Power Pros Forum

It's been a long while since Toronto has sent a baseball team to the playoffs. With Drake blowing up and putting Toronto on the map of pop culture, it's becoming a popular place. The Raptors have been on the climb in the NBA, and have a huge fan base which is growing with the team's success. The potential is there for the Blue Jays to do the same, if only they could crack into the playoffs to assert themselves. They came fairly close in 2014, ending the season 5 games back of the wild card. Entering 2015, the team is in a curious position. The lineup is riddled with stars who are in their prime, ready to make a playoff run, but also contains a few youngsters who are looking more towards the future. The pitching rotation and bullpen is where Toronto is likely to falter, and they must solidify their arms if they want to make a playoff push.

This strange blend of old and young players will have to find a way to mesh this season, and new GM Kilian Boland will be tasked with fitting the pieces of this puzzle together. He admits that this is a strange combination of players, and the roster appears to be caught in between a "win now" mindset with players like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle, and a build for the future mode with the 9th ranked minor league system and players on the 25 man roster like Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchison, Aaron Sanchez, Devin Travis, and Dalton Pompey. Boland's personal goals are to make the playoffs this year, and to begin to put together a roster to make a run at the World Series in the next 5 years.

April 6, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-0) @ New York Yankees(0-0)
Marcus Stroman(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Masahiro Tanaka(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



J. Bautista: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
M. Stroman: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

C. Headley: 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, R
M. Tanaka: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
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April 8, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-1) @ New York Yankees(1-0)
Aaron Sanchez(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



D. Travis: 3-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB
A. Sanchez: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

B. McCann: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
M. Pineda: 5 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
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April 9, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-2) @ New York Yankees(2-0)
Drew Hutchison(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



R. Martin: 2-3, BB
D. Hutchison: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

S. Heathcott: 2-3, HR, RBI, 2 R
N. Eovaldi: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
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Well.... It was a poor first showing for us, as we couldn't muster a win in our first series, falling in a 3 game sweep to the Yankees. We struggled pretty much everywhere at some point in this series, which isn't exactly a promising sign. We've got 3 games in Baltimore up next to try to turn our ship around.

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April 10, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-3) @ Baltimore Orioles(2-1)
Mark Buehrle(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Bud Norris(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



J. Reyes: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
M. Buehrle: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

S. Pearce: 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI
B. Norris: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
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April 11, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-4) @ Baltimore Orioles(3-1)
R.A. Dickey(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Miguel Gonzalez(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



J. Reyes: 3-4, R, BB
R. Dickey: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

C. Davis: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
M. Gonzalez: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
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April 12, 2015: Toronto Blue Jays(0-5) @ Baltimore Orioles(4-1)
Marcus Stroman(0-1, 7.94 ERA) vs. Wei-Yin Chen(0-1, 7.71 ERA)



K. Pillar: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
M. Stroman: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

M. Machado: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
M. Gonzalez: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
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Marcus Stroman is being hailed as the Savior of the 6, leading us to our first win of the year against the Orioles and avoiding another sweep. We were able to stay competitive in the first two games, but we couldn't slow Baltimore's offense enough to keep a lead. Stroman was finally able to stop the Orioles' offense in game 3, and led us to victory. Hopefully this can give us some momentum going forward. We play our home opener tomorrow, kicking off a 4 games series against Tampa Bay who is also 1-5. We were hit with our first injury of the year, as our LF Michael Saunders will miss 4 weeks with a fractured thumb. Kevin Pillar has been called up to fill in, and excelled in his first game, going 2-3 in our win against the Orioles.

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April 13, 2015: Tampa Bay Rays(1-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(1-5)
Nate Karns(0-1, 10.38 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez(0-0, 9.82 ERA)



E. Longoria: 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
N. Karns: 8.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

D. Pompey: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R
A. Sanchez: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
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April 14, 2015: Tampa Bay Rays(2-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(1-6)
Erasmo Ramirez(0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Drew Hutchison(0-1, 2.57 ERA)



K. Kiermaier: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R
E. Ramirez: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

J. Bautista: 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
D. Hutchison: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
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April 15, 2015: Tampa Bay Rays(2-6) @ Toronto Blue Jays(2-6)
Matt Andriese(0-1, 6.23 ERA) vs. Mark Buehrle(0-0, 12.27 ERA)



