Almost everyone predicted ineptitude from the Toronto Blue Jays: Buster Olney, The Sporting News and thousands of die-hard Blue Jays fans that were probably piss-drunk on maple-syrup and Labatt 50 all thought that 2010 would be epically bad.
…and then the Toronto Blue Jays strutted into the gym-shower while everyone stared in amazement. The Blue Jays have absolutely nothing to hide and they’re carrying quite the big-stick in 2010: Think Greg Oden and you’re about a tenth of the way there.
The Jays currently lead the MLB in homeruns and it’s not even close. The Jays have 76 HR on the year and the next competitor, Boston, is 16HR behind ‘em. The Blue Jays are only 5 runs behind the Yankees for the league lead in that category despite their 377 strike-outs on the year. Dan Haren — he of 4HR allowed and 8K – recently summed it up,
I know I gave up a few runs but I did what I needed to do out there. That team, it’s a tough lineup. Every guy can hit it out. It looks like they have one thing in mind, to let loose and try and hit homers. I’ve never seen anything like it really.
Not only does this approach give Jays fans something to talk about, they’re also growing chest hairs in record numbers. SABR-Metrics took a strong American tradition dressed it up and called it metrosexual: Too much attention was being paid to detail and not enough to substance. Enter Mad Men’s Don Draper and the Toronto Blue Jays who ushered in a return to retro (just ask Banana Republic) and simple fundamentals.
See ball. Hit ball (really fucking hard).
It’s about as elegant as getting a gummer from your secretary and probably in the same ball-park when it comes to stress relief.
Swinging as hard as you can muster certainly isn’t a sustainable practice but for the time being, it’s a blast to watch.
