Let's play one and a third
BALTIMORE — Well it’s a beautiful day at Camden Yards, where the weather isn’t nearly as hot as it has been for the past couple of days. Maybe the rain last night helped cool things down. We’re about 15 minutes away from resuming last night’s game as well.
When play starts, A.J. Burnett will be in line for a win and Scott Rolen will be in the batter’s box with a 1-0 count, two outs and a runner on third base. The Jays are leading, 2-1, and Jays manager Cito Gaston said Jesse Carlson will likely pitch the home half of the sixth.
After the rain-shortened game last night, Burnett said Roy Halladay was kiddingly suggesting that he’d ask to start both games today: “Doc was even joking about. He said, ‘Well maybe I can talk them into letting me throw the first one and then I’ll ride my bike for a half hour and then start the second one.’ I was like, ‘Doc, I don’t think so, buddy.'”
“Don’t put it past him,” Gaston said with a laugh.
Major League Bastian 
Jordan,
I was wondering if John MacDonald’s wife had given birth to their first child yet , maybe I missed reading or hearing anything.
I am sorry to hear that Litsch is being sent down to triple A as he started this year with such promise. Hopefully he sees this as part of his learning curve and he doesn’t forget he is following in the footsteps of one of the best pitchers in baseball, Roy Halladay . Halladay was sent down , I believe it was 3 times before permanently returning to the Jays in 2001 . The man who helped Halladay through his struggles was Mel Queen . Now that Queen is back with the Jays, hopfefully he will be the one to turn Litsch around .
Good luck to the Jays today and have a great day all . Take care
Sorry, but I don’t think that Mel can spin his magic twice. The big difference between Doc and Litsch is their respective “stuff”. Unless Litsch can find another 5 MPH on his fastball, or learn to throw left handed, he is not going to stick at the major league level. Major league hitters adapt very quickly and are able to exploit a pitchers weaknesses next time they see them. Unfortunately, Jesse has to pitch “almost perfectly” not to get hit and knocked out of the game. Sometimes he is able to do this, especially early in the season when most hitters have not found their groove. But more often than not, they are knocking him out of the park (and game) in the early innings. Dave Steib had some awesome off-spead stuff, but it was the few miles an hour on his fastball that he lost that ultimately did him in. I wish Jesse the best, but I doubt he will ever be able to ptich a fine enough line to stick in the bigs year in and year out. That said, he may be young enough to find some more MPHs.
Queen altered the way Doc threw, his mechanics, not how fast he threw . There are a lot of pitchers who don’t have 90 + fastballs etc but do well in the major leagues , Mussina comes to mind as well as Marcum . Litsch has the potential to be a finesse pitcher, he will never be a number 1 pitcher but he can certainly be a solid back of the rotation guy . I hope he finds that in himself and maybe Queen can help . I guess with Queen back , Denbo must have turned down the offer to work in the Jays minor system .
indigo
Denbo was offering roving hitting instructor,whereas officially Queen is roving pitching instructor.
However, personalyI think the Sun and others got it right on Queen, in that his major job is analyzing the Jays minor league system.
Sorry, what I was referring to was the fact we never heard if Denbo took the offer and since we heard Queen took an offer, I figured Denbo didn’t. I knew Denbo was offered hitting and Queen is pitching , my apologies for not effectively explaining myself ….there are days I shouldn’t multi task…..lol…
it’s ok, I just wasn’t sure . I think Queen was hired by Godfrey to check up on what JP is saying about the minor league system. I really liked the fact he’s back with us.
I think its time to move Lind up in the batting order…
Litsch will be bck up sooner than later if McGowan can’t pitch we will need him to take his place ,When they said he was sent down I was happy because all he needs is a wake up call ,Litsch is a verry good 5th starter and thats all he is ,if you look around the league you will find he is better than most #5 starters , all that happend is he lost his confidence.
Well we are back at 500 and away we go.
Indigo J.Macs wife gave birth to a baby girl I forget her name but it was a nice one,his wife picked out the name
Again, I don’t think Litsch is going to make it in the long run. Mussina has the most devastating Knuckle Curve ball in the business. He is not a comparable. Marcum throws harder than Litsch. A couple MPH here or there may not seem much, but apparently it makes all the difference in the bigs. Guys who do not throw hard and have successful careers always have an excellent pitch in there arsenal. Litsch has no out pitch that he can go to, hence hitters can sit on his other pitches.
