Toronto Blue Jays: Could Monday’s Brawl Prove Costly?
Never mind trying to figure out who’s at fault for Monday night’s brawl, the more important question is whether or not the fallout will drastically affect the Toronto Blue Jays.
Although their playoff hopes are technically still alive, the New York Yankees are likely set to play the role of spoilers down the stretch, and they might have delivered their first blow on Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.
In the aftermath of a benches clearing brawl, which saw Justin Smoak fill Tyler Austin with a few quality punches, the Blue Jays could be without one of their better relief pitchers for an extended period of time, as Joaquin Benoit was seen leaving the Rogers Centre on crutches Monday night.
To make matters worse, Devon Travis exited the game during the fifth inning with a shoulder injury after he experienced discomfort from a swing and he did not return. You hope Travis and Benoit are both back in the lineup immediately, but there’s no guarantee at this point. Plus, the league is surely going to review the brawl from Monday and potentially discipline a player or two on the Blue Jays, which could mean bad news for J.A. Happ and Justin Smoak.
With the Baltimore Orioles arriving for a three-game series that could ultimately decide the playoff fate of either team, the timing of this brawl couldn’t be any worse. Look, I get it. It’s baseball and these things happen.
I think the way the Yankees handled everything on Monday night was bush league and they only have themselves to blame. I get Luis Severino was wild, but get it together on the mound and hit the strike zone, not batters. Chase Headley, don’t go for a stroll around the ballpark after a brush back pitch and not expect to wear one the next pitch. Get back in the box and play the game. And as for Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Rob Thomson, a Canadian no less, you’ve both been around the game a long, long time, what were you honestly expecting after home plate umpire Todd Tichenor warned both benches?
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You could easily send some blame Josh Donaldson’s way for his reaction in the first inning, or towards Happ for hitting Headley in what could easily be viewed as a retaliation pitch, but for Severino to get right back out there and drill Smoak to really escalate things, that was unnecessary.
There’s a lot more that could be said about the brawl, and I’m sure Yankees fans will disagree with my thoughts, but I’ll leave it at that. In the grand scheme of things, however, I’m sure the Blue Jays wish they avoided the brawl, especially since Benoit suffered an injury while holding back C.C. Sabathia.
This isn’t the first time the Blue Jays and Yankees have brawled in September either, as Monday’s scuffle was almost an exact re-enactment of a game between these two teams back in 2009. With the Yankees chasing a playoff spot, catcher Jorge Posada took exception to a pitch from reliever Jesse Carlson, which eventually led to both benches clearing and a few ejections.
The Yankees were fortunate to not have anybody injured during the brawl, or suspended, but things could have went south in a hurry like they did on Monday night.
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The end result was brutal for the Blue Jays, and Mark Teixeira‘s colossal bat-flip was proof of that, but with injuries and possible suspensions looming, let’s hope a blown Jason Grilli save is all the damage the Blue Jays have to endure.