2009 WAS an interesting season to say the least, as the Blue Jays "TRIED" to compete in the dangerous AL East.
Now in the offseason, the clock is ticking on the 2010 season.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Desperate...

but not hopeless. The clock strikes midnight..."

Shhh...do you hear that?? That's the collective sound of thousands of fair-weather fans jumping off the Blue Jays bandwagon. Let's remember folks, Cito said it himself in spring training. 2009 is meant to be a bridge of sorts to 2010, when the rotation should be fully intact and all the young players will have an extra year of development under their belts.


Do you know your enemy? Do you know your enemy??


Much like Green Day's newest release, the 2009 Toronto Blue Jays are desperate, BUT not hopeless.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The TSN Curse

Well Mr. Balsillie, we've "made it seven" in our own way.

Here's the funny part: Ever since TSN.ca posted their comparison between the 1992 and 1993 Jays and a bunch of other articles about the Jays championship years priar to the start of their "key" series with Boston earlier in the week, the Jays have not won a game.



That's right, 7 straight losses. The road trip started with three straight losses in Boston, followed by the first three interleague games of the year in Atlanta (rematch from the 1992 World Series) and now the first of a three game set in Baltimore. The Jays turn the ball to LHP Ricky Romero tonight, who's making his return from a month on the DL with a strained oblique. Prior to his injury, Romero was 2-0 in 3 starts with a 1.71 ERA and a 13/4 K/BB ratio. His last start vs. Oakland was a 7 inning, 4 hit, no run performance with 6 K's and only 2 walks.

If Romero is back to full form tonight, the Jays have a good chance to snap a nasty losing skid vs. Baltimore rookie Jason Berken, who is making his major league debut tonight.

After watching 7 straight ugly, painful losses I'm quite happy that my ball hockey game tonight is forcing me to miss the game. Perhaps if I don't watch... they'll actually win one for a change.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Cito REALLY blew it tonight!!!


I can't believe the way the Blue Jays ended up losing tonight's game. Scott Rolen leads off the top of the 8th inning of a 0-0 game with a double, just Toronto's third hit of the game. Lyle Overbay comes to the plate with a simple task, to move Rolen over to third ANYWAY HE CAN. Forget putting down a bunt (WHY??), but let's allow Overbay to swing away in hopes that he can pull a ball to the right side of the infield to advance the runner, or perhaps even find a hole for a base hit. However, Overbay pulls a grounder to the 1st base side of the mound, only to be snagged by Kenshin Kawakami who looked Rolen back to the bag before throwing Overbay out at first. Rod Barajas is forced to swing away with the pitcher Roy Halladay waiting in the on-deck circle. Barajas proceeds to fly out to right, certainly deep enough that it would have scored Rolen from third. Instead the 3B was pinned again at second, leaving Cito Gaston with a decision. Roy Halladay had completed 7 innings, throwing 95 pitches, 63 for strikes, but was lifted from the game for pinch-hitter Joe Inglett. In his first at-bat of the season after being recalled from AAA-Las Vegas earlier in the day, Inglett promptly strikes out looking.

Not only did the Jays fail to score the leadoff runner from second base in a scoreless ballgame, but they also lost their starter to an ice cold pinch hitter in a two-out situation and would consequently give up the only run in the bottom of the 8th, and again fail to drive in a runner from 2nd (this time with 1-out) in the 9th.

The irony lays in the way the Atlanta Braves scored their lone run of the game, in the bottom half of the 8th. Jesse Carlson came out of the pen for the Jays, and the Braves replied by pinch-hitting Matt Diaz for Kawakami. Diaz hits a ground rule double, and is successfully pushed over to third on Yunel Escobar's grounder to first. Casey Kotchman, like Barajas, lifted a fly ball (this time to left), deep enough to score Diaz from 3rd with the would-be winning run.

