2105 Toronto Blue Jays Post-Season Post Mortem
Oct. 24, 2015
by Dave Segaert
206 days later, and the Toronto Blue Jays season has come to an end. This one lasted significantly longer than your average Blue Jays season, but definitely not long enough for the players. Was it enough to satisfy the Blue Jays' large and enthusiastic fan base? It's hard to say. I'm sure that many are thankful for this memorable run, while others might be disappointed that this team didn't go all the way. Having assembled the best major-league offense in many years made the Blue Jays the odds-on Vegas favourites, but someone over there seemed to have forgotten that pitching wins the World Series, not offense. If you need proof of this maybe you should just look at, well, pretty much every World Series winner, especially the last 3 San Francisco Giants championship teams, whose offense wouldn't scare a t-ball team, but who boasted a pitcher that eats human beings for breakfast, wrestles bears, drinks sawdust, grows a beard in 3 minutes, and mows mother-fuckers down in the post-season like he was born to do it. As for the Jays, they couldn't quite finish the job, and all the good times and all the frustrations are now only memories, so let's delve in and examine the enigma that they were in this topsy-turvy 2015 post-season.
It's easy to blame the Jays pitching for their ALCS exit. The starters as whole were a tad inconsistent, and most of the bullpen was an unmitigated disaster. However, ultimately it was the offense that must shoulder the blame here. In the 6 games that the Jays lost, they scored 2.3 runs per game. I don't care who's pitching, you're not going to win very many games with that offense. In the games the Jays won, they scored 7.2 runs per game. Sound familiar? That's because the regular season went pretty much the same way. Because of this the Jays would have benefited greatly if they had secured home field advantage, but they blew that chance late in the season, which I outlined in this article. In the end the Jays needed to find a way to scratch more runs across the board in those close games. Everyone is blaming the pitching because they allowed 5.1 runs per game, but take away the ALCS games 4 and 5 and the pitching only allowed 3.6 runs per game. That's pretty damn good, especially considering they had no lefty in the bullpen for most of the playoffs. The bottom line is this: the Kansas City Royals line-up is built for the playoffs, full of grinders and gap to gap contact hitters. The Blue Jays line-up is built mostly of all-or-nothing hitters, lots of strike-outs and lots of walks. Two problems with that. Kauffman Stadium hates home runs, and walks don't mean shit if you can't drive them home. And it was the strikeout that ultimately swallowed up the Jays hitters, as they K'd twice in the 9th inning of game 6 with a runner desperately standing at 3rd base. All told, Jays batters were 0-11 with runners in scoring position in game 6, and there's nothing David Price could have done about that, short of grabbing a bat and pinch hitting. The all-or-nothing guys came up "all" 2 times, and "nothing" 4 times. That equals defeat.
As far as individual performances, let's break down the Blue Jays lineup:
John Gibbons C+
Bunting, stolen bases, hit & runs, etc, (you know, managing) are not really John Gibbons forte. This trend continued in the post-season as he maintained his wait-and see attitude. It's hard to argue with a formula that worked well all year, but sometimes in the playoffs you have to play some small ball. At least he finally figured out early in the post-season that Justin Smoak sucks, finally benching him for Colabello, in what was probably his single best decision. The bullpen management was sketchy at best, failing to properly utilize Mark Lowe, over-using Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna, and not having a clue what he was doing with David Price. In the end, the loss of Cecil and Loup put him behind the 8-ball and forced him to get creative, but there were still some questionable decisions. Why wasn't Goins bunting on first strike? Why pinch-hit an ice-cold Dioner Navarro for Ryan Goins? I think that Gibbons does a good job managing players, but he isn't the best manager of games.
Ben Revere D+
.255 AVG I .314 OBP I 7 Runs I 1 RBI I 0 HR
There was speculation that Revere was playing through an injury, which would explain his lack-lustre post-season. The table-setter decided he was done setting the table, and when batting with runners on base he was even worse. His speed wasn't a factor, and the man just doesn't look comfortable catching a fly ball. Learn how to pimp it out Revere. With Pompey in the pipe, and with an uninspiring post-season, game 6 was certainly Revere's last game in a Blue Jay uniform.
