Game 159 - New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays, September 30, 7:07pm

[Schad]

Now you're just being ridiculous.

Ever since MLB expanded the postseason from 4 teams to 5 teams, the 2 American league wild cards have featured teams from every division. Based on how you like to discredit the 2 other divisions outside of the AL East, because teams from those other divisions have such such easier schedules, the 2 wild cards would never come from the AL East.

That's not how that works, no. The AL East teams absolutely have a more difficult time of it; they have also been better, and even with the absurdity of baseball's unbalanced schedule, that has often allowed them to overcome that impediment. But there is zero doubt that the AL East teams begin almost every season at a pronounced disadvantage relative to the rest of the American League.

[Asianiac_24]

At this point, I would trade missing the WC spot for firing Montoyo next year. The number of stupid stuff he does on the daily basis:

1. Starting Lamb/Dyson/McGuire a week and a half away in a tight race
2. Starting McGuire in any game when you have Kirk and Jansen
3. Pinch hitting Valera yesterday for Grichuk when you have Gurriel Jr, Jansen, and Grichuk himself.

Not to mention all the previous mistakes he has made that cost us games. Even in the AL East, the Jays by every advanced metric is better than the Yankees/Red Sox, and almost on par with TB. There’s no reason the Jays should be missing the playoffs. Even if we resign Semien and Ray, it’s unlikely we will get a 44 HR/100 rbi season from Semien and a Cy Young season from Ray again.

[Mehar]

At this point, I would trade missing the WC spot for firing Montoyo next year. The number of stupid stuff he does on the daily basis:

1. Starting Lamb/Dyson/McGuire a week and a half away in a tight race
2. Starting McGuire in any game when you have Kirk and Jansen
3. Pinch hitting Valera yesterday for Grichuk when you have Gurriel Jr, Jansen, and Grichuk himself.

Not to mention all the previous mistakes he has made that cost us games. Even in the AL East, the Jays by every advanced metric is better than the Yankees/Red Sox, and almost on par with TB. There’s no reason the Jays should be missing the playoffs. Even if we resign Semien and Ray, it’s unlikely we will get a 44 HR/100 rbi season from Semien and a Cy Young season from Ray again.

Starting Lamb, who was then DFA the next day (LOL). Both Dyson and McGuire, who would have trouble hitting beachballs right now, were inserted because they are left-handed hitters, with less than two weeks to go in the season in a critical game in Tampa. Still shake my head at the lineup this man put up against the Rays.

Unfortunately, I think he will be back regardless if the Jays miss the playoffs. If we had a decent, and not even a great manager with a track record of Sparky Anderson, and this team would have already clinched a post-season birth.

We would have been resting our key players right now. I never understood what Mark Shapiro seen in Montoyo. Never understood some other moves he made as well. All I got to say is Congratulations to Alex Anthopoulos for his fourth straight NL East title as the GM and President of the Atlanta Braves. We can thank him for Vlad Jr. as well. Wish he had never left, due to the excellent job he has done with the Braves. He would have never hired a clown like Montoyo to manage this franchise.

[Schad]

We would have been resting our key players right now. I never understood what Mark Shapiro seen in Montoyo. Never understood some other moves he made as well. All I got to say is Congratulations to Alex Anthopoulos for his fourth straight NL East title as the GM and President of the Atlanta Braves. We can thank him for Vlad Jr. as well. Wish he had never left, due to the excellent job he has done with the Braves. He would have never hired a clown like Montoyo to manage this franchise.

We have a better record than the Braves, who play in the worst division in baseball. It's kinda hard to praise AA for their performance in 2021 while damning our current management. Even with the Montoyo handicap, this Jays team probably approaches 100 wins in the NL East.

[Randle McMurphy]

The lineup they put out for the 3rd game against the Rays last week was an embarrassment and wouldn't have happened on any other team in baseball in our position. But then again, we have a manager unlike anybody else's in baseball.

[Mehar]

We would have been resting our key players right now. I never understood what Mark Shapiro seen in Montoyo. Never understood some other moves he made as well. All I got to say is Congratulations to Alex Anthopoulos for his fourth straight NL East title as the GM and President of the Atlanta Braves. We can thank him for Vlad Jr. as well. Wish he had never left, due to the excellent job he has done with the Braves. He would have never hired a clown like Montoyo to manage this franchise.

