MLB playoff setup now.  Best of 3 at the better seed’s home.  The 1-game playoff wildcard was atrocious.

 

Current format also gives an advantage (a bye) to the top two teams in each league which is perfect as the 3rd division winner usually doesn’t do enough to justify earning a bye (I.e. win a bad division).

I still think the MLB playoff format is the worst in all of sports. Season is waaaaay too long, with half the teams playing meaningless baseball for 50-60 games. I’d prefer to see à significantly shortened season with a few more teams making the playoffs and best of 7s throughout. It seems ridiculous to play 162 games to make the playoffs and be eliminated in 2. 
 

As for the Jays, they ended up losing due to the exact problems they had all season. No big bat. No big hit. Line up needs à significant revamp. I think they also need a substantial turnover in coaching personnel. I’d keep Walker but dump the rest. Pitching staff should be back pretty much intact, but the free agents can all go, save for maybe Kiermaier. They need a power bat in free agency to inject some life into the line up.

 

Honestly one of the least interesting teams I’ve watched. 

[squaresoft4ever7]

The Maple Leafs have passed the torch 

[djb5f]

1 hour ago, diskdocx said:

I still think the MLB playoff format is the worst in all of sports. Season is waaaaay too long, with half the teams playing meaningless baseball for 50-60 games. I’d prefer to see à significantly shortened season with a few more teams making the playoffs and best of 7s throughout. It seems ridiculous to play 162 games to make the playoffs and be eliminated in 2. 
 

Yes, the baseball season being too long is true but it’s not a playoff specific thing.  Been that way forever and I’m old enough to remember only the 2 division winners in each league making it.  Talk about playing most of a season with no real goal in sight for the majority of ball clubs.
 

But 6 teams making it in is a lot for each league.  It’s already a little watered down, see the Phillies almost winning the World Series last year despite a very mediocre regular season.  
 

Too many teams in the playoffs weakens the importance of the regular season.  NBA and NHL are awful that way since most teams make the playoffs making regular season means next to nothing.  And sadly the NFL is following suit with 14 of 32 teams (nearly half) making it now.  Almost as bad.

 

But if you are talking about shortening the MLB season and making the wildcard round best of 5, I’m probably fine with that.  But it draws it out esp. if you add travel back and forth so I like the current format.  None of the teams playing this round “earned” anything more than this best of 3.
 

To me, this Wild Card round is the perfect appetizer before the real playoffs start.   And that it’s over within 3 days/games is perfect.  Alternative is to go back to 8 teams total (1 WC each league) and no byes.  But I like this setup better and it’s adds more intrigue for regular season playoff races too. 

[PerryToxteth]

Vladi Guerrero needs to run some laps after getting picked like that! 
 

I coach youth baseball, and that’s what I’d make my 13AA team do if they fell asleep on the base paths like that! F’ing embarrassing…

[PalaceOfLove706]

9 hours ago, diskdocx said:

I still think the MLB playoff format is the worst in all of sports. Season is waaaaay too long, with half the teams playing meaningless baseball for 50-60 games. I’d prefer to see à significantly shortened season with a few more teams making the playoffs and best of 7s throughout. It seems ridiculous to play 162 games to make the playoffs and be eliminated in 2. 
 

As for the Jays, they ended up losing due to the exact problems they had all season. No big bat. No big hit. Line up needs à significant revamp. I think they also need a substantial turnover in coaching personnel. I’d keep Walker but dump the rest. Pitching staff should be back pretty much intact, but the free agents can all go, save for maybe Kiermaier. They need a power bat in free agency to inject some life into the line up.

 

Honestly one of the least interesting teams I’ve watched. 

They need to go back to the long ball approach, regardless of strikeouts, and get those bats this offseason. Enough said.

7 hours ago, PerryToxteth said:

Vladi Guerrero needs to run some laps after getting picked like that! 
 

I coach youth baseball, and that’s what I’d make my 13AA team do if they fell asleep on the base paths like that! F’ing embarrassing…

He’s an awful baserunner, and it’s not acceptable at this level.