If you were to compare Purcey’s and Litchs’ minor league numbers, you would think that Litchs is by far the superior pitcher. However, in a potential trade, other teams would be wanting Purcey not Litsch. Why? Because he has an over-powering fastball. The ability to punch guys out when you are in trouble is the key to long-term success.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope that Litsch does turn it around. However, I think that he may be passed by other, younger pitchers in the Jays’ farm system, if he does not develop an effective out pitch.
Speaking of fastballs, the Yankees have always lusted after hard throwers. If the Jays were to trade with the Yankees (like they did with Roger), who would we want from their farm system, and who would they likely be willing to give up? Also, if the Yanks do something at the trade deadline, does that mean the Mets will likely to something to keep pace?
garry
I was wondering where you were on the only game day all year we won two.
I agree with you on Litsch needing a breather to get his confidence back.
I like JP and Cito’s statement on Purcey, bring him up and give him a number of starts to calm him down. We’ll probably suffer a few losses but we did with McGowan in early days as well.
burt
There might be a difference with Litsch because he’s primarily a sinker ball pitcher. He gets into trouble when he over throws which looses the sink and then becomes this floater down the middle of he plate.
You are right, though, in that he’d better get it together quickly, Cecil is going very well in AA, and Romero also appears to have turned a corner. There’s also two to three guys in Dunedin who look like they’re about to earn call ups to AA.
Let’s remember Litsch is a #5 STARTER not a #1-2-3-or 4 starter he is what he is and he is a good #5 starter.
Gsumner I had to get someone in to get rid of spyware that I let in so I was busy and I had the radio on great games.
Garry, the best program to get for spyware is spybot and its free. You can run it yourself.
I like Litsch, but all things considered I think I’d like a rotation of Halliday, McGowan, Marcum, and two of Purcey/Cecil/Romero better, because Cecil, Purcey and Romero are left handers and against the Yanks lefties are a good thing to have.
So Litsch has to get his act together before Cecil or Romero is ready, and right now both of them are starting to look good in AA.
I now have spyware, the repair lady was a friend who knows a lot about computors it was all free, but thanks anyway.
Well we have a lot of pitchen help where is the rest of it,I mean in the minors ,How about Lind this kid is awsome.
Garry,
Thanks for the info , I was just curious if the baby was born. They posted Rios child’s birth but I never saw JM’s child. Congrats to JM and his wife on the birth of their daughter , they got it right the first time .
Johnson-Reed–66 games-HR 4-RBI 36-OBP 347-SLG 402-AVG 284-JP looks bad on this deal,The blue Jays never should have cut this guy loose.And he was a fan favorite to boot.
Congrats to the Jays on reaching the .500 mark ….again
Indigo-now, now, now, that sorta sounded a bit sexist to me. lol
Garry-the last hr Reed hit was a grand slam.
Does any one know what Citos record is since he took over.
I think it’s now 16-12.
It was totally sexist but you know daddy’s and their daughters…well I know …lol …and they did get it right the first time.
Inglett sort of reminds me of Johnson . Its not just his stature or the way he wears his uniform ( pants tucked into the socks) , I think he is one of those gritty, dirt ,dawg gamers like Johnson is
Yes, I do know about daddy’s and their daughters.
I agree on Inglett, he is a dirtbag just like Johnson. I also like his flexibility of positions, which makes him valuable to any team.
Carlos Delgado needs 50 HR to reach 500.
Trade Rumors shows some intrest in AJ but I don’t think the Jays want to trade him unless it’s a deal they can’t refuse.
Like I said earlier , AJ’s contract is a huge problem . Teams are all worried he will opt out at the end of the year and they will have given up good prospects to rent a pitcher for a few months. They would get the draft picks but its probably not enough
I never realized he was that close, good for him, I hope he gets it.
I agree , I hope Delgado gets to 500 and beyond just not against the Jays
Indigo, I think JP doesn’t want to trade Burnett, just to save his own skin. I’m don’t think the contract is a big problem for any of the major market teams-like the Yanks. They’d simply renegotiate the deal.
And you are right, they do get two draft choices, if they don’t negotiate his contract and he leaves.
Sometimes rentals are invaluable. Look at what Sabathia has brought to Milwaukee, still a rental, but one that has really paid of.
I think if Delgado ever played against us in our stadium, he’d probably go 4-4 in hr’s.
