Series recap: Jays wake up in Baltimore

September 24-26, 2012

After losing six in a row in the Bronx and at the Trop, the remaining Jays fans who have now turned their eyes elsewhere (not hockey) were looking for a turnaround in Baltimore. And it looks like they got one - a small one, mind you, as they went 2-2 in the four game set.

 

In all, the Jays come back off the road going 2-8, quite disappointing, but frankly, in a best case scenario, with the teams that they were playing and the state of the roster, 4-6 might have been the best to hope for.

On the pitching front, Laffey's effort was by far the highlight of the series. Alvarez, Romero, and Villanueva were not good. The bullpen however was excellent with the exception of Wednesday night's game when Farrell trotted out Carreno, Beck, and Carpenter down by 4, 6, and 8 runs. Janssen also looked rusty in his efforts but managed to get out relatively unscathed.

On the hitting front, Arencibia, Lind, Edwin, and Hechavarria were highlights, while Colby and Lawrie were disappointments.

• JP went 7 for 9 with two walks in the series, after going 2 for 37 with two walks since his injuries. Perhaps he's turned the corner, a great sign. Remember that in the 18 games before his injury, he hit .319 / .349 / .700 (with six home runs) and was really coming together. In Baltimore, he hit a  home run and a double.
• Adam Lind went 6 for 9 in the series (all singles). Since September 11, Adam's hitting 17-51 (.333) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, and a home run for an OPS of .906.  If Lind can end the season on this positive note, it will be difficult to dismiss him as the opening day 1B or DH especially against RHP and the value of his contract.  
• Edwin went 5-16 with two home runs. Edwin, in his last 11 games is batting 12-37 with 4 home runs and 8 walks (OPS 1.106).  
• Hechavarria went 3 for 8 and is running a 9 game hitting streak, batting 10 for 29 with 2 doubles and a home run in that stretch (OPS .889). Since August 23rd, Adieny is hitting (.303 / .329 / .434) over 81 plate appearances and is making the argument to be in the starting lineup next year.

On the awful side, Colby Rasmus went 1 for 12 (two walks) while Brett Lawrie went 2 for 16 (3 walks). Colby's batting .111 in his last 11 games played; Lawrie is batting .170. When your 1-2 in the order has a .255 and .200 OBP respectively, it's hard for Edwin to drive in runs. Bautista had the same problem at the start of the season when Escobar and Johnson headed up the lineup.

 

Monday afternoon: Jays 1 at Orioles 4

 

The Jays continued their offensive drought Monday afternoon, while Henderson Alvarez gave up four runs over 5 2/3rds inning in a step back after three good outings.

Henderson's enemy again was the home run. In the bottom of the fourth, a lead off walk to Chris Davis was followed up by an Adam Jones home run. Alvarez gave up an another home run to Flaherty to open the bottom of the fifth, and Alvarez really started to come undone in the bottom of the sixth, as the Orioles loaded the bases (Jones single, Wieters double, Thome intentional walk) with none out. Mark Reynolds then hit into a double play, scoring Adam Jones. Cecil then came on to finish the frame, and Frasor and Beck finished off the game without any damage being done.

Henderson's line was 5.2 innings pitched. Over 86 pitches, he walked 3, struck out 6, and gave up 2 home runs. The Jays defence was fine that afternoon with no glaring problems or issues.

 

On the offensive side, the Jays threatened (as usual) a few times in the game before breaking through in the eighth inning with two outs. Edwin singled, Lind singled, and Rajai Davis doubled home Edwin. Darren O'Day came on to strike out Kelly Johnson (good guess) to end the threat. Jim Johnson breezed through the last frame to record his 48th (!) save.

 

The rookie Steve Johnson let in 3 hits over five innings of work and looked great, now going 21 scoreless innings over a couple of starts and relief appearances. And besides Tommy Hunter, the rest of the Orioles pitching staff pitched with their usual efficiency.

 

For the Jays hitting, Colby reached twice on walks, and Adam Lind hit twice. Jeff Mathis went 0-2 as did Yunel. Anthony Gose went 0-4.

 

Monday night: Jays 9 at Orioles 4.

An excellent offensive effort by the Jays (Arencibia's 5 RBIs), and a key defensive play by Gose resulted in a Jays win.

The night game featured the struggling Ricky Romero vs Wei-Yin Chen. In this match, the Jays needed some excellent defensive play to win this game. Ricky was truly lucky to end up with the win.

