The Most Well-Earned Off Day in History

In a time of such insanity, when making sense of the senseless no longer seems possible, now is the time for true positivity. The three game series against the Red Sox has the potential to galvanize the Jays like no other. What better way to regroup after the worst road trip in club history than a relatively full house against the dreaded Sox?

A few quick facts that may indicate the worst is over:

• Aaron Hill's home run yesterday was the first in 8 games. EIGHT!
  
• It was also the only positive thing done by a Blue Jay in a high leverage situation for two weeks. They've been terribly un-clutch during this streak, but surprisingly not too far off their regular amount of unclutchedness.
  
• The bullpen finally regressed. At least we can stop holding our breath!
  
• Lyle Overbay's hitting well. That's something!
  
• So desperate is Cito that he almost, kinda, sorta, juggled the lineup. Signs of life!
  
• As Stoeten points out; the Jays lost 3 one run games and two games that were essentailly one run games. A tiny amount of luck and we're talking about a bad road trip, not a cataclysmic one.
  
• They played a bunch of these games in the rain. The dome has a roof! Advantage: nullified.
  
• The starting pitching's been phenomenal. Honestly. The relief pitching, while sort of terrible, deserves a better fate. The strand rate will come up, the BABIP will go down, the ERA-FIP differential will get Rolen'd up real good.

Wilner's right. This is rock bottom. Cito's world-renowned manmanagment will come shining through. The Jays--imbued by the confidence of Citocity--will band together and shoot forth into June. That's just what happens now.

Reality is a Ride on the Bus

A rough go in Kansas City should not distract from one very, very important piece of information: the Toronto Blue Jays are in first place on May 1st! That is, simply, amazing. Did YOU predict that? No, no you did not. Losing 3 of 4 after facing the Royals less-than-imposing lineup may leave a bad taste in your mouth, but it's Friday, it's already May, I noticed the Dome was open yesterday from my perch high atop the Manilla envelope factory that employs me. The Jays ease into their AL East schedule against the predictable Orioles, with none other than Roy Halladay on the hill.

All good things. Good enough to make you forget your book treatment's been turned down for the fourth time. Horseshit! I can't believe nobody wants to read about a team of teenage magicians (conflicted about their powers, of course) teaming with an idealistic lawyer (fresh out of law school, of course) to protect Batman's secret identity from a cabal of adolescent vampires (abstinent, of course) backed by a shadow corporation (conspiratorial, or course) out to silence a cancer-stricken Rabbi who's final sermon will open the minds of people everywhere; exposing the secrets to life-long bliss and interest-free loans. No vision, that must be their problem.

I have one question, one I certainly can't answer: with the Jays in first place on May 1st, is this season officially a success? One month in first is certainly better than zero days, weeks, or months spent out front over the last few years. If the team ends up with 80-odd wins for the fourth year in a row, this season is automatically more successful than the previous years, isn't it? Maybe I'm reaching and hedging like always. But I certainly didn't expect the first month to go so well, and being pleasantly surprised will quiet my complaints, for a little while anyway.

Overblown, once again

Just like everything else in this city, this horseshit with A.J. Burnett is getting way the fuck overblown. It's Tuesday and we're still hearing about it. Leave it to Toronto media to turn it into a circus and spin it as the end of the fucking world. Were there no interesting Leaf stories to blather on about the past few days? Is A.J. Burnett a jackass? Probably. Who fucking cares. Yes, it's true, he is overpaid. As are dozens and dozens of pitchers across the league.

A.J. Burnett was asked a question. He proceeded to answer the question honestly, as you'd hope any professional athlete would. He then, gets lambasted by the entire fucking city for telling the truth. I suppose you'd rather the guy lie. Listen, it isn't his fault he's overpaid. Who's going to turn down million and millions of dollars if it's being thrown in his face. I sure the shit wouldn't, and neither would you.

Kudos to Steve Simmons for writing a load of garbage ripping Burnett along with JP and pointing out how we're now stuck in "another season of Blue Jay hope but not glory." He's bright enough to point out Burnett is a .500 pitcher something Toronto fans have never ever heard before. He then goes on to point out how our best players (Halladay, Wells and Rios) are all players left behind by Gord Ash. Evidently Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay, BJ Ryan, Matt Stairs and Johnny Fucking Mac don't count for shit. It appears I'm not the only one thinking Simmons has no fucking clue as he gets his over at DJF as well.

The timing of Burnett's comments weren't probably great given the way the Jays have been playing, but why the massive backlash? I'm quite sure JP will entertain any potential offers for Burnett given they desperately need another bat or more to have any sort of hope. I'm not convinced they'll be any offers, then again, teams are always looking for mediocre pitchers they believe have upside to aid in a drive to the postseason.

It should be noted that I think A.J. Burnett is a douchebag for a variety of other reasons.

Hustle is a Hustle

Honest to god, if I have to ignore one more misty-eyed salute to brave soldier Reed Johnson, I'm going to cry. The entire cult of the underdog in this city is depressing and predictable.

Does the fact that Reed Johnson looks like he's running fast make him the fastest runner on the team? Of course not. Does getting hit by a pitch mean you've suddenly developed a patient hitting approach? Nope. Devon White didn't get his uniform dirty often, does that mean he isn't as a good a centerfielder as Reed Johnson? If you trot around the bases and keep from dirtying your uniform, is that a bad thing? You won't even break a sweat. Slacker.

Why doesn't John MacDonald play every day? He doesn't swing the bat well enough to help his team win. Would all these hustle apologist rather see Eric Hinkse, Reed Johnson or Aaron Rowand in left field over Manny Ramirez? Manny's a terrible fielder, generally loafs around but also happens to be one of the better right handed hitters of all time. Miguel Cabrera is fat and has had declining zone ratings for the past three seasons. His own pitchers call him lazy. There is reason that he just signed a massive contract extension the same weekend Reed was let go. The goal here is to win games. If you win enough games, you win the championship. There is only one tangible or meaningful way to dirty up your uniform.

I've begun to question what people want, what they hope to get out of investing themselves in teams and players. Do they not want to win? If you are a fan of the team, isn't the team achieving success the desired outcome? We have a lot of fun at JP's expense around here, and despite this depressing article regarding JP's assessment and subsequent passing on Troy Tulowitzki (H/T to DJF), the Jays management are doing what they feel they have to compete. They didn't score enough runs to win enough games last year. They have a fantastic pitching staff that will not suffer by having an inferior defensive team behind it.

These guys are positioned as up-by-the-bootstraps, feel-good stories, but it's a lie. It is more to do with optics than reality. People like to like David Eckstein, but realize how much better the Jays would be with Tulowitzki in the lineup. Again, I like talented people doing things with their rare talents. I like Roy Halladay because he works hard to make the most of his talent, not overcompensate for his lack of it.

Note: The Mockingbird continues to be the polar opposite and intellectual superior of our blog. I'm no stathead but I know that more talent (assembled and coaxed in an intelligent and thoughtful manner) is better than having less talent. You can't hustle away from the truth forever.