Is it too early to fret about Alex Rios?

Back in January, we figured that the lynchpin of the Jays offense this year would be a certain corner outfielder who, at one point, was viewed as the future of the franchise. And while we couldn't be happier with the performances of Travis Snider and Adam Lind thus far, we're getting a bit antsy about the at bats of that other corner outfielder.

It's a given that it is way too early to freak out about Alex Rios, especially given that he's still managed to score six times and drive in another six so far. But there's something about the way Rios looks at the plate that has made us sit uncomfortably in the first week or so of the season.

Rios is a lanky and gangly assembly of appendages, and so far this year, it seems like all four of his limbs seem to be operating independently of one another. When compared to the economical swings of the players around him in the lineup (especially Rolen, Hill, Snider and Scutaro), Rios looks like a mess when coming through the hitting zone. His hands go up and down and everywhere, and his balance seems totally off. At times, it looks like he's falling backwards in his swing rather than coming to the ball.

In the field, we've said that Rios can at times look like a blisfully oblivious gazelle. At the plate this season, he looks like a gazelle on ice.

So with the standard caveats (small sample size, it's early, lots of baseball to play), we're hoping that is all stuff that can be worked out. We're certain that the magical mystical troika of hitting sages in the Jays staff are already hard at work showing Rios the way and the light, but it's just a little nerve wracking to see him try to figure things out while hitting in the three-hole.

And we know that Cito would never move him out of his spot in the lineup, because that might hurt his tender feelings.

What's 42 multiplied by inifinity?
We love that MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, and that they go out of their way to single out his contribution to the game. But wasn't it overkill yesterday to see every single uniform festooned with Robinson's now-iconic number 42? We recognize that it might seem like a petty quibble, but in the three games that we watched yesterday, we were totally lost trying to figure out who was who.

We guess that the patchwork of the past few years wasn't exactly working with a few players on every team wearing 42. In addition, there was the uncomfortable issue that the initiative was at times serving to underscore the fact of how few African Americans are actually playing baseball when teams were scraping to find someone to wear the number on that day. On top of that, there's the whole issue of who "deserves" to wear the number, and whether if that runs down racial lines, which is totally counterproductive.

Our suggestion would be that one player on each team get the honour of wearing 42 on that day, and that the honour be bestowed on them by Robinson's family based on some criteria of social responsibility. Wouldn't that make the number special again?

And the hits just keep on coming

So here's the question of the evening (before we retire in a 'Tussin fueled haze of bliss): At what point do we turn the page on the conventional wisdom that the Jays would have a lousy offense this season?

That question occurred to us as we were watching homer after homer leave the yard in yet another ring-a-ding-dinger fest. We get that these are still early days, and that there's another 25 weeks left in the season. But with the Jays pounding out four homers and twelve runs in a 12-2 rout of the Twins, we're wondering if anyone other than us is noticing.

Because, really, any man, woman or child that fails to recognize the awesome power of this immaculately managed offensive juggernaut runs the risk of running themselves into a big-time Voodoo Whammy(!) that is sure to leave a mark.

Tomorrow morning on the blog
Hopefully we'll be a little less shakey, feverish and medicated (damned Venezuelan Mamba Flu!). Also, a thought on Jackie Robinson Day, and irrational early concerns over a certain offensive linchpin.

Ever forget your Lunch Box?

That sucks, and it is frustrating. Because you know that while you're there starving, there's all sorts of powerful, nourishing, tasty goodness in your Lunch Box, wherever you left it. But you can't enjoy all that your Lunch Box has to offer, because you're an idiot who left it on the bench...or wherever you left it.

Kinda seems like Cito might have had that sort of thing happen to him tonight.

That's what Travis Snider thinks of your small ball

When it comes time to actually take the wrecking ball to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, someone might consider giving Travis Snider a call.

Snider, who a day earlier was asked to square around and bunt over runners in an 8-4 loss to the Clevelanders, crushed two mammoth blasts into the far reaches of the aging stadium, leading the Jays to an 8-6 victory over the Twins. So the moral of the story, once again, is that small ball sucks.

