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imissbeingyoung-blog · 13 years ago

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Déjà Vu

NOTE: This is based SOLELY on the last 2 games played (LAA-G4/4 & KCR-G1/4) Remember: There are 162 games in REGULAR SEASON, and the Jays are still at .500, so they have plenty of time! #BELIEVE This was written mainly because of the NBA draft and the current Raptors situation... I don't hate either team, but sometimes Brian Colangelo just doesn't make the greatest decisions to 'further our franchise' (Unless he acquires Steve Nash, then I take all negativity back.)

So... after last nights tragic game against the Kansas City Royals (the 3rd last team in the American League and 2nd last team in the ALC) I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu. For those who are unaware of the term, it's literal french to english translation means "already seen". Therefore, it is when someone has experienced a feeling of an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn't be familiar at all. Some scientists say that you get that feeling because your other self, in another dimension (ohhh), has already experienced that moment (ahhh).

However, for me, I don't think it's quite that complicated. The feeling was, "I have seen this before, I have seen a team that has potential, well... choke." Now I mean no disrespect to either team I am about to reference, but it needs to be said.

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors are seemingly becoming more alike in game play. How? You may ask. Well here is my list of why these two sports teams may be sharing more than just a city:

1. 1st Half Show, 2nd Half No Go: The biggest similarity is their ability to start off with a bang. I think many people would agree that Skip John Farrell made an excellent choice with moving the order to Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista and Encarnacion as clean up. They've been doing wonders with each player doing what they need, Lawrie - getting on base, Rasmus - moving Lawrie to scoring position, Bautista - going to work, Encarnacion - cleaning up. Just like the Raps, who almost always will put up a decent effort (at least keep it close) in the first half, sometimes even lead (yeah Miami, we lead you… for a minute or so…). But come half time, or in baseball terms, once the other team has put a run in, we sort of just… die. Slowly perishing, well quickly in baseball, with 1,2,3 outs. The opposition seems to figure out just how our team works, and fast. With the top of our order striking out, the middle of our order has no one to advance and can barely get on, or stay on base (Johnson, Escobar, Davis, Francisco/Lind), and the bottom of our order (who always looks good btw - yeah I'm looking at you JP) either striking out or homering a little late, we can't seem to hold our ground until the end of the game...

2. Franchise?: Now this is quite the controversial topic, at least in the baseball world. Every sports team usually has their 'franchise player', whether they admit to it or not. It simply goes down to - Who are the fans really there to see? Who puts up the big numbers? Who knows how to play their sport best? Which leads us to the burning question: Is there really a franchise player on the Toronto Blue Jays? In my opinion, if we had to pick just ONE, it would be Bautista. There is no doubt the man puts up numbers, I mean, 3x MLB All Star, only the second player to win it 2 years in a row (behind Alex Rodriguez who holds at 3 consecutive year wins). But enough about Jose, in pitching land people would choose Ricky Romero as our franchise player, $30M/5 year contract, NBD. But lately he's been having some control issues, even some wild pitches to the plate, something just isn't right. Now don't get me wrong, he is still a fabulous player, Romero knows himself - which helps both him and whoever he's throwing to (usually JP - because they're besties), but just lately he's been in a sort of slump. In last nights game he gave up 8 earned runs, and allowed a season high 11 hits… not to mention this is his first home game loss in almost a year.

Comparatively, Andrea Bargnani, our supposed franchise player is putting up some decent numbers, but still can't board for his life… Mr. Colangelo, if you read this - please stop signing soft Europeans who can't take a hit.

So in the end the similarities stand, are our 'franchise players' deserving of the name? In my opinion, yes. Again this blog is based on the last two games, and the recent signing of a certain player to a team who doesn't need another guard - thanks brian. Yes, Romero is in a slump right now, but look at his stats overall, his W-L is still quite good sitting at 11-6 in regular season play. Not to mention last night's game wasn't all bad, 1st inning he threw a first pitch strikeout to each batter.

3. Ow…: Yes, you had to be expecting this to show up, especially since I've been talking about our pitching staff for the Jays. Injuries. No one likes them, we'd rather not have them. But they exist. The Jays have had it worse than the Raptors past season (in terms of injuries at least) with three of their starters (Morrow, Hutchison, Drabek) out and put on the DL, one of them out indefinitely until next year at the earliest (Oh Mr. Drabek, we miss you…). So the team has had it rough, the bullpen with so many games being played, some starting pitchers who are back to try and hold their own as a starter (some succeeding, some not so much) even the other players know that they'll need to perform just a bit better (both defensively and offensively) to help out their pitching staff. You can't say that they haven't been doing well, doing their job to the best of their abilities during crunch time (see any catch made by Colby Rasmus in the last 2 games, not to mention his home runs adding up). Which is more than you can say about the Raptors at some points in time. When Bargs was out, our team hit a slump… well more than a slump, they were just losing.

But there is a light at the end of the dark and dreary tunnel. Brandon Morrow has already started some light throwing after being placed on the DL just under a month ago for an oblique strain. Brett Cecil has been cooling off many of the teams he's been pitching against and doing decently well in his innings pitched (avg. 5-6) allowing only 5HR in 3 games (2-1 W/L). Henderson Alvarez seems to have been picking up his slack from last month with a stellar game against the LAA on Saturday, no walks, three strikeouts, pitched 7 innings and allowed only one run on seven hits. Aaron Laffey may not have the best W-L record, but you have to look past those general stats. As a starter: IP- avg. 6, WHIP- 0.81, his game had definitely improved the last two starts he made. Lastly, we have a very young team who are driven and passionate about this sport and their team. The chemistry works between the players on and off the field.

If the Jays don't make the playoffs this year, you would be correct in saying that we have a shot in 2013, not just because it's a new year, but because they're a team who will remember 2012 and not bury it, but use it to fuel their determination. A truth that many broadcasters, skips, sports commentators have been saying is that the Blue Jays are a team that will come back and never give up, whether they're in a hole at the 7th and end up winning the game by the 9th or needing 16 innings and a walk-off home run to win the 2012 home opener (recommended watch!!) it's my belief that they're that team you know will give 110% until the end.

Cheers Kiddies.

☮&♥

#blue jays #jays #raptors #toronto sports #sports

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