Blue Jays Midseason Review - Grades, Rankings, and Honest Predictions | TFTO

The Blue Jays have reached the halfway point of the season, and it's time for some honest grades. Who's been a disappointment? Which players have earned their spot? And what needs to change if this team wants to make a real playoff push? Today, I'm given my midseason report card and I won't be sugarcoating a thing. Welcome to True Fan True Opinions. I'm Sue. Around here, being a true fan doesn't mean blindly agreeing with everything your team does, it means caring enough to tell the truth. So let's talk sports, like fans do. So here we are with the Blue Jays team, mid-season, and how are you feeling about them? Are you disappointed? Are you still excited? Well, I thought for this episode I will do a mid-season report card. You know, talk about the good, the bad, things we can expect. I'll give you my top ten players of the year. So shall we get right into it? So at the beginning of the season, my preseason expectations were very optimistic, right? Coming off the World Series. And we thought, wow, can they actually do this again? Take first place right from the beginning, go all the way to the playoffs, and actually win the World Series. So I was very optimistic. Especially with the way the players played in the World Series with heart, with grit. We all loved them, right? And a lot of these players during the YBC, or I should say WBC, they were good. A lot of them played well for their countries. And I thought and I expected that this would carry through the momentum. Would there be some bumps, some slumps, some injuries? Sure, every team goes through it. But now I'm realizing wow, this team is not quite the same. So, anyways, here we go. I'm gonna give you my mid-season report card for the Toronto Blue Jays of 2026. A lot of you might not agree with this, but here we go. My overall grade for this team is a C. Now, some of you guys might think that's fair. Um, and I'm sure some of you guys might hate me for giving a low grade. But let me go through some of the things why I think they are a C team. Most of these players are not playing to their potentials, or even to their expectations, our expectations of them. Yes, I know you guys can say sou, sue, sue, but there's been way too many injuries. Yes, I totally agree. Way too many injuries. I mean, all teams are going through it, but yes, this team has a little bit more injuries than we thought we would have. Um, especially with the starting pictures at the beginning of the season, and I get that. And I bet you without all these injuries, I probably would be grading them a higher B, B, maybe even an A. Maybe they'll be at the top of their division. But as of right now, they are below 500, and they are either near last place in their division. We are asking, the team is asking way too much from their players, especially their bullpen. And what I mean by that is the players are not playing in the rules that gives them the opportunity to win, to succeed. And the bullpen, we are asking way, way too much for this bullpen. The lineup isn't consistent, right? The lineup is switched every day, and we get that, right? Without the with certain injuries like the bargers, the kirkys, you can't have that consistent long lineup. And George Springer in there as well before at the beginning of the year. Nathan Lucas, and we're gonna talk about all that. So, to get to this grade, overall grade of a C, I'm gonna break it down into some groups, okay? So we're gonna talk about starting pitchers, the bullpen, the positional players, coaching staff, front office, all the good stuff. So let's start with the starting pitchers. Overall, are they great? Are they good pitchers? Yeah, they really are. But the injuries at the beginning of the year, we couldn't get consistent five starters. We couldn't even get four starters. We had to do three starters and bullpens, and that hurts us. Now, some of them have been pitching very well, and now we're seeing them slump a little bit. And some of them came back and are doing very well. So I'm looking at Kevin Gosman. Great, great start, doing very well, having a hard time right now. Dylan Cease didn't really have him for a bit, and now he's pitching great. You Savage, wow, what a stud, right? But he wasn't there at the beginning of the year. If we had him in the rotation, would have given us a little bit more of a chance with the bullpen. Starting pitchers, they get a B. Even with those injuries. Bullpen. I'm giving them a B. They have been asked to do a lot from the beginning. They are still being asked to do a lot, and some of these pitchers have really increased their workload. Shout out to Fisher and Fluhardy. As well as some of them have stepped it up, like Spencer Miles, even Tommy Nance after injury. So the bullpen gets a B. Positional players. Well, here we go, right? I'm giving them a C. And yes, we love these guys. And yes, we know they're giving