It doesn't take long after a crushing defeat for someone to quote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
"You won't win until you learn how to lose," the Laker legend coined.
It wasn't uttered verbatim after the Blue Jays' demoralizing defeat in the Wild Card round, as lockers slowly emptied and suitcases filled, but the sentiment lingered. For the second year in a row, Toronto got a lesson in losing.
The loss may eventually help this Blue Jays core win one day, but there are other, more tangible, lessons from the 2022 season and brief postseason appearance. And those will help Toronto as soon as next season, or even this offseason.
"They will be better for it," GM Ross Atkins said. "They will be better for these experiences, albeit tough ones. They will they will have grown, for sure."
The biggest Blue Jay lesson from last season was the importance of every game, with Toronto falling a game short of the postseason in 2021. It was a message preached by every returning Jay from spring training until the postseason clinch. And, by regular season wins and postseason appearances, the message was received. The Jays took that next step in 2022, and are hoping the early playoff exit will inspire motivation for more.
Scroll to Continue
Along with the positives of further playoff experience and growth from the young core, the season-ending feeling of defeat is what 3B Matt Chapman takes away from the 2022 season, he said. Chapman's been in the playoffs three times and has yet to win a game, let alone a World Series. But it motivates him, he said, listing off ways he'll seek to contribute more to the Blue Jays and what he'll work on in the offseason.
"Just remember this feeling and let it motivate you," Chapman said.
But there are also concrete points of learning for the Jays, ones perhaps more relevant for Atkins and the decision-makers than the 26 men on the field. Last year, that team-building takeaway was the importance of bullpen depth, and one of this year's lessons lies in the 'pen too. Atkins called the Blue Jays' relief group "one of the better bullpens" in the league at points in the season, but admitted that playoff success is reliant on that group becoming one of the best.
That may seem like a semantic indifference, but Atkins is right. The Jays ranked 13th in relief ERA this season (3.77). Solid, no doubt. But look around the league and you'll find that the five best bullpens in baseball all came from division winners in 2022. The six best bullpens during the regular season belong to six of the eight teams left dancing in the Division Series right now. When the calendar turns to October, it's Emmanuel Clase and Kenley Jansen that become the MVPs.
Another lesson from Toronto's 2022 playoff exit is the importance of winning the division. The Yankees finished the regular season 35-35 in their final 70 games, sliding into October as one of the coldest teams in the playoff picture. The Jays finished 43-27, finally finding their stride down the stretch. But because of New York's hot start, and the AL East crown it earned, it's the Yankees still fighting for the World Series while the Blue Jays are at home. That difference—cutting out as many October obstacles as possible—eliminates the small sample that crushed Toronto's 2022 chances, and could be the difference between a similar result in '23.
Atkins views punching a ticket to the playoffs as "the hardest thing to do," he said, and the organization has long seen a chance in the postseason as the goal of the regular season. But as this core ages, and the playoff chances become increasingly urgent, the AL East has to be the goal.
The lessons from 2021 were evident, with bullpen depth and the importance of each game thrust into the spotlight by Toronto's Game 162 heartbreak. The 2022 Jays took those lessons and turned them into one more regular season win and a postseason spot—objective improvement. It's on the Jays to take the lessons from '22 and do the same next year.
"Exit" - Google News
October 15, 2022 at 10:55PM
https://ift.tt/FWy8eP5
Lessons From the Blue Jays' 2022 Playoff Exit - Sports Illustrated
"Exit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/qjQhWs4
https://ift.tt/zSmHYhy
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Lessons From the Blue Jays' 2022 Playoff Exit - Sports Illustrated"
Post a Comment