Is Lyle Overbay physically unable to put down a bunt?? Perhaps Kevin Millar, Jose Bautista, or even good old Johnny Mac could lay one down. Now perhaps you're thinking, then who do the Jays send out to play 1B? Either Millar or Bautista are capable of playing the position, albeit are no gold glove candidates. However, the importance of moving Scott Rolen over to 3rd base with less than 2 outs definitely warranted a pinch-hitter if Cito felt Overbay was unable to put down a bunt.

The Jays' offence has been sputtering as of late, ever since sweeping a 4 game set from the White Sox at the Rogers Centre. Roy Halladay pitched a gem tonight, and a 1-run lead likely would have been more than enough for the Doc. Provided he avoided major trouble, he could have pitched the rest of the game and finished somewhere in the neighbourhood of 120-125 pitches, certainly high but definitely capable for a workhorse like Halladay.

Instead, Overbay and consequently Barajas' futility forced Gaston to lift Halladay from the game for a pinch-hitter in hopes of cashing in the first run of the game against Kawakami, who turned in a strong performance for the Braves. The "rookie" tossed 8 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 7. Mike Gonzalez gave up a 1-out double to Aaron Hill in the 9th but managed to strand him at second after consecutive groundouts by Alex Rios and Vernon Wells.

Adam Lind is due, but hell so are Rios and Wells.

I really hope Derek Lowe feels the wrath tomorrow night, or this might turn into a real funk for the Jays. Here's also hoping that Casey Janssen can be effective early and give his offense a chance to get out in front.

'Till next time.

Time to shuffle the deck!!

Less than 24 hours after being swept away by the Red Sox, the Blue Jays have made a flurry of roster moves. Optioned to AAA-Las Vegas were promising young sluggar Travis Snider, and rotation fill ins, LHP Brett Cecil and RHP Ricky Ray.


Snider was hitting .242 with 3 HR and 12 RBI in 99 AB's over 32 games, primarily in the outfield. With interleague play beginning tonight in Atlanta, and covering most of June, Snider was set to lose a lot of playing time in NL parks as regular DH Adam Lind will be shifted to LF to keep his bat in the heart of the Jays' lineup. The timing could not be better for the Jays as Snider had been scuffling of late hitting at just a .216/.237/.243 clip in May. The move will allow Snider to play everyday in AAA and refine his game after being exposed by major league pitching. One of the biggest things Snider has to work on, like most hitters is his plate patience and pitch recognition as he was often the victim of nasty breaking pitches, swinging at balls nowhere near the plate. It will also allow Snider to play every day again after spending the first month and a half of the season riding the pine vs. lefties.

If all goes well in the minors I wouldn't be surprised to see the young outfielder resurface sometime in late June as the Jays last visit to a National League park is a three game set at Nationals Park in Washington from June 19th-21st. In the meantime, I'd expect 1B Kevin Millar to receive the majority of at bats when the DH is required, although Jose Bautista might garner the extra start or two as well.

Cecil had been very impressive in his short stint with the Jays until his start Wednesday night at Fenway when he served up 5 (yes FIVE!!) home runs to the Red Sox. His ERA over his first three starts was a flashy 1.80 but skyrocketed to 4.38 after allowing 8 ER over just 4.2 innings @ the Red Sox. Cecil also surrendered 2 home runs in his previous start vs. the White Sox so the Jays brass probably felt it was best for the organization's top pitching prospect to go back down to AAA to continue to develop.

Ray, called up to plug a hole in the rotation in early May experienced some success in his 4 starts in the bigs, the best being his 8 shutout innings against the White Sox in which he allowed just 3 hits. His other 3 starts were not as pretty however as he allowed at least 3 ER in each of them. Ray likely would have been sent down earlier if the Jays had any better rotation options but now with some pitchers coming off the DL, Ray head to Las Vegas where he will get his first taste of AAA action after being called up straight from AA earlier in the month.

To replace these players on the roster, Toronto recalled IF Joe Inglett, LHP Ricky Romero and RHP Casey Janssen.

