A Night at the Dome.
Spending a Friday night with the Blue Jays as they try to make something of their season.
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At its best? Baseball thrives on its flair for the dramatic.
A spilt-second double play. A pinch hitter, coming up big in the clutch. A reliever, blowing away the cleanup guy with a sequence of triple-digit heaters.
Getting stuck in the beer line between innings, followed by the mad dash back to your seat.
The Blue Jays though, for most of 2024, haven’t had much flair. Dramatics though?
Absolutely.
Entering their series opener against Cleveland on Friday night, they were (and would remain) below .500, as they look to take their on-paper-talent and translate it, most urgently, into offensive consistency: something that has eluded them for a majority of the season.
June, reaching its midpoint and with it the realization for the Jays that they must do something, if only to maximize their competitive window.
Sure, in fairness, trading Cavan Biggio to LA and designating Daniel Vogelbach for assignment aren’t particularly big moves. While Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger, in replacing those roster spots, have promise, it is on the shoulders of Jays established stars on which potential playoff expectations rest.
And with the offence struggling? That weight, lately, has been placed on the Jays defensive acumen, specifically on the rotation.
Call it, if it you like, the trials of the Toronto sports fan: things are never simple.
But angst can be relative, no?
From the outfield seats of the Rogers Centre on this Friday night, you would be hard pressed to tell that discontent was the current buzzword in these parts.
Not a nervous energy per se but a quiet anticipation (far cry from what you’ll find in the 500s - at least, based on my experience).
It is just after seven o’clock, somewhere between the left of the bullpen and the ends of the earth. The diamond both far away and closer than it has ever been, as the sky, dotted with pink, is a picturesque blue. Missing though, is the distinctive character of the Toronto skyline - the CN Tower, hiding somewhere behind the opposite side of the Dome.
So as Kevin Gausman steps onto the mound, fresh off his first career shutout during his previous start in Oakland, there is some optimism that the Blue Jays will be able to reverse much of what has defined their recent course.
Yeah, no dice.
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Gausman will pitch reasonably well, in 5 1/3 innings of work, racking up six strikeouts and not walking a single batter but eight hits and three runs will bring an early end to his night.
He is applauded as he walks off the diamond but just one row back?
Discussion in the stands is not on the game but instead on the latest craze that is supposedly sweeping the nation: Snoop Dogg and Yoda, spending some quality time together as they enjoy some Jedi Council-approved pharmaceuticals.
After a moment or two, however, the conversation shifts once more. AI-generated photos, after all, can (occasionally) be a tricky thing to discern.
So too, can changing tides in the heat of battle.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ernie Clement drives a four-seam fastball left in the middle of the zone 316 feet for his eighth double of the season.
He is promptly followed by Davis Schneider, who, on a 1-2 count, will bring him home with an RBI single, chasing Cleveland starter Logan Allen - the run, one of only three hits he has given up.
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But any hope the Jays have of mounting a legitimate comeback goes out with what is left of the setting sun, as Guardians reliever Cade Smith retires the next three men he sees. The following four relievers? Perhaps not wanting to be shown up, they will follow his example.
The Jays won’t get another hit tonight.
A 3-1 decision in Cleveland’s favour, what will ultimately be etched into the scorecard.
With 162 games, however, the baseball season is oft-defined by quickly changing fortunes.
The Jays will follow up their weak showing on Friday with two consecutive wins (5-0 on Saturday and 7-6 on Sunday) taking the series and finding themselves, now, as of this writing, just a game within .500.
There are some 3-plus months left in their season and it would be foolhardy to suggest, so soon, that defeat is inevitable (if not completely out of the question) given the imperfect nature of the their current construction. Out of the woods, they are anything but.
But it also a reminder to find joy in the little things when you can.
Like twelve dollar beer and vegan steak nachos, with a side of popcorn.
Visiting with some old friends in the concourse or catching up with mom.
After all - you can’t beat a ballgame.