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Toronto Blue Jays Roster

pitchers # Pos.
Jeremy Accardo 49 P
Shawn Camp 57 P
Jesse Carlson 39 P
Brett Cecil 27 P
Jason Frasor 54 P
Roy Halladay 32 P
Dirk Hayhurst 58 P
Brandon League 22 P
Scott Richmond 48 P
Ricky Romero 24 P
B.J. Ryan 52 P
Brian Tallet 56 P
catchers # Pos.
Rod Barajas 20 C
Raul Chavez 13 C
infielders # Pos.
Aaron Hill 2 2B
John McDonald 6 SS
Lyle Overbay 35 1B
Scott Rolen 33 3B
Marco Scutaro 19 SS
outfielders # Pos.
Jose Bautista 23 LF
David Dellucci - LF
Alex Rios 15 RF
Vernon Wells 10 CF
designated hitters # Pos.
Adam Lind 26 DH
Kevin Millar 30 DH

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Toronto Blue Jays News

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Jays of the Day!

Adam Lind ||||| ||||| |||||

Scott Rolen ||||| |||||

Aaron Hill ||||| ||||| |

Rod Barajas ||||| |

Marco Scutaro ||||| ||||| |

Ricky Romero ||||| ||

Travis Snider ||

Kevin Millar ||||

Alex Rios ||||| ||||| |

Roy Halladay ||||| ||

Jason Frasor ||||| |

Vernon Wells ||||| ||||| |||

Jesse Carlson ||||

Lyle Overbay ||||| ||||| |||

BJ Ryan |||

Scott Downs ||||| |||||

Scott Richmond ||||| |

Shawn Camp ||

Brian Tallet ||||| |

Jose Bautista |||||

Brandon League ||

Raul Chavez ||

Bill Murphy |

Brett Cecil ||

Robert Ray |

Casey Janssen |

Jeremy Accardo ||


Final - 7.3.2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto Blue Jays 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 0
New York Yankees 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 X 4 8 0
WP: A.J. Burnett (7 - 4)
SV: Mariano Rivera (21)
LP: Brian Tallet (5 - 6)

Complete Coverage >

I Work These Hands to Bleed; I've Got These Mouths to Feed: Prospect Midseason Report, vol. 1

Ricky Romero has leapt tall prospect lists in a single bound, jumping all the way from the Jays' 9th-best prospect to one of the AL's better starting pitchers thusfar this season.  (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

Ricky Romero has leapt tall prospect lists in a single bound, jumping all the way from the Jays' 9th-best prospect to one of the AL's better starting pitchers thusfar this season. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

Thanks to Ryan Adams (not your inferior Canadian B-Ryan version and definitely don't call him that unless you want to be evicted from the 9:30 club) for today's title, from the beautiful sad song "In My Time of Need," off Heartbreaker, his finest record   By the way, best shows I ever saw (and there have been hundreds if not thousands) was an all-acoustic show - Tegan and Sara and Ryan Adams, with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.  Unfortunately, Ryan Adams also put on, by far, the worst show I ever saw, so there's that).   I thought it appropriate since we will be looking at the Jays' farm system and the song is about a farmer.  Anyway, we'll be looking at the Jays top 10 prospects, as we defined them in this LOTR themed post.  Things have obviously changed, but we won't update the rankings until later on. 

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One Bad Inning.

New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira is tagged out  by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Raul Chavez during the fifth inning of a baseball game on  Friday, July 3, 2009, at Yankee Stadium  in New York.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

about 7 hours ago: New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira is tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Raul Chavez during the fifth inning of a baseball game on Friday, July 3, 2009, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Blue Jays 2 Yankees 4

A frustrating one. Yeah I guess all loses are frustrating, but I hate us losing to A.J. Burnett. Except for one inning Brian Tallet pitched a good game. But the 5th he gave up 2 walks, a bunt single (that he could have made a better play on), another walk to score a run. At that point I thought it was going to be a big inning, but Tallet did a good job of limiting the damage. An ARod, ground out that was a force out at the plate and within a hair of being a double play. But then a passed ball cost us another run. Chavez really should have caught it. if he's a 'catch and throw' catcher' he's gotta make those plays. Another very very close out at the plate (I think the umpire missed the call) and a strikeout got us out of the inning. Just 2 runs in an inning that started out with 3 walks and a single is pretty decent.

We didn't get enough offense, just 7 hits and 2 walks. Vernon Wells had 2 hits a homer and a double and Marco Scutaro had 2, including a 'double' that was totally misplayed by Johnny Damon. Vernon's homer was good, but I liked the double because he went the other way with the pitch. Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, David Dellucci and Raul Chavez all had 0 fors, though Hill had a walk and Dellucci had a walk and was hit by pitch. 