Jays won’t trade within the division which is probably a good thing . We seem to get bitten by former players . True CC has performed for them but he hasn’t done it alone . I think he is overrated ( probably get flack for that one ..lol… )
KC is handcuffing TB tonight ..4-0 bottom of the 6th
I bet J.P is going to hold on to Burnett because if we keep him, we have a chance of having a decent (not good enough) but decent record. Decent enough for upper management to say that J.P did a good enough job to keep his job.
Indigo-why would you think a Cy Young winner is overated? His era with the Brewers is 1.36 over 4 games.
Freedom. -I think your absolutely right. I think a number of teams have called and JP just saays hes not available.
Hey, we owe a thankyou to KC, let’s hope the Yanks beat up on Boston.
Here’s a question for everyone. Assuming Delgado achieves 500 hr’s which is looking likely, he should have a good shot at the Hall. So the question is, who do you think he’d go in as: a Blue Jay, Marlin or Met?
I bet Delgado goes in as a Blue Jay.
Halliday Trade Roumor?? Did any of you guys hear the rumor (reported, second hand, by someone at the Star) that the Jays have been quitely shopping Doc to see what he would fetch? If this is true, I have to imagine that Godfrey reads this blog and has come to understand that not all Toronto fans are necessarily against moving DOC if the right deal presented itself. Otherwise, it would be the same old party line — with DOC leading us and a couple of bats we have a team that will contend NEXT year!
Well, if the rumor is true, the first thing Godrey should do is find out who leaked the rumor within the organization and fire him/her.
He will not be able to do anything discretely if he has a leak, and if Halliday is shopped it has to be done quietly.
However, considering our current needs, Ryan might be a better trade chip along with Carlson. In my view, we need a short stop with speed and good OBP for leadoff, 1st + 3rd baseman with power. Milwaukee has the best prospects, I’ve seen at short and 3rd with Gamel and Escobar and are looking for a closer and left handed relief pitcher. If that deal could get done, and we sign Tiezera, we solve our real current need issues and could potentially content in 2010. This is also assuming we bring up both Diaz and Arenciba in September who become our catching dual for 2009, release Matt Stairs, and let Barajas, Zaun, Wilkerson, Mench and Stewart sign with others over the winter.
I would bring up Snider in September and next year he becomes our 4th outfielder/designated hitter. Although he’s still very young, he brings more power than Wilkerson,Stewart, etc.
That would give us a huge 4th hole hitter (which we don’t have) in Tiexera, a valid lead off hitter with Escobar, more pop behind the plate with Arenciba, more pop at 3rd with Gamel and more pop in our 4th outfielder.
Accardo, hopeful, can re-establish his position at closer, but if he doesn’t we can sign a free agent or try to trade Overbay and Rolen for additional bullpen help. Also, if Romero finally makes it as a starter, Cecil could potentially turned into a strong bull pen and possible closer, so we do have options.
The story has to be bull about Halladay.
By the way my daughter and grandaughter went to Chicago and while they were there they went to wriggly field on a special trip to buy me a Cubs baseball hat,Now I hope I didn’t make anybody jealous.LOL.
I’m jealous, š
Gsumner. Trade rumors say the Mets may be interested in Scott Downs, I think we have to keep Downs he is very good and cheap 10 mil for three years.
I’m not surprised there’s interest in Downs or any of our LH pitchers, there’s a lot of teams looking for lefties. I guess it depends on whats offered and what other moves we make or don’t make. I’m not sure The Mets have much in either AA or AAA prospects, altoough I haven’t really checked. Personally, I’d rather deal with Milwaukee, to get Escobar and Gamel.
Gsumner have you ever read drunk jays fans it’s very funny.
Milwaukee states that they will not consider any trades involving Escobar or Gamel.so they are out of reach.
No way!!! Stairs actually hit the ball??? What did you say? He hit it out of the park???
gary-no i havnt read drunk jays. I will. Where did you see Milwaukee say that they wouldnt trade Escobar or Gamel?
I gotta tell you guys, I really don’t see Parrish making it for long. Against a good hitting team, that slop he’s throwing up there will get hammered.
Why is it every time the team gets on a roll they put in a jerk like parrish and take a pounding, they don’t want to win,Tomorow we will get the same thing with Percey.What a bunch of C-R-A-P.
