MVN: Most Valuable Network

This morning on the FAN590, Keith Law mentioned Vernon Wells as being one piece of the Blue Jays' puzzle that he considered to be absolutely untradeable. It is tough to disagree with Law's reasoning. Vernon's 7 year/$126 million extension was considered a little over the top back in '06, now, it looks like a joke. The guy that has become a mediocre power threat and an above-average fielder was once the one player that Blue Jays' management wanted to overpay to keep in Toronto. As of now, it looks like trading Wells would amount to little more than a salary dump, if it could be completed at all.

We look to be headed down the same path with Alex Rios. Putting aside his disdainful Youtube incident and wreckless play in the field, this guy was once promised as a five tool player. At this point, Jays fans would be happy with him displaying one tool. I once remarked that his contract that signed him through to 2014 made him a legitimate bargain.

This was back when we thought that we had the next Carlos Beltran on our hands. Instead, Rios is now mentioned in the same breath as Vernon Wells, a guy slumping his way to yet another dismal year.

While we have seen Adam Lind, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay and especially Aaron Hill flourish under new a new coaching staff, Rios' offense has been non-existent. He has shown a slight blip when he was first moved into the 6-hole, and has seen his average jump ten points since then, but this was much more than the Jays needed out of him.

This raises the question: is Alex Rios untradeable? With the Jays still in the thick of things, JP Ricciardi has claimed that if this team hangs tough, they will be buyer's at the trade deadline. Everyone remembers the Rios for Lincecum deal that fell through because JP did not want to give up his prized up and comer. Clearly, JP needs to be given a pass on that because that trade never would have been on the table unless it was generally perceived that Rios was a star in the making.

But with Rios' performance and contract being what they are right now, could the Jays even deal him for a starter that could make the rotation? Probably not. Just like we saw with Wells, Rios' dip into mediocrity has been every bit as painful and frustrating for Jays fans and is becoming yet another example of JP's inability to spend wisely.

It was understood that if Rios' performance was better than last year, that he would be a valuable trade chip to a team who could handle his contract and had reliable pitching or a big bat to give up in return. Now, if the Jays want to make a move in July, they would likely have to sacrifice one of their young pitchers that have been surprising bright spots this season. And if management ends up giving away Brett Cecil because no one was interested in Rios, then Alex has an entirely new reason to apologize to Jays fans.

Halladay became the first pitcher in the Majors this year to earn his tenth victory as he pitched a complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals.  Doc's performance, which included seven hits allowed, six strikeouts and no walks was even more impressive considering he showed no signs of fatigue after pitching a complete game-133 pitch outing fives games previous against the Angels.  The Royals were able to muster seven hits against the Blue Jays, but were not able to get important hits like the Jays did.  Overbay cranked a solo shot to centre field and Aaron Hill broke out of an uncharacteristic 0-25 slump by hitting a two-run shot.The Jays move on to Texas to face off against the Rangers, who surprisingly still lead the West.  Considering the offensive strengths of both clubs, this series should be fun.  Casey Jannsen (1-2, 5.82 ERA) goes up against Scott Feldman (5-0, 3.79 ERA) in game... Read more

It ended the same way it started, a kind of mixed up deja vu or break in the time continuum.  After losing nine straight, the Jays faced Boston at home on Friday night, up against the pitcher and team who started the losing streak.  There have been some analysts who have tried to justify the streak by saying Tim Wakefield's knuckleballs threw the bats off course.  I think this is a poor excuse for poor baseball played by the Jays over the road-trip.  The Blue Jays were getting a lot of hits, a lot of baserunners, but no hits when it really mattered.  When there were two outs and a runner in scoring position, you could almost guarantee the Jays batters were not going to score the run.  With that in mind, Friday night's 6-3 win over the Red Sox was even more impressive considering all five runs scored in... Read more

After being swept by Boston, and losing 1-0 to the Atlanta Braves last night, the long awaited fall from grace might be coming into fruition.  There are many skeptics (I guess me being one of them) that think this Jays team is not for real, and were waiting for the numbers to average out.  The hitters had been overachieving all season, in the meanwhile carrying an above average starting rotation.  But these last four games have looked a lot like the uninspired Jays from last season.  Lets take a look at some numbers:During the Boston series, the Jays bats were able to muster 30 hits, but only produced 5 runs from that.  All that means is that there was no clutch hitting and a lot of double plays.  It also doesn't help that Boston beat up up on our rookie pitchers, showing that THEY are the legitimate contenders.During every game of that series, I remember thinking, "please... Read more

