Blue Jays Fans: Who should we cheer for now?

Now that the Blue Jays’ season is almost over and the playoffs are about to begin, who should we cheer for during this year’s playoff run?

The Blue Jays have just four games remaining in their 2017 schedule, and soon the attention will turn to an offseason full of rumours about potential trades and free agent additions. The Blue Jays got a head start on that, re-signing Marco Estrada to a one year deal to give their rotation some stability for next season. They’ll have some other work to do, but there should be a bit of payroll flexibility for Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins to operate with.

Before that happens though, the MLB playoffs will take place and for the first time since the 2014 season, we won’t get to watch the Blue Jays take part. That bites for sure, but for baseball fans who aren’t ready to take a break from the game, there is plenty of good baseball left to watch before the season officially ends.

As Blue Jays fans, who should we be rooting for during the playoffs this year? The picture is nearly set, and there are plenty of rivals involved, the reigning champion, and more of course.

There are also former Blue Jays in the playoffs (hint: Edwin Encarnacion is one of them), so that might factor into the equation for you? Last year it was easy for folks to root for the Chicago Cubs to end of their century long drought, but this year there could be a little more parity.

Let’s have a look at the contenders, and why they might be worthy of your applause.

American League

Wild Card Game- We’ll start with the two teams who will square off in the one game Wild Card matchup, the New York Yankees, and Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins are the type of “David vs. Goliath” team that is easy to cheer for, especially considering they lost 103 games last season. They even gave up on themselves (metaphorically) earlier this offseason by trading Jaime Garcia to the Yankees before the trade deadline. They acquired him and gave him one start, then a losing streak made them reverse course. It would be ironic if he played a significant role in the one game playoff.

They have an uphill climb to advance, but once you’re in the postseason anything can happen, and they would be a fun cinderella story to cheer for.

Former Blue Jays on the roster: The Twins are coached by Paul Molitor, who is of course beloved in Toronto because of his contribution to the 1993 World Series championship team. Beyond that, the Twins aren’t carrying anyone formerly of the Blue Jays’ organization.

Should I cheer for them? 

Maybe.

New York Yankees

The immediate answer is, “I’m not cheering for the Yankees”, but it really depends on what generation you’re from. My 70 year old father grew up as a Yankees fan before the Blue Jays (or me) existed, and he often cheers for them after the Blue Jays have been eliminated. As much as it irks me, I can’t blame him at all.

If you don’t have that excuse for cheering for the Bronx Bombers, there aren’t many reasons for fans of the Jays to want a 28th championship in New York. The Yankees already have a strong foundation that the Blue Jays will have to contend with in the next 5-10 years, so an early championship for the young core wouldn’t help matters.

That said, they are a dark horse candidate to come out of the American League, so don’t be surprised if they make a deep run.

Former Blue Jays on the roster: Erik Kratz has spent some time on the roster with the Yankees this year, so I guess it would be nice for him to get a ring. I’m not that nice though. Canadian, Rob Thomson, is bench coach as well.

Should I cheer for them? 

Unless you’re my Dad, hell no.

More of the American League

Boston Red Sox

Much like the Yankees, the Red Sox have a young core and will be a tough obstacle for the Blue Jays in the coming seasons. They’re got the type of roster that should be able to make a deep run in the postseason, but they’ve been scuffling a bit as the season comes to a close.

The only reason I can see for Blue Jays fans cheering for the Red Sox would be to see David Price finally get a World Series ring. He’s well liked around Blue Jays’ circles for good reason, and it would be nice to see him put his playoffs demons to rest and finally quiet the critics.

Of course the problem is, he plays for the Red Sox, so I can’t cheer for that outcome no matter how much I like the loveable lefty. I like Brian Butterfield a lot too (third base coach), but that doesn’t mean I want to see him win a ring with a division rival.

There’s also the added element (for me anyway), of enjoying watching a John Farrell lead team lose out in the postseason. I have a hard time cheering for someone who jumped ship to head to a division rival, regardless of the circumstances.

Former Blue Jays on the roster: David Price, Rajai Davis, Manager- John Farrell, Brian Butterfield

Should I cheer for them? 

Hard no.

Houston Astros

The upstart young club has surprised everyone with their dominance this year, but not necessarily that they’ve qualified for the postseason. They’ve been the strongest team in the American League for almost the entire season (before Cleveland’s huge run), and they’ve done it on the strength of a well spread out contribution from their roster.

They’ve had their spats with the Blue Jays this year, but this isn’t the level of rivalry that the Jays have with the Texas Rangers or their division rivals, so it’s possible some folks may cheer for the Astros. The Jays did make a trade with them this year as well, so they’re carrying Francisco Liriano, who was sent over in the Teoscar Hernandez trade, which also included Nori Aoki coming to Toronto.

Former Blue Jays on the roster: Francisco Liriano, Jake Marisnick, Joe Musgrove

Should I cheer for them? 

If you want to, I guess. They did send the Blue Jays Hernandez for Liriano, so that was pretty kind of them. It would be a nice boost for the state as well given everything that’s happened with Hurricane Harvey.

Cleveland Indians

This one probably represents the most difficult for most Blue Jays fans. Cleveland was the team responsible for knocking the Blue Jays out of the playoffs last year, so that sting definitely counts in the equation here. However, there is one big difference between the 2016 and 2017 versions of Cleveland’s roster. A loveable slugger by the name of Edwin Encarnacion.

If there was ever a time that you get a pass for cheering for the team that knocked the Jays out of the playoffs, it would be now. Encarnacion is 34 years old and has never won a World Series ring, so if you can’t pick another team then this one at least makes sense. I guess. Yuck.

Former Blue Jays on the roster: Edwin Encarnacion, Joe Smith, Yan Gomes

Should I cheer for them? 

Reluctantly, I can understand why you would.

National League Contenders

Colorado Rockies/Milwaukee Brewers

I’m gonna go with the Rockies here, mostly because they have a 1.5 game lead as of this writing. It is possible for the Brewers to overtake them but it should be the Rockies playoff spot to lose.

The Rockies have been a nice story this year after struggling for several seasons, riding the excellent play of MVP contender Nolan Arenado, the grossly underrated Charlie Blackmon, and several other young talents to the second Wild Card position. They are much stronger on the offensive side of the ball, but they’ve had decent contributions from their pitching staff this season, including former Blue Jay prospect Jeff Hoffman.

There really isn’t much of a reason for Blue Jays fans to dislike the Rockies (to my recollection anyway), so if you’re the type that likes to root for an underdog, the Rockies might be your team.

Former Blue Jays on the roster= Jeff Hoffman

Should I cheer for them?

Why not?

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have been a bit of a surprise this year, but they’ve finally put together a great season around a talented core. They have had a much better contribution from Zach Greinke, another rock solid season from Paul Goldschmidt, and an otherworldly contribution from J.D. Martinez, who was acquired at the trade deadline.

There’s not much reason for Blue Jays’ fans to dislike the Diamondbacks either, and there are a couple reasons to cheer for them. First of all, they’re an underdog too, even if they’ve had an excellent season. They’re also coached by Torey Lovullo, who used to coach for the Blue Jays’ organization at one time, and was a very likeable character in Toronto as well.

Former Blue Jays on the roster= Torey Lovullo, Humberto Quintero (bullpen catcher)

Should I cheer for them?

Sure, why not.