TORONTO — The story the tea leaves were telling over the past few days pointed to something being up, but no one was going to believe it until it actually happened.
Traditionally, when your lone ace is rested and thought to be ready to open a best-of-three postseason series against a legitimate World Series contender, you hand him the ball and don’t think twice.
To kick off the organization’s first postseason trip since 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to buck traditional thinking, instead pushing Hyun-Jin Ryu to Game 2 of the wild-card round on Wednesday and announcing veteran right-hander Matt Shoemaker will start Game 1 on Tuesday evening at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Calling the decision “creative” when he explained it Monday afternoon, Jays manager Charlie Montoyo pointed to the way his pitching staff was structured throughout the 60-game regular season.
“In a three-game series, the goal is to win two of them,” Montoyo said. “Putting our ace in the middle makes sense to us for several reasons. Plus, our bullpen’s fully rested. We said we were going to be creative from the beginning and that’s how we got here, being creative.
“To beat one of the best teams in baseball, we’re going to have to be creative.”
That creativity Montoyo points to is the lack of a traditional rotation — other than Ryu, of course — that’s counted on to pitch deep into ballgames.
Over 60 games, the Jays got just 255.1 innings out of the rotation, 27th-most in baseball, while the bullpen threw 269.1 innings, fourth-most in baseball.
With Shoemaker on some sort of pitch count Tuesday — he’s only thrown three innings and 54 pitches since Aug. 21 due to a lat strain that he returned from Sept. 21 — it’s clear that the bullpen will be relied on heavily in Game 1, with lefty Robbie Ray potentially following the veteran right-hander.
Putting Ryu in the middle of Shoemaker and Taijuan Walker is also designed to, ideally, give the bullpen a rest in Game 2 when their ace will be asked to get as many outs as possible.
Unlike a traditional five or seven-game series, Ryu can only pitch once, so the Jays are placing equal importance on each game, and his start will be seen as a must-win, no matter if it’s Tuesday or Wednesday.
Of course, being down 1-0 with a handful of tired relievers won’t be ideal and the criticism will be swift if that happens, but that’s the risk the Jays are willing to take.
“The goal is to win two, so it doesn’t matter when he pitches,” Montoyo said. “That makes a big difference. If it was five (games), then you’d have him for two (starts). A three-game series, pitching the second game with an extra day, that’s our best chance.”
Ryu’s schedule has been talked about a lot this summer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had a tendency to give the oft-injured lefty five days off between starts rather than the traditional four, but the numbers are similar regardless of rest over the course of his career.
This year, the Jays gave Ryu an extra day seven times in 12 starts, and he responded with a 2.29 ERA, compared to 2.74 on regular rest.
That result is skewed a bit, however, by the fact he was more hittable with an extra day, evidenced by a .605 OPS against on four days and a .620 OPS against on five days of rest.
It would explain a lot if Ryu physically felt he needed the extra day of rest, especially coming off a season-high seven innings and 100 pitches in his final outing of the season on Thursday, one that helped the Blue Jays clinch with three games to spare.
But Montoyo shot that down, saying Ryu didn’t request more rest and that the 33-year-old was physically fine.
They likely wouldn’t want to even hint at some sort of injury limitation, even if it’s debatable what kind of edge the Rays would gain in that scenario.
“We’re looking at the numbers and our best chance and that’s what we came up with,” Montoyo said.
The decision to go with Shoemaker over Walker, who was clearly their second best starter this season with a 2.70 ERA and a .214 batting average against, was about all of the lefty bats the Rays can insert into their platoon-based lineup.
While Walker held right-handed hitters to a measly .178/.252/.263 slash line, lefties teed off to the tune of a .265/.351/.518 slash and an ugly .869 OPS.
With those numbers in mind, it’s clear Jays decision-makers weren’t keen on exposing Walker to a deep and talent Rays lineup early on in the series.
On the other hand, Shoemaker has been able to get either side out with the same success rate throughout his entire career and has limited lefties to a .194 batting average this year.
“Last time he pitched he was really sharp,” Montoyo said of Shoemaker. “He was throwing 94, 95 (mph) because he’s been rested now. I really feel good about him taking the mound. He’s been one of our best pitchers all year, he just got hurt.”
