Blue Jays manager John Schneider made an enemy out of himself in the eyes of Yankee fans after his eye-opening comments on Sunday.
Schneider, who will be managing the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game, is giving the ball to Dylan Cease to start the Midsummer Classic. Cease, the ace for Schneider's Blue Jays, got the nod over Cam Schlittler, the Yankee ace pitching to a league-best 2.05 ERA this season. Schlittler revealed Sunday that he will not be pitching in the All-Star Game, citing priorities to keep his arm fresh for the second half of the season while New York waits on rotation reinforcements to return from injury, but Schneider told reporters that Cease was his choice over Schlittler, even if Schlittler planned on pitching.
"If Cam was going to pitch, my decision was still going to be Dylan," Schneider said. "After careful consideration, obviously.
"Whenever a guy's leading the league in strikeouts in an era like this and you’ve got really good stuff, you're a very good representative of the American League. So I came to that conclusion."
Cease's strikeout stuff has certainly been otherworldly this season, fanning a league-high 13.5 batters per nine innings, on pace to lead baseball in that category for a second straight season. His 148 strikeouts are also tops in baseball, as is his 2.18 FIP. But Schlittler has the edge in ERA, innings pitched, WHIP, walks per nine, and WAR, leading many Yankee fans to lament the decision - and subsequent explanation - from Schneider, regardless if Schlittler was going to pitch in the game or not.
Schlittler would not have pitched anyway, but the Blue Jays manager still heard heavy criticism.
Schlittler would not have pitched anyway, but the Blue Jays manager still heard heavy criticism.