their heart and they're trying so hard. We know all this. But are they meeting their expectations? Their potential? No. Some of them are, yes, and we will be talking about that. But I think some of these certain players need to look at themselves in the mirror and just say, What the heck is going on? I believe, not that I believe, I see it, the defense is not where it was, and we took pride in that last year, and we're missing that this year. As well as the hitting. And I'm not a baseball player, and you hear all the analysts and broadcasters saying, Oh, they need a plan at the plate, and they look for this certain ball and that. You know, have a game plan. Only swing at the pitches you're looking for. Okay, great, but you gotta start hitting them, and you gotta start bringing people in when they're on base. We are losing too many games right from the beginning, right from the get-go. So, yeah, position players C. Coaching staff. Okay, now I know a lot of you guys out there might not like Jon Snyder, and I know the other half, you guys love him. I've always been a Jon Snyder fan, I still am. Uh, but I do find myself questioning a lot of his moves this year. Many moves. Um, especially with the bullpen and with the lineup. I would love to see a little bit more consistency. Maybe I'm old school, maybe I like that third and fourth cleanup hitters. Do I see Ernie Clint hitting fourth? And I know he did only did it a few times, but no, Ernie should not be hitting fourth. So the coaching staff, even the you know, first base, third base coach. I've seen the third base coach maybe should have not made somebody rent a home plate, and maybe they should have at time. I'm not saying I would be a better coach, I'm just saying I'm giving them a C. The front office. Okay. This is the one I had a little bit of trouble with, but I am gonna give them a B. I'm giving them a B because what we did in the offseason to put this team on the field, right? Uh they got seized, they got Ponce, they got Okamoto. Wow. They got some pieces in there. Now it's not their fault that players got hurt, it's not their fault that players are not playing to their potential. Now, let's see what they do before the trade deadline. One, we have to see if we're sellers or buyers. But the front office will get a different grade moving forward because I think they still have about two, three weeks before I can actually give them a full mid-season grade. So, overall, I'm thinking the team sitting at a C. But I know that there's so much more that they can give, and there's a lot of potential. And if we can get the players healthy and playing with that grit from last year, I know that we're gonna have a better second half. So, here I I'm thinking at this time um that I'm gonna do a mid-season ranking of my top 10 blue jays for the first half. Again, some of you guys are gonna agree, and some of you guys are gonna disagree. And again, please leave me a comment and we can discuss. Alright, top 10. Jesus Sanchez. Uh, I put a lot of thought in this. I wasn't sure if he's gonna be in my top 10. I'm not putting him there because of the defense, because if anybody knows me, I do not like his defense at all. But this kid can hit. He's got a lot of power. I do like his energy. So for that, I'm giving him a tenth place. Ninth place. Andreas Jimenez. Okay, so with him, I'm a big fan of him. He comes up with big hits at certain times. His bunts, they are timely. I think he gives a little spark at the end of the lineup for us. I think everybody loves him. Uh you could tell he loves playing the game. His defense is outstanding, and he even smiles when he makes these plays. He sometimes amazes himself, and I love that. Alright. Eighth, Tyler Rogers. This guy, well, never mind his arm angle and you can probably give him the ball every day. He's got like a rubber arm or something. I don't know. I wish I could pitch like that. But really, if he wasn't on this team, I don't know where we would be for the bullpen. Especially for the bullpen. I think he's a stud in there, I think he's a leader in there, uh, and I just love having him on our team. Seventh, Ernie Clement. Wow, all-star. That's awesome. Go Canada. I know he got in there because of Canada's voting. Um, and I'm sure the World Series from last year got a lot of Americans to vote for him. He's top seven. Um, I'm a little disappointed in his defense this year, but is it because of his injury? Is he playing with a sword hip all year? Regardless, he's hitting so well. He's a spark in this lineup. Everybody loves him. He's even doing lots of commercials now. It's great to see. This guy is like a hockey player, he's got that grit. Just a really good athlete, good player. So he's number seven for me. Sixth place, Kevin Gosman. Just a steady pitcher, right? Goes out there every start. He has a game planned for his hitters. He's a leader in that dugout, in the bullpen, in that locker room. Everybody loves the way