Draft Update

I know we probably all know this already, but here is the breakdown of the Blue Jays 2010 Draft courtesy of Jordan Bastion.

First round:

No. 11

Comp round A:

No. 34 (Marco Scutaro free agent compensation)
No. 38 (James Paxton unsigned in 2009)
No. 41 (Rod Barajas free agent compensation)

Second round:

No. 61
No. 69 (Jake Eliopoulos unsigned in 2009)
No. 80 (Scutaro free agent compensation)

Third round:

No. 93

Comp round B:

No. 113 (Jake Barrett unsigned in 2009)

Fourth round:

No. 126

MLBTR Name Drops

MLBTR has reported Karston Whitson as a possible Jays pick (reporting him to possibly go 11th overall to the Jays).

Whitson is a "6-foot-4, 195 lb. frame that scouts can dream on, but unlike most other prep pitchers, he also offers command and poise beyond his years."

He will be fresh out of high school, and scouts have him ranked as high as 5th best player, and as low as 15th. He features a fastball in the "91-96 mph range, and also features a swing-and-miss slider, an average changeup and good command," however it is "Whitson's mound presence and polish that really separates him from the pack."

Here is some video of Mr. Whitson.

Update

Interestingly enough, MLB.com's mock draft of round one did not have Whitson going, and instead the Jays are taking Josh Sale, who plays okay right field, and who has better bat speed than Snider did at that age.

Gonzo Saves the Game for Gregg

Kevin Gregg decided to make things interesting tonight, but the Jays managed to prevail, beating Tampa Bay 3-2, in a big part by Gonzo's heads-up play to get Longoria at the plate.

This next stretch of games are important for the Jays and Jays fans. With games against the Yankees and the Rays at both home and on the road, the Jays will let the MLB know just how "for real" they are, and will allow Jays fans to adjust any potential hope for this season.

So far this season, the Jays have not fared well against TB, or Boston, but so far in this stretch, so good.

Tonight's Player of the Game is Aaron Hill for going 3 for 4, with 1 run, 1 RBI and was one of only two batters with no LOB. This was nice to see for Aaron, hopefully he can start swinging the bat a little better.

The Jays only 3.5 game out of first place, and 9 games above .500 after 53 games, which is is almost one-third of the MLB season, and I wish I know what to think about expectations for this season.

Hechavarria Starts Road to the Jays

Adeiny Hechavarria, our new Cuban shortstop of the future, is off to a decent start for Class A Dunedin. So far his line after 18 games reads: .278 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 10 R, 2 SB, 11 SO, 1 BB, and a OBP of .288.

Perhaps not quite the start some were hoping for, but one has to greatly appreciate being in a new country, not to mention learning a new language, being away from his family, and playing against Americans (mostly). His complete season stats are here.

Bob Elliot wrote this on him. Bob Elliot is a complete retard, and I basically take nothing he personally has to say, I do value his sources of scouts and what they have to say. Seemingly, Hechavarria will be a strong Tony F., who will most definitely play a solid shortstop.

Blue Jays Are Buyers?

I love MLBTR.

For those of you who don't read it religiously, you should.

But this is a little absurd.

MLBTR lists the Jays as SP buyers this season, presumably for the post-season push.

I won't pretend to know as much about rebuilding as perhaps some, but I'm not sure the rebuilding process includes stocking up on veteran pitching at the first sings of a plus .500 team.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that's about the worst thing you can do.

I'm all for the Jays being competitive this year, and if they make the playoffs?! Fucking sweet!!!

But, being realistic, I know that to throw away our stockpiled draft picks for one year Roy Oswalt is pretty fucking dumb.

This year we will ride out whatever the team we have now happens to do.

So MLBTR, on behalf of Blue Jays nations, please remove us from the list of buyers.

The list of MLBTR SP sellers, is here.

A Game To Forget

Tonight was pretty ugly. Romero got rocked, and the Jays could only muster 4 hits against Ervin Santana who loves to pitch against the Jays this year.

Three out of the four hits were solo home runs, and JoBau launched his 15th earning him a POG.