Edwin started off the scoring in the top of the first with a two run home run following a Brett Lawrie walk. Ricky's bottom of the first looked a little shaky with a opening walk.

Chen continued to be shaky in the 2nd. Sierra singled and Visquel doubled to open the inning. JP Arencibia hit a long fly ball to right to advance Visquel and score Sierra. Gose singled to left to score Visquel and it was 4-0 going into the bottom of the 2nd.

But in the bottom of the 2nd, 8 hitters for Baltimore came to the plate as Romero's pitching woes continued. Reynolds singled, then Machado hit a seeing eye single between 3rd and short. Chavez advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd with two out, but Andino hit a weak single again between short and 3rd to score two runs. Romero then errored allowing Teagarden to reach and McLouth was beaned before Romero got out of the inning. 4-2 after 2.

Romero managed to sail through the 3rd and 4th inning. Romero ran into some trouble in the bottom of the 5th as McLouth paid back Romero for hitting him by hitting a home run. Jones then hit a double and Romero walked two batters, loading the bases before Chavez hit a weak ground ball down the first base side that Romero handled and tagged him out to preserve the lead. Sierra immediately homered in the top of the 5th to give Romero a 5-3 lead going into the 5th, and with Romero having thrown 85 pitches and looking wild, it was really surprising to see him come out and pitch the sixth. I really thought that Farrell would want his bullpen to preserve the win.

In the bottom of the 5th, Romero continued his woes, giving up a double to Andino, a single and a walk, ending Romero's day. Sportsnet had some nice shots of Romero looking quite upset as Brad Lincoln came on to with the bases loaded and none out. JJ Hardy then singled to score a run. Lincoln then settled down and managed to strike out Adam Jones, then a shallowish fly ball by Davis was caught by Jones. Teagarden, the lumbering catcher tagged, and Gose threw a perfect one bounce strike to Arencibia to tag out the Oriole, just barely in time. 5-4 Jays after 6, and Romero was in line for the win.

In the 7th, with Jake Arreita on the mound, the Jays struck again. Encarnacion walked, Escobar singled, and Lind (who pinch hit for Yan Gomes against the righty) singled to load the bases. Sierra then hit into a fielders choice as Reynolds threw out Encarnacion for the force at home, and Visquel popped to short. Then, JP Arencibia, who was hitting 4-39 since his return, decided to hit a just-out-of-the park GRAND SLAM to take the a 9-4 lead.

Lincoln pitched the 7th, Loup the 8th and Janssen came on to pitch the ninth. He looked rusty, giving up 3 singles to load the bases with none out, but Reynolds managed to hit into a double play (scoring one) and Machado struck out to end the ball game.

Tuesday: Jays 4, Orioles 0

Aaron Laffey and the bullpen combine for a shutout, Jays get 13 hits for 2nd night in a row in a well-rounded effort.

Aaron Laffey threw something like 57 innings last year in the Mariners and Yankee organization before being converted into a starter by the Jays this year. So, far this year, Laffey threw 63.2 innings for Las Vegas and 90 innings for the Jays. I think if the Jays didn't have to use Laffey to start, they wouldn't, but with Happ on the bench and playing 10 games in 8 days left little choice for the Jays.

Laffey pitched 5 2/3rds inning, scattering 5 hits, pitching to contact (no walks, no strikeouts). Farrell decided to preserve his arm and took Laffey out of the game with Jones single while the Jays were up 2-0. Farrell then played matchups, putting out Delabar, Cecil (to get one out), and Lyon. Oliver and Janseen then finished the game, and once again Janssen looked rusty, as Escobar bobbled a ball with 1 out, then a popup and two walks later, the bases were loaded with 2 out with the tying run at the plate in Flaherty, who hit a fly ball to end the game.

Offensively, it was another 13 hit effort as every Jay got at least one hit. Gomes recorded an RBI in the first, with a single to score Lawrie in the 1st. In the fourth, Hechavarria hit a long double with two out to knock in Davis from first. The Jays scored two more in the 7th as Rasmus knocked in Arencibia who singled and advanced to second as Gose reached on a an error. Encarnacion then knocked in Gose but Davis threw out Rasmus as he tried to go 1st to 3rd. The throw by Davis was brilliant and just got Rasmus out at 3rd, so I wouldn't blame Rasmus from trying to advance.

Escobar, Gomes, Rajai, and JP Arencibia got two hits each. Arencibia was the only player who walked.

Wednesday: Jays 2 and Baltimore 12

Carlos Villanueva ran out of gas in the 5th inning as the Jays offense runs typically dry. The bullpen's minor leaguers allowed 2 runs each inning to put the game out of reach.

