Thirty years ago, the Jays had home field advantage against the Royals. And were screwed by their own ball park. Not this time!

+1 for solid Canadian Content, Eephus.

Strange - coming to realize that this album was released almost twenty years ago makes me feel old, but reflecting on how much time has passed since the last time I saw the Jays in the playoffs doesn't have that effect on me at all.

Maybe it's because music has changed so much since then, but baseball is still baseball.

Every time I come back on here today the banner seems to have changed a little bit. Kinda of weird timing to change things up...

I've waited 30 years for revenge - why Bobby Cox allowed his pitchers to pitch to George Brett is still one of life's great mysteries - in 1993, the Jays smartly pitched around Frank Thomas on a better hitting white Sox team.

Would be neat if the teams had players from that 1985 series throw out the ceremonial 1st pitch in each game.

Well I was wrong that the Jays would sweep the Rangers but so far right about all the winning teams in the AL. I picked Houston then Kansas and also TO. I still think the Jays wins here in mostly close games but nonetheless wraps it up in 5 games.  Superior starting pitching, superior hitting, great D, what's topping them really.

Harold Reynolds is terrible. They can't find anyone better for the playoffs?

The latest: "Ben Revere doesn't strike out much, that's what he adds most to this team."

The Blue Jays are actually pretty good at not striking out, considering their power. His speed and defense are probably more valuable than his not striking out much.

It's early still, but the Blue Jays are looking patient tonight. Bodes well I'd think. Bautista with a nice walk.

Layoffs for Starters are unwise, unless really needed. Not staying consistent can be an issue for Offense and Defense. That possibly costs the Team wins in the first two games last series.

This series shouldn't be a problem as everything/everybody seems to be working as it/they should be. The Jays have always scored fairly well. Their greatest talent is taking care of the slightest opponent's mistakes. But their biggest talent/asset is that they are relentless.

I think that Joe Buck is drunk. He's worse than usual (which is bad) and appears to not care about the actual game. Couple that with Harold Reynolds annnnnd I wish we had the crowd and PA announcer feed available.

I'm watching with the sound off. Can't stand the F*x crew.

Volquez does look good tonight, great movement on his pitches. He just needs to groove a few a la Dyson.

Like most Canadians I hate the USA, USA chants. Its somewhat funny that the USA chant broke out in support of the Dominican pitcher throwing to the Venezuelan catcher while the hitter is the only one of the immediate participants from the US, specifically from Worcester, Mass.

I was laughing about that as well Gerry, plus Cola grew up in Italy.

#Merica

Not too sure what Tulo was looking for 3-1 or 3-2.

What was with that at bat for Tulo? 3 clear strikes that he just looked at.

Very disappointed in Tulo in that situation.  Two strikes, almost straight down the middle, and he just watched both of them without swinging.  Two runners on, and the Jays get nothing from it.

Tulo gets credit for his huge HR against Texas, but otherwise he's been a disappointment offensively. Who knows how much his injury is impeding his swing, though. His HR came in a PA in which he was thrown mostly or exclusively offspeed pitches, if I remember correctly. Maybe he's having trouble with the hard stuff.

Where are all those staunch baseball traditionalists to stop them from singing God Bless America when they SHOULD be singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

was thinking it last series, but now i think it's time to move revere down to the 7 or 8 hole and move everybody else up.

The Hawkins preference over Hendriks frustrates.

There's a Broadcast available on the Fox regular channels, they might have a different Broadcast crew on.

Cecil's injury seems to have created (or exposed) a significant lack of depth in the Jays bullpen.  Beyond the top 3 or 4 guys, there are no reliable relievers.  Luckily there are some rest days in the series schedule, but one extra-innings game would really create havoc.

Encarnacion has a sprained ligament on his left middle finger -- status is "day to day".

Probably wishful thinking, but maybe Hawkins also has a sore arm and needs a trip to the DL, to be replaced by either Matt Hague or Josh Thole (allowing Navarro to assume the DH role).

Oh, don't worry rpriske, they sing both.

This preference for Hawkins over Hendriks (and for that matter, Bo Schultz) does seem inexplicable, but maybe there is some minimum number of innings he has to pitch to be eligible for the Blue Jays old-timers squad next year.

Tulo had troubling BB% and K% prior to the trade and it continued in Toronto even before his injury. Hopefully he bounces back but right now he's just not a very good hitter.

Well, good thing is now a batch of guys can say they pitched in the Jays 2015 playoffs. Runs allowed today in the end are irrelevant as with 0 runs scored the Jays weren't winning anyways and it would've really sucked if Estrada was really on and allowed just 1 run over 8 IP. Lets hope the bats show up tomorrow.

Price really need to step up tomorrow.

Reports were that K. C. was going to be pounding the ball in on the batter's hands/pitching inside. It's really hard to do that consistently, without going too far in hitting a batter or not far enough getting crushed. That was an ugly loss, not because they got outpitched, but because they were out-played everywhere.

Slow starts in a Series is not acceptable as it puts too much stress on winning streaks, it puts too much on momentum. This was the first game this offseason that they Jays were never in. Every other game they were making their presence felt. They need a split in K.C., or they get too far in a hole. The longer they go without scoring, the harder they will struggle. Score early and they'll score often.

