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The Toronto Blue Jays head into the All-Star break two and a half games back in the wild card race, and Peter Klein still has a sliver of optimism, but there are real concerns. The defence has fallen off. The bullpen is a puzzle. And Vladdy Guerrero Jr. has been below average by nearly every measure this season.
Peter breaks down what's gone wrong, why the American League is genuinely beatable, what the Jays need from the second half, and why Bo Bichette's leaving might be affecting more than just the lineup card.
👍 Like, subscribe, and let me know in the comments: are you buying the Blue Jays in the second half, or is it time to reset?
#TorontoBlueJays #MLB #BlueJays
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Peter breaks down what's gone wrong, why the American League is genuinely beatable, what the Jays need from the second half, and why Bo Bichette's leaving might be affecting more than just the lineup card.
👍 Like, subscribe, and let me know in the comments: are you buying the Blue Jays in the second half, or is it time to reset?
#TorontoBlueJays #MLB #BlueJays
🎧 Listen on: Apple https://apple.co/49NGm2L | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM?si=icY7NEBvT7yZadv_JFlT6Q
💬 Follow for live breakdowns: X.com/primetimepk | Twitch.tv/primetimepk | Kick.com/primetimepk
🔗 Support the Show:
- Tip Jar: https://streamelements.com/couchpotatodiary/tip (fuels more content!)
- Partners: C of Dead http://cofdead403.ca/
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SportsTranscript
00:00A frustrating first half of the season for the Blue Jays came to a frustrating end in frustrating fashion.
00:07And yet, I still have a sliver of optimism around this team, but changes obviously need to be made.
00:13Let's talk about the first half for the Toronto Blue Jays.
00:21In the Twitch chat, Big John, speaking of things on fire, the Blue Jays.
00:26And at times, they have looked like, hey, they're on fire, sweeping the Red Sox, off they go.
00:32And at other times, they have looked more like a dumpster fire.
00:35And it's frustrating because, like, you get Vladi getting the home run the other night, and still lose.
00:40And you get big performances from Okamoto in the first half of the season.
00:45And the pitching, having some great nights, but then the hitting doesn't do it.
00:48Then the hitting's doing it, and then the bullpen doesn't do it.
00:50They haven't been able to get everything together.
00:54But I still have a bit of optimism around this group.
00:57And I still, it is going to be tempting now, in the next month, with the trade deadline coming up
01:02on August the 3rd.
01:04It's going to be tempting to kind of blow this thing up.
01:08Gosman, free agent at the end of the season.
01:10Springer, free agent at the end of the season.
01:12Move a couple of those guys out.
01:14They did really well with it in 2024, when they hit the reset button.
01:17And a lot of those guys, whether it was guys who got playing time in 2024, or guys who they
01:22brought in, have been able to have an effect on this team in a positive way in the 18 months
01:27since.
01:27And I think the big one with that is Ernie Clement.
01:29All the playing time he was able to get, and starting to thrive with that.
01:32And now he's playing in the All-Star game coming up on Tuesday.
01:34But the reason I have the optimism around the Blue Jays that I have, is we know that there's a
01:40good baseball team in there, right?
01:42Like, they have shown all the pieces of a good baseball team.
01:45It's just not all at the same time.
01:47And the American League, I don't know if you notice, the American League has been ass, right?
01:52Like, it's been bad.
01:53Looking at the standings here, a little blurry.
01:56I probably didn't need to focus so wide on all of this.
01:58But the Blue Jays are two and a half games back.
02:01You look at the teams that are in front of them right now.
02:03The Baltimore Orioles, does Baltimore scare you at all?
02:06They don't scare me.
02:07That offense, supposed to be like this big grand thing, it hasn't worked in the way that they wanted it
02:12to.
02:12And the pitching staff is not nearly good enough to be a real threat to the Blue Jays.
02:17Like, I think the Blue Jays have an obviously better pitching staff than them.