"But you should be working banker's hours!!!"



I have to say that after tonight's game I am pretty fucking pissed off. I know it wasn't the best game, and it's a long damn year and loses are bound to happen, but I think it's the fucking commercials that Sports Net shows about 100 times a commercial break.

If I hear one more old man talking about banker's hours or one more garlic pizza add I will fucking kill myself.

Seriously Sports Net, wins don't feel as good as they should, and losses sting worse than they should after suffering through those fucking adds time and time again.

I would almost prefer Jamie Campbell in between the innings.

Almost.

The Texas Series in a Flash

Blue Jays 16, Rangers 10, Friday's Game



Cecil and Harden disappointed as a potentially awesome match-up by neither lasting over 3 and both giving up way too many runs.

As the score would suggest, this was SlugFest 2010. Lyle Overbay had his best game to date this season, going 3 for 3, with 2 runs, 3 RBI, 2 BB, no strikeouts, and no runners left on base.

Congrats Loverbay on your POG!

Blue Jays 6, Rangers 0, Saturday's Game



Ricky Romero did his best Roy Halladay throwing a complete game shut out with 12 K (and only 1 walk!!!!) beating the Rangers. For another slick performance Rick gets another POG.

Blue Jays 5, Rangers 2, Sunday's Game



And the sweep is completed!

I know a little unorthodox but my POG is a three-way tie. Gregg, Downs, and Frasor all pitched scoreless innings surrendering only 1 hit with no walks.

That my friend, is what is expected of those three. Good job.

So the bullpen performance coupled with no one really hitting for the Jays, and Morrow being, well okay but not crazy good, the bullpen was the star of this game.

Jays Quietly in Third, 2 Games Out of Wildcard

Okay, I suppose it's still a little early to start the playoff expectations, but the Jays are quietly sitting in third place, 7 games above .500.

True, we were better last year and fell apart pretty quickly. I don't see how anyone can say that kind of epic fall apart is common for one team, yet alone common in baseball, or really any sport. I'm not saying we stay on pace to be way above .500, but so far, this rebuilding process has been okay.

While our rotation may not have as much experience as every other team, they are looking pretty stellar. Outside of Eveland and Tallet, our pitching has shown a ton, and look to be solid MLB starters.

The hitting is harder to get too excited about because most of the players in the lineup are not expected to be in Toronto's long term plans. Lind, Hill, Wells and Snider will unquestionably be around for awhile, but everyone else just seems to be inflating their stats to earn more than they should next year.

Anyways, I will stick by my predicted 4th place finish. Finishing 5th is going to be a disappointment regardless of a re-building year or not. Best place finish is 3rd, which would be sweet, but let's stay grounded.

Jays Finally Solve the Riddle that is the Red Sox

Er... Sorry, *Marcum and Snider* Solve the Riddle that is the Red Sox.

Marcum gets the POG award today for pitching lights out against the Red Sox. The zeros he put up over the 7 innings are impressive, but after watching Morrow and Eveland pitch like crossing guards, how nice is it to see a starter only give up 1 walk?

Very. That's how nice.

Hitters pretty much did fuck all, except for T-Snides, who is quietly and slowly raising his average, and general level of his at bats.

Beyond those two? Well, the hitters didn't really hit, and Kevin Gregg and the ump managed to save the game, albeit barely.

That strike on David Ortiz? Shit, I hate this guy more than I hate Youkilis, but that ump should get half a save for that call.

Anyone else hoping Gregg didn't start the season on a hot note and is starting to cool off? He started out amazing, and has slowly worked his way to slightly-scary.

It Ain't Over 'Till Lindy Says It's Over!

With pure determination on his face, Adam Lind stepped into the batter's box in the 9th inning, and promptly knocked a 2-run off-field home run to take the lead by one.

The one run lead was surprisingly enough for Frasor not to blow it, helping him to even his record at 1-1.

The 24 LOB were pretty freaking ugly, but beyond that it was a pretty decent game offensively. For example, 11 hits were sweet and having 4 walks and only 5 strikeouts was nice.

