Try to imagine playing a game of chess without your queen, a couple of rooks, and perhaps a bishop, and having to rely on your pawns to carry the day. The Blue Jays were without an injured Springer, and subsequent early removals of Kirk, Barger and Bichette for so-called fleeter players. That’s what it felt like in Monday’s 18-inning marathon. With all due respect to the replacements, and the rationale that ‘that’s the way we have done it all season,’ any one of those mentioned offensive weapons had a better chance of ending the game with one swing of the bat (instead of watching from the sidelines) as the innings dragged on. One of the Dodgers stars, who were all still in the game, did exactly that and ultimately the pawns could not prevail. Fortuitously, the three players other than Springer, who did not play, were all left in Game 4 on Tuesday and contributed to the win. Now it’s time to keep it going! Let’s go Jays! Read More