MLB: Blue Jays running basepaths more

Are the Jays running a “failure-oriented business”?

“A lot of clubs in the American League get caught up waiting for the big inning,” Zaun said. “We’ve got some guys who can hit the ball deep. But for us, it’s also important to win however we need to. We’re using the hit-and-run more than ever before. We’re pushing the envelope on the basepaths when running. We’re putting pressure on the defense. And when you do that, they make mistakes once in a while.

“We’ll have our games, just like the Angels do, where sometimes you run yourself into some outs. But more often than not, it’s the right way to play. You can’t just sit around waiting to hit, because hitting is a failure-oriented business as it is.”

..."We have some guys who can run, who are willing to run, and who are willing to sacrifice themselves at the plate if hit-and-runs are called upon,” Wells said. “Up and down the lineup, we have to be ready to do whatever we’re called upon to do in that situation. I think we’re all trying to look at the bigger picture here, and that’s playing meaningful baseball in September. We need to do the little things right to get there.”