Jays Face Off Against Canada's Country Gentleman

The Jays face off against Texas hurler Tommy Hunter tonight in the Lonestar State. Yeehaw! Bring on the futility.

Ladies and gentlemen....your post-deadline 2008 Toronto Blue Jays!

....are exactly like your 2008 pre-deadline Toronto Blue Jays.

And so it has come to pass. The trade deadline, that is.... and along with it, any real reason to get excited about this club one way or the other down the stretch. On one hand, there was the possibility the Jays would be buyers with names like Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez floated in the hours leading up to the deadline. The Ibanez rumours (that's right, with a "u") in particular reeked of desperation bullshit. But hey, at least he would have been a nice bat Cito could plunk into the middle of the order. He would have fit nicely sandwiched into the New Murderers Row of Overbay-Barajas-Stairs-Rolen. Might have upped the enjoyment factor down the stretch, is all I'm saying.

On the other hand, the Jays could have (should have?) been sellers....and yeah, that would mean losing some players we may have grown fond of (that was for dramatic effect, folks), but under the "sellers" scenario, we could have at least convinced ourselves that the prospects coming back could be difference makers down the road.

Instead, we have the status quo, and it's probably fitting. Oh sure, the team will probably go on a nice little 10 of 12 run sometime before the end of the season, but I've been fooled too many times into thinking the team had turned the corner....only to lose 2 of 3 at home to Tampa Bay.

Oh, I'll still watch. I'll still cheer. Full disclosure, I'll still get way too wrapped up in a Wednesday night game against Oakland. But I'll probably be doing it with an eye on 2009. Unless we take the next 5 of 6, of course.

Memo to fans of the Tampa Bay Rays
Seriously now....fuck off! Your team is good. Real good, in fact. Better than any of us thought it would be. You have Evan Longoria, Bossman Junior, and Carl Crawford to be the cornerstones of the offense for years. You have Scott Kazmir, Jimmy Shields, Matt Garza, and David Price to give you a formidable rotation to match those sticks.

But you know what, you were a fucking terrible team for 10 years, and we actually felt pretty bad for you. Cut you some slack, I'd say. Must have been the Canadian in us, I suppose.

And you? You've become smarmy pricks. Have you learned nothing from the Massholes? At least Red Sox Nation (hate the term, by the way - fills me with rage) waited until they had a World Series title under their collective belts before turning up the douche factor. You guys? You're snapping the knob off the dial 100 games into the only winning season in franchise history.

Trade for Bay: A last desperate act?

There are rumours afloat now that the Pirates and Jays are talking about a Jason Bay trade now that the three way Manny-Hermida-Bay-and-prospects-for-all deal seems to be withering away.

ESPN's Jason Stark says that the Jays would need to cough up a package of three prospects, including Travis Snider, while RotoWorld floated a notion of Adam Lind and Brett Cecil.

We love Bay, but this seems like a strange and desperate move, should the Jays proceed. Then again, Bay's a good middle-of-the-order bat and is signed through next year.

Updatery, 3:18 pm: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's indefatigable Dejan Kovacevic (via RotoWorld) reports that the inquiries consisted of one call, where the Bucs asked for Lind and Shaun Marcum, and the Jays wisely declined.

And for those of you playing the home game: this is why the Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1992.

More Updatery, 3:31 pm: Jeff Blair, apparently on break from packing for Beijing, is on top of rumours at the Globe's Baseball Blog. Among the hot rumours: Raul Ibanez. And it's quite the indictment of the Jays' offensive woes that we're vaguely excited about the idea.

5 minutes to the deadline update: Jason Stark says the Ibanez deal's dead, but that it had be a 2-for-1 with all MLB players. Also, the Rays may not have a deal done for Bay. Which is good, because our general distaste for the Rays has morphed into outright hatred over the past week.

Et enfin, 17h26: Manny to the Dodgers. Bay to the Red Sox. Prospects to the Pirates. Oddly enough, we're happier that Bay is shipping up to Boston. That's how much we've come to hate the Rays.

Trade Deadline Snoozerama

We should probably be a little more excited about today's non-waiver trade deadline, but somehow, the fact that our team will stay mostly on the sidelines today has us less than thrilled.

Not that we want the Jays to trade just for the sake of it. After all, you can't expect them to go out and acquire David Segui every year.

Although there may not be much movement from the home side, we'll be checking out Tim Dierkes' indispensable MLB Trade Rumors on and off today just for the hell of it. It already appears as though a few blockbusters are in the making (including the Manny-induced Bosox-Pirates-Marlins extravaganza and the shocking Griffey to the White Sox trades.)

By the end of the day, we might even learn to drop the "u" out of "rumours" in our occasional searches for news.

Why wouldn't you want Aubrey Huff?
Sure, the Jays already have lots of left-handed batters whose best position is batters box, but we're as surprised as Dierkes is that no one (including the Jays) is showing any interest the Baltimore DH. We're not sure that it would make much sense to cough up a prospect for Huff at this point in a season that will optimistically end a few games over .500. Still, a guy with 22 HRs and a .916 OPS would have to add something to the lineup.

Roy Halladay must have been awful last night

As Steve Simmons is undoubtedly whinnying to himself this morning, this is what is frustrating about Roy Halladay. He's cruising through the game, and then he gives up a home run to a fat former Rookie of the Year, and the Jays lose.

Because he totally lost last night's game. Look it up in the boxscore! Halladay (L, 12-8). The Jays should really be concerned about his performance, since he slid back closer to being a .500 pitcher. Maybe they should trade him for Jeff Francis.

Zaun would like to scope out other cities' breakfast joints
Hearing that Gregg Zaun wants out of Toronto to find a place where he can get more playing time is both sad and a little bit funny. We love Zaunie, but he's at the end of his road now and is not likely to find a spot around the Majors where he would slide in to be the number one catcher. It's just that he's the last to know it.

The most devastating quote of the day goes to J.P., who might have been better served to not comment as opposed to dropping this wicked Heathers/Mean Girls slam on Zaun's head:

"Part of making a trade is someone has to want you. Right now, there's no one that has expressed an interest in him. That's where we're at."

That's cold.

Finding cold comfort in geographic impossibilities

We could probably recycle this post year-in and year-out, but here goes:

If the Blue Jays were in the National League West, they'd be in first place.

Not that we can take much solace in such wishful thinking. But if there were some sort of massive tectonic upheaval that resulted in Toronto moving about 4000 miles west, then we would be printing off our playoff tickets at home (for a nominal fee.)

A.J. Burnett is a three-wins-over-.500 pitcher

In his last four starts, A.J. Burnett is 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA, 31 Ks versus 8 BBs.

So, Steve Simmons: You know what's frustrating about A.J. Burnett? That the Blue Jays don't have him locked up for the next two years yet.

Speaking of which, the decision by the Blue Jays to hold on to Burnett (at least, that seems to be the message today) would lead any sentient being to assume that they're going to try to sweeten the pot to buy out his option. We don't know where the $4 million figure that has bounced around our comments section (as well as the Drunks') comes from, but we suspect that it wouldn't be enough. We're guessing that it's going to take more than $5 million over those last two years to wrap him up, especially since he'd probably attract offers of more than $15 million per annum in the off-season.

But what the fadoo do we know?

On Canadian pitchers, petulant GMs, and the Olympics
Anyone catch J.P. Ricciardi in the scrum yesterday, discussing the recall of Canadian pitcher Scott Richmond? We're not sure what the question was that set him off, but Ricciardi went into full-on smarmy, snarky, you-gotta-be-kidding-me mode when someone seemed to question him on whether if he considered the implications of Richmond missing the Olympics for Canada.

"When you grow up playing catch in your backyard, do you dream of playing in the Olympics or in the Big Leagues?" Ricciardi scoffed.

We'd have to side with J.P. on this one, and we'd draw a clear distinction between this and Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd's bullshit move to keep Jeff Francis out of the 2004 Olympics. Richmond is a career minor leaguer who's getting his first shot at the bigs at 28. Francis was a prospect who was ordered to stay in the minor leagues and not join the Olympic team just because.

Oh, and by the way...fuck Jeff Francis.

A modest proposal: Acquire Gil Meche

Okay, fine. Maybe it's a stupid idea. But just hear us out on this one.

