The Afterglow Has Co$t Us Dearly, Toronto Blue Jays 2026... yadda yadda

new thread to discuss Hoffman wins, Gimenez RBIs and bush party installations

Another thought on the ASB system: Cavan Biggio, your moment has arrived.

where's he at now?

Gausman: K's for everyone, setting records!

Cease: hold my beer

Dylan Cease is something else today: 11 strikeouts through 5, working on seven straight.

Fluharty getting hit with two line drives in a row - yikes

To what extent does your life revolve around Alejandro Kirk!

(I’m watching A’s-Jays and that Kirk nuke in the 9th was incredible)

My dad--I mean ME--turned the game off and missed all that...I'm back, though!

I didn't deserve that.

I also tuned out after the Langeliers GS ... came back for the 10th!

Think Clement got a missed call on that checked swing.

Ya he def went around imho. Anyways… what a game! Cease, Kirk, other new guy, Ernie!

bump

Looking for another walk-off win here.

i will take a scoreless save from Hoffman. Lauer looked amazing and loved seeing Sanchez and Okamoto get their first homers for us too.

they set a record for most (pitching) Ks in an opening series too (49 by my count)

My needs-context joke worked...Jays pitchers struck out 50 (!) in their first three games, a franchise record (one extra-inning game in there). I've got to wonder if that isn't an MLB record--to open the season, obviously, but over any three-game stretch?

Sorry, was typing...I got 50, I don't know.

First 3-0 start since 1996!

Not to worry, but a 77-85 team...Looking back at them, I was surprised to find out that Hentgen's Cy Young year (I remembered that, of course) was close to 9.0 WAR on B-Ref.

Looking at old Jays teams on B-R, I noticed that after the win today, the Jays are exactly at .500 all-time following the win today (3857-3857).

Looking at that '96 Cy, pretty sure there are still Yankee fans convinced that Pettitte should have won. I recall that it was considered a toss-up at the time because of W-L records: yeah, maybe Hentgen pitched a little better, but 21-8 vs. 20-10, award should go to Pettitte.

Hentgen pitched a lot better. (I was arguing for him at the time--no WAR then, just looking at all the old-school stuff--and trying to tell people it wasn't just because he was a Jay.) Forty more innings, 10 CG vs. 2, more than half-a-run edge in ERA, better WHIP. Pettitte had a better K/BB rate.

Hentgen won 110-104 (16 firsts to 11, though).

Re strikeout record for any three-game stretch: the Astros struck out 52 in 2016:

https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-mlb-record-52-strikeouts-in-3-game-set-c180433878

But 50 is an opening-the-season record, yes.

Bo is off to a brutal start (1-14)...he's always been streaky; Jays fans a little more patient than in NY, I'm sure, but not all that patient.

Saw him getting boo’d. Not exactly the best start

Whatever just happened to Cody Ponce there, did not look good at all

Not home, but just read that:

https://www.mlb.com/news/cody-ponce-injured-in-blue-jays-debut

Yuck. Why you load up on seven or eight starters.

Yeah, I'm expecting the worst here.

Five runs in two innings for Heineman. Still a better ERA than his twelve runs in 3.1 innings last year.

As expected, not great: "Blue Jays are 'holding onto' hope of a return this season."

https://www.mlb.com/news/cody-ponce-acl-sprain

Hope springs eternal: six very strong innings from Max tonight, his 298th career QS. It's a stat that's barely ever mentioned anymore, but I got curious:

https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/who-has-the-most-quality-starts

Assuming Verlander falls short of 300 wins, I think 300 QS will be more or less as unlikely as 300 wins. So two more, and maybe Max will be the last.

I was kind of hoping the Gatorade dump would be on Max tonight, but I guess that's something that just doesn't happen.

Hardly ever happens to a SP. who got it (my computer died)?

Jesus (many jokes in the offing here).

i would be very afraid of pouring gatorade on max scherzer

I know--that's exactly what I was hoping for...Had this vision of Vlad doing his thing, then making a mad dash for the clubhouse.