(Take that, Juan Pierre Fan Club!)

When Snider was asked to give himself up to help move Rod Barajas' big slow butt up 90 feet, we turned to the father-in-law and said that we hoped that this is the last time we had to see nonsense like that. And while we mind don't that Magical Baseball Sage Cito Gaston has decided to take a slow route with Snider and make him earn his Major League bona fides, we're pleased as punch that The Great Big Giant Pasty White Hope^TM has already begun to make the case for a spot further up the lineup and a green light at the plate.

Where's Tomo Ohka these days?
As if the Jays didn't have enough worry over the state of their rotation, Jesse Litsch walked off the mound with "tightness" in his elbow. Given what happened with Shaun Marcum after his bout with elbow tightness last year, we're more than a little worried about what the Jays will have to do if Litsch is going to miss significant time.

It begs the question: Is there anything left out there on the scrap heap of starting pitchers? Because off the top of our head, we can't think of anyone who would do much better than just setting up a tee at home plate.

Also, doesn't this lend a bit of credence to Keith Law's notion that Brad Arnsberg, while being a wizard of a pitching coach, is also murder on young arms?

Around the Minors
The Las Vegas 51s' affiliation with the Blue Jays is off to an inauspicious start, with the Triple-A club going 0-4 out of the gate. If you've got trouble with your blood pressure, we don't suggest looking at the team's pitching stats to start the season, because there are some gaudy ERAs after the first series in the thin air of Colorado Springs. For the first time in Tao of Stieb history, allow us to use the following caveat: "The PCL is a hitters league."

On the plus side, 1B Randy Ruiz drove in eight in the first series, with 14 total bases and an OPS of 1.268, while Voodoo Joe Inglett is rocking a 1.000 OPS.

In New Hampshire, the Fisher Cats are off to a 3-2 start, with Springtime hero Brad Emaus driving in eight to start the season.

In Dunedin, the Advanced-A Jays are 1-3 to start. Diminutive reliever Tim Collins - a prospect discovered by J.P. Ricciardi's dad on the fields of Worcester, Mass., has stood out so far, striking out seven batters in four and a third innings while walking none and giving up a single hit.

Thanks to the Ack
While some in the comments figured that the Ack spent too much time in the comments of the Drunk Jays Fans, we tip our cap to our colleague for coming in and holding the fort in an extra long relief outing over the holidays. Great job Ack...now go and put some ice on those blogging fingers, because we'll need you back soon.

Quickly

Travis Snider.....incredible.

Adam Lind and Scott Rolen.....scorching.

Scott Downs.....clutch.

BJ Ryan..........................nails?

Jason Frasor would like you to meet someone

Jason Frasor has always seemed like a lonely guy. Summoned from the 'pen, he's only ever really had two friends he could count on. His best friend, the fastball, is a loyal fella, but a little too straight and predictable. Then you have his buddy the breaking ball, who's just a little too inconsistent to count on. This offseason, Frasor decided to add to his circle of friends, and today was the official unveiling.

Major League Baseball, meet Jason Frasor's changeup.

Aaaaaand end hyperbole. Ok, so I'm overstating (but that's what I do), and it's not like this pitch is going to turn Frasor into the second coming of Trevor Hoffman. But did you see how convincingly Frasor told the Cleveland Indians comeback to go fuck itself this afternoon? If nothing else, this outing has probably gained Frasor a more prominent role in The Cito's bullpen - but then again, there was nowhere to go but up for our guy Frasor. He only made the team because Jeremy Accardo had options remaining, and before today, Frasor's job was to push the mop in 5+ run games. More troubling for Blue Jay fans is the scenario that unfolded leading up to Frasor's big spot.....

What to do with BJ Ryan? Interesting discussions in the (wildly popular) game thread over at DJF. Several commenters, perhaps rightly so, are calling for an end to BJ's reign of terror as the Jays' closer. I tend to agree with resident drunk Stoeten and think you still hand the ball to Ryan when the next save opportunity arises. I'm not going to lie to you, I hope that save situation is of the 3-run lead variety as opposed to a one run nailbiter, but I think he's still the closer....for now.