The pitching being shown early this year for the Jays gives some hope of a potential 3rd place finish? I'm not willing to suggest that at this point, but if the offense can keep hitting and not striking out, what's to stop them from finishing ahead of the aging and struggling Red Sox?

That being said, Cito should make Loeverbay contribute $1,000 to the Jays Care Foundation every time he hits into a fucking double play. Frustrating!!!

5.1 innings for Morrow with 9 strikeouts and a disappointing 3 ER. I suppose not horrible, but consider that 2 of the runs scored were from runners put on by a walk, and a hit batter.

If Morrow can ever learn to have a little better control, and that is a big if, he could be a steal from the Mariners. He also seems to struggle in the startings of things, IE: start of a game, start of an inning.

But man can that guy throw.

Player of the Game is Lind for breaking out of his mini-funk in a big way and for just generally being awesome.

Romero Shows Signs of Being Human, Snider on Mini-Tear

Tonight Romero proved he is indeed human. 5 runs over 6 innings, albeit with 9 punchouts, was not that great of an outing and this inflated his ERA to a whopping 3.00. Nice to see his offense pick him up a win after wasting some of his previous starts.

I hate to say this, as I do not want to be a jinx, but T-Snides is on a mini-tear right now. He has been hitting the ball hard, and against today he had a 2-out RBI, and scored two runs. For that performance, and to keep his self-esteem high, he is awarded today's POG.

Cecil Fans 10 Over 8

Brett Cecil is looking good. Tabler and Martinez both say he has a new found confidence, feeling comfortable enough to throw any pitch in any count. I agree. Obviously so do the Cleveland Indians.

The Indians struck out 10 times in 8 innings of Cecil, and managed one hit, and only scored one because of two consecutive walks.

So, yeah, Cecil is looking damn good.

And for that, Cecil is awarded another POG award.

The hitters. Well they do what they have done all year. Hit doubles and homeruns with a dash of singles. 3 long balls, 1 double, 4 singles for 8 hits.

Speaking of the hitters, one has to like the way Snider hit the ball yesterday.

I don't think there can be much denying what Cito said said in Spring Training. You know, the Jays have 7 guys that can hit 20 homeruns? Well yeah. They probably do. Wells, Hill, Lind, JoBau, Snider, Buck, and Gonzalez seem like they will, and Overbay could if he ever gets hit shit together.

Questions of the Day

Considering the way Cecil is pitching, and the way Eveland pitches (or doesn't pitch), what does it mean when Tallet comes back?

The most logic solution is to say goodbye to Eveland, and give Tallet a rotation spot. That being said, there has been some turnover in the bullpen and maybe Tallet will provide another lefty arm?

Similarly, what does it mean for Randy Ruiz and Mike McCoy when EE is back?

Being frank, I don't think McCoy will be sent down because Cito seems to appreciate his speed and defense capabilities. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Ruiz.

As much as I want to love Ruiz, and as much as I want him to crush 40, what team has a primarily DH on your bench? I mean, you can put him at first, but he's not the slickest fielder you ever did see.

A little random maybe, but I was thinking the other day.

It's Good To Be Back

Sorry to be so long in between posts, my week of cleaning, packing, moving, and unpacking has finally ended. Now, in a nice short blog, I will catch up with my POGs only. Be back tomorrow with a real blog!

Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1 - POG is Marcum
Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 0 - POG is Cecil
Blue Jays 6, Athletics 3 - POG is Buck
Blue Jays 10, Athletics 2 - POG is Morrow
Athletics 4, Blue Jays 3 - POG is Freddy Lewis
Blue Jays 9, Athletics 3 - POG is Marcum

Again apologies about the delay.

Eveland Comes Back To Reality With A Crash

Dana Eveland lived up, er, down to our expectations tonight and showed us that, no, his sparkling ERA would not last. 7 ER over 3 innings will not do it.

We lost to my least favorite, no, most despised team in the league, but there are some pluses we can take out of this!