he works. But just a steady guy. Somebody asked me, Sue, what do you think of Kevin Gosman? I just think he's a great guy, right? Just a solid pitcher. Now I know he's had a couple rough starts, but they're gonna do that, people, right? Starters are gonna have bad games, starters are gonna have great games. But overall, he's just steady. So he's number six for me. Number five, Nathan Lucas. Okay, beginning of the season, he was awful, right? At the plate, we get it. Then we found out we had vertical, they figure it out, awesome. After that, he was one of our top hitters, if not the top hitter. And then he gets the injury. But overall, he's of just a very solid player. Maybe not the greatest hitter, but a very good hitter. Okay. Defense, maybe not the greatest defense, but very good outfielder. You know you have somebody that comes in, works hard every day, gonna try and play that game right, doesn't get too hard on himself, doesn't get too high as well. Just a steady, solid player. So he's number five. Number four, you guessed it, Trey Day, right? Trey You Savage. I just wrote down here when I think of Trey You Savage, I wrote, kid got stuff. This kid is gonna be so good. Solid player, just built to be a pitcher. Love his energy. I love how humble he seems, he loves being on this team, he loves what he can do every five days, and I like I said, I he's just a kid with great stuff, and I think the ceiling is just high for this guy. And I'm glad, again, glad he's on my team. Number three, and I can say honestly, besides Laddie, Kazuma Okamoto. He is my favorite player this year. Love this guy. I was happy when we signed him, even though I didn't know much about him. Just did a little bit of research, figured out what he did in Japan. But I love this guy. I remember seeing him the first couple at bats, and I'm like, this guy's gonna be so good. Yeah, does he strike out a lot? Sure. But he's our home run leader right now, guys. So let him strike out every so often. He's come up with some big hits lately in the eighth, ninth inning. Just an awesome player. His defense, a little shaky at first, but making some really good plays of late. So you know what? He's my number three, top three. Number two, somebody that was so excited when we signed, Dylan Cees. So yeah, I know what you guys are gonna say. A lot of high pitches, sometimes inconsistent, and I get that. Thank God he can pitch 100 pitches every time he goes out. But this guy's got good stuff, guys. And he's a stud out there, he's another another guy that's a leader in the clubhouse, you know, very professional, does the right thing, says the right thing, and I think this was a great, great signing. Just love it. Again, high pitch counts. Would I like to see him go longer into the games? Sure, it extra innings go into six, seven innings instead of five, six. Sure. And I believe he will. He's just got too much good stuff. Alright. Number one, and I'm sure you guys have guessed it by now, because I haven't mentioned him, Louis Varlan. Wow. What a year so far. Actually, it started probably midseason last year, right? When we got him and in the playoffs. But this year, wow, look what he's done. He's gonna be going to the All-Star, right? He should be there. I can't see why not. If we didn't have this guy, how many games would have we've lost, even more, in those eighth, ninth innings? Just a great, you know, pit bull guy. He just grinds out there, he just works hard, his energy, that back slap, what the coach does with him in a bullpen before he comes out. That's just amazing. I love love to see Varland take the ball and come in and just finish the game for us. So, alright, guys, those are my top ten. Again, comment if you guys agree or disagree. So, just a recap. Ten, Sanchez, nine, Jimenez, eight, Rogers, seventh, Clement, six, Gosman, fifth, Lucas, fourth, trade. You savage, and third, coming in, Okamodo, who I'm again such I'm such a big fan. Two, Dylan Sees, and one, Louis Varlin. Alright, so mentioning my top ten, there's some honorable mention these that should be called out. And some of you guys might have them in your top 10. I'm telling you, just comment and I'll check it out and see if I agree with you or not. Maybe I'll change my list. Alright, so some of my mentions. Very good surprise. Now, this kid came up because of Kirky's injury, and we know that. Um, but Brandon Valenzuela. Oh my god. This kid, what he's done for us, it's been really, really good. Uh sad to see Heineman go, and I wish him all the best out there. But your time has come and gone, and that's fine, because I'll take this kid on my team anytime. I don't like about him, and what drives me nuts is when he challenges for strikes and balls. Drives me bonkers because he's not really good at it, or he doesn't do it at the right time. I'm not a professional ball player, so don't shoot me on that. But I'm sure some of you guys are like, really, Brandon, like second inning, and