His velocity is largely there (87-89 today), but the slider and location don't appear to be. Flawed logic alert - but where else are you going to pitch him? Middle relief? Mop up duty? Do you think BJ has the makeup to excel in those situations? I think you send him back out with the lead in the ninth, and let him pitch his way out of the role.

That may very well happen, but for now, I agree with The Cito's take:

"I would run him out there again," Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "You run him out there as many times as you can until he starts to hurt the team."

Ahh, The Gastonian era. Anyone else enjoying this?

Better get used to it

I was going to title this post "Midnight Confessions" (or something equally (h)acktastic), given the approximate seven hour timeframe start to finish of the opener in Cleveland, but I thought that sounded a little too Penthouse letter-y. Actually, given the way the 8th inning unfolded, maybe that would be an appropriate title. Er... nevermind, let's stick with the rollercoaster theme.

No friends, I'm not suggesting the home nine will be rolling up crooked numbers all season on the way to a 161-1 finish. I'm not suggesting Adam Lind will continue his 97 HR-356 RBI pace. I'm not even suggesting the lineup we see today will be the same as the lineup we see on June 1st.

What I am suggesting, is that with the makeup of the roster, this is bound to be a season of highs and lows. At the moment, we are experiencing the highest of highs - at least as euphoric as one can be 5 games into a season. The starting pitching has been good enough to win. The offence has come through with timely hits in all the right situations. The bullpen has closed the door when the team really needed a shutdown inning.

The young building blocks are "playing to their potential", and with a few exceptions (I'm looking in your general direction, Vern Wells), the veterans are coming through. And can I tell you something? I'm enjoying the shit out of this.

Oh, there will be lows. Adam Lind and Travis Snider will slump, trying to swing their way out of 0'fers by chasing soft stuff down and away. Lyle Overbay will look foolish against tough lefties. Vernon will slam many bats in disgust after infield pop-ups on just-missed fastballs. One or two of the kids in the rotation will blow the fuck up and make the journey to Vegas. The bullpen might even give up a lead or two along the way (seems unlikely, though).

They'll all go through it. Except for Roy Halladay and Scott Rolen, of course, because Doc doesn't bleed, and because I believe in Scott Rolen. But you see, I'm not going to sit around and wait for that other shoe to drop. Fuck that. They say the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, and you have to keep the highs and lows in check - but I'm pretty sure "they" were referring to the guys on the field and not their fans.

The Blue Jays have started the season by winning 4 out of 5. That makes me happy. Pennant.

A two-sentence post on.....rain delays

Nothing sucks the life out of a Good Friday matinee like an old fashioned Cleveland rain delay. But how about that Kevin Millar, huh?

There go our dreams of 162-0

Maybe people should have pulled back on all the talk about the Jays' record for wins to start the season until, you know, maybe at least three? Because when you start to go down that road too far, talking about the 1992 team's six win streak to start the year, you're really setting yourself up for a Voodoo Whammy(!) in the form of Miguel Cabrera's bat.

We could pick apart last night's performance in the 5-1 loss to the Tigers by both the offense and the pink-round-efficient pitching, but frankly, it's a little too early to start taking the micro and blowing it up into the macro. There were a few bad pitches and a few bad at bats, but we're not going to lose our shit about them until they become an actual trend.

Give it at least until the end of the weekend.

Let's hear it for the bullpen boys!
We've kicked Jason Frasor around a bit over the past few years, but he looked pretty great last night. In fact - and we hope we're not getting way too far ahead of ourselves - it crossed our mind that Frasor and his newfound circle-change might actually be a candidate for the closer job if someone else in the bullpen isn't able to fulfill those duties.

Brian Tallet -who has a mustache that would look right at home in the 1984 Blue Jays team picture -looked really good last night in his inning. We know that people keep talking about him as a surplus lefty arm and perfect trade bait, but we're inclined to think that this is The Year of The Tallet^TM. You don't want to mess with that sort of good ju-ju.

