Take Me Out To The Blue Jays Game

Post by: Jake Kamin

It seems as if Charlie Montoyo has not just been instrumental with a rebuild, but essential to the culture reset. With Montoyo being the Blue Jays first Spanish-speaking manager, he has enticed many Spanish-speaking players onto the roster, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Freddy Galvis as part of the infield. Many people believe Vladdy Guerrero Jr. will help Toronto’s cause as he would be a huge asset and contribute well to the “culture reset”.

By rearranging the roster, the Jays have welcomed a more multi-cultural team. Players like Galvis, Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and Elvis Luciano show the organization is clearly working with the development of Spanish-speaking players, given Montoyo’s role as manager. Certainly shuffling the team is a test for Montoyo and his colleagues. Given the little experience Montoyo has as MLB manager, and that the Jays roster is very young and inexperienced itself, the team faces a lot of challenges.

Certainly, the addition of all these players isn’t translating well to the interest of the fans, specifically, the attendance level at the dome is less than impressive. The Blue Jays are not showing much for the fans. With an average of 10,000 fans filling the seats of Rogers Centre, it is a less than impressive crowd for Toronto. With strong AL East competitors that the Blue Jays are surrounded by such as the Yankees and Red Sox, the Blue Jays might as well rule out this season for any success. A rebuild takes a long time. No doubt, but hopefully, with manager, Charlie Montoyo, he will eventually manage a team that will be intriguing and exciting for the fans.

The energy of Jays home games this season is certainly off. When you walk into Rogers Centre you see far more empty seats than filled ones. The energy is different than when we were competing for a playoff spot. It is unusually vacant and quiet.

Yet, some people working at the dome decided to provide their own entertainment. Vendors are entertaining and lively, and now they are offering the elusive white wine as a ballpark feature.

And usually when the message on the videoboard says to “make some noise”, the crowd makes some attempts and it becomes almost like a concert-like vibe. Yet, fans were simply not enthused enough and the “get loud” music certainly superseded the crowd:

Blue Jays fans are going to have to be patient in order to see some tangible success from the Jays. When we do start winning again, expect to see many ‘bandwagoners’. Until then, though, expect to have many conversations like these with your friends about the Toronto Blue Jays for who knows how long:

Post by: Tyler Therien

The Toronto Blue Jays have seen better days. On Monday, April 1, in a series opener at home against the Baltimore Orioles, the team surrendered five runs in the first two innings (no April Fooling) While they managed to rally back later in the game – after Orioles manager Brandon Hyde pulled pitcher David Hess, who was pitching a no-hitter into the 7th inning – the final score was 6-5 for the O’s. Quite a comeback but too little, too late.

The Jays traded another one of their franchise players following the game. Kevin Pillar was moved to the San Francisco Giants for infielder Alan Hansen, as well as Juan De Paula and Derek Law, two relief pitchers. This, coupled with the recent departure of Kendrys Morales, should give Jays fans an uncertain sense as to who will remain on the team come the July 31st trade deadline. Already being discussed is the likelihood of Justin Smoak being traded.

The Jays won one of the three games at home against Baltimore. They split the opening series against the Detroit Tigers, two games a piece. As of today, they are down three games to zero to the Cleveland Indians, with game four being today and the present score 3-0 for Cleveland, with the Indians at bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Today’s lineup features starters that many Jays fans have yet to see play. With Justin Smoak sitting, Rowdy Tellez is starting at first base. The newly acquired Alen Hansen is starting at second (over Lourdes Gurriel Jr.). Richard Urena, who played some 2B and SS last year for the club, is starting at third base over Brandon Drury. Finally, Teoscar Hernandez is slotted at DH, which opens up room for the Jays to start Socrates Brito at right field.

Post by: Jake Kamin

Up until this point, the Blue Jays had got rid of their rust and have shown some improvements since Opening Day. After a lousy first game, the Blue Jays came back with two remarkable wins and hope to finish the game on a good note and the series as well. There is a game currently underway and at the time of this post, the Blue Jays are tied 0-0 in the finale of the Opening Weekend against the Detroit Tigers.

It seems like the new group of guys are starting to create some chemistry and their new manager, Charlie Montoyo, seems to have what it takes (at least that’s what he makes us believe)

Montoyo has a couple wins under his belt, but is competing with some more experienced Major league mangers like Alex Cora of the Red Sox, Aaron Boone of the Yankees, as some notable names.

Tyler and I will provide you with an update when the Blue Jays welcome Baltimore into town for a new series, beginning tomorrow night (April 1). We will try to get in an audio interview or capture some very riveting stadium sounds and other atmospheric noises that is sure to intrigue you while watching the game at Rogers Centre.

I’m signing off, but next post will sure to try and capture the attention of our intended audience being sports fanatics as well as Toronto Blue Jays aficionados.

Thanks for reading and please help us out by subscribing to our WordPress page!!

Authors: Tyler Therien & Jake Kamin

Post by: Tyler Therien

Today (March 28, 2019) marks the beginning of the 2019 MLB season. There are several games on the docket throughout the league, including the Baltimore Orioles @ New York Yankees starting at 1:07 p.m. (EST).

At 3:37 p.m., the Toronto Blue Jays will take on the Detroit Tigers in Toronto’s home opener. Blue Jays pitcher, Marcus Stroman, will be the hometown starter. Jordan Zimmerman will take the mound for the visiting Tigers.

The 2019 season is year two in GM Ross Atkins’ rebuild mode for the Blue Jays. The team had its worst regular season record since 2004 and were two years distanced from their playoff success of 2016. The new Blue Jays manager, Charlie Montoyo, will look to build upon Atkins’ and Shapiro’s vision of transforming the team and rebuild their team.

This will also mark the first year without Josh Donaldson or Troy Tulowitzki on the Blue Jays roster since the Blue Jays’ triumphs in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, if you’re excited to see Yangervis Solarte or Aledmys Diaz continue their success from a year ago, they are no longer playing for the team; respectively playing for the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros.

There is no starting lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays at the moment, but it is fair to speculate that it will look something like this. For today’s game:

C Danny Jansen
1B Justin Smoak
2B Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
3B Brandon Drury
SS Freddy Galvis (acquired in the off-season)
OF Randal Grichuk
OF Kevin Pillar
OF Teoscar Hernandez
DH Rowdy Tellez

Yesterday, DH Kendrys Morales was traded to the Oakland Athletics for minor-leaguer Jesus Lopez. Morales was the designated hitter for the Blue Jays in 2017 and 2018. Another reason to believe a rebuild is imminent.

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays are invited to follow this blog as the season progresses. Any announcements made prior to today’s game will be announced on this post.

Enjoy the show.

All text, photography and audio courtesy of Jake Kamin and Tyler Therien, unless otherwise noted.