The Blue Jays seem to be the kings of back and forth play, just when you think they’re making progress ( a 3-game sweep of the 2014 AL East Champs), they get swept by a team everyone thought would be hanging out in the basement for the entire season.
- The Cold War – This week’s top story is the cold war that was brewing between the Blue Jays and the Orioles during their series this week. It started last week in Baltimore when Darren O’Day threw a pitch behind Jose Bautista, and then Jose proceeded to hit a home run. Or maybe it started last year when the Jays’ Marcus Stroman hit someone with a pitch, retaliating for, um, something? My memory is fuzzy. Anyway, yet another pitch was thrown behind Jose, and after one of the best death stares I’ve ever seen, Jose went on to hit another home run. He yelled a profanity or two at the second baseman, and got into an argument about his home run trot with Adam Jones. The league gave both teams a warning for the rest of the series, but both teams were well behaved.
- The Turf War – So the Jays got new turf this year. It looks 500 times better, but it’s been playing a little weird. The ball is taking weird hops, and is slower than usual. This will rectify itself as time goes on and the field ‘settles’. The Orioles were tempted to protest the rest of the games in Toronto due to this turf. K, get over yourselves.
- Moving Up (and Down) – The Jays made a number of moves this week. They DFA’d Todd Redmond (who passed through waivers and is outrighted to Buffalo), and brought up Ryan Goins to back up a hurting Jose Reyes. They placed Dioner Navarro on the 5-day DL with a strained hamstring, and brought Josh Thole up. Michael Saunders came back from his injury suffered in spring training, which meant Steve Tolleson was DFA’d. I personally don’t believe that was the right move, but hey, I’m no GM/Head Coach.
- The Curse – For some reason, the Jays have just never been able to find their footing at Tropicana Field. Friday’s game was an absolute blow out. Saturday’s game was kept close, but the Rays overtook the Blue Jays late in the game. Sunday’s game was a defensive mess with errors, passed balls, and messy throws everywhere. What is it about the Trop???
- Oh Canada – On Saturday, for the first time in MLB history, there were three Canadian position players on the field. Too bad they didn’t throw Jeff Francis into the game at some point!
Haley Strong 