‘Obviously, we don’t feel good right now.’ The sliding Blue Jays have suddenly reached a turning point if they hope to contend

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This article was published 24/05/2021 (1635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the words of the great Ron Burgundy, “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”

Will Ferrell’s character from the movie “Anchorman” was referencing a brawl he got into with a rival news station. He might as well have been talking about the Blue Jays’ plight in the American League East.

Less than a week ago, the Jays were one win away from taking sole possession of first place from the Boston Red Sox. Six consecutive losses have since dropped them to fourth, 5 1/2 games back of the surging Rays.

The late-May collapse is happening at the same time their division rivals are taking off. Tampa Bay is riding an MLB-best 11-game win streak. The Yankees have reeled off six consecutive victories, while the Red Sox have won seven of 10, to move 10 games above .500.

Meanwhile, a battered and bruised Jays team appears to be falling apart.

A 14-8 loss to the Rays on Sunday meant they were swept in a four-game series at home for the first time in more than three years. Per FanGraphs, within the span of six days, the Jays’ odds of making the post-season plummeted from 58.4 per cent to approximately 35.

Everything that could have gone wrong over the last week did go wrong, including five consecutive losses from a bullpen that was one of the league’s best in April and now can’t get anyone out. The gains from a 10-5 stretch to open the month have evaporated, and the club has regressed to .500 for the first time since May 4.

“Obviously, we don’t feel good right now; losing six games in a row is not what you want,” Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through a translator after homering twice in the losing cause. “But we’re going to keep our heads up. We have to continue to grind.”

How you feel about the recent slide likely depends on the type of person you are. Optimists will point to a plus-27 run differential, which ranks fifth in the AL and suggests the Jays’ record should be better than it actually is. They will also point to close ball games during the skid, which included four losses by two runs or fewer, to suggest the team isn’t playing as bad as the standings indicate.

Pessimists will use the slide to suggest this team isn’t ready to contend. The rotation remains an area of great concern, an injury-riddled bullpen appears to be running on fumes, and there’s only so much a potent lineup can do to make up for the shortcomings elsewhere.

The days of handing out participation ribbons expired over a year ago. Despite its youth, this team isn’t rebuilding anymore. After a slew of big signings during the off-season, it is expected to contend and there is little value in the moral victory of keeping games close, but when so many things are going awry at once it’s natural for those in the trenches to search for positives.

“I’m not frustrated, because honestly we’ve been in every game,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “It’s a fact. We played a hot team … one strike away, one bloop single away, whatever. We’ve played good baseball. It’s just tough luck, and we’ve played good teams. There’s no reason to be upset. We’re going to be all right, I firmly believe that.”

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The Jays will have to fix these problems on their own because the schedule doesn’t offer a break for quite some time. This week, it’s another series against the Yankees followed by three games against Cleveland, second in the AL Central. The following week, it’s a mini two-game set against Miami before a series against the Central-leading White Sox and two more against the Yankees and Red Sox.

The quality of opponents drops off after that as the Jays eventually hit a soft spot of their schedule, but that doesn’t happen until June 18. If the current losing streak keeps going for much longer, the hole might be so deep by then that it will be almost impossible to dig out of. The margin for error seemed small enough last week when four teams were all within two games of each other atop the division; it’s even tinier now.

Of course, the last seven days have also proven how quickly things change and there’s a long way to go, over 100 games in fact. The Jays were in the driver’s seat last week; today they’re dangling from the side of their car. Check back in another week or two and they might be flying down an open road on cruise control or careening off a cliff.

For now, they can’t afford to get caught up in the big picture. Their first goal is a simple one: End the losing streak. Tuesday night in the Bronx sounds like as good a time as any to get started.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca