Jays players want Cito Gaston fired

With three games to go in a Blue Jays season that will result in the 16th straight year without making the playoffs, it's inevitable there will some bad blood and controversy that will surface as players and management attempt to shift the blame for another poor year onto someone else. However, news that iconic Manager Cito Gaston has lost the entire team and the players are preparing a mutiny in hopes he'll be fired certainly raises more eyebrows than the typical finger pointing for a bad season.

Indeed, Gaston, in his second go round with the team he guided to two World Series titles in the early 90's, has lost the respect of his players, leading to the players wanting him axed. Vernon Wells, the supposed "star" of the team has virtually confirmed that, saying "Obviously there are issues", the soft spoken Aaron Hill mentioned "I think everybody pretty much feels the same for the most part," and first basemen Lyle Overbay chimed in with "We've got to get it straightened out, either way."

The players apparently don't like Gaston's hands off approach to managing ball games, feel there is a lack of communication with their locker room and there are some veterans unhappy about playing time and constant criticism. Those players are likely Overbay, who saw a reduction in playing time that saw him platooning at first base with Kevin Millar earlier in the season, the underachieving Wells, who has drawn the ire of his manager and perhaps Jeremy Accardo, who has been effective, posting a very solid 2.38 ERA but has found himself bouncing up and down from AAA Las Vegas to the big club.

Regardless, if the successor to interim president Paul Beeston is named in the off-season, there might be a major shakeup that could see G.M. J.P. Ricciardi cut loose along with Gaston and several other members of the coaching staff. Despite the reports of clubhouse turmoil, Gaston will continue to dodge bullets from fans, as they continue to shower praise upon him (justified or not), because of the great times he had in his first stint with the team.

Adam Lind soars high for Jays

There have been few bright spots for the Blue Jays in their otherwise disappointing season, but Adam Lind is not one of them. The hitter the Jays envisioned would become a force in the middle of the batting order has arrived this season in a big way.

Lind has been rock solid, putting together a remarkably consistent season despite little protection behind him in the batting order. His RBI totals, broken down by month, show that he has been productive throughout the year, with 20, 18, 14, 18, 19, and to date in September 25 RBI's.

He's also had contests where he completely stood out as a dynamic offense force. He busted out of the gate quickly in the season opener, driving in 6 runs. In Texas last month he did two better, racking up 8 runs batted in, falling just 1 RBI shy of matching a franchise record for runs batted in for one game. The last series at the Rogers Centre this year against Seattle, Lind smoked the game tying homer in the 8th frame, and then in extra innings, cranked another blast for a walk off victory. And in his last contest, Lind went deep 3 times against Boston.

That gives Lind a .305 average, 35 home runs and 114 RBI on the campaign. Lind has arrived. Now if only the Jays could surround him (and Aaron Hill) with more talent the Blue Birds could be singing again.

Johnny Mac is the man!

Is anyone else loving the fact that John McDonald is proving his worth to the Blue Jays now that he's finally getting some playing time? This guy is incredible with the glove, which we already knew, but he also displayed a bit of pop in his bat Monday against the Orioles.

You knew it the moment the ball left the bat. McDonald had gotten a hold of one, cranking the ball over the left field bleachers for his third home run of the season. What a ball player. It's astounding how easy it is to love watching this guy play, and on the contrary, how hard it is to watch someone like Vernon Wells day in and day out.

He's moved around in the infield when called upon this season also, manning shortstop, and occasionally filling in at third base and second, not to mention spot duty in left field, all the while without complaining despite the fact he's had just 23 starts on the campaign.

Johnny Mac is phenomenal!

Purcey shining since September call up

David Purcey has proven that he can be a very effective pitcher at the major league level the past two seasons. In 2008, he put together two brilliant starts against the eventual American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, allowing a solitary run in 16 innings of work. Unfortunately, he has not been able to be consistent enough, which saw him go from the number three starter in the Jays rotation at the start of the campaign to AAA Las Vegas for the remainder of the season before his recent call up.

