Wednesday, November 16, 2022

All the best Teo!


 So, I told myself I won't dwell too long on this.  I'm biased.  Teoscar was one of my favourites.  I recognize that I'm biased.  But even after I step back and look at this trade again, I fail to see how this makes the team better.  Nothing against Swanson, he had a great year last year.  I'm sure he will be a help to the bullpen.  However, that being said, this is still hard to swallow.  We just traded an all star and silver slugger away for a bullpen piece and a kid who played in single A last year.  

Yes, there are more moves coming.  Maybe this will make sense to us all soon.  This does free up some salary for the Blue Jays to add more pieces.  But for now from what I see on social media, many a Jays fan is left scratching their head.  In just under 24 hours the Jays have lost two outfielders in Tapia and Hernandez.  I know that they're not done, but I for one have no desire to see Jackie Bradley Jr in the outfield every day.  

To Teoscar, I wish you all of the best.  I am not a Seattle fan by any stretch, but I will be watching you and cheering for you from afar.  Thank you for the memories.


Monday, October 10, 2022

Well... That Was Rough

 The game on Saturday was disappointing to say the least.  They took us through all the emotions.  Anticipation, anxiety, hope, excitement, satisfaction, worry, disbelief…  The list goes on.  It was a gut wrenching loss.  They snatched defeat from the jaws of Victory.  Leaving an entire country numb and shaking their heads.  


The social media posts that followed were full of anger and criticism.  Understandably so.  Fans didn’t really know how to react.  Myself included.  After the game on Saturday, I actually entertained the thought that if I didn’t have so much money invested in clothing and gear that I’d consider giving them up on them so that I never had to feel the way that I felt after that game again.  


That being said, I’ve taken a step back.  Now that I have had some time to reflect, here are my thoughts.


This is a young team.  An inexperienced team.  A team that three weeks ago I wasn’t even sure would hold on and make the postseason.  A team that still makes mistakes.  A team that will continue to mature.  A team that was better than it was in 2021.


This is a team that had an overworked bullpen.  They desperately needed another starter at the deadline, but no trigger was pulled.  Instead, they acquired Mitch White.  As a result there were a number of bullpen days to get us to the end of the season.


This is a team with a young closer.  Who frankly should never have been called upon to get six outs.  Let alone with runners already on base.


This is a team with a first year manager who up until Saturday, had made very few mistakes.  More inexperience that will only get better with time.  That is, if he is given the opportunity.


This is a team with a lot of potential.


This is also a team that had no business losing a game that they were up 8-1 in.  That part is inexcusable.  But they did.


Sometimes I hate this team.  But, even when I do I still love them.


Instead of being angry, I’ve decided to be grateful.  It was a fun year.  They are a fun team.  It was fun to have the opportunity to watch them in the postseason.  To fly Jays flags on my house and car in support, even though it was short lived.  They gave us something to get excited about.


I’ve decided to be hopeful.  They have some holes to fill that I hope will be addressed this offseason.  They have some signings to ink and some trades to be made to make them better.  They have some work to do, both on and off the field.  My hope is that next year will be worth the wait and bear more fruit than this season. 


I’ve decided to get excited for next year.


Most importantly, I’ve decided not to give up on them.  I’ve been a fan all of my life.  I was at the Rogers Centre in the mid to late 2000’s when they would only draw 8000 fans on a Sunday.  When the only bright spot was Halladay, I was watching.  Nowadays, there is so much more to be excited about with this team.  


Did Saturday suck?  Yup!

Will it be the last time they disappoint me?  Absolutely not.


But no matter what they do, I will be watching.


Go Jays!


Sunday, January 24, 2021

What do Jays fans really want?

 Well, I'm back.  After over three years here I am.  It's not that there hasn't been anything to write about in that time, there definitely has.  But today I'm fired up.  Why?  The short answer is social media.  I've been reading too much of it I guess and this morning a few things struck a chord.  