As I wrote in my previous blog entry, Villanueva has been audtioning to be a starter now since he entered the rotation on June 29th. The fear for Villanueva has always been his arm. He injured it last year, and he's never pitched as many innings as he has this year. I think that Villanueva has starter stuff, but that his arm will wear out at some point next year. For that reason, I think Villaneuva would be a perfect fit for the Jays as both Drabek and Hutchinson will be ready mid and late season to replace Carlos.

In the first inning, Edwin and and McLouth exchanged home runs. In the fifth, the Jays scored thir only other run of the game as Gose knocked in Arencibia who doubled on the previous at bat.

But in the bottom of the 5th, Villaneuva's arm had had enough. Villanueva's fastball had topped out at 90mph, and he was relying alot on his slider, change up and curve to get runners out, and he was successful at doing so. Villanueva up until the point was pretty good, throwing 7 strikeouts and walking 1. Jim Thome hit the 1st pitch (a change up) out of the park to tie the game. With two outs, Machado hit a home run (on another change up) to go down 3-2. McLouth and Hardy then singled before Chris Davis hit his 27th home run for his 27th home run (on a slider left up). That ended it for Villaneuva.

Down 6-2, Farrell elected to go to the AAA callups in the bullpen, going with Carreno in the 6th, who walked Wieters and gave up a 2 run home run to Mark Reynolds. In the 7th, Farrell went with Beck. Beck gave up a single to Hardy before Chris Davis hit a 2-run homer. In the 8th, Farrell went with David Carpenter. Lawrie had a terrible throw to allow Reynolds to reach, and then Machado homered. 12-2 after 8.

Offensively, Adam Lind went 3 - 4 (singles), while Arencibia (2B), Encarnacion (HR), Gose, and Hechavarria rounded out the hitting.

So, for Carlos, who may have one outing remaining, he is running on fumes. One might ask why Farrell would run out the Vegas trio to throw innings when down only 4 runs, but I am thinking that he needed to give his bullpen a rest.

Coming up: Jays vs Yankees

The Jays come home now to finish off their disappointing season, getting to hopefully play spoiler against the Yankees, who will be pulling out all the stops to win the division against the Orioles (who will be in Boston). The last series will be against the even more disappointing Minnesota Twins to close out the season.

 

Why Villanueva should be a Blue Jay next year

The Jays I hope will Carlos Villanueva.It's just a matter of Carlos reconciling what his value is and Alex Anthopoulos to convince the Jay to remain in Toronto. 


Carlos throws in Tampa (Getty Images)

 Carlos believes that he can be a big league starter next year and wants the commensurate salary to match. A big league starter needs to be able to throw 200 innings and he of course believes that he has the arm to do it.

The facts bely the belief. Carlos has been up and down through his years at Milwaukee and Toronto and does not have the experience nor proven arm to command a starter's salary. The Brewers ended his attempt to become a long-term starter in spring training of 2007, and since that, Carlos has not pitched the number of innings required nor has he been consistent enough to be an opening day starter.

Carlos Villanueva is 28 years old and debuted with the Brewers in 2006. He was drafted as an amateur free agent by the Giants in 2002 and was traded to the Brewers in the 2003-4 offseason. Carlos brewed in A and AA ball as a starter in 2004 and 2005, doing fairly decently (ERA under 3.5, WHIP of about 1.1).

In 2006, he was promoted from AA to AAA Nashville for the Brewers organization, where he had, as a starter, an ERA of 3.22 and a WHIP of 1.104 with 120Ks in 129 innings pitched. He got called up to the Brewers, pitched 54 more innings for Milwaukee, making spot starts in June and September, posting a respectable 3.69 ERA, a WHIP of 1, and struck out 39. So, in 2006, he pitched 182 1/3 innings total and looked to be on track to be a long term starter.

But the Brewers elected to make Carlos a reliever in 2007, being beat out for the #5 spot in the rotation by Claudio Vargas. Villanueva was an adequate middle reliever, throwing 114 innings, posting an average 3.94 ERA with a WHIP of 1.35. Carlos I am sure saw that year as a step backwards in his career, as did many who were following his career at the time. As it turns out, most of the Milwaukee starting crew did not do very well, as Milwaukee finished the season 83-79, 2 games back of the Cubs in the NL Central. The starters posted a 4.55 ERA and a WHIP of 1.422, not very good, and certainly not enough to go far in the playoffs had they made it. Carlos did start a few games, especially late in the season. But still, the threw 114 innings in 2007, a step back.

