Toronto at Washington, August 17-18

The end of the 2021 season's last long road trip comes into view.  Yes, after spending most of the last two years on The Longest Road trip in history, the Jays will spend most of the final six weeks at home. They have a three game trip to Detroit next week. They hit the road twice in September: once to visit New York and Baltimore, and once to visit Tampa Bay and Minnesota. They play 25 of the final 43 games in the Dome of Home.

Some of us were complaining about Charlie Montoyo's bullpen usage the other day. I was among the complainers my own self. Why? Because we know better. Obviously. And why not? This is my sacred right as a baseball fan. Of course I intend to use this license that the divinity has granted me, in Her Immortal Wisdom. Complaining about the manager is what baseball fans do. It's what we have always done and it's what we will always do. All of us, and about all the managers  All of them. Forever and always. This is the way things are, the way things have been, the way things shall be. Through all of time immemorial, from the Big Bang  to the End of Days.

Do I make myself clear? Good.

Because here's the thing. Charlie Montoyo is probably leading the pack while we head down the stretch and the relevant voters ponder the various options for 2021 AL Manager of the Year.

I'm serious. Consider the candidates.

Tony La Russa? His team was supposed to be really good. They are. So what? And he's already won it four times, for three different teams. Boring.

Kevin Cash? It's possible. But he won it last year, and no AL manager has ever won in consecutive seasons. His team went to the World Series last year, and won 90 games or more in both of the last two full seasons. Their current position shouldn't surprise anyone, and that's what the voters often prefer.

Bob Melvin? He's won it twice, his team is always good. People sometimes forget that Oakland's always good but they are. Oakland was in the post-season last year and they won 97 games in each of the two full seasons before that. They shouldn't sneak up on anyone, ever.

Alex Cora or Aaron Boone? Please. Even if either team makes it to  the post-season..  you're supposed to make the post-season.

Dusty Baker? We love you, Dusty. It's that Houston thing. Sorry.

Scott Servais? I admit that if his team's bizarre run of good luck in close games holds steady through the end of the season, Servais is also a decent candidate.

Charlie Montoyo? Not only did his team lose more than 90 games the last time they played 162, they've been on an endless road trip and called three different cities and ball parks their home field just this season. But here they are. And trust me, but this performance under these circumstances impresses the rest of the baseball universe far, far more than it impresses those of us who follow the team closely, from day to day. We've grown so used to this bizarre, insane way of life of this team that we barely think of it at all. Of course we don't, why would we? We're not the ones living through it. But it's not normal. It's not in the same area code as normal. This is the youngest lineup in the AL, and maybe that's why they make more dumb mistakes than I'm happy seeing or why they don't perform very well late in close games. I don't know. But I swear that this is one of the most resilient teams I have ever seen. And someone should take a bow.

I think if the Jays either: a) make it into post-season play, or b) win 90 games, Montoyo will win AL Manager of the Year, fairly easily. And some heads around here will just explode. I should sell tickets.

Back to the Nationals. You might recollect the Jays split a pair with Washington at the end of April. Trent Thornton and Tommy Milone spotted Max Scherzer a 3-0 lead. Giving Max Scherzer a three run leader is a little like giving a grizzly bear the first whack, but were our heroes discouraged? Did they shrug their shoulders and go quietly into the night? They did not. Vlad Guerrero reached Mighty Max for a pair of homers, the first a grand slam, and later added a third big fly against the bullpen. Young Vlad drove in seven runs on the day, and in case people hadn't been paying attention, generally announced his presence with authority. The Nationals kicked Steven Matz around the next day, breaking the game open on a three run homer by Josh Harrison. Ah, the halcyon days of April, when the Nationals thought they were still competitive. They have since been disabused of that notion, and at present have lost seven in a row and twelve of thirteen.

Pitchers! Hitting!

Or trying to, anyway. The last Jays pitcher to get a hit was Trent Thornton back in May 2019. In his second and third plate appearances of the night, Thornton rapped out singles against the Giants' second (Tyler Beede) and third (Reyes Moronta) pitchers of the evening.