So the Jays are ****ed...

[bondon]

Nothing going right for this team right now. Arencibia now with a broken hand and will miss approximately six weeks. D'Arnaud isn't even an option to replace him...mind you I really love the job Jeff Mathis has done this year so I'm not too displeased about that.

Romero doesn't look like he's anywhere close to improving.

Ugh...bad time for us Jays fans.

[hockeyrobot]

Funny story....Ive been in Markham since last Monday on a course for work with some guys from out of town. Since they didn't play at home all last week and we couldn't go yesterday....(here's the funny part)....we went tonight.

They're straight eff'd. Although I still see it as a blessing in disguise...although I would have liked to see them deal JP....

[bondon]

Funny story....Ive been in Markham since last Monday on a course for work with some guys from out of town. Since they didn't play at home all last week and we couldn't go yesterday....(here's the funny part)....we went tonight.

They're straight eff'd. Although I still see it as a blessing in disguise...although I would have liked to see them deal JP....

What else is funny is I live in Markham and I was at the Jays game yesterday (Tuesday) hahaha.

[bluejays]

I know every team has their injuries, but when your rotation gets wipped out like that, you really cannot blame the team. Yes, AA could grab a top notch starter, but would that really help them catch teams such as Det or Chi, LAA, Oak, and pretty much all of the east? I say not even close. They need a couple and have now fallen too far back.
I say that Santos injury really messed things up for the bullpen, he was so brutal for the short time he pitched and then boom gone for the year. Speculation about did Chi deal damaged goods still makes me wonder.
The starter after starter going down and then ultimately Bautista and now JP with nothing more that a defensive first replacement. The bats will suffer and we already seen the pitching slide.
I liked the Hou deal for depth, but I think for Jays fans to be excited for next year, a big trade or two have to come down in the next week. Something to really set us up for next year. IMO, if it was not sealed before, JP's injury its sealed now. Sell some goods and continue to stock and if the opportunity comes along to grab a big named pitcher or two for a package, do it. Our bats and offence are not a problem for next year. The building and waiting time is over, and next year has to be the one.

[gfhyde]

What the hell is wrong with Romero? That's my only question out of all of this.

Injuries happen. JP's out, big deal. The team wasn't going anywhere this year anyway. Let Mathis and Gomes play with D'Arnaud out (though it would have been a perfect opportunity to steal a job).

But when your #1 pitcher is healthy and consistently puts up crap numbers? What are you supposed to do??

[bondon]

What the hell is wrong with Romero? That's my only question out of all of this.

Confidence just looks like it's wiped out completely...it's really sad. It's very noticeable too, he doesn't have the swagger that he used to.

He just doesn't look like he's confident in his capabilities...which can really mess up your control.

[dodospice]

When your not confident especially as a pitcher it hinders your ability to pitch big time. I think next year they could be fairly decent though.

SP- Morrow
SP- Romero
SP- Alvarez
SP- Hutchinson
SP- Drabek/Laffey/Happ

C- Arencibia
1B- Encarnacion
2B- Johnson/Hechevarria
SS- Escobar
3B- Lawrie
LF- Snider/Gose/Davis/Thames (whoever claims the job)
CF- Rasmus
RF- Bautista
DH- Lind

[hockeyrobot]

When your not confident especially as a pitcher it hinders your ability to pitch big time. I think next year they could be fairly decent though.

SP- Morrow
SP- Romero
SP- Alvarez
SP- Hutchinson
SP- Drabek/Laffey/Happ

C- Arencibia
1B- Encarnacion
2B- Johnson/Hechevarria
SS- Escobar
3B- Lawrie
LF- Snider/Gose/Davis/Thames (whoever claims the job)
CF- Rasmus
RF- Bautista
DH- Lind

Hoping that we see some upheaval on the starting rotation this summer.

I also expect D'Arnaud to be on the roster in the fall. He better be the can't miss prospect they have been talking about.

[gfhyde]

The Blue Jays appear to be in perpetual "next year they'll be better" mode. Unless they spend some money or these prospects all turn out to be amazing, it's going to be damn hard to succeed.

[dodospice]

Hoping that we see some upheaval on the starting rotation this summer.