Carlos continued to work the bullpen in 2008, and while he started off poorly (5.40 ERA through the end of June), he finished the season working to a 1.87 ERA and a WHIP just over 1, with 43Ks. He seemed to have found his form in the 2nd half of 2008. Still, he threw only 108 innings, posted an ERA of 4.07 and a WHIP of 1.367.

In 2009, Carlos was used even less, starting only 6 games and tossing 96 innings, posting an ERA of 5.34 with a WHIP of 1.427, posting a very disappointing 4-10 record. Four of his six starts ended up with Carlos letting in 4 or more earned runs and never making it past the 6th inning.

In 2010, Carlos took another step backwards, getting demoted to AAA Nashville in August and September, throwing a total of about 64 innings. His demotion was due to having a minor league option. Still an ERA of 4.61 and WHIP of 1.33 was not awful.

Carlos was traded to the Jays in the 2010 offseason (for a player to be named) and started pitching in the pen for the Jays as a middle-reliever with Luis Perez's left-handed arm. And Carlos started off very very well, posting a 1.48 ERA over 13 appearances. and an WHIP of about 0.83. And because of Jesse Litsch's poor performance (4.66 ERA, WHIP over 1.4), the Jays elected to inject Carlos in the rotation and send Litsch down to the minors and turn him into a rather ineffective middle reliever. And Carlos was very good as a starter but got worse as the season went on. Over 12 starts, he posted an ERA of 4.33, striking out 41 over 70.2 innings and a WHIP about 1.3. But his arm gave out on his 13th start and he left the game in Tampa giving up 8 runs over 2 2/3rds innings. He was put on the DL with a forearm strain, and began a rehab assignment down in Vegas. He was used sparingly in September, appearing 7 times, throwing 9.1 innings of work, and did well. He earned 1.4 million in 2011.

Villanueva, in 2012, (now earning 2.3 million) began the season once again in the bullpen with Perez as the alternate as the starting rotation was set. Carlos did very well as the Jays middle reliever, throwing 33.1 innings over 22 appearances, with a 3.24 ERA and a WHIP of over 1.4, but striking out 36 and giving up 5 home runs. Really, in the 22 appearances, he had only 5 where he let in runs, with only 1 negatively affecting the outcome of the game (vs Minnesota May 11).

Pressed into service through injuries to Morrow, Hutchinson, and Drabek, Carlos became a starter again, pitching at home to the Angels on June 29th. Over the first 11 starts, he was very good, pitching deeper into the games, posting an ERA of 3.03, a WHIP of 1.1, and striking out 1 per inning, throwing 64% of his pitches for strikes.

Now, in two of his past four starts, he hasn't been very good, letting in 6 runs against Baltimore on September 4th and blowing his start at Tampa on Friday.

So, the fandom are demanding to sign him and that he will be the team's saviour next season. The Jays fans are delusional of course. There are reasons why any team would be reluctant to sign Villanueva.

First, 2012 has been by far his best season with the most innings pitched, the most number of starts, his best ERA, his best WHIP, the highest number of strikeouts (by far). It's the perfect time to advertise yourself when you are having your best season. That said, he may be peaking, and that's a risk.

Second, Villanueva has indicated that he will be very unhappy in the bullpen and has stated that he is looking to be a starter and command the salary as a starter as a free agent. That means that Carlos will say "no" to any salary where he will be part of the bullpen. This means that any team that ends up signing him will be risking salary.

Thirdly, Carlos has not completed a full season as a starter, and when he has started a number of games in a row, his arm has succumbed to injury, such as it did in 2011, and what is happening now. If Carlos makes his next two starts, he will have pitched around 132 innings in 2012. His cap in innings NEXT year will be about 170 and the year after 220. At 170 innings, Carlos will only be be able to pitch until the end of August, at the latest if he starts every scheduled start, and that's a risk.

A club that's desparate for starters or with an open bankroll might end up taking that risk.

I purport that Anthopoulos should take that risk, reason with Villanueva that he WILL start next season, but offer a 3-4 year escalating contract based on the risk involved in signing him. 
Carlos is well known to the Jays and is pitching well in Toronto. He has proven starts. If he signs, Anthopoulos will only need to sign one free agent in the offseason to complete the rotation. Carlos Villanueva's arm will last him to the return of Kyle Drabek or to the trade deadline should the Jays compete. Anthopoulos has the best relationship with Villanueva and his agents, and will be able to reason with Carlos to sign a reasonable deal that takes that risk into account.

