Ex-Jays in the Playoffs – All pitch, no hit

In Hum and Chuck’s handy Glossary of Terms, there’s a mention of an entertaining way to pass the time once the playoffs start and the Jays aren’t there (i.e. pretty much annually.)

Ex-Jays in the Playoffs - A fun game to play at home to drown out Tim McCarver's ramblings. Try to pick out all the Ex-Jays who are playing in the playoffs, make a team out of them and decide whether the Ex-Jay team could beat the Current Jays team. Note that the number of Ex-Jays in the playoffs always outnumbers the current Jays in the playoffs.

Hey, we're game.

A quick look through the rosters, and we can find barely enough players to field a team. There's almost a full pitching staff there, but the hitting would make even the 2007 Mickey Brantley offense look like the Big Red Machine.

First, the Rotation:

Kelvim Escobar, LAA
Ted Lilly, CHC
Roger Clemens, NYY
Doug Davis, ARI
Steve Trachsel, CHC

That's a pretty good collection of arms, but we'd still give the edge to the Jays based on this season's performance. Edge: 2007 Jays

The Bullpen:

Justin Speier, LAA
Mike Timlin, BOS
Brandon Lyon, ARI
Francisco Rosario, PHI
Scott Eyre, CHC

These guys are all pretty useful seventh-inning pitchers, but ultimately, there's no real closer there and with Speier's bad health (the Jays dodged a bullet there)and declining returns for Timlin and Eyre, it's really not much of a contest. Edge: 2007 Jays.

The Lineup

Orlando Hudson 2B, ARI
Jayson Werth LF, PHI
Eric Hinske, RF, BOS
Casey Blake, 3B, CLE
Bobby Kielty, CF, BOS
Chris Gomez, 1B, CLE
Royce Clayton, SS, BOS
Kevin Cash, C, BOS

Sure, you can dispute our lineup construction, but this is pretty weak. We definitely like Hudson and Blake, and Werth was good for the Phils this season, but this offense is made up mostly of guys who are eating up their last chance before they become AAA veterans. Edge: 2007 Jays.

So the moral of the story is: the 2007 Jays would totally have won the World Series this year. Are we right?

Or maybe the real moral of the story is: That there is no glaring example of a player that the Jays gave up on towards whom the T.O. media douches can point as an example of J.P.'s ineptitude. Then again, we're sure that your Dicks and Simmons can always find a third of an inning performance from Lyon, and drop in a "Brandon Lyon, who J.P. shamefully tossed on the scrap heap..."