Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News…
GOOD NEWS: Believe it or not, news that closer B.J. Ryan is out for 4-6 weeks can be considered good news. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi sounded like a man prepared to hear the words "Tommy John surgery" after Ryan met with Dr. James Andrews on Monday. Instead, it’s being described as a strained ligament in his left elbow — similar to what A.J. Burnett and Gus Chacin dealt with last year.
BAD NEWS: The Blue Jays hoped 3B Troy Glaus would be available to play on Tuesday against the Red Sox. On Monday, though, Toronto placed the slugger on the 15-day DL with a tight hamstring and a bone spur in his left heel. There’s no timetable for Glaus’ return, but he’ll be eligible to be back by April 28 or so. The Jays called up INF Ryan Roberts from Triple-A Syracuse to take Glaus’ place on the roster.
EXPECTED NEWS: It seemed like a foregone conclusion that LF Reed Johnson would choose to have surgery to repair the herniated disc in his lower back. Back injuries can be very troublesome and it’s best to get it taken care of as soon as possible. Toronto will be without Johnson for at least two months after he goes under the knife on Tuesday.
PROGNOSIS: At least the Jays have a true replacement for Johnson in OF Adam Lind. The same can’t be said for the loss of Ryan and Glaus. Jason Frasor will likely be effective as Toronto’s closer, but he’s not Ryan. As for losing Glaus, that’s a big bat that’s no longer in the lineup. INFs Jason Smith and John McDonald will probably platoon at third base while Glaus is out. Roberts will likely play sparingly at third and at second base, if Aaron Hill needs a day off.
Major League Bastian 
Eric Hinske hasn’t been playing very much with Boston lately. He would be a huge upgrade over Smith/McDonald/Roberts and would be defensively and offensively superior to Matt Stairs.
JP might have to eat some crow and deal away a D prospect, but an acquisition of Eric Hinske would help this team in strides right now.(Not to mention having the lefty bat around).
Id rather have Smith’s left handed bat, and his far superior glove than Hinske. There is probably a reason he isnt playing in Boston.
Not to mention Hinske’s huge salary…
Smith is batting .350 and McDonald is batting .500. Smith was hitting like that all through spring training, and while I know McDonald’s not going to keep hitting like that, let’s wait until his hot streak ends before we worry too much about offensive uppgrades.
“There is probably a reason he isnt playing in Boston.”
Well yea. Their names are Drew, Crisp, Ramirez, Ortiz and Lowell.
You’d rather have the inexperienced, unproven bat of Smith versus a fairly reliable .800 OPS vs RHP bat? Can’t say I agree with that.
And the huge salary that we are already paying most of.
Hinske would be a platoon player at best with Glaus out as he is useless against lefthanded pitching. Also he is weaker defensively than both McDonald and Smith and with Glaus back would rarely play so why give up prospects for him? Who’s to say Boston is willing to give him up?
Relax people. Glaus is only on the 15 day DL. The season is lost just yet.
I would rather shoot myself in the face than have Hinske back on the jays. We finally got ride of him – and you want him back? Did you eat paint chips as a child?
Unfortunately, we don’t have the bucks to pay a player like Hinske to sit on the bench, so we won’t see him soon. He could be a starter for a lot of teams in the bigs, and it’s unfortunate for him that he had to go to Boston.
Hinske would only start for a weaker team. He can’t hit lefties and is not reliable defensively to play everyday.
I don’t wanna be pessimistic but things are not going right for the bluejays
it’s gonna be hard to replace
2nd best closer in the game
lead-off hitter with the highest on-base percentage
a 40 homer guy
THINGS NOT AT ALL RIGHT FOR THE JAYS