Blue Jays get a rude awakening in New York, and a valuable lesson

The Blue Jays were riding high a few days ago, but the Yankees gave them a rude awakening in New York, and hopefully taught them a few valuable lessons.

Other than the last half inning of the three-game series, not much went right of the Blue Jays on their latest trip to New York.

They started things out my losing 20-6 on Tuesday night, 13-1 on Wednesday, and finished things up with a 10-7 loss on Thursday that looks a lot better thanks to a five-run rally in the ninth. There was no question about which team was in control for three straight games, and it’s pretty clear that the Yankees have snapped the cold spell they’d been going through.

There aren’t a whole lot of positives to take away from it, but since I do my best to be a silver lining type of fella, let me share a few thoughts that have a positive spin.

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First and foremost, it makes me think back to something my Dad said to me in my early twenties, that, “there’s nothing wrong with getting knocked down a peg or two from time to time”. For those that have never heard the expression, he meant that it can be good for everyone to be humbled once in a while, and reminded that it still takes hard work in order to find success. I’m not suggesting that the Blue Jays were cocky entering the series in New York, or that the took the Yankees for granted, but they were given a firm reminder about how good one baseball’s top organizations can be when they’re rolling.

For a talented young team that still doesn’t have a lot of collective experience, that can be an important reminder. That’s especially the case as they embark on a likely appearance in this year’s expanded playoffs. They’re going to have to play better than they have lately over the last 11 games of the regular season, but the teams chasing them haven’t been playing well either, and they still a 4.5 game lead over the Mariners as of this writing late on Thursday evening. What they just experienced was nearly playoff-level intensity from the Yankees, as the division is now back in their grasp as they enter their last ten games.

The other “benefit” is that Charlie Montoyo is having to juggle a lot of arms in order to make the pitching staff work. That’s been a nearly impossible task for the skipper lately, but hopefully it will help him figure out who is going to make the playoff roster, and how he’ll use his pitching staff. Other than Hyun-Jin Ryu as the fairly obvious candidate to start Game One of any first round series, it might be audition time for the rest of the roles. That’s not a terribly fun place to be with 11 games to go, but at least there are a couple turns through the rotation before the regular season wraps up.

Lastly, this beatdown from the Yankees should serve as a bit of a reality check for the fan base (that includes yours truly). This Blue Jays team has been a ton of fun to watch this year, but in a lot of ways they’ve outperformed almost everyone’s expectations. I’m not suggesting that they have no chance to make an impact in the playoffs, but if this season ends in a first-round loss, I think you still have to call it a resounding success. That said, most of us like gravy on the fries, and anything more would be all that much better.

So while the last three nights have been anything but fun, it’s all part of of a MLB season for most teams, and an important learning experience for this young group. Here’s hoping they can take just that from it, wipe it away quickly, and turn things around against the Phillies.