Jays prospect explodes for 7 RBI in one game

Blue Jays prospect Brian Dopirak has risen through the ranks in his time in the Toronto system. Considered a late bloomer at 25, Dopirak scorched at the ball with class AA New Hampshire this season, where he put up 19 HR and 68 RBI in 87 games. He was promptly summoned to AAA Las Vegas two weeks ago and hit for a great average, but only had 3 RBI to show for it.

That was until Wednesday night, where he racked up 7 RBI with grand slam and a 3 run bomb. In 13 games, Dopirak has also hit for a sterling .340 batting average.

A Cubs 2nd round pick in 2002, Dopirak, who splits his time between designated hitter and 1st base, fell out of favour after struggling in Chicago's system, so the Jays scooped him up last year. All he did for the Blue Jays affiliate single A Dunedin was blast 27 HR and 88 RBI with a .308 average.

Dopirak has been mentioned a couple of times here for his potential to finally put it all together and be a shrewd pickup by the organization, and he hasn't disappointed. Should the Jays trade Lyle Overbay at the deadline, there is a chance he'd get the call up to the big club.

Hey Red Sox, trade for John McDonald!

I have mentioned it several times on this blog before Mr. Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, and I'll continue to bother you until you do something about it: TRADE FOR JOHN MCDONALD!

Never has it been more apparent that your club is in desperate need for a shortstop that can field his position well than Tuesday night. Up 2 in the 9th, incumbent Nick Green committed two costly errors, allowing the A's to tie it, and they eventually went on to win in extra innings. He now has 11 errors on the season. And I know you are big on Jed Lowrie, but he just came off the disabled list. He might still take a while to get into his groove, or worse yet, find himself back on the DL, so why not acquire McDonald as insurance?

Call J.P. Ricciardi and inquire about trading for slick fielding Johnny Mac. It'll be worth your time. He could provide dynamite defense at short, which is what you need. Since your team clearly has enough big bats to withstand his light hitting, he can be penciled in at the bottom of the order. He'll come relatively cheap, and his contract expires at the end of the season.

This makes perfect sense Mr. Epstein. If you can pull it off, it might prove to be a wily transaction come playoff time, when defense is at a huge premium.

Obviously he is incredibly loved here, and would be sorely missed by all the fans of the team, including myself. But this is about business, and you are in the business of winning World Championships.

And we apparently are not.

SO TRADE FOR JOHN MCDONALD!

Halladay likely won't be a Doctor "Phil"

It appears as though Roy Halladay will not be donning a Phillies uniform after all with Philadelphia and Cleveland striking a deal for Cliff Lee Wednesday afternoon, making it increasingly likely Halladay will remain a Blue Jay heading into 2010. The deal still could go through, because the players the Jays believed to want (Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ, Dominic Brown) did not head to Cleveland in the Lee acquisition.

Halladay may have been distracted Wednesday (and who could blame him?) in what might still have been his last start with the only organization he's known, allowing a season high 11 hits while coming out on the losing end of a 3-2 contest. Halladay has now just 1 win in his last 7 starts, but that's more to do with the Jays anemic run support (averaging 2.5 runs in those 7 games) than a reflection of how he's pitched.

My position all along is that the Jays will not deal Halladay, and it appears likely they won't. J.P. Ricciardi has indicated they now might go all in for 2010 to try to win. Although, that could be posturing in order to get someone to "wow" him with a substantial trade offer. If there is one thing we know about Ricciardi, it's that we can't trust him. So he might be finalizing a deal to move Doc Halladay after all.

Stay tuned.