Anyone who knows me will know how I personally feel about prospects. They are just that, prospective Major League Players.  Not actual everyday Major League Players, but prospective Major League Players.  Some of them may have had a short stint in the big leagues already, but not enough time to be considered an everyday player just yet.  So when it comes to dealing prospects for everyday Major Leaguers, in most cases, I'm all for it.  The list of first round picks that have never panned out is long.  However I understand that not everyone feels this way.  In fact, I think I am in the minority here.

I also feel (and have written before on this very platform) that the average Blue Jays fan has a tendency to overvalue prospects.  Which is okay too.  Hey, if hoping for the future is your thing and you like to get excited about good, young players coming up through the system I totally get that.  So if you don't want to trade the prospects or young players, then I naturally suspect that you are in favour of the team spending money to build through free agency, right?  Well apparently not, judging from what I have been reading this week.  

Don't get me wrong, a lot of fans were excited about the Blue Jays signing George Springer to a contract.  But not everyone was.  I still saw a fair amount of fans complaining about the amount of money spent on the Springer contract.  So for me it begs the question:  If you don't want to trade young players or prospects and you don't want the team to spend the money necessary to land big free agents, then I have to ask Blue Jays fans:  What the hell is it you want??  How is the team supposed to get better if they don't pay the money necessary to entice free agents to come here OR trade away packages of prospects and young players to receive assets back?

I grabbed a couple of fan comments from facebook this morning while I was reading and stewing.  One of them in response to the springer signing read:  


Well yes, it is.  $150 million is a lot of cash.  But the Blue Jays are getting a plus centre fielder who is a 27.5 career WAR player with a .270 average and pop in his bat.  The power numbers are actually headed in a very good direction the last two seasons with 39HR in 2019, and another 14HR in 51 games last year.  So yes, they paid a lot of money.  I don't understand why this person is upset though, they aren't having to pay his salary personally.  

Another comment on the Springer signing stated:

What is this based on?  How does this person know how much money the Jays have to spend?  According to spotrac.com the Blue Jays payroll for 2021 is around $107 million.  Fangraphs.com says it is around $115 Million.  So lets assume it's the higher number.  $115 million.  How on earth are we to know that this is all that they have available?  According to spotrac.com, their 2020 payroll was $137.4 million.  2019 was $122.3 million and for interests sake I looked up the last year they made the playoffs in 2016.  According to baseballprospectus the 2016 payroll was $153.3 million.  The luxury tax threshold for Major League Baseball is sitting around $210 million right now.  To clarify, I am by no means saying the Blue Jays can or will spend to the luxury tax.  However if we assume that they match their 2019 payroll they still have $22 million to go.  If they go to their 2016 payroll then they have another $38.3 million available.  So how exactly does the Springer signing prevent them from signing anyone else?  That's a big assumption.

Unfortunately, I didn't stop at reading about the Springer signing.  I read on.  One article stated that the Jays are in on Didi Gregorius.  The first comment under the article irked me again.


So, I agree with the first sentence.  Leave him at short and move Bo to second base.  Sure.  I can get behind that.  Then use Randal, Danny and a minor leaguer in a trade?  What is this person hoping to get back?  A ham sandwich?  I don't mean to rip on Randal and Danny.  I'm glad they are on the team.  But what value do they have in a trade?  Randal's career WAR is less than 10, he is currently a career .246 hitter and is owed north of $30 million dollars.  Danny Jansen is coming off of a year where the poor guy couldn't throw anybody out at second and he hit just .183 after batting only .207 the year before.  I'm sorry, but I don't believe these guys have any value to get anything back.  Are they better than this?  I believe so.  But I think you'd be selling low on both guys if you tried to trade them.  If you want something back, you have to give something up.