It's a win-win. Villanueva remains a Jay, and he starts the season, knowing that he will be replaced in mid-August. He commands a better salary as a starter and starts for up to 5 months next year, and works out for the following year for the full term. And, Villanueva won't get dickered around by other teams and doesn't get demoted the the bullpen as he did in Milwaukee. Anthopoulos only needs to shop for one free agent pitcher in the offseason (hopefully a very strong free agent), and can leave Jenkins and Alvarez to potentiate in AAA or to be used in cases of emergency. A starting rotation of Romero - Morrow - Happ - Villaneuva - and Free agent will be decent enough for the Jays to compete. 

So, let's get him signed. He needs the Jays as much as the Jays need him.

September 4: Orioles 12, Jays 0

Blue Jays continue extreme suckage, rains in dome, Villanueva taken down a notch

Tonight's clash between the O's and Jays featured Carlos Villanueva and Zach Britton. Villanueva came off a very good start against Tampa, pitching 6 innings, striking out 7 and not allowing any runs on 5 hits. Meanwhile, Zach Britton has come off three great starts in a row. In his last start, Britton pitched 8 innings of ball against Chicago, allowing 1 run, 7 hits and striking out 10. The game should be a pitching duel.

Back with the Jays is Anthony Gose and Chad Beck. Arencibia is probably a week away from rejoining the club.

In the bottom of the first, Rajai reached on an infield hit off the plate, but Colby bunted straight to the pitcher and the force at 2nd was an easy shot -- Nothing else doing that inning. In the bottom of the second, Escobar singled, but once again -- nothing doing. In the bottom of the third, Hechavarria singled to open the inning, Rajai bunted him over, but nothing doing. Sierra then doubled with two out in the bottom of the fourth, but nothing doing. 4 innings, four stranded runners.

Villanueva, meanwhile, did nothing short of face the minimum through 12 batters, continuing to strengthen through the season.

In the top of the 5th, Adam Jones then hit a ground rule double as it started to rain inside Rogers Centre. An out later, Villanueva walked Davis. Mark Reynolds then his a three run home run just over the fence to the bullpen in left.

The Jays offense continued to do nothing as the rain continued to fall at Rogers Centre. In the top of the sixth, a single and a double followed by a sac fly to score Markasis to make it 4-0 after six. Jays did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as the roof continued to remain stuck open in the rain, and a fire alarm disrupted Escobar's at bat.

In the 7th, the Orioles managed to single and double and score another run through the sacrifice to make it 5-0. Aaron Loup came on to pitch with two outs. He balked home Machado, and Markasis doubled. JJ Hardy then singled home Markasis as the throw skipped off the wet turf over the catcher's glove. 7-0 into the stretch.

The Jays continued to do nothing offensively in the bottom of the 7th. In the eighth, Aaron Loup continued to be awful with a single-single-double to end Aaron Loup's crappy outing (1 out, 5 hits, 4 earned runs). On came Chad Beck to completely suck with a single-single-double-single to score four more runs. With the bases loaded and behind 12-0, an inning ending double play ended the misery.

Jays did nothing in the 8th against Kevin Gregg or in the 9th against Zach Phillips.

Well, I'm completely flabbergasted.

The Orioles are just not that great a team. Their record is what it is because of their closer and their setup. Their hitting is average. Their starting pitching is average, yet not only can the Blue Jays not hit, they can't manage to score a freaking run in the two games, and this is with an okay line up that features two-thirds of a lineup. Seven hits in two games. That's absolutely ridiculous.

The second thing is the dome. Presumably, the dome staff have access to weather radar and a meteorologist. There is absolutely no reason to open the dome. Rogers couldn't close the dome and it ended up pouring in the dome which absolutely affected the Jays performance on the field. Ridiculous, terrible, and it should not have happened.

Villanueva had 6 earned runs over 6 2/3rds inning. He looked great through the first three, but started to wear down in the middle innings. He struck out six and walked one. Loup got one out, got 5 hits, and earned 4 runs. Beck pitched an inning, got 4 hits, and 2 runs earned. For Villanueva, this might take away a little bit of his marketability as a starting pitcher in another market.

Hits for the Jays by Rajai, Yunel, Moises and Hechavarria. Sierra got a double. Edwin got walked intentionally and Kelly Johnson walked. Rasmus, Lind, and Mathis did nothing.

It's just an awful outing by the Jays with absolutely no bright spots at all.

