Blue Jays Morning Brew: Singin’ the off day blues

The Toronto Blue Jays will enjoy a travel day to Philadelphia on Monday where they’ll play a quick two-game set against the lowly Phillies. Drew Hutchison‘s strong outing led the Blue Jays back to within 0.5 games of the New York Yankees, and with the club still sitting in the first AL Wild Card spot, optimism remains high in Toronto.

Aaron Loup‘s long-expected demotion following Sunday’s game should result in a corresponding move at some point today or early tomorrow, with a right-handed outfield bat expected to be the addition. To help you through this baseball-free day, we wrap up a weekend of Blue Jays news and stories in the Morning Brew. Enjoy!

The Price is Clean!  –  A funny tweet from Jays ace David Price early on Sunday, as he was surprised with an MLB drug test following his recent string of strong outings. I’m not sure how “random” the tests are, but our new friend passed with flying colors. 


Bandwagon Bemoaning  –  CBC British Columbia discussed the sensation of bandwagon baseball fans recently with journalist and author Eric Simons. This is becoming an unnecessarily touchy subject around the Blue Jays, who are adding fans by the busload.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

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• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
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Simons works to define the “bandwagon” term. “When the team wins, you get increased self-esteem. You have this confirmation of your identity. You get increased pride. All these benefits as if you had won personally, even when you didn’t.”

“If you’re an invested fan in this team, you’ve put in the ‘work,'” he continued, “you’ve felt legitimate emotional pain, and now you’re going to get your reward, so you’re sensitive to the freeloaders.”  I understand the angst towards the “Fans Since August”, but at the end of the day, we’re all cheering for the blue team here. There’s no need for someone to point out that they’re “more” of a fan. We know!

Tulowitzki awaiting liftoff  –  Jeff Blair of Sportsnet gets to the heart of Troy Tulowitzki‘s recent “struggles” at the dish. For Tulo, this is the nature of baseball as he faces talented pitchers who are brand new to him.

“I haven’t faced these guys before, but it’s no excuse. You see video on them and once you have an at-bat, you see release points. It’s just baseball; it’s a tough game.” I’ll take Tulo’s career arc as an elite offensive shortstop over a two-weak sample size, and I’m fully confident that a hitter of his calibre will rebound. The sooner the better, though!

Next: Jays enjoying mammoth surge from Encarnacion

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King