You can never have too much pitching, or so goes the axiom. Certainly, the 2008 edition of the Jays bears that out, what with the dodgy labrums on Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum's slow recovery from an elbow something-or-other, A.J. Burnett's potential opt-out, and Jesse Litsch's recent crash back to reality.

Meanwhile, the Royals are apparently prepared to start their annual house-cleaning, with Meche's name being amongst those being mentioned as possible trade bait. After a rocky start to the season, Meche has been fairly effective since June 10, going 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 44 innings. His strikeout rate isn't great (29 Ks over that period), but he's not walking a ton of guys either (13 BBs).

Mind you, Meche might not be overly anxious to get to Toronto given that J.P. Ricciardi essentially questioned his manhood after he spurned the Jays' contract offer before the 2007 season. But give Doc Halladay an opportunity to nestle him under his wing, and we're sure Meche will come around...right?

Meche has three years left on his five-year $55 million deal, and as has been noted in the case of A.J.'s deal, that seemingly insane figure has quickly become a bargain when it comes to mid rotation starters. At that number, Meche could fit in nicely as a number three starter, and could provide some insurance should A.J. bolt in the off-season and should Casey and Dusty Peaches recover slowly from their shoulder troubles.

Hey, what can we tell ya. It's trade deadline week, and we've just decided to throw some junk against the wall. There are four more days of this nonsense, so get ready for a whole barrelload of silly speculation.

Cheers to the Weekend Editor
Our thanks to The Ack for his steady relief performance over the weekend. While we were away attempting to explain to the missus why a $50 Expos t-shirt with Al Oliver's name and number on the back was a wise investment, the Ack brought his own take on the weekend's events, replete with Meatloaf (and meatloaf) references. Well done, sir.

Now you should start praying for Aaron Rowand's demise, seeing as how you have been designated as our Raw Bacon Consumer of Choice should the Giants centrefielder hit 20 bombs in any of the next few seasons.

Bring on the Rays

So, it wasn't a sweep, but at least we aren't going home hungry (and I swear, no more Meatloaf references from me, I promise). There's just something about dropping the third game of a series after taking the first two that leaves you a little dissatisfied though - yes? Watching the game today left me feeling like the team came in hoping for 2 out of 3, and having won the first two, put it on cruise control for the finale (like me and this post - HEYYYYOOO).

Shaun Marcum had a so-so outing - much better than his first start off the DL, but he still doesn't look all the way back, does he? He looks like he's dropped 1 or 2 MPH from his fastball, and where was his breaking ball? Oh, and Johnny Mac - clearly on the juice. Scotty Rolen - not so much. He's putting on a defensive clinic at the hot corner every time out, but offensively, it would be nice to see him really start putting a charge in the ball, wouldn't it? And does it seem like I'm asking a lot of questions? Seems a little excessive. Sorry.

Statement series on deck
We've got Tampa rolling into town for a 3 game set, and you can bet that both clubs will be looking to make a statement this series. For the Jays, coming off series wins against fairly shitty Baltimore and uber-shitty Seattle, this is a chance to show that the team can get it done against a contending ballclub. For the Rays, it's a chance to bury the Jays and put some distance between them and the Red Sox (and surging Yankees). For Joe Maddon, it's a chance to confirm that he really is the huge prick he made himself out to be the last time the teams met, and I'm sure he won't disappoint.

That's a wrap
Heading into this rookie weekend of posting, my goal was to try and be entertaining, and at least give you something to read. My fear - posting a steaming pile of nothing and turning people off the Tao. I guess that remains to be seen, but I had a good time doing it and unless the ToS pulls the plug on this experiment (probably justifiably), I'll be back next weekend. Until then, we'll return you to your regularly scheduled quality blogging.

A two-sentence post on......Alex Rios

I think it's safe to say that the performance by Alex Rios this afternoon brought out the Ron Burgundy in all of us.

I'll be back tomorrow evening to recap the weekend series.....

Was there ever any doubt?

Well, yeah. Quite a bit, actually. Heading into the bottom of the 10th, I had basically written a post bemoaning the fact that the Jays were up to their old tricks, stranding runners and letting pitchers off the hook (I'm looking at you, Miguel). I had some venom for Cito too, emptying the bench for pinch runners early and asking Scott Rolen to lay down a sac bunt - which he hadn't done in, oh, four and a half seasons.

