Jays sign Cuban prospect Adeiny Hechavarria

It took about a month, but Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has confirmed the Blue Jays have signed Adeiny Hechavarria, finally locking up their shortstop of the future. Reports surfaced midway through spring training that Toronto would sign the highly touted Cuban prospect, but nothing had been finalized until now. In Hechavarria, Toronto hopes to finally resolve a decade long struggle to find a long term solution at the shortstop position.

Hechavarria defected from Cuba, signing a 4 year, $10 million dollar deal, giving the organization another solid piece in their rebuilding plan. The encouraging sign to note here is the fact the Yankees were extremely high on the 6-foot-1, 170-pound phenom, but were unable to convince him to sign on the dotted line because some guy named Derek Jeter likely up for another contract extension.

Just how good might Hechavarria be? He's been compared to the Cubs Alfonso Soriano. Yes, that good.

Let the Rios hate flow through you

Damn you Alex Rios. You weren't supposed to get three hits last night. You were supposed to crumble like you often did in Toronto, then we were supposed to jeer you ever more. Words can not describe how much I detest you Monsieur Alexis Rios. You have been placed on notice, I will boo you every time I catch a glimpse of you at tonight's ball game.

The best part of you leaving Toronto (other than you actually leaving Toronto), was that you are just as pathetic in Chicago. Sub .200 hitter pathetic. But would it kill you to blow chunks for just four more games like you always did in Toronto?

Actually, I'm probably being too harsh on Alex. He was a pretty good player for the franchise. He did hit 24 homers in 2007, and was close to a .300 hitter until last season. Maybe I should take it easy on him. I've had a change of heart. Rios, I still like you, so could I please have your autograph? Oh wait, never mind.

I'm back from the sick bay

My apologies for not writing on this blog the past couple of days. I'm returning from the sick bay. I was such a hurtbag that I couldn't even drag my sorry posterior to the Jays home opener last night. You know it's serious then. I am feeling a little bit better now, enough to head down to the Skydome tonight to watch Toronto get redemption on the Sox after last night's debacle. The Jays sure did get debacled last night.

Ah, an ode to the great Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith. Poking fun at that clown is far too easy. Why not link to a bootprint of the ten dumbest things he ever said on television? What does any of this have to do with the Toronto Blue Jays? Well, uh, nothing apparently. But welcome back to Toronto Blue Jays Way!

The Jays are comeback kids? Really?

This Toronto Blue Jays team is already proving to be comeback kids with a lot of fight in them! Two straight wins coming in the ninth inning? Are you kidding me? I haven't seen this kind of stellar production since this guy started ruling Philadelphia. Last year Toronto won just THREE times when trailing after 8 innings, and now they've done it twice in two contests!

The best part is that fact this team has, to this point, been able to come up with a clutch hit here and there, produce a timely bunt, sacrifice fly, advances runners etc. Toronto is doing the little things late in ball games that make all the difference, something that was severely lacking for a long time.

Let's not kid ourselves yet though. The Jays are only 3-1. They started last year 27-14 before fizzling out quicker than the brutally lame show of the worst baseball broadcaster ever. They are also employing a very inexperienced rotation and have some borderline hacks throughout their lineup. Still, it's a pretty cool sign to know that this club doesn't have any quit in them. Maybe when the Jays get really good in a couple of years (please god make it happen!), they can be doing it up big time when games are actually counting toward a pennant race.

Vernon Wells crank show continues

What more is there to say about Vernon freaking Wells? V-Diddy is on an absolute tear to start the season after cranking out two more home runs against the Rangers tonight. I almost feel like I shouldn't continue to mention how Wells (pun intended!) he's doing for fear that Vernon, a staunch reader of Toronto Blue Jays Way, will get a swelled head and start resting on his laurels, leading him to stink like he has the past two years.

