The Blue Jays thread!

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Swept by the Yanks.

Bautista out.

Lawrie out.

Perez done for the year.

I'm starting to wonder if there isn't some sort of anti-Jays conspiracy happening.

With recent events in mind, what do you think they should do?

*Unload their veterans for prospects
*Deal for someone like Upton
*Stay the course / wait for the off-season

[DrNest]

Just seen on SN that Snider is flying out to meet the team in Boston. If true, welcome back Travis!

[sonysnob]

I'd love to say that Cordero will be missed... but I don't think that's in the cards.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseba...-travis-snider

What kind of year is Happ having?

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

^Mediocre (7-9, 4.83). He does play on a really bad team though.

I would say he has a little upside. In 2009 he went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA with the Phillies. I wouldn't expect that over a full season as a starter but there's some value in this guy. Pretty young too - 29.

Cordero was like a carbon copy of the two late inning relievers the Jays had last year - Rauch and Francisco - and equally shitty.

I never understood why they signed Ben Francisco considering all the outfielders they had. He barely played and now he's gone.

Anyway, the Jays gave up a couple prospects but overall I'd say it's a good move. Lyon - former Jay - will also be a help.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

The Jays with a pretty impressive sweep of the Sox. I wonder when they last swept Boston at Fenway? I'll have to look that up.

Up next is the A's who have really come on of late and are now contending for the wild card. After them is the Tigers who, similar to the A's, are finally starting to put some wins together. Although these games are at home, it'll be a really tough six games. We shall see...

Cecil will be going next. He hasn't been great, so he'd better pitch a decent game or Mr Happ will take his spot.

[sonysnob]

It was nice to see the Jays sweep Boston, but there pitching still needs improvement. Alverez allowed too many runs. If the Jays bats weren't as red hot as they were, they wouldn't have won.

If Cecil has a rough go his next start, I could see Happ taking his spot.

That Loop kid did look great though. He was the best pitcher to play yesterday. His side arm delivery has good movement and must be difficult for opposing hitters to pick up.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Yeah, Aaron Loup has come out of nowhere and he looks pretty good. The Jays farm system is really being put to the test this year.

Maybe this will be one of those years where the Jays are continuously discounted as contenders but just kinda hang around, within reach of the wild card, until the final couple weeks of the year. My expectations are quite low. All I really ask, year to year, is for a few meaningful games down the stretch. That's how you gain momentum as a franchise and draw increasing numbers of fans to the ballpark.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

WTF just happened??

All you need to know is Mathis finished out the game on the mound...and not for the first time this year!

Obviously Romero's been shit for the past couple months. He's now 8-7 with a 5.75 ERA. He's lost six in a row and probably shouldn't be on the mound, except for his past record in the league.

Two teams going in opposite directions.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce

Perhaps AA could massage a young pitcher like Nathan Eovaldi out of LA. We shall see...

The Marlins recently traded high-priced, superstar Hanley Ramirez to LA for Eovaldi. With Kemp and Ethier both healthy and Ramirez in the lineup, the Dodgers aren't likely looking to add any more umpf to their roster.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

The trade deadline fast approaches. Any deals done after this date require players to be placed on waivers which is a little risky.

There was a recent column online that suggested the Jays might want to deal Romero. I'm not sure how much value he might have at this point (8-7, 5.75), so I think it would be better to hold off and allow him to work through his issues. Previous suggestions that he was suffering 'arm fatigue' have been pushed aside with people now saying it's a mental thing. Who knows? His salary isn't terribly prohibitive, so I say hold on to him.

In terms of a trade, one name that really jumps out at me is Darren Oliver. I know that everybody would like to trade Johnson and Lind and Snider etc., but Oliver has actual value for a contender. He's been flawless this year and I'd hate to see him go but there isn't much point in keeping him on a fourth or fifth place team. We'll have to watch that.

I guess AA has to be careful not to piss off the veterans on the team by dealing good players away. It's a delicate balance.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Lind has been sitting lately - the last two games at least. The club says it's 'back tightness', though the conspiracy theorist in me says they're keeping him out to avoid injury prior to the trade deadline. Lind is hitting .288 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 24 games since being recalled.

