The Blue Jays’ quick exit has been the subject of all sorts of incredible analysis.
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• Also read: Blue Jays : A decision by John Schneider was heavily criticized
Almost philosophical analysis to explain why the team was still bad in the playoffs.
Many journalists and fans blame manager John Schneider.
For what ? He removed starter José Berrios after three innings to bring in left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Berrios pitched pretty well and Kikuchi wasn’t good. Result: The Twins scored two runs and the Jays tied the game. The game ended 2-0.
Schneider used the advanced statistics and concluded that his team had a better chance of winning by switching Berrios at that exact moment.
The manager is being criticized because it is said he should have used “his eyes” and not statistics to make this decision and followed his instincts because Berrios was solid and should not be replaced.
Because of the advanced statistics?
Media headlines claim that the Blue Jays are putting their season in the hands of advanced statistics, algorithms and math, like Moneyball. And they paid the price.
I argued about this with my friend and colleague Rodger Brulotte on Thursday morning. And maybe I’m the only one who thinks that way. But I don’t agree.
Surely he could have left José Berrios. And this change seems bad in retrospect.
But do you think Schneider made this decision on his own? He is surrounded by several great baseball minds, including Don Mattingly. Do you think Schneider would have changed Berrios if Mattingly had told him to forget it? Blue Jays pitching instructor Peter Walker is considered one of the best in the world at his job. Do you think he disagreed?
Schneider knew very well that it would be a nightmare if this decision did not go in his team’s favor. That said, he wasn’t entirely convinced it was the right thing to do. He knew that Berrios had that percentage chance of continuing to dominate after two attacks, and that Kikuchi had that percentage chance of being effective before he brought in the other substitutes. Based on the predictions, it must have been pretty clear that this was the best decision.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that, even though Berrios had an excellent second half of the season, he’s had a rather poor run for the past two years. Kikuchi has been solid this year after a terrible year.
And the worst part is that the Jays wouldn’t have won after nine innings if Berrios had stayed in the game and been the best pitcher in history. It would have been 0-0.
You don’t have to look that far
That’s my point. We can make all sorts of excuses, fire management, check the meaning of advanced stats, trade lots of players, or say goodbye to Schneider (which could happen). The reality is that we shouldn’t look far to explain defeat.
They have one point in two games. It’s terrible.
Brandon Belt is 0 for 8, Cavan Biggio is 1 for 8, George Springer is 2 for 9, Vlad Jr. is 1 for 7, Matt Chapman is 1 for 7. It’s embarrassing.
The team has only scored more than one goal in two games. It was a double followed by two strikeouts. It’s terrible.
The team was eliminated 19 times in two games. It’s way too much.
That doesn’t mean the team is bad. But that means the team was very poor offensively in those two games, period. Nothing has changed in the choice of launchers.
The team has been inconsistent and unpredictable all year. It was the same in the series.
It’s boring, but that’s baseball. The inconsistency will eventually catch up with you. They were lucky to be in the playoffs, but like golf, the handicap always catches up with you.
The Jays weren’t good enough to advance this year. But it’s all about experience, and the window is still wide open next year.