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POWER RANKINGS
Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
07/07/2009
10
9
It's about damn time they demoted Vernon Wells in the batting order ... Cito Gaston on B.J. Ryan: "I don't know what to do with the guy. Can he type? Can he take dictation? I'm kind of at a loss here." Okay, that's me paraphrasing, but that's the gist of Cito's dilemma. Ryan is the walking, dinger-serving-up embodiment of "sunk cost" about now.
06/30/2009
9
14
Last night's game against Tampa Bay was the Jays' first of 2009. Shouldn't the scheduling monkeys have done something about that, given that the two teams play in the same division? It's Toronto's tough luck that they didn't catch the Rays before they woke up ... Congrats to Aaron Hill both on setting the Jays' home run record for a second baseman and on dodging all the steroid speculation that has enswarmed every other runty middle infielder who miraculously discovered untapped reservoirs of power ... Cito Gaston has a soothing voice and all sorts of other zen-koan qualities, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't question him when he boneheads (is that a verb? it is now) his way out of a win like he did on Sunday. Asking the less-than-fleet John McDonald to steal third with one out? I dunno, man.
06/23/2009
14
9
See the first Yankees comment ... That they still have a functional pitching staff after losing Roy Halladay, Casey Janssen, Scott Downs, Jesse Litsch and Dustin McGowan to injury says volumes about their pitching depth. I realize that the baseball season is a grind and the act of hurling a small projectile plateward is unnatural, but maybe somebody should have a talk with the pitching coach before things get even worse.
06/16/2009
9
8
He's only one guy and he only participates in the fun every five games. But man, the Jays reacted to Roy Halladay's groin injury as if it were an end-of-days tragedy. The good thing is that he'll probably only miss a start or two ... They actually let Lyle Overbay start against a lefty! If that's not a sign of confidence, what is? ... I can't predict when Vernon Wells will next make solid contact with a pitched ball, but I've got June 27 in the CBSSports.com pool.
06/09/2009
8
10
They're hanging in there, mostly by slaughtering the helpless cooing baby lambs of the AL Central and West. ... Plus, the offense has experienced a revival of sorts, with Adam Lind finally making good on all those "no, really, the guy can hit. Honest, he can. You just watch" predictions J.P. Ricciardi has been making for the last three seasons. ... The character police are all up in Alex Rios' bid-ness after he was immortalized on YouTube cursing his face off at an abusive fan at a charity event. On the positive side, it's the closest thing to passion the guy has shown in his career as a ballplayer.
06/02/2009
10
10
They showed "heart" and "resolve" in taking two of three from the Red Sox after losing nine straight. Unfortunately, such intangible traits don't generally receive their own column in the standings. ... Amazingly, they get yet another month-long respite from AL East competition, so it would be in their best interest to fatten up on the Royals, Marlins and Nationals before July rolls around.
05/26/2009
10
1
Well, it was fun while it lasted ... I'm not saying what the Jays did during the first seven weeks of the season doesn't count, but put it this way: If anyone asks you if the Jays will see first place again anytime soon, you can safely answer with a firm "no." You don't even have to hedge your response with a "if the hitters start hitting again" or a nod to Cito Gaston's zen-koan managerial style ... I'm trying to draw an analogy that describes B.J. Ryan's current state of utility, and the best I can do is this: He's like a melon baller that no longer performs its primary purpose of balling melons. Sorry 'bout that.
05/19/2009
1
1
They win most of the time, which makes them as appropriate a choice for the top spot as anybody else. ... Of course, the varsity part of their schedule starts Tuesday night, when they careen into Boston for a Halladay-free three-game set. ... Say what you want about the chances of Brian Tallet sustaining his early success, but that's one fine hayseed-retro mustache atop his lip. ... Things that hurt: getting hit with a catcher's throw to third base dead in the chest, as Marco Scutaro did the other day. His name might make him sound like a Food Network personality ("Scutaro's Skillet"), but he's one tough hombre.
05/12/2009
1
2
The doubters gotta stop whining about the Jays' favorable early season schedule. It's not the team's fault that it has only played three games against divisional foes (and none against the Sox, Rays and Yankees) so far ... He hit the ball out of the park on Sunday, but Alex Rios' mechanics and body language at the plate still look screwy, as if he's trying to cast a reel rather than swing a bat ... I'm not one for soul-elevating narratives or redemption songs, but it's kinda neat watching Aaron Hill bop the ball with aplomb after getting his bell rung last year in a collision with hateful miscreant David Eckstein.
05/05/2009
2
4
Put simply, the big difference between the Jays of 2008 and the Jays of 2009 is that they don't do as much dumb crap. Take the work on the basepaths, where the team is picking its spots to steal more judiciously. As a result, they aren't snuffing out as many of their own potential rallies as they did during the Gibbons era ... Unearthing a useful guy like Scott Richmond in the hardball Siberia that is the independent Northern League doesn't vindicate J.P. Ricciardi for his personnel follies of the last few years, but it helps even the ledger a bit.
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.
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