After being dealt from Detroit to Toronto, David Price said “My brother texted me and he was like, ‘You no longer play for a city any more, you’re playing for an entire country.’ When he said that to me I was like ‘Wow, you’re right.’
Now, that may have seemed like a statement from Captain Obvious, but actually, this August marks the first time that the now first place Blue Jays have been legitimate World Series contenders since the Montreal Expos left Canada after the 2004 season. So their GM, Alex Anthopoulos, who grew up in Quebec, and started his baseball life as a 23-year-old intern in the Expos organization, helped spread the word by addressing his old fan base this week.
“We say it all the time, Canada’s Team, Canada’s Team, but [the Blue Jays)] are the only team in Canada,” Anthopoulos told the Montreal Gazette. What’s exciting for me is that I think the walls between cities have been kind of broken down ... we’re on TV all the time [in Montreal] — we’re on TV in French in that market as well.”
Maybe Anthopoulos has a point, at least based on this sudden spike in searches for “Blue Jays” in La belle province.
It doesn’t hurt that one of their most crucial pieces is Russell Martin, who claims both cities as home, and that the team has played four pre-season exhibition games in Montreal over the past two springs, helping to expand the Jays reach while stoking the fires for a return of baseball to La Métropole. This is where I should probably note that such olive branches from Toronto to Montreal come years after their urban rivalry resulted in the Blue Jays’ vote to contract the Expos back in 2001 ... but I digress.
Of course the biggest reason why interest has skyrocketed from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland – or anywhere on the planet for that matter – are the blockbuster acquisitions the Blue Jays brought in at the non-waiver trade deadline. Slugger Troy Tulowitzki and David Price arrived within days of each other a fortnight ago, bringing a long-lost championship-like buzz north of the border.
The once-moribund franchise, which has slumbered through the past 20 odd years following their two titles, is suddenly on fire, both on the field and in the box office. The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that the team sold 1,400 Troy Tulowitzki and David Price jerseys and t-shirts in the first four days following their arrival, online shopping has doubled, while ticket sales have quadrupled with some resales going for over $8,000.
The Rogers Centre is filled with fans of the bandwagon and long term masochist variety, and they’re all seeing a sizzling product on the hottest of late-summer streaks - 10 straight victories, and 13 their previous 14 games - which includes their latest clobbering, a 10-3 triumph over the Oakland Athletics. On the surface, this is thanks to Price and Tulowitzki and, perhaps most importantly, to a general manager in Anthopoulos whose job is on the line, who was once ranked 29th in a top GM poll, and who is clearly in go for broke mode.
The sweep of the Yankees last weekend and the Bombers bats stark and sudden slump, means the Jays have now eclipsed a New York team that has spent three months atop the American league Eastern Division. And while fans of the Jays are falling over themselves in admiration of both Price and Tulowitzki, who have no doubt helped instantaneously changed the culture in Toronto, their relief core that has very quietly established itself among the best in the AL and become crucial to their success.
Overall, it’s been an inconsistent season for Toronto’s arms. In April and May they were 14th and 15th in ERA in the AL. In June, they put it altogether, finishing first in earned run average. In July, a Month spent mostly on the road thanks to the Pan Am Games, they slipped down to eighth. A good deal of that pitching instability has been on the starters - the bullpen has been a plus most of the way, helping to keep the team afloat, along with the bats of Josh Donaldson, José Bautista, Edwin Encarnación and Martin, when times were tough in Toronto.
“The current eight active Jays relievers, this year, as relievers, have thrown a little shy of 300 innings, and they’ve combined for a 2.75 ERA and a 2.90 FIP,” Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs told the Guardian. “It’s not as sexy as beating the crap out of the ball or adding Tulowitzki and Price, but no longer is the Jays’ bullpen a weakness. That’s going to relieve a lot of pressure on the rotation behind Price, and it’ll serve them well should they make it to October.”
Indeed, the relievers are a bona fide strength, solidified by shifting Aaron Sanchez back to the bullpen where he’s allowed just a single run in 8.2 innings. The 23-year-old former first round pick has been a blistering bridge to the Roberto Osuna, a 20-year-old who is called “Little Cannon” for a reason: the Jays closer has allowed just a pair of runs in his previous 12 outings, boasting a WHIP of just 0.890 in 2015. So far, the rubber-armed 42-year-old LaTroy Hawkins looks like another winner from Anthopoulos’ trade-deadline haul, bringing even more depth to a reliable bullpen.
The GM also managed to plug two defensive holes during his dealing - Tulowitzki represents a massive upgrade defensively from departed shortstop Jose Reyes, that is, at least until Toronto’s artificial turf wrecks Tulo’s knees. Ben Revere, who came over from Philadelphia, brings speed on the bases and additional range in left field.
With Price’s powerful rotation presence proving contagious, an unflappable bullpen, increase defensive abilities and video game like power, the Toronto are starting to look a little bit like the Kansas City Royals on steroids. For the first time in two decades, the sky is indeed high for Canada’s team, whose latest test is a mammoth series rematch with the visiting Yankees starting Friday.
