Blue Jays Morning Brew: Losing the losing streak

The Blue Jays jumped back into the win column on Wednesday night, giving David Price his 16th victory on the season. New York, as you might have guessed, squeaked out another tight win to stay stride-for-stride with the Blue Jays, who look to take the series tonight in Atlanta with Marco Estrada on the hill. It’s Friday Eve, everybody, so kick off your day with another edition of the Morning Brew!

Stroman getting fired up  –  Just when you thought you couldn’t be more excited for Marcus Stroman‘s home debut in 2015, we get these great quotes from Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet.

Also on Jays Journal: Several Jays in the running for GIBBY Awards

“I got the chills,” Stroman said on Sportsnet and The Fan 590’s Brady & Walker. “I can’t wait to get back to Toronto and put on the jersey and toe the rubber. My first appearance back in The 6. (I’m) more excited for this than Yankee Stadium.”

Outside of the home run, Stroman looked surprisingly sharp in his first start against the Yankees. He worked fast with velocity similar to what we saw in 2014, so expect some fireworks on Friday night. The ‘Dome will be LOUD that night!

More love for AA  –  Check out this clip from ESPN, where Dave Schoenfield examines the case for Alex Anthopoulos as the MLB’s Executive of the Year. From Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin to Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, no other club has brought on such star power in the past 12 months. Anthopoulos’ case would be solidified by a playoff birth, but isn’t this a great conversation to have after the ones we battled through following 2014?

A growing game  –  Alexis Brudnicki of Baseball American highlights some exciting Canadian talent at Tournament 12 in Toronto. This has quickly developed into the premiere showcase for northern talent, and as Brudnicki reports, Canada could be sending several arms to the MLB Draft over the next few years.

“You can’t get this anywhere else,” said Jameson Hart of Sarnia, Ontario, already creating a buzz among scouts at just 16 years old. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of high-level scouts and I’m really happy to be here.”

Men in Demand  –  The Blue Jays front office is drawing attention for other reasons, as well. Blue Jays VP of baseball operations and assistant GM Tony LaCava along with special assistant Dana Brown have both garnered interest for GM positions recently, as Ben Nicholson-Smith details here.

LaCava has been a well-respected name in baseball circles for some time now, and turned down Baltimore’s GM job in 2011 to stay within the organization. While I remain optimistic that Anthopoulos will be handed a generous contract in the near future, don’t be surprised if the Jays lose some lower-ranking executives. It’s the nature of success in pro sports, unfortunately.

Next: Buehrle sounding healthy, but also a little irritated?

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