I'm sorry Stro.
First, let me wish you the best in your new city of (insert team location of organization trying to win).
I'm sorry because most of this never appreciated you. Most of this being the (current) front office, some media, and twitter eggs. I'm sorry that every bit of emotion you ever showed got grinded into word mush about how you're too this and that; all because you were Marcus god damn Stroman, the best pitcher the Jays have developed since Doc and someone who always left it out on the field your way. I'm sorry you must depart a town you seem to love because of all this bullshit.
Back when you were drafted, you had to deal with questions about your height. And then, when you finally made it, you played with that rightful chip on your shoulder while the narrative about you not being able to pitch because of your height shifted to how you carried yourself about studding it because #HDMH. Most of this never appreciated this; the fact you came back from a disastrous injury to contribute during the most exciting time for the Jays in decades, how you embraced the city and became an ace in the toughest offensive division in baseball, and how you gutted through starts on this absolute dogshit team in 2019 and still tried to bring that attitude that made this team so good a few years ago.
That attitude. A quality that makes dusty fourth line hockey players cult heroes in this country. Instead, an attitude that brought you scorn from most of this. Not an attitude that should have been appreciated by most of this as a winning attribute; a fucking competitor that every god damn (insert team location of organization trying to win) should love at the top of their rotation. No, that attitude just had most of this barking in your direction after starts instead of appreciating the performance you brought this team that day.
I watched you today, the date of this letter, pitch a gem on the road against those loathsome Boston Red Sox. A cleat belonging to a member of the Toronto Blue Jays even crossed home plate during your start, allowing you to get a stat win for once. But instead of talking about how good you were today; we again were forced to listen to everyone talk about that attitude from fossils like Dennis Eckersley and Jerry Remy and whatever mouth breathing moron is drafting a column for the Toronto Sun right now. That attitude that those same mouth breathers are praising the Toronto Raptors for having and the same attitude that they wish their dearly beloved peasant Maple Leafs had.
Fuck them all. I hope (insert team location of organization trying to win) can appreciate you in a way most of this never could, a way that we all should have.
Signed, Blue Jay fans that will always root for you.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Sunday, June 02, 2019
On Stroman
"This is not fun. It’s not a fun atmosphere." - Marcus Stroman, last night after a 4-2 loss to Colorado.
Marcus Stroman's ERA dropped to 2.84 last night but his record also dropped to 3-7 in what is turning into a routine performance behind and supporting Stro. An abysmal Jays offensive effort turned in only four hits and his defensive support was fucking this; an embarrassing single turned into a little league home run, for only the second time this week.
The Blue Jays fucking stink right now, sinking to 21-37 overall after a sweep against the Rays during the work week and then the most recent broom-dusting in Denver. As Jonah Keri noted this week, the Jays offence is historically anemic, on pace for the lowest on-base percentage in 50 years.
Stroman's frustration is absolutely understandable for those outside of Jeff Blair's comment section. He's pitching fantastically and gets zero support from the organization on the field, nor off it seems sometimes. The Jays are also juxtaposed with the Raptors right now. Stroman is watching that team capture the city in a way that hasn't been done since the 2015 Jays did. It must compound his frustration to see how the market can support a successful sports team and how far off the GTA sports map his employer has fallen in the past few years.
Stroman is also due to hit the free agent market at the end of the 2020 season and with the team playing the way they are, him and his on-and-off again bestie are hotly rumored on the trade market. But why? Stroman is everything the Jays will ever need in a starting pitcher. He competes. He doesn't allow home runs and pitches extremely well in the AL East and the Dome, neither which are easy tasks. He's morphed into the rotation leader and represents the city.
The question Jays fans need to be asking the front office is what's the plan? When do you plan on competing? If the answer is within the next 3-4 years, then there is no reason why the only discussion to be had at this point is an extension for the best home grown Blue Jays pitcher since #32. If the answer is outside of that, then, what the fuck are they doing? Is there any semblance of a plan moving forward here?
This is year four of the Shapiro/Atkins regime. They have made some good moves and have improved the farm system since taking over after 2015. Four years later though, 2019 has been beyond dreadful. The team slept through free agency and the lack of talent is...noted. At some point, this franchise is going to have to broach the question: is this the front office we want to continue moving this team forward? A trade instead of an extension of Stroman will make that conversation be had sooner than later.
Marcus Stroman's ERA dropped to 2.84 last night but his record also dropped to 3-7 in what is turning into a routine performance behind and supporting Stro. An abysmal Jays offensive effort turned in only four hits and his defensive support was fucking this; an embarrassing single turned into a little league home run, for only the second time this week.
The Blue Jays fucking stink right now, sinking to 21-37 overall after a sweep against the Rays during the work week and then the most recent broom-dusting in Denver. As Jonah Keri noted this week, the Jays offence is historically anemic, on pace for the lowest on-base percentage in 50 years.
Stroman's frustration is absolutely understandable for those outside of Jeff Blair's comment section. He's pitching fantastically and gets zero support from the organization on the field, nor off it seems sometimes. The Jays are also juxtaposed with the Raptors right now. Stroman is watching that team capture the city in a way that hasn't been done since the 2015 Jays did. It must compound his frustration to see how the market can support a successful sports team and how far off the GTA sports map his employer has fallen in the past few years.
Stroman is also due to hit the free agent market at the end of the 2020 season and with the team playing the way they are, him and his on-and-off again bestie are hotly rumored on the trade market. But why? Stroman is everything the Jays will ever need in a starting pitcher. He competes. He doesn't allow home runs and pitches extremely well in the AL East and the Dome, neither which are easy tasks. He's morphed into the rotation leader and represents the city.
The question Jays fans need to be asking the front office is what's the plan? When do you plan on competing? If the answer is within the next 3-4 years, then there is no reason why the only discussion to be had at this point is an extension for the best home grown Blue Jays pitcher since #32. If the answer is outside of that, then, what the fuck are they doing? Is there any semblance of a plan moving forward here?
This is year four of the Shapiro/Atkins regime. They have made some good moves and have improved the farm system since taking over after 2015. Four years later though, 2019 has been beyond dreadful. The team slept through free agency and the lack of talent is...noted. At some point, this franchise is going to have to broach the question: is this the front office we want to continue moving this team forward? A trade instead of an extension of Stroman will make that conversation be had sooner than later.
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