Unexpected Changes

I've been away for a few days, basically unable to watch the games the way I'd like. But following along as best I can nonetheless. I can't say I was surprised to see Doc stay in Toronto, and I'm encouraged that Ricciardi didn't settle for less than premier value for the ace. But I was surprised to see Rolen go. And a bit disappointed. Rolen's a guy I never bought into when he first came over. Starting last season on the DL didn't help his cause. I felt at the time that we had traded one fragile third baseman for another. And the new guy wasn't going to hit for Glaus' power.

But this year Rolen proved me wrong. Not only was he hitting nicely over .300, and had that long hit streak, he was absolutely outstanding in the field. He was an integral part of the Jays amazing defensive core this year. I don't know much about Encarnacion, but I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt, knowing he's been hurt part of this year. He's young enough to have some room to develop, and for the money savings if he can even be average maybe this move will allow us to spend a bit more on some veteran presence in the winter.

And maybe that will help us sway Doc.

Extra Problems

Sigh. Today looked like a lock. Tallet looked great through six innings, and the Jays managed to pound runs in at a rate of two per inning through the first four. But with a 9-0 lead heading into the seventh the wheels came off. Tallet seemed to fall apart, needing League to bail him out. Even then we managed to get to the top of the ninth up two. Then our closer gave up two home runs. Tie game.

Both teams managed to hold each other off until the twelfth, where once again the visitors proved superior. A great come from behind win if you're a Rays fan. Sadly, I am not.

And now reports are coming in that the Jays sent an offer to Philadelphia regarding Roy Halladay, which was rejected as being a bit too much for the Phillies to give up. It looks like the tension is ramping up over the next few days. It'll be interesting to see where Halladay, Vernon Wells, Scott Rolen and Marco Scutaro are in a week. Personally I hope they're all still in Toronto.

It's Like A Different Team

After the scarcity of scoring last night I was surprised to see the combined 16 run outburst by Cleveland and the Jays tonight. Romero was lucky to take the win, giving up six hits and five walks in his 5.1 innings. Not exactly what we've been coming to expect from the kid. Maybe this is a sign of the rookie wall? I hope not.

The game tonight was notable for the sudden outburst of home runs, with even Vernon Wells and Alex Rios managing to get in on the action (on the same night no less!). And Scutaro hit two! I'm hoping this performance will boost the confidence a bit, maybe spark a run for the Jays. It can be pretty depressing this time of year, having fallen to 10+ games behind the leader and unable to even attempt to play catch up. Luckily tonight both Boston and Tampa Bay lost, so even though we don't gain any ground on the Yankees (they won) at least the win was productive.

Another plus was Brandon League. The good version showed up tonight. After he hit Ryan Garko with his first pitch, that is. Once he settled in he looked solid, using his almost unhittable splitter effectively. It's gonna be interesting to watch him the rest of this year and see how frequently he's able to put these performances together.

On the Roy Halladay front things seem to be cooling off a bit. ESPN.com reports that Ricciardi is setting a deadline of July 28 to have a deal done, but the sense I get from around the net is that this trade is becoming more unlikely. Good news for Jays fans, at least in the short term.