We have a better record than the Braves, who play in the worst division in baseball. It's kinda hard to praise AA for their performance in 2021 while damning our current management. Even with the Montoyo handicap, this Jays team probably approaches 100 wins in the NL East.

I agree with your points. However, it was my frustration showing in the post. This team would be a different story in the NL East, and if we had a competent manager- we would be resting up for the playoffs right now.

My frustration on how they got a CY Young year out of Robbie Ray for 8 Million, and an All Star season out of Semien for 18 million, along with the Run Differential this team had will be all for not. 29 other managers would not have had Lamb, Dyson, and McGuire starting with less than two weeks to go in Tampa, along with the other foolish moves this man has made.

People are saying this team is young and inexperienced, but I doubt if we can repeat this season next year if we lose out on Ray and Semien. I read the Yankees and Red Sox will throw big money at both guys. What a lost opportunity this year.

[Schad]

My frustration on how they got a CY Young year out of Robbie Ray for 8 Million, and an All Star season out of Semien for 18 million, along with the Run Differential this team had will be all for not. 29 other managers would not have had Lamb, Dyson, and McGuire starting with less than two weeks to go in Tampa, along with the other foolish moves this man has made.

Oh, no doubt. But it's hard to get mad at management for the fact that those two guys, who they signed, produced 10.5 fWAR for $26m. We were in a position to compete in an unbelievably difficult environment because, despite some flops in the bullpen and Springer's injuries, they still probably had the best offseason of any management team in baseball.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

We would have been resting our key players right now. I never understood what Mark Shapiro seen in Montoyo. Never understood some other moves he made as well. All I got to say is Congratulations to Alex Anthopoulos for his fourth straight NL East title as the GM and President of the Atlanta Braves. We can thank him for Vlad Jr. as well. Wish he had never left, due to the excellent job he has done with the Braves. He would have never hired a clown like Montoyo to manage this franchise.

We have a better record than the Braves, who play in the worst division in baseball. It's kinda hard to praise AA for their performance in 2021 while damning our current management. Even with the Montoyo handicap, this Jays team probably approaches 100 wins in the NL East.

AA just walked into a good situation. the job he's done is kinda poor all things considered he was given a silver platter to begin with.

[Schad]

AA just walked into a good situation. the job he's done is kinda poor all things considered he was given a silver platter to begin with.

AA's a solid GM overall. Was always going to be difficult to repeat his early success in stockpiling talent, because that came via him ruthlessly farming draft picks by exploiting the compensation system to such a hilarious degree that MLB changed the rules to stop him. He was handed a great situation in Atlanta, and while he hasn't had any home run moves to point to, he also hasn't screwed much up (except the Ozuna contract, which is bruuuuuuuutal).

[VanWest82]

Question for you guys on the McGuire stuff: is it possible that Berrios had a hand in that? Seems like they were maybe lining those guys up together. We've certainly seen this kind of thing before where a pitcher and catcher find something together. How do you balance Berrios's confidence and his upcoming FA after next season with pissing him off to try and squeeze out a few extra hits?

I should add that I really don't follow it closely enough to know this was the reason just that from the outside looking in it might have been a factor.

[Mehar]

Question for you guys on the McGuire stuff: is it possible that Berrios had a hand in that? Seems like they were maybe lining those guys up together. We've certainly seen this kind of thing before where a pitcher and catcher find something together. How do you balance Berrios's confidence and his upcoming FA after next season with pissing him off to try and squeeze out a few extra hits?

I should add that I really don't follow it closely enough to know this was the reason just that from the outside looking in it might have been a factor.

McGuire has been in the lineup even when Berrios has not been starting, including in the game where Dyson and Lamb were starting as well in Tampa. Your third catcher should not be starting or getting key at bats, in any games down the stretch. It should not matter that he is a left-handed bat or not, which Montoyo has mentioned to reporters this season.

[s e n s i]

Question for you guys on the McGuire stuff: is it possible that Berrios had a hand in that? Seems like they were maybe lining those guys up together. We've certainly seen this kind of thing before where a pitcher and catcher find something together. How do you balance Berrios's confidence and his upcoming FA after next season with pissing him off to try and squeeze out a few extra hits?

I should add that I really don't follow it closely enough to know this was the reason just that from the outside looking in it might have been a factor.

from what i've read, yes that was the reason. but when you're in a race and you have definitively better options offensively, then you simply don't start reese mcguire.

