Greatness?

 

 The Blue Jays success this summer feels ...strange. I'm not suggesting I don't believe in it, I very much do. They're 39-21 over their last 60 games (since their low-point in early May) which is better than every other team in the majors. That's no fluke. And if you're big on the run differential thing, over that span only one AL team lands better. 

And yet, it feels like much of the fan base and somewhat the pundits and beat writers have been really slow to gain any confidence in calling them a legitimately good team. There's been a certain vibe all the way up until the win streak began to grow that can be described as "yeah, but..." I recall reading headlines (some admittedly clickbait) with themes like "this is what the Jays have to do to be a contender" when the team had already been in a playoff position every day for two weeks. By definition, that's a contender.

Yes, holding the lead looks to be an epic struggle in a division with four contenders unwilling to go away, but no one (except fans of the opposition) should be thinking "it's just a matter of time until..." but too often, we do. Why?

I suggest that from at least the infamous playoff game against the Twins, the fanbase (and those who cover the team) have forgotten how to aspire to greatness. Possibly you could extend that back to 2016. After the World Series years were past, it's been a long, sometimes dark, often frustrating journey back to first place (with the singular exception of 2015-16) and that's a LOT of disappointment and cynicism and ...malaise... to overcome.

But we should. This team CAN be great. There's no reason at this time to be cynical about their prospects at this high point of the season. Even if the last week of games have been, well, underwhelming. As far as I can tell, no one is dismissing the Rays and they come into the break on a 3-11 slump. The Yankees are under .500 over their last 25 games, The Tigers just lost four in a row, and yes bad team do sometimes beat good, if not great teams. 

I'd argue that these occasions come around far too seldom for most baseball fans and can be gone too quickly (consider the Rangers for example) so lets take a break from worry, caution, and cynicism and aspire to greatness. If they end up in the World Series, it will be a much sweeter ride, and if they fall away we can always go back to bitterness then - and we won't have missed the fleeting joy in the mean time.