After an outstanding 2014, during which he was a dependable presence out of the bullpen, Blue Jays reliever Aaron Loup has struggled most of this season.Duane Burleson/The Associated Press
It begins with a coach coming over to a player in the clubhouse, giving a little squeeze on the shoulder and, as gently as possible, relaying the message that the manager would like a word in his office.
Aaron Loup has seen it on countless occasions, the steps that lead up to somebody getting the distressing news that their services are no longer required with the baseball team.
The 27-year-old reliever was half expecting to get the treatment himself earlier this week when the Toronto Blue Jays were in the process of paring their roster to 25 players for Thursday's playoff date with the Texas Rangers.
And when he spied Toronto bullpen coach Dane Johnson ambling over to his locker, Loup feared the worst.
"Dane just actually came around and said, 'Hey, you're going to be throwing in the sim [simulated] game on Tuesday; you're going to throw an inning.'"
For a moment, Loup said he was just processing that information and what it might mean to his future, as Johnson was not exactly being forthcoming with any more details.
"And then I asked him, 'Does this mean I made the roster?' And he said, 'Yeah, you made roster.'"
It was a moment of immense relief for the congenial reliever, whose rickety season left him wondering if he would be cut loose just as the year is about to lift off into the stratosphere.
For Loup, the chance to participate in the Blue Jays' first playoff party in more than two decades is a chance at redemption, to prove his worth after a year he would just as soon forget.
"After a tough season for me, after what I'm used to, being able to have a good September and hopefully carry it into the postseason and help the team out as much as I can – I'm looking forward to bouncing back and being as much help as I can," Loup said on Wednesday.
After a three-day layoff that felt to many like three weeks, the Blue Jays and the Rangers are finally ready to take their battle to the baseball diamond.
The first game of the American League Division Series is Thursday with the first pitch at Rogers Centre slated for 3:37 p.m. (ET).
The early start time is to accommodate Major League Baseball's U.S. TV partners.
The Rangers, the champions of the AL West Division, arrived in Toronto Tuesday night.
Both teams worked out at Rogers Centre on Wednesday in advance of their best-of-five affair.
The media presence at the stadium was overwhelming, and the interest in the AL East winners is off the charts, with the Blue Jays about to end a 22-year playoff absence.
Players in the usually spacious Toronto clubhouse could barely edge their way through the media throngs.
LaTroy Hawkins, the veteran Blue Jays reliever, didn't even bother with any pretense of patience as he bulled his way through.
"Beep, beep, beep, beep," Hawkins said as he steered his way through the crowds.
"Precious cargo coming through."
And Loup was only too happy to be a part of all the mayhem, although his inclusion as a member of the Jays' seven-man bullpen for the first round of the playoffs was a bit surprising to some.
It helped Loup that he throws left-handed.
He and Brett Cecil will be the only bullpen southpaws that Gibbons will be able to call on against a pretty good Texas batting lineup that features several dangerous left-handed hitters, including Josh Hamilton, Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder.
After an outstanding 2014, during which he was a dependable presence out of the pen, Loup has struggled most of this season.
His record is 2-5 and his earned-run average is up to 4.46, more than a full point over his 2014 ERA.
He has hit six batters this season, all lefties, and in mid-August Loup was optioned to Toronto's Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo to try to work out the kinks.
He was back with the big-league club two weeks later as part of the team's September call-ups and pitched better. He allowed no runs off seven hits over six innings over the final month of the season.
"For the most part they're going to be a tough group," Loup said of the coming Texas tango.
"I've faced a little bit of them all and had some success against some of them. Some guys got a few hits off me, but I think for the most part, as long as I make my pitches and stay out of the middle of the plate, I'll be all right."
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Rogers Centre roof could be open for Game 1
The Toronto Blue Jays had one of the best home records in the major leagues this season.
They have an even better winning percentage when the Rogers Centre roof is open.
The weather might just might allow for the opening of the stadium's retractable roof for Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday afternoon against the Texas Rangers. The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 14C.
"I'd certainly say there is a chance given what I've seen from the weather [forecast]," said Stephen R. Brooks, the Blue Jays' senior vice-president of business operations. "Obviously the league ultimately will make that call in terms of their control of the postseason in discussions with us. If we're in the mid-teen range, that is admittedly pushing the limits a little bit of the mechanics of the roof.
"However we'll cross our fingers and hope for a day similar to what we see outside today. It would be great if we could open the roof."
The temperature reached the low 20s on Wednesday afternoon. The roof remained closed as the Blue Jays and Rangers held practice sessions to prepare for the opener in the best-of-five series.
The Blue Jays were 53-28 at home this season – good for a share of top spot in the American League with the Houston Astros. Toronto was a remarkable 38-14 when the roof was open and 11-14 when it was closed.
"I don't have a preference," said Blue Jays ace and Game 1 starter David Price. "I guess whatever our offence wants. It's the best offence in all of baseball so whatever they want is fine with me."
It's also possible that the roof could be open at the start of the game and then be closed later in the afternoon. The Blue Jays were 4-0 this season when the roof was closed or opened midway through a game.
"I think if the temperature is right, everybody likes playing outdoors but we'll see," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "But that's one of the benefits of having the roof. If the weather is ugly, we'll be in good shape."
The teams split the two games when the roof was closed in the Rogers Centre series. The lone outdoor game was a 12-2 Toronto rout.
The Canadian Press