Orelvis Martinez hits another home run, Chris Bassitt fans five, and more as the Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-6

Another win against the trash birds of the American League East, means we get to use the magical header.

The Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 on Saturday afternoon, in what was a rather positive game with plenty of players who could have earned the player of the game. Let’s jump right in.
Blue Jays Nation’s player of the game: George Springer
George Springer hit his second home run of spring training with two runners on, giving the Jays a 6-4 lead. While they weren’t the winning runs, it shifted the game heavily in the Toronto Blue Jays’ favour, bringing their win probability to 83.1%.
Today was the first game where each of the Blue Jays’ projected outfielders were on the field, with George taking his presumed right field position. He looked good out there, and if he can stay healthy this season, watch out.

Springer Dinger!!!
George Springer (@GeorgeSpringer) with his second home run of the spring.
99.6 mph off the bat.#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/jp3miC6gfw
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) March 11, 2023

Things worth mentioning:
Chris Bassitt had a solid game if you look past the three earned runs. He struck out five and had a game-high nine swings and misses. What’s more, is that his average fastball velocity sat at 91.2 mph on Saturday afternoon, up from his 89.8 mph average in the past two starts. Look for the velocity to continue to increase.

Here’s Chris Bassitt (@C_Bass419)’s strikeout and whiff thread this afternoon!
The pitches were moving, and he generated 9 whiffs while striking out 5!
Best outing as a Blue Jay so far.#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/oxyJb4JE82
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) March 11, 2023

Orelvis Martinez would have won the player of the game had I not given it to him in their win over the Phillies. The exit velocity on his second home run of spring training was 96.9 mph and it was a great display of power as he went oppo-taco. The kid has in …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Around the quarter mark, which Leafs forward has underwhelmed?

Around the quarter mark, which Leafs forward has underwhelmed?

Tomorrow, the calendar rolls into December. American Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we have completed over 25% of the NHL regular season. The Leafs have played 24 games, and currently sit at 14-5-5. They have 33 points, and trail only Boston (who are having a historic start).
Just like last season, they came out of the blocks a little slow. Also replicating last season – the Buds have absolutely torched November. They’ve lost only 1 game in regulation this month, and have done so with some major injuries on the back end and in net. Multiple early questions have been answered, and the overall feel in Toronto is positive.
The d-core has performed heroically considering the injuries, and the goaltending has been very impressive. Most of the forwards have performed adequately, and there have even been some pleasant surprises up front. So, who hasn’t exactly pulled their weight? With more than a quarter of the 82 games played, our sample size is large enough to offer some evaluation.
Alex Kerfoot has had a lacklustre start to this campaign. In a season where many forwards are playing very well, Kerfoot would probably be the first to tell you he hasn’t contributed enough. Given his contract situation, and how he operates within this forward group, #15 is an interesting player to examine.
It should be said, I h …

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Author: Bennett Jull / The Leafs Nation

Alek Manoah finished third in American League Cy Young voting

The American Cy Young award winner has been announced, and unfortunately, Alek Manoah didn’t win.

The 24-year-old Manoah had a fantastic season, registering a 2.24 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 196.2 innings pitched. While his K% dropped from 27.7% in 2021 to 22.9% in 2022, the Big Puma undoubtedly established himself as the Blue Jays ace.
For the next two seasons, the righty will make the league minimum, before his first year of arbitration after the 2024 season. Unless he is signed to a long-term deal beforehand (which is very possible), Manoah will become a free agent after the 2027 season.
Despite the excellent season, Manoah finished third in Cy Young voting, finishing with 13 votes for third place and seven votes for second. He also had 10 votes for fourth place but barely finished ahead of Shohei Ohtani.

I was a BBWAA voter for the AL Cy Young Award. My ballot:
1. Justin Verlander (HOU)2. Dylan Cease (CWS)3. Alek Manoah (TOR)4. Shohei Ohtani (LAA)5. Kevin Gausman (TOR)
Full results: pic.twitter.com/x9IiGP0qpc
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) November 17, 2022

Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease finished in second place, while the Houston Astros’ Justin Verland finished in first.
Verlander won unanimously, taking all 30 first-place votes. Without any bias, it was well deserved as he had a 1.75 ERA and 2.49 FIP in 175 innings pitched with the eventual World Series winners. He also had a pretty impressive 27.8 K% and a 4.4 BB%, which is even more impressive considering that Verlander will turn 40 years old in February.
Per Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart, the veteran pitcher is looking for a contract similar to Max Scherzer’s 3-year, $130 million deal. Scherzer, who is similar in age, signed that deal which carried an annual average of $43,333,333 with a player option for the 2024 season.
While …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays’ Matt Chapman provided exceptional defense, but it wasn’t enough to win the American League third base gold glove

Matt Chapman didn’t win the American League Gold Glove for third base, but should he have?

To put it simply, I don’t think he was snubbed, and here’s why.
In 2022, Chapman finished with a 2 Defensive Runs Saved and a 1 Outs Above Average in 1344.1 innings fielded. While defensive metrics aren’t the sole factor in determining a good defender (the eye test should also be used), they are very important in deciding the Gold Glove winner, and Chapman’s decline in defense is interesting.
In 2021, Chapman had a 10 DRS and 17 OAA, with the latter being a career high, which led to him winning the 2021 Gold Glove for the position. What’s with the decline? I have a litany of theories, such as the lack of foul ground and the turf playing a factor, but the eye test tells me and everyone else that Chapman had a good year.
Let’s compare that to the winner, Baltimore’s Ramon Urias won the award. He finished with a 14 DRS and a 7 OAA in 769.1 innings fielded at the position. While he had a smaller sample size, both DRS and OAA are accumulating stats, meaning that with more innings, it’s likely that Urias’ numbers would be even better. As for the eye test, I couldn’t tell you. I don’t go out of my way to watch Baltimore Oriole games.
What happened with the other Blue Jays nominees? 
As y …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation