3 big questions for Blue Jays ahead of ALCS

John Schneider is evidently not afraid of being second-guessed. Facing the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, the Toronto Blue Jays manager had one obvious lineup decision: starting Kevin Gausman in Game 1.

After that, he went full high-wire act, handing a Game 2 start to rookie Trey Yesavage, who only made his major-league debut in mid-September, and making Shane Bieber the only other starting pitcher on the ALDS roster. That meant a bullpen game in Game 4, an exercise that had Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker pulling off the managerial equivalent of juggling chainsaws as they used eight pitchers to record 27 outs.

It worked, though, and Schneider, whose playoff record was 0-4 before the series, has suddenly achieved folk-hero status.

But with the ALCS looming, he has several big questions to answer.

To Bo, or not to Bo?

Bo Bichette has been out with an ankle sprain since early September. The shortstop was having a stellar year at the plate before he was hurt, so he would seem a clear choice to slide right back into his old spot if he is healthy by the time the ALCS begins on Sunday. (He has begun running and sounded optimistic about his chances to return after the ALDS.) But there is also the fact that the offense rolled over the Yankees in his absence and, perhaps more crucially, Andrés Giménez is much better than Bichette defensively. In their private moments, Schneider and the Toronto front office might entertain the idea of leaving Bichette off the ALCS roster and just dancing with what brung 'em, but it's hard to imagine them actually going through with it. Bichette had the third highest OPS on the Jays, behind only George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. If his bat is available, Schneider will almost certainly want to use it. It's also true that Bichette is both a long-serving, homegrown Blue Jay and a pending free agent. Leaving him out of the ALCS picture if he's ready to play would be deeply awkward.

Bieber and then who?

With the off days that are built into the ALCS schedule, after Game 2 and after Game 5, it's at least possible that the Jays could try using only three starting pitchers again on their series roster. But as a best-of-seven series instead of a best-of-five, such a strategy would carry a lot more risk. If either of the first two starters doesn't last for long, suddenly the bullpen arms would already have thrown a lot of innings before even getting to a Game 4, and as the ALDS showed, Schneider would need as many pitchers as possible to get through a bullpen game. With José Berríos still battling injury, that leaves Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer as possible additions to the rotation. Even if Schneider and his coaches aren't eager to use either of them in a starting role - Scherzer, in particular, looked spent in September - it would be a bold call to leave both of them on the shelf. In a long series, there's a good chance that someone will be needed to eat innings at some point, and having a fourth starter available would give the Jays flexibility they didn't have against the Yankees. Put another way, does Schneider really want to start another series without that safety net behind him?

Sweet relief?

Over 166 games, the Blue Jays have established some things clearly. They have a deep, relentless offense. They have starting pitchers who, at least, keep them in most games. And they have a scary bullpen, but not necessarily in a good way. Game 4 against the Yankees was typical edge-of-your-seat terror. Brendon Little pitched the seventh inning, in which he walked the leadoff man, gave up a long, loud fly ball to center field, then got a strikeout, surrendered a single and finally retired the side on a pop up that required an excellent defensive play from Giménez. Later, closer Jeff Hoffman recorded a very Hoffman-like save: four outs, two hits, a walk and a run surrendered on an Aaron Judge rocket off the wall. You know how some playoff teams just try to get their starters through five or six innings before they begin a parade of shutdown relievers? The Blue Jays are not one of these teams. That problem was overcome against the Yankees by simply scoring 23 runs in the first two games and eliminating the concept of high-leverage late innings. Toronto's smooth defense, minus its series of Game 3 brain farts, also helps in that regard. But it remains to be seen how confident Schneider will be in his bullpen if he has to lean on it early in the ALCS. This isn't just a vibes thing, either: Toronto's relievers were 10th in the American League in ERA during the regular season, worst of any AL playoff team.

But that was all true before the ALDS, too, and eight of those relievers held the Yankees' offense, the best in baseball, to two runs over nine innings on Wednesday night as they clinched the series.

It ain't pretty, in other words, but so far it has worked.

Scott Stinson is a contributing writer for theScore.