In the time to heal department, I hope that Encarnacion sits at least for today. I also hope that Tulowitzki slides down in the batting order. It is enough if he contributes defensively.

It would be a good time for Justin Smoak to locate his mojo.

Might be a good idea to DH Cola, play Smoak at first and hope Encarnation surge back in the dome Monday.

I wouldn't be surprised if EE re-injured his finger during the massive swings he took in the 6th inning with two on and none out. I would have preferred to see him simply try to hit a line drive in that situation, especially at Kauffman Stadium.

Greenfrog, EE 100% aggravated his finger in that AB you're referring to. If you're able to watch again you'll see on the first swing he finished his swing with only holding onto the bat with his right hand, with looked super awkward. Then he gives his right hand a little shake. As soon as he did that, I knew that he had done something to his hand again. The very next swing is even worse.

Good news, Encarnacion is in the line-up today. The only change in Martin hitting 7th instead of Navarro. He's probably not 100%, but it's a big blow to the lineup without him.

Salvador Perez is also back in for the Royals.

It's only a good news if he gets some hits and doesn't aggravate his injury.

Encarnacion is in today's lineup.  The Jays say it is purely a pain-management issue, and that he would be sitting if it was a regular season game. 

I think that's a valid decision if it is indeed purely a pain issue -- in other words, if Encarnacion is still able to hit better than his replacement (presumably Smoak) despite the injury, and if Encarnacion is willing to endure the pain, which obviously he is.  This assumes that the finger injury is not significantly hampering his swing.  Only the trainers and Edwin himself can know that for sure, but I think we have to trust them if they think that he can perform strongly in spite of the injury.

In the regular season, it can make sense to rest a slightly injured player because the calculus is different: you rest him for a game now to strengthen him for the next 70 or 80 games.  But in the playoffs, it's now or never.

As for the risk of aggravating the injury:  again that's a judgement call, and a subjective one.  If Edwin is willing to accept the risk, and if the injury is not having a major effect on his swing, I think it's a defensible decision at a time when the stakes are so high.

I'm just saying, if he goes 0-for-4 than that was a bad decision unless he has a monster game Monday regardless.

Edwin has good career numbers in this park, that probably plays into it.

Game 2 isn't now or never. Texas won game 2 without Beltre in a best of 5. Then they lost the next 3 games with Beltre in the lineup. And he was playing well.

"....if he goes 0-for-4 than that was a bad decision...."

No, that wouldn't prove anything.  Smoak might have gone 0-for-4 too.

The real question is which option has a higher probability of success.  Encarnacion, at 80 or 90 per cent of his abilities, is probably a better hitter than Smoak at 100 per cent.  The only reason to bench Encarnacion is if his injury makes him a worse hitter than Smoak. 

From an Arden Zwelling report today:

The finger hasn’t impeded Encarnacion’s production throughout the season, as he managed to maintain a 26-game hitting streak when he was first dealing with the injury this August.

like with tulo, even if they are hurt the important thing is that the opposing pitcher cannot take them for granted and still has to pitch them just as carefully, and treat others in the lineup the same as a result. i.e. they're not gonna IBB bautista with even an injured EE there, though they might with smoak or cola there.


And i still say Revere should move down and everyone else up. I can't be the only one who doesn't feel like the lineup is truly turned over until donaldson comes up again....and i bet opposing pitchers and managers feel the same.

or let cola leadoff.

I hope that Encarnacion sits at least for today. I also hope that Tulowitzki slides down in the batting order. It is enough if he contributes defensively.

It would be a good time for Justin Smoak to locate his mojo.

Hard to locate your mojo coming off the bench to pinch hit. I agree with the idea of moving Tulowitzki down the order. I'd also be playing Smoak against right-handed pitching.

"....or let cola leadoff...."

Interesting idea.   He's certainly had some impressive ABs during the playoffs.  He battles and battles, and he has an excellent eye for the strike zone. 

ugylone, I share your misgivings about Revere in the lead-off hole.  His approach at the plate (be in the dugout or on first base in three pitches or less) relieves rather than adds stress to the opposing pitcher, but at this stage I think the only thing that you can do short of a major renovation to the batting order is recognizing that Revere is really occupying spot 9b in the lineup when deciding whether to give up an out to advance the runner and turn the lineup over.

I like Revere at the top for playoff baseball. His speed I think is of greater importance when facing really good pitching.

E carnacion had a few days off this year whenever his finger barked. It worked. Having both Colabello and Smoak around made it work.

It worked in the regular season because the regular season is 162 games, so you can afford to sit Encarnacion for a couple of games.  The playoffs are very different.

In any event, Encarnacion's finger looked fine in his solid second-inning single.  The Jays can't afford to lose today's game, and I'd much rather have EE than Smoak.

Encarnacion tried last year to play through this. It didn't work. One single doesn't make it the right decision.

At least for today, it may not matter as Price seems to be on.

I think it was clearly the right decision.  There's no way that Smoak would have been as productive as EE in just three ABs.

Too early too tell, but it looks good so far.