02:20And an offense that, when clicking, is enough to be able to beat them.
02:23And to be able to top that.
02:25Houston, there's a pedigree there.
02:27I don't know if they have enough guys, but they've just been able to hang around.
02:30Boston's on a great run right now, but we're also a couple of weeks removed from the Blue Jays.
02:33They're always dominating the Red Sox.
02:34I don't think the Twins are a good baseball team.
02:37And those are the teams that are ahead of the Jays right now.
02:39In the wild card, like, the Mariners are good.
02:41And they have been underperforming a little bit so far this season.
02:45They're the one where it's like, okay, yeah, I get that.
02:47Cleveland, I just, for the eighth year in a row, I'm not buying it with Cleveland.
02:51Same with the Rangers.
02:51Like, they're just kind of in first place by default.
02:54And same with the White Sox.
02:55I don't think the Rays are as good as they are showing right now.
02:59But the Jays have always had problems with Tampa Bay, so I'm not going to do that.
03:02And I think the Yankees are legitimately a good baseball team.
03:05But I don't think they're that much better than the Jays right now.
03:08Like, Schlittler is a Cy Young candidate.
03:11Judge getting banged up has been an issue for this team, for sure.
03:17But you're also seeing a lot of those same issues creeping up again.
03:20Chisholm making really bad mistakes, whether it be in the field or in base running.
03:24A lot of sloppiness in the field again from this team.
03:27Better than it was before.
03:28But a lot of sloppiness.
03:29A lot of really weird lineup decisions from Aaron Boone.
03:33So, yeah, like, the Yankees are, I think, the best team in the American League.
03:38And I think they are also very gettable.
03:40And when you look at the pitching rotation that the Jays can put out there,
03:44it's going to be in a wildcard series.
03:45They're not going to make a comeback now and win the American League East.
03:48But when you look at the rotation they can put out there for a playoff series,
03:51in the wildcard round, like, you can go Cease, Yassavage, Gossman.
03:56Games 1, 2, and 3, if it makes it to 3, in the wildcard.
03:59And then, while he hasn't been amazing,
04:02Shane Bieber, for your Game 1 starter in the ALDS,
04:07isn't the worst thing in the world.
04:08So, I do think that they can be in a good spot where,
04:12if they just get in, then they can do some real, real damage there.
04:16So, that's why, like, if someone gives you an amazing offer for a Springer
04:20or something like that,
04:21I do think you have to consider it, given where they're at.
04:24But I think when you take a look at the landscape of the American League
04:27and you see how things have almost come together for this team,
04:32I do think you have to give them another chance
04:35coming off of the playoff run that they had a season ago.
04:38Big John making a good point here.
04:40Blue Jays went from having a team of players all having career years
04:44to almost everyone having career worst years.
04:46It's more frustrating than anyone because,
04:49even if they were average, they'd be solidly leading the wildcard.
04:53That has been the frustrating thing.
04:54And, like, I did a video back in May saying, like, hey, I'm pissed about this.
04:57And, like, I know it's early, but I'm also,
04:59I think it's fine to be pissed about it.
05:01Because they had that amazing schedule to start the season.
05:04And that was the time to really make it up.
05:06And then they were 9-11 and shit, right?
05:11It's frustrating because, like, if they were just okay,
05:14they would be, like I said, comfortably in a wildcard spot.
05:17Just, like, solidly there.
05:19They'd be in, maybe not the first wildcard spot
05:21because the Yankees and Rays are having this battle of the Titans.
05:23But you'd be in that second spot right now
05:25and you'd be hosting in the wildcard round
05:27and everything would feel a little,
05:29ah, maybe you wouldn't be.
05:29No, you wouldn't be.
05:30But still, you'd be, you'd be in the wildcard round
05:32and you'd be feeling all right about everything.
05:34Now, you're battling.
05:36And every game is going to feel like a playoff game
05:37and it's going to be a grind.