If Purcey can string together more starts like he did Monday against Baltimore, he might just be a dark horse candidate for a spot in the rotation in 2010. In 7.2 innings of work, the big left hander struck out four batters, scattering four hits while allowing just one run, picking up his first win in the major leagues in over a year.

In fact, if not for Jason Frasor blowing a three run lead against Detroit in Purcey's last start, the 2004 first round pick would have won that game also. In his two starts since being recalled, Purcey has surrendered just 3 earned runs in 13 innings, a far cry from his five starts in April, which saw him cough up 20 runs in just under 26 innings. Purcey has excellent "stuff", perhaps the best in the Blue Jays system, but has been unable to locate his pitches very well in his brief career, constantly showing susceptibility to the base on ball (55 free passes in 104 innings) The Jays can only hope he builds off his impressive performances since being summoned from AAA to fulfill his potential.

If he can pitch like he did against Baltimore and Detroit, replicating the success against Tampa Bay last year, that shouldn't be a problem.

Bench clearing brawl shows Jays still care

Incredibly it has taken this long for the Toronto Blue Jays to take out some frustration after their miserable and despicable showing the past four months. All the aggression and pent up anger following their free fall from the top of the A.L. East boiled after in a heated brawl against the Yankees Tuesday, confirming that the Jays do indeed have a pulse.

When Aaron Hill was plunked squarely in the back by Mark Melancon in the 8th inning, it was obvious the thumping Toronto was administering on the scoreboard might not be the only tangle the team would have this night. Jesse Carlson decided to exact some revenge by whaling a pitch behind Jorge Posada, heightening the situation immensely. The benches cleared, but not much came from it initially as cooler heads prevailed.

However, when Posada got on board, later celebrating his run at home plate by elbowing Carlson, all hell broke loose. Rod Barajas stuck up for his pitcher, attacking his fellow back stopper, serving notice that it wasn't alright to bully around the diminutive lefty. The situation escalated, with everybody getting involved, with the good natured Cito Gaston having to be restrained and the rest of the Jays picking a different Yankee to have words with. I'm not exactly one to advocate bench clearing brawls, but the Jays responded accordingly, displaying that the team aren't pushovers.

Good on them. It's a welcomed sight to see the Jays have a fire lit under them and react so strongly after months of apathy and lethargy.

Encarnacion finding his groove at the dish

It took Edwin Encarnacion a while to find his groove in the Jays batting order upon his arrival at the trade deadline. The 26 year old third basemen appears to be finding his groove late in the season after a stint on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.

Encarnacion hit a solo home run Tuesday against the Yankees, his second long fly in as many games, picking up two RBI's in the series opener. In his last 10 games, including the tilt against the Yankees, the five year veteran has those two homers to go along with 11 hits and eight runs driven in.

Perhaps it's the fact he is fully recovered from his injury. Maybe it is because he has figured out American League pitching after coming over from the National League. Or, as a cynic might suggest, it could very well be related to having no pressure placed upon him for meaningless ball games in September. Whatever the case, it's a situation that the Blue Jays hope continues well into next year.

Snider smacks two huge bombs in New York

First of all, it has been far too long since my last post about the Blue Jays. It partly has to do with the fact that the club is unwatchable. But it also had something to do with the fact I was on vacation. However, I digress.

Travis Snider came up huge Tuesday in the Bronx, cranking not one, but two huge home runs against the Yankees, showcasing just how good this guy will be once he has more major league experience. The two dingers weren't just clearing the wall either. He obliterated both baseballs. The kid is still very young however, so the Jays will take the good with the bad. He whiffed in his other three at bats.

Sure, the 21 year old's batting average has been hovering around .220 for the better part of the year, and he is striking out at an alarming rate, (38 times in 29 games since being recalled), but it's the big hits that he produces that provide insight of the great things in store for the young slugger's future. His situation is very comparable to that of Adam Lind's career arc with the Blue Birds, where he took a while to hit for good average yet always had a knack for clutch hits while displaying a power stroke (and all Lind has done this year is hit .300 with 30 home runs, surpassing 100 RBI's)

The future is bright for this young stud. In Snider, we have a baller. He proved just that with his phenomenal performance Tuesday against the Yankees.