When the Wild Card round was happening, all I wanted was for the Sox to beat the Yankees. For the sake of the rivalry and the 20+ years of beating them in the postseason since the Evil Empire days, I was completely content with getting swept in the ALDS. I had—and have—a very real feeling that had we made it to the ALDS, the Blue Jays would’ve promptly stomped on us in three games, or at the absolute maximum would’ve gotten us in four, had Crochet been able to shove at Fenway.
There were flaws with
our one postseason roster, certainly, with injured players missing in action (namely Lucas Giolito and Roman Anthony) and a young core who hadn’t ever been to the postseason struggling under the bright lights, whether in the batter’s box or in the outfield. (There was that Nathaniel Lowe error also, but he’s beside my point.)
The current Blue Jays core has, for the most part, seen postseason action, even if it was a total of four games over two years and they got swept both times. They’re able to put the ball in play relentlessly and drive in runners on base, while the Red Sox had trouble with runners in scoring position all season. Their starters and bullpen got through a homer-heavy Yankees lineup. And while they had an error filled-game like we did, their timing was better; it was Game 3, when they were still up 2-1 afterward in a 5 game series.
I’ve heard online a lot of praise for the Blue Jays team from Yankee fans, and rightfully so. Jomboy Media, in its breakdown of the last game, talked about how much they like Blue Jays baseball because it’s back to more traditional baseball play, rather than the “three true outcomes” style of play the Yankees have adapted. And for the sake of the game, you want to see more Blue Jays baseball across both leagues. Even when John Schneider is being annoying, they play a better brand of the game.
With a healthier team and some beneficial offseason acquisitions, I believe the Red Sox can get to the same caliber of play that the Blue Jays are playing right now. Whether it’s enough to take the Blue Jays the full distance will be up to the Baseball Gods, but it’s a good trend.
And hey, if one of our guys couldn’t go “Daaaaa Jankees lose!” on live TV, then Vladdy doing it is probably second best.