05:38And we saw it, like, getting in as the division winner
05:43helped out the Blue Jays.
05:44I think, like, having home field advantage
05:46helped them in every single series.
05:48Getting to set their pitching rotation against the Yankees
05:51and then heals the Game 1 starter
05:52and then Vladdy's hitting balls all over the yard,
05:55which, boy, I miss that.
05:56But, like, that helped them.
05:58And then having Game 7 of the American League Championship Series
06:01at the Rogers Centre helped them get to the World Series.
06:04You're not going to have that this year,
06:06but if you could have just been okay,
06:07and if they're just okay in the second half of the season,
06:09they'll be fine and they'll be in the playoffs.
06:11But it is frustrating because you,
06:13fine gets you a long way in the American League this season.
06:15Um, Toxic saying in the Twitch chat,
06:19Ernie Clement's defense has dropped a bit
06:21for whatever reason, though.
06:22That has been, I'm not going to say the most frustrating thing
06:26because the Hoffman thing's been frustrating,
06:27and we'll get to that in a second.
06:28But the defense being mid to bad
06:31has been, I think, the, the, the most frustrating
06:34because that was kind of the selling point when Bo left.
06:38I mean, the first selling point was that
06:39you weren't going to give him, oh,
06:41we have an automatic cat feeder now,
06:42and it just went off and that scared the hell out of me.
06:44Um, you, you, like, you weren't going to give Bo
06:46$45 million a year, obviously,
06:48with, with opt-outs after each season.
06:50But the, the selling point after that happened
06:54was Okamoto can play a pretty good third base,
06:57now Jimenez can go to short,
07:00Clement can go to second,
07:01and you have an, an elite level defensive infield.
07:06And it hasn't looked like that.
07:07Like, Ernie's defense, you're right, has fallen off.
07:09Jimenez has been good, not great, not amazing, I guess.
07:12Okamoto has been fine now that he's kind of
07:13settled in at the big leagues.
07:15The, the catching errors,
07:16especially when Kirk went out,
07:17like Heinemann and Valenzuela,
07:19each taking turns, throwing the ball away.
07:21Um, the, the outfield defense
07:22hasn't been as good as it was a year ago, too.
07:24Like, the, the defense falling off
07:26has been the real frustrating part.
07:28Because, again, like, the offense isn't good enough
07:30where you can have those sort of errors,
07:33have those sort of problems,
07:34and then, oh, it's fine,
07:35we can slug our way out of it,
07:36like the Yankees can at certain times, right?
07:38You don't have that with this team,
07:40especially with Vladdy hitting the way that he is.
07:42So, it's frustrating.
07:43It's really frustrating.
07:45When the defense that was supposed to be
07:47kind of the thing that held this all together,
07:49that that is the thing that has kind of fallen off,
07:51I think, the most
07:52in this most recent season.
07:55Um, yeah, that's,
07:58that's where it gets a little bit frustrating,
07:59I think, with all of that.
08:01Absolutely.
08:02100%.
08:02But all of these, like,
08:03the big one right now
08:04is Jeff Hoffman.
08:05And it's tough,
08:07because it wasn't, like,
08:09the highest leverage situation.
08:10It was against the heart of the lineup,
08:12against the Padres there.
08:13That was,
08:14that was really, really annoying,
08:16and really frustrating.
08:17And I,
08:18I can get the blame on Schneider 100%.
08:21And I don't know why you go Rodgers in the 7th,
08:24then Hoffman in the 8th,
08:25instead of the way that they've been doing it,
08:27kind of flip-flopping it a little bit.
08:28Or even just go Rodgers with 3, 4, and 5.
08:31Like, you have the all-star break here.
08:32He only threw, I think, 12 pitches
08:34in the one inning that he pitched.
08:35So just let him keep going.
08:38And save, again,
08:39Hoffman facing some bigger bats.
08:41But,
08:42I can,
08:42not to be a full defender,
08:44you can kind of see where Schneider's coming from.