August 30: Tampa Bay 0, Jays 2

Brilliant pitching efforts set the tone

Carlos Villanueva has been a welcome addition to stabilize the starting rotation. While a couple of his outings have not been quality starts, he has given his team the opportunity to win. Some of his stuff is electric. Certainly, he has been performing as a number 3 starter this year. He wants to start next year, and I think that as long as his arm can remain healthy through the year, he should be given the chance. As a starter now, over 11 starts, he is pitching to an ERA of 3.03 and a WHIP of 1.08. Over 65 1/3 innings, he has struck out 65, for a rate of 8.95K / 9 and 2.3 BB/9. Certainly, this is starter stuff.

The Jays are capping him at about 100 pitches, which for Carlos, works out to about 6 innings. His outing against the White Sox where he threw 85 pitches over 7 was his most recent best outing. He's pretty good.

Tonight was no exception. Tampa pitching since the all-star break has been phenomenal with an ERA of 2.91 for starters and a ridiculous 1.21 ERA for relievers. And August has been tighter with a pitching ERA of 2.82 for starters and 0.93 for relievers. So, for the Jays to win, pitching would have to be very tight. And it was.

The sum of Toronto's offense was a Kelly Johnson double in the bottom of the 1st with the bases loaded and two out as Moore was a little bit wild. After that point, the Jays threatened a couple of times with two outs but wasn't able to put any insurance on the board. The Jays did not have any real baserunning errors or offensive gaffes. Colby, Edwin, Mathis, and Hechavarria were kept off the hit list. Escobar reached base three times out of four with two singles and a walk. Kelly Johnson also went two for four.

Carlos Villanueva only really got into trouble in the 2nd with two singles to open the frame. A sac bunt put Tampa's two runners in scoring position with one out. Then, a short pop out and a strike out ended the inning. Carlos then proceeded to strike out 5 more in a row, tying the franchise record for consecutive strikeouts at 6 (JA Happ also struck out 6 in a row a couple of weeks ago) before Matt Joyce ruined the party with a pop out to left.

Darren Oliver, Brad Lincoln, and Casey Janssen were perfect in their final three innings of relief, striking out 4, walking none.

So, a great opener to the series. For tomorrow's tilt, it's a battle between Brandon Morrow, on his 2nd start after being injured, and Jeremy Hellickson.

I really feel that the Jays are starting to turn a corner now, having won 3 of the last 4. Let's hope they can wrap August on a positive note. The Jays pitching staff seems somewhat rejuvenated with Morrow back in the clubhouse. Romero pitched great on Tuesday night. JA Happ pitched well enough. Carlos pitched great. And the bullpen is also pitching well again.

Even with Bautista out, there is enough offense there to be potent. Only Hechavarria and Moises are the rookies remaining in the line up. Escobar has woken up finally. Lind is not looking foolish at the plate.

August 18: Rangers 2, Jays 1

Jays miss moments to mount comeback - fall short in vilifying Villanueva

While the pitching staff held the Rangers to two runs, Escobar, Rasmus, and Johnson are falling short, really short for the Blue Jays offense.

Villanueva pitched another brilliant outing against the hard-hitting Texas Rangers, holding them to two runs for the second night in a row. After Villanueva faced the minimum after 4 innings, an Adrian Beltre ground rule double (that Gose should have had -- he lost it in the sun) and was followed up by a Nelson Cruz home run. Both hits were due to a 82 mph changeup that Villanueva left up. Villanueva left the game with one on and one out at the top of the 7th. His pitching line was great: 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts over 6 1/3, throwing 86 pitches (58) for strikers.

Aaron Loup, Chad Jenkins, and Darren Oliver pretty much shut down the remainder of the Texas offense as they got one more single in the top of the 8th.

The Jays offense was pretty much as disappointing as usual with many missed opportunities. The Jays offense came in the bottom of the third from the AAA combination of Gose and Hechavarria. Anthony Gose hit a single, stole 2nd, was balked to 3rd, and scored on Hechavarria's first RBI of his major league career, a single to right.

In the bottom of the fourth, Edwin was on second with no one out but couldn't advance as Cooper lined, Yunel flew, and Jeff Mathis struck out.

In the bottom of the fifth, Anthony Gose singled and Hechavarria advanced him to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt. Davis then bunt popped out and Colby popped out.

In the bottom of the sixth, Cooper and Escobar singled with one out. Johnson struck out, but Jeff Mathis reached on a slow single to Kinsler to load the bases for Gose, who struck out after 10 pitches (a great at bat, but was beaten).