The rotation I believe the jays will put out after today is
Halladay
Burnett
Marcum
Purcey
Parrish/Tallet/Litsch (if he comes back up) or they might go with a 4 man rotation for a while especially if they have a day off.
I would like to see them go with a 4 man rotation.
Garry
there is a difference between Purcey and PArrish. Purcey throws mid 90’s and Parish throws mid 80’s. Purcey just needs time to adjust up here.
Harry-I doubt if they’ll go with a 4 man rotation-it burns all 4 starters.
That’s two big bats running mistakes so far, in both cases killing an inning. Eckstein looked llike an idiot.
The team stinks what in the hell makes them think they can compete with this team next year.
My NL team is the Cubs that is who I will be watching for the rest of the year,I shut the tube off after the third and I wont watch another game this year,But I will still be on this blog.
I can’t believe that bunt play. Rolen is becoming a disappointment hitting only .205 with RISP.
If Roln had done his job, the game would now be tied
Thank you Joe Inglett
I have found the more I wine the more things go my way and it worked ,I will now pat myself on the back.
that’s hilarious. Is that what you do with the wife as well? lol
You bet and it works ops she just read my post now I’m in trouble.
lol
gsumner.
What do you think of this Campbell guy if he gets called up the Jays will make history.
Garry-I assume you mean Scott Campbell. Scott Campbell started off so well, I kept expecting him to go in the tank, but he’s now played 90 games at AA New Hampshire in the lead off position and is hitting .336BA/.430OBP with 8 hr’s.
The interesting stat is throughout his minor league career, he’s always had more walks than strikeouts, which is amazing and as a result has always had a high obp. This year, he’s improved his ba to go along with it. He has made only 4 errors, so he must be ok on defense.
His high obp is great for a lead off hitter, but he’s not a base stealing threat. With all the walks, he must take a lot of deep counts which might be as valuable in the majors.
He was a mid season AA all-star and was selected for the futures game. He also made the all-star squad last year.
Here’s a tidbit, I bet you didn’t know-his mother was borne in Canadian. I think he’d be only the 2nd New Zealander who played in the majors.
The write up on the home page says he will be the first New Zealander to play in the Majors.
I keep having trouble posting while i’m typing it keeps kicking out and saying it can’t find the page i’m looking for how about you.
yes, I have problems with the home page, game day and the blog. I believe there was another guy from New Zealand who played one or two games in the majors called Travis Wilson-but I might be wrong.
Did you see the Yanks got Nady and Marte from the Pirates? That is going to hurt.
Garry-did you notice The Mariners used all 7 relievers yesterday? Maybe if we get to their starter early today, we’ll give them some grief.
I didnot notice them using all 7, then i guess they should go back to working the counts today, but then again todays starter will not be playing aroud the batters, he will go right for the hittters and shoudl be around the strike zone.
btw no its not happening to me garry.
having to much trouble to keep posting for now but can still read blog.
The yankees are on the move we have to keep pace with them to have a chance.
???? us when he would be away now you wait for the line up and it never comesIwonder where Jordan is when he first started this blog he used to tell
lets hope Purcey relaxes today
us now you wait for the line up for nothing—-join this with my last post lol.
Nice clean inning-14 pitches, now lets get some runs for the kid and make him feel welcome. lol
Garry, if you go to the main page and opne up game day-you get the lineups there
I didn’t know Dickey threw a knuckle ball, I guess it’s because his fastball goes out of the park .lol
This kid is all over the place not a very good pitcher the bullpen will be in soon.
Give him time. I expect his first 3-5 outings will be a bit raggy. Remember McGowan was the same. Good to see our guys giving him some run support-hopefully he starts to settle in
That was dumb by Overbay. Why didnt he give Rios a chance to steal 2nd base on a guy thowing at 70 mph
Woah i think Purcey is pitching really good. He has gone 5 with giving up one and If he goes another inning with giving up less than 2 runs then its a quality start.
74 pitches isn’t that bad either its a tad bit above average but he is young…
Tigers want a reliever
Rays want a reliever
Dodgers want a reliever
Mets may have an interest in Scott Downs
Braves want a reliever
Rays want a corner outfeilder
Mets want a corner outfeilder
I ams sure we can just see what we might get for Rios/ Wells, no harm in trying especially with Snider and Lind taking stage.
You guys know how many extra good relievers we have…
J.Mac makes that play.
Harry.
No one wants Wells contract to big and we have to keep Rios.
