I'm going to Disney World!
TORONTO — I showed up at the ball yard to make sure chaos wasn’t going to break out this morning — after this past weekend, who knows what’s next for this team? — but I’m not staying for the game. I have a flight to Orlando to catch. I’m going to the Disney World Series!
OK, so it’s not really all that exciting. It’s a small park the Braves use for Spring Training and the pressbox ain’t exactly up to par in relation to the big-league ballparks. And I highly doubt I’ll have any time to hit up Disney — not that I’d want to without Mrs. Bastian or some nieces or nephews in tow.
I am looking forward to getting in some weather where a jacket isn’t needed, though. Unlike today, which is a little too chilly to have this dome open, if you ask me. So we’re in Day 3 of no Frank Thomas in the lineup and so far the Jays are 2-0. Coincidence? Most definitely. But this past weekend could very well hold some importance later in the year.
As for today, Robinzon Diaz is up with the club and — newsflash — he’s excited to be here. He’s likely holding down the fort until Adam Lind (stiff neck) is ready to rejoin the Jays. I doubt Diaz will see much action at the plate. Perhaps he’ll see some time at third base, who knows? Third baseman Scott Rolen could be back before next weekend.
Jays center fielder Vernon Wells isn’t in the lineup, though he hasn’t been benched indefinitely and his release papers aren’t being printed up. Nope, he’s just being given your typical day off. Nothing more there. With Wells out, Alex Rios is in center, Shannon Stewart is in left and…well, why don’t I just do it this way…
Today’s lineups:
DETROIT (6-13) at TORONTO (10-9)
at 12:37 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
TIGERS
Clete Thomas, CF
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Jacques Jones, LF
Edgar Renteria, SS
Ryan Raburn, 2B
Brandon Inge, 3B
PITCHING: RHP Armando Galarraga
BLUE JAYS
David Eckstein, SS
Shannon Stewart, LF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Marco Scutaro, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C
Joe Inglett, RF
PITCHING: RHP Shaun Marcum
Major League Bastian 
G.I dont know what happend to Indigo maybe she met a good man and has no time for us now lol.
ans yes Carlton is very good.
Garry-maybe Bosox got her. lol
If Bosux got her I feel sory for her she will have to live the rest of her life with a know it all with a very large ego lol.
Not a good game today but we are still at 500 but now we play Tampa and we allways have trouble with them and Boston is not waiting around as for New York it looks like the owners offspring is making a lot of noise which can only hurt them which is only good for us.
Garryguy,
How are you? It’s great to here from you, thanks for the kind words you wrote about me. I hope everything is good with you.
Bosox the words were to get you to post no harm ment lol
Garryguy,
No harm no foul.
Why is there always controversy in that Jays clubhouse?
Is there always seems to be some rift with management and a player. Of course it is a long season and there always be something going, good or bad.
Bosox the reason is because JP speaks with forked tounge and Abner can’t run a team they both have no backbone.
In the first place they paid Thomas way to much money look at what it cost them to cut him loose now we have no money for anybody else.I dont think Rogers will open up the purse strings anymore so we have to do with what we have mabey it’s enough who knows ,But one thing I do know is we have to keep up with Boston to have a chance.
I think this could be the last season for J.P. and Gibbons. Gibbons is on a short leash, he could be done by Memorial Day. Would Brian Butterfield take over if Gibbons was fired ? Butterfield is a native of Maine, so I would like too see Butterfield take over. Perhaps they would have Whitt as the manager, that is a strong possibility as well. I would take a guess and say they would go with Whitt. Your thoughts ?????
Toronto has a solid rotation. I think there rotation right now is Better than the Red Sox. Toronto has to get something from there bats. Rolen will be back soon and that will help. He is a gap to gap hitter and plays a great third. He has a rocket for an arm.
I guess Thomas could end up in Seattle or Tampa Bay. I would assume he’ll end up in Seattle, they have a chance to make the playoffs. At this stage of his career, Thomas is looking to go to the playoffs. Thomas has had a hall of fame career. One of the elite hitters over the last 15 years. He is a very proud man, no doubt.
Why in the world did they ever release Reed Johnson? He does circles around Stewart. Johnson was a Red Sox killer, he was a sparkplug. Johnson is playing well with the Cubs and I would take a guess and say the fans of Chicago love him.
Indigo, where are you? I have always enjoyed reading your posts. Yes, gsumner and garry I know how to read, lol.