How's that for a nightmarish loss? Up 3-2 in the 10th, two outs from a win. Next guy strikes out, but Kirk is injured from a foul tip during the AB. So two out, runner on third, Heineman in the game. Next guy drops down a surprise bunt, Heineman throws it away. (Would Kirk have made the out? Have to look at it again--maybe he would have at least held on to the ball.) 3-3 now, next guy doubles him home.

Looking at the replay, Kirk would have had the good sense to hold on to the ball.

On top of which, as the post-game commentators just pointed out, the idea that you're going to come off the bench and instantaneously pull off this incredibly difficult throw is wishful thinking. I realize it was a great bunt and a bang-bang play, but Heineman's supposed to think of the possibilities ahead of time. Guy bunts, no play, hang on to the ball.

It wasn't that hard of a play, Heineman should have thrown him out to end the game, he just blew it.

Three out of four games dropped to two of the worst teams in MLB, Ponce injured, Kirk may be injured, the vibes are bad after that 3-0 start.

Looked at it again...I think it's a more difficult play than that because he picks up the ball facing the other way and had to wheel around. I don't know--it he'd made it, I would have been impressed, especially having just gotten into the game.

He should have held into it imho- play was going to be close and looked like it *could* roll foul. Runner wasn’t going to score on the play - they would have just had to get the next guy out.

Kirk out for probably close to two months. Ugh

Heinemen's adequate, but what do they do? I guess they're long past the point of giving Varsho some games there...Anyone at Triple A? Trade for a stopgap?

For a second, I forget about Tyler Heineman's controlled demolition thing.

He had a pretty bad day today

I've been watching baseball long enough, that I'm sure I've seen many errors uglier than his rundown-toss to third today. Nothing immediately comes to mind, though.

They traded for Brandon Valenzuela in the offseason, who looks like he could maybe be a slightly better option than Tyler?

He sure did look demoralized in the dugout.

Apparently he was inconsolable after the game.

Gettin' ugly.

Little sent down. Addition by subtraction.

and now Scherzer is out after 2. some weird curse going on with this team right now

Had two Zooms tonight, so--combined with the nightmarish weekend--I happily did not see a single second of that. Can't imagine how someone who shelled out big money for tickets is feeling.

How fucking embarrassing was that. 14-2???

glad i shut it off when it was 5-1

Passing the time.

https://i.postimg.cc/t4LqNfvg/kirk.jpg

No idea what a Telegram account is, but it sounds very au courant. Hope it's not a money-making thing.

i've noticed what absolutely has to be fake blue jays facebook accounts, liking and sometimes commenting on random stories/comments etc since the WS.
"i'm active and ready to connect" does not sound like anything a ball player would be interested in doing.

Thankfully, I'm not interested enough to act on something I'm dumb enough to believe...

Jeff Hoffman coming in for the 9th to protect a 4-3 lead vs the Dodgers. What could go wrong?

Watching in a pub...if they blow this, they'll officially be in train-wreck territory.

ahhhhh nuts

Did I expect Hoffman to throw that squibbler into right field? Never even crossed my mind.

I regret shutting off that game - but very understandable decision

Return of two disturbing hallmarks from the 2022-24 teams, even yesterday: leaving men on base and running into outs on the basepaths.

Conceding their injury situation, the price tag, etc., etc., I'm hard-pressed to see what the Jays are looking to get out of Patrick Corbin. His last few seasons are abysmal.

They got 4 lousy innings out of him today!

Good news, aside from the win and my new bobblehead, is that they executed both a hit and run AND a sac bunt today without turning it into a disaster!

Corbin seems like the very definition to me of how the whole concept of "replacement-level" came about: in James's original formulation, the misguided idea teams clung to that there was something magical about someone with major-league experience, even with the very worst players, and that it was better to stick with them than go down into Triple-A and bring someone up who could do the job just as well (or, in their case, just as barely-adequately). I know that things are more complicated now with free-agency/service-time factored in.

Oh super. Springer is hurt now.

