Tonight, we are at the 1/3 mark of the season.
The team is 25-28, which, rather amazingly, puts them just one game back of a Wild Card playoff. The AL is not exactly firing on all cylinders this year.
A year ago, the Jays were 26-27, which had them two games back of a Wild Card spot.
And really, the problem last year was much the same as this year; they weren’t hitting. This year, there are a lot of injuries involved; last year, we weren’t hitting, and then suddenly we started hitting. We had scored
207 runs, while the Yankees had scored 301. We were second last in the AL East in runs scored, two up on the Orioles.
But… just cause the team turned it on at this point last year, doesn’t mean it is going to happen again.
I mean, the good news is that we are likely to get some players back from the IL in the next two or three weeks. Nathan Lukes should join the team again next week. Addison Barger isn’t far behind. And Alejandro Kirk should only be another couple of weeks after that.
This year, we have scored 214 runs, 7 more than at this point last year.
On the pitching side, we’ve allowed 220 runs this year and 233 last year. So again, pretty close.
Last year was amazing. Thinking it will happen again is very hopeful. I mean, a Wild Card Spot wouldn’t surprise me at all. But finishing first again. That’s a tough road.
And, of course, last year in the second half, we didn’t have many major injuries. It is looking like we got off lucky yesterday. As long as the X-rays are right, Vlad shouldn’t be missing much time (I’d likely give him today off), and it doesn’t look like Dylan Cease will miss any starts. But injuries do happen.
And, the team has to get something out of the right-handed hitting platoon players.
- Myles Straw has an 86 OPS+ on the season, but over his last 15 games, he’s hitting a big .083/.154/.083, and that’s with him hitting with the platoon advantage most of the time.
- Lenyn Sosa, well, you know, is hitting .189/.187/.284. While I think it is rather impressive that he’s managed to keep his OBP below his BA, something has got to give soon.
- Davis Schneider is hitting .127/.295/.211 with just one home run this year. I continuously think he’s going to get the bat going, but it hasn’t happened yet. In fact, he is getting worse, .088/.262/.118 over his last 19 games (arbitrary end points and all).
I like platooning. Lefty batters have a hard time with lefty pitchers. Someone asked why RHB don’t have as much trouble with RHP, and the simple answer is that roughly 75% of pitchers are right-handed. If a right-handed batter doesn’t learn to hit them, he doesn’t make it through the minor leagues (odds are he doesn’t get to the minor leagues). And, the RHB get a lot more practice against RHP than lefties do against lefties. Bendy things are easier to hit when they are coming toward you than when they are going away. And bendy things going away from you can miss by more than bendy things coming in. Plus, there is a lot more room to miss out the outside of the plate. Last night, Daulton Varsho struck out on a pitch that would have hit a RHB. If a right-handed hitter were at the plate, Gregory Soto would have had to be more careful with that pitch.
I also like platooning because it gives players a rest. Keeps them fresh. Baseball teams don’t get many off days, and when they do, they are often travelling. Some writers put it like this: Have you ever come home on a Friday evening and just collapsed into bed? It can be a long time between Friday evenings (off days). And, they don’t often get a whole weekend off. A day off can be a great mental break (he says, looking forward to a couple of days of biking tomorrow and Wednesday).
Anyway…..this was going to be very short, with a poll….
