Donaldson, Price named AL players of the week

Well, that didn’t go very well.

Many Yankee fans are simply spewing the same old talk about how the Jays will inevitably falter, and mentioning how they haven’t been relevant since the mid 90’s.

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) and starting pitcher David Price (14) and right fielder Jose Bautista (19) celebrate the win during the eleventh inning in a game against the Kansas City Royals at Rogers Centre. That’s about as deflating as it gets. It was a statement of vulnerability. Chicago’s first four-game sweep of San Francisco since June 1977 increased its lead for the second NL wild card to 3 1/2 games over the reeling Giants. “I think that translates onto the field and everywhere else”.

True, it’s not even close to their first three-game losing streak of the season.

The Yankees, who have fallen flat offensively since they exploded late in Tanaka’s previous start on Tuesday, continued to struggle.

Certainly the sweep this weekend changes the feel of the race, as the Jays moved to within 1½ games of the Yankees, with another three-game showdown next weekend in Toronto. And the July trading deadline was supposed to be about reinforcing a Yankees pitching rotation, because there have been continuing doubts with CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, and Michael Pineda who is not expected back until September because of a right muscle forearm strain. However, the biggest nightmare of the Blue Jays’ lineup is someone who hasn’t been mentioned yet, and he has clearly been their MVP so far this season. It has a tangible impact in the standings, and an emotional impact everywhere else. “It’s over with. Glad I didn’t get hurt”. I watched mostly out of curiosity, not really expecting to hear anything out of the ordinary. You know he’s going to pitch deep into the game because he’s strong. “Then we faced a couple of knuckleball guys and as a hitting coach, you’re kind of helpless in that situation”. We’re in first place for a reason. And that’s basically what he said yesterday. They’ve hit 22 home runs while averaging 5.58 runs and posted a 1.86 ERA over that stretch.

Just to give you an idea, the same infield level ticket prices range between $60 to $70 for a game against the same Yankees on Monday, September 21.

“Offenses go through this”. “Every offense is going to go through this from time to time”.

“We’re just on a nice little roll right now”, said Toronto manager John Gibbons, understating the obvious. And for the Yankees, the next starter is Luis Severino.

Frank Stanford asked be to join him on his talk show, to discuss whether or not we’re all on the Toronto Blue Jays’ bandwagon.

StubHub allows people to buy and sell their tickets while listing them at their chosen price. The team has hit the long ball exceptionally well, while using the bullpen to shorten games as a combination for success. “Good teams punch back”.

Run differential – which is usually expressed on the same scale as a winning percentage using the pythagorean formula – is indeed a better predictor than a team’s actual record.