SB Nation - Jesse Carlson

Ryan Doumit an option in Toronto?

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:42:08 -0000

The Pirates reportedly are very willing to move catcher Ryan Doumit, FOXSports.com is reporting. Doumit had a breakout year in 2009 hitting .318 with 15 home runs, but battled injuries in 2009 to hit only .250 in 75 games.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ryan Doumit	75	280	31	70	16	0	10	38	20	49	4	0	.250	.299	.414

Doumit will make 3.5 million dollars in 2010 and 5.1 million in 2011, pretty reasonable if he can return to 2008 form.

The Blue Jays could re-sign Rod Barajas as a one year stop gap for catching prospect J.P. Arenciba; however, Arenciba hit .236 with 21 home runs and struck out 114 times to just 26 walks, and needs more seasoning before being expected to play everyday in Toronto. Realistically, he won't be ready to take over until the middle of 2011 or the start of 2012.

Bringing in Doumit to play catcher would be a good stop gap and could provide the Blue Jays with a big bat at a relatively cheap cost. And if Arenciba proves to be ready sooner than expected, then Doumit could be moved to first base or the outfield.

What would it cost the Blue Jays for Doumit? Doumit has only had one season in which he played over 100 games, so the Pirates can't demand too much in return.

The Pirates' bullpen is pretty weak, even if you include injured pitchers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio in the bullpen. The Blue Jays' bullpen is relatively young and deep, meaning moving one of them in a trade likely wouldn't hurt in the long run.

If the Jays offered Jesse Carlson, they might be able to land the catcher.

At least it's a start.

What was your least favorite Jay's game of the season?

Tom Dakers — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:32:04 -0000

We asked, yesterday, what your favorite game of the season was, so today we ask which was your least favorite? Which was the worst game, in your opinion, for the Jays?

There are many possibilities, if you weren't paying attention, we lost a number of games last year. Many in depressing fashion.

But for me one stands out in my memory as being particularly crushing. Back in the not so merry month of May, we had a 8 game losing streak going, we were in Baltimore and Roy Halladay was making the start. Halladay vs. the Orioles should have been the end of a losing streak. Should have. But not on May 27.

Final - 5.27.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Toronto Blue Jays	1	0	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	10	12	0
Baltimore Orioles	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	0	4	12	18	0
WP: Danys Baez (4 - 1) LP: Brian Wolfe (1 - 1)

Complete Coverage >

If you want to see the full box score it is here and my recap is here. Man was I pissed off at Cito.

Anyway you likely remember the game, we had a good, lively game thread. Through 7 innings life was good. Doc pitched well, but in the 7th it looked like he was tiring, he had thrown 103 pitches and we were up by 5 runs. A pretty safe time to pull the guy, you would think.

Cito called on Jesse Carlson, because, well he always calls Carlson first if we are ahead. Carlson had pitched 1.2 perfect innings the day before. Now my rule of thumb is if a reliever comes out for a second inning, he should get the next day off. More important than the number of pitches he has thrown is that he warmed up twice, once to come into the game and once to start the next inning. For me, that's enough to get him rest the next day. Cito....not so much. Cito picks the guys he likes in the bullpen and rides them. He is not the only manager to do this, Joe Torre was very successful in New York doing the same thing, to even a greater degree.

So Carlson's in, the Orioles have 3 lefties in the next 4 batters in the order and I'm thinking that for good or bad, Carlson will get the next 4 batters and someone else will come in. Even though, usual for a lefty, Carlson pitched better against righties last year. I'm not sure if Cito knew that or if he just chalked it up to small sample size. Anyway, single, single, walk and a pinch hitter. Carlson's got nothing. I'm sure Cito will go get him. Nope. Strikeout, yay, but still go get him. Hit batter. Go get him Cito. Nope. Single. Bases loaded, two runs in, Cito finally moves to get Carlson.

Downs comes in and isn't any better, 2 singles later and a great throw out at the plate and we are tied. We get through the 9th and 10th with good pitching from Jason Frasor. In the top of the 11th Aaron Hill hits a two run homer. Life is good again.

Bottom of the 11th, we just have to stop the Orioles from scoring 2 runs. In comes everyone's favorite $10 million per season closer B.J. Ryan (JP Riccardi folks, let's give him a hand). Ryan faces two lefties, gets one. Cito has Brian Wolfe and Brandon League up in the pen. Now anyone with even a passing interest in the Jays knows that League is a much better pitcher than Wolfe. Throw out the numbers and watch the two guys pitch. You can see it easy. Don't watch, listen to the sound the ball makes hitting the catcher's glove. If one of the two of them is coming into a game in an important moment, it has to be League, right? Wrong.

This is how I put it in the game recap:

Now League has been plenty wild at times this year, but he is a good reliever. Wolfe is ok I guess on occasion. Cito brings in Wolfe. How he decides Wolfe is a better choice than League I have no clue. Tying run at the plate. If League is wild we are 5 walks from a loss.

Wolfe gives up 2 singles and a homer and I'm going through the knife drawer looking for one sharp enough to cut my wrist. Luckily having the foresight of a long time Jay's fan, I replace all the knives with plastic spoons at the start of a season now. But I give it the old college try with a plastic spoon.

Brian Wolfe got the Suckage award with the highest negative WPA (I guess that should be lowest) I saw all year, -.889.

That was the start of a chain of bad events. Doc's next start he threw 133 pitches in a complete game win, Cito being afraid to pull him. The next start, another complete game. The next start he was injured. Cause and effect? We don't know but 133 pitches is a lot for anyone to throw, even Doc.

The next game we won against the Red Sox, ending our losing streak.

Goodbye, Goodnight: Orioles 5, Jays 4

hugo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:04:00 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

2 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero delivers against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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The Jays' season came sputtering to a close this afternoon with a series sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles. Today's game was an extra-inning affair the Jays lost in the bottom of the 11th.

On the Mound: Ricky Romero pitched pretty well for the Jays, though he gave up 4 runs. Three walks in 7 innings hurt him, but he struck out 8 and only gave up 5 hits (one of which was a 2-run home run by Nick Markakis). The long ball has been a thorn in Romero's side all season and will surely be something he works on next year.

At the Plate: Edwin Encarnacion hit another home run, which was encouraging. Edwin had a very good close to the season, batting .261/.343/.500 from September 1st on. If his wrist issues are behind him, he could have a good season at the plate next year. Jose Bautista and John McDonald also hit solo shots, and Travis Snider added an RBI double. Randy Ruiz had 2 doubles, a single, and a walk for a nice afternoon at the office. Vernon Wells had one of those days, going 0-5 and leaving a lot of men on base before Joe Inglett took his spot in the lineup to give him a bit of an early end to the season.

From the Pen: Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp combined to hold the line for three innings, giving the Jays the chance to tie it at four on J-Mac's home run in the 7th, but Brandon League had some serious problems in the 11th, giving up a leadoff single and then throwing two away in a row and allowing the run to score. His focus just wasn't there - understandable, I suppose, given the circumstances - he has had a ridiculously hard-luck season and likely just wanted it to be over. I'm going to go ahead and pencil him in for a big season next year.

The Jays finish the season at 75-87, pretty poor considering how hot they started. Their pythagorean record, however, was over .500 (83-79), showing that the Jays have been the victim of poor run distribution. Normally, I might say bad luck, but this is the third straight season that the Jays have underperformed their pythagorean record and particularly struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, so that really won't fly.

Almost as Good as Seeing Greinke: devil & Mrs. _fingers to Attend Baseball Game

devil_fingers — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:47:13 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

You better watch your back (at a baseball game) tonight, fat boy.

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It's been a weird week. I didn't blog much. I mean, compared to certain other people who allegedly are "on staff" here (I think "Kyle Boddy" might actually be a bot that signed me up. After I started writing for this blog, I did notice a lot of strange charges on my credit card and a bunch of erectile dysfunction medication, which I totally don't need, started showing up on our dorrstep) I churned out the content, but whatever.

Here's the deal, though. For the first time since the birth of Branyan Langerhans Fingers, the Mrs. and I are going out. It's a big deal. Some may recall that earlier this summer, we had good tickets to see Zack Greinke pitch when the Royals came up to visit the Blue Jays. Well, not only was that Zack's worst start of the season... but I didn't even get to go because I ended up in surgery for appendicitis.

Mrs. Fingers let the Jays know what was up and to see if they could give us "make up" tickets. And guess what? Despite the massive popularity and success of the Jays this season, they had replacement tickets for us! Thanks, Blue Jays. So, while I won't get to see the Royals and Greinke, I will get to see Roy Halladay. He's pretty good, I suppose, for a guy who probably won't even be worth 9 WAR this season. So that should be fun.

Not much else to say. The Royals are driving me nuts, "real life" has gotten busy, and so on. But here's the deal: if anyone is interested, I will be (hopefully) Tweeting LIVE from the game occasionally. Here's my Twitter feed. I'm sure I'll have all sort of brilliant insights. And I'll get to run into my kid's namesakes as well, perhaps, since the Mariners are in town. Or at least punch Jack Z. in the face for 'the incident.' Have a good weekend, everyone.

Current Series

Mariners lead the series 1-0

Thu 09/24	WP: Felix Hernandez (17 - 5) SV: David Aardsma LP: Jesse Carlson (1 - 6)	4 - 5 loss
Seattle Mariners Lookout Landing @ Toronto Blue Jays Bluebird Banter Friday, Sep 25, 2009, 7:07 PM EDT Rogers Centre Doug Fister vs Roy Halladay Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage >
Sat 09/26		10:07 AM PDT
Sun 09/27		10:07 AM PDT

Thanks Jorge Posada for reminding me why I hate the Yankees

Tom Dakers — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:24:00 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

3 months ago: New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays brawl on the field during the eighth inning of the Blue Jays' 10-4 victory in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, in New York. Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas is on the ground at left. Blue Jays third base coach Nick Leyva (16) tries to separate participants. Yankees' Nick Swisher is in the center of the group. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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If anyone ever needed to wonder why I dislike the Yankees so much, Jorge Posada gave a perfect demonstration of what I dislike about them. The sense of entitlement. In the four game series last week in Toronto, Yankee pitchers hit 6 Jays, including Randy Ruiz in the face. Yesterday Edwin Encarnacion hits a homer, his next time up to bat he is hit with a pitch. In the 8th Aaron Hill is drilled in the ribs with a pitch. In the bottom of the inning Jesse Carlson throws behind Posada. Behind him. The ball's about thigh level, not head level, not rib cage level, not even shin high. Right at the level you throw to make a point, without the worry of injuring someone.

And Posada throws a temper tantrum. How dare they throw towards me? A Yankee? Just cause we are using your players for target practice? "You don't want to do that", he yells at Carlson. Now I could understand that reaction, if say the pitch was at his head. Or even at his ribs. Or perhaps, if it were in retaliation for a homer hit in the last at bat. But no, that reaction was just because he is a Yankee and God forbid you come close to hitting one of those. You would think that Posada having been in the league for years would know that if you hit half a dozen or so of the other team's players, intentional or not, sooner or later a pitch will come towards you. Take it like a man.

Now Jesse Carlson has been one of my favorite Jays since early last season, when he came into a game with the bases loaded and no one out and got out of the inning without a run scoring. We named him Cy that day. I know he had a rough stretch earlier this season, when Cito was putting him into every game and he tired. And I know that Cito is doing the same again, and even though he is throwing great now, sooner or later he'll tire again. But Carlson place in my heart grew three sizes larger yesterday.

Carm asked just before Cy's moment with Posada "why are the Jays being hit so much?" Well, because until that moment opposing pitchers knew they could throw at Jay batters without fear of retaliation. After Hill was hit, Rod Black mentioned that the Jays have been hit more times than any other MLB team in the month of September. I think he said we've been hit 16 time, he said the team hit the second most is the Red Sox with 6 times over the same period. We will see if they get as much the rest of the month.

A little later in the day we'll put up links to other people's reaction to last night's fun, but you can share your's here.

Beat writers bash Posada after brawl

Ed Valentine — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:48:38 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Toronto Blue Jays infielder John MacDonald, right, reacts as New York Yankees' Eric Hinske (14), CC Sabathia, in dark blue jacket, manager Joe Girardi (27), and Mark Teixeira are seen in a bench-clearing brawl during the eighth inning of the Blue Jays' 10-4 victory over the Yankees Tuesday night.

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OK, so I bailed on the game early and missed the festivities. Seems the Yankees and Blue Jays just could not wait to bring boxing to the Bronx.

Here are a few takes on Fight Night in the Bronx from around the Inter-Google. Seems like most of the Yankee beat writers are critical of Jorge Posada for getting involved in the whole mess.

Peter Abraham:

Jesse Carlson is a two-bit middle reliever on a fourth-place team, a 28-year-old guy who has been with four organizations. No matter where he stands or what he says or anything else, Jorge Posada needs to avoid confrontation. Give Carlson a dirty look. Don’t give MLB a reason to suspend you.

Mark Feinsand:

Jorge Posada can say whatever he wants, he is 100 percent responsible for the bench-clearing brawl that took place between the Yankees and Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

He ought to know better.

I know Posada is a fiery player whose heart and passion have made him the inspirational leader of this team for several years, but as a veteran who has been through it all, he should have recognized that a brawl was the last thing the Yankees needed with less than three weeks to go before the playoffs.

The Yankees got lucky that nobody was seriously injured during the fracas.

Tyler Kepner:

If the manager is the most seriously injured Yankee, that is a relief for the team. As much as Posada helps with his passion and fire, on Tuesday he put his teammates at risk. C.C. Sabathia or Joba Chamberlain could have wound up like the Red Sox’ Bill Lee in 1976, emerging from the melee with a separated shoulder.

Manager Joe Girardi's reaction? He wasn't too happy with the whole event.

"We’ve already had a discussion," he said. "I told them there is a lot at stake here and we can’t afford to get anyone hurt or lose anyone or get people suspended. We can’t do that."

As I said, I did not see the fracas. I have to agree, though, with the sentiment that this was a stupid thing for Posada and the Yankees to get involved. They had everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Two Homers For Travis Snider, a Fight and the Jays Beat the Yankees, That One Had Everything

Tom Dakers — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:27:03 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

You would think we'd have a picture of the brawl, wouldn't you. We don't, so here's Moonraker hitting one out.. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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Blue Jays 10 Yankees 4

Boy that was a long game. The interesting part first: In the top of the 8th inning Aaron Hill was hit with a pitch, before that Encarnacion was hit with a pitch. Likely neither was intentional, but the Jays have been hit a ton lately. And you'll likely remember the Yankees hit Randy Ruiz in the face their last series together. Jays have been hit something like 15 times so far this month. In the bottom of the inning Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada. Posada wasn't happy. I'm not a big fan of hitting one of them because they hit one of yours but we've been hit so much lately it really was time someone stood up for our hitters.

Anyway, Posada walked and came around to score. After he scored he brushed past Carlson. He was ejected right there and then. But he came running back at Carlson and the benches emptied. They fought for quite a while. Even Cito almost took a swing at someone. Carlson came out of it with a large bump on his head. I'd imagine there will be suspensions. Posada for sure. Carlson maybe. I'll admit I admire Carlson more after this. Posada, not so much. Posada has been playing for years, he knows what was going on and he didn't get hit. He knew Hill got hit in the ribs. Maybe he could act like a veteran. Maybe.

Apparently, according to Jordan Bastian, writers following the Yankees say that John MacDonald punched Yankee manager Joe Girardi. I kind of doubt it, but Girardi looked to have the start of a shiner.

Other than that? Roy Halladay wasn't great. He pitch 6 innings, gave up 11 hits, but only 2 earned runs, striking out 6. He was helped by a heck of a throw by Jose Bautista from RF, gunning down ARod. I'm not a fan of Bautista but he has the best arm I've seen in the outfield since Jesse Barfield. Carlson came after Doc, because, well he pitches in every game the Jays lead in. And he pitched 1.2 innings. He would have gone longer but he was ejected in the mess. Jeremy Accardo came after the mess and walked the batter he faced. Then Scoot Downs finished off the inning. Brandon League pitched the 9th because we were only up by 7 and he hadn't pitched since yesterday.

Offensively, we were great: 13 hits and 5 homers. Travis Snider showed why he's called Moonraker by hitting 2 massive homers. He also struck out his last 3 times up. Edwin Encarnacion had one, after hitting one yesterday, Adam Lind had one that just went out and Jose Bautista hit one in the 9th. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit except for Hill, who took one for the team.

Jays of the Day are Snider (.243 WPA) and Encarnacion (.122). I'm going to give one to Cy for sticking up for his team and Rod Barajas for sticking up for his pitcher. At one point I'm sure I could read Rod's lips saying 'that ****** ran at my pitcher". Honorable mention to Doc and Lind. No Suckage Jays, Hill came closest at -.075.

I know I should be above this but I'm glad the Jays stuck up for themselves. Tomorrow Brian Tallet (7-9, 5.26) goes against Chad Gaudin (5-10, 4.81). I'm relatively sure there won't be fights again tomorrow but then I wouldn't be surprised if Brian Tallet would stand up for the team too. If I'm the Yankee's manager I sit Posada tomorrow. If I'm Cito, I tell Carlson to stay at the hotel. Knowing the two of them I wouldn't be surprised if Cy pitched to Posada tomorrow.

HBP => brawl => ejections and possible injuries (Yankees lose 10-4)

Travis G — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:22:22 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

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The ugly way the Yankees played tonight will get overshadowed by the eighth inning brawl.

The Yanks out-hit the Jays, 15-13, but Sergio Mitre thew batting practice, allowing a career-high four homers against none for Roy Halladay.

The fight went down as such: Mark Melancon hit Aaron Hill square in the back in the seventh inning (probably unintentional). In retaliation, Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada (certainly intentional), who had some words for the pitcher. Posada walked and came around to score on GGBG's double. As he crossed homeplate, he sort of bumped elbows with Carlson, and then it's unclear what exactly happened next. They never showed Posada's reaction to that, so I can only tell you what Carlson did: he turned and yelled something at Posada, who then came back and went after Carlson. It was nearly impossible to tell what happened in the middle of those 60 players (remember, being September, there were extra players surrounding the fight, making it impossible to discern what was occurring). What could be seen were Girardi's crew cut in the middle and (of course) Shelley Duncan wrestling with catcher Rod Barajas on the ground. The after-effects were evident: Carlson had a nasty bruise on his forehead, Girardi has a small cut on his ear and a potential shiner in his left eye, and CC Sabathia was rubbing his head. Posada seemed unhurt.

The brawl was reminiscent of the Knicks-Heat fight from years ago where Jeff Van Gundy got right in the middle and was hanging on for dear life. Joe Girardi was right in the midst of this tussle, trying to break it up to prevent ejections and injuries. The Yankees have a lot more to lose at this point than Toronto. Posada may well get suspended for several games. We should just hope no one is hurt.

As for the game...

It's what we should have expected. Mitre was Mitre, a replacement level pitcher. And to get 11 hits off Halladay was an accomplishment in and of itself, but the Yanks just couldn't get the big one (5-16 with RISP), leaving 12 runners on base.

Nick Swisher over-leaped a short-porch homer. He climbed nearly into the stands but the ball hit right on top of the wall (and about three feet to his right), bouncing into the stands.

A-Rod was thrown out at home on a fine play by rightfielder Jose Bautista and catcher Rod Barajas. Just one of those plays where it needs to be a perfect throw and a perfect tag, and it was. You can't fault Alex or Robby Thompson for that.

Aaron Hill Homer in the Ninth Wins it for Jays Over Tigers

Tom Dakers — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:44:16 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Slim picking for pictures again but here is Rod Barajas rounding the bases after hitting a two-run home . (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Blue Jays 8 Tigers 6

This is how we played in April. The game was great fun, and it gives us 3 wins in a row and 6 in the last 9 games. We had 4 home runs, one each from Rod Barajas, Vernon Wells, Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill, who hit the game winner in the top of the 9th, getting his 95th and 96th RBIs of the season. Wells also scored the tying run, using his legs. He beat out an infield single, moved to second on Lyle Overbay's walk. Tagged up on a foul popup near the stands on the first base side. And scored on a wild pitch. He had a great game, going 3 for 4 with a walk. He also made 3 very nice catches in CF, he really does seem to be running much better in the field lately.

Scoot and Barajas had great games too, both going 2 for 4 and Lyle Overbay took a couple of walks. The only guys in the lineup not to get on base were Edwin Encarnacion and Travis Snider. I wish Cito would use Snider everyday, seems like he needs to play to get into a groove. I don't understand the point of sitting him anyway, but let's give the guy a chance to get comfortable.

Scott Richmond didn't look good, he gave up 3 homers, 4 walks and 6 earned in 4.1 innings. He does need to find a way to get lefties out. Our bullpen was terrific, yet again, for the 4.2 innings they pitched. One of the 'Cito drives me crazy' things is his use of the pen. Jesse Carlson pitched 1.2 innings, allowing only 1 walk, but he seems to pitch in every game. Yeah he hasn't given up a run (actually has only given up one hit) this month, but over working him is a good way to cause troubles later. I thought over working him was why he wasn't effective in May and June. Brandon League, Scott Downs and Jason Frasor were also great today, but again, why does League have to pitch 2 innings in September when we have extra arms in the pen. Well I guess because Cito only trusts those 4. He will only use guys he trusts and he pitches them until their arms fall off.