The last inning wasn't fun, I know I'm never going to figure out Cito but two out in the 9th and you let Raul Chavez hit? Chavez was ripped off on the strike three call, it was off the plate and he didn't go around but still wouldn't you pinch hit for the man?

No Jays of the Day today. Honorable mention to Vernon and Scoot. Suckage Jays are Lind (-.139) and Chavez (-.117).

Tomorrow Roy Halladay (10-2, 2.56) goes against Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 10.06). It's a 1:00 Eastern start again.

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In New York Freedom Looks Like Too Many Choices: 7/3 Game Preview and Thread, Jays at Yankees


Hi everyone and hope you Yankees (not that kind) are enjoying your holiday weekend.  I'm up in NYC for the weekend, and looking forward to the 4-day-game series against New York's Richest (actually not even close, probably). 

In a few moves, David Dellucci has been called up from AAA (and is batting 8th today), while Russ Adams has been sent down.  Vernon Wells is back in the lineup and batting 6th today, while Scott Downs is going to throw a bullpen session and could return in a few days. 

Brian Tallet goes for the Yankees today and looks to extend his improbable run as a starter, while old friend A.J. Burnett, coming off an exceptional start his last time out, throws for the Yankees.  Nothing against A.J., but let's knock him around a bit, eh? 




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View From the Other Side: New York Yankees Series Preview

We start a four game series with the Yankees this afternoon so I sent off some questions to jacape2000 from Pinstripe Alley, SB's Yankee's blog and here are his answers

Who's been the biggest surprise for the Yankee's this season?

Dare I say Derek Jeter? At 35, his .307/.381/.447 line has forestalled the annual 'Jeter decline' discussion. More importantly, Jeter is posting the best defense of his career

What are manager Joe Girardi's strengths and weaknesses?

Joe G. seems a pretty weak manager to me. He is often too 'by the book' when it comes to handling the bullpen (see: Brian Bruney and the 8th inning). There have been rumors that he doesn't get along with the veterans, though that has been better this year. He's definitely managing for his job, and it shows- after agreeing to regularly rest Arod following return from surgery, Arod was off June 19th, pinch hit on June 20th, and has played every game since then.

I always admired Chien-Ming Wang, what's happened to him this year?

CMW hadn't built his strength back from his really horrific foot injury (the Lisfranc is the main thing holding the front and back of your foot together).

The season started horribly for Wang, everything was flat and every hit was a line drive. Since his '09 DL stint CMW has been improving. He's gone 5.0 in his last 3 starts with "only" 2 ER the last outing, 3 ER before that. We're thinking of his lousy May as Spring Training at the MLB level, and we should start to see the real CMW soon.

Mariano Rivera got his 500th save, he's 39 now and not showing signs of slowing, how much longer can he be great?

Mo is now as he was in the beginning, is now, and ever will be. Amen.

Seriously, I think Mo has set his own standard for the level at which he performs. He's not going to hang around to be a "good" closer. When he feels he's no longer effective enough to suit him, then he'll retire. That might mean his current deal (2010) or he might go for a one year deal after that.

The new Yankee Stadium seems like a extreme batter's park, I thought it had the same dimensions as the old park, why does it play so much different?

Do you know the old joke about Superman, the drunk man, and wind currents? Because of the shape of the New Yankee Stadium's bowl, the cut out section above the outfield creates a jet stream down either foul line. The rumor is that could change when Old Yankee Stadium comes down, but I'll believe it when I see it.

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Just when you think you've seen it all...

Bees descend on PETCO Field in San Diego. The video reminds me of old bad made for TV movies: "The Day the Bees Took Over".

"I saw him running in and I was wondering why he was running. He was looking over his shoulder. And then I looked and saw a huge swarm of bees," Hairston said. "And then I just started running."

comment about 12 hours ago Rincewind-1_tiny Tom Dakers comment 1 comment 0 recs

This Poverty is Hurting My Pride, Buddy, Can You Spare Me a Dime?: Next Series Pitchers Preview: New York Yankees

Hopefully we will be seeing this a lot on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

Hopefully we will be seeing this a lot on Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

The Jays get back on the road tomorrow afternoon for a four-game series (all afternoon games) at the new Yankee Stadium 3 - 6 July (I guess they're technically in New York already, but you get the idea).  After dropping the series to the Rays at home, it is even more important to have a good showing this weekend.

