While holding court with the press Wednesday afternoon inside the visitor’s clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, Ricciardi was asked if this year was the worst it’s been injury-wise for the GM since taking the helm for the Jays.

After starting to nod his head, running the list of walking wounded through his head (B.J. Ryan, Reed Johnson, Troy Glaus, Gregg Zaun, Brandon League, John Thomson, Davis Romero), Ricciardi aborted a "Yes" answer and cited the 2004 season.

"Now that I’m thinking about it, the year we only won 67 games was pretty horrible," Ricciardi said. "Every time the phone rang, I wanted to run the other way. I mean, we had won 86 games the year before and at the very least we expected to be over .500."

Through June that year, consider the sheer number of players who landed on the DL for Toronto: Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, Frank Catalanotto, Justin Speier, Orlando Hudson, Chris Woodward, Greg Myers, Kevin Cash, Justin Miller, Kerry Lightenberg, Bobby Estalella, and Valerio De Los Santos.

"I remember listening on the radio one night," Ricciardi continued. "We were playing San Diego and [broadcaster] Jerry Coleman was saying, ‘Now batting, Howie Clark and on deck, Frank Menechino. Who the **** are these guys?’"

This season, Ricciardi at least has a little more depth to work with. Adam Lind has been a sound replacement in left field, Toronto could do a whole lot worse than Jason Frasor as its closer, and John McDonald and Jason Smith have done a solid job holding down the fort at third base. Sal Fasano hasn’t played yet, but that’s another veteran to step in now that Zaun is out.

"We have some positional depth that we didn’t have before," Ricciardi said. "We’ve got some pitchers in place who can step in if need be, too. The one important thing is not to lose the guy who was on the mound [Wednesday] night."

That’d be Mr. Halladay, who is 3-0 with a 2.58 so far this season.

BEEN THERE, SEEN THAT: Jays manager John Gibbons wasn’t at all surprised to see all the hype surrounding the big-league debut of Yankees rookie Phil Hughes. After all, Gibbons can recall first hand what the atmosphere was like when Dwight "Doc" Gooden was breaking in with the Mets in 1984.

"As far as the hype, New York can do that for you," Gibbons said. "You could see how good [Gooden] was. It was just whether or not he could handle that hype. He was a rare guy, too. Those guys don’t come around too often. This kid might be one."

That "kid" being Hughes, who was touched up for four runs in 4 1/3 innings by the Jays Thursday night. It wasn’t all icing on the cake when Gooden started off, either.

On April 13, 1984, Gibbons was behind the plate for the Mets at Wrigley Field for Gooden’s second-ever start. The starter’s line that evening? 3 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts and three walks. Gooden finished ’84 with a 17-9 record and a 2.60 ERA. So, Hughes might be alright after all.

Toronto (10-10) at New York (8-11)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium

Today’s lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith, 3B
Jason Phillips, C
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, CF
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jason Giambi, DH
Hideki Matsui, LF
Jorge Posada, C
Robinson Cano, 2B
Miguel Cairo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Phil Hughes

NOTES: C Gregg Zaun underwent hand surgery on Thursday and manager John Gibbons said everything went well. Gibbons said Zaun will rejoin the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday. … 3B Troy Glaus took batting practice at Yankee Stadium on Thursday and appears to be on schedule to come off the 15-day DL on Saturday. … SS Derek Jeter was a late scratch from the Yankees’ lineup.

UPDATE: After Thursday night’s game, Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said 3B Troy Glaus wasn’t likely to be activated from the DL this weekend against Texas. It’s possible that he’ll come off the DL at some point on the Jays’ upcoming road trip through Cleveland and Texas.

Jays catcher Gregg Zaun left Tuesday night’s game prior to the second inning. Zaun caught one warm-up pitch from Roy Halladay and then tossed the ball back toward the mound. The baseball sailed into center field and Zaun pulled himself out of the game. He was replaced by Jason Phillips.

In the first inning, Zaun appeared to have hurt his right hand after being struck by a foul ball by Eric Hinske. Toronto head trainer George Poulis visted with the catcher on the field, but Zaun stayed in the game at the time.

