Sal's a pal and all, but...

...do we really want him as an everyday catcher when (not if) Zaunie goes down for a few weeks?

We've become increasingly fixated on Miguel Olivo, the free agent former Marlins catcher who swings and misses like nobody's business (.262 OBP, 123 Ks versus 12 walks in 122 games), but also has some pop (16 HRs, 60 RsBI) and can catch and throw.

Maybe Olivo isn't the linchpin to winning the division, but we clearly remember the weeks on end of watching Jason Phillips as the starting catcher, and we don't care to relive it.

Who were those guys?

Here's a quiz to test how big a Blue Jays fan you are In last night's 6-4 takedown of Johan Santana and the Twins, you wept tears of joy when:

a) Reed Johnson hit a homer in the first
b) The Jays turned a 3-2-5-6 double play
c) Frank Thomas hit his second homer of the night
d) A Jays catcher threw out a runner

If you picked d), then welcome to our club. Here's your monogrammed hanky.

The Jays' decision to cut loose Jason Phillips paid almost immediate dividends, when in the fourth inning, Curtis Thigpen threw out Nick Punto (Rod Black's favorite Twin, apparently).

The win pushed Santana's record to 2-4 versus the Jays, with a 4.84 ERA, which we can't possibly explain, but we'll take it in a second. We know that Jays fans are pretty reserved at the Rogers SkyDome (except when they are trying to start the wave, at which point they scream to the point of aneurysms), but we'd love to see the joint rain down a chorus of "Who's your daddy", as the Bronx fans did to Pedro Martinez back in 2003.

Is that too much to ask?

Good-bye Bug-eyed Guy

Yesterday, the Jays released catcher Jason Phillips. Phillips was picked up a couple of years back at the recommendation of manager John Gibbons as a backup to Greg Zaun. Of course, things changed very quickly in the catching department that offseason as JP Riccardi later made the surprise signing of Benji Molina. So until this year, Phillips saw limited action behind the plate. That was a good thing. He was less than adequate behind the plate having thrown out only 11% of baserunners this year. And at the plate he was barely over .200 this year in 50 games. He was slightly entertaining on the basepaths reminding us of an awkward preteen running around his kitchen in his sock feet.

So what does his release mean? Probably three things:

1. That Phillips sucks.


2. That the Jays are looking to next year by giving Curtis Thigpen a look.


3. That John Gibbon's player recommendations are no longer welcome. Remember what happened to the last management type in the Jays organization that brought in his own underachieving guy only to have it blow up in his face?

Why we (kinda) like Matt Stairs at first base

In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve taken our share of potshots at the Pride of Tay Creek, N.B. this year.

Mostly, we’ve been wary of seeing Stairs patrol the outfield given his limited speed, and the fact that his starts there have been at the expense of Alex Rios on a number of occasions. But given the fact that we’ll be seeing a lot of the big guy at first with Lyle Overbay on the shelf for four to six weeks, we’re trying to talk ourselves into liking the idea.

At the plate, Stairs has been more than respectable, with seven homers and 19 RsBI to go with a solid .936 OPS, although it’s important to remember that a good chunk of those numbers came over the span of nine at bats in Philly (3 HRs, 6 RsBI and 2.394 OPS). Stairs’ numbers versus lefties (3 for 15, one double and 2 driven in) would also lead us to believe that (God help us) Jason Phillips may get some starts at first.

Still, we’re vaguely optimistic that if the Jays are still five games out of the Wild Card with the myriad infirmities that have suffered thus far, then Stairs playing a corner infield spot shouldn’t spell the end of their season.

Another thought: Troy Glaus’ only professional experience at first was an inning in last year’s All Star Game. But given his limited mobility, shouldn’t he be taking ground balls at first, and preparing for the inevitability that his career will likely end up on the other side of the diamond?

A turning point?

We can only hope so.

