Saturday, June 20, 2009

FINALLY! Wells ends homerless drought

It's about damn time. Vernon Wells has ended the misery. At long last, he belted a home run, ending the longest homerless drought of his career. It took him 161 at bats, a span of 45 days without lifting a pitch over the wall. Maybe now he can go on a much needed tear.

Of course, Wells didn't exactly wind up smelling like roses in the game, having made a critical error on a catchable ball that led to a run, and also grounding out into a double play in extra innings. But I'm feeling generous this evening. I really shouldn't be in a charitable mood, considering the two straight defeats to the lowly Nationals.

Maybe I'm just awestruck at such a rare occurrence from Wells. The stars have aligned. Wells actually hit a home run. Cherish this moment my friends, for it might be 45 weeks, not days, before it happens again.

Sweet return for Jeremy Accardo

Jeremy Accardo must feel relieved to finally be back in a Blue Jays uniform. After going down to a season ending injury in May of last year, Accardo has waited patiently to ply his trade north of the border. He failed to make the club out of spring training, but likely assumed he would be on speed dial should the Jays need help in shoring up their bullpen.

Except that call didn't happen. He was passed over, again and again. Mostly to far inferior pitchers like by Bill Murphy, Bryan Bullington, Brian Wolfe and Dirk Hayhurst. Accardo continued going about his business, saving games for the AAA Las Vegas 51's. If he felt a sense of entitlement that he should be with the Jays, no one could blame him. After all, he was a big part of the success of the Blue Birds two years ago, having locked down 30 games.

Since his return, Accardo has been fantastic, notching his first save in over a year against the Phillies, then putting up two scoreless innings against the Nationals, while striking out four batters. It's been a long and difficult road back for Accardo, but he's been given an opportunity to stick with Toronto. Knowing his resiliency, he'll take full advantage to steer his major league career back on track.