08:46Again, hopefully you guys can see this all right.
08:48Um,
08:49like, that outing,
08:50the two runs there against the Padres,
08:52it's the first time he's allowed an earner run
08:55in over a month.
08:56Like, he's been fine.
08:57And this is the frustrating thing with him.
08:59It's like,
08:59you go back to the playoffs,
09:01dominant,
09:02unhittable,
09:02almost.
09:03Just dealing,
09:04dealing,
09:05dealing.
09:06Serves up the game-tying home run
09:07in Game 7 of the World Series.
09:08And that's what he's doing here.
09:09Like, he's just going through,
09:10um,
09:12one shutout inning against the Phillies,
09:14couple of strikeouts.
09:15And then another shutout inning
09:16against the Phillies,
09:17gets a strikeout.
09:18Couple of strikeouts against the Yankees.
09:20Um,
09:20gets the,
09:21the,
09:21the,
09:22the clean inning
09:22against the Red Sox,
09:23where he's only facing
09:24the,
09:25the three batters.
09:25Like,
09:26he is cruising
09:27in some of these performances,
09:28and then he just has this blip,
09:30but the blips
09:31don't come
09:32when you're up
09:33six to one.
09:34The blips always come
09:35when you're up by one
09:36in Game 7 of the World Series.
09:38Or you've just been able
09:39to have a pretty strong game,
09:40and you have a chance
09:41to go into the All-Star break
09:42on a high,
09:42and you end up getting beaten again.
09:45So,
09:45I don't know what you do.
09:47Right?
09:47Because you,
09:48you can't trade him
09:48because his value is pretty low.
09:51You can't just be,
09:52okay,
09:52well,
09:52them's the breaks,
09:53and put him,
09:54he's the closer now.
09:55Like,
09:55Louis Varland has been
09:56the best closer
09:57in the American League this year.
09:58Um,
09:59he,
09:59he's been phenomenal.
10:00But I also,
10:01like,
10:02he's,
10:02he's too good to just
10:02throw him out there
10:03in the sixth
10:03in a game that you're
10:04winning by 12,
10:05and,
10:06okay,
10:06we'll just get your innings here.
10:07Like,
10:08he's good enough
10:08that he deserves to be
10:09in some leverage spots,
10:11but if the leverage tilts
10:12even just a little bit too scary,
10:13then he completely loses it,
10:15grooves a fastball,
10:16and it gets hit over a hotel.
10:18Like,
10:18it's,
10:19it's so infuriating
10:20to watch this,
10:21but it's kind of how
10:22this team has been,
10:23right?
10:23Like,
10:23just when you think
10:24things are turning around,
10:25and it's kind of a big moment,
10:27boom goes the dynamite,
10:29and off it goes.
10:30So,
10:30I,
10:30I don't know what you do with him.
10:32Like,
10:32it would be easier to just
10:33trade him,
10:34probably,
10:34and just try something else
10:36with someone else.
10:37But it's not like there's been
10:39a whole lot of guys
10:39beating down the door
10:41for leverage this year,
10:42right?
10:42Like,
10:44obviously not little.
10:46And,
10:46like,
10:46at each point,
10:47like,
10:47Fisher's had some issues.
10:49Garcia,
10:49I don't know if this guy's
10:50going to pitch again.
10:50Like,
10:51just any time he goes out there
10:52in any kind of
10:54rehab assignments,
10:54oh,
10:55well,
10:55it's actually worse
10:55than we thought,
10:56and now he has to sit
10:57for a couple of weeks.
10:58Like,
10:59there hasn't really been
10:59that guy coming in
11:00and being like,
11:01all right,
11:02this is my role now.
11:03I got this.
11:04Don't worry about it.
11:05And,
11:05it's been tough for the Jays.
