The ineptitude of an offensive
strategy that relies solely on the hitting of home runs to win ball games was
on clear display in this year’s American League Championship Series. The
Toronto Blue Jays, known over the last two seasons for their power hitting
prowess, failed to generate enough offense against the Cleveland Indians over
five games, and looked horrible in the process.
That’s twice now, in two years,
that they’ve lost to a team that played situational baseball to generate runs,
rather than trying to hit 500-foot home runs on every single swing. And while
that type of offense might not be as sexy as a lot of dingers seem to be, it
has proven to be effective in advancing to—and in the Kansas City Royals’ case
last year, winning—the World Series.
But the question remains, after
being stifled by the Royals’ pitching last year and losing in six games, why
did the Jays not change their approach in order to take the step to the next
level? I’m sure most of the blame will fall to manager John Gibbons, and he
will most likely not be back next year (I’ll save my opinions on that for
another day) but it is hardly his fault.
No, the fault lies entirely with
the selfishness of the ball player, himself, who would rather hit the homer
than advance the runner because, after all, going deep will get them the big
contracts. And no player exemplifies that selfishness more than right-fielder
Jose Bautista.
Before I continue, let me just
say that Bautista has accomplished a lot for the Blue Jays. He was the first
player to hit 50 home runs in a season (54 in 2010). His 265 home runs in a
Jays’ uniform is second in club history to Carlos Delgado’s 336. And his
three-run bomb against the Texas Rangers in Game 5 of last year’s American
League Division Series will always have a place in Blue Jays’ lore.
But you can’t use past accomplishments to excuse his pitiful contributions
at the plate in this year’s postseason. After hitting a home run in the Wild
Card Game against Baltimore, and then getting two hits, including another home
run, in the first game against Texas in the ALDS, Bautista went 3 for 26. That’s
right, a .115 batting average for someone who is supposed to be the offensive
force on the club. Oh, and did I mention zero RBIs in those 26 at bats, despite
coming up to the plate with men in scoring position many times.
He proved how selfish he was every time he came to the plate. Knowing
full well that he was going to get pitched low and away, he refused to make any
adjustment....so he hit the inevitable weak ground ball to the left side of the
infield or a popup. (Thanks to my cousin, Rich, for that comment.) And let’s
not forget all the called third strikes he took because, as he said, he only
swings at pitches he thinks are strikes. That’s pretty selfish.
Now, contrast that to third baseman, Josh Donaldson, who proved once
again that he is the most valuable player on the team. JD missed some time near
the end of the season with a hip injury and when he returned, you could tell
that the hip was still bothering him. He didn’t seem to possess the power he
had before the injury and he was committing more errors than normal in the
field. However, when crunch time came, it was Donaldson who adjusted his
approach for the good of the team.
And while he hit only one home run in the ten playoff games the Jays
played, he had an amazing .417 average (15 hits in 36 at bats), six runs scored
and five RBIs. (He most likely would have had more RBIs if there had been
anyone on base). And don’t forget his mad dash from second base in Game 3 against
Texas. All on a bad hip, mind you.
While it’s reassuring to know that JD will be back in the line up next
year, the Toronto Blue Jays would be better off if Bautista did not return. He
has passed his best-before-date and to pay him the money he thinks he’s worth
would be a mistake. He still yaps at the umpires—when he did it while playing
well it was just annoying. Now, it’s embarrassing. He’s injury prone—at age 36,
that won’t get any better. And, as I mentioned before, he refuses to make any
adjustments for the betterment of the team.
And in order for the Jays to take another run at the postseason, and
possibly the World Series, they need to have more hitters take Donaldson’s
approach. They need to move runners over. They need timely base hits. And they
need less selfishness.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment