Scott Carson

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 18th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.

Shaun Marcum returned to action for the Jays on Sunday.

The Blue Jays haven't exactly come out of the All-Star break flying under the radar.

It's hard to judge a trade in just four games but the injection of Yunel Escobar into the starting line-up has added another element to their offence. I realize it's only been 20 plate appearances, but who can't be thrilled with a grand slam, a two-run bomb, a pair of bunt singles -- almost hearsay in these parts -- and a steady defence just a notch below his predecessor Alex Gonzalez. Too bad he may need to take a day off or two after getting plunked on the hand in Monday night's loss.

Then the Blue Jays re-inject Opening Day starter Shaun Marcum into the rotation equation. This makes six pitchers available to start games in a varying order, as the Jays, like they did a year, seek to put a cap on the number of innings that their young arms endure during a non-contending season.

Certainly seems like there's a finally plan in place, doesn't it?

The fact that Cito Gaston has always been loath to use the bench, with no more than 11 players getting plate time, so having Nick Green around to pinch run was a wasted roster spot. The extra pitcher is far, far more valuable. With Brandon Morrow missing his next turn and Marcum's return cut short by a blister; Jesse Litsch and Marc Rzepczynski step in to allow those two to get the requisite rest to stay strong and available. That's a nice luxury to have. Plus, you have to remember that Brett Cecil is in just his third professional season as a starter, after being drafted as an NCAA closer with Maryland (38th overall in 2007).

I won't go as far as to proclaim that the Toronto Blue Jays are now employing a six-man rotation. I'd call this a five-plus-man rotation.

But we have to remember that things could change quickly, with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, and the contenders following the Jays, kicking the tires on more than one of their relievers. The depth of the entire pitching has suddenly turned into a strong suit, especially when you factor in that Kyle Drabek and Zach Stewart are both rounding into solid professional form with New Hampshire (AA). Should one or more relievers be moved at the deadline, they won't be forced to move any young, unproven arms up to get through the rest of the schedule with Jeremy Accardo, Josh Roenicke, Sean Henn and Jesse Carlson all at AAA having Major League experience.

Depth, and not a massive payroll, may turn out to be the Blue Jays best course of action as this franchise builds towards what they think will be a sustained playoff run in the next couple of years.

Who's the boss

Interesting listening to the fallout from last Saturday's hissing contest between the manager and his closer. In a classic case of 'once bitten, twice shy', Cito watched Kevin Gregg walk the bases full against the Orioles and then flashed back to the June 1st game against the Rays at Rogers Centre when his "closer" walked five of the eight batters he faced, blowing a three-run lead. When Gregg lost the strike zone again on the weekend, Gaston wasn't going to let this win slip away and replaced him with Shawn Camp. Words and glances were exchanged, and the two parties met behind closed doors to clear the air. It should have ended there.

Unfortunately, Gregg did the worst thing possible by blowing his next save assignment and the blogs, call-in shows and tweets went wild again, calling for Gregg's removal from the role. My only question is: if not Gregg, who else? Jason Frasor had his shot to start the season and failed. Plus do we really want the 'Human Rain Delay' out there taking a half an hour to close games on a nightly basis? Scott Downs is more valuable in a set-up role. The same goes for Camp. And let's also take a look at the numbers. Gregg is 21-for-25 in save opportunities, good for an 84 percent success rate (10th in the American League). That's decent for a reliever never considered an upper-echelon closer. In Toronto, everyone points to Tom Henke and Duane Ward, but they were exceptional in the ninth inning. Gregg is an average closer, therefore blown saves pop up once in a while. He's blown four in the first four months of the season. For the money that they are paying him, that's not bad value is it?