The Blue Jays have a fantastic starting catcher in Russell Martin. He’s everything you want in a catcher: a solid hitter, a good defender, and someone who can handle a pitching staff well. Even in the first stages of a potential decline, he’s the best the Jays have ever had at the position and one […]
Author: Dave Church
The Replacements: How Do The New Bullpen Pieces Stack Up
For all the potential frustration from fans about a quiet offseason, the Blue Jays’ braintrust has had some small victories recently when it comes to building the bullpen. Getting J.P. Howell and Joe Smith added some much needed depth to the relief core, supplementing 2016 holdovers Roberto Osuna, Jason Grilli, and Joe Biagini. The Blue Jays bullpen […]
Half-Baked: Musings on a Frustrating Offseason for Jays Fans
Even the most optimistic Blue Jays pundit would have a hard time appreciating what’s happened so far in the Blue Jays offseason. While the recent return of Jose Bautista was a public relations balm, it’s been a net negative for the boys in blue, with Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders, and Brett Cecil having skipped town, leaving […]
Re-assessing How We View Russell Martin for 2017
Russell Martin is the best catcher that has ever played for the Blue Jays, and he’s a stark contrast for a history littered with with fan favourites, defensive wizards who couldn’t hit, the occasional serviceable veteran who put in a few good years, and several catchers-of-the-future who never quite lived up to their billing. It’s […]
What Should the Blue Jays Do With Roberto Osuna?
Roberto Osuna is going to be a reliever next season, according to Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins. Whether this is good news or not depends on your perspective on him, and young pitchers in general. Not enough is made about how good Osuna is, or rather, how good he would have to be to make […]
On Michael Saunders and Defying Expectations
There were high expectations for the Toronto Blue Jays coming into the 2016 season. The end to 2015 was thrilling, and the Jays had made the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. Most of that exciting team was coming back, and there were even places a couple of places where you’d expect improvement. […]
ALCS Game 1 Recap: Cleveland 2, Blue Jays 0; Pitchers Shine and Bats Struggle as Jays Drop Opener
While the respective starter’s lines suggested a pitchers duel, this game was a story of missed opportunities for the Jays, and timely hits for Cleveland. One mistake for Marco Estrada ended up being the only one he could make, as the Jays ended up dropping the game 2-0. Cleveland’s assumed ace, Corey Kluber, threw up zeroes for his […]
Game Recap: Blue Jays 9, Yankees 0; Outstanding Offense Overwhelms Overmatched Outsiders
After getting swept by the Yankees earlier in the month, Jays fans were probably a little nervous coming into this game. They didn’t need to be, as the Jays opened their series against the Yankees with a blowout, getting a few runs early and adding several more to seal an eventual 9-0 victory. The Jays had a rough […]
The Ever-Changing Jose Bautista Narrative
Remember back in May, when the Blue Jays offense had been struggling for a while. They were several games behind the Red Sox, and we were wondering when such a talented offensive team would start to play up to it’s ability. Boy, that seems like a while ago, doesn’t it? It was May 19th when […]
Recap: Blue Jays 10, Mariners 2; The Bats Are Back In Town
With an offense that has under-performed for the majority of the year, especially in recent weeks, a blowout wasn’t something people were anticipating from this game. But the Jays got one, piling on the runs in a huge fourth inning, eventually winning 10-2 over the Mariners. Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma started out well enough, though some of […]