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KTE - Toronto Blue Jays
On WFAN this afternoon, J.P. Ricciardi (Toronto GM) remarked that he felt the Tigers were indeed for real and that he expects the AL Wild Card to come out of the AL Central. Listening to the interview, I doubt he was being exactly 100% candid with Francesca -- but his projection may well come true -- The Blue Jays are in a three-team race for the AL East crown. They currently sit at 40-32, 1 game behind the MFYs and 3 behind Boston. The Blue Jays may seem to be the perennial third place team in the AL East, but they are substantially better than in recent years past.
Recently, the Jays have been running hot and cold. They return to Toronto after finishing a sweep of the Braves at Turner Field on Thursday, but were swept over the weekend by the Marlins in Miami, but before that took 3 of 4 from the Orioles at home. The Blue Jays have been substantially better at home, 23-14, than on the road. (Strangely, the Mets have a slightly better road record than home record).
The Blue Jays can HIT. They are in the top 5 of the American league in all the important offensive categories -- 4th in Runs, 2nd in HR, 1st in Batting Average, and 1st in OPS.
The lineup:
C - Bengie Molina (R)
Signed in the off-season as a free agent. Definetly brings the defense, and 5-17-.298 isn't too bad either, for a catcher. Hits the lefties much better than the righties.
1B - Lyle Overbay (L)
No longer needed by the Brewers with the emergence of Prince Fielder, Overbay moved to the Jays in the off season and has settled in quite nicely. 9-38-.290.
2B - Aaron Hill (R)
Homegrown Blue Jay, hits for average but no power, good glove. 1st full season in the majors.
SS - Russ Adams (L)
Another homegrown Blue Jay. .248 batting average, but a good glove. 2nd full season in the majors.
Note that these are their usual positions, not sure why they flipped for Friday's game, now that we're back in the AL park. Glaus had been playing shortstop with Hillenbrand at third during the games in the NL parks with no DH.
Edit: Adams had been the SS but was sent down to the minors to become the 2nd baseman becuase he didn't have the arm to be a shortstop. Thanks Gary on SNY's Friday broadcast for the info.
3B - Troy Glaus (R)
The big power bat: 21-53-.255. Lots of walks, lots of strikeouts.
LF - Reed Johnson (R) / Frank Catalanotto (L)
It's not a strict platoon from what I can tell but they seem to split the playing time pretty evently. Johnson is on a tear when he plays, 4-16-.379 with a .995 OPS. Catalnotto has very similar numbers, 5-31-.325, with a .936 OPS.
CF - Vernon Wells (R) is the true star of the team, with 18-58.320. He also has 9 steals, to lead the team, but this being a Ricciardi (aka Beane's former assistant) they don't run much. Wells is probably one of the most overlooked stars in the AL, and this season is looking like his best since 2003 and possibly his best ever.
RF - Alex Rios (R) has surprised many after two "ok" but unspectacular seasons by breaking out this year with 15-50-.319. He too is fast but doesn't steal all that much.
DH - Shea Hillenbrand (R) is also having a good year -- 11-35-.318.
The pitching matchups:
Casey Janssen (R) vs. Glavine on Friday.
Roy "Doc" Halladay (R) vs. El Duque on Saturday.
Josh Towers (R) vs. Trachsel on Sunday.
[url=http://www.metsgeek.com/articles/2006/06/23/upcoming-series-toronto-blue-jays-pitchers/]Mets Geek's report on the Blue Jays Pitchers[/url]
Bullpen:
BJ Ryan (L) has sick numbers as the closer. 20-for-21 in save opportunities, 37 innings with 17 hits, 8 walks, and 43 strikeouts. Currently earning his money (and then some) on a contract signed this off season that many thought was too large and too long.
Justin Speier is having a good season as the primary setup guy. 2.51 ERA in 34 appearances, 30 Ks in 28.2 Innings.
Jason Frasor also strikes out a lot (25 in 28 innings) but has given up a lot of runs, including 5 HRs. 5.79 ERA.
Scott Schoenweis (R) has seen better days, like when he was winning the series with the Angles. 6.08 ERA is the highest for the Blue Jays 'pen.
Brian Tallet (L) gives up a lot of hits and a lot of walks. Some longballs too. 16 H, 13 BB in 17.2 Innings. 5.60 ERA.
Ty Taubenheim (R) is a rookie and has made some starts while Burnett was out. Back to the bullpen for now. Nothing special yet (1-4, 4.56 ERA).
Scott Downs (L) is also a potential long man and has made some starts too. 5.13 ERA.
Ex-Blue Jays:
This is the first trip back to Toronto as a player for Carlos Delgado, Chris Woodward and Steve Trachsel.
Ex-Mets:
The only ex-Met is Pete Walker, who has been on the DL for about 2 weeks.
AJ Burnett was once a Met prospect, before being traded to Florida for Al Leiter.
Justin Speier was Met property for 10 days in 2001 before being lost on waivers.
Fonzie signed a minor league deal with the Jays earlier this year and played some in the majors but was released on June 12.
Edit: Added bullpen info; formatting.
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