Next comment:

So, you can make an argument for Rowdy having some value, but you still don't really know what you have in this kid.  Great numbers in a short sample size last season.  I don't think you're getting many takers on him yet though.  Again, you have to give something to get something.

and finally, this one was when the rumors of Springer were just starting.  The first comment is in response to the reported signing:

This commenter is right, we absolutely need pitchers.  But where are we to find them?  There are still some decent arms in free agency, so potentially there.  However if the Jays do have to trade to improve their starting pitching, you need to be ready to see a guy like Gurriel Jr go.  Again, let me clarify.  I am in NO way suggesting I want them to trade Gurriel Jr.  I like him a lot.  He is a plus defender and is developing into a potentially a very good hitter.  In 206 games he has a career average of .287, 42HR and 118RBI.  If you were to average this out over 162 games, that's 33HR and 93RBI.  I don't want him to go anywhere but left field at the Rogers Centre (or Dunedin this year) for the foreseeable future.  But this is the type of guy other teams are looking at.  Not Randal, Not Jansen, not Rowdy.  Biggio, Bichette, Gurriel Jr. and maybe Kirk or Teoscar. That is where the trade value is.  Along with prospects of the likes Jays fans will be upset to give up.  But again, you get what you give.  

After reading these comments among others online I arrived at a conclusion and answer to my question.  What do Jays fans really want?  They want a winning team.  They want a playoff team.  They want a world series contender.  Yet they don't seem to want to give up the money or players required to get them there.  

It's going to be an exciting month ahead as we see what the team does to continue to build for the season.  I expect at least one or two more free agent signings.  But we as a fanbase need to be ready for a trade.  We currently have four starting outfielders and if Vladdy is still at first, we have a DH in Tellez as well.  That's one starting player too many.  If Vladdy goes back to third, then you have a spot for everyone.  I don't think the team wants to move forward with him at third base though.  Recent rumours also have the team still talking to infielders trying to add one more.  So there is still a real possibility a roster player and package of prospects gets moved.  All we can do is watch, wait and hope that the team is better as a whole when they take the field next month in Dunedin.

But hey, that's just my opinion. 





Friday, November 24, 2017

Remembering Roy Halladay




I’m a baseball fan.  I’m sure that this comes as a shock to no one reading this.  I love the game.  I can spend (and love to spend) hours talking on the subject.  I am a baseball fan first and a Blue Jays fan second.  The Blue Jays are my favourite team and they always have been.  I like other teams as well but the Jays have always been number 1 in my heart.  That’s always been a constant.  My favourite player though I will admit has changed a few times over the years. 

My love affair with baseball started fairly early for me.  From the time my parents first took me to the then Sky Dome in Toronto as a wide-eyed 9 year old I’ve loved the game.  The Blue Jays lost that day to the Seattle Mariners.  However what I took away from the experience (and my only real memory of the game) was Fred McGriff hitting a home run.  From that day forth I decided that Fred McGriff was my favourite player.  Apparently all it takes to win over a 9 year old is a home run.  I still have a soft spot for McGriff and I am quite disappointed that he is not in the hall of fame (but that, my friends, is a rant for another day).  I was a pretty devastated when he was traded that offseason.  I had never heard of Joe Carter or Roberto Alomar and wanted no part of either one of them.  McGriff was gone.  That was all that mattered to me.  Pat Gillick was my new arch nemesis. 

Then this Alomar guy came in and won my young heart.  The plays, the uncanny ability to make an off-balance throw, the range… He was unbelievable.  A complete five-tool player.  He could hit, he could run, he could throw, he could field like no one else and occasionally he could hit for power.  Especially when it mattered (ahem Dennis Eckersley).  Alomar became my favourite player and remained so throughout his playing career.