The Jays hope Brian Tallet can bounce back from his mediocre start last weekend (six walks in six innings is too many) and the Yankees turn to A.J. Burnett, who dominated the Mets last week.  On Independence Day here in the States, we send out the Doc to try continue his fine pitching against the Yankees (6-1, 54.0 IP, 13 R, 31 K, 7 BB since last year) and the Yankees counter with Chien-Ming Wang.  On Sunday afternoon, Scott Richmond looks for a little revenge against the lineup that tagged him for five runs in less than two innings on 13 May and Joba Chamberlain starts for the Yanks.  Finally, the series wraps up on Monday with Ricky Romero, who's been lights out since the beginning of June (5-1, 42 1/3 IP, 40 K, 14 BB), facing Andy Pettitte.  C.C. pitches tonight, so we won't be facing him (though it would be hard not to see his "Purpose-built Body").  Thanks to the Kinks, by the way, for today's post-title, which refers to the Yankees writing off the construction of their stadium from revenue-sharing responsibilities.

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First Half Report Card: The Pitchers

The pitchers turn.

Roy Halladay:A+: Is there anything new that can be said about Doc? Until his injury he hadn't gone less than 7 innings in a game. He is 2nd among AL pitchers in VORP at 37.0, likely without the couple of starts missed to injury he'd be 1st. His BABIP is a little high, .305, so he is having a little bad luck on balls in play. He's striking out almost 8 per 9 innings.  All his splits are good, he's as good against lefties as he is against righties. Doesn't give up many home runs. You guys know he's great, it is either him or Zack Greinke for All-Star game starter.

The rest of the pitchers are after the jump.

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Happy Birthday Brett Cecil

Fireworks for Brett Cecil's birthday. Nah, for Canada Day. I wonder who's idea it was to shoot off fireworks indoors. I'm sure the smoke was great fun.(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

Fireworks for Brett Cecil's birthday. Nah, for Canada Day. I wonder who's idea it was to shoot off fireworks indoors. I'm sure the smoke was great fun.(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

Our number 2 prospect and our current number 5 starter Brett Cecil turns 23. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to be 23 and be able to throw the ball 90 MPH. With your left hand yet. Brett moved through 3 levels of ball last season, starting in A ball and finishing in AAA. In the 3 levels he had a 2.88 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 118.2 innings. With the off day today, Brett doesn't get hit next start until Tuesday in Tampa Bay. 

Anyway. Happy Birthday Brett. You've got a great career ahead of you.

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Featured Poll

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Who has been the biggest surprise for the Jays this year?

  286 votes | Results

Definitions

Moonraker: Travis Snider

Snakeface: Scott Downs, for obvious reasons.

Suckage Awards:

   Hinske: Suckage Batter of the Day

   Towers: Suckage Starting Pitcher, named after Josh

   Batista: Suckage Reliever, named after Miguel

WPA: Win Probability Added, basically the amount a players adds to or subtracts from our chance of winning a game.

PQS: Pure Quality Start, means....oh heck just look here.

WAR: Wins Above Replacement, the number of more wins a season a team would have with a player compared to a mythical 'replacement' player, the kind that can always be found but isn't good.

UZR: Ultimate Zone Rating, the number of runs a fielder is above or below average for his position.

FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching, the runs a pitcher would allow not considering fielders contributions. Is based on walks, home runs and strikeouts.

BABIP: Batting Average on Balls in Play. Hits minus homers divided by at bats minus strikeouts and home runs plus strikeouts.

 

Send me a note for other terms that should be defined

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Click to listen to the Bluebird Banter theme song,  Skydome, written by Hugo and performed by his band, International Graduate University -- And click on the guitar for the lyrics!

Current Series

Yankees lead the series 1-0

Fri 07/03 WP: A.J. Burnett ( - )
SV: Mariano Rivera
LP: Brian Tallet ( - )
2 - 4 loss
Sun 07/05 1:05 PM EDT
Mon 07/06 1:05 PM EDT

AL East Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
Boston 48 30 .615 0 Won 1
New York 46 33 .582 2.5 Won 1
Tampa Bay 44 36 .550 5 Lost 1
Toronto 42 39 .518 7.5 Lost 1
Baltimore 35 44 .443 13.5 Lost 2

(updated 7.3.2009 at 4:09 PM EDT)

Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Dustin McGowan shoulder 03/27/2009
Jesse Litsch elbow 04/14/2009
Robert Ray shoulder 05/22/2009
Scott Downs toe 06/17/2009
Casey Janssen shoulder 06/14/2009
Michael Barrett shoulder 04/18/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date
Shaun Marcum elbow 03/27/2009

Bluebird Banter Game Thread Images

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