But thankfully, Voodoo Joe came through in the clutch. And by coming through, I mean putting a good swing on the ball, at least. If Suzuki (I don't go for this first-name basis garbage), one of the top defensive outfielders in the last decade, makes that play - tricky, but definitely makeable - we're looking at a brutal 4-3 loss and an end to any momentum the team had. Instead, it's 4 wins in a row (and 5 of 6), and a possible catalyst to one of those runs we keep saying the team needs to go on. So here we are.

Brandon League was throwing peas
Our favorite surfer dude pitched a clean 8th, catching Raul Ibanez looking on a particularly nasty 2-seamer. League had filthy stuff and was pounding the strike zone, reminding us of the guy who we thought would be the late-relief set up guy for BJ.

I've been saying to anyone who will listen (which is nobody, to be perfectly honest) that the team was lacking a real shut-down right-hander out of the pen (apologies to Jason Frasor, Shawn Camp, and Brian Wolfe - see what I'm saying?), and League showed tonight that he has the potential to be that arm. Maybe some of that Cito "you're my guy" magic will rub off on him as it so clearly has on Young Adam Lind (2 more hits tonight, and I'm wiping that ugly strikeout on a JJ Putz breaking ball down and away from memory).

Awkward Interactions
If nothing else, the broadcast team at RSN gives us a few of these every game. For the record, I like Jamie Campbell probably more than most, although his standing in my books has taken a big hit this season with his well documented hysterics over walk-off losses.

Tonight's entry comes courtesy of Jamie and the non-confrontational Pat Tabler, who usually gives us the least amount of material to work with:

Discussing Brandon League:
Campbell - "He throws in the high 90's, and we've seen him hit 100 on a few occasions."
Tabler - (awkward pause) "......not this year."

On deck for Saturday
David Purcey (0-1) goes for the Jays in his first start since his recall, facing RA Dickey (2-5) and his big fat knuckler. Interesting matchup here, as I'm not sure what to expect from either guy. Here's hoping Purcey is relaxed and settles in for a quality start, because with Marcum sure to be on a pitch count again Sunday, the 'pen could use a breather. After all, there's Meatloaf at stake.

A One-Sentence Post on...Vernon Wells' absences

How is our heart supposed to grow fonder for Vernon Wells during his absences when the team is 22-15 when he is on the DL?

Let's try not to Denbo this thing up

Greetings, friends of the Tao. It's your new pal The Ack here, acting as your freshly-minted weekend editor. I know, I know - a bit of a head-scratching decision by ToS, isn't it? Seems to be a lot like the Brevin Mencherson experiment, while a perfectly healthy Adam Lind is killing the ball down on the farm. Pretty wild gamble, if you ask me. Reckless, even.

I have my theories.....perhaps the Tao wants you to appreciate his posts for the genius they are by bringing in a total rube for contrast. Or, perhaps the Tao was just sick of me shittying up his comments section on a daily basis. Either way, much like Brevin, who am I to say "no" to the opportunity? The hope here is that like "young Adam Lind" (to steal one of Campbell's patented descriptors), who after a sluggish start to the season now leads the team in CLUTCH, I'll round into form.

(You see what I just did there? I bought myself a month or two of terrible. See how I did that? Slick.)

Oh yeah, about the name....I really shouldn't have to go in-depth about the legend of famed middle reliever Jim Acker, should I? No, I didn't think so.


So, about Adam Lind
He's raking, big time. He probably should have been up weeks before he finally was recalled, and he should probably be hitting higher than the 7-spot right now. But I'm not going to get on JP/Gibby/Cito for either of those things, and here's why:

In his first stint up this season, Lind went 1 for 19, and not one of those Aaron-Hill-hitting-the-ball-hard-but-it's-just-not-dropping-for-him 1 for 19's.....he looked lost. Soft stuff down and away, strike 3. Let's face it, at the time of his demotion, the Jays were still in "we gotta win games now" mode, and a young player with declining confidence wasn't doing the team (or Lind) any good. So down he went - and yeah, maybe he was down too long - but the stay in central New York obviously didn't hurt him. To the contrary, maybe, just maybe, the extended stint in the 'Cuse did Lind more good than we are giving JP/Gibby credit for?

