TORONTO — John Gibbons leaned against the batting cage during batting practice last week and wondered whether the answer to Devon Travis’ offensive woes was so obvious we were all missing it. What if, Gibbons asked, Travis’ obvious weight loss designed to baby his knees and make his recovery faster had impacted his physical power?
Do you mean he did what he had to do just to get back on the field at the expense of everything else, the Toronto Blue Jays skipper was asked. "Yes," he responded.
Now? With shortstop Troy Tulowitzki due to return off the disabled list at some point in these next four days and Ryan Goins’ glove and timely hitting contributing mightily to the Blue Jays’ May flowering, is Travis’ spot in jeopardy? Could Goins shift to second, in the very least forming a platoon? Don’t bet on it.
"He’s started to come to life," Gibbons said of Travis, who had two doubles Sunday. "He’s throwing enough hits out there to keep his head above water … and he’s started to drive the ball better. For two weeks, it seemed like everything he hit was on the ground."
Travis has hit eight of his 10 doubles since hitting coach Brook Jacoby pulled out a piece of paper – fittingly, it was May Day – and showed him how much closer he was standing to the plate than in 2015 and 2016 and suggested he get back to where he once belonged.
When Travis struck out on a 2-2 pitch against Dillon Overton in the fifth inning on Saturday, it was the first time in 17 plate appearances – and 54 pitches – that he’d swung and missed, going back to the fifth pitch of an at-bat against the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jake Odorizzi on May 6. He was called out on strikes three times during that run, and was 4-for-14 (three doubles) with a sacrifice fly and a bunt, and while Travis said it was too simplistic to suggest that moving farther back was the reason for that … well, it all kind of worked hand in glove.
Travis had moved closer to the plate of his own volition in spring training "because I like the ball closer to me." The problem? "It had me chasing the ball I normally like in a different manner. That little bit of movement in the box had my strike zone and my recognition completely skewed."
With Kevin Pillar firmly ensconced in the lead-off spot – boy, is he ever – there’s no way Travis will regain that position anytime soon. But the Blue Jays are starting to see signs of the offensive player they recognize, and in these next four games he can make any argument moot. Travis’ biggest battle was just getting back on the field this spring; time now to build on it.
QUIBBLES AND BITS
•These Games 7s don’t come around very often for the Washington Wizards, who were called the Bullets when they played in their last one (May 18, 1979) and who are 6-3 all-time in seventh games. Bob Dandridge had 37 points in the last Washington Game 7 win (107-105 over San Antonio in the conference finals) and he and Elvin Hayes have the most playoff games of 20-plus points in a single season (14) while Hayes, Phil Chenier and Earl Monroe all had 13 games of 20-plus points in a single post-season. John Wall of the current Wizards is shooting for his 13th 20-point game of this post-season tonight.
•The Blue Jays play the Atlanta Braves in four-game home-and-home inter-league series, with the first of two at the Rogers Centre going Monday night. When Julio Teheran checked the Miami Marlins on six scoreless innings Saturday in what would be a 3-1 Braves win, it was the first time in nine games in May that the Braves held an opponent under four earned runs; the last time the Braves had a month like that was June, 1958, when the then-Milwaukee Braves started the month with nine games allowing four or more runs. Teheran will pitch against the Blue Jays Thursday at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta.
•His team is the acknowledged underdog in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, but Gregg Popovich has still put together one of his best coaching jobs. After beating the Houston Rockets in the second round, he is the only coach in NBA history to win a playoff series against 14 different Western Conference teams. Popovich’s win over the Rockets and Mike D’Antoni in the series-clinching sixth game was his 20th against D’Antoni, and the only coach with more wins over another coach is Phil Jackson, who had Jerry Sloan’s number, going 20-7 in their head-to-head matchups.
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THE ENDGAME
Among the more interesting tidbits out of Raptors President Masai Ujiri’s year-end media availability was his bullishness on DeMarre Caroll, who has been a bust since signing a four-year, $58-million contract before the 2015-2016 season, in no small measure due to injuries.
Carroll was an afterthought during the playoffs, a default starter at the best of times and Carroll’s three-point percentage of .354 with the Raptors is well off his average with the Atlanta Hawks. Still, his defensive rating this season was actually his best since 2011-2012.
Ujiri thinks a fully healthy Carroll can help the Raptors transition into a team better capable of playing in this NBA.
"I think this was a healing year for his leg," said Ujiri. "This is a big summer for him. At the end of the day, he can be two things in this league: a shooter and a defender; a three-and-D player."
Sounds like the type of player Ujiri is looking for.
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