Despite the power outage from 3-4 hitters Vernon Wells and Alex Rios, Cito Gaston is making the right call by not changing the lineup.
As impressive as their ascension to the top of the American League East was - 27 wins over their first 41 games and a 3.5 game lead over the Red Sox before they started this road trip from hell - it's been equally shocking how everything fell to pieces for the Blue Jays in the span of six days.
And for the first time this season, their high octane offence is currently running on empty and costing them games. The Jays limped into Baltimore having scored just 10 runs - five in Boston and five in Atlanta - while going on this six-game losing streak and costing Roy Halladay his ninth win. Going inside the numbers, the Jays have only been out-hit 58-51, but the run differential has been 20, in no thanks to hitting .143 (7 for 49) with runners in scoring position while leaving 51 runners on base.
The biggest culprits continue to be their 3-4 hitters - Alex Rios and Vernon Wells - but now you can add Adam Lind into the mix. Combined the three mid-order hitters have gone 0 for 18 with RISP during the losing skein, leaving a staggering 45 runners on base between them. The fall from grace of Rios and Wells, the teams' highest paid position players and, arguably, their most talented remains a mystery. And the fact that Cito Gaston steadfastly refuses to alter his line-up is becoming great fodder for the media and bloggers alike, but I've always been of the mind that I trust the wisdom of the veteran manager based on his track record.
Unfortunately, it seems that Lind is now becoming a victim of the lack of production from two hitters ahead of him. Back on May 6th, Lind was hitting a robust .336 with six home runs and 29 RBI in his first 29 games. But since, with Rios and Wells struggling and, thus, providing zero protection in front of the young left-handed slugger, Lind has hit just .217 over his next 16 games with one home run and six RBI. The old adage in baseball is that hitting, or lack thereof, is contagious. This is a perfect example.
Now, I realize from your e-mails and responses to my previous columns that most of you are pleading for Cito to shake things up and move Rios and Wells from their current spots in the everyday line-up. That's fine, but who else do you wish to put in their spots. The obvious choices might be veterans Scott Rolen or Lyle Overbay but neither has been producing with any regularity. If he weren't so green, and hadn't gone into a prolonged slump that ultimately led to being sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas, Travis Snider might have been given a shot but the decision to keep the 21-year old left fielder at the bottom of the order was the right one.
What we are also starting to see is a lack of depth among the position players, especially when Snider was sent out and utility man Joe Inglett was brought back for another look see. Nothing against Inglett, but he's a spare part and if he starts getting any extended action like he did a year ago when the injury bug started biting then any thoughts of continuing to contend are just that, thoughts.
No, the thing to do right now is stay the course. If the club had started this season hovering around the .500 mark, which is exactly where many of us thought they'd be, a six-game losing streak would have been acceptable, not enjoyed, but acceptable. Instead, the sky appears to be falling. But in reality, as I've said before, no one foresaw the great start, not with a rotation of Roy Halladay and then four days of crossed fingers, not with a closer of diminishing skills, not with a lead-off hitter who would normally hit near the bottom, not with corner infielders who lack power.
It was fun while it lasted and a return to the top of the heap is still a possibility, especially if they are able to right the ship and sweep away the lowly Orioles. But remember, with the good comes the bad and it couldn't get any worse than the last six days when the bats went cold and the bullpen lots its' effectiveness.
Or could it?