We can always trade Gsumner for Bosoxbrian.LOL-LOL-LOL-LOL.
LOL, you are right his contract is too big but whats wrong in asking, and why do we HAVE to keep RIOS? he is good, yes but we don’t have to keep him.
hey I’ll live in Tampa, no problem. Quality outing by Purcey, give him another 3-4 starts and I think we’ll have a starter.
What a difference in betwen Cito and Gibbons. Cito knows how to settle these young guys down better than anyone.
McGowan out for season.
He is pitching against the worst team in baseball. He deserves this start.
It was like throwing him into lions den, when Purcey pitched against Philadelphia on the road.
Hope this start helps his confidence.
Now lets hope New York beat Boston and KC beat Tampa Bay. A little help from them would helap a lot right now.
That is really bad news for McGowan-it could end his career. I think our best case, is he’s ready to go this time next year.
Well with Mcgowan out, there is no way Burnett is going anywhere. I would be against trading him now anyway.
McGowan is expected to be back around Spring next year or 1-2 months into the Season. Nevertheless now Either we decide if this season is over or not. If it is you still look towards trading Burnett (but i heard no one wants a trade for him because he is a rent player and is surely going to opt out and they won’t have the money to sign him) so i say we go after
BEN SHEETS OR CC SABATHIA
also if burnett does opt out then we will have about 30 million dollars to work with and that is significant. SO SAY WE SIGN SHEETS AND TIEXERA?
Trade overbay for a 4-5 pitcher. Hill at SS. Inglett at 2nd. Lind at DH. Wells at CF. Rios in RF. Snider in LF. Rolen at 3B. Arecibia/Diaz at C.
Halladay, Sheets, Marcum, pitcher traded for, Purcey/Litsch in the Rotation.
Thats a solid team don’t you think?
Hey guys,
I just wanted to point out that in spite of raises next year to guys like Wells and I believe Rios the teams payroll is slated to be at 70 million next year without Burnett. I don’t know where people here came off saying things like J.P. has screwed this team for years to come. Assuming the payroll is going to 100 million next year again that leaves them with 30 million to spend in the offseason. The outfield is set with Rios, Wells and Lind. The infield could use a second baseman or shortstop depending on whether or not they are willing to move Hill to short and they have Barajas at a relatively cheap contract next year plus a couple of prospects who will compete for a job with the big league team. Really all they need is a big bat (think Manny should the red sox not excersize his option) 30 million is more then enough to go after him or any other slugger of your choice. They’ll even have some left to sign a potential leadoff hitter, second baseman or shortstop and if they so choose a pitcher to occupy Burnett’s spot should Purcey not work out. Judging by some of the comments i’ve read already about him here though that shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s not forget too that Casey Janssen might be back next year. My point is that before everyone continues to say that this team should be rebuilt think long and hard how good this team could be next year if they add a good/great DH and an everyday half of a double play combination.
Enigma my point exactly in the last post.
I still think its best to go after Sheets/Sabathia and either Manny/Teixera. I doubt we will have much money left over but if we can pull off a trade for Ryan then it should for sure provide us with enough money to sign both. I think Hill at SS and inglett at 2nd is good especiallly since Inglett is doing as good as anyone.
I can see Inglett being a Jeter type player, which would be huge for us. If Hill can return to form and move to Short again (or Inglett move to short). As for Sheets/Sabathia, I would love to see us sign one of them, I just don’t want to see when Halladays contract runs out, have Sheets/Sabathia take his spot. Because I still think Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball.
Harry, I like your ideas about next year with the team, except I would like to see Lind in left feild and not DHing. As for Manny, I dout very much that he would want to be our DH. He would probably want to play in the feild where Lind will be at.
Thats true…but I don’t think Manny is a huge fan of Boston and may want to face them to beat them and the Jays are going to be looking for him. But you are right, he doesn’t want to DH even though he really should.
I don’t know who is a better outfeilder Snider or Lind so I just went with Snider.
Idk if you guys heard, Theo Epstein is extremely mad and Manny. After his lates incident (I guess the one where he shoved the guy to the ground over the tickets), Epstein said this is the last straw and they are threw with Manny. So it’s possible that he might be gone before the deadline.