Apologies and Kudos to the Mainstream Media
After excoriating the hockey-centric sports media in Canada yesterday, just watch us now as we backpeddle. Or at least tip our cap to Sportsnet, who appear to be committed to a half-hour JaysConnected pre-game show this season. We're not exactly Brad Fay fans (that guy's like a can of mousse reading the autocue), but Barry Davis and Sam Consentino come off as actual baseball fans with a sincere interest in the game.

We'd suggest putting Davis and Consentino together before the game to have them chat it up amongst themselves on the state of the Blue Jays and what's happening around baseball. For away games, we'd see putting Davis in the studio (give him a phone book to sit on), then do a two-ender with Consentino on site. We'd also suggest forgoing the interviews with the players, because that sort of thing is as dull as shit now that they are media-trained within an inch of their sanity.

We'll still go to bed dreaming of the MLB Network, but this is progress. And as Lloyd the Barber quite rightly pointed out yesterday in response to our temper tantrum, we'll likely watch more games on TV and see more baseball content this year than our parents would have seen in a decade.

Cripes, we flipped back and forth last night between three games AFTER the Jays game was done, so we probably shouldn't put on the poormouth as much as we do.

This afternoon's affair
The getaway day matchup between Ricky Romero and Rick Porcello at 12:35 this afternoon should be interesting. As has been noted, it is the first time in history that two first round picks make their MLB debut against one another.

Also, we should expect to see a few new faces in the lineup, as Mike Barrett and Kevin Millar should be in the lineup.

Pass on the Dutchie (and the Hedger too)

It might be a little early in the season for this rant, but we'll launch into it nevertheless.

Last night, as we settled down for our evening slumber, we flipped on the tube and headed up to the 400's on our digital dial to see if we could catch some baseball highlights. What we encountered was the following: Hockeycentral, Hockeycentral, blacked out hockey game, blacked out hockey game, Sportscentre and WWE Raw.

(Oh, and in case you were needing to find out which half of the NHL teams are going to the playoffs, you could always check in the 24-hour hockey channel, the NHL Network. But we'll come back to that point in a moment.)

Left with little other choice, we sat through a good twenty minutes of Sportscentre, or roughly just short of the amount of time that it would take for our head to explode as a result of watching TSN's signature clipdown.

Look, we get it. Canadians love hockey, and they just can't possibly get enough of it. That's fine. We can live with that. But what kills us is the way that the sports channels in Canada deal with baseball. You're lucky if you get more than a handful of games in the run of a show, and most of them are cut into 45 second packs that remove everything except for a scoring play, a strikeout and an error and give you little or no sense of what actually happened in the game.

Frankly, a meaningless scripted punch-up between two palookas who toil on the fourth lines of NHL teams gets more screen time than most ball games. And of course, we always get the full analysis of said fight from the Hedger-o-Matic Fight Highlight Script Generator:

"The two heavyweights square off...Palooka gets in a couple of solid rights before Jabroni gets back into it...We'll give the decision to Palooka, and that scrap inspires his team..."

And of course, you have to throw from this nonsense over to the panel of a half dozen hockey analysts and "insiders", who fill the air with so much blah-blah-blah, ultimately signifying nothing.

So fine. If TSN and Sportsnet and the Score and everyone else feels this is the only way that they can continue to sell putrid beer and pickup trucks to the throngs of latent homosexual hockey fans, then so be it. But how about an option for those of us who want to see some in-depth coverage of baseball? How about something for those of us who want to see what's going on around the Majors, along with some real honest to goodness analysis?

Of course, there is the promise that some time in the future, we might possibly get the MLB Network, or Rogers' Canadian version, the already licensed Baseball Channel. But given the current state of Canada's media industry and the dried up advertising resources, the chances of Rogers moving forward on a launch for their service seems remote, and unfortunately, the MLB Network won't get carried here until Rogers gives up on their license. That could literally take years.

And not that we want to be that guy who rails against the CRTC for denying us the pleasures of ESPN, but seriously, what we wouldn't give to sit down and watch Baseball Tonight. To our American readers, who are probably sick to death of listening to John Kruk's inanities on the World Wide Leader, you have no idea how much we envy you. Yours is truly a land of plenty.

