The 2015+ Toronto Blue Jays

[jasg224]

I was 15 just 10 years ago, when I learned about the game of baseball. The Algodoneros de Guasave team (of the winter Liga Mexicana del Pacífico) had been sold and moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco, and the Charros de Jalisco had been revived. Against all odds, the Charros de Jalisco reached the LMP finals that same winter, losing against Tomateros de Culiacán. But that's a different story. After the Charros' winter success, teenage me became obsessed with baseball. I bought OOTP 16 and starting watching MLB on TV and online. But of course, what fun is watching sports without rooting for a team. So I scoured through Baseball Reference, looking at MLB rosters until I found that the Toronto Blue Jays employed a pair of Mexican pitchers. I watched most of Marco Estrada's starts that year and he became my favorite player. Of course, there's also Roberto Osuna (we'll pretend he's not a wife-beater in this universe). The rest of the team had other Latin players such as Edwin Encarnación, José Bautista and Ezequiel Carrera. There were other charismatic players on the roster: Marcus Stroman, RA Dickey, Justin Smoak, Josh Donaldson, Kevin Pillar are amongst the players I liked from that era. 10 years later, I don't have as much time to watch baseball as I had when I was in high school. But then the Blue Jays made the playoffs again, so I started watching MLB again. Now they're in the World Series (Won Game 1 today!) and I decided I would manage them on OOTP.





After that block of text (here comes another one), let me introduce the save. I'll be writing about fictional GM/Manager Manuel Almada. I'll write more about that in the next post. Fun fact: The fake name is a reference to 2B Manuel Rodríguez, one of my favorite players and Charros legend, and Baldomero "Melo" Almada, who was the first México-born player to play in MLB back in 1937. I'll be managing the Toronto Blue Jays from 2015 onwards and hopefully we can make a World Series before 2025!

[jasg224]

Jays bring Mexican GM in shock hiring

Toronto, ON - March 12th, 2015

Just days before Spring Training, the Toronto Blue Jays have announced that Manuel Almada has taken over General Manager duties from former-GM Alex Anthopoulos. Despite a winning season, the Jays failed to make the playoffs once again in 2014. They have now failed to make the playoffs every year since their 1993 World Series campaign. After heated meetings with upper management prior to the 2015 season, Anthopoulos resigned.

Now the biggest question for many Jays fans is, who is Manuel Almada?

Born in 1977 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Almada is no stranger to baseball. He grew up watching the Charros de Jalisco play at the University Stadium, also playing for their U17 academy. At 18, the franchise moved but Almada was already making a name for himself in the semi-pro circuits. Debuting for the Saraperos de Saltillo in 1996, Almada had an 8 year career as a light-hitting infielder. He played for Saltillo, Yucatán and Reynosa before retiring in 2004 after only appearing in 8 games for Cancún.

As a hitting and infield coach, he quickly made a name for himself, playing a big role in Puebla's return to the playoffs in 2006. He was part of the 2010 Pericos squad that came second in the Serie del Bicentenario. The next year, Almada moved to Mexico City to become the Diablos' bench coach. After winning the 2014 LMB title, he was hired as Charros de Jalisco manager upon their return to the Pacific League in 2014, leading them to a second place finish in January of this year. Renowned in Mexico for blending analytic with traditional baseball strategies, Almada caught the eye of the Jays front office, who were looking for a new outlook on the game. While Almada was in talks for an international advisory role with the Jays, the GM position became vacant and, in a surprising move, the job was offered to the 38 year old from Jalisco.

Almada emphasizes an aggressive brand of baseball, with lots of baserunning and a contact-oriented approach at the plate. Perhaps due to the Mexican League quality of pitchers, Almada prefers arms that will fetch weak contact instead of hard-throwing pitchers. This in turn leads to him liking versatile defenders who get outs. He's very hands-on and often remains in a calm state. It is expected for Almada to build a multicultural clubhouse that's based on respect and shared accountability.

When asked about his "outsider" status, never being involved with MLB, Almada answered: "I know what it feels like to be an outsider, but here we only speak the language of baseball and wins are the only thing that will make everyone understand us."

"We were looking for fresh ideas, and we decided to look towards the global game, not just MLB." Said team president Philip Beach, "Our organization is entering a decisive moment and Manuel has shown he can be part of winning cultures everywhere he's coached."

As his closing remarks, Almada spoke to the Jays fans: "To the fans here in Toronto and everywhere else in the world, trust us. Baseball connects everybody, and we'll work hard to make sure you stay connected with us and to make the Blue Jays something this city can be proud of."

When asked, one unnamed player said of Almada: "He's all about winning, even the coin flips! I think he'll fit in, this is a hungry clubhouse."

For the first time in years, the Blue Jays look unpredictable. Perhaps that's just what the club needs to turn its fate around. Manuel Almada took an odd route from the fields of Guadalajara to the dugout in Rogers Centre, but he'll get the chance to prove that baseball truly is a universal language.

[jasg224]

Yankees hand Jays heavy Opening Day loss

New York - April 6th, 2015

Expectations aren't the highest for the Blue Jays this season, but the fans certainly didn't expect to suffer an 8 run defeat on Opening Day. The Toronto bullpen blew up, while Michael Pineda pitched a quality game for the Yankees for his first win of the season. Both teams now get a day off before the series resumes on Wednesday.

Scoring began in the first, after Marcus Stroman loaded the bases for Alex Rodriguez. However, a walk and a sacrifice fly followed by a double play meant the Yankees scored only twice. Stroman recovered and didn't allow a run after, exiting the game after the 5th.

Pineda pitched a gem, allowing just 5 Jays on base through 7 innings, striking out 7 opponents. He was credited with his first win of the season.

In the 6th inning, Roberto Osuna and Steve Delabar combined for 7 runs before tallying a single out. Shockingly, none of those runs came on home runs and they didn't walk a single opponent.

Lefty Jeff Francis shut the door on the Yankees, going 2 and 2/3 scoreless with 2 punchouts, but it was too little, too late.

DH Danny Valencia doubled, allowing Josh Donaldson to score the Jays' only run of the game in the top of the 9th.

"We get 161 more opportunities to do things right," said Jays manager Manuel Almada following his debut in the dugout.