I also expect D'Arnaud to be on the roster in the fall. He better be the can't miss prospect they have been talking about.

I wouldnt be surprised to see them try to move Arencibia or Lind and one of there outfielders for some pitching help and then let D'Arnaud start.

[bluejays]

I wouldnt be surprised to see them try to move Arencibia or Lind and one of there outfielders for some pitching help and then let D'Arnaud start.

Anyone whose buying, is for this year. Arencibia is done now and coulda been a great trade chip, but that's done. Selling on Lind, I'm all for it, and am sure AA is exploring that.

Other than Escobar, our bats are fine. We need stud pitching to compete with the east. Romero has clearly fallen out, and it would be dumb to move him at his lowest point. He will revert, he's too good not to. Maybe a change is best, but not now, you will get bottom dollar.
We need a Garza, Greinke or Shields (who TB will never trade within) type of hurler....and we got the assets to make it work, thanks to AA.

How about a Roy Halladay back for next year? Philly is selling and you don't think he'd love to retire a Jay? Just a thought.........

[Bass56]

How about a Roy Halladay back for next year? Philly is selling and you don't think he'd love to retire a Jay? Just a thought.........

Hehe that would be great but I don't see it happening.

Sadly, I think the Jays have nothing to give in order to receive something decent in return this year (unless they are on the losing side of the deal...)

[bondon]

As much as I would love the Doc to come back to the Jays, I'd put the odds of that happening at slim to none.

One of the biggest motivators for why he kind of 'wanted out' was that the team just wasn't showing signs of improvement and he wanted a chance to go for a championship. That is why I really wish the Phillies had won that year (can't remember which), when they came so close.

I think in order for Halladay to even entertain coming back to the Jays:
- Morrow would need to continue to dominate
- Romero would have to figure his shit out and return to being a serviceable #2/#3 guy in the rotation (I think painting this guy to EVER be the Ace of this ball club was a BIG mistake, and not just in hindsight...I always thought Morrow had the better stuff)
- Would likely have to add at least one or two more decent or half-decent starters to round out the rotation...Sorry but I'm not buying the Drabek/Alvarez/Hutchison kool-aid just yet. I do think Hutchison and Alvarez have good stuff at times, and Drabek is still young and may just need time to round into form...but we can't afford to keep putting so much pressure on these young arms, not to mention that them being so young, they're going to have IP limits anyways where they'll have to be shut down so even IF you make the playoffs you're gonna have a hole in your #4 and #5 spot in the order. While I love Carlos V and what he brings to the team I think he would be better coming out of the bullpen for this team. Maybe JA Happ fills the #4 spot which really wouldn't be terrible.

- Snider Rasmus and Bautista has the potential to be one of the best outfields in the league..Snider is showing now what he's capable of now.
- 3B covered by Lawrie..I still see SS and 2B as holes as Escobar and KJ just don't strike me as the 'winning' type.
- Encarnacion is having a career year and it's great to see how consistent he has been even after the extension signing but who knows if he'll regress next year.
- Lind - TIRED of this guy...need to sell while we can get some value.
- Arencibia - Horribly overrated and I think this guy is more concerned about being a celebrity than he is being a baseball player. Honestly...he was so hyped up coming from AAA and had an amazing debut but he can't hit for average for his life...and that would be okay if he was a good defensive catcher but I think he is absolutely horrible behind the plate

I really think that this team could benefit greatly from having an Ortiz-type bat in the 4 spot DHing between Bautista and Encarnacion...seriously can you imagine a lineup of:

Lawrie
Rasmus
Bautista
Ortiz
Encarnacion
Snider
Whoever you've got at 2B/SS/C

Wow random rant...don't even remember what my point was to begin with but I'll just press 'post' lol.

[hockeyrobot]

Let's just hope that they tank the rest of the way and all of these guys coming back don't do a damn thing.

[bondon]

Let's just hope that they tank the rest of the way and all of these guys coming back don't do a damn thing.

Might as well eh?

God, I can't believe how ugly Romero's starts are now. 8 walks on Tuesday..what the frig. Part of me hopes he suffers a minor injury to spare what's left of his shattered confidence.