You’ll NEVER Guess How This .500 Team RESPONDED to Back-To-Back Wins
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What does the "500 team" label mean for the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays?
It's at the letters for Tuesday, September 15th, 2026. Arden's dwelling with Ben Nicholson Smith and our producer. Christian Ryan, thanks so much for listening. Ben, I believe I have figured out the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays. I believe I know what they
are. Wow. Okay. Well do tell because that's been a question that I think a lot of people are, you know, seeking the answer to for for five and a half months now.
Hold on to your hat. Prepare for this piece of paradigm shifting analysis. The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays are a 500 team.
Well, it that's that's the way things are trending after uh a hundred and fifty one games. That's that's definitely the way things are trending. And it's wild cause they're still relevant despite that um, you know, rather modest record.
Nothing that happens from here on out is gonna change my opinion on that. I th I've arrived at this conclusion, and I feel like all season long we have been waiting for this other shoe to drop or for the true blue jays to reveal themselves. And I think that they are not good and they are not bad. I think that they are not this sleeping lion awaiting its awakening, and I think they are not a Paper tiger that'll fall apart at any instant. I don't think they're frauds. I don't think they're unlucky. I don't think they deserve worse. I don't think they deserve better. I think they are just perfectly ordinary and pedestrian and 500. I think they are just regular old two percent milk. Yeah. That is your 2026 Toronto Blue Jays.
I mean, I it's hard to disagree, right? And I I don't disagree. I think after a hundred and fifty games, a team really is what it is. And yeah, this this Blue Jays team is a five hundred team. There's some nuance to that, but ultimately you deserve to be where you are. And there are reasons for that, whether it's injuries, whether it's flat junior. But end of the day, I agree. I'm not waiting for some other shoe to drop. I think this is this is who they are. And look, after a hundred and fifty one games and counting, that's the simplest and most compelling answer.
I think if they played a thousand games, they would finish five hundred and five hundred. I think if they played five hundred games, they would finish two fifty and two fifty. Therefore, they're gonna play a hundred and sixty two games, and I think they are destined to finish eighty one and eighty one. And will that be good enough to get into the postseason? I don't know, but I think that's where we're headed.
Yeah, I don't think so. I don't think that would be good enough. I think they have to probably win another seven to get them to eighty two, which is wild that that's even conceivably a a playoff, uh a playoff record in this American league. Um, but yeah, they're gonna be somewhere around five hundred. I do think here's where I'll add like a a little bit of a take or a little bit of nuance to it. I actually That's not a take?
This is my hottest take. This I figured it all out. What more is there to
say? I will add my take on top of this, which is m my take being that It is ordinary as they are for the regular season, and I agree, it's a r it's an ordinary regular season team. They got major flaws. But if they were to somehow make it to the postseason, they would play up a little in the postseason because their biggest weakness would disappear. And their biggest strength would be amplified. And what I mean by that offense is gonna disappear. N well, I I would say their biggest structural weakness right now is the fact that they don't have a number four or five starter. And they're trying to patch it together and make it work with Araghetti one day and Michael Lorenzo the next and Brayden Fisher and the rest of it.
And so to try to make it through 162 games with three starters or four starters, it's it's just a structural weakness that is going to uh cost you over time. Now in the playoffs, that actually gets It's mass because you have off days, you're not using those guys as much. And one of their biggest strengths, notwithstanding Monday's game, is the bullpen.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the "500 team" label mean for the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays?
0:06–4:35
2
How do the final 11 games shape the Blue Jays’ chances for the postseason?
4:35–10:06
3
What should the Blue Jays do to maximize Dylan Cease’s effectiveness for the rest of the season?
10:06–21:12
4
How is the bullpen being managed to handle workload and fatigue in September?
21:12–33:43
5
What strategic decisions are being considered for the upcoming Orioles and Reds series?
33:43–54:06
6
How will the Jesus Sanchez era be remembered after his trade to Arizona?
54:06–1:01:37
7
What are the outlooks for key players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, and the emerging prospects?
1:01:37–1:12:33
8
What final thoughts and takeaways do Ben and Arden leave listeners with?
1:12:33–1:13:00