Roy Halladay vs Baltimore Orioles. April 24, 2005
Then came a player like no one I had ever seen.  Now I mention that I am a baseball fan, but I haven’t always been an engaged one.  Oh I’ve always loved the game, I have since that day at the ball park back in 1990.  However after the strike in 1994, I like many other Canadians lost interest for a while.  It was early in 2005 when Rogers offered my wife and I a discounted rate on a Blue Jays ticket flex pack.  Stef asked me if I was interested in going at all and I said “sure, I love baseball I just haven’t watched it since the strike.  It would be fun to go to a few games though.”  We were young and didn’t have any kids back then (or any money) so we thought it would be a fun thing to do that wouldn’t cost a lot.  This was when everything changed for me and my love for the game was re-ignited. Sunday April 24, 2005 was officially my first game back.  The first game of our shiny new six game flex pack we had just purchased.  Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays against Sidney Ponson and the Baltimore Orioles.  I had heard about this Halladay guy and how great he was, so I was excited.  Although I soon wondered what all of the fuss was about.  Halladay gave up six runs over six innings including home runs to Melvin Mora and Sammy Sosa.  Sosa ended up going deep twice that game in an effort to silence the Toronto faithful who had come armed with anti-Sosa, anti-steroid and corked bat signs seen all around the ball park.  It was not Halladay’s best outing.  Lucky for me it was the first of many Halladay starts we would attend and I am pretty sure the only one I ever witnessed live where he would give up more than three earned runs.   

Halladay very quickly became not only my favourite pitcher, but my favourite player as well.  He was one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen.  His work ethic, his character and his dedication to be one of the best is nothing short of admirable.  I admired him.  If you know me at all you don’t have to look far to see this.  There is an autographed photo of him hanging in my office.  An autographed jersey and baseball on display in my home.  Numerous photos, cards, bobbleheads, collectibles etc.  Even my car has a Toronto Blue Jays license plate with Halladay’s number 32 proudly displayed on it.  I loved watching him pitch.  Hell, I loved watching him warm up.

On November 7 I received a text shortly after 3:30 in the afternoon from a friend.  Did you hear?  A plane registered to Roy Halladay has crashed in the Gulf.  I started searching for details online and while searching my phone continued to go off with text messages, BBM's and Facebook Messenger messages from family, friends and acquaintances asking if I'd heard the news.  Did they know how many people?  Had I heard if it was him yet?  Do they know what happened yet?  It was heart wrenching.  I immediately thought of his young family and hoped it wasn't him.   Later that afternoon during the press conference we all learned the worst.  

Now I’m a little late to the party here.  Roy Halladay passed away over two weeks ago and his memorial service was last week.  The truth is it took me a while to process my thoughts and how I felt about this.  By now we have all heard what happened, so I don’t want to revisit that.  I don’t want to bore you by rhyming off stats, awards and achievements that he earned because we have all heard them before and we already know how great he was.  Any Google or YouTube search can quickly provide you with any highlights or statistical information you could ever want on Roy Halladay.

If you haven’t watched his memorial service I highly recommend that you do.  If you have then you have heard from many different accounts, not only what kind of player he was, but also what kind of man he was off of the field.  I didn’t know him personally, so I don’t think it is fair that I talk about that either.  What I do want to tell you about is what Roy Halladay meant to me as a fan, how he impacted me and what I will always remember him for.

I remember his curve ball.  My word, what a curve ball.  If you have never had the pleasure of watching Roy Halladay pitch please do yourself a favour and Google Roy Halladay highlights.  Even if you are not a baseball fan, you can appreciate what he could do.  I once told a friend of mine that I could sit and watch Halladay throw curve balls all day.  There wouldn’t even have to be a batter there.  I would just simply watch in awe as he sailed in that pitch at letter height and then have it drop like a stone over the plate.  The weekend after Halladay passed away, a good friend of mine who lives in a different city came to visit us at our home just to hang out and catch up.  The conversation turned to Halladay passing away and he mentioned that he had never seen Roy pitch.  My nine year old son immediately said “Oh, you gotta see this” so we quickly pulled up a Halladay highlight video on YouTube.  “My goodness” my friend exclaimed “How did anyone even hit that?”  The simple answer:  When Halladay was on, you didn’t hit it.

I remember being in attendance when A.J. Burnette returned to Toronto after opting out of his contract with the Jays and signing with the Yankees in the offseason.  Halladay schooled him.  Throwing a complete game allowing just five hits and leading the Jays to a 5-1 win.   The fans ate it up.  It really was an experience to be there.