Jays are off to Orlando, dumb thing for the Rays to play that series there. If they want the fans at the game, play at the Trop not Orlando. Tampa Bay hosted the Rangers in Orlando last year, Rangers got swept.
bosox, I think they will leave Gibbons alone this year, since the team is pretty well set through 2011. It’s not as if it were do or die this year. But if they stay healthy and don’t produce, we will likely see a different manager next year. I don’t know why they kept Stewart over Johnson either, but the organization is up to it’s armpits in good young fielders that can hit. Joe Inglett is tearing it up right now, and you will likely see Adam Lind as soon as his neck is better (.360 in 14 games in AAA). We also need Rolen up and running.
My preference has always been for a lineup that hits for average and can string hits together, rather than waiting for your big boppers to get lucky. It seems to me that when we run into some good pitching, the big bats fall silent and it’s the guys that can get the bat on the ball that get the job done. Having Glaus and Thomas in the middle of the order last year killed more rallies than they prolonged.
Always nice
gnorman,
One thing for the Jays, they have solid pitching and that always helps. So many teams have holes in there pitching.
The Jays will be getting Rolen soon and that will help the lineup. Rolen is a good hitter, as long as he can stay healthy. Of course he would love to stick it to LaRussa as well. I’m sure Rolen is motivated by that. Also I am sure Rolen is dissapointed, being hurt and going to a new team. He wants to show his new team that he can produce and play.
I would agree with you about Glaus and Thomas. They seemed to clog up the basepaths. Thomas was never going to take the extra base. Rolen is an athlete, he was recruited to play some hoops at Indiana, that speaks volumes right there.
Young players like Lind can certainly jumpstart an offense. A team with a nice mix of some youth and some veterans are a good thing.
I think the Jays will have a chance to make the playoffs. They have the pitching, when you have some good arms. Your always alive and well.
What we don’t need is three catchers keep Zaun to teach Dias. bring Lind up when his neck heals and we should be able to run with anybody, The only problem is I don’t think Abner can get us there I hope i’m wrong.
Indigo let us know if your still out there.
Jordan,
What do you think of the Rays playing a series in Orlando ?
Where do you think Thomas will end up ? Seattle ???? Tampa Bay ???? Los Angeles Angels ????
How is Thomas looked at by the other players in Toronto ?
Some fans on fan90 thought it was a mistake to keep Wells out of the lineup on Monday but i watched him play on Sunday and he looked like he had no intrest at the plate so I think it was time to give him a day off.
Bosox I think the jays players had a lot of respect for Thomas after all he is going to the hall of fame and this year he came to spring training and worked harder than he ever has it just didin’t work for him I think most fans liked him,But if he goes to Tampa I’m sure he will hurt us as he has in the past OUCH.
Toronto has got to start hitting with the base paths full how many times this year have we let the other teams pitchers off the hook.
Bosox
Good to see you posting here again. I’m not sure whether the players liked Thomas or not, although we certainly hit better with RISP before he arrived-look at our 2006 stats. My take, like yours is he’ll end up in Seattle.
I think Gibbons is on a very short leash. It can’t happen soon enough, in my opinion; we will not win with him. I do hope, though, that they don’t go with either Whitt or Butterfield, but instead get someone proven. We’ve got the talent to contend, we need a skipper that knows how to get us there.
I don’t think JP is on as short of a leash. I feel he’s successfully put Gibbons front and center for any failure, but there have been a few moves JP’s made this last off season that could tube him as well. Right now, the Thomas contract is front and center and was a huge mistake, but, personally I think dumping Johnson was bigger. What we were told at the time was Stewart was a better hitter, particulary against RH’s. Well at the moment Stewart’s htting an anemic .211 overall and .148 against RH’s. Johnson is hitting .346 overall and .394 against RH’s. Johnson is also a much better lead off hitter than Eckstein, and we miss him there.
If and it’s a big if, Gibby plays Stewart and Lind properly, when Lind comes up, we’ll recover in the hitting part, but we will always miss Johnson’s grit. That is not replacable in my opinion. The other move we need to do is to play Diaz against LH’s and Zaun against RH’s, and kiss Barajas goodbye. Diaz is hitting .568 ( or somewhere in that range) against LH’s, is great defensively and has a cannon for an arm. Barajas, in my opin goes down as one of JP’s other mistakes for the off season.
I’m with you on Abner soooooloooonnnggg.