Escobar's also been out of the lineup recently, though he's now back in the mix. Some have suggested he's acting up in the locker room just like he did in Atlanta. It appeared that this behaviour was a thing of the past but perhaps not. Naturally it also affects his value on the trade market. Who knows, though; he may be on his way out as we speak.

Of note, the Jays are a win away from sweeping the streaking Tigers - Cecil will take the mound. They also happen to be one game out of sole possession of second place. Funny.

The crowds have also been good. Not sure what that's all about but it's great to see. To date, they've averaged 27,271 fans a game which equals 2.21 million over 81 home games. Last year they averaged a mere 22,446 per game.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

I just had a quick look at some stats and since being signed by the Jays several weeks ago, Shawn Hill has pitched very well (6-0, 3.96).

On a similar note, Sean O'Sullivan has even better numbers (5-1, 1.76) since coming over in a trade.

Andrew Carpenter - not Chris or David - has also had a nice season to date (6-3, 3.38).

All those ERAs are great for the PCL. Anything under 5 is quite good given it's a pure hitter's league. Hopefully those guys get the call in September when rosters expand to 40 players.

Incidentally, Las Vegas is 62-45 this year, 2.5 games out.

[DrNest]

Sorry to see Snider traded. Have always liked him as a player.

[DrNest]

Pittsburgh are getting one heck of a good player. I wish Travis all the best with his new team.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Yeah, I like both these guys. They're both great athletes and have some upside, though a lot of Jays fans talk as though they're superstars in waiting. Only time will tell how good these guys are but at this point, they couldn't even crack the lineup, so bon voyage. I hope they both get a chance to play with their new teams.

In return, the Jays get two decent pitchers. Pitching is king, so congrats to AA for getting this done.

The trade deadline is still a few hours away. There may be more deals in the works.

[sonysnob]

This is a good move. It gets Travis some more playing time, and the Blue Jays need more depth in their rotation. I like it.

Though it is too bad to see Snider go, he was a great presence in the outfield.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Cecil's been sent down...pretty much cuz he blows goats (2-4 5.42). J.A. Happ has taken his spot in rotation. The Jays will get to see how he does in that role. I wouldn't expect anything earth-shattering from him.

With Lawrie going down to injury they've called up young Cuban prospect Adeiny Hechavarria (.312 6 63). Rather than making a mess of the infield they're just gonna play him at 3rd as opposed to his natural SS position. Apparently he's got great defensive skills.

I'm not sure what to say about the rest of the season. To be honest, it might be a little too painful to watch.

Romero goes next. He's lost seven in a row. It'll be interesting to watch him the rest of the way. At what point do they sit him down, or relegate him to the bullpen? I think most would agree he's got no business being on the mound (8-8 5.69).

[DrNest]

I would have liked to have seen Cecil kept in the bullpen. He is good at getting lefties out, but otherwise I agree he's not done well these past few games.

I am surprised that Romero has been kept as a starter for so long this season since his last 8 out of 10 starts have been woeful. It was tough luck on him losing that one game 1-0, but that's baseball, and had he been pitching better in other games then the unfortunate loss like that would be absorbed into his stats.

Hopefully Lawrie and Rasmus won't be out for too long.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

The baseball season is very long: everybody knows that. But these past couple weeks have put things into perspective a little bit. That is to say, they're outta the race and a once-promising season may very well go pear-shaped.

I wonder how the veterans on the team are faring with this obvious fact staring them in the face? If it looks, yet again, like the Jays are 'a year or two away', then you could have some dissent in the locker room. Even good guys like Halladay know when enough is enough.

Without a top-of-the-rotation starter or two for next season, it doesn't look good. AA has got some work to do to keep the clubhouse together. Can he afford to wait for those young arms in the system to mature? Those big-time prospects at A-ball are years away. He's gonna have to make some big decisions in the off-season.

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Speaking of Jays' pitching prospects, Deck McGuire is really struggling at AA New Hampshire (5-12, 5.97). I wonder how worried they are about his season to date? He has had some decent outings but otherwise, not good.