There isn’t much for Jays’ news today.
If you are in Calgary and want to join Tom_M in a place with a lot of beer, which seems to be the best way to watch the Jays lately, send me a note, and I’ll let you know where. For everyone else, you might expect the recap to be late.
The downside of watching the Jays these days is that the bullpen is having a rough time. Last year, the bullpen was terrific, but this year, it is less so.
Unfortunately, the pen doesn’t look to be getting better in a hurry. Chad Green, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez aren’t likely to return for a few days at best. Hopefully, Yimi Garcia, who has been this season’s get-a-guaranteed-scoreless-inning guy, can pitch again this week. The problem with having a guy like that is that a manager tends to overuse him. Of course, it would be nice to have 7 guys like that.
And there doesn’t seem to be any help available in Buffalo. They could try Hagen Danner, who has been okay but not amazing. Joel Kuhnel was signed, but I’m sure the team would like to see him pitch in Buffalo some. The same goes for Aaron Sanchez as well.
Sunday’s game was one of those that showed the fun of being a manager. You have a guy making his first season start whose pitching career is hanging by a thread. You have a bullpen that’s been overworked and is without anyone you can call a long man. Add in guy who has done the best job for you is unavailable.
You can see your starter is tiring. You’d love to pull him and let him leave the game with a good feeling, but you also know you have six innings of baseball left and, if all went well, not quite six innings of available bullpen arms. You also know that of that not quite six innings of bullpen arms, some of those arms you would rather not have pitching in a close game.
So you want to get your starter through the fourth inning (You really want to get him through five innings, but you are realistic) (there is the fact that you have a big lead and many innings to add more runs). The starter gets the first two outs (with a walk and a single mixed in), and it looks like he’ll get out of the inning. Two more singles cost you two runs and leave you in a spot with 2 on base. but then you still have a lead and need one out. What could happen?
Well, the worst that could happen did happen: he gave up a home run, and you are behind.
Then your pitcher gets out of the inning. You are behind. The good part is that your offense has time to get back in the game.
And they do….we score two in the top of the fifth and get you the lead again.
Now, you must go to the bullpen and hope you can navigate through the last 5 innings.
The first contestant (Nate Pearson) out of the pen has been terrible lately. In his last two outings, he’s given up four runs. He does have a great arm. But he gives you a clean inning.
Four innings left. You leave the first contestant out there to start the next inning. The first batter hits a double, so it is time for contestant number two. Lefty coming up, you go with a lefty (Genesis Cabrera).
The lefty in question has also not been great. Just two days ago, he gave up four (unearned) runs, but you have four innings left. An out later, he gives up a single that ties the game. He gets out of the inning.
So, you let the lefty face the first batter (another lefty) of the seventh inning (you still have three innings to get through)(hopefully). And again, there is a double to start things off.
On to bullpen contestant number three (Erik Swanson). You know that this will get every fan at home complaining, but you know you can’t get through three more innings without him throwing one. All starts well. He gets two outs. And then, well, a home run.
You know, as manager, that every Jays fan on Twitter is calling you an idiot for putting Swanson in the game, but then they won’t be able to tell you how to get through those three innings without him pitching. But they know you are an idiot.
Of course, that doesn’t matter; you are down by two.
In the eighth, contestant four (Zach Pop, who many of the ones calling you an idiot wanted you to bring in the last inning). Pop gives up another run, and you are down by three. I suppose you can consider it good news that you are pretty sure you are saving one of those innings you thought you would have to work your way through.
Ultimately, you used the arms you had available, minus your closer, because you were saving him for the ninth. We could argue that the closer would have been more valuable earlier in the game. We could also, and I likely would, that some of the relievers used could have gone longer (but then each reliever gave up one earned run).