Riding The Tide

image via nytimes

Last year was a magical season for the Toronto Blue Jays, but this year is a reminder to never believe in magic. As good as last year was, this year has been equally as terrible. Vladdy's struggles have been at the forefront, but the entire team with exceptions from some of the pitching staff, has been terrible.

Perhaps it is just a hangover from the success of last season, but it is difficult to explain why this team has been so bad this year. Everything that made the team successful last season has fallen off the rails, and Vladdy is unfortunately the poster boy of failure. Never have I seen a star player on any team play this poorly during a season and I have been a sports fan for over thirsty years. He has been awful and there is no way to sugar coat it.

The start of the season was not so bad for him. He was not hitting for power, but he was still hitting close to .300 and making solid contact. That all changed after a couple of months. He has arguably been the worst starting player in baseball with only perhaps Cal Raleigh playing worse. Vladdy is on pace for less than 15 home runs, less than 70 rbis and the list goes on an on. His defence has still been good, but that is not nearly enough to cover up all the shortcomings he has had this year. So, what happened to Vladdy? I used injuries as an excuse for the longest time, but he seems to be totally healthy now so something must be up with him mentally. He is not happy with all this losing and him playing awful and it has taken a toll on him. If I were Schneider I would have sat him down weeks if not months ago for a week or so and have him clear his head. It is too late now to salvage his season, but maybe he can get hot and carry his team to a wild card? Not likely, but who knows?

Speaking of the wild card, it is is pretty wild that the Jays are still in that hunt. The American League has been almost as bad as the Blue Jays and there is actually a chance the Jays squeeze into the playoffs. First things first though, they need to play better. The acquistions management made at the trade deadline show me that they are not writing off this season or the next, so anything is possible. Soriano is a big time add and the fringe moves they made will also help. Losing Varsho and Gausman obviously hurts, but Varsho has not showed anything this year and Gausman was a diminishing asset. Hoffman despite all his scrutiny was having a decent season and the haul they got for him from the Twins was really good. A good job alll in all in selling off assets and retooling the team from the bottom up. Good job Atkins! Despite how bad this season has been the atmosphere at Jays games has been remarkable. This is cliché but Toronto has the best fans in the world. I have been lucky enough to go to a few games this year and even when the team is down in the dumps the crowd is loud and rocking and looking for a reason to cheer. It is very nice to see and the passion for a winner remains real and hopefully the Jays bounce back next year if there is a season.