There’s a couple of things, you guys might want to take into consideration. First, we might not get Hill, Janssen or McGowan back or if we do not at the same level of performance. Koskie never came back from a concussion; although I certainly hope Hill does, the longer he’s out the worse the odds are. There are few pitchers that even come back from the arm injury MGowan and Janssen have, and there’s less than a handfull than came back at the same level of performance. So don’t count any of these three in for next year, just quite yet. With AJ definately gone, our starting rotation for next year is Halliday, Marcum and ???? Now hopefully Litsch sorts himself out, Purcey makes it and Cecil or Romero is ready, but there are 3 if’s there. We do have some good ones coming, but I doubt they’ll be ready in 2009.
The second issue is, we are 2nd last in the AL, hitting with risp at .244, and .218 with 2 outs. We are 3rd last with 71 hr’s, with the leader having 144. We need more pop and we need hitters who knock in guys on base. We have a bunch of nice hitters, but that won’t win in the AL east, not with the teams the Yanks, Sox and TB have.
We need serious production from the of’s, 1st and 3rd base. This is what we get now:
Overbay: .221risp/.176risp-2outs/6 hr.’s/39 rbi’s
Rolen: .197risp/.212risp-2outs/6 hr’s/30 rbi’s
Rios: .255risp/.167risp-2outs/8hr’s/44 rbi’s
Wells:.286risp/.270risp-2 outs/9hr’s/42 rbi’s.
Lind: .281risp/.333risp-2 outs/5hr’s/22 rbi’s
To seriously contend and hopefully win we need a minimum of 125-150 hr’s and 500 rbi’s from these 5 power positions. I do think Rios,Wells and Lind can deliver their share, but not Overbay and Rolen. Rolen is becoming a serious disapointment, and Overbay is showing the 22 hr’s hit in 2006 was likely his career high.
You are right Rios Wells and LInd will pick it up…right that Overbay and Rolen wont
You are right that Doc and Marcum are the two starters , with probably Purcey and Litsch (Cecil, Romero have an outside shot)
Now we have 30 MILLION to spend
Hmm a solid hitter (Manny / Tiexera)
Hmm a solid pitcher (Sheets/Sabathia)
Ok so Hill can’t play SS, then we trade Overbay for **** if we get Tiexera, if not then we go with Inglett at SS and bring up Scott Campbell.
Add Snider, Arencibia to the equation and that definately is a team that can hit.
Halladay Sheets/Sabathia Marcum are going to be the top 1-2-3 punchout in the league.
Oh ofcourse to sign both, we will have to trade BJ Ryan, which I am fine with to get some salary.
Now that to me looks like a good team and I think we might be able to get it.
We have the money, but do we have the talent to sign them?
Harry,
I was in a rush so I didn’t really read through your post untill now (the one just before mine) but I agree with you. Sumner, check the numbers since Cito has come back, I believe they are 6th in RISP from that point on. You are right about Casey and McGowan though it is a concern.
I also agree with Harry’s point about trading Ryan. I think he could get the Jays as much as Burnett and it’s 10 million more to spend in the offseason. Maybe go after a Ben Sheets and Jon Garland to round out the rotation if one of Casey or Dustin can’t return. I like Ryan but with the bullpen the way it is I think they could use a bat or 2 and another starter more then the closer.
As for Overbay and Rolen I still think Overbay can be a good first baseman for them. Rolen I am not so sure about though.
Good morning people.
Jordan, or anyone else for that matter I was wondering if you guys knew how early I would have to get to the stadium to see Alex Rios take BP. I keep hearing that he puts on a show and i’d like to see it so if anyone can help me out with that I would appreciate it. I’m going to the game today so if I can get an answer before 10 that would be great, Thanks!.
Maybe the best way to look at this is position by position. I think our outfield is set with Lind, Rios, Wells and Snider.
Our bullpen, assuming we trade Ryan would have 5 strong guys in Downs, Carleson, League, Frasor And Accardo. Tallet, Wolfe and Camp are either trade bait or fill-ins for he other two spots.
I would not have a DH, I think it losses flexibility. I’d rotate one of the outfielders per day through the slot which also keeps all our outfielders fresh and gives Cito more flexibility. If we do this, we might be able to keep Macdonald, Scutaro and Inglett. All 3 are valuable, flexible utility guys.
I would try to trade Ryan & Tallet to Milwaukee for Escobar and Gamel. If that trade gets done we end up with a good lead off hitter with speed and a power 3rd baseman. This would also give us more flexibility in case Hill doesn’t come back. Campbell is a potential replacement for 2nd, but we have no one at short for 2-3 years in our system.
