The Blue Jays fell 7-1 to the Rangers Friday, and manager John Schneider's own decisions have added to the pile.

Toronto isn't mathematically eliminated yet, but this loss made it feel that way.

The recipe was familiar. Zero offensive production, defensive miscues, and a rough outing from an obviously ailing Dylan Cease turned this into a blowout fast.

Players ultimately decide wins and losses. But it's hard not to notice Schneider contributing to the struggles with several questionable calls lately.

With two runners on and Toronto needing a hit Friday night, Schneider pinch-hit Davis Schneider for Nathan Lukes, who promptly made the out that ended the inning.

That's a genuinely puzzling choice. Lukes entered the day on a 13-game hitting streak and has been one of Toronto's only reliable bats all season, while Schneider spent most of the year in Triple-A due to poor performance.

Making that swap purely on handedness, while ignoring each player's actual body of work, is short-sighted.

Why Monday's bullpen sequence was even worse

That wasn't even his worst decision of the week.

Monday against Detroit, right after Kazuma Okamoto's dramatic three-run homer gave Toronto the lead, Schneider handed the eighth inning to Joe Mantiply.

Tyler Rogers and Mason Fluharty had pitched each of the two previous days and were presumably unavailable. But Spencer Miles and Braydon Fisher both remained in the bullpen.

Mantiply allowed two baserunners, forcing Louis Varland into the game earlier than usual. Varland couldn't strand the runners, the tying run scored, and Toronto lost in the ninth.

If Varland was stretched out for five outs, why not just start him the eighth for a two-inning save? If Miles was being saved for the next day's bullpen game, why not use him Tuesday instead? Why not turn to Fisher first, then bring Miles in as the opener?

Thinking ahead matters, but winning the game in front of you always has to come first. Schneider deserves real credit for navigating this season's pitching injuries. This specific sequence still deserves criticism, and so does the Lukes pinch-hit call days later.

The lineup construction raises its own questions too. Is Okamoto's inconsistency really reason enough to keep hitting him sixth when he's Toronto's only real power source? Why has Vladimir Guerrero Jr. never once been moved down the order despite being below average at the plate all season, no matter how you measure it?

This isn't a good baseball team. Making the playoffs required real luck and close-to-perfect execution down the stretch. The luck has been gone for weeks, and now questionable decision-making is compounding the problem. That combination, on top of the roster's own limitations, is looking more and more like no October baseball in Toronto.