11:07So,
11:07I don't know if,
11:08like,
11:08when everyone is back
11:09and kind of grooving,
11:10if that is,
11:11like,
11:12Corbin in the bullpen,
11:14if it's Scherzer
11:14going to the bullpen
11:15and being able to be
11:17a dog out there,
11:17if it comes from a trade
11:19from somewhere else
11:20and you bring in
11:21another leverage arm
11:22to help you out there,
11:23but I,
11:23I don't know how you can
11:25trust him in that spot,
11:26but I don't know how you
11:27can put him in any other spot
11:28because he's been too good
11:29in the rest of them.
11:30So,
11:30it's that consistency
11:31that you just need
11:32to figure out
11:33with this guy
11:34and at this point,
11:35I'd kind of rather
11:36if someone else
11:36was figuring it out
11:38even if you don't
11:39necessarily get
11:39all the value back
11:40for him.
11:41But,
11:41Toxic made the point,
11:43I think,
11:43in the chat.
11:44Wherever this team
11:45wants to go,
11:47Vlad has to be
11:47the one taking him there.
11:49Toxic in the Twitch chat,
11:50at the end of the day,
11:51this team only goes as far
11:52as Vladdy takes them.
11:54It has been shocking
11:55how bad he has been
11:56this season.
11:57Like,
11:58I,
11:58our season preview,
11:59I was talking about,
12:00hey,
12:0016-1,
12:01MVP for Vladdy.
12:02Coming off the playoff he had,
12:04coming off the WBC he had,
12:05this guy has leveled up
12:06and he is going to be
12:08that game-breaking talent
12:09that we all knew he could be
12:10and he's going to be
12:11the one carrying him
12:12and with no Bo Bichette
12:13in the lineup,
12:14there's going to be
12:14an MVP narrative
12:15and off he goes.
12:16And if that's going to be the case,
12:17then he's going to have
12:17the greatest second half
12:19in the history of baseball
12:20because it's,
12:21it,
12:21he has been below average
12:22this season.
12:23And not even just below average
12:24for him,
12:25below average for baseball.
12:26I'll flash his stats up
12:27in a second.
12:28Um,
12:29but like he just,
12:30he hasn't been good enough
12:31and he's hitting home runs
12:33now a little bit more
12:35and now he's starting
12:36to hit them in moments
12:37that are starting to matter
12:38a little bit more
12:38so that's good.
12:39We can get a couple at home
12:40that'd be sweet.
12:41I do think that
12:42having him have a couple
12:43of days off
12:44and just relaxing
12:45and just,
12:46okay,
12:46now it's time for the games
12:47to really matter again.
12:49Let's go.
12:50I'm hoping that there is
12:52still that there
12:52but
12:53this has been really concerning.
12:55I do wonder about
12:56the Bobachette effect.
12:58Not just like how teams
12:59are pitching him
12:59because like,
13:00I haven't noticed it
13:01being a whole lot different
13:02within this season
13:02but Vladdy is a guy
13:05who I think needs the vibes
13:07to be immaculate,
13:08right?
13:08And he,
13:09when they're good,
13:10he makes them great
13:11but I also do think
13:13like he can get down on himself.
13:14Like he hurt his back
13:15swinging too much
13:17because he's trying to fix this
13:18and trying to get out of it.
13:19He's a dude who,
13:21like it's so much better
13:22when things are flowing
13:23and he and David Ortiz
13:24are making jokes
13:25on the Fox broadcast
13:26and he's putting
13:27home run jackets on guys
13:28or giving them dragons now
13:29or whatever it is
13:30but he is better
13:31when that thing
13:32is really going
13:33and it's not this year
13:34and I do wonder
13:34how much of that is
13:36is the Bobachette effect.
13:37So like looking at the stats
13:38like A,
13:39if you look over
13:40on the far right corner
13:41that OPS plus
13:42that is basically
13:43100 is league average.
13:45If you are above it
13:46like he was in 2025,
13:48he,
13:49so that year
13:49131 OPS plus
13:51that means
13:51by that metric
13:52he was 31% better
13:54than an average hitter.