Sadly, we have to come to grips with the fact that we'll have to wait until the Stanley Cup playoffs conclude sometime in mid-June before we get anything resembling actual baseball coverage in Canada. Groan.

A few quick thoughts on last night's game come-from-behind barnburner
-It's interesting to watch Scott Rolen dig in with his subtly tweaked batting stance. He looks a bit more upright in the box, and seems to be getting to the ball as quickly as ever, as evidenced by his eighth inning blast last night. Now if only we could dissuade him from the Coldplay entrance music.

-We keep waiting for Aaron Hill to show signs of...well, something less than good. Thankfully, he has looked great in the field (notwithstanding last night's botched tag play), and he's hitting the ball as hard as he did in his 47-double 2007 campaign.

-When B.J. Ryan struck out Marcus Thames in the ninth last night, Jerry Howarth made the call that he threw a "country fastball" by the Tigers' DH. We're not exactly sure what a country fastball is, but we like the sound of it. And if for the Beej, a country fastball is one that comes close to 90 MPH, then all the better.

Walkoff madness!

Sometimes, a great game kinda sneaks up on you. aybe it was the lack of alcohol, but we barely realized what a great game we were listening to until the eighth inning.

(Then again, we're still sweating out last night's pints. And here we thought we were being pretty moderate for the opener.)

After having the bats taken out of their hands (yet again) by Edwin Jackson, the Jays finally broke out against former Jay Brandon Lyon, and pulled out a 5-4 walkoff victory.

More tomorrow on Scott Rolen's awesomeness, poor musical choices, and country fastballs.

Oh, and before we forget...
Voodoo Whammy!

That's just an unfortunate choice of words...

Caught this on last night's highlights, and we're happy to see that it has been captured for posterity. (h/t to Best Week Ever)

Other quick and dirty stuff
-Apparently, Pete Gammons went off on Jays fans on ESPN. Anyone know what he said?

-Is this guy going to be the next President of the Blue Jays? The NatPost's Jeremy Sandler says the Jays are looking at the Suns' Rick Welts for the post. A very impressive resumé, but really? Another Phoenix guy in Toronto?

-At least the Tigers fan who commented here has a bit of a sense of humour about last night's tomfoolery: "Who ever the heck it was throwing those baseballs at Anderson out in left, the Tigers need to sign him quick!"

-Geddy Lee. At the Jays opener. In a Strong Bad hat. Awesome.

-Finally, this awesome video which confirms two things: Chris Berman is just awful, and George Bell had some wicked quick hands. Skip ahead to 0:48 to see the Jays highlights. (A Big League fist bump to Big League Stew for finding this, because we fondly remember that game like it was...well, something less than 21 years ago.)

There's no need to worry about Doc

It was funny to hear the first two callers on JaysTalk last night complaining and worrying about the team's fortunes after they'd just finished cleaning the turf with the Tigers in a 12-5 win. As Wilner quite rightly pointed out, people should probably tone down the negativity on a night when the Jays opened up the season on exactly the right note.

Some of the concern voiced was over Roy Halladay's seventh inning, where the Tigers put up four runs after Doc had been pretty much masterful all night. From what we saw, Halladay had a bit of trouble with his location while pitching from the stretch, but that's to be expected to a certain degree.

Halladay, because of his unspeakable awesomeness, had pitched almost entirely from the windup all night to that point. Pitching from the stretch late in the first real game of the year, Doc threw two pitches to Guillen and Inge that were up and over the plate, and they got tagged. But seriously, let's not lose our shit about this.

The Amazing Sniderman
Can we all agree that Travis Snider is the best number nine hitter in the game? People like Jeff Blair talk about Snider squaring up on the ball, and last night provided two picture perfect examples of what happens when he does so. Though we got to see him last year, we are impressed all anew with how economical Snider's swing is, how quickly he gets his bat through the hitting zone and how well balanced he looks when he swings.

Snider isn't a swing-from-his-ass power hitter in the Matt Stairs mould, and that augurs well for his ability to remain consistent at the plate. We get the impression that Snider will be the sort of hitter who will hit good pitches, as opposed to gripping and ripping at mistakes.