The Jays had 16 hits, and half were singles. My god, I have never been so happy to see the singles coming! I mean, yes, it was a game that also saw 8 extra base hits, but what the hay, we lost, but we hit. Also, Lyle Overbay gets his first POG award for finally having a good game! 3 for 5, with 2 runs, 4 RBI, and perhaps more importantly only 1 strikout. Yay.

Now, the bad.

One could read and deduct that if we got 16 hits, 8 for extra bases, and lost, the bad must be the pitching. Well, yes you are correct, but let's look for something shinny in this steaming pile of crap!

There's one! There's another!

Downs had a solid outing! 1 inning, 2 strikeouts, and zeroes across everything else.

Kevin "Chacin" Gregg had another solid outing. To this point and date, including today which cancels out Camp, Gregg has hands down been the best reliever thus far. Imagine that mid-offseason.

Jeff Blair Has Never Heard of You

Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail had an article about Jays hats being a top 3 seller in New York that I posted on a couple days back. Now I know that there is one reader because they asked if it was true.

Well, not I was not lying, and found it after looking a little harder. It was hiding here.

Well, Mr. Blair, here are my issues:

Are you going to seriously tell me that the Blue Jays have a "no-name roster?" Even if you are going to tell me V-Dub sucks, everyone has heard of his 3 years of JD Drewness. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, who are Silver Slugger winners are not no-namers. What ever team you cheer for, if you are even a baseball fan, would welcome those two. So, no-name? No.

"Marketers are aware of the importance of “hook-ups” - matching the colours of one piece of sportswear with another." Holy fucking shit, whoever thought to match the colours of the things you are wearing? No more pick shirts and yellow pants with my Jays lid, I'm going to hook-up!

“The phenomenon of hook-ups is very much in play in Canada,” Blair says. So, matching the colours of what you are wearing is a phenomenon now?

Jesus.

Find something real to write on, sport or fashion, preferably fashion.

Cito Wants YOU!

Apparently Cito has recently appealed for help from the general public on where to hit Lyle Overbay.

When Cito was asked about if he should give Lyle a night off, or move him in the lineup he replied:

"He plays, he plays. I mean, he plays until he just gives up. I don't think he's going to give up. There's some suggestion to move him up and down the lineup. Well, anybody who can tell me where I can move him, please let me know."

The answers flow in this telling quote from Cito.

Presumably, unless Loverbay swings so hard that his follow through hits himself in the head, putting him in a coma, or he has a heart attack while hustling out a double play ball, he will be in the lineup.

Okay, okay you don't want to sit him Cito, we get it. How about moving the worst hitter on the team out of the middle of the order? You know, then we don't have him playing the roll of Buzz Killington every night after Gonzalez, Wells and Lind have done their job.

The problem with this logical train of thought is that Cito is unaware of other positions to move him.

Well Cito, I can make this easier for you. Whoever suggested moving him up in the lineup is on crack, so we can cross that off the list. That leaves us with down only. See? We are making progress already!

You moved JoBau down in the lineup. I know it hurt at first, but it's for the best! I'm more of a bandaide off at once kind of guy, but if you want to just lower him in the lineup and not take him out completely, that's fine too.

Lyle has the third most at-bats on the team, and the lowest average. So if you insist on leaving him in the lineup, I'm gonna say move him down, and move him down all the way.

See Cito! All you have to do is ask! Don't be shy about it next time and wait so long!

One Man's Misfortune...

While we here at The View would never wish ill upon anyone, we certainly would not for a Blue Jays. So, Tallet, we wish in all sincerity a speedy recovery, so you can rightfully claim what is yours: the bullpen long relief spot.

We know you like to start, but seeing as that isn't your strong point, if you do long relief, it'll be like starting except you won't have to "weather" through 6 inning of 6 run baseball - Cito can instead pull you before you fall apart!

And of course, one man's misfortune leads to opportunity for someone else. Bretty Cecil has been called up and will start Friday in Tampa. For the 51s in Las Vegas, Cecil was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and 11 K in 11 innings. Obviously, we are all looking forward to Friday's game.