[Hottie McShotty]

Who wants to do the final series?

[s e n s i]

Question for you guys on the McGuire stuff: is it possible that Berrios had a hand in that? Seems like they were maybe lining those guys up together. We've certainly seen this kind of thing before where a pitcher and catcher find something together. How do you balance Berrios's confidence and his upcoming FA after next season with pissing him off to try and squeeze out a few extra hits?

I should add that I really don't follow it closely enough to know this was the reason just that from the outside looking in it might have been a factor.

from what i've read, yes that was the reason. but when you're in a race and you have definitively better options offensively, then you simply don't start reese mcguire.

i mean what i meant to say was: the analytics department concluded that reese was our best option that night and pencilled him into the lineup before handing the lineup card to charlie in the bowels of the rogers centre.

[Death Knight]

Now you're just being ridiculous.

Ever since MLB expanded the postseason from 4 teams to 5 teams, the 2 American league wild cards have featured teams from every division. Based on how you like to discredit the 2 other divisions outside of the AL East, because teams from those other divisions have such such easier schedules, the 2 wild cards would never come from the AL East.

That's not how that works, no. The AL East teams absolutely have a more difficult time of it; they have also been better, and even with the absurdity of baseball's unbalanced schedule, that has often allowed them to overcome that impediment. But there is zero doubt that the AL East teams begin almost every season at a pronounced disadvantage relative to the rest of the American League.

We already went through this when I said we all acknowledge that the AL East is more difficult than the 2 other American League divisions, and that it's the reality of the situation, and it's not going to change unless there are expansions or relocations.

If you're going to discredit every single time a non AL East team makes the postseason, you're in for eternity. Every season there are going to be 2 other division winners besides the AL East whether you like it or not, and 2 wild card teams that can go to anyone else remaining. You're discrediting the Astros, and White Sox this season along with the Mariners if they were to make it in. Have fun complaining about other teams from other divisions having easier schedule every single year for life and that they don't deserve anything ever.

[Schad]

We already went through this when I said we all acknowledge that the AL East is more difficult than the 2 other American League divisions, and that it's the reality of the situation, and it's not going to change unless there are expansions or relocations.

If you're going to discredit every single time a non AL East team makes the postseason, you're in for eternity. Every season there are going to be 2 other division winners besides the AL East whether you like it or not, and 2 wild card teams that can go to anyone else remaining. You're discrediting the Astros, and White Sox this season along with the Mariners if they were to make it in. Have fun complaining about other teams from other divisions having easier schedule every single year for life and that they don't deserve anything ever.

No, I'm just discrediting the Mariners. The Astros are actually good. The White Sox are good enough. The Mariners are not good. They are very lucky.

[s e n s i]

Red Sox and Jays don't deserve to make the postseason. I'm big on being deserving and not deserving of things. Mariners deserve it. Red Sox and Jays don't.

well, now that the mariners are out of a playoff spot (with the same record as the jays) after losing to the angels, i guess they no longer deserve to make the playoffs. that's how this works right??

[The_Hater]

Red Sox and Jays don't deserve to make the postseason. I'm big on being deserving and not deserving of things. Mariners deserve it. Red Sox and Jays don't.

well, now that the mariners are out of a playoff spot (with the same record as the jays) after losing to the angels, i guess they no longer deserve to make the playoffs. that's how this works right??

As soon as he claimed the Mariners deserve to be in the post season with their -48 run differential, he completely lost me. The Mariners are a bad baseball team that has had extraordinary luck this season. I haven’t seen a less deserving post season team in quite a few years.

[SharoneWright]

Red Sox and Jays don't deserve to make the postseason. I'm big on being deserving and not deserving of things. Mariners deserve it. Red Sox and Jays don't.

well, now that the mariners are out of a playoff spot (with the same record as the jays) after losing to the angels, i guess they no longer deserve to make the playoffs. that's how this works right??

As soon as he claimed the Mariners deserve to be in the post season with their -48 run differential, he completely lost me. The Mariners are a bad baseball team that has had extraordinary luck this season. I haven’t seen a less deserving post season team in quite a few years.

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[Death Knight]

It's hard to be lucky in an entire 162 games as opposed to other sports that play much fewer games.

You guys worry too much about how the Mariners are doing it.