2024 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Vladdy gets a lead off single, then it's erased by a first pitch swinging Bichette, bouncing slowly into a double play.

Seriously Bo, time to take a different approach.

[activeStick]

Missed most of the game but it's good to see that Gausman is getting closer to finding his game. Big win

[browna]

Great from Gausman, again.
5 runs or less, again, for now 20 games and counting. Got dicey in the 8th, where having 5 runs would've had them safe even with the near Grand Slam.

Edit: Also 1-0 now with powder blues.

Also pretty telling, batting average wise, about where the problem is.
For guys that have played 20 games or more, team leaders in batting average are
1 - Turner
2 - Clement
3 - IKF

2 of those 3 weren't on the team last year and from sounds of it, Clement is a part timer last year and this, and an all around natural athlete who probably can hit .250 without any coaching. Bo and Vlad are barely above 200, (Turner is 305). From me, that is pretty clear that the hitting coach's program for the guys who have been on the team last year and prior, has rendered them impotent (at least baseball wise) as the new guys coming in, who weren't solely brought in for offense per se, havemt been corrupted by the same coaching.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by browna

Great from Gausman, again.
5 runs or less, again, for now 20 games and counting. Got dicey in the 8th, where having 5 runs would've had them safe even with the near Grand Slam.

Edit: Also 1-0 now with powder blues.

Also pretty telling, batting average wise, about where the problem is.
For guys that have played 20 games or more, team leaders in batting average are
1 - Turner
2 - Clement
3 - IKF

2 of those 3 weren't on the team last year and from sounds of it, Clement is a part timer last year and this, and an all around natural athlete who probably can hit .250 without any coaching. Bo and Vlad are barely above 200, (Turner is 305). From me, that is pretty clear that the hitting coach's program for the guys who have been on the team last year and prior, has rendered them impotent (at least baseball wise) as the new guys coming in, who weren't solely brought in for offense per se, havemt been corrupted by the same coaching.

I think we should make Turner the hitting coach as well. He mostly doesn't play defense, he's got some spare time.

Seriously though, great to see them win one against the Dodgers at least. Break the streak before the next KC series, and hopefully that one goes better.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Varsho has an OPS+ of 144 with the same hitting coach.

It's April.

Bo will eventually figure it out, he always does.

[KelVarnsen]

Re: accountability.

Yes the players need to have it themselves but it’s pretty clear that they’ve never had any in their careers. Mistakes happen but they constantly make the same mistakes. They don’t learn.

That’s on both the team and the players.

[flamingred89]

Figures I miss the game they won. Seems like a great team effort with some huge catches. Still can't believe how poor the bats are. Vladdy has hit some line drives the last couple games which is promising. And Bo is in one of those funks that we saw him in at the beginning of 2022. He's always been a second half player though.

They're 1-5 in their last 6. One swing of the bat in 4 of those games and they flip it to 5-1. Just incredibly unclutch. Baseball is so dumb that something as stupid as a calendar flipping can change the complexion. So maybe May brings some good fortune or atleast some new coaches.

[browna]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

Varsho has an OPS+ of 144 with the same hitting coach.

It's April.

Bo will eventually figure it out, he always does.

Funny enough, after hitting one of his first few home runs, they asked Varsho on the field post game about why he was hitting the ball better, and he said that it was Springer who gave him some tips on the plane a few days before, on adjusting his hands/angle of the swing.

[SuperMatt18]

Is the hitting coach the problem? Maybe not

Has the hitting coach been the solution over the last couple seasons? Nope

The bats started to struggle a bit down the stretch in 2022, were not great most of 2023, and have started 2024 poorly as well.

Don't think it will hurt to get a bit a different message and viewpoint in the locker room for those bats.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Is the hitting coach the problem? Maybe not

Has the hitting coach been the solution over the last couple seasons? Nope

The bats started to struggle a bit down the stretch in 2022, were not great most of 2023, and have started 2024 poorly as well.

Don't think it will hurt to get a bit a different message and viewpoint in the locker room for those bats.

They have Edwin Encarnacion in the dugout in Rogers giving advice, they have Mattingly doing that too, and lord knows how many others scouring through video and pointing things out.

Not to mention the players are always watching and helping each other out, Varsho recently made comments on how Springer noticed something he was doing and when he fixed it he started hitting better.

