End of an Era
This was a busy weekend for Toronto sports fans... A lot to digest, from a trade by the Blue Jays, a Raptors win and a Leafs loss that actually didn't feel too bad...
Not even sure where I should begin, but I'll focus on the trade here.
I found out about the Blue Jays' trade of Russell Martin to the Dodgers just as I was finishing up my previous post (which was about 5 a.m.). I was obviously too tired to comment on it, and I needed to digest the meaning of it all, anyway.
Dealing Martin represents the end of an era for us fans. With apologies to Marcus Stroman and Kevin Pillar (and to a limited degree, Aaron Sanchez), Martin was the last remaining key piece from our 2015-2016 ALCS teams. Check out this old Sports Illustrated cover from 2015.
Nobody from this photo is with the Jays. Not one. Price was the first to go, via free agency, and Martin was the last one.
Because he arrived in a midseason and left right away (and didn't do much in the postseason, I might add), Price never really felt like a Jay to me. EE and Jose were obviously rocks for our team who'd endured some lean years before finally getting their moments to shine in the postseason. And now that I look back, I am glad they each had their signature home runs in a Jays uniform (Jose with that epic shot in 2015, and Edwin with the Wild Card winner over the Orioles in 2016).
And since I linked to Jose's homer before, I'll give EE his spot here. This showdown will forever go down as "the playoff elimination game in which the best closer in baseball didn't pitch with the score tied in extra innings."
I've already covered how I feel about Tulo. Josh won the AL MVP in 2015 and that alone cemented his legacy with the club. I just wished he'd have been able to stay healthier the past couple of years.
Gibby... I know fans are torn over the man. Depending on whom you ask, Gibby is either the best players' manager we've ever had, or the worst on-field tactician we've ever had. I've had my reservations about the skipper but he really impressed over the final month or so during last season with the way he handled our prospects/call-ups.
Gibby had said earlier he wasn't sure if he was the right guy to work with young players in the Jays' rebuilding phase. But toward the end of the season, he said he'd been enjoying the process so much he might have a change of heart (though by then, the decision had already been reached to replace him. It's all about timing, eh?).
With Martin... I can't say I was surprised to see him leave, given his age, the direction the club will be taking in the next couple of years, and the development of our young catching prospects, Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire.
And honestly, I wasn't even that saddened by the deal. Maybe because it didn't come during the season... Or because it seemed only a matter of time before Martine was going to be dealt... Or because I just hadn't seen him play for so long that it didn't even feel like he was on the team! (More on that in a bit)
When we signed him in 2014, I remember thinking, "Okay, here comes a token Canadian." He was coming off one of his most productive offensive seasons with the Bucs, but we were getting a catcher entering his age-32 season with 9 full seasons behind the plate. In other words, a prime candidate to be hitting the downslopes as soon as he began his Jays career.
Well, the Toronto boy ended up hitting a career-high 23 home runs and posting his second-highest SLG% with .458 in 2015. And we went to the postseason that year and Martin extended his personal playoff streak to five.
His streak reached six in 2016, but Martin could never duplicate his power production from 2015. In fact, he was a below-average hitter in three straight seasons starting in 2016. Martin was so bad last season that he didn't even play after Sept. 3 and even got to manage the final game of the season!
There has been plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest he has been a far more important piece to the team than his peripheral stats suggest. Coaches and young players have marveled about his leadership skills and about how awesome he'd been with young pitchers during his tenure. Gibby and others have also said Martin would make a great manager once his playing career is done.
And that position has produced some fine managers over the years, with the common belief being former catchers are able to see the big picture because of their vantage point from behind the plate during their playing days.
I certainly hope Martin will manage in the big leagues someday. There have been only two Canadian skippers in the majors and it's about time we got another one.
I have mixed feelings about Martin's tenture in Toronto. He was good to great in stretches, but I wanted to see more consistent production at the plate. Can't complain about his defense, though the one play that really sticks out for me is this from the 2015 ALDS.
That was such a bizarre play. I don't think I'll ever see anything like this again. Because a Korean player was at the center of all this (Shin-Soo Choo at the plate), it was a major story over here, too.
Fortunately, Martin's college teammate, Jose, made everyone forget about this play with his epic homer in the bottom half of this inning.
The Blue Jays became the most hated baseball team in Korea that fall because we eliminated a team with a Korean player (I know, silly). And the next season, the hatred reached new heights when we beat another team with a Korean player (Orioles and Hyun Soo Kim) in the Wild Card game. It didn't help that some dude threw a beer can at Kim playing left field during the game. And of course, we knocked out Choo and the Rangers in the ALDS that same season. I did a Korean podcast on major leagues in those two seasons and I got blasted by some listeners for not rooting for the Rangers or the Orioles despite being Korean. I still don't understand the logic behind that.
