#86 - New York Mets (33-49) at Toronto Blue Jays (40-45)

Wednesday, July 4, 2018 | 7:07 pm

Rogers Centre | Toronto, ON

Corey Oswalt (0-1, 9.82, 1.36) vs. Marcus Stroman (1-5, 6.02, 1.52)

PREAMBLE:

This is the second of a two-game series for the Blue Jays against the New York Mets, and the Jays are looking to complete the sweep and win the season series.

This could very well be the final time we ever see Jose Bautista in uniform, depending on how much longer he intends to play and how the interleague schedule unfolds in future seasons.  Game 1 was a mixed bag for Joey Bats - huge ovation prior to the game and during his first at-bat, then had a single and three walks in five plate appearances, but then helped the Jays get back into the game by committing a Bautistian error in letting Grichuk's ball go by him for a two-base error during the five-run inning that started the Jays comeback.

This would be a nice time for Marcus Stroman to turn in a boffo performance to take the load off the bullpen after yesterday's 12-pitch outing from Marco Estrada.  The Mets counter with Corey Oswalt (no relation to Roy) who will be making his second major-league start.

Also:  Jose Reyes is in tonight's lineup for the Mets.

#85 - New York Mets (33-48) at Toronto Blue Jays (39-45)

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 | 7:07 pm

Rogers Centre | Toronto, ON

Zack Wheeler (2-6, 4.47, 1.33) vs. Marco Estrada (4-7, 4.53, 1.30)

PREAMBLE:

Well... it's here.
You know.
Joey Bats.
He's back in town.

Jose Bautista returns to Rogers Centre for the first time as a visiting player as the New York Mets roll into Toronto for a two-game series.  After struggling as an Atlanta Brave, he moved on to the Mets and has made a solid impression thus far, slashing .250/.418/.476 (150 OPS+) with 3 HR as a Met.

The Blue Jays look to get back on track after losing the final two games of the Tigers series.  The Mets have been absolutely rotten since an 11-1 start to the season, but they've won their past two games and the Jays have often displayed a maddening tendency to play down to their opponents' level (knock it off, dipshits).

Jose Bautista, GOAT

As the season winds down and the Jays are mathematically eliminated, many writers have started to write tributes to Jose as it appears his time as a Jay is coming to an end with a whimper. Here's a collection of what's out there. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

State of the Franchise

Against my better judgement, in an early season moment of weakness, I suggested that I could contribute an article to the site.  Those of you who know me will realize that I shouldn't be doing this, as I have already sworn off all Jays related activities, including watching or listening to games, following along on Gameday, or even so much as checking in for scores.  However, I made a commitment, which I will now reluctantly keep.

Cel-le-brate-good-times...

Bautista's deal is official! Tim Raines is in the Hall of Fame! Happy days are here again.

If you missed it, here's no cramps13's latest poem:

THANKS JOEY BATS
- A Sonnet, Doggonit

T he joys that you give us will last and last
H ow about everyone tip their hats
A s we take a moment to praise the past
N ot many are better! Thanks Joey Bats!

K ing of the Home run two years in a row
S ilver Slugger thrice, an all-star six years
J ays all-time in walks, one seezin, you know.
O nce All star vote leader, let's hear those cheers

E ach angry home run a joy to behold
Y ou gave it to Texas, gave them a flip
B oy, that seventh inning ,glorious gold
A nd to hell with that oppossum dipship.

T he Jays fans are glad you are back in Blue
S o Thanks Joey Bats, and Welcome Back too!



Let's celebrate.

Waiting for Jose

Get it done already, Ross!

The stupid Bautista steroids accusation rises again

So over the weekend I'm on a website discussing the latest Pitch episode and I run across this:

MLB Power Rankings - First Half Edition

Is this all-star break over yet?? It's only been a few days and it already seems like an eternity...

This pretty much sums up the Jays first half:

Lots of ups and downs. But now things are up, way up. SI.com has our boys at #5 overall, behind the big 3 NL teams (Giants, Cubs, Nationals) and just below the shocking Clevelanders:

Other major publications (ESPN, TheScore, CBSSports) have the Jays around 6-8th, which with their current record seems fair enough (behind Baltimore and Texas), citing the health of Estrada and Bautista as areas of concern. But no team is hotter than our Blue Jays right now.

Warren alerted me last week to fivethirtyeight.com's rankings, which use the Elo rating system, which is explained rather simply here: 

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-our-2016-mlb-predictions-work/

It's a beauty site and the rankings make the Jays look like world beaters:

9% chance to win the World Series? So you're telling me there's a chance?

Yer damn right there's a chance.