Josh Donaldson B
.244 AVG I .354 OBP I 9 Runs I 8 RBI I 3 HR
Donaldson may be the MVP, but he wasn't the MVP in the post-season. Donaldson went 0-5 in game 6 of the ALCS which didn't add any shine to his playoff numbers. If you asked Donaldson, I'm sure he'd tell you that he wasn't pleased with his overall performance at the plate. Donaldson was 4-23 in Jays losses.
Jose Bautista A
.293 AVG I .408 OBP I 7 Runs I 11 RBI I 4 HR
Without Bautista, the Jays wouldn't have made it as far as they did. His home runs were epic and timely, and although his defense has been deteriorating, who really gives a shit when you can mash like this cowboy. Jose led the team in batting average, on base %, RBI's and home runs.
Edwin Encarnacion D+
.275 AVG I .383 OBP I 5 Runs I 5 RBI I 1 HR
Edwin was pretty silent throughout the playoffs. Problem is, he was the DH, and he didn't produce nearly as much as the Jays needed him to. The bottom line is that Edwin only had 1 more run scored, and 1 more RBI than Ryan Goins. You only had one job Edwin!
Chris Colabello B-
.282 AVG I .313 OBP I 5 Runs I 3 RBI I 2 HR
Gibbons finally read a newspaper and found out that Colabello hit 100 points higher than Smoak this year, so the first base job was his for the remainder of the post-season after Smoak went 0-8 in the first two games of the ALDS. He performed admirably at the plate, and his defense was never in question. As a matter of fact, his defense was never an issue during the regular season either, which makes you wonder why he couldn't buy a start in the second half of the season.
Troy Tulowitzki C
.205 AVG I .239 OBP I 5 Runs I 11 RBI I 2 HR
It was a tale of two Tulo's this postseason. He looked utterly lost at the plate at times, but also had a number of the Jays biggest hits and led the team in RBI's. The defense was there, but all of his complaining, and an ejection, compounded the issue that the Jays have of keeping their goddamn mouths shut at the plate. An 0-4 in game 6 whittled his OBP down to an atrocious .239 for the post-season.
Russell Martin/Dioner Navarro F-
.153 AVG I .227 OBP I 4 Runs I 1 RBI I 0 HR
Toronto's catching duo had a nightmare post-season, providing zero offense, and doing nothing out of the ordinary defensively. Martin's performance is particularly disappointing considering the money he's making and the fact that he was brought here because of his playoff experience.
Kevin Pillar A
.286 AVG I .333 OBP I 6 Runs I 6 RBI I 1 HR
What can you say about Kevin Pillar. He may have been the most consistent hitter in the line-up, and continued his superman plays in the field. He also led the team in stolen bases.
Ryan Goins C
.139 AVG I .162 OBP I 4 Runs I 4 RBI I 0 HR
Goins turned it on offensively in the ALCS, but was hitless in the ALDS. He had some key RBI's and his defense was absolutely spectacular all the way through, which helps his overall grade, but it's hard to look past his two glaring mistakes: the dropped flyball in game 2, and his failure to execute a bunt in game 6. Fundamentals Goins. Fundamentals.
Bench F
.083 AVG I .154 OBP I 0 Runs I 0 RBI I 0 HR
The Jays bench was borderline useless, contributing 0 runs, 0 rbi's, and 0 pinch hits in the post-season. Smoak came in defensively and failed to field a ground ball. The only bright spot was Cliff Pennington pitching a scoreless inning.
David Price C-
ERA 6.17
WHIP 1.07
Poor David Price. After a terrible ALDS, he turned in two strong starts in the ALCS, only to lose them both in heart-breaking fashion. He certainly pitched well enough to win, but in the end he didn't get the job done in either start, and in game 6 he allowed two early home runs that forced the Jays to play from behind for the whole game. Price will not be back with the Jays next year, but it was a fun ride while they had him.
R.A. Dickey D+
ERA 7.11
WHIP 1.74
Dickey pitched well in his first start, certainly well enough to be left in and get the win, but he got obliterated in his seconds start. In the regular season, Dickey would have had a longer leash and may have been able to settle down, as Jays fans saw it many times this season where he got lit up like a Christmas tree in the first couple innings but ended up going 6 or 7. In the end though, it wasn't a very inspiring or memorable post-season, and it makes you wonder how effective he could possibly be if the Jays make it again next year.
Marcus Stroman B+
ERA 4.19
WHIP 1.34
Stroman had a great postseason, making three quality starts, including a huge win in game 5 of the division series. His other 2 starts were no-decisions but he pitched well enough to win. The best news for Jays fans is that he seems to thrive on pressure, which bodes well for the team going forward.