I digress. I wish Russ all the best in LA and if he does end up managing a big league team, hopefully he won't have to deal with a play like that.
Not even sure where I should begin, but I'll focus on the trade here.
I found out about the Blue Jays' trade of Russell Martin to the Dodgers just as I was finishing up my previous post (which was about 5 a.m.). I was obviously too tired to comment on it, and I needed to digest the meaning of it all, anyway.
Dealing Martin represents the end of an era for us fans. With apologies to Marcus Stroman and Kevin Pillar (and to a limited degree, Aaron Sanchez), Martin was the last remaining key piece from our 2015-2016 ALCS teams. Check out this old Sports Illustrated cover from 2015.
Nobody from this photo is with the Jays. Not one. Price was the first to go, via free agency, and Martin was the last one.
Because he arrived in a midseason and left right away (and didn't do much in the postseason, I might add), Price never really felt like a Jay to me. EE and Jose were obviously rocks for our team who'd endured some lean years before finally getting their moments to shine in the postseason. And now that I look back, I am glad they each had their signature home runs in a Jays uniform (Jose with that epic shot in 2015, and Edwin with the Wild Card winner over the Orioles in 2016).
And since I linked to Jose's homer before, I'll give EE his spot here. This showdown will forever go down as "the playoff elimination game in which the best closer in baseball didn't pitch with the score tied in extra innings."
I've already covered how I feel about Tulo. Josh won the AL MVP in 2015 and that alone cemented his legacy with the club. I just wished he'd have been able to stay healthier the past couple of years.
Gibby... I know fans are torn over the man. Depending on whom you ask, Gibby is either the best players' manager we've ever had, or the worst on-field tactician we've ever had. I've had my reservations about the skipper but he really impressed over the final month or so during last season with the way he handled our prospects/call-ups.
Gibby had said earlier he wasn't sure if he was the right guy to work with young players in the Jays' rebuilding phase. But toward the end of the season, he said he'd been enjoying the process so much he might have a change of heart (though by then, the decision had already been reached to replace him. It's all about timing, eh?).
With Martin... I can't say I was surprised to see him leave, given his age, the direction the club will be taking in the next couple of years, and the development of our young catching prospects, Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire.
And honestly, I wasn't even that saddened by the deal. Maybe because it didn't come during the season... Or because it seemed only a matter of time before Martine was going to be dealt... Or because I just hadn't seen him play for so long that it didn't even feel like he was on the team! (More on that in a bit)
When we signed him in 2014, I remember thinking, "Okay, here comes a token Canadian." He was coming off one of his most productive offensive seasons with the Bucs, but we were getting a catcher entering his age-32 season with 9 full seasons behind the plate. In other words, a prime candidate to be hitting the downslopes as soon as he began his Jays career.
Well, the Toronto boy ended up hitting a career-high 23 home runs and posting his second-highest SLG% with .458 in 2015. And we went to the postseason that year and Martin extended his personal playoff streak to five.
His streak reached six in 2016, but Martin could never duplicate his power production from 2015. In fact, he was a below-average hitter in three straight seasons starting in 2016. Martin was so bad last season that he didn't even play after Sept. 3 and even got to manage the final game of the season!
There has been plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest he has been a far more important piece to the team than his peripheral stats suggest. Coaches and young players have marveled about his leadership skills and about how awesome he'd been with young pitchers during his tenure. Gibby and others have also said Martin would make a great manager once his playing career is done.
And that position has produced some fine managers over the years, with the common belief being former catchers are able to see the big picture because of their vantage point from behind the plate during their playing days.
I certainly hope Martin will manage in the big leagues someday. There have been only two Canadian skippers in the majors and it's about time we got another one.
I have mixed feelings about Martin's tenture in Toronto. He was good to great in stretches, but I wanted to see more consistent production at the plate. Can't complain about his defense, though the one play that really sticks out for me is this from the 2015 ALDS.
That was such a bizarre play. I don't think I'll ever see anything like this again. Because a Korean player was at the center of all this (Shin-Soo Choo at the plate), it was a major story over here, too.
Fortunately, Martin's college teammate, Jose, made everyone forget about this play with his epic homer in the bottom half of this inning.
The Blue Jays became the most hated baseball team in Korea that fall because we eliminated a team with a Korean player (I know, silly). And the next season, the hatred reached new heights when we beat another team with a Korean player (Orioles and Hyun Soo Kim) in the Wild Card game. It didn't help that some dude threw a beer can at Kim playing left field during the game. And of course, we knocked out Choo and the Rangers in the ALDS that same season. I did a Korean podcast on major leagues in those two seasons and I got blasted by some listeners for not rooting for the Rangers or the Orioles despite being Korean. I still don't understand the logic behind that.
I digress. I wish Russ all the best in LA and if he does end up managing a big league team, hopefully he won't have to deal with a play like that.
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