I think you are right about Thomas Tampa can’t afford him in more ways than one.
Dumping Johnson was a big mistake this team needs dirtbags and we lost one of the best.
I think Stewart will have groin problems all year it’s not the first time this has happend to him.
To all the people who ridiculed the eckstein move just wait till you see Scott Rolen!! This guy is a superb baseball player and brings not only alot of pure talent but some strong intagibles that will rub off on some of the other Jays players. David Eckstein is the type of player that is a proven winner and John Macdonald is allbeit a nice guy a player who is nothing more than a career minor leaguer or a short term emergency call up. I got some good laughs out of the comments out here prior to the start of the season who were questioning the Eckstein move. In my opinion J.P. is a very smart baseball man but cannot understand his love for Gibbons. His ability to controll him obviously is a factor but it is still puzzling. You must all understand that every single move does not always work out when acquiring new players but J.P.’s track record is extremely strong when comparing our roster from 3 seasons ago while at the same time remaining fiscally responsible ( something the yankees and sox really don’t worry about). Ive said it before and I’ll say it again ” This team cannot win under the guidance of John Gibbons”. He is a completely WORTHLESS manager and deserves nothing out of baseball. I wouldn’t want him around my single A team influencing player development let alone managing a major league baseball team. Just listen to the man speak…..He is an embarrassment to the city of Toronto.
The only way around this short of firing Gibbons immediately is the quick signing of Barry Bonds. Believe me with Bonds( the greatest hitter of the modern era) in this lineup we can still win in spite of our manager. Just imagine the protection Bonds provides Rios and Wells and the quality of pitches they will see with Barry hitting behind them, not to mention Rolen/Rios potentially in the 2 hole.
Go him now before its too late and mark my words making the playoffs will be a very conservative goal come a couple of months.
By the way if anyone is wondering……..Barry will need one or two B P sessions to be fully ready to be slotted into the lineup. And make no mistake you will not see him with a .167 average at any point in time. So just so you all understand clearly: acquire him on a Monday and he will be hitting dingers on the Wednesday…..lots and lots at Skydome!!!
rshobie,
I love your enthusiasm, but sorry, I totally disagree with you on Bonds-he’s a worse cancer in the cluhouse than Thomas. His skills have been seriously diminishing, unfortunatley his ego hasn’t; notwithstanding his legal problems.
Give me Lind, Diaz and Rolen in this lineup, with Abner or a real manager platooning Lind/Stewart and Diaz/Zaun properly, put Rolen in the 5 hole, and watch out.
Gsumner,
I think if Gibbons is canned. Toronto will either go with Whitt or Butterfield. It would make the transition alot easier. Pure speculation here.
Letting go of Johnson was a head scratcher. His replacement Shannon Stewart, his best years are behind him.
As soon as Lind gets healthy, he should platoon with Stewart. Lind of course will get the bulk of the playing time anyway. More righties than lefties. Stewart at this stage of his career, is nothing but a part-time player. He could be an excellent bench player, if he would accept that. He has to realize his best games are behind him. Just a couple of switches here and there, can get a team going. Also the players see that Thomas got released, I guess if he can, that means anyone is trade bait. Except for the obvious guys, Wells ( contract is not good ) Rios, Halladay.
Overbay has to pick up the slack as well. If he hit like he did in 2006, he’ll add some punch to the lineup. If he continues to struggle, he’ll be next to go. Overbay would be traded not released.
Bosox
Somehow, I think Overbay is still recovering from his last year injury. I still hope he turns it around. I think the next to go with be Barajas. We don’t need him with Diaz, who’s a much better hitter. Watch Diaz, he’s a young Vladamir, with no power, but I’ve seen him get a hit from a ball which bounced in front of the plate-little walks for this guy, but man does he put the barrel on the ball.
I agree with your analysis of Stewart, I couldn’t understand that deal at all. Lind is hitting .417BA/ .462OBP/.776slg against RH’s while Stewart is hitting an anemic .148 against Rh, but .364 against LH’s so it represents a perfect platoon situation. Now that’s assuming Gibby actually plays the platoon.
I see that Lind played yesterday in Syracuse, so he could be called up today-we shall see.
I am still here and reading your posts .