you're calling that. And I believe it has cost us some games later on in the innings when we don't have any more challenges. But, anyways, going back, Brandon Venezuela is a very good surprise for me. Another mentione, and I'm gonna group them together. Fisher and Fluhardy, right? Braden Fisher and Mason Fluhardy. Wow, what else can we ask from them? Well, I mean Fisher, maybe not give up some timely home runs. His stuff is really good, and we can count on him, and he can come in, he can start a freaking game, right? He can be a starting pitcher when we need him, when it's a bullpen day. He can come in late. He's come in extra innings. He'll come in for two, three innings. The kid's good. I love his composure. He's just um just a solid pitcher. And Mason Flewhardy. I love this kid last year. What he did in the playoffs, amazing. And the workload that these two guys have done this year is unbelievable. And I'm hoping it's not gonna hurt us in a few weeks or in a couple months. Because if we're gonna make the playoffs, we need them. Um, if we're gonna win games late in the innings, late innings, we need them. So let's hopefully this mid-season all-star break coming up, let's make sure they get some rest, and hopefully our starting pitchers can go a little bit deeper, and these two kids don't have to work so hard. And I'm gonna give one more shout out. I wasn't sure, but Johendrik Pinago. I'm not sure about him. I mean, he's got some power, some of those home runs are very well hit. Um, he takes good at bats. I'll I'll give you that. And he fights in that batter box. Again, his defense like Sanchez, I don't know, guys. I don't know how much more you can coach somebody out there. Again, I'm not a professional ball player, I'm not a coach, so I'm not sure. But I am a fan, a passionate fan, and this guy kind of scares me in the outfield. Um, and running bases, right? And that's going back with Sanchez. The base running is not the best, and that's actually for the whole team, right? Another that's another reason there's a grade C in there. Okay, so those are my honorable mention these. You got Valenzuela, you got Fisher and Fluhardy. Um, and then we're gonna throw in Piango in there. Again, guys, you agree or disagree, please, please leave me a comment. Alright, so saying all that, I guess we should talk about disappointing players, right? And top of the list has to be, has to be Flatie Guerrero. And there's so many reasons why he has to be top player that we're disappointed in. I know, people still love him. I still love him. He's actually my favorite player. Um, well, maybe except for Okamoto, but that's fine. So we're gonna start with Vladdy. Um, hardly any home runs. I know a lot of you guys are saying, ah, Sue, he's not ready running to first base. You know what? He's not the only one that does that. The biggest one on our team, but if you look around, a lot of players don't outrun that ball to first base. But then you look at Nathan Lucas and some of the players, Jimenez, they're always outrunning him, right? So I get it, guys. I get it. And sometimes we've seen some plays where he could have probably outrun that throw, and I get it, and he would have been safe at first. I get that. So yeah, there's there's no home runs, run not running hard at times, and we know he's hurt, right? He's grabbing his back, the side. I think earlier in the season there was something going on with his wrists a little bit, maybe. To me, he doesn't look right at the plate. Yeah, is it 80% mental? But I think he's more hurt than we think he is. And it wouldn't surprise me if he goes on an aisle by the all-star break. Um, and a lot of us are disappointed, right? First year of a huge contract. What is it, 14 years, 500 million? So, yeah, of course. And look at the World Series he had, and even the WBC. He was great, right? So, of course, we're disappointed in him. But I I I bet you guys, the biggest person that's disappointed, it's him, right? You know it. You know he's feeling it. But positive, he still leads the team in RBIs, okay? So there's no home run. But he's hitting them hard, guys. He's hitting them in the hole, he's bringing people in. You know what? He's still our face of our franchise. He really is. Uh he brings people in the ballpark. Now he needs to start handing some home runs. He's also uh people that go see in the visiting ballparks. So I still have faith in him. Is he having an off year? Yeah. Hopefully it's just a half season, not a full year. But it happens. Give Vladdy number one for that. Um I have George Springer on the list. Yes, I know. His toe is hurting. I get it. Can't be fun. Um, but he's not playing in the field right now, right? He's only our DH. Not only, but you know what I mean. He's hitting, he's not running out in the field all the time. He doesn't look right. It's his last year of a contract. You know, he's in his 30s. Is it time for him to retire soon? I don't know. I don't think so. I