Marco Estrada A+
ERA 2.33
WHIP 0.78
What more can you say about this guy. He pitched twice in elimination games and was borderline untouchable. Ya, he lost his ALCS game 1 start, but even in that game he kept it close enough for the Jays to win.
Roberto Osuna A
ERA 2.16
WHIP 0.48
Osuna was a saviour for the Blue Jays, and at 20 years old, the team has to be thrilled with how he handled himself in this high pressure scenario. Not only did he not allow a run in 5.2 innings of work in the ALDS, he didn't allow a hit or a run. It was a different story in the ALCS, and he'll be remembered for giving up the winning run, but he was still very good, with his only other run allowed being a home run in the blow-out game 3 win that he shouldn't have been pitching in anyways.
Aaron Sanchez B+
ERA 0.00
WHIP 1.23
Sanchez, who was also over-worked due to the Jays lack of bullpen depth and because of Gibbons refusal to use Lowe in close games, had a good post-season. He only allowed one unearned run, but he did allow 2 of 5 inherited runners to score, mostly because opposing batters had 7 hits and 2 walks against him in his 7 innings of work. Overall though, a solid effort for a young pitcher in his first post-season, especially considering he was always in tight games and key situations.
Mark Lowe B+
ERA 4.15
WHIP 0.69
Lowe did what Lowe does. He allowed a couple of runs in a blow-out game, but other than that pitched very well. He only allowed one hit while while striking out 6 in his 4.1 innings of work. I'm still wondering why he wasn't used more in the close games. Dude has a rubber arm and was dominant all year, and yet it seemed like Gibbons only trusted Sanchez and Osuna in the playoffs.
Aaron Loup D-
ERA 4.50
WHIP 1.50
First off, thank God that Loup's baby is OK, and obviously some things are more important than baseball. Would it really have mattered though if he was available? He's been terrible all year, and has consistently had a hard time retiring lefties, which is the only reason he made the post-season roster.
Liam Hendricks B+
ERA 5.40
WHIP 1.00
Don't be fooled by the ERA. Hendricks only allowed 3 hits over 5 innings, and did everything that he was asked, including a brilliant long-relief outing that kept the Jays in game 4, until....
LaTroy Hawkins F-
ERA 37.80
WHIP 4.80
Ya those are real numbers. Poor Latroy waited so long for his first post-season appearance that he magically aged 42 years in the process, leaving him ineffective when the time finally came.
Ryan Tepera F-
ERA 21.60
WHIP 4.20
It was a surprise that he even made the playoff roster considering that he fell out of favour towards the end of the year when the Jays had 800 guys in the bullpen. Tepera was ineffective over his lone appearance.
It's easy to blame the Jays pitching for their ALCS exit. The starters as whole were a tad inconsistent, and most of the bullpen was an unmitigated disaster. However, ultimately it was the offense that must shoulder the blame here. In the 6 games that the Jays lost, they scored 2.3 runs per game. I don't care who's pitching, you're not going to win very many games with that offense. In the games the Jays won, they scored 7.2 runs per game. Sound familiar? That's because the regular season went pretty much the same way. Because of this the Jays would have benefited greatly if they had secured home field advantage, but they blew that chance late in the season, which I outlined in this article. In the end the Jays needed to find a way to scratch more runs across the board in those close games. Everyone is blaming the pitching because they allowed 5.1 runs per game, but take away the ALCS games 4 and 5 and the pitching only allowed 3.6 runs per game. That's pretty damn good, especially considering they had no lefty in the bullpen for most of the playoffs. The bottom line is this: the Kansas City Royals line-up is built for the playoffs, full of grinders and gap to gap contact hitters. The Blue Jays line-up is built mostly of all-or-nothing hitters, lots of strike-outs and lots of walks. Two problems with that. Kauffman Stadium hates home runs, and walks don't mean shit if you can't drive them home. And it was the strikeout that ultimately swallowed up the Jays hitters, as they K'd twice in the 9th inning of game 6 with a runner desperately standing at 3rd base. All told, Jays batters were 0-11 with runners in scoring position in game 6, and there's nothing David Price could have done about that, short of grabbing a bat and pinch hitting. The all-or-nothing guys came up "all" 2 times, and "nothing" 4 times. That equals defeat.
