Gibbons: 'We might just shock the world'
With August looming, the odds are very much against the scuffling Toronto Blue Jays, who sit 6 1/2 games back of the second American League wild-card spot following a three-game sweep in Cleveland capped by an 8-1 thumping in the series finale - an effort manager John Gibbons likened to horse manure.
Still, it was only two years ago that the Blue Jays - then still mired in a 22-year postseason drought - made it to the American League Championship Series despite sitting below .500 in the final week of July, so Gibbons isn't giving up hope that another historic run could propel Toronto into the playoffs this time around, too.
"We might just shock the world," Gibbons told reporters, including Sportsnet's Mike Wilner, ahead of Monday's series opener against the Oakland Athletics.
Admittedly, though, their chances this year are considerably lower. At 44-54, the Blue Jays' odds of winning the division are essentially non-existent, and a whopping eight teams stand between Toronto and the second wild-card spot. An ugly 3-7 road trip to kick off the second half didn't inspire much hope for a redemptive, late-season run either, nor does their -90 run differential - the third-worst in the majors - offer much reason for optimism.
| Year | Record after July 23 | GB | WC GB | Playoff odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 49-48 | 5.5 | 3 | 46.2% |
| 2017 | 44-54 | 10 | 6.5 | 8.6% |
Also hurting their chances of a redemptive run, of course, is the possibility that Toronto's roster could be stripped down over the next few days. With the exception of reliever Joe Smith, none of the Blue Jays' impending free agents have much trade value right now, but that doesn't mean president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro won't find a taker for Jose Bautista, Marco Estrada, or Francisco Liriano before next Monday.
A possible re-tooling isn't Gibbons' concern at the moment, though. First and foremost, with the Oakland Athletics (44-54) in town Monday for Toronto's first home series of the second half, the Blue Jays need to snap their three-game losing streak.
"It's been a frustrating trip," Gibbons told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm on Sunday. "There were some games we had a chance to win and we couldn't win them. Today was just a (terrible) game all the way around. I can't describe it any better than that."