There were fireworks early and late in this one, first with multiple plunkings and emptying of benches. Then late as the Yankees cranked up the offense and John Gibbons used up a lot of roster spots emptying his bench a different way. Ultimately, the Jays couldn’t overcome the bullpen implosion in the ninth, falling to […]
Author: Greg Wisniewski
Jose Bautista: Comic Book Hero
Somewhere in the annals of Blue Jay History, Jose Bautista became Elevated. Many of you just read that sentence and thought “I know, it was when he did The Bat Flip!” and I respect that. I will challenge you, though, to take yourself back in time to that moment. The one just before The Bat […]
Home Sweet Home: Yankees Series Preview
Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees September 23 – 26 Written by Nick Dika and Greg Wisniewski The Blue Jays return home for the final homestand of the season (playoffs excluded), when they open a three-game series against the New York Yankees (79-72). While many expected the Yankees to fall out of playoff contention after […]
Michael Saunders: What Changed After the All-Star Break?
Micheal Saunders was an All-Star in 2016, which means he had an excellent first half of the season. You may have even voted him in as the final selection to the game. After all, he had a good argument for being on that final selection list; his .298/.372/.551 line was a very respectable number for […]
One At Bat: Carlos Villanueva vs. (Future MVP) Devon Travis
This (One At-Bat) is a sort of regular feature at BP Toronto, and in that vein, I like to explain it in the preamble just in case this is your first time seeing it. What we do here is take just one plate appearance from the last little while and go through it pitch by […]
Recap: Blue Jays 2, Astros 1; Bautista Hits Number 300 as Dickey Dazzles
An effective R.A. Dickey and just enough home runs from the veteran bats led the Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory in Houston on Tuesday night. The Blue Jays, having played back to back extra inning games, entered the second game in Houston a little beat up and a little short handed. Troy Tulowitzki remained […]
Upton Funk: The Story of Melvin Upton Junior
Melvin Upton is a Toronto Blue Jay. His career also makes for a great episode of “Behind the Music” (remember that show… on VH1? No? Here you go.) If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of the trade, please read Kyle Matte’s piece from earlier. He covers it all in great detail. I’m going […]
Recap: Mariners 2, Blue Jays 1; Canadian Shuts Down Canada’s Team
Marco Estrada returned and tried to shake of the rust, and James Paxton pitched on ‘home soil’ with a polished approach as the Jays faced the Mariners on Friday night. Save a Canadian vs. Canadian home run from Michael Saunders off of Paxton, the Jays couldn’t find a way to get a big hit with […]
Business vs. Beauty: The Two Sides of Baseball
Baseball is a beautiful game. Baseball is an ugly business. When I think about baseball and my relationship with it, the first thing I think about is how young I was when I was first introduced to the game. Everything I know about baseball started with things I understood as a child of twelve or […]
One At-Bat: Koji Uehara vs. Devon Travis
I have, once again, deemed it appropriate to have another edition of One At-Bat. And you, presumably, have deemed it appropriate to read it. Wonderful! We’ve gotten off to a great start. If this is your first time with One At-Bat, it’s not really complicated. You get a recap of exactly One At-Bat, pitch by […]