Blue Jays' Eric Lauer lashes out about strategy: 'I hate it'

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Eric Lauer decided not to hold back.

After the Toronto Blue Jays' loss in Arizona on Friday night, the lefty pitcher made it clear that the strategy the Blue Jays had employed against the Diamondbacks was something he didn't like.

That strategy? Using an opener.

Instead of Lauer just starting the game on the mound, like he usually would, the Blue Jays began the game with relief pitcher Braydon Fisher on the mound.

Fisher went one scoreless inning before Lauer came in to throw the next five.

Lauer allowed three runs, including a home run to Nolan Arenado, and took the loss. His ERA for the season is now at 7.13.

And yeah, he's not happy about the opener approach.

“To be real blunt, I hate it," Lauer said, via MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "I can’t stand it."

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Lauer went on to call starting pitchers "creatures of habit" and say it messes with his routine.

“Hopefully it’s not something that we will continue doing, but that’s above my pay grade," Lauer said.

The opener strategy in general has come into baseball as a way of trying to navigate games a bit differently -- the top of an opposing order faces different arms rather than the same guy multiple times, which conceptually is beneficial.

It probably isn't a big deal for the reliever who opens the game, although it's a bit different. It's much different for the starting pitcher who normally has a well-timed pregame routine and now has to figure it out in a new way while waiting for an unpredictable first inning to conclude.

Lauer probably isn't the only pitcher who doesn't like it, although it's still surprising to see him speak out about it in this way.

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