MVN - Most Valuable Network

Not Hopeless After All: Jays Sweep Twins

If you are anything like me, you spent the past week trying to figure what prominent sluggers will be hitting the free agent market this winter (to save you time, Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn and Milton Bradley are the most viable). This is usually my favorite pastime around mid-summer. The time when the Jays start to slow down, all the other teams in the AL hit their stride and a long, painful, drawn-out process begins.

Like all seasons, I expected the Birds to stay close enough in the East to keep me watching, but far enough out for them not to be taken seriously.

However, this team has a newfound life after a 3 game sweep of the Twins at the Metrodome. With Vernon Wells out of the lineup until the All Star break, the Jays still managed to squeak out enough offense to show their pitchers some appreciation.

Matt Stairs is starting to entrench himself as the most reliable hitter on the Jays roster. He clubbed two homers in the series, making all Toronto fans beg the question: how does Shannon Stewart deserve at-bats in the DH spot? Forget Lefty/Righty match-ups, the Jays came in to the series batting an MLB worst .209 with runners in scoring position. Are they really in any position to take their best bat out of the lineup in favor of a guy hitting .235?

On another note, Alex Rios has been lackluster at best since taking over for Wells in center and batting in the 3-hole. He is batting .133 over his last ten, and has not found the power stroke that made him a stud last season. In fact, the last time someone not named Matt Stairs hit a home run for the Blue Jays was one week ago today, when Vernon Wells went deep, that is borderline embarrassing.

While it may be a little excessive to split hairs in the midst of a 4-game winning streak, the Jays will head to the City of Brotherly Love next to face the Phillies, who are not the type of team that can be beat by a mediocre offense.

The Jays will call up David Purcey to face off against Jamie Moyer tomorrow night and side note to John Gibbons: I know Matt Stairs and Jamie Moyer are both lefties but that does not make Shannon Stewart a better hitter. That is all.

Blue Jays Add Mench, Wilkerson; Lose Wells

On the same day that the Blue Jays tried to take some positive steps to bolster their offense, they lose arguably their most talented player for up to two months.

Before yesterday’s game in Cleveland, GM JP Ricciardi delivered on his promise of bringing in a new player from outside the organization and actually delivered with two former Rangers. Brad Wilkerson was signed as a free agent and will be paid the league minimum of $390,000 while Kevin Mench was acquired from Texas for cash considerations.

The Wilkerson pickup will likely prove immediate dividends as Vernon Wells has gone down for 6-8 weeks with a broken wrist. Alex Rios will take over in center, making Shannon Stewart and Wilkerson everyday players in Left and Right, respectively.

The Jays are hoping that the new players will infuse on offense that has quite frankly, lost a number of games for Toronto this season. They have received the best pitching in the majors over the past two weeks, and only have a position in the basement of the AL East to show for it. While Wilkerson and Mench are nowhere near their prime, they both have multiple 20 home run seasons under their belts and can provide depth for a team that constantly sees seasons wasted due to injuries.

While the injury to Vernon Wells looks to be quite costly, the inclusion of Wilkerson in the everyday lineup in rightfield will soften the blow. Who knows, maybe without Vernon’s disinterested scowl and his inability to justify his massive contract will spark this offense and the Jays will be able to string a few wins together.

The Jays also placed reliever Jeremy Accardo on the 15-day DL and the smart money says that the team will be relatively unaffected by his absence. Nothing against Accardo, but Jesse Carlson has proved to be a much more solid 8th inning option while BJ Ryan has been cleared to pitch on consecutive days. This leaves Accardo out in the cold.

The Jays dropped their first game to the Tribe 6-1 and face them again tonight as Dustin McGowan takes the hill against Aaron Laffey.

The Blue Jays Never Get Tired of Disappointing

After yet another stellar start, you guessed it, the Blue Jays blew a very winnable game and prove once again that being a loyal fan of theirs’ is a complete waste of time.

Jesse Litsch pitched seven innings of 5-hit ball and picked up the no decision. I will give credit where it is due, the Jays offense did come through with some clutch hits in the 9th including Vernon Wells’ 5th home run of the season.

The real stomach punch came in the bottom of the tenth when the Jays had a fantastic chance to steal the game when Alex Rios led of the inning with a triple. The Jays proceeded to load up the bases on walks before the Rays struck out the side. Forget clutch hitting, the heart of the Blue Jays lineup could not even lift a ball to the outfield to win the game.

Of course, after a squandered opportunity to pick up a series win, The Blue Jays seventh pitcher of the evening, Shawn Camp proceeded to allow not only a go-ahead sacrifice fly to Carl Crawford but a truly heartbreaking grand slam to Dioner Navarro.

It is becoming quite safe to say that the Blue Jays really dropped the ball on the Reed Johnson release/Shannon Stewart promotion. Stewart has not worked out for the Jays at all, and really only maintains his place in the lineup due to Adam Lind’s inability to produce in the big leagues. Stewart went 0-6 tonight with 3 K’s and has seen his average dip to .229, which, along with his OBP is significantly lower than his career average. There could be a spot on the roster for Stew, but realistically, he should not be starting on a big league team any longer.

Another flaw of this Blue Jays team that was glaringly absent during the Reed Johnson era is passion. This team shows no sense of urgency and routinely looks disinterested, which are probably two of the last descriptions that come to mind when thinking of Reed.

The Blue Jays starting staff can continue to pitch like the best in the league (which it most likely will with Roy Halladay slated to throw tomorrow) but until the offense starts to produce up to its potential, or at least show a pulse, it will be a tremendously difficult climb out of the cellar for the Blue Birds.

AJ’s 10 K’s Not Enough to Down Rays

AJ Burnett struck out ten Tampa Bay batters tonight, including five of the first six he faced. It seems like Burnett is far more effective when he “pitches” instead of “throws”. Meaning he could learn a lesson or two from Doc in the sense that a K is not the only way to record an out.

Burnett’s outing (minus a bad 3rd inning) continued a streak of strong starting pitching by the Jays while the game’s decisive blow came from Eric Hinske, 2008’s biggest Blue Jay killer, who is doing his best to make his years in Toronto even more frustrating.

The Jays lost both of their shortstops in the game as David Eckstein and Johnny Mac both left the game with injuries as the Jays’ 5 game winning streak was snapped.

The Jays offense, while improving, needs to get better, and fast. The Blue Birds find themselves in the cellar in this young season, 2 games under .500 and 5.5 games back of the Red Sox. The Blue Jays NEED to start beating the beatable teams, and I am looking directly at you, Tampa Bay. This is a series the Jays should win and its a must if they do not want to play catch-up all year.

Tomorrow’s Game: Matt Garza (1-0, 6.16 ERA) vs. Shaun Marcum (3-2, 2.70 ERA)