Blue Jays Manager, Outfielder Ring Urgency Bell After White Sox Loss

The Toronto Blue Jays are standing still and John Schneider and Daulton Varsho had something to say about it on Sunday.

Toronto Blue Jays manager john Schneider argues with umpire John Trumpane. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Toronto Blue Jays are in last place in the American League East. It’s getting harder to craft a reasonable path to the postseason by the day.

Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox was the latest example of a team with a failure to start. The Blue Jays (46-53) had just four hits, and half of them game in the final inning of the game. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto went hitless. George Springer didn’t play. Pitcher Trey Yesavage threw well but gave up three runs and was brought down by a lack of run support.

The clock is ticking. There are less than three weeks from the MLB trade deadline. If the Blue Jays want to show they’re worth being buyers at the deadline, then the time is now. And Toronto is 4-6 in its last 10 games.

After the game, both manager John Schneider and outfielder Daulton Varsho sounded the bell of urgency.

Blue Jays Boss, Outfielder on Recent Rut

Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Daulton Varsho. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Schneider told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith that the time has arrived to start swinging wins together.

“We’ve got to turn it around in a hurry … we’ve got to find a way to score some runs,” he said.

Varsho was one of three Blue Jays with a hit on Sunday. His went nowhere. He struck a similar tone when he talked to reporters, including Nicholson-Smith.

"We've got to get out of it, and we've got to get out of it quick, but we've just gotta keep grinding, trust the process,” Varsho said.

But is there a process to trust? Somehow Toronto won one of these three games with the White Sox but scored five runs in the entire series. It underscored the Blue Jays’ issues with scoring runs all season. They’re ranked in the bottom five in the Majors a year after they had one of the game’s most productive lineups.

Injuries have been a factor, especially when it comes to pitching. But when Yesavage pitches nearly seven innings and only gives up three runs, that is good enough to win for a lineup featuring Guerrero, Okamoto, Ernie Clement and a host of others that know how to generate offense.

Schneider and Varsho didn’t use the word “panic” but one must imagine it was implied. Everything Schneider has tried has not worked consistently.

During a weekend of celebration of the 1992 and 1993 World Series champions, all these Blue Jays proved is that a repeat of last year’s World Series appearance likely isn’t in the cards.