“For a fortnight there, we were forever.”
Loathe as I am to quote Taylor Swift in my return to writing about the Toronto Blue Jays, she has a point.
The next 14 days will determine the course of the remainder of this surprisingly successful season.
For starters, there’s the potentially grueling schedule. In those 14 days I mentioned, the Jays play 14 games in 13 days. The final day, July 31st, is the trade deadline.
That’s a tough task to begin with, even if they should be rested coming out of the All-Star break. But they’ll need to play better than the end of the road trip going into the mid-summer classic that saw them lose three of their final four games to the two worst teams in the American League. The upcoming opponents are much tougher than the White Sox and Athletics.
It starts with a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants, who sent starting pitchers Robbie Ray and Logan Webb to the All-Star game. At 52-45, the Giants currently sit a half game out of the final wild card spot in the National League, but bring with them noted Blue Jays nemesis Rafael Devers.
After that three game weekend slate, the Jays welcome back the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers, who enter the second half two games behind the Jays for top spot in the AL East, will have revenge on their minds after the four game sweep at Rogers Centre earlier this month.
It would behoove the Jays to have a successful home stand. When they hit the road again, they’ll stop in Detroit for a four game series against the best team in baseball, and then off to Baltimore for a grueling four-games-in-48-hours stretch before an off-day that coincides with the trade deadline. Sure, the Orioles are nowhere close to where they’ve hoped to be this year but have played the Blue Jays tough even in their down years. However, they could be in the middle of selling off assets during that series. The Jays must take advantage.
How the Blue Jays play during these 14 games will influence how aggressive general manager Ross Atkins chooses to be at the deadline. If they continue to win and hold top spot in the division, it should further entrench the idea of an “all-in” deadline. Atkins should strive to be one of the biggest players at the table and push hard for a chance to win the division.
If the club struggles in the next two weeks, it may give the front office some pause. Was the 10-game winning streak a mirage and the team isn’t nearly that good? It could be a sign reinforcements are necessary simply to stay afloat in the playoff race, but a bit more practically might be the best course of action. In this scenario, they would try to improve the team’s standing this year, but keep an eye towards next season and beyond.
For this fortnight, we will be forever wondering just how good this Blue Jays season can be.
Jays Balk 