13:55A little bit more nuance
13:56than that
13:56but it's the easiest way
13:57to read it.
13:57So when you see 93%
13:59that means he is 7% worse
14:01than the average hitter
14:02in baseball this year.
14:03But
14:04when you look at the war column
14:05so all the way back
14:06over on the left
14:08which one does
14:08kind of stand out
14:09aside from this year
14:10where it's not good?
14:11All right,
14:12well like 2020
14:12he's still,
14:13he's getting into his groove
14:14a little bit more.
14:14That's fine.
14:152021,
14:16amazing year.
14:17We're playing in AAA
14:18but that's fine.
14:196.5 war.
14:20Then a 4 war.
14:21That's good.
14:21That's kind of where
14:22I think he's going to be around.
14:23And then the year after that
14:241.9.
14:25Where,
14:26or 1.8 sorry.
14:27What happened
14:28in that stretch
14:29to make him maybe
14:30fall off a little bit?
14:31Oh,
14:32that also happens
14:33to be the year
14:33that they traded Teoscar
14:35and they traded Lourdes.
14:36Two of the guys
14:37that he had
14:38in the Barrio
14:39on the,
14:40in the dugout.
14:41The two guys
14:42who he had
14:43all those vibes with
14:44and all those good times with.
14:46And then it fell off
14:47a little bit.
14:47Now he's able to
14:48kind of get it back
14:48with a very strong finish
14:50to the year
14:50in 2024
14:51and then he was awesome
14:52in 2025
14:53and now this year
14:54is happening.
14:55And so I do wonder
14:56if
14:57the dude just
14:59lost one of his best friends
15:01to another team
15:02and
15:03maybe it's affecting him
15:04a little bit
15:04and he's just not having
15:05the fun that he needs to.
15:06I get that this is a very,
15:08like this feels like
15:09I'm covering up
15:10for him a little bit.
15:10He has to be better.
15:11Make no mistake about it.
15:12We can make any excuse
15:14we want for him
15:15but at the end of the day
15:16this guy needs to be better
15:17at the sport of baseball
15:18than he has been
15:18or this team
15:19isn't doing squat.
15:21We can talk about
15:21whatever pitching matchup
15:22there is
15:22in the American League
15:24wildcard series.
15:24If he's hitting 266
15:26we ain't gotta worry about it.
15:28So like this guy
15:28has to be better
15:29but I do wonder
15:30if the effect of losing Bo
15:33wasn't just
15:34the guy who was gonna lead
15:35the American League in hits
15:36if he hadn't got hurt
15:38left.
15:39I think there's a little bit
15:40of it happening
15:41with Vlad personally
15:42and I think when he is
15:43super serious baseball guy
15:45and not having any fun
15:46I think the numbers reflect that
15:48in a really negative way.
15:49So I'm
15:50I am almost at the point
15:51where I'm just like
15:51bring Bo back.
15:52I don't even care.
15:52Like have him DH
15:54have him play
15:55first
15:55sometimes
15:56I don't care.
15:57but let's get this dude's
15:59boys back
15:59so that he can have
16:00a little bit more fun
16:01out there
16:01and start to hit
16:02some home runs again.
16:03Like I am almost there
16:04with Vlad Guerrero Jr.
16:06right now
16:06but again
16:07they're close
16:08and I think it's worth
16:10going for it
16:10for the Jays
16:11but
16:12he needs to be better.
16:13He needs to be
16:14significantly better
16:15if this team is going
16:16to do anything
16:17come September
16:19and God willing
16:20October.
16:21So where are you guys at?
16:22As we hit the All-Star break
16:23is it optimism?
16:24Do we need to completely
16:25tear this thing down?
16:26Let me know your thoughts
16:27whether it be in the live chat
16:28or in the comments
16:30and we can keep that
16:31conversation going
16:32there.
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