With his team mired in an offensive funk dating back to last year, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider pressed his players to step up on Friday.
It may not have quite been an alarm, but the words certainly were different than those used by Schneider in recent days and weeks.
“It's not that early, you know what I mean?" Schneider told reporters prior to the series opener in Washington against the Nationals. "The runway gets shorter and shorter... I mean, we still trust these guys. So, it's just, 'go do what you do.' And don't worry about outside noise that may start to creep in. And if there's a time to make adjustments, that's on me. But I think not waiting around for it to happen is very, very important.
"I think we fell into that last year a little bit with the guys that are still on this team, or for guys that were there last year that aren't here this year. Just, 'hey, it's going to happen. It's going to happen.' It needs to happen."
Compare what Schneider said Friday to what he told the media after Wednesday's loss against the Kansas City Royals and you can see how the message has changed.
After scoring one run for the second day in a row Wednesday, Schneider said he was confident better things are coming for the Blue Jays and their fans.
"They're going to get bored of me saying the same thing,” Schneider said then. “It's going to come. It will. It's May 1. It will come. We will be better. That's what I can say to them and I would hope that our fans trust the fact that we have really good players (who) understand they're not performing up to their expectations. And I hope they know that we will be better."
The Blue Jays are ahead of only the (moving-to-Sacramento) Oakland A's and (historically bad) Chicago White Sox in runs per game this season.
Schneider has resisted making major lineup changes, despite the top three in the batting order (George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette) all putting up numbers below expectations.
The Blue Jays have lost three series in a row and are 15-17 on the season.
"You have to look at what's going on. And at the same time, if they're going up there trying to do too much, it's counterproductive, too," Schneider said Friday. "So, I think it's just reinforcing that. That the time is now. The time is not, 'it's going to happen.' The time is now. And what are we going to do to do it."
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