Motor City Madness

Blue Jays bullpen collapses in 14-11 loss

Manager John Schneider’s decision-making on the weekend, impacted two choices that involved the same Tigers hitter, on consecutive days. The choice was different each day, but produced similar and losing results for the beleaguered Blue Jays, last in the AL East. The two Schneider strategies surrounded the same Tigers lefty hitting Kerry Carpenter and both turned out wrong. Coinflip decisions that resulted in losses.

As the Jays ready for a key, three-game set vs. the White Sox in Chicago, they find themselves a season-low six games below .500 for the second time and that far under break-even for just the second time since the end of that horrible 2019 season.  

The manager’s two unfortunate decisions? On Saturday, with ace Jose Berrios on the hill, the manager chose not to walk Carpenter intentionally, pitching to him with two out and first-base open, in the first inning. Carpenter lifted a two-run homer to score Detroit’s only runs in a 2-1 win.

Then on Sunday, in a rare 11:30 a.m. start, it became bottom of the ninth, 11-11 tie, first base open as the same strategy decision presented itself. Schneider, just 25 hours later after challenging and losing, chose to walk Carpenter intentionally with closer Jordan Romano looking to get to extras. It backfired when leadoff man, Matt Vierling crushed a game-winning walk-off homer, his fourth hit of the day.

The jaw-dropping sudden defeat on Sunday that played itself out at Comerica Park caps a two-month embarrassment for a struggling organization that is still trying to convince fans that patience is the key in turning this around. But this ’24 failure to launch is not going away soon, unless there are visible and significant changes.

Consider that over the past seven games the Jays have scored nine or more runs four times, but are 3-4 over that stretch. The problem remains that the hitting and pitching are far from being in sync. Tough to win. Tough to watch.

At least there was 15 minutes of optimism on Sunday. The Jays had clawed from three runs down to take a two-run lead in the eighth. It came on a two-run single by Bo Bichette and a Daulton Varsho three-run blast vs. closer RH Jason Foley. At that point, with six outs to go and their best relievers, Yimi Garcia and Romano, rested and ready to go, the Jays seemed poised to earn a split.   

But the usually dynamic setup man, Garcia, surrendered two runs in the eighth and Romano, in a tie game, allowed three more in the ninth for the walk-off.

The confidence of the Blue Jays front office has got to be shaken. They must now be questioning, internally, even the validity and wisdom of some of the off-season signings, perhaps the stubborn belief they hold onto that excellence in run prevention, via pitching and defence, serves to balance any excellence in run creation. Whether it does or not, it’s not the type of baseball Jays fans prefer to watch.

But the front office, in order to convince us it’s what we should like and that it will pay off in the long run, constantly reminds us of stuff like “water finding its level”, of players’ track records, about the obvious quality of the Jays five-man starting rotation, the depth of the bullpen and an overview of the recent run of four seasons with the Jays making three appearances in the playoffs. They say it’s a process that is building, and wins are on the way. Sunday’s debacle would argue that it’s all a load of hooey.

The Jays are in the midst of a stretch of 16-games, all considered winnable, that includes the Rays (3), White Sox (6), Tigers (4) and Pirates (3). Entering this “soft” stretch, the Jays knew they needed to go 10-6 to get back to.500. They are now 4-6 in that stretch with six games remaining, beginning with a Memorial Day matinee at Guranteed Rate Field. But they are finding out that nothing is guaranteed.

What can be done by the Jays without a major trade or player make-over; without firing someone at the top?  Where to start? The Jays need to effect some changes and, short of replacing the manager, Schneider, or GM Ross Atkins, the internal options are limited. But here are several suggested short-term moves that would serve as band-aids, but we think would temporarily help ease the pain.

Suggestion 1-Justin Turner and George Springer must no longer be counted on to play every day. On most days they need to be two players off the bench. Early in the season, the belief was that all that the Jays needed was for Vlad Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette to step up and begin posting their normal offensive numbers. The supporting cast needed help. Well, the fact is the two leaders have started to do that and yet it has not remedied the consistency of the Jays offensive inconsistency.

Suggestion 2-The experiment out of necessity with Davis Schneider playing left field as his primary position and being in the lineup almost every day is not working. Schneider is not an outfielder. His routes, his instincts, throwing to the wrong spots and the weaknesses of arm strength and throwing accuracy are causing more subtle damage defensively than he is helping offensively. In his last 13 games he is batting .152, with a .580 OPS.

They should release Daniel Vogelbach, call up Spencer Horwitz and have him platoon at DH with Schneider. Give the rare DH assignments to Vlad and Bo as load management for your stars. It would allow Schneider to play a few more games at second base when not DHing against righthanders. He’s not Robbie in the infield, but with Isiah Kiner-Falefa more regularly at third base, it’s an acceptable option.

Suggestion 3-The injured bullpen duo of RH Chad Green and RH Bowden Francis need to be activated from the IL, with RH Nate Pearson being optioned and perhaps LH Genesis Cabrera. They need a second spot. On Sunday, RH Yariel Rodriguez made a second rehab appearance at AAA-Buffalo, throwing 34 pitches and taking a second step towards a return to the majors. He can take his time.

Suggestion 4-The Jays have a solid starting rotation in place, but it’s a 162-game marathon. Instead of bringing Yariel back and having him be a second long reliever, the suggestion here is that in June, and until they reach the All-Star break on July 15, manager Schneider could go to a 6-man rotation like they did in one stretch late in 2023. Over those 42 games, leading into the break, it can easily be mapped out where every start for every pitcher is on an extra day of rest. The five existing starters would all benefit from the plan and Y-Rod and his skill-set could be maximized. On the other side of the all-star break, the rotation could be re-visited.

Face it, currently, nothing seems to be working on the field for the Jays. The problems are like Whack-A-Mole. The weekend series in Detroit was Exhibit-A. As manager, you have influence, but you have to trust one of the top relievers in baseball, Romano to take care of a 26-year-old .285 hitter with eight home runs and fewer than 1,000 career at-bats. It’s a bad luck streak that shows no signs of letting up.

In terms of blowing this up, it is not likely to happen. We believe president Mark Shapiro and a Rogers ownership that sank $360-million into renovation, know that blithe acceptance of losing with a shoulder shrug and becoming sellers at the deadline would spell disaster at the box-office and in terms of selling the expensive new seats and dining club inventory. But they must do something and must act soon.

The results of the White Sox and Pirates series will tell a story.