Don’t bury your hearts at Bo’s wounded knee, fans of the Blue Jays. The first-place Jays, bouncing back and forth around .500 for the last month, have been dealing with coast-to-coast angst because of an inability to move more than 23 games above .500 in order to separate from the Yankees and Red Sox. Already up a game on the Yankees at the Stadium, suddenly came Bo Bichette’s unfortunate sprained left knee.
There is suddenly the national fear of another Blue Jays failure, which includes missing out on a crucial first-round bye, the mandated reward to the top two division winners. Seeds of doubt? There is Bo’s injury, plus the uncertainty surrounding 41-year-old starter Max Scherzer (mid-back), plus an oft-wonky bullpen. The Jays are now left to suck it up, mix and match on the field and simply deal with it.
Jays fans should comfort themselves with the fact their team is far from being the Lone Ranger when it comes to injuries among the other nine AL contenders. They are all dealing with key players missing in action as crunch time looms. Creativity and next-man-up are the keys. Very few Jays games down the stretch will end with the same starting nine that started the game. Whenever they hold the lead, late, the best defenders will be on the field. When they trail, the best hitters will be at the plate.
Speaking of the lone Rangers, Texas is Exhibit A in dealing with adversity. To the surprise of many, they are putting on a legitimate September surge for a wild-card, despite no Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Evan Carter, Adolis Garcia and Nate Eovaldi. As for the chasing Red Sox, they lost 40% of the rotation, plus Wilyer Abreu and rookie sensation outfielder Roman Anthony. Channeling my inner-Shakespeare, minus Roman, Alex Cora is seemingly left with a roster of friends and countrymen.
The Astros, for their part, are missing closer Josh Hader, Ronel Blanco and Isaac Paredes, but have just welcomed back Yordan Alvarez. The Yankees have been without Gerrit Cole and a legitimate defence all year. Neither will return in 2025. The fading Royals can be forgiven, given starting pitchers Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic are all on the IL.
Given those examples, Jays fans please avoid any support of the Canadian whine industry. Instead, sit back and observe the mix-and-match, often head-scratching managerial stylings, of John Schneider with his Rubik’s Cube of interchangeable position-players and a bullpen that flashes its flaws almost every game.
By the way, in a certain, convoluted way, I would now like to finish by blaming Buster Posey and the Posey Rule for the unfortunate sprained knee suffered by Bichette, in Saturday’s home plate collision with Austin Wells in the Bronx. Let me explain.
On May 25, 2011, Posey, a future Giants MVP catcher, in his second full season at the time, received a throw from right field on a bang-bang play at the plate, suffering a fractured fibula and torn ankle ligaments in the collision. It was at a time in baseball when running over catchers was not only legal, but a key part of the game. Marlins’ Scott Cousins was doing what runners did, coming in hard, while Posey’s technique taking a throw from right field, was flawed and invited misfortune.
Posey still offered his left leg, knee down across the baseline inches from the plate. He took the throw and turned his upper body to make the tag, but his left leg remained in harm’s way and because he was seriously injured and one of the brightest future stars in the MLB firmament, the high foreheads at MLB added Rule 7.13 which basically prohibits blocking the plate without the ball and prevented the option of a runner trying to dislodge the ball by running him over, like Pete Rose did to Ray Fosse in the All-Star Game. So how, then, does that relate to Bo?
The Posey Rule was introduced 14 years ago. Major Leaguers, like Bo, have come up through high school, college and the minors with the belief they will be protected at home plate by the rules. Most catchers now receive the throw in front of home plate, then lean or dive back and try and tag the runner before he reaches the plate. There were never headfirst slides into home… but now they are common. Plus, aesthetically, you have more modern players sliding gracefully past the plate on the foul side and tapping the dish with their left hand. Techniques have clearly changed.
Back to the Bronx tale. Bichette was trying to score from second base. Cody Bellinger had to move slightly to his left to field a single by Nathan Lukes, encouraging the send. Because of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, oufielders play a little bit more shallow. Bellinger’s throw was perfect to Wells, who slid over to entirely block the plate, squared up, as is his right under the Posey Rule.
Bichette made a seemingly acceptable slide with nobody in the way, however it was with legs folded beneath him, knees and shins exposed to Wells’s hard plastic shinguards. The modern rule, post-Posey, states that runners must be given a clear path to the plate (unless the catcher is in possession of the ball).
The feeling here is if the Posey Rule did not exist, Bo might have been more aware of potential injury, perhaps expecting a collision of some sort and would have had his legs and spikes stretched out aggressively in classic, pre-2011 style. It would likely have prevented the injury.
For those that say, no, and who question my logic, understand that both my sons were catchers that played for me growing up. Neither of my catchers was ever scared of home plate collisions and both understood the necessary technique of gripping baseball in barehand, tucked into the safety of the catcher’s glove for more control, then squaring to the runner and taking the blow.
In fact, I remember one time having to rush to home plate and actually step over my dazed and confused son, Patrick, lying on his back, in order to argue a call with the umpire. That eliminated me from that year’s Father-of-the-Year Award. Sometimes rule changes made for safety can create a false sense of security as with Bo.
Back to the Jays and the race. With all the intramural games among wild-card and division contenders, mathematically, if the Jays continue to play .500 ball they are into October. Fans know they are 0-4 in post-season series since 2016. First place and a Top 2 seed would seem a requirement. Just breathe.