I would, RIGHT NOW, trade Overbay to Atlanta for Tiexera on the condition a contract is negotiated with Tiexera for 3-4 years. I think if we’re going to go after him, we need to do it now. If we leave it until the off season we will not be able to compete with the Yanks. I would trade either Zaun or Barajas now and bring up Diaz. I’d bring up Arenciba in September-and not resign which ever is left from Zaun/Barajas.
Imagine this hitting order:
Escobar
Rios
Wells
Tiexera
Lind
Hill-cross our fingers
DH/Snider
Gamel
Diaz/Arencib
Starters, next post
Although Jessie got wacked in AAA last night, I do think he’ll get it together, for either this year or next. So our starters include Halliday, Marcum, Litsch, and 2 of Purcey, Cecil, Davis or Rickie Romero. If Janssen does come back, I think he has a better shot at starting than relieving. I also think he’d make a superb starter, so the rotation might not look as lean as it does right now.
I would not sign a big free agent pitcher. In spite of the batting order, I would expect it takes a year to get jelled in order to seriously contend, and by 2010, we should have more home grown options. If we have extra money to spend, I’d prefer we spend it in upgrading our draft choices and rebuilding the minors with stronger prospects. $10 to $20 million invested in signing bonuses on draft choices puts us in the same league as the Yanks and thatss where we have to be.
In addition, if we get Gamel, we need to trade Rolen, and I’d expect we will eat a big chunk of his contract with his performance being what it is.
I would like to see at least 2 more starts from Percy to make up my mind but if yesterday is any indication of what he is all about then he looks like a keeper.Now I would like to see Cecil come up in Sept.and see what he has let’s hope we get lucky.
If this team keeps playing under Cito like they have we don’t need to much change ,Overbay is starting to do his job,Rolen in not he has to be replaced if he doesn’t pick it up for the rest of the year.Lind Rios and Wells will be the outfield,If hill comes back I’m all for moving him to short and Mighty Joe to second, Bring up Dias and see what he has to offer,Other than that we don’t have to make to many changes.
Orlando Hudson will be a free agent next year how good would it be to see him back as a Blue Jay.
I thought the same thing Garry.
Is anyone else having trouble posting every time I start typing a page comes up and tells me it cant find the page I’m looking for and I have to keep hitting backspace to finish my post.
I agree with Harry and Enigma about trading BJ Ryan but his salery is going to be a big isue and JP will have to admit he paid to much once again.
gsumner, you said you wouldn’t sign a free agent pitcher. Well we might have any other choice but to sign one. Especially if Burnett opts out and McGowan is unable to return to the rotation by spring training.
I like the idea of Hudson too, but only if Hill is unable to return or we can transition one of them over to shortstop.
Oh did you guys see the schedule of the end of August for us? 15 games in a row of teams that are ahead of us. That will be huge with we can win around 10 of those games. But one game at a time.
I’m with you on that Fredom one game at a time ,It’s nice to know that we have a chance although a slim one but at least something to look forward to.
This team is cursed, and reminds me a lot of the maple leafs. We put together our first modest win streak, primarily against the worst in baseball, and somehow creep closer to the wild card. This gives JP his annual excuse of “we didn’t make any trades because WE FEEL we can compete — and here, these recent numbers prove it.” We all know that the Jays are not going to contend; they will tease with a few statistcally predicatable wins; then those same statistics will drive them back down into the basement where they belong. Every year the yanks and bosox put it into overdrive after the trade deadline, while we fall back, only to make a late surge in September when it means nothing. Like the leafs, we finish just high enough in the standings to obtain a mediocre 1st round pick, and talk about how we are a couple of players away from making a run at it next year. This is a time for clear thinking. This team is not good enough to contend nor win. Trade now. Trade big. And just maybe, if you are really lucky, you will acquire something that will give your a legitimate reason to hope. Seriously, who cares if this team makes it into the playoffs (assuming every other team in the east was killed in an airline disaster). The way they play, and the personalities on this team, are far from indearing. Long gone are the days of the Georege Bill, Tony Fernandez, and others who were fun to watch and root for. It is not just aobut winning. It is about growing and believing in the team and the players. This team has about as much personality as the empty case of bear in Stairs’ locker. Let’s get this team dismantled now so we don’t have to put up with this garbage for the next decade.