I don't care if they replace Martinez or not, I just have a hard time believing this is his fault and replacing him will help anything.

These secondary type coaches always getting blames by fans makes me laugh. Never fails.

It's like in hockey, goalie plays good = he's a good goalie, goalie plays bad = fire the goalie coach

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

They have Edwin Encarnacion in the dugout in Rogers giving advice, they have Mattingly doing that too, and lord knows how many others scouring through video and pointing things out.

Not to mention the players are always watching and helping each other out, Varsho recently made comments on how Springer noticed something he was doing and when he fixed it he started hitting better.

I don't care if they replace Martinez or not, I just have a hard time believing this is his fault and replacing him will help anything.

These secondary type coaches always getting blames by fans makes me laugh. Never fails.

It's like in hockey, goalie plays good = he's a good goalie, goalie plays bad = fire the goalie coach

Thing is it's not like you can trade all these guys right now .

So why not try something different.

Manager, Hitting coach, any of it should be on the table.

Not like we are looking at a World Series level coaching staff here, all these guys have had questions, should be no real hesitation to move on from any of them.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

They have Edwin Encarnacion in the dugout in Rogers giving advice, they have Mattingly doing that too, and lord knows how many others scouring through video and pointing things out.

Not to mention the players are always watching and helping each other out, Varsho recently made comments on how Springer noticed something he was doing and when he fixed it he started hitting better.

I don't care if they replace Martinez or not, I just have a hard time believing this is his fault and replacing him will help anything.

These secondary type coaches always getting blames by fans makes me laugh. Never fails.

It's like in hockey, goalie plays good = he's a good goalie, goalie plays bad = fire the goalie coach

counterpoint-Pete Walker is a great pitching coach, and has done a lot to get guys back on track when they struggle. In some cases, players have their best numbers of their career under Walker. The only outlier so far is Alek Manoah.

I think it matters more than you care to admit. So much of hitting is about approach, pitch selection, and understanding opposing pitcher trends. That's all mental and it's all about coaching. I see a terrible approach from most players on the team, and it's not about pure ability. Bo can hit anything that he puts his mind to, but his approach right now is dog####. Vladdy ain't much better. A different coach with a clear message could probably get a lot more out of the top players (or even bottom players) than they are right now.

But at the end of the day, sports is a results driven business. The team has awful offensive numbers, and it's not purely about talent or personnel. Who deserves the blame?

[KelVarnsen]

KFF mentioned it the other day. Bo and Vladdy swung at the first pitch of their ABs after a long inning for Gausman. They do that a lot. Same for Springer.

Their approaches suck. Take some pitches. Make the pitcher work.

A lot of that is coaching.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

KFF mentioned it the other day. Bo and Vladdy swung at the first pitch of their ABs after a long inning for Gausman. They do that a lot. Same for Springer.

Their approaches suck. Take some pitches. Make the pitcher work.

A lot of that is coaching.

I agree, but think some of it might be coachability as well. You can have the beat coaching in the world and if the players don't listen it won't be effective.

There are some people who work hard no matter what (eg Varsho runs hard every time). Some aren't willing to listen (Springer reportedly refusing to bat anywhere but leadoff) or put in the work (Vladdy never even dropped his bat on his pop up last game). That isn't all on the coach, although maybe a different coach would have a clean slate with the players. Ultimately it's easier to replace a hitting coach than the top of the lineup.

[KelVarnsen]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I agree, but think some of it might be coachability as well. You can have the beat coaching in the world and if the players don't listen it won't be effective.

There are some people who work hard no matter what (eg Varsho runs hard every time). Some aren't willing to listen (Springer reportedly refusing to bat anywhere but leadoff) or put in the work (Vladdy never even dropped his bat on his pop up last game). That isn't all on the coach, although maybe a different coach would have a clean slate with the players. Ultimately it's easier to replace a hitting coach than the top of the lineup.

That goes back to the accountability I've talked about.

It's clear there is none with this team. Yes the players need to hold themselves accountable but so do the coaches.

[KelVarnsen]

Joe Siddal tonight. My ears are happy.

[flamingred89]

Oh boy.

[flamingred89]

Some little league defense by the Jays. And now theyve lost their challenge.

[KelVarnsen]

The Jays would be so ####ed without Turner

[flamingred89]

Feels good to see some long balls finally.