think he has a couple more years. But is he gonna be the springer from last year? Springer from years ago? No, he's not. No. He's another guy, disappointed in himself. He's more disappointed in himself than we are of him, just like Vladdy. And these two are our go-to people, right? If these two are going, our team is going. It just picks everybody else up. So yeah, it hurts when those two are not hitting like they are. I'm gonna give Springer number two for disappointing players, and then I'm gonna add two more in there. Um, one is Jeff Hoffman, and I'm sure a lot of you guys are agreeing with me. And I'm not just going back with the playoffs in the World Series, okay? That was last year. This is a new season. I've always been a Jeff Hoffman fan. I've always uh backed him up. I've always disagreed with people saying he's got really great stuff. With Hoffman, I really do think is mental. Um, and I think the last couple games he's been doing much, much better. And I've noticing he's, you know what, he's pitching more in the seventh, eighth inning, not like the fifth and sixth. Does it still scare me? Yeah, guys, I'm just like you. It scares me when Snyder calls for him in the seventh and is tied, right? Or in the eighth and it's tied, or we're down by a run, or there's two people on and we're tied. Even though he's looking great of late, I'm gonna still say it's still the beginning of the year was very disappointing. But the plus side of that is we saw Barlow take that role and run with it. So, anyways, uh Hoffman, he's up there in the disappointing players, and I'm gonna include Dalton Varsho. And I know a lot of you guys are gonna agree with me, or I should say disagree with me. Um, and the reason why I'm putting him as for me a disappointing player, because I was expecting a lot more from him this year, one, because I believe this is his last year and he's gonna get a contract, so I thought his hitting would be a little bit higher. But his defense, is it just me guys? Or does his defense look a little different this year? Okay, he's not making those wow plays and outstanding plays and the ones that you know you're diving for and you're jumping for. I get all that, but but just I find there's a lot more balls just falling in front of him, right? Like, I'm like, really? Varshaw of last year would have caught that. So now I'm bringing up the injury thing. Is we uh and we know ball players play through lots of injuries all throughout the year. I don't think they're ever a hundred percent. I get that, but I'm wondering if Varsho is hurting a little bit more than he's saying. I know his shoulder's never been the same after his surgery, um, but his life, like is he not getting to these balls in the field, outfield? Anyways, and his batting, you know, we could talk about that. Sometimes he's hot, and I know he's a streaky ball player. Yeah, he's gonna go three to five games, hitting home runs and getting doubles, and then he's gonna go two, three games, you know, 0 for 3. But just because I'm think I was thinking this is his last season, he's looking for a contract, uh, coming off the World Series, uh, being injured a few times last year, I just thought he would have a better beginning of the season, first half. So he's there for me. So disappointed players, I've got Vladi, Springer, Hoffman, and Varsho. And again, I know you know you know what I'm gonna say here. If you agree or if you disagree, please, please leave me a comment. Alright, so who am I looking for in the second half? Right? Who's gonna come up and go, wow, this is the person I thought they were gonna be? Wow, this reminds me of them of last year, or even wow, I didn't expect this from them. Who I'm gonna look for in the second half, who sues most expecting to go to their potential and beyond to deliver, to give us that spark, to give us that, oh my god, we're gonna make the playoffs. Here we go, right? Dalton Varsho. And for the reasons I mentioned why he was a disappointing player, his defense, I believe he's gonna pick up. Maybe he is injured a little bit, maybe he realized, oh wow, if I don't uh, you know, get a little bit better here, make some defensive plays, I'm not gonna get that contract. So I think his defense is gonna get much better. Has to, right? He's too much of a good player, and he's fighting for a contract, he's trying to get a contract, so I do believe um his second half is gonna be way much better. I think we're gonna see some more home runs, we're gonna see him a little bit more doubles and triples, and maybe not so many balls drop it in front of him. Uh Shane Bieber, I'm looking for him. What I've seen in the last couple outings, and I know he just came back from injury, he looks pretty good, guys. And don't forget, like this guy is really, really good, right? And and just like the Gosmans and Cease, he's he's a leader, right? He's done it, he's seen it, and he wants that ball, that ball every five days. He wants