I remember his competitiveness.  One time Stefanie and I got to really see what Halladay could do.   Whenever Halladay pitched, he pitched efficiently and worked quickly.  He always had.  That’s one of the reasons why he was able to throw as many complete games as he did.  However sometimes inducing lots of ground balls doesn’t mean getting outs.  At this particular game Halladay was on the wrong end of four close calls on the field in one inning and there had been others before then in the previous innings.  After the fourth of these calls (which was obviously a blown call), Halladay was visibly frustrated.  This, of course, was long before video replay was a thing.  So, rather than continuing to get hosed by the umpires, Halladay simply decided to get the batters himself.  He struck guys out.  Repeatedly.  He struck out the next three batters that inning.  Struck out two the following inning.  Two more the inning after that and then struck out the side the next inning.  Even though he lost that start, it was amazing to watch.  He was a machine.  He really showed that if he wanted to go out there and dominate by beating hitters that he could.   He chose to put balls in play to get outs.

He was tough.  I was there when Kevin Mench hit a line drive back to the mound that broke Roy’s shin.   Halladay picked up the ball and made a perfect throw from his ass to first base to get the out.  Another time Nyjer Morgan hit a ball off of Halladay’s head and it was later learned that the first thing Halladay said to Rod Barajas when he got to him was “Did we get the out?”  For the record, they did get the out.

I will never forget the autographs that we were able to obtain from him.  He signed autographs like he played the game.  Like he was in a zone.  The first time we had the pleasure was at a game in Cleveland in 2007.   Stef and I had taken a sign with us that read “Roy Halladay may I please have your autograph”.   When we reached the park we went down to field level and soon spotted Halladay shagging fly balls during batting practice.  When he finally looked our way we held the sign high and it was evident that he turned and read it.  Didn’t acknowledge it, but had clearly looked in our direction and stopped on the sign.  Then immediately snapped back to looking forward and paying attention to the hitters again.  I was afraid we had picked the wrong time and didn’t expect him to come over.  He did.  On his way off of the field he came to where we were standing and we each got our photo ready.  He reached us and we greeted him but didn’t get a response.  He saw that we each had a photo, and he very carefully took the photo from Stef and signed it.  Then signed a few other items for other fans and was gone as quickly as he had arrived.  Many of us greeted him and asked how he was etc.  However the only words the man spoke were “you’re welcome” after each thank you he received.  The second time was an organized signing, but wasn’t much different from the first.  Again, Halladay was in “the zone”.  This was at a game honouring some Blue Jays pitching alumni during the 2016 season.  Pat Hentgen, Duane Ward, Mike Timlin, Juan Guzman, Dave Steib, Tom Henke and Roy Halladay were each there.  Halladay was at a table by himself down at the end.  I approached him and greeted him with a “Hi Roy, good to see you”.  No response.  I handed him my jersey and he very carefully took it from me.  “How are you doing today?”  I asked.  No response.  Instead, he was staring very intensely at the jersey.  With great care, he took his sharpie and slowly and carefully signed his name below the letters and above the number.  It is a great autograph.  He inspected his work, and only when he decided he was satisfied with it, handed the jersey back to me.  “Thank you so much Roy, have a great day” I said.   “You’re welcome” was the first and only response I received from him.   When Halladay had a job to do, any job it seems, he was going to do the best job he could do.

I will never forget Roy Halladay for his love of Toronto.  For signing here and avoiding free agency more than once when he could have gotten more on the open market.  Then when he finally did leave, he signed a deal with Philadelphia for much less than some of his counter parts did that same off-season.  All because it was where he wanted to play and have a shot to pitch in the post season.  It was another testament to his character.  He wasn’t in the game to make as much money as he possibly could.

I remember the first time I saw him in person in a Phillies jersey.  Four of us went to Pittsburgh to watch the Phillies and Pirates play two games.  A good friend and I wore our Halladay Jays jerseys with Phillies caps to both games.  We took a pretty good verbal beating from the Pittsburgh fans.  They didn’t understand that we were Halladay fans, only that we were two idiots wearing Jays jerseys to a Pirates/Phillies game.  It was worth it though, an experience I won’t forget. 

