Scott Downs (shockingly) nearly blows it

Scott Downs entered the ball game Saturday in the 9th inning with a sizable 5 run cushion. Completely out of character, Downsy almost blew the game. Who saw that one coming?

Perhaps due to the fact he hadn't worked in a few days, or maybe entering in a non save situation got to him, but the impenetrable Downs looked mighty human against the A's. He gave up a 2 run home run to Jason Giambi which cut the lead to 3, and then promptly loaded the bags before allowing another tally. It was only after inducing a foul out with the bases juiced to Landon Powell that the Jays could breathe a sigh of relief. Imagine how demoralizing it would've been to the club had he botched this contest?

Everyone is entitled to a rough day at work, so I'm in no way blaming him for his poor outing, and I certainly don't expect perfection (though it's hard not to with how amazing he is.) I'm just hoping that this isn't a precursor to an injury for the valuable lefty. Remember, two years ago closer B.J. Ryan had a really brutal effort against Detroit, and shortly thereafter went to the disabled list, undergoing Tommy John Surgery and missing the remainder of the season.

Let's cross our fingers that this was merely a blip on the radar, a bad outing by a solid veteran, a tough day at the office, and nothing else, because if it's revealed Downs is injured, suddenly a great bullpen will be hit very hard in his absence. Suddenly, everyone will hold their breath.

Lyle Overbay decides to show up

Thanks for coming out Lyle Overbay, finally you did something other than ground into a double play or pop out on Saturday. These precious moments are so rare that they are a sight to behold. Remember this day Blue Jays fans, it might not come around for another month or so.

Overbay homered, driving in 3 runs in the second contest of a three game set against the A's. The 1st basemen now has 2 long balls and 7 RBI in the last 4 games. Overall, he's put up respectable numbers, with 5 dingers and 18 RBI, with a so so .256 average.

So why then does Overbay appear to suck? Is it just me or does he inspire ZERO confidence when he's at the plate? It's not like he's the worst player to ever grace a Jays uniform, but what is it that makes him such a disrespected figure in Toronto? Even though he's done well recently, I can't bring myself to say nice things about him, and instead resort to backhanded compliments such as "well, at least you weren't awful like usual", and "Good job Overbay, for once"

Maybe I should give him his due. Or maybe he's still garbage.

Hill returns to where it all ended in '08

Blue Jays 2nd basemen Aaron Hill has said that Toronto's first game in Oakland is "just another game", but that simply isn't the case. His disastrous injury, leading to the untimely end of his 2008 season undoubtedly must be in the back of his head.

On May 29th, Hill collided with teammate David Eckstein, leaving the game with a concussion. The team initially diagnosed the injury as being "day to day." Those days turned into a week, and then another. That turned into a month to month proposition, and before time, he was shut down for the entire season with concussion like symptoms.

There's no telling how much success the club could have had in 2008 (They were 18-9 in May before Hill went down) had the freak injury not occurred, but one thing is certain, his 2009 numbers prove his great value to the team; 8 long balls, 28 RBI, a hefty .357 batting average, ranking first in MLB with 51 hits. His importance to the squad was never more clear after that fateful day in May last year.

Richmond's brutal inning leads to first loss

The Blue Jays gave Scott Richmond a 3 run edge in the 2nd frame of the opener against the Athletics, courtesy of a Kevin Millar RBI single and a Rod Barajas 2 run home run. It didn't take long for the 29 year old rookie to throw away the lead, and it cost him his first loss of the campaign.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; My number one pet peeve with pitchers is when they immediately cough up an advantage that was handed to them the following inning. Richmond did just that, surrendering 5 runs as soon as Toronto put up a 3 spot. That demoralized the club, and their bats fell silent the rest of the contest.

Let's give Richmond the benefit of the doubt. Aside from getting lit up in the 2nd inning, he allowed just 1 hit in the other 7 innings, leading to his first career complete game. I have to give him credit for bouncing back, he definitely showed a lot of resolve.

Just no more of this Richmond, or else you'll be in the doghouse.

Robert Ray decent in 2 big league starts

Rookie Robert Ray has done an admirable job filling in for a patch work Jays starting rotation. The 2005 7th round pick has been pretty solid in both of his outings, Saturday against Baltimore and Thursday versus Los Angeles.

If you just look at his stat line, the start tonight against the Halos makes it seem like he was rather poor; 6.1 innings, 5 earned runs, 10 hits, 4 strikeouts, with 0 walks. However, the 25 year old looked the part, staying around the strike zone, very rarely working himself into jams.

Ray doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he knows how to change locations and mix speeds rather effectively. He's certainly done pretty well in both contests, giving the Jays a chance to win. J.P. Ricciardi has said Ray shouldn't even be pitching yet in the major leagues, playing due to necessity with all the injuries to the pitching staff. The big righty has been fine and projects to potentially be a back end member of the starting rotation within a few years with the Jays.

Jays pounding Angels early

After the top half of the 2nd inning, it looks as though Roy Halladay has all the run support he needs.

This Jays offense is phenomenal. They have already chased starter Anthony Ortega from the game after just 1.1 innings, tattooing him for the tune of 6 runs.

Vernon Wells destroyed a Rafael Rodriguez offering over the left field wall for a 3 run bomb. It's already 7-0 Toronto.

Game over.

Aaron Hill rules!

In the first inning against the Angels, Aaron Hill has already blasted one out of the yard for a 2 run shot, his 7th long fly of the year! How much did the team miss him last year? J.P. Ricciardi has to be commended for selecting this guy with the 13th pick in the 2003 draft. All the players that went ahead of him aren't as good, with the possible exceptions being John Danks and Nick Markakis. Hill is showing no signs of letting up this year either. What a baller.

It seems almost crazy to suggest he is in the early (and it's definitely REALLY early) discussion for the MVP, mostly because he's on my favourite team. So is it just me hyping up a guy who wouldn't be as big if he were on a small market team? Or come to think of it, is he under hyped because he's on a team that gets no respect like Toronto? If Dustin Pedroia could win MVP, why not Hill?

Or maybe I'm just crazy.