Another reason to get excited for Friday's game is a certain second basemen will start. Hill will make his return after missing time on the DL because of a hamstring. I don't think anyone will suggest anything other than Aaron will have a dramatic impact on the Jays offense.

Good News For Years To Come

Our AAA team, the Las Vegas 51s is full of players that are borderline Major League players, and that being the case they look like that video game team you used to stack.

Their stats are here, and I urge you to take a look, and get pumped up for future times!



Win Eludes Marcum, Again

Marcum surrendered a 3-run bomb in the first inning to Jose Guillen, and then settled in nicely to put up donuts for the next 6 innings. However, the Jays offense can be very selective of when they actually want to try (with the exception of Loverbay) and decided yesterday not to try until the 4th and 8th inning.

The Jays are managing to win more than they lose right now, and I still will say its only because of the homeruns. For example, yesterday's game they Jays got 4 measly hits along with 12 strikeouts.

My POG, once again, is Shaun Marcum. While he has had better outings, it was by no means bad, and when the offense wants to fuck it as badly as they did, what else can he do? Suggest a move to the NL so he can hit as well?

V-Dub Continues to Rake

Vernon Wells is hands down the POG for Tuesday's game. 3 for 4 with 2 R and 1 RBI. Oh yeah, did I mention his seventh home run? V-Dub is living proof that indeed three years can be forgotten in 15 games into a season.

15 games and they Jays are 9-6. Eveland got a ND and pitched not very well. For Eveland to be successful he has to be ahead of pitchers, and while only issuing 2 BB, he wasn't exactly pitching to strong hitters. That outing from Eveland could have gone very different against the Rays or Yankees.

Today's early morning game has a pair of aces in Marcum and Grienke, but things are not looking good early for the Jays. The Royals have put 3 runs on the board early courtesy of Jose Guillen and a fastball from Marcum.

Morrow Dominates, JoBau Hits

Today's POG awards are split between Brandon Morrow and Jose Bautista. Morrow went 7 strong allowing only 1 ER with 8 SO. Almost makes one forget about the two not-so-good starts he had, but after a quick look at his ERA those games come flooding back (7.31). Whatever Bruce Walton told Morrow to do seemingly worked as Morrow looked good.

Jose Bautista, our bench-converted starting outfielder-converted lead-off hitter- converted third basemen-converted 6 hitter had a heck of game today. 2 for 4, with 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R and 1 BB is nothing to scoff at, but despite not striking out once, he still had a 5 LOB to lead the team in that department.

While his high LOB was enough to consider not sharing the POG honours with Morrow, I'm feeling nice today.

Eveland goes again this afternoon. I don't know whether to insert a cynical comment or praise here... not yet anyways.

Blue Jays Lids are the Talk of the Town



Apparently Blue Jays New Era Caps are all the scourge of fashionable cities like the Big Apple and even outsell Mets (no way!) hats in some areas.

Well I suppose if we can't have a winning team we can have selling caps, but right now we have both!

I unfortunately do not have the link to this article from the Globe & Mail, but I'm very sure it was from that. It was in their British Columbia version that was in real print, not internet.

Sorry!

Also, I can neither confirm or deny these numbers, but apparently at least 50% of Jays hats being sold are having their stickers left on by wanna-be gangsters, skaters, and general bad-ass people, and even more rare, 60%% of Jays hats sold do not get a curve put on them.

Experts are suggesting peeling stickers on all hats you see (even if you do not buy them).

Enough is Enough

At this point, I'm not really sure who I am more upset with.

Lyle is having a pretty awful year at the plate. They aren't getting better either, and that worries me. Loverbay doesn't really seem like a bad guy. Not much to go on, but I met his brother-in-law in Seattle a couple years back, and being decked out in my Jays gear he asked if he could give us Lyle's autographed card.

I can't help but almost feel bad for Lyle, I mean, how badly does Cito want him to crash and burn? Cito cannot seriously think at this point leaving him in the game, and in the five hole is showing his fucking confidence in him. Loverbay is in a pretty foul funk right now, and whatever we can say about him, we have all seen him hit before.