After having a nice late spring nap while Jose Contreras rolled through six innings, the Jays were shaken to life by the most exciting play of the week (our apologies to Aaron Hill): Sal Fasano's bunt single.

And just as we were about to tear Mickey Brantley a new one once again, the Jays offense came to life. And not by swinging for the fences, mind you, but by showing patience at the plate and making the White Sox pen come to them.

Our Pal Sal, with a run scored and one driven in on his 2 for 3 day, was the sparkplug today. After his work with Halladay on Thursday - not to mention today's job with McGowan - we're voting for Sal to stay over the wholly mediocre Jason Phillips.

(Although we're not so deluded as to assume that we actually have any say in the decision...we're just offering our insight.)

Jason Phillips. Mad Masher.

When that goggle-eyed bastard Jason Phillips went deep, we knew we were in for an interesting night.

A.J.'s line (6.2 innings, 4 earned, 6 hits, 8Ks, 2 BBs) in tonight's 6-4 win over Baltimore probably flatters him, as he came close to unraveling in the fifth. But we'll give the Jays' Interim Ace credit for getting his stuff together and pulling through an efficient sixth, and passing the game over to the suddenly steady bullpen.

Baltimore's revamped and high-priced bullpen will offer an interesting contrast to the Jays' make-shift band of brigands in this series. From the 7th inning on, the Jays pitching staff ranks second in ERA (3.02), while Baltimore sports a 5.25 ERA in the late innings.

And this is fun: Jeremy Accardo still hasn't given up a run. (And Shea Hillenbrand? One home run, 13 RsBI and a .534 OPS.)

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug

"Keep yer eyes on the bahl, Wily Mo!"

Wow. Now there's a tonic for what ails the Blue Jays fan's gullet. So where do I order my playoff tickets?

Great news pretty much all around tonight, although Zaun's early departure with the owwie on his hand is worrisome. We couldn't stomach game after game of Jason Phillips.

But how can we worry about those sorts of things when we we're still giggling about that crazy throw Manny (sort of) uncorked.

We loved watching Doc with a 7 run lead go out and mow hitters down. If he really wanted to, we're sure he could strike out 200 per year, but he's a much smarter pitcher than that.

How yah like them ahpples!: For all the abuse we heaped on Red Sox fans over the past week - and really, that was a wicked pissah of a video - let's take a second and tip our caps to all of the drunken Fitzys and Sullys for their extended version of Sweet Caroline, which continued well beyond the 7th inning stretch. A Toronto crowd would have been out of there before the Ace and the creepy Pizza Pizza mascot finished their OK Blue Jays choreography. (Actually, wouldn't that be the civilized thing to do?)

So, to recap: Jays SWEEP Boston (we don't care...we're calling it a sweep even if it is two games), Manny being Manny, Yankees lose their fifth straight...can life be this good?

I'd be sick to my stomach too...

Jeff Blair's reporting in the Globe and Mail baseball blog that Lyle Overbay will miss tonight's game because of a stomach flu.

And now that limits of your gag-threshold have been tested...Jason Phillips will play 1B tonight.

I think I'm going to watch Heroes.

Gibbons Watch

Last Thursday night I sat in my favourite armchair to watch the Jays take on the Tigers. I was looking for some redemption for Ohka after his last start. But that was a hardly a realistic expectation given the team fielded that night. Reed Johnson was out on the DL so he was "replaced" by the beer league steals leader Matt Stairs (he is a good hitter though). That was a big enough blow to their chances but Gibby decided to make it worse by putting backup catcher (and personal project) Jason Phillips on first in place of Overbay. Granted, the lefty/lefty issue was some justification for the move, but Phillips is not a good enough hitter to justify losing the defence at First. Phillips bobbled a couple of key plays in what was the sloppiest Jays game that I have seen in some time. Ohka deserved better backing in his first start at home.

More moves like that and the only job Gibby will find himself in at the ballpark is mopping up spilled beer.