J. Loney: 2-4, RBI
M. Andriese: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

D. Navarro: 2-2, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
M. Buehrle: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
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April 16, 2015: Tampa Bay Rays(2-7) @ Toronto Blue Jays(3-6)
Chris Archer(1-1, 3.21 ERA) vs. Liam Hendriks(0-1, 9.00 ERA)



K. Kiermaier: 2-2, 3B
C. Archer: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

J. Reyes: 2-4, 2 R, BB
L. Hendriks: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
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It was a far cry from a great series for us, but we managed to respectably split it at 2 games a piece. The two games we lost were both close too, so we can take consolation in that. Our starting pitching did quite well against Tampa Bay, with all four starters turning in a quality start. Our bullpen was a different story though. Jose Bautista has been mashing the ball, leading the AL in homers with 4, but is batting just .205. Edwin Encarnacion has officially gone cold, and is hitting only .105 with 0 HR. Jose Reyes has been a polar opposite of that, hitting .463 and starting the season with a hit in each of our first 10 games. Up next, we've got our first interleague series of the year, as we play host to the Braves for 3 games.

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when u nut but she keeps sucking

When LGM makes dirty memes in your log

April 17, 2015: Atlanta Braves(5-4) @ Toronto Blue Jays(3-7)
Cody Martin(0-1, 12.27 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman(1-1, 4.26 ERA)



A. Callaspo: 2-4
C. Martin: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

J. Donaldson: 2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, R
M. Stroman: 8.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
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April 18, 2015: Atlanta Braves(5-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(4-7)
Alex Wood(0-1, 1.93 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez(0-1, 4.22 ERA)



J. Gomes: 1-5, HR, 3 RBI, R
A. Wood: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

J. Bautista: 3-4, 2 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
A. Sanchez: 7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
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April 19, 2015: Atlanta Braves(6-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(4-8)
Julio Teheran(1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Drew Hutchison(1-1, 3.46 ERA)



E. Young Jr.: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
J. Teheran: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

D. Pompey: 4-4, 2B, RBI, R
D. Hutchison: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
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We did a good job taking 2 out of 3 from the Braves and defending our home turf. Josh Donaldson had a great series against Atlanta, homering in each game and raising his batting average from .103 to .154. Hopefully we seem him continue this improvement! Jose Reyes' hitting streak was snapped at 11 games after he went hitless in the last 2 games against the Braves. In an effort to bolster our pitching staff, we signed RP Evan Reed(62/63) from free agency for 1 year, $750,000 and claimed SP Tim Lincecum(56/56) off of waivers from the Giants. Lincecum will take the spot of R.A. Dickey in the rotation, who struggled mightily in his first few appearances. In our next series, we play host to the division leading Baltimore Orioles, who are now 9-4.

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that would be my reaction upon realizing my career was over too
nice

April 21, 2015: Baltimore Orioles(9-4) @ Toronto Blue Jays(5-8)
Bud Norris(1-0, 13.50 ERA) vs. Tim Lincecum(0-0, 0.00 ERA)



M. Machado: 4-6, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
B. Norris: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

J. Bautista: 2-3, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 BB
T. Lincecum: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
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April 22, 2015: Baltimore Orioles(9-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(6-8)
Wei-Yin Chen(0-2, 6.59 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman(2-1, 3.86 ERA)



D. Young: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R
W. Chen: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

J. Reyes: 3-4, R,
M. Stroman: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
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April 23, 2015: Baltimore Orioles(10-5) @ Toronto Blue Jays(6-9)
Kevin Gausman(2-0, 3.15 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez(0-1, 4.08 ERA)



A. Jones: 3-6, 2B, R, BB
K. Gausman: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

D. Pompey: 2-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI
A. Sanchez: 6 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
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After taking game 1 in extra innings, we couldn't keep the momentum going and ended up losing game 2 and 3 to the Orioles. We went 5-5 in that home stand, which isn't terrible, but certainly could have been better. We've now got 10 straight on the road, starting with a 3 game series in Tampa Bay. The Rays sit at 8-8, but their record may be a bit deceptive, as they are currently on a 5 game winning streak.

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