But Lyle was booed today. Lyle also played the role of Buzz Killington in an eighth inning rally. 43 AB this year for Lyle, and what does he have to show for it? 3 measly hits, and an astounding 13 strikeouts. Complete strikeout list here.

It's not like Cito doesn't have another option either. Randy Ruiz, who went large today while DHing, is praying for a shot. Randy is a .300 hitter in his small MLB career, but in 4103 Minor League at bats, he has hit .300 there too.

All I'm saying is that Lyle sucking is on himself, but Cito is not helping. Cito should be protecting him. Sit him, and let him figure out whats wrong, not letting him hit five and get fucking booed. As he did with Snider, Lyle should be sat for a game - one game is all I ask.

I for one, cannot see Lyle being grateful at this point for Cito's "faith" in him. So, Cito, do Lyle, myself, and all other Jays fans, and give Lyle a rest.

So he doesn't get lonely on the bench, maybe take Jose Bautista out of the lineup with him.

Tonight's game was tough one to watch. A decent outing from Marcum, long balls from Ruiz (!!!!), Lind and Wells, some hits from Gonzo, and a bunch of strikeouts from the rest. Player of the Game was Wells for going 3 for 4.

I really hope that Cito is the second person to ever read this blog, and goes with my lineup for tomorrow against the lefty Saunders.

1. Lewis
2. Gonzo
3. Lind
4. V-Dub
5. Ruiz
6. Snider
7. EE
8. Molina
9. McCoy

Eveland Sets New Record

Tonight Eveland set a new Jays record for longest shutout streak for a new Jays pitcher. For that, and for proving me wrong once again, Eveland gets the Player of the Game award.

Gonzo almost made the POG a push between the two, but to be honest I was pretty impressed with Eveland tonight. If he can keep locating maybe he will stick around with the team and be a successful pitcher. Then again maybe not.

Gonzalez is taking full advantage hitting in front of Lind and V-Dub while Hill is out. Of course it would be foolish to think that he will hit like this for the year, even though Tabler and Martinez seem to think so. Does anyone else have trouble sleeping at night because of Hill hamstring? Pray to whoever you pray to that it ain't all that bad.

Snider also had a good game, nice to see. His homerun was obviously sweet, but so was his diving catch. Do I smell a Gold Glove?

Lyle Overbay Stays Out Of The Sun Under His Sombrero, Of The Golden Variety

Cito is very much like a father to Jays fans. While we may kick and scream at some of his decisions, at the end of the day we have unconditional love for him. Even if we don't want to love him, we have to. Right? That being said, Cito is making it hard for even the truest of Cito fans out there by leaving Lyle in the lineup again.

Lyle got the Golden Sombrero today, and unfortunately for him that is by far his biggest accomplishment this year. Ruiz didn't save the Jays from a whoppin' Wednesday, but he did a shit tonne more than Lyle! Cito, please, please, please, give Lyle a seat. I mean, you put him on any other team and he's benched by now! At least put him lower in the lineup. I mean, come on!

And speaking of the lineup, what the fuck is up with T-Snides hitting behind fucking Jeremy fucking Reed?! Jesus!

MLBTR on Loverbay and New Blue Jay

MLBTR has this discussion on Lyle, and it basically points out that those that did want him, already found people, and those that may, also have the option of Carlos Delgado. However, they fail to mention that what Lyle was worth is no more.

Lastly, the Jays traded for Fred Lewis today. Really don't see this being much of an impact move. In one full season he didn't do much, his stats are here.

The only thing I could say about Lewis, is that maybe the brass think he could lead off? He seems to basically spell Jeremy Reed.

We Will Feel Better About This One In The 'Morrow

Morrow threw BP today for the White Sox. His line was 4 IP, 7 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, and 8 hits - 2 of which were homeruns. Marco quoted saying "at least he only walked one, I guess."

The Jays have seemingly made it their mission to show everyone that Andruw Jones is still a good MLB hitter.

Finally Randy Ruiz gets a start, nice to see him break up the no-no bid, and swipe a base. I don't care how out of reach the game is, good for Ruiz taking advantage of the defense. As for player of the game, the award goes to Randy Ruiz for playing OK and not totally sucking shit like every other player on the Jays this night.

