Season in seven words: "Start fast, end slow, go home. Repeat." ... Hero: Roy Halladay remains a rock, but Adam Lind was one of the big-boy league's six or seven best hitters and Aaron Hill wasn't too far behind ... Loserhead: Vernon Wells lapped Barry Zito as the game's worst contract. Even though he took responsibility for his non-performance -- "nobody has stunk worse than I have," etc. -- that ain't enough to prompt Jays fans to give him a mulligan for the past two seasons ... Key need: A serious bounty in the inevitable Halladay deal. It wouldn't be a bad idea to quell the anti-Cito sentiment before it explodes into full-fledged mutiny, either ... Prognosis: Screwed by geography.
09/29/2009
20
21
Has Roy Halladay pitched his last game in Toronto? Who cares? The fans have already said goodbye to him on five different occasions. When the team finally trades the guy in December, it'll be the mother of all anticlimaxes.
09/22/2009
21
21
Only now, some 10 weeks after they were dismissed with a wave and a shrug, has their run differential come close to evening out. ... Still, they've got some fight left in them. How do I know this? Well, just last week they got into a fight. Duh.
09/15/2009
21
19
Aaron Hill gets props for his recovery from a noggin-smacking and Vernon Wells for his ability to sleepwalk between bases, but the most interesting non-Halladay story here has become Adam Lind. He's at .298/.361.574 for the year and has managed not to commit too many atrocities in the outfield ... I must've read this wrong. There's no way the Jays could have turned down a reported offer of six better-than-OK pitching prospects –- Daniel Bard, Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson among them -– for Halladay. Was this a typo? Wishful thinking? Whoever circulated the rumor should be censured for angrying up the blood of Toronto fans.
09/08/2009
19
20
Roy Halladay was Roy Halladay again for the first time since the trade deadline passed without a deal, forcing him to live out the next few months of his life in the land of Molson and polite conversation about third-line wingers. ... Here's how slow a week it was: an item that Marc Rzepczynski has been shut down for the season registered on my radar. ... I can't decide: Does Vernon Wells mail in most of his at-bats, or does he wrap them in crepe paper and attach a poofy ribbon before heading back to the dugout?
09/01/2009
20
18
For Toronto fans made melancholy by the site of John McDonald at third base, I offer the following consolatory sentiment: Hockey season starts in 30 days.
08/25/2009
18
16
Roy Halladay's heart sure doesn't seem to be in it anymore, nor does his arm, head or any other part of his being. Bummer.
08/18/2009
16
16
I've been challenged to come up with a Toronto blurb that doesn't include the words "Roy" or "Halladay." OK, here goes: The top three hitters in the batting order are really good. Brett Cecil has a really interesting name and haircut. Cito Gaston seems very nice and polite. Never mind.
08/11/2009
16
15
We're giving so much credit to J.P. Ricciardi for having shed Alex Rios' doodie bomb of a contract. Shouldn't we also be questioning his competence for having meted it out in the first place? Just a year ago, the Giants were rumored to have considered a Lincecum-for-Rios deal, and now the Jays part with the guy for nothing? Ouch. Then again, if his ill-fated Vernon Wells, A.J. Burnett (lovely opt-out clause) and B.J. Ryan contract-mongering hasn't gotten Ricciardi fired, it's hard to see how white-flagging Rios will.
08/04/2009
15
16
I don't get the whole "gee, I feel terrible for Roy Halladay; he's fated to playing out his career on a non-contender" thing. He gets to play baseball for a living. I don't. The sympathy ends right there ... Let's just say that Edwin Encarnacion won't help the Jays' defense, which has been sieve-like since June. I'm surprised the pitchers didn't picket his first start at third base, or perhaps compose a sharply worded letter to the editor about the dangers of defensive indifference.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/16/2009
13
-
They'd be a division front-runner if they played in the AL Central, AL West or NL West. ... . Forget about replacing A.J. Burnett's innings. I don't see the Jays plating enough runs, even if Adam Lind and Travis Snider break out. They boast one of baseball's least offensively-abled first baseman in Lyle Overbay, plus black holes behind the plate (Rod Barajas/Michael Barrett) and at shortstop (Marco Scutaro/John McDonald). ... But oh!, that pitching: Jesse Litsch, David Purcey and (eventually) Dustin McGowan and/or Casey Janssen behind Roy Halladay in the rotation, plus Brandon League, Jeremy Accardo and Jesse Carlson in front of B.J. Ryan in the pen. Depth = good.