Shoemaker found out he’d be making his first postseason start in six years Monday, as the Jays decided to scrap his final regular season start over the weekend in order to keep their options open.
“Postseason baseball, it’s different,” Shoemaker said. “It’s exciting to say the least.
“This is only going to be my second time pitching in the postseason. I got a really good taste of it early on a few years ago and you always miss it when you’re not there.”
Like any pitching decision, the results will tell the story of whether it’s right or wrong.
If the Jays can somehow cobble together enough offence and outs to beat Blake Snell and the Rays in Game 1 and then send their ace to the hill with a chance to finish the series Wednesday, they’ll look like geniuses.
If Shoemaker gets shelled and the Jays use up a handful of bullpen arms, they’ll quickly be facing elimination and the pressure will be on Ryu to save their season, rather than deliver a quick and decisive blow at the outset of the series.
Cunningly creative or overly cute?
The answer to that question lies in the performance of Shoemaker and the bullpen arms that will undoubtedly follow on Tuesday.
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t bitter or upset as he watched friends live out their dreams.
The Calgary Flames defenceman just hopes to experience the same feeling one day. He also knows the road leading to that moment, if it does arrive, will likely be long and winding — much like his own path.
A seventh-round pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2013 NHL draft, Weegar climbed the ranks to become an important piece of a roster that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season club in 2021-22.
Two months later following a second-round playoff exit, he was traded to the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk. And less than two years after that, the Panthers were hoisting the Stanley Cup.
“Happy for the city and for the team,” Weegar said of Florida’s June victory over the Edmonton Oilers. “There was no bad taste in my mouth.”
His sole focus, he insists, is squarely on eventually getting the Flames to the same spot. The landscape, however, has changed drastically since Weegar committed to Calgary on an eight-year, US$50-million contract extension in October 2022.
Weegar has watched a list that includes goaltender Jacob Markstrom, defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane shipped out of town since the start of last season — largely for picks, prospects and young players as part of a rebuild.
Despite that exodus, he remains committed to the Calgary project steered by general manager Craig Conroy.
“It’s easy to get out of all whack when you see guys trying to leave or wanting new contracts,” the 30-year-old from Ottawa said at last week’s NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “I just focus on where I am and where I want to be, and that’s Calgary.
“I believe in this team. The city has taken me in right away. I feel like I owe it to them to stick around and grind through these years and get a Stanley Cup.”
The hard-nosed blueliner certainly knows what it is to grind.
After winning the Memorial Cup alongside Nathan MacKinnon with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013, Weegar toiled in the ECHL and American Hockey League for three seasons before making his NHL debut late in the 2016-17 campaign with the Panthers.
He would spend the next five years in South Florida as one of the players tasked with shifting an organizational culture that had experienced little success over the previous two decades.
“There’s always going to be a piece of my heart and loyalty to that team,” Weegar said. “But now I’m in a different situation … I compete against all 32 teams, not just Florida. There’s always a chip on my shoulder every single year.”
Weegar set career highs with 20 goals — eight was the most he had ever previously registered — and 52 points in 2023-24 as part of a breakout offensive performance.
“I think my buddies cared a lot more than I did,” he said with a smile. “All I hear is, ‘fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.'”
Weegar was actually more proud of his 200 blocked shots and 194 hits as he looks to help set a new Flames’ standard alongside Huberdeau, captain Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson for a franchise expected to have its new arena in time for the 2027-28 season.
“You have to build that culture and that belief in the locker room,” said Weegar, who pointed to 22-year-old centre Connor Zary as a player set to pop. “Those young guys are going to have to come into their own and be consistent every night … they’re the next generation.”
Weegar, however, isn’t punting on 2024-25. He pointed to the NHL’s parity and the fact a couple of teams surprise every season.
It’s the same approach that took him from the ECHL a decade ago to hockey’s premier pre-season event inside a swanky hotel on Sin City’s famed strip, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s best.
“From the outside — media and even friends and family — the expectations are probably a bit lower,” Weegar said of Calgary’s outlook. “But there’s no reason to think that we can’t make playoffs and we can’t be a good team (with) that underdog mentality.
“You never know.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 17, 2024.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