UPDATE: After the game, the Jays said that Zaun would be placed on the disabled list on Wednesday. First, he’s going to visit a hand specialist in Baltimore to determine the extent of the injury. If it’s going to keep him out for an extended period of time, Toronto will likely place him on the 60-day DL, which will clear room on the 40-man roster for catcher Sal Fasano. If the injury isnt too serious and Zaun goes on the 15-day DL, an additional roster move will be required to add Fasano. Either way, Fasano is up and Zaun is down (with injury). Zaun injured his right hand, near his thumb. Toronto gave him a flourascope scan, which wasn’t clear as to whether or not he broke anything in his hand.

Toronto (9-10) at Boston (12-6)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

Today’s lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
Royce Clayton, SS
John McDonald, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay

RED SOX
Julio Lugo, SS
Eric Hinske, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jason Varitek, C
Wily Mo Pena, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Julian Tavarez

This move was more paperwork than anything else, for those of you wondering why on Earth the Jays would transfer closer B.J. Ryan to the 60-day disabled list. Ryan wasn’t going to throw for a month as it was, and even though the team said he’d be out "four to six" weeks initially, it was always closer to six weeks, possibly longer.

So, in a completely best-case scenario, Ryan might’ve been back in late May — that was the original feedback from Dr. James Andrews. In reality, though, Toronto wasn’t going to rush Ryan back by any means, considering he’s the ace of the club’s bullpen. So mid June probably was when he was going to return as it was. That being the case, now that he’s on the 60, he’ll be eligible to return on June 15.

Keep in mind that the Jays had similar injuries to pitchers A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin last season. In both cases, the pitchers came back quickly, only to land back on the DL. Toronto is going to want to avoid that same scenario at all costs with Ryan. The move also opened a spot on the roster to add lefty Brian Tallet, giving the Jays two lefties in the ‘pen again.

I’m back. After a few days off, enjoying the beautiful weather in Toronto, I’m now doing the same from Fenway Park in Boston. I took advatage of the sunshine and made the 20-25 minutes trek from my hotel to the ballpark and soaked up every second of it. Tomorrow I may go for a jog along the Charles River if the weather brings more of the same. Now, about getting those Toronto bats going…

Toronto (8-10) at Boston (12-5)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Fenway Park

Today’s lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS
Jason Phillips, 1B
John McDonald, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Tomo Ohka

RED SOX
Julio Lugo, SS
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Wily Mo Pena, CF
Doug Mirabelli, C
Dustin Pedroia, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Tim Wakefield

NOTES: CL B.J. Ryan was transferred to the 60-day DL prior to Monday night’s game, meaning he won’t be eligible to return to the Jays until June 14. … LHP Brian Tallet was back with the Jays in Boston. … 1B Lyle Overbay was sent home with an upset stomach. … 3B Troy Glaus is expected to rejoin Toronto in New York to take batting practice with the team. The Jays will determine at that time if he’ll be able to come off the DL as scheduled on April 28.

Boston (8-5) at Toronto (8-6)
at 12:37 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

RED SOX
Coco Crisp, CF
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Eric Hinske, 1B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Alex Cora, SS

PITCHING: RHP Julian Tavarez

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
Jason Smith, 3B
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay

NOTES: CL B.J. Ryan spoke with the media about his elbow injury. Check bluejays.com later to read what he had to say. … Halladay owns a 16-4 record when starting the day after a Blue Jays loss. … The Jays will catch a flight to Baltimore Thursday night, and begin a three-game set with the Orioles on Friday. I’m not making that part of the road trip, so the blog might be dorment until I rejoin the press corps for the following series’ in Boston and New York.

Boston (7-5) at Toronto (8-5)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

RED SOX
Julio Lugo, SS
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
J.D. Drew, RF
Mike Lowell, 3B
Coco Crisp, CF
Doug Mirabelli, C
Dustin Pedroia, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Tim Wakefield

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Phillips, C
Royce Clayton, SS
John McDonald, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Tomo Ohka

Boston (7-4) at Toronto (7-5)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

RED SOX
Julio Lugo, SS
Coco Crisp, CF
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, LF
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Mike Lowell, 3B
Jason Varitek, C
Wily Mo Pena, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
Royce Clayton, SS
Jason Smith, 3B

PITCHING: LHP Gustavo Chacin

NOTES: Smith and INF John McDonald will platoon at 3B in Troy Glaus’ absence. … CL B.J. Ryan (strained ligament in left elbow) will refrain from throwing for four weeks before beginning a throwing program. … LF Reed Johnson was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back on Tuesday.

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.