Finding Faith

If we are to assume that the Jays are in the race, despite a wonky bullpen, spotty offense, leading the AL in errors, and just plain blowing chances against inferior opponents, then the fact that more people are watching the Jays, in the seats or on TV should be considered a sign.

Funny that many of the scribes and media are not on the GM to make the team better with bolder moves. As I follow the twitter world, the blogs, the web sites and the newspapers, I am amazed that no one save myself, Bob McCown, maybe a couple of guys in the office are throwing up their hands in frustration.

Why in the name of the baby Jesus ( quoting the Bobcat ) can we not sacrifce some A and AA talent and improve the team. Maybe this Drew Hutchinson experiment was cute in the beginning, but it is downright awful now. Drabez, and Morrow are going pretty good, but Romero & Alvarez are very shaky, and the best thing I can say about the bullpen, is that for 2 weeks, Casey Jannsen has performed admirably.

Money and another season are being wasted, and let me remind the faithful that the Yankees and Red Sox will not suck forever, at some point one or both will get healthy, and go on a run.  Tampa already looks solid, even if Matt Moore has not become the next super arm.  Where is Cuba Gooding ?  "Show me the money"  .....
Is this the blueprint ?  Another 80-83 win season while kids season like 10 year scotch. What is the plan for the June draft ?  Another crop of 18-20 fuzzy faced phenoms, tyr and sign another boatload.  Add more prospects to what is fast becoming a crowded house of potential.  If we reach July 31st, and we are NOT in 4rth place I will be shocked.  Adding a 40 year DH with no arm or leg skills to this roster is not going to change our fortunes, like Damon and Manny won't , or even Roy Oswalt.  Roy has been to more Texas Ranger games than many season ticket owners.  And yet, no contract, hmmm, is it possible Oswalt is demanding a multi year deal ?  Anyhow, back to adding on the potential that Vladdy brings, over playing Travis Snider, Adam Lind or Yan Gomes, is fool hardy.

If the team has given up on the first 2, well then who am I to argue. But if you need offense, is there no team so out of contention with a player with an expiring contract that can actually hit that we cannot attract with the offering of a couple of kids.

I like the Jays, don't get me wrong, but if we are going to wait until the 18 and 19 year olds start pushing Romero and Bautista out of the line up, that is too long. They have not played a meaningful game in September in more years than I can remember.

Good solid bats don't come cheap, neither does top 3 arms or closers, but we are spending pennies, when the paper money is required.



When is next year "the year" ?  What happens when we decide that we want to spend, and the Yanks and Red Soz, and Angels, etc decide the same thing ?

So far, the Rays have been twice to the post season after 8-9 last place in MLB, but no hardware to show for it.  I seem to remember a GM who said "when it is time, we will spend".  

What if the time has already past ?  Was our window this year, or last fall ?

C'mon guys, I want to keep the faith, but I am having a hard time finding the faith.

If you want to compete in the AL East you have 2 routes, the Rays suck for a decade route and the Sox/Yanks route. We have found a third route, the slow building infrastructure approach.

My faith is being tested.  Is yours ?

Are we ever getting any traction ?

Up 2, down 2, up 3, down 3.  Such is the slow ploding season to date.

A 19-16 record on May 14th and the next 4 games are against the Rays, and the Yanks. What would hope for, hell right now, I'd settle on splitting the 4 games. Perhaps that is what the Jays will do, but that will leave 3 games over .500 at roughly 25 % of the season played.

On average, we are getting decent pitching, marginal bullpen efforts, pretty fair defense, but terribly inconsistent offense. Bautista shows signs of breaking out. Some days so does Escobar, and Lawrie and Encarnacion have supplied the balance of the offense. This team has not hit, and therefore this team has had no extended win streaks. Win a series, lose a series.  In the most current road trip just concluded, they went 5-5, but they won the 1st 2 games against the struggling Angels, and split with the Twins, who still have the worst record in the majors. 

If I was Joihn Farrell I would send for my copy of Phsycic Baseball, or get myself to a palm reader to see if there was something to change the fortunes of the home squad.

Nothing he tries seems to work, no buttons are the right ones.  Adam Lind slides down to 8th, has one good game , and returns to his eventual slide out of town.  Has anyone been paying attention to David Cooper ?  Can we dare put a glove on Encarnacion other than a batting glove ?


This team had the city and fans in a tizzy after their spring triumphs in Florida, but boy not making hay over teams you expect to beat will put them in a very tough position after June.  Plus, it may well impact their position as buyer or seller.  They definitely before the 2-2 split in Minny were kicking tires in Philly over Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino, are they still doing so.  Hamels is just a rental, he's informed the Phils he expects to sign a deal for 7 years. Why not ?, he's only 28, has playoff success.  But he is a rental, and if the Jays don't act, the Dodgers or the other pseudo contenders will.

The Jays have a deep system, but perhaps they lack the will to make a bold in season move to add talent. Their big moves have come in the winter, moving Halladay and Marcum to re stock the shelf.  But the time will come when you either spend freely on free agents, or you swing a deal because you have a logjam of talented kids and they can't all play. 

Perhaps they suprise me and sweep the next 4 games against traditional foes, and sit 23-16, closer to the top than the middle.  Right now they remind me of a team with defective spark plugs, and with that, they have no traction.

Losing Mo Mentum

As the story made the wire services prior to the Yankees Royals game, the fall out in the world of the pinstripers was immense.

Mo is down, and it looks bad, taken for the field on  a cart, smiling but the grimaces were notable. Mo was in pain. No idea of what it was, but colour commentator David Cone said it looked like a torn ACL.  Turns out Cone was not just speculating on what he had witnessed, he suffered a similar injury, and knew where of he spoke.

It has yet to be announced but the reality is his season is done, and perhaps so is his career, but let's not get too far ahead, and send those Yankee fans to jump off the George Washington bridge.  For the better part of almost 20 years, it seemes, he was either the heir apparent to John Wettleland, or the most widely known Yankee closer since The Goose or Sparky Lyle. Well Mo surpassed all of them, and is a first ballot HOF'er.

As a Yankee hater almost from birth, it is great, but not how I want to see legends leave the game. At 42, it is not impossible for return, but more improbable.  In the meantime, Cashman and Girardi will decide who is the next one. Not sure if Dave Robertson has the mental make up, so will put money on Soriano, as he has performed that role before, and it leaves Robertson in his true comfort zone.

OK so the Red Sox look fallable, the Yanks are brittle, is this a year and an opportunity for the Jays. They also have closer issues, but hope Santos is less than 3 weeks away, but strangely silent isn't it ?

So at least for 2012, they will not play " Enter Sandman" for a Mo appearance. 

We will also see if the lose mo-mentum as well.  Those Yankees had to grow old sooner or later...is the year when their toughest opponent is Father Time ?