How The Blue Jays Completely Changed Their Own Narrative
This certainly seems like it could be the last dance for this version of the Toronto Blue Jays, doesn’t it? Boy, were we wrong about that one? But hey, can you blame us? Who thought we’d be talking about a first place Blue Jays team at the All-Star break? The Blue Jays have this unquantifiable it factor right now. Vibes in the clubhouse and on the field couldn’t be higher. Roger Center is packed again. Welcome back on board the bandwagon, Canada. And now the fans have certainly jumped on board with the way the Blue Jays are playing recently. Back in March, it looked like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was on his way out, and Bo Bashette wasn’t far behind. This could have been the beginning of the tearown. Well, now Vlatty has a half a billion reasons to be a Blue Jay for life. We don’t know where Bo will be long term, but he’s definitely not going anywhere this season. This is the guy you want up when you’re trying to knock in a run. As for the rest of the team, George Springer is having a late career renaissance. And he’s done it again. You can’t stop this guy right now. Alejandro Kirk looks like one of the best catchers in baseball. He has been incredible for the Jays. One of the most underrated players in the game. The ball is flying off Addison Barger’s bat. And what a force he has become in this offense. The starting rotation has been steady. What a day it was for Jos Bereos. And the bullpen is getting contributions from names even the most hardcore fans didn’t know before the season. He got him. Struck him out on the curb. Big yell from Fiser. The Jays aren’t just winning games. They’re also really fun. They strike out less than any offense in baseball. They play great defense and they seem to have a flare for the dramatic. Madison Barger the hero tonight for Toronto as the Blue Jays go backto back to walk off the Diamondbacks at home. In the spring, it looked like the front office would be blowing things up around this time of the season, but now there’s talk of adding another bat and one, if not several arms to gear up for a run at the division and of course the World Series. If we told you in March that this is where the Jays would be in July, you wouldn’t have believed us. This is the most wins the Blue Jays have ever had in their franchise history at the All-Star break. They’ve done this while three of their big offseason acquisitions have spent significant time on the injured list, as well as their gold glove winning center fielder. You don’t want to disrupt the vibe the team has right now, but any contribution from those four veterans in the second half would be a huge lift. It’s not every day you can send a first ballot hall of famer to the mound. And he got it. Eight punch outs for Max Scherzer dominating in Sacramento. There’s still a lot of pressure on management to provide everything needed to win on the field, but the prospects of Mark Shapyro and Ross Atkins sticking around in Toronto seem much greater. Different guys in different ways sometimes, but the constant is the Blue Jays just keep on winning. Seasons like this don’t come around often. It’s been 10 years since Alex Anthopoulos went allin on a talented group that ultimately came up short. Now the Jays have championship aspirations yet again and in just over 3 months have completely flipped the narrative of the season upside down. [Music]
The Toronto Blue Jays find themselves sitting atop the AL East at the All-Star break, a position no one, including us, thought they’d be in. Sportsnet’s Jesse Fuchs takes a closer look at the factors that have made the Jays the hottest team in baseball.
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How The Blue Jays Completely Changed Their Own Narrative
#MLB #Baseball #BlueJays #Toronto
8 comments
First commenter here I love the jays there my favourite team 😊
I was also there when the jays swept the yankees
Vladdy is still the questionable one on this team. He is just horrible with runners in scoring position. He's all in his head…..rather than being truly present at the plate. it's the rest of this team that has taken over the load…..while the highest paid guy is still floating in the ether.
They will finish 3rd in their division. Calm down.
2 months of luck and sort of good play sounded like they are the team of the decade.
👍 nice.
one win in their last four games against the two worst teams in the american league. i think barger will continue to play well, but i expect springer and clement to regress. it will come down to vladdy playing better (which means having a better santander hitting behind him) and getting a real number one in the starting rotation.
The Jays have not won a single playoff game in the Bo & Vlad era , let’s calm down and relax before declaring them World Series contenders.