TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have suddenly decided to bring the game to their opponents’ doorstep, pivoting to a more aggressive style of play for the stretch run.
There’s been nothing subtle about this. From the moment John Schneider was named interim manager, the Blue Jays began embracing this identity, pushing for extra bases every chance they get. This should be part of the club’s long-term success, and in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the Cardinals at Rogers Centre, the two sides of this were evident.
In the first inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled, but was then thrown out at third base to end the inning after trying to tag up on a fly ball to right fielder Lars Nootbaar. Guerrero beat the throw and would have been safe if he didn't pop off the bag. A few innings later, though, Guerrero surprised everyone in the stadium and stole his first base of the season, setting up an RBI single by Bo Bichette.
Aggression means risk, so this is about finding more highs than lows and trusting in the aggression itself, even when results don’t immediately follow.
“I think tagging up from second to third there [in the first], already in scoring position with Bo coming up, we talked about that a little bit,” Schneider said. “He was safe, then slipped off the base. But running on a 3-2 count [in the fourth], we’re banking on [Alejandro] Kirk putting it in play there. The worst case was going to be a slow curveball and he can beat the throw. That ended up being our only run, so it’s definitely what we’re trying to do.”
We’re talking about aggression, though, not perfection. This recent stretch, including the seven-game winning streak that ended Wednesday night, has seen the Blue Jays come out on the right end of some bold decisions. There will be times it backfires, like Guerrero’s decision to tag up, but the hope is that Toronto comes out well in the positive over the rest of the season.
Prior to the game, Schneider made it clear that this was intentional. It has been all along. The entire strategy is aimed at getting opposing pitchers on the ropes, too. Schneider and the Blue Jays believe that they are particularly dangerous -- more so than most clubs -- when they get runners on base.
“It’s about damage potential when they’re taking free bases with walks like they did last night,” Schneider said. “It puts extra pressure on the pitcher no matter who you are, to get in the box a bit more. With the types of hitters that they are, when guys are in the zone, they can do some damage.”
This is meant to be contagious, too.
There’s almost a level of permission involved, which begins with Schneider and the coaching staff. If a player makes a good, sensible, aggressive play on the bases but is thrown out on a close play, that’s fine. Bad decisions will still be treated as such, but the Blue Jays want to see this snowball into something from the entire roster.
“It’s an obvious message that was given to them,” Schneider said. “We talk about it a lot. We talked about it yesterday in our advance [meeting], about what we did in Boston. You have to be smart, but you have to be aggressive. Like Teoscar [Hernández yesterday], seeing the ball get bobbled and going. [Lourdes] Gurriel, if I watched the video correctly, never put his head down, saw Teo go and said, ‘OK, I’m going for it.’ He was just out. It’s like Bo hitting the double and forcing the issue. That’s the stuff we like.”
The fit is there athletically, too.
A primary focus for Toronto's front office over the past five years has been athleticism. This doesn’t mean having Rickey Henderson at all three outfield spots, but instead a more across-the-board approach.
Look at George Springer, Bichette, Hernández, Cavan Biggio or Raimel Tapia. These aren’t traditional burners, but all are more than capable of stealing a base or turning an in-between single into a double. Outside of Kirk and Danny Jansen, catchers who get a free pass, the lineup doesn’t have a hitter who clogs up the bases.
These moments will continue to be magnified, especially if the face of the franchise is the one racing for the extra base. The Blue Jays have made a clear decision to dictate the tone of games, though, betting that the highs will make you forget the lows.