I have to mention one other moment in the game. In the 5th, Joe Inglett, singled, then stole 2nd and then scored on a soft fly ball single that he made a quick decision that the ball would fall and sprinted home on a play that any other Jay would have been happy to get to 3rd base. It is nice to see him play again, I hope he's with the team next year.

Jays of the Day are Hill (.319 WPA), Scoot (.240), Barajas (.190), Vernon (.170), League (.156) and Overbay (.106). Honorable mention to Downs, Carlson and Frasor. Suckage Jays are Richmond (-.427), Snider (-.155) and Ruiz (-.152).

Tomorrow the Jays go for 4 wins in a row in a battle of Rookie of the Year candidates, Ricky Romero (12-7, 4.14) against Rick Porcello (12-8, 4.26). If my memory is right they faced each other in the first series of the season with Romero coming out on top. I hope that happens again.

I missed a story from yesterday's game. A young boy ran on the field yesterday to retrieve a ball from the pitchers mound.

Bluebird Banter Answers the Dallas Morning News' Questions

hugo — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:33:28 -0000

Hi everyone. So, Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News sent me some questions in anticipation of the Jays' 4-game, 3-day series with the Rangers and, given the team's recent play, I gritted my teeth and answered them:

DMN: The Rangers last saw the Blue Jays in June. Give us an update on the club since then.

Hugo: Do I have to? Things haven't been pretty for the Jays since June. July saw the pitching stay strong but the hitting falter, and August saw some better hitting but very poor pitching, with even ace Roy Halladay struggling. The team's situational hitting has been very poor and its record in one-run games has been a disaster.

In terms of personnel, Roy Halladay is still a Jay, as the world saw with the drama that played out around the trade deadline. B.J. Ryan and Alex Rios, however, are not. The Jays ate Ryan's salary as a sunk cost but the Chicago White Sox opted to assume the six years remaining on Rios' salary. The Jays also traded Scott Rolen to the Cincinnati Reds for Edwin Encarnacion (who is presently nursing an injured hamstring) and two young pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke. Losing Rios and Rolen has hurt the Jays' defense, which in turn has hurt the Jays' pitching.

About the only bright spot since June has been the return of Travis Snider over the past two weeks. He hasn't lit up the league, but is hitting much better than he did in April before being returned to the minors.

DMN: Roy Halladay has not been as dominant since the trade deadline as he has the rest of the season. Is any of that hangover from not getting traded or is he just in a mini-slump based on the opponents he’s faced and that he was due for some minor bump in the road?

Hugo: Halladay isn't the type to let not getting traded affect his mental or physical preparation for games or his in-game focus, so I think it's just one of those things. He's been facing very good AL East offensive teams that have seen a ridiculous amount of Doc over the past many years, and every so often, teams like that are going to figure him out a little bit. Doc's walk and strikeou numbers have been as good as ever, so some of it is undoubtedly bad luck. It's actually refreshing in a way to be reminded that even Halladay is only human. That said, when Doc isn't himself and the Jays are struggling, it can be doubly painful because the team really depends on Doc to be the stopper.

DMN: Who has been the biggest surprise of the season for Toronto? The biggest disappointment?

Hugo: Designated hitter/left fielder Adam Lind and second baseman Aaron Hill have been fantastic stories. Both are young home-grown players that have shown potential in the past but really took it to the next level this season. But for me the biggest surprises have been shortstop Marco Scutaro and young lefthanded pitcher Ricky Romero. In Scutaro's case, I just can't remember a player his age undergoing such a drastic change in his game. He's been a fantastic leadoff hitter who has been impossible to keep off the bases, and played a splendid defensive shorstop as well. As for Romero, he had been the butt of a joke at General Manager J.P. Ricciardi's expense for so long people forgot that he was a first-round pick for a reason. Recently he's been struggling with his command, but unlike some of the other young Jays' pitchers, he won't need to be shut down to preserve his arm, so he should have a chance to turn it around in September.