A Stern Word for Douchebag Fans
As Papa Tao used to say to us when he was starting a talk like this: "We've got a bone to pick with you."

There's nothing wrong with enthusiasm, and there's nothing wrong with having a bit of drunken debaucherous superfan fun at the game. But there is one - AND ONLY ONE - legitimate reason to throw something on the field at a baseball game, and there is only one reason to cheer on someone who throws shit on the field at a baseball game.

If the other team hits a home run and you catch or pick up the ball after it has ricocheted off of someone's melon, then - AND ONLY THEN - can you take the home run ball and toss it back on the field of play.

That's it. End of story.

Last night, the wise and sage old manager Jim Leyland took the actions of a few random d-bags and milked it to the hilt, putting the Jays magnificent opening night offensive explosion at risk. All those home runs and rallies you were cheering on? All would have been wiped from the record and the Jays would have had to forfeit the game.

Adam Lind's six ribbies? Toast. Sniderman's double and homer? Gone. Every Jay getting a hit? Forgotten.

And we hope you all realize that Toronto is getting a reputation as a city full of hooligans who can't help themselves from being idiots when they assemble in a large crowd. Big League Stew's Kevin Kaduk sent us a note on Twitter in the midst of the eighth inning madness asking: "What's with you Torontonians and big crowds? Leave Curtis Granderson alone!"

So for the love of god, show some goddamned self respect, pull yourself together and stop throwing your shit on the field on the field during games.

Understood?

The Unstoppable Adam Lind

Six RsBI on Opening Day is something that George Bell, Joe Carter and Carlos Delgado could never muster. It takes a man like Adam Lind to rip that shit out.

And without getting ahead of ourselves, didn't Lind just look like a man-sized DH on every one of those swings tonight? We'll grant that the Tigers bullpen wasn't the greatest, but Lind squared up on everything tonight.

Tomorrow morning: Waxing poetic on Travis Snider and an explanation for Doc's seventh inning.

Opening Day, Snow Day

Even the cold, damp temperatures and snowflakes the size of big fluffy white kitties won't dampen our enthusiasm for Opening Day in the 2009 Blue Jays season.

Nor will the inundation of naysayers who are lining up to talk in funereal tones about the state of baseball in Toronto now that the team seems - to them, at least - somehow down and out before the opening bell has rung. While some writers, like the Globe's Stephen Brunt, wonder what Jays fans have to root for this year given the strength of the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays in the powerful AL East, we think this is one of the most exciting years in recent memory.

This is a transformative year for the franchise, where many of the faces that will make up the next wave of the team's successes will begin to appear on the scene. This is the year where some of drafting decisions of J.P. Ricciardi and his staff will begin to bear fruit. At the outset, we will see Travis Snider and Adam Lind installed as regulars in the lineup and Ricky Romero in the rotation. By year's end, we will see Brad Mills and Brett Cecil take their turns in the rotation, and J.P. Arencibia should get at bats in the late summer. We may also see Robert Ray, who we still have pegged as the surprise arm who will emerge this year.

Catcher Brian Jeroloman and pitcher Zach Dials will also be worth tracking throughout this season, as will be first baseman David Cooper, making the quick jump to Double-A after being drafted last year. Brad Emaus - who was essentially an anonymous low-level prospect a year ago - is a year or two away, but offers extraordinary promise for the future.

In a way, this year's team reminds us of the 1984 team, where a group of players under the age of 25 began to emerge as the team's core for the better part of the next decade: Barfield, Bell, Moseby, Fernandez, Key, Gruber. The Jays were still Canada's second best team at that point, but the blueprint for the teams that would win pennants and compete every year for the next decade was set that year.

Certainly, if you are focussed on the the short term, and the wins and losses in the next six weeks or six months, you may be disappointed by the latest incarnation of the Blue Jays. But for those of us who have been following this narrative word for word, line by line and chapter after chapter, this is an incredibly exciting time.

Now, we watch the next heroes step out of the shadows and into the limelight. And if that is not the fodder for the fondest of dreams, than what is?