TORONTO — It was an unexpected celebration. Organic, would be a polite word. There was no plastic sheeting covering the front of the lockers, and the cheap bubbly – the stuff that normally gets sprayed – wasn’t brought out because, well, the decision had been made that a few polite sips of Veuve Clicquot, a couple of beers and maybe the odd cigar was the order of the day.
But then one thing led to another. The champagne and beer was drunk and dumped over heads – or, into faces – away from the lockers so no clothes were harmed. Some of the players’ children wandered in. The celebration rolled from one area of the clubhouse to the other, a no-autopsy no-foul kind of thing. And as David Price stood doing his interviews, Ryan Goins climbed over a table and doused him with … water. A bottle of water.
So, there it was. A post-season berth no one expected two months ago sneaked up on the Blue Jays, and due to boring old mathematics worked out in the wee hours of Saturday morning by bleary-eyed social media. Yeah, there really is a ‘Learning to Fly’ aspect to this team — a coming together of disparate parts that goes way beyond the marquee talents.
Look down, like Price did Saturday. Way down, to the seventh and eighth spots in the batting order – to Goins and Kevin Pillar. Price admitted he didn’t know much about either of them when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Man, he sure does now.
“Those two guys are two of my favourites on the team,” said Price. “The way they work. The way they go about their business. The way they play. You can call them table-setters if you want, but they are a huge part of what we do. Gogo’s defence … and K.P. is going to win a Gold Glove this year. If not, something’s wrong. Both are very good at what they do, and great teammates.”
Goins has been hitting in front of Pillar, mostly, during this homestand. But they are inseparable in the lineup, and Pillar has gone 9-for-14 (.642) in his last four games while Goins has wobbled slightly but still kept his average above .240, walking 25 times in his last 46 games after drawing just 20 base on balls in his previous 175 career games. Pillar was 3-for-4 Saturday, his 42nd multiple hit game this season (second on the team). Goins was the recipient of one of Price’s trademark ‘Wow, how did you do that?’ stares when he slid to his knees to throw out Evan Longoria and end the first inning.
The pair’s contributions defensively have seemed more pronounced as the seriousness of the games have increased. Goins has been a saviour, what with injuries first to Devon Travis and then Troy Tulowitzki. Couple that with an adjustment at the plate suggested by hitting coaches Brook Jacoby and Eric Owens – keeping his hands much quieter as he awaits the pitch – and he has put himself in position to be a serious contributor even when the team is restored to health.
Pillar, meanwhile, has the second most hits on the team, has played the most games, had the third most plate appearances and scored the fourth most runs. Think back to last season, when he was demoted to triple-A in a move initiated by manager John Gibbons after a fit of pique in the dugout when he was removed for a pinch hitter. He didn’t resurface until the triple-A season ended, was expected to be the fourth outfielder this season but took advantage of Michael Saunders’ spring training injury and Dalton Pompey’s lack of readiness to claim the everyday centre-field spot. Tough to see him moved out of there in 2016.
Along the way, Pillar has started to understand the strike zone. He cut down on his leg lift to control his swing and he learned to love the breaking ball – OK, that might be a bit much – to the point where he accompanied Josh Donaldson into the cage during the recent New York Yankees series to work hitting off a pitching machine that throws just breaking balls. He has become the typical guy you don’t notice unless you watch him every day.
Sometimes, when players hit regularly in front of or behind each other, they’ll develop their own series of signs or signals. Goins said they aren’t there yet; for now it is enough, he said, for him to remember that Pillar has the green light to steal a base at any time.
“I don’t think we need it to be that complicated,” Goins said, as Pillar put him in a headlock and dumped beer on him. “Both of us take the same approach: put on a good at-bat, get things going so we turn the lineup over to the guys at the top.”
Goins smiled when Price’s comments were relayed to him. Think about it: two guys the organization really didn’t know what to do with being lauded by none other than their marquee trade deadline acquisition as good teammates. “David’s great to play defence behind, because he’s always in the strike zone so as a defender you need to stay awake,” said Goins. “But, yeah. That means a lot coming from him.” Pillar, for his part, urged one and all in the clubhouse to “stay tuned” — that this team has bigger goals than a mere wild card. After all, nobody trades for a David Price then settles for a one-game playoff. But Pillar also acknowledged that he has come far from spring training – let alone last season’s demotion. And indeed he has. Far from being a redundant or spare part, it’s hard to imagine the Blue Jays being where they are without the two of them.