Is that it for Max? He said he'd walk away when he knew. 8 runs, 2 HR in 2.1 innings today.

Can’t do much when you run into the juggernaut that is the white Sox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMd1zzPk1eg

great jomboy on the gausman balk

So now we have Lenyn to go along with Jesus. We need to go get Darwin or Freud next.

Hoffman has the stuff to be a closer. He just doesn't have the mindset...I always think back to Dan Plesac talking about him last year, how, after a rough night, a guy got a hit and he saw Hoffman's shoulders visibly slump, like "Here we go again." Very human. But death for a closer.

Wondering how soon until Varland starts getting 9th opportunities

Third part of my study (I hope that sounds as lofty as I want it to) on the likelihood of anyone matching the Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey infield streak--this part focuses on the history of the Jays.

https://phildellio.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-do-this-every-day-part-3.html

Within shouting range of the worst record in baseball; losing 5-2 tonight after another ugly error. Varsho may be hurt. Okamoto's going to be under the microscope soon, if he isn't already (.191, .561 OPS).

Wandered over for a look when I saw the score was 2-2. Quite something to witness: it took Hoffman about one minute to load the bases (admittedly, starting with a cheap hit), followed by a Corbin Carroll grand slam. Joe Siddall says the Jays need to figure this out, because "they can't win without Hoffman." That thinking is so bizarre; shared by the manager, unfortunately.

I’m glad my kids went off to bed before that disaster unfolded. I knew too. The second his ass was out there in the 8th for a tie game that it was over

Word is that they're sticking with Hoffman. You could argue that the first hit was bad luck, and the second hit was a bit of a fluke through a partially drawn in infield that was expecting a bunt. But the four pitch walk was inexcusable, and he missed his spot on the GS by two feet (Heineman called for it up and away, and Hoffman threw it right down the middle). That's not bad luck, that's a pitcher that has completely lost his command.

He falls apart with runners on base--starts falling behind, walks guys, then grooves one. I wish someone would hand Schneider a list of teams in the past 50 years who changed closers midstream and made out just fine. Of course, maybe that decision isn't his.

Hey, here's an example: the Blue Jays' big off-season acquisition after the '84 season was Bill Caudill, who was going to fix all our closer problems. He was coming off 36 saves (2.71 ERA) in Oakland. He piddled along for the first four months of '85, with 13 saves and an ERA over 4.00. New guy Tom Henke saved his first game of the season on Aug. 1, and that was that--Henke became closer, Caudill faded into the background. If you're not obsessed with the money you've already wasted, it's not that difficult.

(Meaning it's not that difficult to pull the plug; lucking out with a Henke, that's not easy. But you keep trying till you find someone better. And with Hoffman, that's not difficult at all.)

Hoffman is needed because his stuff is pretty untouchable when he's on. Obviously he can't get strikeouts when he's wingin it a meter wide. they need to fix his sh**, because he isn't going anywhere. Varland needs to be available to come in as a high leverage sniper, not be locked in as closer, imo. I really like that Henke example. We don't have a Henke, though I'd settle for a Yimi right about now

Just got home from a movie...Wow: the Arizona pitcher gave up 8 runs in a third of an inning. That'd be 216.00 ERA for the day.

Maybe they can get a low-leverage inning in for you-know-who today.

we should have Jeff checked for vertigo

Hoffman has a different condition: dizziness from looking up.

Silver Linings Playbook...Louis Varland:

12.1 IP, 8 hits, 3 walks, 19 K, 0.00. Not our closer, though--we've got another looking after that.

I had 30+ IP in mind for Mason Miller, confusing his IP for this year with his scoreless streak. So Varland's actually almost dead-even with him in WAR: 0.8 for Miller, 0.7 for Varland. Miller's ahead in saves 8-0 because, well, we've got another guy looking after that.

Trainwreck comin' round the bend.

The ump could do us a big favour by ejecting Hoffman.

Has to be performance art

If he did, I'm convinced the Angels would be the first time ever to challenge an opposition ejection.

