Blow Jay Ryan to return; not as closer

The impending return of closer B.J. Ryan could occur on this current home stand, but there are very few people that are meeting it with optimism. In fact, most would just assume keep him off the ball club. Before being shelved with tightness in his shoulder, the big lefty blew two saves in four chances, pretty much hurting the team before he went to the disabled list (I still think his "injury" was just the team's excuse to give him a break until he worked out his mechanical issues.)

J.P. Ricciardi has gone on record as saying Scott Downs will remain in his current role as the closer when Ryan returns. It's hard to argue with Downs' success, as he's locked down all three save situations since being handed the job. Though the club has said all the right things about B.J., particularly how he's a great teammate and will accept his demotion of sorts, I have to wonder if this will become a problem in the clubhouse. From what I gather, it won't be, but if Downs blows a couple of saves, yet still maintains the job as the stopper, there could be some controversy brewing.

Just what will be Ryan's role in the bullpen? Will he be the setup guy? Used sparingly in the 7th inning? I can't see him being a long reliever, especially with his jello arm the last couple of seasons. I'd imagine they will start him off slowly, perhaps in the 7th frame, and then see if he can be trusted in the setup role over time.

In three rehab assignments, Ryan has performed well, allowing one run and throwing two strikeouts in three innings of work with the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Halladay takes down Burnett!

In the epic battle between Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett, the Jays came out on top with a fantastic victory! The hype leading up to the game certainly was justified, as the Rogers Centre was buzzing throughout the evening. This victory was probably the most important of the season, at least in the court of public opinion, since many fans still aren't believing that this Jays squad is for real.

Halladay made quick work of the Yankees, allowing just 5 hits and one run while throwing his first complete game of the season. For much of the contest, he was unhittable. Burnett flinched first in the battle of wills. The Jays got to him in the 4th inning, scoring 3 runs, and the Doc took it from there, securing his 7th win of the campaign.

It's only May, and the Yankees are not playing their best baseball, but this victory is a huge boon to the ball club. If Toronto had lost this game, with Halladay on the hill no less, there would have been whispers and suggestions that the great start to the season was a mirage.

What....a.....win!!!

Burnett vs. Halladay!

The most anticipated contest of the Blue Jays season kicks off in just over 4 hours time with A.J. Burnett returning to the Rogers Centre to square off against Roy Halladay! This game is massive, with considerable bad blood between Burnett and the city of Toronto.

Who isn't going to to this game? Burnett is most definitely going to get booed for bolting after opting out of his contract to cash in on the open market. Watching his mentor Halladay opposing him is sure to make this battle even more phenomenal.

Of all the games I've already been to this year, it just so happens I have to miss this one due to work. It's killing me! I'd trade a few of the brutal pitching battles I've seen already just to go to this epic game, but it's not going to happen.

The other subplot in the series is that it marks the first "real test" the Jays have faced to date (at least that's what the doubters say.) Look, you don't win 22 of your first 34 games without being very good. Having said that, apparently squaring off against a team 1 game below .500 like the Yankees will prove we are for real or a complete fraud.

Oh ya, did I mention it's "A-Fraud" Alex Rodriguez first game in Toronto since he was busted for steroids?

David Purcey update

How far has David Purcey fallen in the past month? After a fantastic spring training, he was pencilled in to be the number two starter in the Blue Jays rotation. With 5 mostly miserable starts that saw him go 0-2, posting a bloated 7.01 ERA, the big lefty was sent down to AAA Las Vegas to work on his release point and fix his control problems.

Just one problem; Purcey has been even worse in a pair of starts in the minor leagues! His last outing yielded a horrific 30.86 ERA! Purcey was bashed around for 8 earned runs, 8 hits, and walked 3, before exiting after just 2.1 innings. This is not how the career arc of the Jays 2004 1st round pick was supposed to go.

Barring a rash of injuries to the big club, it might be quite a while before Purcey steps foot on a major league mound again. With the unexpected brilliance of Brett Cecil, the decent performance by Robert Ray, not to mention the wonderful job Brian Tallet has done to go along with expected return of Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen, and Jesse Litsch in the coming weeks, it's easy to see how Purcey will be buried on the depth chart. If he doesn't pick up his game for Las Vegas, he faces a serious uphill battle to make any long term impact with the Blue Birds. His opportunity might have come and gone.

Brett Cecil stating case to stay with big club

Toronto's best pitching prospect is turning heads with his remarkable start to his major league career, so much so that the club will face a tough decision on what to do with Brett Cecil when the regular starters come back from injury.

Cecil has been dynamite in two starts, most notably yesterday against Oakland. He silenced the A's bats, holding them to just 5 hits over 8 innings, without giving up any runs, and for the 2nd consecutive start, Cecil whiffed 6 batters.. Against Cleveland in his big league debut, the 2007 first round pick gave up just 1 run in 6 innings. In two starts, his ERA is a minuscule 0.64!

If Cecil continues his scorching play, it will be a very difficult decision on what to do with Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen and Jesse Litsch when they come off the disabled list. Could the rotation conceivably have Roy Halladay, Romero, Scott Richmond, Brian Tallet, Cecil as the starting five? Or does Cecil get sent down along with Robert Ray to AAA, and Tallet move back to the bullpen in favour of Romero, Janssen and Litsch? Either way, the Jays will be facing a good problem with their starting five, something that couldn't be said a month ago.

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.