to go six, seven innings, he wants to uh save the bullpen. So I'm thinking he's gonna have a great second half. Alejandro Kirk. Okay, Captain Kirk, Kirky. When he came back from injury, that first two days, while right. I mean, Schneider did not put him in in the second game, but the third game. So his two games back, he was great. And he's had a slump here. But I know he's fighting that injury. You see him still grabbing that wrist, that thumb that he had surgery on. But he's gonna have a great second half, I believe. He's too much of a good hitter, right? He calls great games. Uh, the pitching staff seems like they all love him, they don't really call him off. I do believe he's that I don't want to say spark in the lineup for hitting, but when he's hitting in that fourth, fifth, sixth spot, it's nice, right, guys? Like we can rely on Kirk. I mean, when he hits it on the ground, we know he's out. Um, but he gives you good at bats, he knows the game, um, and I think he's gonna have a great second half. I'm gonna say Jeff Hoffman. Again, this could be how why I still believed in him last year and people were calling me foolish. Um, I think this guy just has great, great stuff, and I just maybe I feel bad for him and I'm rooting for him. What what happened last year in the World Series playoffs in the beginning of this season? He like you have to have a heart, right? You have to feel for this guy. So if anything, I maybe I haven't learned my lesson. I just still believe in him, and maybe I'm just rooting for him so much. I just want him to have a good second half and go, you know what, guys, I still got it. And then what I like to see in the second half, and some of this is from the injuries, you know, I would love to see Barger. Come on, Addison. You need to come back. Uh, you're a game changer in the field, you're a game changer at the plate. I just would love to see Barger back. And two people that people forget to talk about, and Jimmy Garcia and Anthony Santander. So these two guys. Quick little story. Garcia, about three, four years ago, I did not like this guy. I did not want him to get the ball. He gave up a lot of home runs. I was yelling at the TV. I just didn't want him on this team. And then last year, and a little bit the year before that, he was so good, right? And then he got injured. But could we not have used him right now? He is so needed on this team. So I'm really hoping that he comes back and does so well. And Anthony Santander. Okay, another quick little story. When we got him coming from Baltimore two years ago, two years now? Yeah. I was so excited. I like so excited. I wanted to go out there and buy his jersey. I was like, because every time we played Baltimore, this guy hurt us. And I remember telling my friends, my partner, that Anthony Santander is a great hitter, great teammate. I just wanted, you know, not to play against him. And then when I heard he was coming to the Jays, oh my, I was so, so happy. And then the way he looked at the beginning of last season, 2025, he didn't look right. So we knew he was hurt, right? We didn't know how bad it was, but we know he's hurt. So I know there's talk out there that maybe the front office is gonna get rid of Santander, and I get it, and I don't want to hear it because I think if this guy can hit like he used to, couldn't we use him in the lineup right now? So another thing I'm watching for, uh, and I know it depends on injuries, and that it was Addison Barter, Yumi Garcia, and Santander. If they can come back with the club, I think this will help our second half. Okay, so there's Dalton Varshow who's gonna have a big second season, uh half season, especially with his defense. Shane Bieber, man, just keep doing what you've been doing. That's awesome. Kirky, I hope he starts, you know, feeling better with that thumb and just start hitting a little bit better. Hoffman, I still believe in him. Let's go, buddy. I'm probably the only one in Canada that still believes in you, but I think uh your stuff is too good. Um, and then I'm gonna be watching for the front office. All right, and what are they gonna do before the trade deadline? Hopefully, we're not sellers. Hopefully, they can pick up some pieces for us. It would never hurt to have another starting pitcher, but if our pitchers are all okay and healthy, I'm fine. I would like to see another bullpen, maybe another left-hander, because Flu Hardy can't do it all the time, and God, I don't want Brandon Little to come back up. Um, so I would like to see, right? A cup, maybe two lefties in a bullpen. That would be awesome. Um, so let's see what the office is gonna do, the front office is gonna do at the trade deadline. Hopefully, we're not sellers. Um, so I'm gonna be watching for them. So that's what I'm watching for. So, what am I expecting for the Jays? Because, guys, can we admit something? The first half was not the greatest, right? There are some things that we could cheer