I have so many memories.  I remember being in Toronto and watching Halladay and Buehrle go toe to toe in a game that lasted only an hour and fifty some minutes.  It was a gem.  I remember watching Halladay and Scott Kazmir also throw a game that was also under two hours.  Between the two of them they only gave up 3 hits if I remember correctly.  I remember his first perfect game on May 29, 2010.  I was watching on television when he threw his no hitter in the playoffs against the Reds that same season.  I will never forget game five between the Phillies and Cardinals.  Halladay and his good friend Chris Carpenter pitched one of the best games I have ever had the pleasure of watching.  Two aces in their prime going head to head.  I loved every second of it.

So really what I am saying is:  Thank you Roy.  Thank you for everything you did for the city of Toronto.  Thank you for all of the charity work that you did while you were here, and throughout your life.  Thank you for everything you did for the fans.  Thank you for all of the wonderful memories.  Thank you. 

I have a feeling that if Halladay were here and I could thank him in person exactly what his response would be.  The only words he ever spoke to me.  A very plain and simple:

“You’re Welcome”


Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Wins Keep Coming!

What is better than nine wins in a row?  Well, I'd say nine wins in a row which include series sweeps of both the Boston Red Sox and that pesky team from Tampa Bay that always seems to have Toronto's number would be better.

The Jays swept Tampa for the first time since August 6 - 9 2010. 

When I sat down to write this, I started to recap the series in Tampa game by game.  But you all know where to find the box scores and have all either watched the games, seen the highlights, or read the box scores.  So let me just touch on some real positive signs from this series.

First and foremost:  This team is never out of it.  When I had the chance to talk Blue Jays with Eric Rosenhek of Definitely Not Jays Talk a few weeks ago, he asked me what were some positive things I liked about this team.  I told him that I really liked that this team never seems to be out of ball games.  Their offense this year is that good. In fact, it is reminiscent of the 1993 team that was also never out of the game, some days despite their pitching.  The first two games against Tampa was another testament to that.  On Monday the Jays put up ten runs on sixteen hits and on Tuesday another nine runs on thirteen hits, with six home runs over those two games.  The Jays are a very exciting offensive team to watch. Even in times when they are trailing late in the game, we all stay glued to our screens because we know that on any given night in any inning, this team can come back and still win the game.  Even if its a bunt and an over throw that get the job done.

Second:  Edwin Encarnacion is an absolute monster right now.  He now has 14 home runs in the month of May and in his last twelve games, he's batting .340 with two doubles, 10 homers and 15 RBIs.  After a slow start that had people worried (which it shouldn't have, traditionally he starts slowly.  In fact, a few seasons ago it was this day, May 29, that he hit his first homer of the year) he has really come into his own this month.  Like him or not, Edwin is a lot of fun to watch right now.  If you do like him, then hurry up and get voting to get this guy into the MLB All-Star game.  He is not even close to a start at either first base or DH. He needs your votes.

One last thing:  Liam Hendricks.  Two starts and two solid outings from this young man thus far.  I know last night the twitter feed was abuzz with folks saying that he wasn't fooling anybody.  Well that may have been the case, but even if it was he once again got the job done.  Through his two starts he is 1 and 0 with a 2.31 ERA and a 0.771 WHIP with 8 K's and 3 walks over 11 and 2/3 innings.  I will still stand here and tell you that this team NEEDS more starting pitching to continue to threaten down the stretch.  But any time you can get performances like this from guys like Hendricks it is a huge boost for this club.  They are going to need outings like this from him and probably other guys down on the farm to make it to October baseball this fall.

The Jays will try to match last seasons ten game winning streak when KC comes into Toronto for a four game series over the weekend.   R.A. Dickey and James Shields tonight.  Should be a fun one!

