GT: Phillies at Blue Jays, August 15-16

[SharoneWright]

The first one wasn't a decision (at least by the manager).

The second one was the right decision. Unfortunately, it is baseball and the right decisions can still lead to bad results.

I think I should be the manager.

We'd probably have at least 3-4 more wins if that was the case.

I was thinking 4-5,, but I’ll take it! Thanks! Lol

[Randle McMurphy]

This umpire is pretty bad. Can't all be like last night I guess.

[Parataxis]

Why the heck is DeJong batting in the 7th inning when we're down 3? We have better bats on the bench that should be used there.

There's no good reason for it and speaks to this team's consistent lack of urgency to win. Even if you don't want to use/can't use Chapman or Jansen due to injury, pinch hit Schneider and just move Espinal to shortstop for the last 2 innings.

That is exactly the change I was expecting/hoping to see.

I can see wanting DeJong at short over Espy if we were up by one. Heck, even if we were down by one I can see an argument to leave him in.

But down by three? His defence doesn't matter when we're deep in the hole.

[Jago88]

Why was kimbrel touching that dark stain on his cap before every single pitch?

[Randle McMurphy]

So they pinch hit for red hot Varsho with Schneider, not DeJong or Espinal. Ok then.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

So they pinch hit for red hot Varsho with Schneider, not DeJong or Espinal. Ok then.

ya sounds about right.

[Mehar]

With Bichette coming back on Friday, and Chapman too- what a difference that will be in the lineup when you are not sending automatic outs like Espinal and Dejong. Never expected Espinal to fall off like he has compared to the first half of 2022 when he was an all-star. He has been poor defensively, not great on the basepaths, and terrible at the plate this year. Hopefully both Dejong and Espinal enjoy the view from the bench here on out, with Merrifield getting slotted back to Second Base as Kiermaier returns also.

[PowerPlant1]

At this point, I would have sooner seen Ernie Clement at SS than DeJong and his automatic outs. Provided Clement played reasonably good defense.

Removing Espinal is a no brainer that practically everyone sees as reasonable except our manager. Despite 3 regular good hitters being out with injuries, Schneider continues to maximize the chances of losing. Don't know if Davis Schneider should be written off just yet. I'd give him time to prove he can't stick with a prolonged slump. What is the worst that could happen in starting him over Espinal? His defense is pretty good and he can't be much worse than Espinal's extremely poor hitting. Even Schneider shows more plate discipline/ability to produce walks.

The one positive is Varsho and Biggio's offense. Biggio hit almost everything hard today and on a line.

Gausman is not looking good since the all star break. This is not the only time he has faltered in a start but this one was the worst. Lifetime #s aside from some Phillies batters, I wonder about some lingering physical issue.

[COY0607]

Need Bo, Chapman, Jansen back on Friday. Mariners are playing too well, there is no margin at this point

[Hottie McShotty]

You won't win many games with only 4-5 hits and underperforming star players. Harper carried his team to victory, unlike ours. Gausman also struggled tonight. He's had a few of these stinkers this season. If we do make the playoffs let's hope we get the good Gausman to show up.

[tripa]

How do we prevent Seattle from eliminating us back to back years

It's out of the Jays hands unfortunately. The Mariners own the tiebreaker and have the easier schedule down the stretch .

I dont think you understand what “out of their hands” actually means. There is still a month and a half worth of games left. What a psychotic thing to say on August 16th.

[COY0607]

How do we prevent Seattle from eliminating us back to back years

It's out of the Jays hands unfortunately. The Mariners own the tiebreaker and have the easier schedule down the stretch .

I dont think you understand what “out of their hands” actually means. There is still a month and a half worth of games left. What a psychotic thing to say on August 16th.

Offense needs to show up everyday- that’s how you prevent Seattle from eliminating you.

Right not they’re playing much better baseball, and with the easier schedule and tiebreaker, should be favorites for the 3rd wild card

[bluerap23]

I would take my chances with Orelvis over Espinal at this point. I'd also sooner play Biggio or Vlad at 3B.

[Michael Bradley]

How do we prevent Seattle from eliminating us back to back years

It's out of the Jays hands unfortunately. The Mariners own the tiebreaker and have the easier schedule down the stretch .

I dont think you understand what “out of their hands” actually means. There is still a month and a half worth of games left. What a psychotic thing to say on August 16th.

What Seattle does is out of the Jays hands (re-read the post I was responding to). They (Mariners) have the easier schedule and own the tiebreaker. The Jays just have to win as many games as they can. What Seattle does is out of their control. Not sure how you possibly misinterpreted that as the Jays having no shot but whatever.

[-MetA4-]

Right not they’re playing much better baseball

Are they though? They're barely handling the Royals, one of the worst teams in the league. These are games going into the 9th/10th inning and KC is throwing out relievers with 9 ERA's. Seattle has the "easier" schedule, but they have some roadblocks along the way.

[Randle McMurphy]

The fact that the Mariners don't even have to play well to win games because they're playing such a garbage schedule is also not a good thing either. Down to 0.5 a game now.

[Fairview4Life]

They still have 20 games against the Dodgers, Rays, Astros and Rangers left.

We have 13 against the Orioles, Rangers, and Rays. We still have 3 game series against each of the A's, Royals, Rockies, Nats, and Cleveland and 6 games against the Yankees left.

Our schedule isn't really that much worse, is it?

[tripa]

The Randle guy is only here to complain and be negative, even after wins. No point in diving deeper into the specifics of the schedule for someone like that.

[Randle McMurphy]

The Randle guy is only here to complain and be negative, even after wins. No point in diving deeper into the specifics of the schedule for someone like that.

Says the guy who literally showed up in these threads only a month ago just to bicker at others and call people names.

Also, so much for that lie about blocking me and being unable to read my posts any longer, eh?

[COY0607]

Right not they’re playing much better baseball

Are they though? They're barely handling the Royals, one of the worst teams in the league. These are games going into the 9th/10th inning and KC is throwing out relievers with 9 ERA's. Seattle has the "easier" schedule, but they have some roadblocks along the way.

They’re 19-7 in their last 26.
Jays are 14-12. That’s with incredible pitching

Mariners have issues with bullpen depth, clearly. But they can score, and have pretty good starting pitching.

Jays struggle anytime they need to 3 or more runs. Much tougher to win games imo

I’d rather have the Mariners situation tbh