I think both Riccardi and Gibbons are on a short leash. Gibby can only work with what he has been given and those choices are made by JP. In the last few years, JP has squandered vasts amount of money . 3 pitchers ( Zambrano, Ohka , Thompson) last yr signed and released , a shortstop ( Clayton) , again paid for and released, same goes for Johnson ( what a dolt move that was ) . As for Thomas , he wasn’t a bad signing , but JP was outbidding himself so paid way too much . All teams can afford Thomas now because the Jays are paying his 8 mil salary this year.
JP’s lies about Ryan, his lies to Johnson and Maconald , his lies to the fans, have all put him on a shorter leash in my opinion. If I ran my business like that , there would be no business.
Its nice to see the Jays playing small ball , wonder who said they needed to last year …lol…. Have a great day all and take care
Gsumner,
Barajas is one these guys that will always be on a different team every year. He is nothing but a backup catcher, the younger guy as you say Diaz should be the backup. You need a vet like Zaun with a younger guy around.
It sounds like the Jays have a potentially good platoon in left. Why isn’t Lind up ?
Lind has been nursing a stiff neck. Otherwise, it would’ve been Lind up in the big leagues right now, not Diaz. He’s been in the lineup last couple days, so we might see him soon.
As for Bonds, I wonder if he can come to Toronto even if both sides wanted it. I mean, the man’s facing criminal charges. Can he get out of the country?
I’d like to see Bonds in a Toronto uniform. To those who say no to him because of the whole club house cancer/steroid user or not thing; take a look back at some of the guys the organization has employed. Clemens, Canseco, Steib, Sprague and currently Zaun. All of whom, amongst others, have been accused of being on the juice and/or being a jerk. Most of those guys helped the team win. One can even make the arguement that if it wasn’t for Sprague’s home-run against Oakland in ’92 the jays don’t even win the world series that year. So why is Bonds not allowed on the team but Zaun is ? If it’s because Bonds is a jerk then I guess we don’t need him but Keep in mind though, that this “nice guy” team hasn’t won 90+ games in a while. By no means do I think it’ll happen but I’m just saying I would definitaly like it to.
caleb,
Great point with Bonds but something tells me he would be able to get across the border. It would be a mistake if the Jays ever went after Bonds. They’re not going to anyway. He is a malcontent, always has been and always will be. Another great player that never won anything.
Lind should have made the team coming out of camp. Stewart is a part-time player, nothing more.
gsumner,
Barry Bonds skills are seriously diminishing….What a joke! You can,t really be serious and appear to have some knowledge of baseball. This guy forgot more about hitting than anyone in the organization knows. Here’s Bonds’ line the last couple years. 2006: 130 GP, 367 AB, 26 HR, 115 BB, .454 OBS….. 2007: 126 GP, 340 AB, 28 HR, 132 BB, .480 OBS ( Which was 5th highest in his career ). Imagine playing/hitting in a rinky dinky stadium like Skydome and being able to DH. The guy could have 500 AB’s and hit 50 to 60 dingers in his sleep. They should sign him for this year plus 2. The old regime that won here Labatt’s/ Gillick would be all over this and bring back a world series. Don’t just always blame J.P. for everthing all of you…..We will never know how much influence Godfrey and Ted could have over things like this. Ted could easily be saying no way even though this is not about CASH because Bonds would put another 10,000 people a night in the stands.
rshobie,
The days of Bonds hitting 50 to 60 homers are behind him. If Bonds could still hit that many longballs in a season, he would be signed by now. His skills have diminished and he isn’t worth headache on top of it.
If Bonds was signed by Toronto ( not going to happen but for the sake of arguement ) he would hit at least 20 homers and no more than 30. 50 to 60, no way.
I don’t believe Bonds would ever want to come to Canada or play for the Jays. Nor do I think the Jays want or need him so signing him is a moot point.
Same argument about blame can be made for Gibbons or Riccardi , that Godfrey and/or Rogers have control ( though we all know Rogers has ultimate control). Riccardi is the one entrusted to spend the money wisely and I don’t think he does that .
Garry , as you can see I am still alive and doing very well ,thank you . I hope everything is well with you
Supposedly Barry and his agents have shown interest in Toronto (Richard Griffin and Mike Wilner have both said so) just that the feeling isn’t mutual.
rshobie
If what your’e saying is true-why is he still available? Why hasn’t Gillick signed him? I agree with Bosox, he might hit 20-30 hr’s a year. Lind will do that and is minimum salary, not a druggie and not a problem in the locker room. He turns 44 in July, give me a break.
Hey Indigo, good to see you back.