for, and sometimes they look great, especially the first three games of the season, right? Where like I looked at my partner and said, We're gonna go to the World Series again. It was amazing. Um, and then they go into slumps, and then they have a couple good games, you're like, oh wow, this feels like the team of last year. I'm hoping, I'm expecting a better second half. It has to be, right? Like, should I knock on wood here? It can't be worse. I mean, I guess it can, but it can't, right? It's gonna be better. I think for for my expectations to be reached, for the Jays to have a better second half, there's gonna be a few obvious things I'm gonna say, and you guys are gonna be like, duh Sue, of course. Again, leave me a comment. I'll live I love love to hear from you guys. But what I'm expecting for us to have a better half season is defense. Okay? Defense has to be better. We have really good defenders. We do. We have a whole bunch of gold gloves out there. And don't get me wrong, they've done really well at times. But some of them, you know, I'm like, really? That wouldn't have happened last year. And okay, talking about last year, a little side note here, a little rant, and I've said it, and I tick myself off when I say it. We're like, you know, this is not the same team from last year. This reminds me that of the team of last year. Those two sayings, we can't keep saying that, guys. Okay? They're not the same team of last year. The roster is different from the pitching staff to the bullpen to the positional players, they're not the same team. So when we say, wow, they're not the same team, of course, of course they're not the same team. Or when they start playing well and we're like, wow, this feels like the team of last year. Well, you know what? It's still a different team. What feels like last year is the winning, is those smiles, it's the fun, it's the grit, is playing small ball, is playing the right way. And any team can do that. So they had a good base from last year. They got a lot of players from last year, so they just gotta keep doing that. So there's my little rant. All right, so I was going on about what I expect in the second half. Okay, better defense, right? We talked about that. They need to get to balls. I'm not talking about, well, they can, it looks great. TV catches, right? Those are all great. Up against the wall, fall down, slide, jumping for balls. Okay, just great defense, right? When the ball is hit to you, or a couple feet to your left and right, you kind of grab it and throw it perfect to first base. Just solid defense. That's what I want. Like I said, those great catches are amazing. I just want good defense. Starting pitchers going longer in games. Okay, you got Cease, you got Gosman, you got Bieber, you got USavage, and I'm not even talking about Corbin. And we're not talking about Scherzer here. But you got four starters. These guys need to go six, seven innings. Six innings, okay? 90 pitches, six innings, and and please, can we not give up runs in the first and second inning? Okay. This five nothing, six nothing. And then we come back in the seventh and eighth and almost tie it or kind of win it. We we can't do this, okay, guys? Starting pitchers, are you guys listening to me? Kevin, Dylan, Trey. We can't. Let's please, please, let's not give up these home runs and early, okay? So, better defense, starting pitchers going longer in games for your hitters, better at bats. Wow. Oh, Sue, wow, you're a genius. Better defense, pitchers going long, better bats, of course, and this is every team. Better at bats, right? Just I like those broadcasters and analysts all say, have a game plan. Swing at your balls, give good at bats. Let's fight the starting pitchers. Another little rant here, guys. My pet peeve. Our pitchers are out there. 20, 30 pitches an inning. Then it's our turn. What do we do? Three up, three down. Starting pitcher of the visiting team goes nine pitches. What the heck? Really? You're not helping your teammate here. You're not helping your starting pitchers. So those are the good at bots, right? Be better at bots. Take a ball. Even take a strike. Try to file some of these off. I want to see more fight at the plate appears. Okay. In the second half, for us to be a better team, I think a run of wins, right? In a row. A run of series. Okay? And we had one a little bit, some series. What was it? Four or five series in a row, we won at home. That's what I'm talking about, right? Not winning two, three games at a time. But can we do five, six, seven, eight? I've seen this team go nine, ten, eleven, thirteen games in a row. This is, you know, going back a few years. But this team can do that. We could win six, eight in a row. I like to see that. I think we need to have that. And series in a row. And that is. In baseball, that's what it is. Would you love to win every game? Sure. But if it's a three-game series, you want to win two. If it's a four-game