Inglett performed admirably for the Jays last season filling in for the injured Aaron Hill but with both him and SS Marco Scutaro playing so well, Inglett will have a tough time finding AB's. He hit .297/.355/.407 in 344 AB in 2008, his first full season with the Jays.

Romero, the 6th overall pick in the 2005 draft, pitched very well in his first 3 Major League starts after making the team out of spring training. After posting a 2-0 record and 1.71 ERA over his first 21 IP, Romero hit the disabled list with a strained oblique, suffered while sneezing. Luckily for the Jays, their rotation fill ins have performed quite well in Romero's absence and it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where he left off when he returns to the hill Tuesday night in Baltimore.

Janssen missed all of the 2008 season after after undergoing shoulder surgery in spring training last year. He made his big league debut back in 2006, appearing in 19 games (17 of which were starts) and compiling a 6-10 record with a 5.07 ERA. It wasn't until he was moved to the bullpen for the 2007 season that Janssen really thrived. Upon earning a late inning set up role, he posted a 2.35 ERA over 72.2 IP and racked up 6 saves and 24 holds.

Janssen was lights out during his minor league rehab stint posting a microscopic 0.76 ERA over 23.2 IP between Class A-Dunedin and AA-New Hampshire. He will bring a nice veteran presence to the Jays rotation, something much needed with only ace Roy Halladay having made more than 15 career starts. Although it appears to be Richmond's turn in the order, it has been reported by both Rotoworld.com and on the the Blue Jay's website that Janssen is set to follow the Doc in the 2nd of a 3 game set in Atlanta this weekend.

The Jays rotation now appears to be set up as follows: RHP Roy Halladay, RHP Casey Janssen, LHP Brian Tallet, RHP Scott Richmond, LHP Ricky Romero.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

You know things aren't going well when...

Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the 5th, Red Sox SS Julio Lugo hit a routine grounder to short and appeared to be thrown out at 1st base by Jays' SS Marco Scutaro. The 1B umpire ruled that Jays' 1B Kevin Millar was pulled of the base and that Lugo was safe. The replay CLEARLY showed that yes Millar was pulled off the bag by the throw, but that he was able to get his foot back on the bag in time to record the out, NOT TO MENTION that Lugo CLEARLY did not even touch 1st base at all.

Oh well, just one of those games.. or series, depends how you look at it.

Bring on the Braves!!!

Ray Day!!

The Blue Jays will send young righty Robert Ray to the hill tonight when they complete their three game series with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. It is a crucial game for the team, not just to avoid their first three game losing streak of the season, but to prove to themselves that even without their best starters, that they have a legitimate chance to battle the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East Division crown.

Thus far this season the Blue Jays have only faced each of their long-time rivals once, dropping two of three to the Yankees at Rogers Centre earlier in the month, and thus far losing the first two of a three game set at Fenway. Unfortunately for the Jays, ace pitcher Roy Halladay was not scheduled to pitch in this series, and unless the team does some rotation juggling, he is set to pitch the final game of a three game set vs. the Orioles at Camden Yards (May 27) and will miss the Red Sox again during their three game visit to the Rogers Centre (May 29-31).

Unless Ricky Romero, Jesse Litsch or Casey Janssen are able to make it back to the big leagues from injury before the completion of that second series with the Red Sox, the Jays will be forced to continue pinning their hopes on their young arms. If no adjustments are made, the probable pitchers for that series are Scott Richmond, Brian Tallet and Brett Cecil.

Back to tonight's series finale, the Jays will try to take one from the Red Sox who will send LHP Jon Lester to the hill. The Jays have fared well against LHP this year thanks to solid contributions from platoon players Kevin Millar and Jose Bautista. Millar, although seeing the majority of his AB's vs. lefties, is actually hitting at a higher clip vs. righties (.277/.333) although it's important to keep in mind it's a very small sample size with only 71 combined AB's on the season. Overbay, however hit just .215 with zero HR in 149 AB vs. lefties in '08, so any production Millar can provide is an added bonus for the '09 Jays. 3B/LF Jose Baustista, who has regularly replaced young OF Travis Snider in the lineup vs. lefties this year has hit at a .316/.395/.474 clip vs. southpaws and will certainly be in tonight's lineup.

