Mildly Amusing Monarchy Pun

The Best Team in Baseball rolls into Kansas City looking to eat BBQ and kick ass. Looks like Billy Butler ate all the BBQ so the Jays will have to take solace in kicking ass. The Kansas City Royals have nothing else in common with the previous victims from Chicago. They pitch well (best FIP in baseball), catch it when it's hit at them but hit in a way that flatters the 2008 Toronto Blue Jays. When your best hitter is your second baseman, you're in a word of trou....

The Royals send a vast array of wily right handers like Gil Meche and Zack "The Spiders" Greinke. Unfortunately outstanding closer/nickname owner Joakim Soria is on the self with shoulder soreness. It's fortunate for the Jays as it could directly lead to Th3 pr0FF3ss0r pitching in a high leverage situation but unfortunate for those that like awesomeness in fireballing forms.

Awesomeness like Scott Rolen's game winning base hit. Sure, the pitch missed by mile, but he lashed into the left like he meant business. Frozen Rope Machine! He aggressively tried to take second on the throw on said play, had he not lost his balance he might have allowed Lind to score in the ensuing rundown. Watching the video on Gameday is great as they use an ISO camera on Rolen running. That's a big dude.

Also awesome: Matt Stairs as Jayson Stark points out (h/t DJF). He got too many at bats as his time in Toronto came to an end, but he's an obviously likable dude that's built quite the legion of supporters in Philadelphia. Meech and the good people at the Fightins have designed a Matt Stairs shirt I'm sure numerous Blue Jays fans would wear into public. I think I'll go against type and encourage this type of behaviour.

Team Building 1999

Business hours are over, bay-beeehh-heyyyy

I know the corpse is still warm, and I understand the number of available, competent bodies that are both willing AND able bodies was pretty low. But any team that knows it has pitching problems; knows that getting outs is going to be more difficult than creating runs must put a little bit of thought into fielding a better defensive club.

Sure, this is a short tournament in which anything can happen. But the little Italian club that could put the value of defensive on display. No team that trots Matt Stairs out in right field and Jason Bay out in center has defense in mind. The alternatives might have been few, but did Matt Stairs's bat really bring that much to the table?

The whole "we'll out slug them and win every game 11-10" went out in, oh, 1999 didn't it? One need only look at the 2006 US squad in this very tournament to realize building a "team" is paramount to lining sluggers from post to post. This year's edition of Team America featured Shane Victorino in right and Curtis Granderson in center at the close of the opening game. Sluggers they are not, but (all together now) speed doesn't slump. Hell, consider the lengths "dream teams" like USA Basketball and Hockey Canada have gone to ensure a balanced team (hello Tyson Chandler, Bruce Bowen, and Chris fucking Draper.)

Obviously I'm taking this a little far. Most of tonight's hits fell into holes that no fielder could close up. Never the less, the contrast between the two teams was too great to go unnoticed. Second guessing Ernie Whitt is easy because he looks go desperately overmatched, hopefully Baseball Canada will take a more complete approach to building their team next time rather than filling the roster with enough recognizable names to facilitate ticket sales. The sea of blue seats told me that didn't work long before the scoreboard did.

Not Throwing in the Towel

Simply changing that which cleans the horrible mess from the Blue Jays sheets. But the question begs asking; who will be the first to go?

Changing the manager is pointless but inevitable. Changing the GM won't do too much in the short term. But the players, ah, the players may move around. The most likely Jay to move is Matt Stairs.

What potential contender wouldn't be in the market for a professional hitter? The Diamondbacks by chance? They could use a left handed power bat that is capable of playing/has been known to play/was once seen standing in either corner outfield position. The Indians current left handed DH is on the shelf indefinitely with shoulder trouble, if they turn things around (before the Jays) things could happen. I'm not prepared to accept the reality of Tampa Bay buying a left handed bat at the deadline.

Stairs is cheap, experienced and is a capable pinch hitter. He is a versatile Jay, but he isn't really helping at this point. Moving him would free up a spot for, of course, Adam Lind. As John Brattain detailed, the production out of the LF and DH spots is already terrible, he can come up and suck just the same. Lind being spelled by Wilkerson & Mench isn't the end of the world, with one of that duo DHing on a given day.

What would the Jays receive in return? Who fucking cares. Maybe a piece they could flip in a bigger deal for the sorely needed Hammer of Thor. A player like Stairs would fit nicely in such a Burnett blockbuster, however unlikely that scenario is.

Silent Protest

Me thinks the HGH sniffing monkeys won't spend too much time around the Nat's complex.


And people say baseball players aren't athletes.

Good thing the Jays don't have any players that loo....never mind.