After two straight losses at the hands of the Yankees, it looked like the Jays were about to hit their first slump of the season.  Maybe last year's edition of the Jays would have, but this year, everything is different.  Following their first home series loss against the Yankees, the Jays countered with three straight wins against the Chicago White Sox.  Two impressive starts by rookies Cecil and Ray, anchored by the always consistent Halladay have given the Jays a three game winning streak, with the chance of the the rare four game sweep with their last game on Victoria Day.  To be completely honest, this series has almost not been fair.  Aside from the second game when the Jays got the trying and winning RBI's from Lind and Bautista in the eight inning, this series has looked like a school-yard bullying incident.  The Jays have literally shoved the White Sox around,... Read more

In my last post, I left no doubt that I have a whole bunch of animosity left toward Mr. Burnett.  Here is why...The Jays took a chance when they signed AJ Burnett in 2006 due to his history of injury problems.  He missed a majority of his first two season with the Jays, posting similar numbers.  In 2006, Burnett finished 10-8 with a 3.98 ERA with only 135 innings logged.  2007 was not much better as he once again finished 10-8 with an ERA of 3.75 in 165 innings.    When the Jays signed Burnett to his 5-year, $55 million dollar deal, they included an opt-out after the third season.  Well, AJ has his career year in his third season, posting career bests in wins, games started, innings pitched and strikeouts, and of course, opts-out of his contract.  AJ's time in Toronto was a time of maturity, as he gained... Read more

Eight innings of work, no runs allowed, five hits and six strikeouts.  No, Halladay was not on the mound when the Jays finished off the Athletics 5-0.  This was the work of a rookie starter, making only his second career start.  He goes by the name Brett Cecil. It boggles my mind that when Brian Burres was called up following the injuries to Romero and Litsch, Riccardi had left Cecil in the minors saying, "he wasn't ready for the majors."  We can essentially blame Riccardi for those two wasted starts by Burres, going a collective 6.1 innings, in which he allowed 10 earned runs, five walks, 12 hits and an ERA of 14.21.  I think it's safe to say that Burres was the one who was not ready.I guess there is no point looking at the past when a future star like Brett Cecil is shining so bright.  Expect him to stay around... Read more

A day after the Jays routed the Angels in a 13 run, 15 hit outburst, Jered Weaver held the Blue Jays to a lone run on a measly 3 hits.  Weaver was fantastic in his first complete game of his career as he kept the Jays hitters off-balanced, allowing many pop-ups and weak ground balls.  The game finished 6-1 in favour of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, or whatever their name is this year, and although all six runs were charged to Robert Ray, the Blue Jays rookie pitched much better than the numbers suggest.  Ray kept the Jays in the game, holding the Angels to just three runs through the first five innings.  Unfortunately, three hits from the Jays bats were never going to do the trick as the Angels eventually ran away with the victory.Tomorrow night the Jays visit Oakland as the surprising Scott Richmond (4-0, 2.67 ERA) takes the... Read more

After giving up an error on a straightforward ground ball that led to a Baltimore run in the 10th inning, Aaron Hill hit a tying solo home run in the bottom of the tenth and followed that with a game winning RBI single in the eleventh.The Jays have continued to show resilience this season, this time in the face of a situation that probably would have demoralized them in years prior.  The Jays faced their first mini crisis of the season following the Kansas City series.  They lost their first series of the season as a result of losing back to back games for the first time as well.  For a team that has found ways to scratch out wins in every way possible, the Kansas City series could have been the end of a great opening run to the season.  But the character and team spirit were clearly on display as... Read more

After giving up an error on a straightforward ground ball that led to a Baltimore run in the 10th inning, Aaron Hill hit a tying solo home run in the bottom of the tenth and followed that with a game winning RBI single in the eleventh.The Jays have continued to show resilience this season, this time in the face of a situation that probably would have demoralized them in years prior.  The Jays faced their first mini crisis of the season following the Kansas City series.  They lost their first series of the season as a result of losing back to back games for the first time as well.  For a team that has found ways to scratch out wins in every way possible, the Kansas City series could have been the end of a great opening run to the season.  But the character and team spirit were clearly on display as... Read more

Zack Greinke continues his winning ways with an 11-3 victory over the Blue Jays. Zack pitched 7 innings allowing just 5 hits and striking out 8. He did allow his first earned run this season on an RBI single by Wells in the first, but that never really phased him and he was hitting his spots all night. Speaking of hitting his spots, Billy Butler came out of a huge slump from starting the game batting .194, he ended up at .242 after a 3 for 4 performance which included 2 homeruns and a double. The Blue Jays are now down 2 games to 1 going into the series finale this afternoon at 2pm. Brian Burres (0-1) will get his second start this season for the Blue Jays vs Kyle Davies (1-1)   Meanwhile in Ohio, the Cleveland Indians blew a 5-0 to the Boston Red Sox to give Boston a... Read more