The lone lefty expected to be in tonight's lineup is DH Adam Lind who is 1-4 in his career vs. Lester. Expect to see the regular lefty lineup of: Scutaro, Hill, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Millar, Barajas, Bautista.

Lester is 1-2 in 5 career starts vs. the Jays with a 3.94 ERA and .212 BAA, however he has struggled in three of his last four starts.

Tonight's Prediction: Expect to see the Jay's bats come to life and if Robert Ray can provide a quality start, or an effort close enough the Jays should be able to pull it out. Jays 7 - Red Sox 5 and off to Atlanta to unleash the Doc on the Braves.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

"Wolverine" up to the task??

Brian Tallet has a chance to help the '09 Jays make a statement tonight when he faces off against the Yankees "other" prized free agent acquisition in hefty lefty C.C. Sabathia. The Jays put the boots to former teammate A.J. Burnett on Tuesday night before dropping last night's contest 8-2.


Tallet will have to be on his game tonight to give the Jays a fighting chance against Sabathia, one of the top pitchers in the league over the last 5 years. In 5 starts this season, Tallet has surrendered 15 ER in 29 IP but 10 of those runs came in a rout in Kansas City. In his other 4 starts (OAK, @CHW, CLE, @OAK) Tallet has posted a 1.80 ERA over 25 IP with a 2-0 record and an 18/9 K/BB ratio.

Just like last nights starter (Canadian Scott Richmond), Tallet will face his toughest opponent thus far when he faces the Yankees tonight. Richmond, previously 4-1, was absolutely rocked by the Yankees last night. He surrendered 5 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks while retiring just 5 hitters before exiting in the second inning. That left 7.1 innings for the Blue Jays bullpen, and forced Cito Gaston to use RHP Brian Wolfe (2 IP and 32 pitches), LHP Bill Murphy (2 IP and 42 pitches), RHP Brandon League (1 IP and 17 pitches), RHP Jason Frasor (1 IP and 14 pitches) and RHP Shawn Camp (1 IP and ONLY 7 pitches). Luckily for the Jays, all 5 relievers were fairly efficient with their pitch counts and Ace Roy Halladay pitched a complete gam the night before, leaving the bullpen fairly rested for tonight's series finale.

If all goes well for Tallet, the bullpen won't need to do much work. In each of his last two starts, Tallet has thrown 7 strong innings, and both were quality starts. But this is the Yankees, not the lowly A's or Indians, and they've got one of the best pitchers in baseball on the hill. C.C. Sabathia, by far the biggest free agent (both in size and notoriety) during the offseason, is just 2-3 through his first 7 starts but has posted respectable numbers with a 3.94 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, pretty close to his career numbers. His K's are down a bit and his ERA a bit high, but in 10 career starts vs. the Jays (all while pitching for the Indians), Sabathia is 7-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, while Jays hitters have hit just .215 against him.

No matter the superhero nickname, it appears as if Tallet is truly overmatched tonight, but if there's one thing we've learned thus far.. it's too never count these Jays out.

Tonight's Prediction: Yankees 6 - Jays 3

Note: Jays 2B Aaron Hill, who left Wednesday's game after fouling a ball off his left shin, is expected to play Thursday.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

JOSE BAUTISTA JUST GOT HOSED!!!

That 3-2 pitch from Sean Gallagher was DEFINITELY Ball #4.

Thanks for nothing Paul Nauert (home plate umpire)

Oh well, Thanks Mr. Gallagher for plunking Alex Rios and opening the first inning flood gates, only for them to be slammed shut by the ump.

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