If Schneider lets Hoffman face the next batter...well, I'm not sure what I'll do.

Might have caught a break there.

Anyway, even though experience screams "not going to happen," in a sane world tonight would have been the final nail in Hoffman's coffin, the night where Varland became the closer. But it won't. They'll through Hoffman back out there next time, he'll have a good outing, maybe another one, blow the next two, on and on and on.

through = throw

i dont know how you dont make varland the closer now. with the occasional exception for maybe using him in the 8th for the heart of the order and letting Hoff maintain some dignity as a co-closer

It's maddening. It's so obvious to anyone not in the dugout.

1 pitch to put out that dumpster fire was hilarious.

After that game, i think the switch to Varland has begun.

Punchline: Hoffman got credited with a hold last night...Found that out from an SI article with a headline that sums everything up nicely: "Blue Jays Have Closer Problem With Solution Already in Bullpen." It's like that Orwell quote: "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle."

I think they've got a second what-is-in-front-of-one's-nose situation with Max. I was hoping the end would be his call, but they may have to intercede there.

Yesavage starts Tuesday night; maybe they'll cut Scherzer loose (although I always thought he was brought back primarily to mentor Yesavage).

Think Eric Lauer is going to the pen to open a rotation spot. But def think Scherzer might be cooked. Hopefully Biebs or Berrios can come back soon.

Big mea culpa (to be rescinded at a moment's notice) on Patrick Corbin. He's giving them everything you'd want from a fourth- or fifth-starter.

Hey, I think we have a closer--a real one.

Sending Max to the IL.

Meanwhile, I love their new strategy for winning games: 1) get lead; 2) bring in closer to protect lead. I just hope the rest of the league doesn't catch on and try to copy it.

wtf is the point of video replay when they get these super obvious calls wrong. wtf

Gotta feel pretty good about Treys return today.

Tennis night, so unfortunately didn't get home till the 8th. Read something that Yesavage didn't have his best stuff? Sure threw up a good pitching line for not having your best stuff...besides how awesome Varland's been, also very encouraged to see Hoffman thriving in his natural role as a set-up guy.

I think he looked fine the first few innings, but he def improved and started getting more Ks later on

Unbelievable--it's Yogi Berra all over again.

https://www.mlb.com/news/george-springer-exits-game-after-hit-by-pitch

Also unbelievable: eight Jays go the plate in the 8th inning, 8 runs.

11 guys came up!

No, 10.

The first 8 scored without an out being made.

Must have been 11 total.

Ya. It was 8 runs and then three quick outs

I assume you guys have seen this clip of Shapiro talking about being happy to be a Canadian citizen now? 11.55 on but the whole interview is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l61NoDrmLoE

was not aware! and i do love me some Steve Paikin

@ 22:10 – this is why i love Steve Paikin

Will watch...of possible interest to gyac: Paikin is the one guy in a thousand who was 100% cleared of an accusation made against him a few years ago (by a mayoral candidate).

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tvo-host-steve-paikin-cleared-by-investigator-after-sexual-harassment-accusations-1.4638371

I remember sitting behind him at a movie a year or two later.

Barger's back today, so they sent Piñango back to Buffalo...I don't know; cutting him (.423) and keeping Davis Schneider (.127) while the team struggles mightily to score runs is at least questionable. I know Schneider offers more flexibility, that he started slow last year, too, and that the league hasn't caught up with Piñango yet (26 AB). But this offense is anemic right now.

Righty/lefty thing, as explained by Schulman; explanation made sense.

Incredible, Clemente/Barfield-level throw from Barger today.

https://www.mlb.com/news/addison-barger-101-mph-throw-outfield-assist

And that’s why he lasted exactly one day off the IL

After a two-year break, I'm back to being in hateful awe of the Rays. Their payroll is $87M, 28th in baseball. They're 27-13, and they again own the Jays.

ya, seems we're back to this again after getting a break last season

Didn't bother tuning in until Okamoto in the 10th--probably doesn't mean anything, but great to see anyway. Knew it off the bat.

