Thoughts on the Jays weekend

With a weekend full of biking, I didn’t get to watch a lot of baseball. It was interesting to kind of divorce myself from the moment to moment baseball stuff. As for the ride itself, the first day we rode south and the wind was from the south, getting stronger as the day went on. What got me through the last 20-25 kilometers was the thought that the same wind would be pushing me the next day.

Over night the wind changed direction, coming from the south and was much stronger. There is some sort of metaphor for being a Blue Jays fan in there.

I won’t do the ride next year unless I get into shape.

Anyway....

The big news from the weekend was the reveal of Roberto Osuna’s anxiety issues. Random thoughts:

• I’m glad Gibby didn’t ‘out’ him after Friday’s game. I know people were irritated by the “he wasn’t feeling well, that’s all you need to know”, but it wasn’t his place to tell us what Osuna was going through.
• On the flip of that, I’m glad Roberto did share. I think it is important for people to see that they aren’t the only ones that have anxiety issues. That, if it happens to a young, very successful, athlete, that it can happen to anyone. Anxiety isn’t limited to any particular subsection of the population. Old, young, male, female, it can happen to anyone.
• I’m also glad Roberto said he was getting help. Sometimes people think that seeking/accepting help is an admission of weakness. But, if a baseball player can seek help, maybe anyone can. These things rarely get better one their own. If you think that seeking help is an admission of weakness, what do you think not dealing with your problem and letting it run your life is?
• I loved watching Roberto’s teammates and Gibby hug him after yesterday’s game. It was good to show how much they cared about him. Beyond that, it was good to show others that are dealing with the same sort of troubles that their friends will still care about them, if they come out, admit to their problems and admit they need help. Friends care. They aren’t about to shun you if you ask for help.

There was baseball too.

The less said about the first game the better. It did remind me to appreciate Roberto. Yeah, I wouldn’t have put Grilli in for Loup. I get that Tepera was tiring and had to come out of the game, but I would have lived and died with Loup at that point.

Other thoughts:

• Jose Bautista found his swing again. He hit .429/.467/.643 in the three games. I think we are going to have a season of hot and cold streaks from Jose. Let’s enjoy the good.
• Kevin Pillar started hitting again too, .455/.538/.818. I think we shouldn’t over think his hot streaks. Don’t start moving him in the order every time he gets hot or cold, just enjoy the good streaks.
• And Troy Tulowitzki started hitting too, .385/.429/.692.
• Our starting pitching did the job. Our starters pitched 19.2 innings, in the 3 games, and allowed just 6 earned for a 2.75 ERA. If our starters could continue going a little deeper in games, it would take a lot of pressure off the bullpen. Course if you ignore one inning, the bullpen did a good job (but then it was one awful inning).
• Despite the loss, it was good to see a decent start from Marco Estrada. I’m going to hope that it is a step back towards being the Marco Estrada that we’ve grown to love.

Share your thoughts on the Blue Jays weekend in KC.