The situation from Monday night that featured Aaron Judge glancing at the New York Yankees dugout in the eighth inning of a then-blowout is now becoming far bigger than it should be. And it's all because the Toronto Blue Jays are stooping down to the level of snitching.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters on Tuesday that the team has contacted Major League Baseball over the incident and voiced a potential concern about "where Yankees base coaches were set up."
On some level, the Yankees have to be glad they've now gotten in the Blue Jays' head in this manner. Now they're worried about where the Yankees' base coaches are standing? Did Schneider miss the part where the Blue Jays were held scoreless through seven innings against Jimmy Cordero and Jhony Brito?
How about how bad Alek Manoah has been all year? How about Jay Jackson's tendency to throw slider after slider? A high schooler writing a scouting report could've detected all of that for you.
Turns out, Schneider scurrying to tell mommy and daddy about the big bad bullies stealing his team's signs in real time wasn't even the most embarrassing part of all this.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said they have contacted the league about the situation with Judge last night. One potential concern Blue Jays seemed to have was where Yankees base coaches were set up.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) May 16, 2023
“There’s boxes on the field for a reason,” Schneider said.
Blue Jays snitch on Yankees, manager John Schneider is starting to sound whiny
Wait, but first, care to see where the Yankees' coaches were positioned?
You be the judge. (Pun absolutely intended) https://t.co/nPA71zeStp pic.twitter.com/bQ1bJnUzEw
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 16, 2023
Yeah! Steal those signs standing FARTHER away! That'll do it.
But then Schneider really gave Yankees players and fans a legitimate reason to be mad. He essentially called Judge a liar for his postgame commentary and then provided his own take on why Judge should or shouldn't have been looking toward his team's dugout.
Schneider said he's "not in the business of buying post-game media" when asked if he bought Judge's comments:
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 16, 2023
"I know that he means nothing but business and wants to win. I just found it a little funny he was worrying about his dugout when he was in the batter’s box.” #BlueJays
Oh, Schneider thought it was funny. OK then. Case closed. No baseball player has ever had their attention diverted.
If the Yankees' dugout was still yelling at the home plate umpire while Judge was at bat, then how could he not be concerned as he was trying to concentrate? And even if he wasn't fully dialed in on the game, it was 6-0 at that point. There's a valid argument for either scenario because of how distracting it all may have been.
Aaron Judge is not pleased that the Blue Jays broadcast insinuated that he may have been cheating.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) May 16, 2023
“I got some choice words about that, but better to just keep that off the record,” he said.
And for all the folks out there claiming the Blue Jays broadcast handled the topic carefully, Judge begs to differ. He heard the whole thing and didn't feel that way whatsoever. When asked about it, he opted to take the high road, but we'll see how long that lasts.
We're suspecting Tuesday night might get ugly, which could elicit a lot more than just harsh words and trash talk.
Oop ... wait! Maybe nothing will happen, though, because it seems MLB already determined their stance on the "issue."
MLB does not believe there is any indication that there were any major rule violations last night, including the positioning of the Yankees’ base coaches.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) May 16, 2023
Wonder if Schneider thinks that's "funny."