I will be watching, or at least paying attention once again from Arizona.

- Rob

James Shields is 6 and 1 against Toronto over the last three seasons and has been very tough for some of the Blue Jays better hitters.  Melky Cabrera is just 5 for 27 lifetime against Shields.  Jose Reyes is 2 for 10 and Edwin Encarnacion just 6 for 29.  Jose Bautista may be the man to watch tonight.  He is 9 for 29 with 4 HR vs Shields over his career.  Hopefully his success continues and contributes to another Toronto win.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Six In A Row!


Last month I wrote “Why This Year Was the Best Shot For the Blue Jays…. & How They Blew It”.  I implied in that article that if the Blue Jays had pitching, they would win.  Well, turns out when the Blue Jays get good pitching, they win.  Period.  Six solid starting pitching performances in a row and they’ve won six straight.  Not only have they won six straight, they did it against the Boston Red Sox and the team that held the best record in the Majors coming into Toronto in the Oakland Athletics.  The starting pitching over the past week has been pretty good. 

Over those six wins, Toronto’s starting pitching has gone 37.2 innings giving up 10 earned runs and striking out 29 while walking 11.  However if you take out Happ’s start at the beginning of that streak and look at the last five starts, then you have 33.2 innings pitched, 6 earned runs, 23 strike outs and 9 walks.  That’s an era of 1.60 over those last 5 starts.  What has been even more of a positive sign than the rotation however has been the bullpen.  When this bullpen is not overworked, it is effective.  Over these last 6 games, Toronto’s bullpen has thrown 14.1 innings (approx 2.1 ip per game on average) and has allowed 5 earned runs, with 10 strike outs and just 3 walks.  Which looks even better when we take out Esmil Rogers, who is no longer with the club.  Without Rogers, the bullpen pitched 14 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs.  Over that six game span.  What is also encouraging:  1 hr allowed by the bullpen in 14 innings pitched at Rogers Centre.

When the pitching is present, this team will win.  The problem is, I still don’t think we have enough starting pitching to get us through the season.  We got a great performance from Hendriks and hopefully he can build on that.  But he is young and we should expect some regression from him.  Also don’t forget that Hutchison isn’t going to be able to pitch all year.  One year removed from Tommy John, they will need to shut him down at some point. 

I know it sounds like I’m playing a broken record or beating a dead horse here, but I really wish that Anthopoulos had delivered on his promise of more starting pitching in the offseason.  If we had one or two more arms in this rotation right now, I feel The Jays would be in a much better position to keep fighting to stay atop the AL East. 

What we need to do as Jays fans, is hope that this team is still in top spot come deadline day.  Then maybe they will get something done to bring in at least one more arm.  I just hope we still have enough trade chips still to get something accomplished at the deadline.  I think it’s safe to say that we are no longer going to get Jeff Smardzija from the Cubs for just Stroman and Sanchez. Not with the year Smardzija and Stroman have each had respectively. 

Toronto hopes to get to seven in a row when Tampa Bay comes to town tonight.  Hutch gets the ball for Toronto and Tampa will counter with Canadian native Erik Bedard.

Here’s hoping that the pitching can keep it up.  Because watching this team win sure is a lot of fun.

- Rob

Navan Ontario native Erik Bedard has been having a bit of a bounce back season this year with Tampa Bay and is having a great month of May.  In four starts he has 2 wins and one loss allowing only 2 earned runs over 23 innings with 18 K’s.  As someone who follows all Canadian born players in MLB, I am excited to see him pitching so well.  Having said that, I hope he isn’t too good tonight.  ;)

Friday, May 9, 2014

Definitely Not Jays Talk

I had the opportunity to be a guest on Definitely Not Jays Talk with Eric Rosenhek this week to talk about the Blue Jays.

If you've never been to his site, you should check it out. All of the episodes of the Definitely Not Jays Talk are worth a listen. It is a show by Jays fans made for Jays fans.

Here is the link if you want to check it out:

http://dnjt.wordpress.com/

- Rob