Wells' two dinger night against the Rangers pushes his total on the campaign to 3 in just the first 2 games, putting him on record pace for an astounding 243 long flies! But wait, there's more. In two games, Wellsy (how come it's way easier to think of catchy nicknames for Vern Diesel than any other Blue Jay) already has matched the home run total he amassed in the first 17 such outings in '09! Not only that, but Verny mashed two tators in one game for the first time since September 28th, 2008! That's a lot of firsts! And a lot of exclamation marks!

Being from Texas, Wells has a lot of family and friends that come watch him at the Ball Park in Arlington. Most notably, his dad was there for both games. So it's pretty obvious someone must capture him and bring him to every single Jays game all season. Who's up for the task?

Note: Though I'm sure it was already incredibly obvious, Vernon Wells does not read this blog. I think. Nor has he ever heard of it. I think. But what do I know? Nothing. I think.

Tallet's effective wildness earns Jays first win

Brian Tallet may appear unorthodox, out of place and a bit of a misfit (but who doesn't love his 'stache?) more often than not, but give him credit; it's never pretty, but he gets the job done. He's effectively wild in the starters role, and more often than not, gives the Jays a good chance at clawing out a victory.

One part of the statistical ledger is pretty impressive, the other, not so much. The good: 6.2 innings, 4 hits, 6 strike outs. The bad: serving up back to back bombs in the 4th inning after being given a 2 run cushion, allowing 3 walks, one of which came around to score, tightening the screws in the 7th frame. In every start, he'll have a stretch where he looks dominant, like when he retired seven in a row from the 1st to 3rd inning, followed by a rough patch, like when he served up the two aforementioned dingers on two pitches.

Tallet, who last year had 22 good starts and 3 miserable ones (where he gave up 8 earned runs twice and 10 in another) to his credit, is able to put together a decent outing even if he doesn't have his best stuff on that particular night. With this young starting rotation sorely needing veteran leadership, all the quality starts that Tallet can put together are a huge boost. Maybe now that he has the next four games off, he can learn some tips on how to look busy from this guy.

Purchasing a Jays season pass a major pain

Who knew picking up the Toronto Star Blue Jays season pass could be such a painstakingly slow process? After my adventures at the Rogers Centre box office today, I deserve a prize. Perhaps some Gustavo Chacin cologne?

I purchased (or so I thought) my Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Star season pass online a couple of weeks ago. Instead of going through the hassle of picking it up during a busy home opener I figured I'd do the smart thing and swipe it today when it would be quick and painless. Not so much. I get to what I believe is the gate to pick up my pass, only to find the teller does not know baseball, or who the heck the Blue Jays even are. Seriously. This is truthfully an actual conversation I had today "I'm here to pick up my Toronto Star Blue Jays season pass"..."For what?"..."Um, the Blue Jays"..."who?"..."uhhhh, the pass for the Blue Jays season tickets"..."oh, go to gate 9" That really happened. You can't make this stuff up!

When I got to the correct gate, I was told that I had to pay the $115 for the pass despite paying for it already online. Once it was determined I somehow didn't (even though I had a message saying I did, and that I needed to go the box office and pick up the pass), I showed my confirmation number. The teller then proceeded to say that he couldn't give me a season pass because they were out of them, even though he had a new one all ready RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.

After that, the clown said he'd do me a favour and knock off the $15 for buying it at the box office instead of online. Gee, thanks buddy. Now can I just actually get the season pass already? At that point he brought his manager on board to make sure the transaction went through correctly, which didn't go so well. While they were trying to understand what to do, they laughed throughout this whole process. HAHAHA was exactly what was going through my head at this precise instant. Not.

Having finally made sense of this whole monstrosity, the dude gave me a receipt to sign for, except he only had the $30 on it for the two tickets I bought for opening night. So he had to swipe my card again for the $115 paid for the season pass! Really. All this actually happened. I just wish sometimes I wasn't a patient and understanding person. Situations like this would be so much more fun if I flew off the handle a lot more easily.

Oh, and have I already mentioned how stupid it is to have a seasons pass for 80 of the 81 contests but not include the home opener as part of it? That's right, I did! This whole process was a complete and utter disaster. Oh, and by the way, I'm excited for the home opener, and then using the pass the following night. If it even works properly.