John Schneider's Orioles praise will only make Blue Jays fans hate him more

The Toronto Blue Jays finally had some momentum, winning each of their last two series heading into a crucial four-game set against the Baltimore Orioles. Playing against the Orioles gave Toronto the chance to prove that they can, indeed, compete against the league's best. Unfortunately, they failed to put up much of a fight.

Kevin Gausman continued to have a down season, allowing six runs in 6.1 innings of work, and the Jays offense couldn't get much going against Grayson Rodriguez who was sensational in his 6.2 frames. The Jays lost 7-2 and trailed from start to finish. They're now 28-31 on the year, 13.0 games behind the first-place New York Yankees, and in sole possession of last place in the AL East.

This Jays team has immense talent, but has underperformed from the jump and has shown no signs of turning the ship around. Rather than focusing on his own team, Blue Jays manager John Schneider went out of his way to praise the O's. That's not something that will sit well with Blue Jays fans who are already tired of their skipper.

John Schneider only irritates Blue Jays fans more with Orioles praise after latest frustrating loss

"They’re a good team. I don’t want to sit here and say they’re the ’27 Yankees. They’re not that good, but they’re a really good team. ... A good night from Hays and Santander. That’s how they’re built. They’re built to do damage."

Yes, the Orioles are a good team. They won 101 games last season and might be even better now with Gunnar Henderson looking like a legitimate MVP candidate and Corbin Burnes joining the fold, but they're not impossible to beat. Schneider is making it seem as if they're virtually impossible to stop, and is doing so in a weird way.

Austin Hays and Anthony Santander did have good nights, but isn't that more of an indictment on the Blue Jays failing to get struggling hitters out? Hays entered Monday's game with a .485 OPS and no home runs. He wound up launching a pair of home runs against Gausman. Santander is a great player but he's been having a down year. He entered Monday's game hitting .217 with a .732 OPS, yet he had a pair of hits including a home run.

Does the Orioles being "built to do damage" mean that the Blue Jays are not? If the Blue Jays are, where has their offense been all year? Shouldn't Kevin Gausman, a pitcher viewed as an ace entering this season, be able to compete against a good lineup? Schneider going out of his way to praise an Orioles team clearly lightyears better than the Blue Jays is not going to make Toronto fans any happier with him.