As far as hitting 7th, again - confidence. Give Cito props for giving Lind the everyday job in left and slowly moving him up the order. Baby steps, people. Remember, he started out hitting 9. If he continues at even a healthy fraction of this pace, I'm sure he'll settle in somewhere 2-6 by mid-August.


Weekend series against the sub-Mariners
If the Jays are to hit Cito's stated goal of 10 games over .500 by season's end, these are the types of home series you need to think about sweeping. Unfortunately, the big-2 of the rotation - Doc and a suddenly frisky AJ Burnett - won't see the mound, so I'll settle for a Meatloaf.

Looking to keep his rotation spot (although, who's going to replace him now? Davis Romero? Bill Murphy?), John Parrish (1-0) throws Friday with Miguel Batista (4-11) countering for Seattle. Let's hope the ex-Jay finds a spot at the end of the bench nice and early, allowing him time to work on his latest prose, "Ode to a Shitty Pitcher". Hey Miguel, there's no point in throwing 8 different pitches if they're all fat and juicy.

You say goodbye, and we say hello

Goodbye, Jesse
And so it has come to pass. Our favorite round, pink and efficient member of the Jays' starting staff has been sent back to Syracuse to ride the buses and find his stuff again. After a an unbelievable 7-1, 3.18 ERA start to the season, our favorite round mound has been overmatched since the beginning of June (1-6, 6.12 ERA).

We like Lil' Litschy as much as the next guy, but this demotion is probably for the better. The notion that he was ready to be a permanent fixture in the rotation as a 23 year-old was likely a bit overenthusiastic on the part of Jays fans and the front office. Let's hope that Jesse can drop a little poundage with the Chiefs and gets himself back on the right track. Hey, it worked for Roy Halladay once upon a time.

(Incidentally, we don't mean for the weight thing to come off as a cheap shot. Alan Ashby noted on the radiocast the other night that this is a concern for the front office, and that although he had slimmed down before the season, he's packed the weight back on and then some.)

The Jays, in an effort to maintain the all-important Ginger Factor on their 25-man roster, have recalled David Purcey to take a spot in the rotation.

Hello, Ack
Some of our more eagle-eyed readers might have noticed a new name to the list of contributors to the blog.

Since we started the blog about 15 months ago, we've received plenty of inquiries from people wanting to contribute along with us. Usually, we ignore such requests, but occasionally, our advice to anyone wanting to contribute has been as follows:

1) Be desireless
2) Be a commenter
3) Be excellent

Having fully met these requirements, it is our pleasure to introduce The Ack as the new Weekend Editor.

(We're not sure about the title, actually. We were thinking Associate Adjuct Assistant to the Editor, but we'll settle these things before we order any business cards.)

Having demonstrated a keen wit, a sharp tongue and a willingness to agree with us no matter how indefensible our position may be, we believe that The Ack will provide you with the high levels of insight and snark that have become the hallmark of our blog.

Give it up for The Ack, everyone! He'll be here all weekend. Try the veal.

Adam Lind is ridiculously awesome

There's some spooky numerological stuff going on with Adam Lind right now.

In 22 games since being recalled on June 22, Adam Lind has 22 RsBI. Weird.

Lind also has five homers, a .361 OBP and a .641 slugging percentage. Which adds up to a 1.002 OPS...which is really good. (Small sample size or not.)

In those 22 games since being mercifully brought back into the fold, Lind has one fewer homer than Alex Rios has in 94 games this season.

If Lind were to maintain that pace over a full season, he'd drive in 162 runs, hit 37 homers, and generally make everyone forget about whatshisname with the stupid chin hair and old creaky legs from the days of old.

(BTW, for those of you who are still pining for Reed Johnson, we'd note that the boy has a .717 OPS in 65 games with the Cubs. So stop.)

All of this raises two questions for us:

1) Who's idea was it to send Adam Lind down for more seasoning?
2) How can you trust the talent evaluation skills of someone who can make such an egregious error?

Mrs. Tao's Baseball Analysis
Our better half, upon seeing Brad Wilkerson's diving catch in the nervous ninth last night: "Holy shit! That's the second time this week that he's made an awesome catch like that! Why doesn't he play more often?"

We love her dearly and admire the straightforward simplicity of her assessment of Wilkerson. She might just be ready to be a JaysTalk caller.