Never would have guessd: first walk-off grand slam in Jays history.

That's not correct. Steve Pearce hit two in one week in 2017!

Found a reddit thread that claims this was the fifth in club history. Varsho, Pearce (twice), Gregg Zaun(!), and George Bell.

Someone said it on the broadcast last night--evidently incorrect.

The Dodgers are signing Lauer?

Hmm that happened yesterday. Just saw the news now.

Traded for bag of balls apparently

This is so painful to watch. I'm invested in two games already (probably around $400), there'll probably be a third, and I think that's going to be it.

Context...two nights in a row they blow a lead (last night they were up 3-0 with Cease pitching), mount a comeback in the ninth, then end the game with a feckless ground ball. It's going to be a long season of watching them plod along, occasionally move to within two or three games of a WC (because of league-wide mediocrity), then immediately fall back again.

They were talking about something on the Fan this morning that I was going to post about last night but stopped myself: Vlad's SF in the 7th inning. "You're too critical of Vlad"--he got the run in, so I didn't.

I also found it an alarming AB, though. Bases loaded, one out, Jays have just gone up 1-0. You're looking for Vlad to really drive the ball, to wait for the fat strike that should be coming at some point. I don't think I've ever seen a more defensive AB from a hitter who's supposed to be one of baseball's best. It was like he was so fearful of hitting into a DP, he just waved the white flag and punched a half-swing flyball to right. (Some context: he's in the middle of one of his epic slumps.)

He got another run in, and maybe he deserves praise for acknowledging the slump and doing what he could. Interested to hear from anyone else who saw it. Again, I (and the radio guys) found it alarming.

Vlad is too good to be looking so bad, which leads me to think that he's injured and is trying to play through it.

You can find it somewhere here:

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/blue-jays-vs-yankees/2026/05/20/823547/final/summary/highlights

It was a good pitch, broke late, so I don't know--maybe I'm making too much out of it. You might have something about playing injured, though.

Also: said I was down Sunday, but had the day wrong--I'm there Saturday, so I'll be seeing Skenes.

I couldn't figure out how to see how Vlad ranks in Chase %, but Jays look to be ranked only ahead of Colorado, and Vlad is having his worst chase season (last year was his best) of his career. Very often seems completely flummoxed by anything off-speed, and so you see that defensive swing time and again.

Will be majorly surprised and even more majorly impressed if Hoffman saves this game.

Oh me of little faith.

he wouldn't be nearly as frustrating of he wasn't occasionally lights out.

Yeah--after the line drive out, the two strikeouts were awesome...any Jays fans find John Schneider's litany of nicknames almost as clunky as Trump's?

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401815437/blue-jays-yankees

Why didn't Miles get credited with the win? The Jays took the lead when the opener was on the mound for 1.1 IP, so he cant get the win, shouldn't it go to the pitcher who pitched best after that?

Fairly good series, they caught some bad breaks in losing the first two games. The offense is still half asleep but the pitching staff is championship level. They had Judge's number, he struck out seven straight times!

Great game vs Skenes there.
Was at the game super early yesterday to get the bobblehead and was also a good one.

I was there this afternoon--great game. Springer lead-off HR (15 behind Henderson now), jumped all over Skenes, Corbin defying the odds again, the Canadian guy Macko, topped off by Hoffman stiking out the side for the save. Too late or the giveaway, which had something to do with cricket.

Vlad and Cease possibly join the injury parade--unbelievable.

Sounds like they might be aright

Looks that way (will spare you the Sun link):

"By the seventh inning, the panic had mostly subsided. Word from the clubhouse was that Cease was dealing with some mild left-hamstring discomfort.

Guerrero, meanwhile, had a right-elbow contusion, but had already been x-rayed with the x-ray revealing no fracture.

Cease had a date with the MRI machine later Sunday night to determine just how good or how bad things were.

The durable right-hander, who has made at least 31 starts in every season since 2021, told his manager he fully expects to make his next start."