Anyone else see the fly out to RF in Ruiz's third AB? I can't hold my breathe that long! Let's hope he gets some serious ABs so we can see what he can do.

I have an issue with something Tabler or Martinez said today. One of them pointed out that Lyle ran hard to beat out a double play in yesterday's game, and that, as Cito told him, is a way to earn respect and allows him to stay in the lineup despite being off to a "slow" start at the plate.

You know what? Fuck his hustle. I am not willing to seriously listen to anyone that is going to tell me his defense and Charlie Hustle enthusiasm is reason enough for him to start ball games at the moment. At the very least he needs a night off. Maybe at shortstop or catcher a player can get away with being solid defensively and hustling over hitting, but first base? Defensive retards play first base. People with "eating disorders" play first base.

Early still? Yes. But He is not getting better by the AB here. Every AB is useless, and even if he works the count a little, he swings a loops a little dinky thing to first base, or strikes out.

I fear that today's game may happen all too often this year. Not to the extent of course, I expect the pitching to hold the bleeding to a slight gush, but when Gonzo and Buck have cooled down (which is looks like they have), the Jays have Lind and Hill (when he's back) as "scary" hitters. I mean Wells too hopefully, and maybe Ruiz. The Jays lineup seems to have HR potential, but show me some average outside of Wells, Hill, and Lind.

More and more it looks like JoBau will not cut it as lead-off, but I guess we don't really have anyone else.

Yes I did this before the game was over. It is a shitty game, I'm in exam period and I have studying that isn't a complete waste of time.

In the 'morrow is Eveland against Garcia, see you then.

The Weekend Edition

As I'm just starting out, I don't really have set days when I can write, but it is more and more looking like Monday to Thursday will not be a problem, but the weekends may be condensed into a weekend edition covering Saturday and Sunday games, and sometimes including Friday.

The Comeback: Part I


This game's POG was Travis Snider, and here's why: Snider went 2 for 3 with 1 clutch RBI, 1 R, 1 BB and perhaps most importantly no strikeouts. Snider, who has not been off to a great start managed a clutch hit that tied the game, and was on base 3 times in 4 trips to the plate. While the long ball seems to be how we produce runs, getting on base is important, so for that, well done Travis.

Morrow was much as I expected. Flashes of greatness, with lots of walks. Walks piss me off - if a pitcher is getting rocked hard, fine, but when he gives up walks I have a short patience. Let your defense play behind you, and let the other team put it in play. Take out those 5 BB my Morrow, and give him 1, or maybe 2 and its a much different game. All in all, could have been worse, I'm nervously excited to see his next start.

Eveland 7 Scoreless, Molina Cashes in Two

Jose Molina was the hero of this game, and justly so is awarded his first POG award. Sharing the honour for this game is Dana Eveland. Molina had a great day at the plate going 2 for 3 with 2 huge RBIs and threw out the one potential base stealer. While Eveland put up 7.1 scoreless innings, I'm not totally sold, but there can be little to say about what may happen later down the road, as 7.1 scoreless innings is worthy of a POG anytime.

I'm definitely not going to hold my breathe until his next 7 plus innings of scoreless ball, and I still do not think he will finish the year with the team, but keep proving me wrong Dana! I'm going to be a little concerned about Eveland playing against the Red Sox, Yankees, or the Rays, but until then I'll keep it to keep it up.

The Comeback: Part II

Wow. The Blue Jays finished up the series in Baltimore with the second come from behind win today. The Jays are proving to be a team that you can never count out, and I know why. Cito said that seven hitters on the team had 20 HR potential, and so far, several people are off to a good start, and between Hill and Lind is only 1 HR. V-Dub and Gonzo have combined for 7 HR thus far, and EE (I'll refrain from E5 for a little longer) and JoBau had their first today. Teams that mash, can never be counted out, but I am still not sold the Jays are a mashing team.

My POG for today is Gonzo and McDonald.

