Umpire struck in head by bat; response crew slow to respond

In the 6th inning of the Rangers/Jays game on Tuesday, Hank Blalock's bat shattered, striking home plate umpire Kerwin Danley in the mask. He immediately fell in a heap to the ground, and remained there for 10 minutes. The scary situation led to both clubs exorcising caution immediately, calling for the response crew to help out the veteran umpire.

However, the lack of hussle on the part of the medics was particularly dissapointing. They took their sweet time gingerly walking to home plate to assist Danley. This could have been way more serious then it ended up being (Danley never lost consciousness and fortunately just suffered a mild concussion.) In some write ups after the game, it was reported the response crew hustled onto the field to help him out. That is simply not true, which was clearly evident to anyone who was at the ball park. What an absolute disgrace. Here's hoping the next time a potential life altering situation arises, the emergency team will act with a lot more urgency.

Rios & Wells fail to come through yet again

The most shocking thing about the Blue Jays torrid start to the 2009 campaign is that they're doing it with their top two hitters in Alex Rios and Vernon Wells playing garbage baseball.

In what is becoming a brutal trend 15 games into the season, Rios and Wells failed yet again Tuesday against Texas. Rios grounded out in the 9th with a runner in scoring position, displaying again why he's been terrible. At what point do the Jays send him a message and move him down in the order? The guy is barely keeping his average above .200! He is just killing the team. Perhaps it's time to elevate the red hot Lyle Overbay to the 3 hole and send Rios toppling down to the bottom of the order.

Vernon Wells is not immune from this discussion either. With a runner on 3rd and 2 outs in the 9th, he induced the final out with an easy fly out. Has there been a guy making as much money as Wells does ($126 million over 7 years) that inspires the least amount of confidence in MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY? Consider this about V-Dub; With runners in scoring position this season, he's a pathetic 2 for 18. That equates to a ridiculously awful batting average of .111. He has just 5 RBI to show for it. That is totally horrendous. If only there was a way to trade him, but no one would be stupid enough to take him off the Jays hands at that salary.

For the record, Marco Scutaro this season has 6 RBI with runners in scoring position and a respectable .333 average. This from a guy who in his career has hit just .261. Lyle Overbay, slotted 7th in the order, has a gaudy .444 average, and 5 RBI with ducks on the pond.

Rios and Wells has combined for just 2 home runs and 13 RBI this year. That simply can't continue to happen from the heart of the order if the team is to secure its first postseason berth in 16 seasons.

Jays fall short to Rangers; Halladay loses first game

With their ace Roy Halladay on the hill, the Blue Jays had a chance to improve their record to 11-4. But their big guns were not able to pick up their undisputed leader, falling 5-4 to the Texas Rangers. Toronto squandered 4 chances with runners in scoring position in the final 2 innings to square the game up, losing the thrilling first game of a 3 game set against the Rangers.

Texas has had Halladay's number in his career, the loss dropping his overall record to 7-7 against the Rangers. Doc didn't have this best stuff, serving up 2 dingers (though he did strike out 9 batters), but the offense failed to lift their ace at the critical stages of the ball game. In the 8th, with the bases loaded, Rod Barajas sharply lined out to 3rd base, followed by a Travis Snider fly out. Aaron Hill doubled in the 9th, but the slumping Alex Rios grounded out, and Vernon Wells flied out to end the comeback bid.

The Jays will send David Purcey to the bump looking to even the series up on Wednesday.

Jays prospect watch: pitcher Brett Cecil

Another one of the young pitching prospects in the Blue Jays system is lefty Brett Cecil. Selected 38th overall of the 2007 draft, Cecil is expected to make the jump to the big leagues at some point later in this season, or as late as 2010, if all goes well.

The Jays have stretched out Cecil projecting him to be a starter at the major league level. The talented southpaw held closer duties for the University of Maryland when the Blue Jays nabbed him in the draft.

Cecil was in the running for a spot in Toronto's rotation to start the '09 campaign but was sent back to AAA to get some more innings under his belt. He hasn't thrown many innings as a starter in the minor leagues, as it was just two years ago he was closing games, not starting them.

In two starts with the Las Vegas 51's, Cecil has been lit up once, and had a so-so outing in the other. In his first start, he lasted 4 innings, allowing a pair of earned runs. However, in his most recent trip to the mound, Cecil struggled mightily, surrendering 6 runs on 7 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. Subsequently, his record is 0-1 with a nasty E.R.A. of 10.80.

Cecil should be given a look by the Blue Birds, particularly if more injuries strike to the starting rotation. At the very least, a September call-up is likely for Cecil.

Jays prospect watch: catcher J.P. Arencibia

Much has been hyped upon the next Blue Jays "catcher of the future" in J.P. Arencibia after he was selected with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. After failed experiments in both Robinzon Diaz and Curtis Thigpen as the "next big thing" at catcher, the Jays hope that Arencibia can fulfill the expectations heaped upon him after his collegiate career at Tennessee.

The book about the 6 foot Arencibia is that he has a good bat, but below average skills behind the plate. The early word in the 2009 campaign, however, is that his defense is improving, but his bat has been lagging behind. In 28 at bats over 8 contests, he has an average of only .214, with 3 doubles and 3 RBI (just 1 in his past 7 games.) Arencibia has struck out 5 times, so there is not a huge concern over his ability to make contact, as it will take some time to get adjusted in his first tour of AAA. After catcher Michael Barrett went down with a shoulder injury, the Jays opted to call up veteran Raul Chavez instead of Arencibia. Don't be surprised, with more seasoning, to see the prized prospect called up as the season wears on.

Jays prospect watch: pitcher Brad Mills

Toward the end of spring training, the 5th and final spot in the rotation came down to Canadian Scott Richmond and lefty prospect Brad Mills, a 4th round selection in 2007. The Blue Jays decided to go with Richmond to ensure Mills had some more experience at the minor league level, considering he had never pitched in a level above AA. After two years in the Jays system, Mills has sported a gaudy 15-5 record, which shows he has potential to be a starter with the big club.

In his two starts in Las Vegas, the southpaw has gone 0-1 with an E.R.A. of 4.82. He improved upon his debut performance in his 2nd outing, lasting 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits to go along with 4 strikeouts. In the first start, Mills was yanked after 3.2 innings and 3 runs surrendered. Not horrific numbers by any means, but nothing spectacular either. The clubs brass decided against promoting him when Jesse Litsch was shelved with forearm tightness, opting to elevate Brian Tallet to the rotation because they felt Mills needed more time. After his first two starts in AAA, that appears to be the case.

"Blow Jay Ryan" nickname lifted (at least temporarily)

After B.J. Ryan blew a save against Detroit in the 2nd game of the season, followed by an outing in which he nearly coughed up a 3 run against Cleveland, I affectionately dubbed him "Blow Jay Ryan" Was it deserved? Perhaps not. I did, however, still post my belief that the ball club needed to continue rolling him out for the 9th inning in close games. After three consecutive solid outings, 2 of which resulted in saves, I have dissolved the Blow Jay Ryan moniker, at least for now.

The main reason B.J. has been effective is because he is getting ahead in counts. In the first two poor outings, he was facing too many 3-1 counts which left him in danger of serving up a meatball. He solidified his first save of the season against Minnesota on April 13th, then continued his strong play in back to back games against Oakland this weekend. He worked a scoreless 10th frame on Saturday, and preserved the series win against Oakland for his 2nd save in as many chances.

For now, he is back to being B.J. Ryan. Let's hope it stays that way.