As for the biggest disappointment, it's clearly Vernon Wells. Wells spent about a third of last season hurt, but he performed very well when he was in the lineup, at least at the plate. This season, though has been a disaster with poor play on both sides of the ball. He just hasn't been able to get going at all at the plate, and his defense has fallen off considerably from where it was. The fans have turned on him as well and home games can't be fun for Wells right now. I feel bad for him as his salary really shouldn't be held against him and he is clearly giving it his all, but the bottom line is that he has been one of the poorer everyday players in the league this season and a mid-market team like the Jays can't afford to carry a player like that, let alone at such an astronomical salary.

DMN: How has the bullpen performed the last month or so? What can Rangers fans expect in the late innings of close games?

Hugo: August hasn't been a good month for the bullpen. Scott Downs returned from the re-aggravation of a toe injury that had sidelined him earlier this season, but he hasn't gotten much work in since then and has been shaky when he has pitched. After a splendid July, Brandon League has had an ugly August and has generally been a bit of a mystery all season - he has more strikeouts than innings pitched and very few walks, numbers that should suggest dominance, especially considering his hard sinker known for inducing groundballs. Yet his ERA (presently 5.31) hasn't reflected that at all. Lefthanded batters have been the main culprit. Lefty Jesse Carlson and righty Jason Frasor have been the best relief pitchers recently, and I'd look for them late in close games at the moment.

DMN: Who are a few players to watch in this series?

Hugo: Travis Snider is the one to watch at the moment, at least from the Jays' fans perspective. The young slugger has struggled to make contact since being returned to the big club (he has struck out in over a third of his 46 plate appearances) but that has come from working the count more (8 walks in 12 games) as well as from his struggles to make contact so it's not all bad. Snider is only hitting .198 since returning, but he has gotten on base at a .348 clip and hit three home runs. The bottom line is that it's only been 12 games and he is still very much a work in progress, but one worth watching. Adam Lind is making a bid at a 30-home run season (he's got 25 right now), which would be a lovely milestone for the young hitter, while Hill has already reached that (he hit no. 31 on Friday).

DMN: Can you give us a scouting report on the starters the Rangers will face in this 4-game series packed into 3 days?

Hugo: Sure. Brett Cecil will pitch in tonight's game and it could well be his last start as he has about maxed out his innings between the majors and the minors this season. Cecil, like the Jays, was on his way to a very nice rookie season and had a spectacular July but August has not been kind. The young Marylander has really struggled with his command and has given up 2 home runs in each of his last two starts to boot. Cecil, a lefthander, has a good sinking fastball that he uses to induce groundballs, a very good slider, and a changeup and curve that have eluded him at times this season.

In Tuesday's doubleheader, Brian Tallet will start the first game. Tallet, essentially a career reliever prior to this season, stepped into the Jays' rotation early this season when it was decimated by injuries and did a credible job. This will be his first start since being returned to the bullpen in late July. Tallet is not a hard-thrower and relies on movement on his pitches and a good changeup.

Marc Rzepczynski (that's "Zep-Chin-Ski") will start the other game on Tuesday. Zep (as his teammates called him) is, like Cecil, a 2007 draftee and his emergence this season has been a nice surprise for the Jays. He's been quite good in his 10 starts, showing excellent movement on his pitches and good strikeout and groundball numbers. Like Cecil, he leans heavily on his fastball-slider combo and will occasionally struggle with his control.

Scott Richmond will pitch on Wednesday. Richmond is a great story as a 29-year old rookie who was pitching for the Edmonton Cracker Cats of the Independed League just a couple of seasons ago. Richmond started off the season fantastically but, like the Jays, has fallen on hard times recently. He was out for a few weeks with some inflammation in his throwing arm and hasn't been the same since returning. Richmond has shown a solid ability to miss bats (97 Ks in 106 IP) and limit walks, but he can occasionally get hit hard. He uses the traditional four pitches and is most effective when he is mixing them all in.

DMN: How do Blue Jays fans feel about the Rangers? Do they expect the team to make this wild card race interesting in the final month of the season?

Hugo: I hope they do. It's always fun to see a good wild-card race. Though I suppose there is some vested interest among Jays' fans in the wild card winner coming from the AL East, since Jays fans like to complain about how difficult the division is, a complaint that has a lot of truth.

DMN: Anything else Rangers fans should know about the Blue Jays?

Hugo: The past two months have really taken its toll on the psyche of the team's fans. Even after the Jays' hot start, fans expected the second half to be tough with so many games against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays, but things have been even rougher than anticipated with the team essentially winning 1/3 of their games for the past two months. The Jays have been bad over that period, but they haven't been nearly this bad either.