series, especially on the road, you want to win two games. If you can take that third one, wow, bonus, right? But this is what we're talking about. So better defense, starting pitchers, going longer in games, and better at bats. Right? Let's get some a run of wins here going. So my prediction, we are gonna get into the playoffs. Probably gonna be the last wild card spot. You know what? And I'm okay with that because I we just want to get in. So I am predicting this. You guys can put that down soon on the True Fan True Opinions podcast is predicting that the Blue Jays of 2026, who are under 500 at the midway mark, it's gonna make the playoffs. Again, agree, disagree, I like to hear a comment from you. But my biggest concern for my prediction not to come true, or for the better defense and the starting pitchers going long and the better at bots. Okay, my biggest concern, and it's what happened, is injuries. We had some lot of weird injuries, a lot of injuries to main players. But what I've seen from Vladdy, what I've seen from Varsho, what I've seen from Kirky, what I've seen from Clement Jimenez, there's some injuries are gonna happen, man. There's gonna be some people going on the IL. And for us to make the wild card uh playoffs, we can't have significant injuries, right? I know Vladdy's struggling, but he's our RBI leader, guys. I know Jimenez maybe not hitting for batting average, uh, but he's up there too for RBIs and hits um and timely hits, and he's great at defense and shortstop. Like, we can't have significant injuries, and there's gonna be injuries, and I get that. Uh, but like, can you imagine if we had Barger? Can you imagine if George didn't hurt his toe and you know can hit a little bit better? Vladdy, whatever's going on with him, clement some of these errors of late. Um, so my biggest concern is injuries and starting pitching. So, even though I think who are they? Uh Gosman, Cease, You Savage, Bieber, the big four guys. I know they're not going far into games right now, but if there's a significant injury to those four, and don't forget, Bieber, Cease, and you Savage have had injuries. If those go if those guys go down, uh yeah, I my prediction is out the window. You can just throw it out right now. All right. So the second half needs to be better. They need to clean up their defense, right? Uh play a smart game, make some smarter moves, uh, base running, uh, play some small ball, right? Be grit. Be that team from last year with different players, but be that team. Okay. A lot to discuss, a lot to digest. I like to know what you guys are thinking. Are you agreeing with some of my uh some of my grades? Some of the things I was talking about. I was talking about the overall team grade, which I gave a C. I talked about the positional group report cards. So what I've gave given the team by groups, the starting pitchers, I gave them a B. Bullpen, I gave a P. Position of players, a C plus. Coaching staff, a C. In the front office, a B. But again, that was from the preseason, going into early in the season. I gave you my top ten. Let me know. Do you agree? Did I miss somebody? Who do you think should not be on the list? I mentioned some of the that I missed in the top 10 uh that were nice surprises. I talked about the disappointing players. Guys, I know Vladdy, George, Springer, I get it, I get it, okay, guys. Uh, but I want to know who's your biggest disappointment player? I told you guys what I was looking for in the second half by certain players. Who are you looking for in the second half? And what I expect in the second half, which I think a lot of you guys probably totally agree with me. Again, if you disagree, that's fine. So before I wrap this episode up, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I enjoyed talking Jays. I can talk Jays forever. I've been the biggest fan since 1980, so long time. Um but before we wrap this up, I want to leave you with Sue's true moment. So, one thing this Blue Jays team remind me of this first half is that the progress isn't always a straight line. There were games where they looked unbeatable, and games where you wonder what the heck happened? Like, really? What just happened? But life's like that too, right? There's some days you're like, what? I don't get this. And then some days you're just flying high. You just, you know, everything feels gravy, everything's good. So don't let one bad day or even one bad month make you believe your whole season is lost. Keep showing up. The second half can always be better than the first. Thanks so much for listening to another episode of True Fan True Opinion. If you enjoyed today's conversation, I really appreciate it if you follow the show, leave a review, and share it with another sports fan. And don't forget, I want to hear your thoughts. Did you agree with my taste? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments or on social media. Until next time, keep sharing, keep believing, and remember.