And in the bottom of the seventh, the Jays had runners at 1st and 3rd with nobody out (Hechavarria ground rule double, Davis single). Colby then popped out to 3rd base. Edwin was intentionally walked to load the bases. David Cooper flew out to left field, but the ball was not deep enough, and Hech was given the stop sign from Butterfield. And Yunel hit a short fly ball to center to leave the Jays with nothing to show.

The Jays then went 6 up, 6 down to lose the game.

Some positives of the game was Mathis's throw to 2nd to catch a stealing Craig Gentry at the top of the 3rd, and a nice pick off by Loup to catch David Murphy going to 2nd. Hechavarria went 2 for 3.

Major disappointments was Colby Rasmus batting 0 for 5 and is now running an 0-14 streak and is 5-30 with one HR since he came back from his groin injury on August 3. Kelly Johnson is batting 2-20 in his last 7 games. Escobar is battng 3 for 23 in his last 7 games. So, it is the regulars who are now a big part of the problem for the Jays offence. When these three regulars combine to hit one hit per game, it's easy to see why the Jays offense is extra impotent in the last week. Only Edwin (who is 10-25 in the last 7) and Rajai (10 for 35 in his last 8 and 7 stolen bases) have been potent for the veteran Jays.

This is a game that the Jays would probably win with Bautista, Lawrie, Lind, and Arencibia in the lineup -- a tough show for the Jays today, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. Rasmus' bat needs to heat up again, and Brett indeed is due back early next week probably in Detroit although he only went to bat once in today's Gulf Coast game (due to poor field conditions).

Tomorrow's game features Henderson Alvarez vs Matt Harrison in what is sure to be an offensively challenged day yet again for the Blue Jays.

August 8: Jays 2, Rays 3

DVR Classic as Jays, fans fall asleep at 8pm

Part of the reason that I love summer nights is that although there is nothing to watch on TV (well, there is the Olympics), the Blue Jays are usually on, and the games are pretty entertaining.

But these games are not entertaining, at all, not because the Jays lose, but in the manner that they lose. Tampa's pitching looks great, but the Jays pitching before they reach bullpen is just good. That allows the opposing team to win with less than 5 runs. The offense for the Jays has evaporated. Jose is not getting better. Lind is faultering. Arencibia is out. Lawrie will probably go on the DL. Hope for this team has all but disappeared. But I'll get to that later. Here are the highlights of this one:

The Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd with a sac fly from Edwin to knock in Rajai Davis, who went first to third on a Colby Rasmus single.

Carlos Villanueva then had a minor blowout in the bottom of the third, allowing the first three runners to reach in a double-double-single combination to Jennings, Upton, and Matt Joyce, plating one. Evan Longoria grounded into a nice double play to plate Upton. Then two walks and a single to plate Ben Zobrist. 3-1 Rays after three.

Villanueva then allowed a single, then retired 9 in a row in the the middle frames.

The Jays threatened in the top of the 7th. With a double by Johnston, Farrell elected to bunt Mathis in order to try to score Johnston. But you know, sacrificing an out for a base at this stage in the game, down by 2, doesn't make sense with me. Let Mathis hit away and hope that a single scores the run again. As it turned out, the bunt did move Johnston, but Cobb went ahead and struck out rookie Gose and Hechavarria to wrap up the inning. It was a dumb time to bunt.

Delabar and Lincoln pitched excellently in the 7th and 8th, allowing one hit in the two innings.

The Jays made it interesting in the 9th, as David Cooper bounced a 325 foot home run off the top of the 5 foot wall next to the line in LF. Jennings was there but didn't make a real attempt to catch it. Johnson and Mathis then hit balls in the air to the shortstop to end the game.

The Jays bullpen have pitched extremely well in the last 13 games, including tonight's game. Over 41.1 innings pitched, the bullpen has let in 6 runs for an ERA of 1.41. They sport a BA of .162, an OBP of .256, and a SLG of .223 for an OPS of .479. So, the bullpen has completely righted itself thanks to the AA acquisitions. Unfortunately, the Jays have absolutely no run support and the starters have been decent as well. Now the story for the Jays is the absolute outage at the plate.  

That doesn't mean I'm off the bandwagon - I'm being realistic. I still love this team, and the team has now I think got to focus on its youth. What does that mean?

For one, I think that the Jays need to come home and put the best players out there and try to eke out a series win against the Yankees. Once the fans have gone home from the weekend series, it's time to make some team changes. Maybe I'm being drastic...

