Unfortunately the season insisted on continuing past May.
After an amazing May the Blue Jays returned to earth in June.
It seems that as Jays fans we just never get to have nice things, at least not lately. Mark Buehrle went 1-4- with a 2.79 ERA to be fair- Juan Francisco began his long and painful descent, and the Blue Jays clung to their division lead waiting for the next hot streak.
Record: 12-15
Just like April, but with expectations to make it more painful.
Best Position Player (by fWAR): Edwin Encarnacion (1.0)
HR | RBI | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ |
7 | 17 | 11.9% | 13.8% | .305 | .394 | .589 | 173 |
He might not have been superhuman, but he was pretty close. It would have been really nice if he hadn't gotten hurt this year... These are the type of numbers that aren't even that far out of line from what Encarnacion is at the height of his powers.
Best Pitcher (by fWAR): Marcus Stroman (0.5)
IP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | ERA | FIP | xFIP |
30.1 | 7.71 | 2.37 | 0.89 | 2.67 | 3.59 | 3.69 |
These kind of numbers are what Jays fans came to expect from Stroman over the course of the season. This was the first time the rookie looked like the team's best starter, but certainly not the last.
The Team Hit Like... Eric Hosmer
Player/Team | BB% | K% | AVG | OBP | SLG | wRC+ |
Eric Hosmer | 6.4% | 17.0% | .270 | .318 | .398 | 99 |
Blue Jays in June | 8.4% | 18.2% | .248 | .315 | .392 | 99 |
Do not be deceived by Hosmer's postseason, this comparison is not especially flattering. The Blue Jays bats were unremarkable in June, just like Eric Hosmer is 99% of the time.
The Team Pitched Like... Jorge De La Rosa
Player/Team | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | ERA | FIP | xFIP |
Jorge de la Rosa | 6.79 | 3.27 | 1.03 | 4.10 | 4.34 | 3.95 |
Blue Jays in June | 6.94 | 3.01 | 1.14 | 3.93 | 4.36 | 4.09 |
Regardless of what the Colorado Rockies think, De la Rosa is by no means a special pitcher. The fact the Jays were comparable to the middling veteran is indicative of the mediocre work the pitching staff did in June.
GIF That Best Summarizes the Month
This one might be a bit personal. In June more than anything I wanted the Jays to go to Yankee Stadium and win a series, or at least a game there. I wanted it because it sucks to lose to a divisional opponent, especially the Yankees, but mainly I wanted it so Buck and Pat would shut up about how much more professional the Yankees were than the Jays for one second.
That's all I desired in the world.
On June 17th the Jays traveled to New York, ran into Masahiro Tanaka's brick wall of a splitter and on the way to yet another sweep. The streak continued and the misery it caused as counted in raw Tabler-isms was astounding.
That depressing anecdote concludes part three of the "Blue Jays Year in Review Series", check in later for future installments that range from bearable to unfathomably depressing.