Gonzalez today had one error that looked pretty bad until his second jack of the game tied it up at 2. Hard to not give serious consideration to a 2 HR effort, but in my opinion, McDonald had a game that was just as important. McDonald went 3 for 4 with 1 R. Okay, okay, not necessarily the most impressive of games, but lets consider that of the Jays 7 hits, 4 were HR, the other three hits were two singles and a double by J-Mac. Like I said a couple posts back, to live and die by the HR is dangerous, so nice job to J-Mac for getting on base.

Homerun = Bad?

Okay I am not naive enough to say that a HR is a bad thing. But the Jays look like they will win only when they hit HR. For example, today was 2-1 (and only because of a HR, by Gonzo), and the Jays won because of 3 more HRs. Now, if the Jays keep up this pace, they should finish the season rather well, but what happens when the Jays hitters inevitably go cold for a bit, and the HRs dry up and all of a sudden we are losing a bunch of 2-1, 2-0, 1-0 games? OK if the pitching holds up to, but I think regardless I have a point - the Jays need to have useful ABs the entire game, and I would love to see some singles and doubles.
Teams that are considered good hitting teams always hit for average and power. We do not want a team of Adam Dunn-type players who can hit their fair share of HR, but can't must up an average above .240. Case in point Rod Barajas last year. 19 HR and 71 RBI nice, but .226 AVG and .258 OBP baaaaaaaaaaaaad.

Time to Free Willy

My perscription for Cito on the flight back to Toronot tonight is to watch Free Willy. Now, substitute Ruiz for Willy.

Ahhhh, much better. Ruiz finally gets to play (yes, that's both italicized and bolded to show stress). Loverbay has played awful* this year. He has not: been hitting the ball hard, collecting walks, been getting robbed by the defense, and instead has been striking out rather pathetically, popping up in foul territory, or grounding out weakly. I'm a realist in that I know everyone has their ups and downs, and that striking out will happen - even for the best.

However, why we haven't seen Ruiz yet is baffling. This situation is getting pretty frustrating, so I'm not going to rant forever because I'll never get out of here, but all I say, is free Ruiz, sell Disney the rights to a movie, and get Loverbay to shave.

Sorry, I promise no rant on this, but Ruiz is the one Jay not to have an AB this season. Not one. Loverbay keeps going oh-for or one-for - what exactly do the Jays serve to lose by inserting Ruiz? And do not, I repeat DO NOT tell me his defense or remind me he is a LHP.

*minus two clutch hits

Home Opener Tomorrow

Okay, not really my home, but nonetheless Jays open their 2010 home schedule tomorrow. It will be The Weatherman starting tomorrow, so I'm hoping that Ruiz will play as compensation. Of course Im hoping that Tallet pitches well again, however I would be okay with a 5th inning ejection for his second beaning of Rios. Is it just me or does anyone else think Rios would be the guy to do a double-fingering of the crowd in Toronto?

Why do we hate Rios?

How To Get More People to the Ballpark? Don't Ever Air These

While we have not had great ball teams in the past couple years, we have always had one thing to help our cause - good ads. Does anyone remember the Frank Thomas commercial a couple years ago? The Roy Halladay one? (Note: my extensive resources of YouTube could not find these videos, but we all remember Frank cracking a kid with a pillow for a homerun? Or Doc knocking the beehive over? Or V-Dub making a catch? But attached is a link for your convenience to YouTube. You're welcome)

However, this year's ad campaign to get people to the ballpark is an utter failure. Men in costumes, they aren't funny, and they make the Jays seem desperate for attendance. Remember when Hillenbrand said "this (the Jays) are a sinking ship?" To me these commercials say "would you come if we give you free peanuts (I actually thought the end of the commercial would say they were), free foam feet (WTF?!) or hot dogs? Or what about if we let you play an inning?"While the Blue Jays team is rebuilding, perhaps the ad people are in the process of rebuilding as well.

But don't take my word for it.

Peanuts.

Hot Dogs.

Foam Feet.

I know we have all been waiting for the player of the games from the last two games and today's game, and they will be posted later today.