Edwin Edwin Edwin. EdwinEdwinEdwin. Ed.Win. There is so much out there regarding the truly impressive August performance of Edwin Encarnacion that it’s crazy. For a good spread on what Edwin has done as a figurehead check out Milk Wilner’s article here on sportsnet.ca. It’s truly incredible. First he takes down Mickey Mantle for HRs in May (16 in 2014) now all of this. The roll the Blue Jays are on is even better than the World Series teams of the early 90s. The biggest change? The atmosphere at Rogers Centre. It wasn’t that crazy even during the World Series home games. Just keep watching and clinging to that bandwagon. Your enthusiasm is much appreciated.
Speaking of treading water…the Cleveland Indians bring their decent lineup and ok starting pitching to the Rogers Centre beginning tonight. Michael Bradley has been his usually close to MVP-worthy self and is among the league leaders in batting average (.325). Couple that with a breakout season for Jason Kipnis (.319 BA and .886 OPS…same as Brantley’s) and a huge first season for Francisco Lindor (.312 BA) and the Indians offense is running well. The pitching has been too. They have three pitchers throwing under 3.60 ERA in the rotation (Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber) and their closer is Cody Allen who has 27 saves in 30 chances. The pieces are there but the intangibles were fine.
As for this series against the Jays..my heart goes out to you Mr/Ms. Indian fan who must also bite their lip as their President will be leaving to fly North. They will be pesky and will fight hard. Their pitching is right on par with the Blue Jays in terms of ERA (3.76 for the Jays and 3.77 for the Indians) and close in hitting (.266 for the Jays….257 for the Indians). There is a lot to like about this team but they just can’t seem to put it all together this year. Fighting with the Royals and Twins and Tigers will do that to a team. Don’t take them lightly though or they may just take you out.
Next: Game 1: Price vs Salazar