(...because "Well, shit" just didn't feel right as a blog post title...)If you clicked your way on over looking for an early week pick-me-up, keep on clicking, friends. Unless you'd like to discuss the weekend? Can we still go there? SWEEP! Romero! Morrow! Bautista! Oh, right....I missed my chance at the warm & fuzzies. Well, shit.
Exaggerations aside, the Jays lost to a pretty good ballclub. That's going to happen, even to an obviously playoff-bound club like the Jays (heyo!). Here's what weighs heavy on my mind:
Travis Snider
You may recall my fanboy fantasy ramblings on The Future earlier this season. I took comfort in knowing I wasn't alone. His early season struggles caused me great pain, and suddenly, he was arriving. Too poetic? OK - he was tearing the cover off the goddamned ball. And now he's hurt - DL'd with a sprained wrist. That's never good.
Snider is a rare talent, and young enough that the injury is likely only a minor setback. He won't forget the lessons learned turning the corner in recent weeks. But still.....momentum is a wonderful thing, and just like that - wiped out. Let's hope the DL time is simply cautionary to eliminate any lingering pain, and Young Travis doesn't go all Lyle Overbay on us. Speaking of....
Lyle Overbay
Things just aren't turning around for ol' Lyle, and the opener against the Twins showed things may be going from bad to worse. Mere coincidence, maybe, but methinks his struggles at the plate are affecting the dude tremendously, as evidenced by his brutal night in the field. Oh, and in the post-game comments as well, via @MLBastian:
Asked if the boos were worse tonight than any other time this season, Overbay was at a loss: "I don't know. I don't care."
Not good. Lyle Overbay is this year's Vernon Wells, apparently.
But seriously, how much longer will the Manager allow this to continue? "Doing right" by his player is one thing (debate for another time....), but hanging him out to dry while the team suffers along with him is another entirely. You'll note that I've really avoided piling on Overbay during his season of misery (well, 2 months of misery), because (a) that's not really my thing, (b) Overbay has always seemed like a good dude not deserving of personal scorn (unlike Millar!), and (c) ....what's the alternative - until Wallace clears Super-2 status, anyway?
The Return of Tallet
Wait, this is a good thing, right? Well, it should be....unless he claims a rotation spot at the expense of development - ie: Brett Cecil, Brandon Morrow, or the also close to returning Marc Rzepczynski.
Yeah, I know. Dana Eveland seems the obvious choice to be the first bumped from the rotation...and that's what's so frightening. It makes too much sense. Eveland has given the Jays pretty much all they could have expected - a handful of starts replacing innings otherwise lost to injury, more or less giving the team a shot. Does that description remind you of anyone else? Maybe a certain veteran left handed swingman plugging holes for the Jays in '09? Yeah.
Please, Clarence. I implore you: bring Tallet back in the role in which he thrives - multiple inning reliever/spot starter. Is that too much to ask?
Probably.