As far as individual performances, let's break down the Blue Jays lineup:
John Gibbons C+
Bunting, stolen bases, hit & runs, etc, (you know, managing) are not really John Gibbons forte. This trend continued in the post-season as he maintained his wait-and see attitude. It's hard to argue with a formula that worked well all year, but sometimes in the playoffs you have to play some small ball. At least he finally figured out early in the post-season that Justin Smoak sucks, finally benching him for Colabello, in what was probably his single best decision. The bullpen management was sketchy at best, failing to properly utilize Mark Lowe, over-using Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna, and not having a clue what he was doing with David Price. In the end, the loss of Cecil and Loup put him behind the 8-ball and forced him to get creative, but there were still some questionable decisions. Why wasn't Goins bunting on first strike? Why pinch-hit an ice-cold Dioner Navarro for Ryan Goins? I think that Gibbons does a good job managing players, but he isn't the best manager of games.
Ben Revere D+
.255 AVG I .314 OBP I 7 Runs I 1 RBI I 0 HR
There was speculation that Revere was playing through an injury, which would explain his lack-lustre post-season. The table-setter decided he was done setting the table, and when batting with runners on base he was even worse. His speed wasn't a factor, and the man just doesn't look comfortable catching a fly ball. Learn how to pimp it out Revere. With Pompey in the pipe, and with an uninspiring post-season, game 6 was certainly Revere's last game in a Blue Jay uniform.
Josh Donaldson B
.244 AVG I .354 OBP I 9 Runs I 8 RBI I 3 HR
Donaldson may be the MVP, but he wasn't the MVP in the post-season. Donaldson went 0-5 in game 6 of the ALCS which didn't add any shine to his playoff numbers. If you asked Donaldson, I'm sure he'd tell you that he wasn't pleased with his overall performance at the plate. Donaldson was 4-23 in Jays losses.
Jose Bautista A
.293 AVG I .408 OBP I 7 Runs I 11 RBI I 4 HR
Without Bautista, the Jays wouldn't have made it as far as they did. His home runs were epic and timely, and although his defense has been deteriorating, who really gives a shit when you can mash like this cowboy. Jose led the team in batting average, on base %, RBI's and home runs.
Edwin Encarnacion D+
.275 AVG I .383 OBP I 5 Runs I 5 RBI I 1 HR
Edwin was pretty silent throughout the playoffs. Problem is, he was the DH, and he didn't produce nearly as much as the Jays needed him to. The bottom line is that Edwin only had 1 more run scored, and 1 more RBI than Ryan Goins. You only had one job Edwin!
Chris Colabello B-
.282 AVG I .313 OBP I 5 Runs I 3 RBI I 2 HR
Gibbons finally read a newspaper and found out that Colabello hit 100 points higher than Smoak this year, so the first base job was his for the remainder of the post-season after Smoak went 0-8 in the first two games of the ALDS. He performed admirably at the plate, and his defense was never in question. As a matter of fact, his defense was never an issue during the regular season either, which makes you wonder why he couldn't buy a start in the second half of the season.
Troy Tulowitzki C
.205 AVG I .239 OBP I 5 Runs I 11 RBI I 2 HR
It was a tale of two Tulo's this postseason. He looked utterly lost at the plate at times, but also had a number of the Jays biggest hits and led the team in RBI's. The defense was there, but all of his complaining, and an ejection, compounded the issue that the Jays have of keeping their goddamn mouths shut at the plate. An 0-4 in game 6 whittled his OBP down to an atrocious .239 for the post-season.
Russell Martin/Dioner Navarro F-
.153 AVG I .227 OBP I 4 Runs I 1 RBI I 0 HR
Toronto's catching duo had a nightmare post-season, providing zero offense, and doing nothing out of the ordinary defensively. Martin's performance is particularly disappointing considering the money he's making and the fact that he was brought here because of his playoff experience.
Kevin Pillar A
.286 AVG I .333 OBP I 6 Runs I 6 RBI I 1 HR
What can you say about Kevin Pillar. He may have been the most consistent hitter in the line-up, and continued his superman plays in the field. He also led the team in stolen bases.
Ryan Goins C
.139 AVG I .162 OBP I 4 Runs I 4 RBI I 0 HR
Goins turned it on offensively in the ALCS, but was hitless in the ALDS. He had some key RBI's and his defense was absolutely spectacular all the way through, which helps his overall grade, but it's hard to look past his two glaring mistakes: the dropped flyball in game 2, and his failure to execute a bunt in game 6. Fundamentals Goins. Fundamentals.