First, Bench Rajai Davis and let Moises, Gose, and Rasmus play the outfield on a regular basis, get some ABs, and see how they progress. Rajai can come on and pinch hit or pinch run late in the game. Let Bautista heal. If Rasmus is playing with pain, let Gose play center. It's unlikely that Bautista will be back before September's callups anyway.

Second, I think you need to bench Escobar and put Hechavarria as the regular shortstop. Let the youth play at his natural position and see what he can do. Omar Visquel can finish his career at 3rd base until Lawrie comes back.

Third, leave David Cooper on first and let Edwin DH for the rest of the year.

Fourth, platoon Yan Gomes at catcher and let him learn the ropes at the MLB position.

Don't rush Brandon Morrow back to the majors. Let JA Happ pitch. Let Jenkins start. End Alvarez's year before he pitches too many innings and wears out his arm.

For the Jays fandoms, look for alot of losses, and the Jays will probably running 20-30 until the end of the season and finishing with 72-74 wins. But you know, that playing experience for the junior Jays will mean alot.

Tampa Bay - Jays series preview

Jays hope to salvage road trip - not likely

After getting swept in Seattle and losing Travis Snider, then seeing Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie exit the same game, things looked pretty hopeless for the Jays for the road trip.

The Jays last series win at Tropicana
was in April 2007

But the team pulled out two very gutsy (and lucky) wins on Saturday and Sunday to give them some confidence for the plane ride to Tampa. The Trop has been very unfriendly to the Jays. The last time the Jays won a series at Tropicana Field: April 2007, when Roy Halladay took the deciding game 6-3. Casey Janssen made the save. So, I think a 1-2 performance in Florida, while disappointing, is the new par for the course.

It's difficult to win the AL East without going through Tampa, and when you can't win a series on the road, the best you can really hope to do against Tampa is go 7-11 or 8-10 for the year.

Tampa is suffering from a hitting outage as well, scoring 25 runs in the past 10 games and getting shut out by Baltimore in their last two games. However, Longoria is being activated for the game and his .329/.433/.561 bat will be a very welcome return.

Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie likely will be back for the series in Tampa, though I would expect to see Hechavarria, Gomes, and Sierra make a start perhaps. Jose Bautista and Adam Lind will not make appearances this series, and Arencibia won't be back anytime soon.

Look for a starting lines up of Lawrie - Rasmus - Edwin - Johnson - Escobar - Cooper - Davis - Mathis  - Gose for tonight and Wendesday's game and a different look for the Thursday afternoon game against the lefthander.

Tonight's matchup features J.A Happ in his first start as a Blue Jay. Farrell stated that the relief appearances really don't count as he is not a reliever, and certainly, Happ has had a rougher first inning in his relief appearances, which is normal for a starter. Don't expect Happ to wow you. He has been inconsistent this year pitching for Houston, having bad outings (>3 runs, <6 IP) in 6 of 18 of his starts. He will walk 2.5/9 and strike out 8.5/9. If he has a consistent start, look for him to hang in there against Tampa. There will the benefit of pitching in the AL for the first time, so the hitters haven't really seen him. And The Rays counter with James Shield (on 6 days rest), who shut out Oakland in a 3 hitter in his last outing, but in the previous 7 outings, has had only one quality start.

Expect a low scoring game, but I think the Rays will pull out a 4-3 squeaker tonight.

Tomorrows matchup features Carlos Villanueva who is 6-1 with a 3.19 ERA and Alex Cobb (5-8, 4.60 ERA). Cobb has had two very good starts following a couple of poor outings. Villanueva has been very very good as a starter so far for the Jays. I think this one will be close as well and the result of the game depends on which Cobb shows up. I think the Jays will take this one 6-3.

Finally, Thursday afternoon's game features Henderson Alvarez (7-8, 4.47 ERA) vs Matt Moore (8-7, 3.84 ERA) in a lefty-lefty matchup. Matt Moore has had 17 scoreless innings, but in the last two games, he threw alot of pitches (103 and 104) to get throw 6.1 and 5.1 innings respectively. Nevertheless, he has been very very good in his last four starts. Henderson had been fairly inconsistent this year. Look for Tampa to take this one in a 6-2 victory.

Things to look forward to this series is the return of Lawrie and Rasmus to the lineup, the continued play of David Cooper, and the major league debut of Chad Jenkins. Anthony Gose will get some more play and we'll see if his bat continues to improve.

Don't expect Toronto to win the series in Tampa.