NEW YORK — Last time Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider settled into the leather chair in the Yankee Stadium road manager’s office, his desk was a mess. Half-empty champagne bottles and crushed beer cans covered the wooden workspace. Celebratory liquid puddled on the floor outside.
On Monday, as Schneider returned to the park in which the Jays celebrated an American League Division Series win last October, his desk sat clean. The beer cans and champagne bottles were gone, replaced by iPads and a laptop.
It was a reminder of just how far this Jays team has to go to return to the peak. It was a reminder, too, of the obstacles in their way.
On October 8 last year, the Jays completed a 3-1 series win over the Yankees. The manager kick-started his celebratory speech with “start spreading the news” — an unsubtle jab at New York’s victory song. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stared into a camera and proclaimed, “Daaaaa Yankees Lose,” laughing alongside David Ortiz. In the first-ever postseason meeting between the division rivals, Toronto dominated. This version of the Jays’ core, led by Guerrero and Schneider, earned its first series victory.
“That was fun, man,” Schneider said Monday. “That’s why we sign up for this job. It was cool to see our work pay off and the guys go out and perform.“
This year, though, the Jays struck a different tone. Guerrero, asked where his mind went as he returned to Yankee Stadium, replied, “Last year.” Why does he love playing in New York? He has family come to watch him, he said. Guerrero provided no bulletin board material for his pinstriped opponents. Schneider, before his pregame availability with reporters even began, joked that he “just realized we played them in the playoffs last year.” The Jays weren’t puffing out their chests because they’re in no position to do so.
“We need to start playing better,” Schneider said before the game.
For starters, there are still over four months left in the regular season — plenty of time before anything is truly won or lost. But the Jays also entered Monday’s series opener 6.5 games behind the Yankees and 9.5 back of the Tampa Bay Rays, who sit atop the American League East. A 7-6 loss in the opener, with Toronto (21-26) squandering multiple two-run leads, only pushed the Jays further back. They’re the ones fighting from behind, now.
Even if the wins start flowing and the injured list clears up, the Jays are still months away from any champagne bottles or crushed beer cans. The rivalry may carry over — Guerrero, George Springer and Ernie Clement were heartily booed before at-bats all night — but last year’s victories do not.
The Jays were a well-oiled machine by the time they got to the Division Series last season. Schneider and his coaching staff navigated a tense bullpen game to seal the series. Eight different Toronto batters recorded a hit in that final DS contest. The lineup was filled with threats, and the pitching staff could hold down some of the league’s best hitters. They aren’t at that level right now.
With Toronto’s tying run on second base in the ninth inning, Guerrero sent a bouncing ground ball back up the middle. He put his head down and began to jog as Jazz Chisholm Jr. corralled it. After the throw reached first base, the real Yankees’ victory song began. “Start spreading the news.”
If the Jays want to dance in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse again, they’ve got a long way to go.