Bench F
.083 AVG I .154 OBP I 0 Runs I 0 RBI I 0 HR
The Jays bench was borderline useless, contributing 0 runs, 0 rbi's, and 0 pinch hits in the post-season. Smoak came in defensively and failed to field a ground ball. The only bright spot was Cliff Pennington pitching a scoreless inning.
David Price C-
ERA 6.17
WHIP 1.07
Poor David Price. After a terrible ALDS, he turned in two strong starts in the ALCS, only to lose them both in heart-breaking fashion. He certainly pitched well enough to win, but in the end he didn't get the job done in either start, and in game 6 he allowed two early home runs that forced the Jays to play from behind for the whole game. Price will not be back with the Jays next year, but it was a fun ride while they had him.
R.A. Dickey D+
ERA 7.11
WHIP 1.74
Dickey pitched well in his first start, certainly well enough to be left in and get the win, but he got obliterated in his seconds start. In the regular season, Dickey would have had a longer leash and may have been able to settle down, as Jays fans saw it many times this season where he got lit up like a Christmas tree in the first couple innings but ended up going 6 or 7. In the end though, it wasn't a very inspiring or memorable post-season, and it makes you wonder how effective he could possibly be if the Jays make it again next year.
Marcus Stroman B+
ERA 4.19
WHIP 1.34
Stroman had a great postseason, making three quality starts, including a huge win in game 5 of the division series. His other 2 starts were no-decisions but he pitched well enough to win. The best news for Jays fans is that he seems to thrive on pressure, which bodes well for the team going forward.
Marco Estrada A+
ERA 2.33
WHIP 0.78
What more can you say about this guy. He pitched twice in elimination games and was borderline untouchable. Ya, he lost his ALCS game 1 start, but even in that game he kept it close enough for the Jays to win.
Roberto Osuna A
ERA 2.16
WHIP 0.48
Osuna was a saviour for the Blue Jays, and at 20 years old, the team has to be thrilled with how he handled himself in this high pressure scenario. Not only did he not allow a run in 5.2 innings of work in the ALDS, he didn't allow a hit or a run. It was a different story in the ALCS, and he'll be remembered for giving up the winning run, but he was still very good, with his only other run allowed being a home run in the blow-out game 3 win that he shouldn't have been pitching in anyways.
Aaron Sanchez B+
ERA 0.00
WHIP 1.23
Sanchez, who was also over-worked due to the Jays lack of bullpen depth and because of Gibbons refusal to use Lowe in close games, had a good post-season. He only allowed one unearned run, but he did allow 2 of 5 inherited runners to score, mostly because opposing batters had 7 hits and 2 walks against him in his 7 innings of work. Overall though, a solid effort for a young pitcher in his first post-season, especially considering he was always in tight games and key situations.
Mark Lowe B+
ERA 4.15
WHIP 0.69
Lowe did what Lowe does. He allowed a couple of runs in a blow-out game, but other than that pitched very well. He only allowed one hit while while striking out 6 in his 4.1 innings of work. I'm still wondering why he wasn't used more in the close games. Dude has a rubber arm and was dominant all year, and yet it seemed like Gibbons only trusted Sanchez and Osuna in the playoffs.
Aaron Loup D-
ERA 4.50
WHIP 1.50
First off, thank God that Loup's baby is OK, and obviously some things are more important than baseball. Would it really have mattered though if he was available? He's been terrible all year, and has consistently had a hard time retiring lefties, which is the only reason he made the post-season roster.
Liam Hendricks B+
ERA 5.40
WHIP 1.00
Don't be fooled by the ERA. Hendricks only allowed 3 hits over 5 innings, and did everything that he was asked, including a brilliant long-relief outing that kept the Jays in game 4, until....
LaTroy Hawkins F-
ERA 37.80
WHIP 4.80
Ya those are real numbers. Poor Latroy waited so long for his first post-season appearance that he magically aged 42 years in the process, leaving him ineffective when the time finally came.
Ryan Tepera F-
ERA 21.60
WHIP 4.20
It was a surprise that he even made the playoff roster considering that he fell out of favour towards the end of the year when the Jays had 800 guys in the bullpen. Tepera was ineffective over his lone appearance.
