The Toronto Blue Jays remain a rebuilding team in flux following a first half of highs and lows.
Well, didn’t that first half of the 2011 season just fly by?
It seems just like yesterday that the Blue Jays were opening their season with a convincing one-sided win over the defending A.L. Central champion Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre.
For the most part, it’s been a first half in which the team has likely played better than their 45-47 record indicates. Unfortunately, the Jays 10th ranked bullpen has converted just 57.1% of their save opportunities and the 15 blown chances have snatched way too many defeats out of the jaws of victory.
It reminds me of the 1983 Jays, with the likes of Jesse Barfield, George Bell and Lloyd Moseby displaying all kinds of offensive prowess only to have relievers Joey McLaughlin, Roy Lee Jackson and Randy Moffitt throw it all away. Twenty-eight years later, no fewer than eight different relievers have had save chances with six of them blowing at least one.
Frank Francisco was anointed the team’s closer early in spring training, but injuries sent him to the disabled list to start the season and he has been unable to string together a significant number of good outings. Over his past 17 appearances entering the break, Francisco’s ERA is a staggering 8.10 thanks to 25 hits and 13 runs allowed (12 earned) in just 13.1 innings, leading to three blown saves and four losses.
Jon Rauch will handle the ninth in the interim, but he, too, has had his shaky moments late and isn’t exactly automatic.
On the whole, the bullpen, has taken a step back from a year ago. The defection of Scott Downs to Los Angeles has left a huge hole that Marc Rzepczynski and Luis Perez have failed to fill. ‘Zep’ had a couple of head scratching bouts of wildness in the first half, in which he was unable to throw a strike.
Perez, while a pleasant surprise after taking over from the departed David Purcey, has given up game changing home runs to left-handed hitters (Chase Utley and Travis Hafner) of late and is best suited as a multi-inning long man. An injury has also cost them Casey Janssen for the last three-plus weeks of the first half.
Ricky Romero and Jo-Jo Reyes have been the only constants of a starting rotation that remains in flux. Hard luck and poor run support has left ace Romero with just seven wins in his first 18 starts this season. But his ERA is a solid 3.09 and he has deserved a better fate.
Reyes, on the other hand, has battled through a ridiculous winless streak that originally began in 2008 with the Braves, and has won four of his past eight starts. After those two, Brandon Morrow has been the best of the bunch, and after missing the start of the season with arm issues, he is finally showing his top of the rotation stuff.
Jesse Litsch and Brett Cecil both started the season in the starting five but have spent more time in the minors than in the bigs. Meanwhile, stud phenom Kyle Drabek has had control problems, both physically and mentally, and will be in triple-A for a while yet. The saving grace in all of this has been Carlos Villanueva. Originally picked up from the Brewers to be the long man out of the bullpen, injuries and the ineffectiveness of others forced manager John Farrell to put Villanueva into the rotation in late May and he’s been solid with a 4-1 record in nine starts.
Uneven would also be the kindest way to describe the Blue Jays offence to date. The exploits of Jose Bautista have been well documented. His 31 home runs at the break have set a new franchise record and set the standard in the majors, six clear of his closest pursuer.
Outside of a three-week stretch beginning in late May, Joey Bats has been the top power hitter in the game for the second straight season. Thanks to the production of Adam Lind, and lately, Eric Thames, teams haven’t been able to pitch around Bautista as much they’d like to and he’s hit some big and timely bombs.
Unfortunately, consistency has been lacking from the rest of the hitters. Bench players have been forced into starting roles many times this season due to injury and ineffectiveness. The return of Travis Snider from an unexpected extended stay in Las Vegas has helped the production over the last week.
There’s no doubt that J.P. Arencibia is here to stay, but he needs more days off to remain fresh and heal his nagging injuries. The one big mystery continues to be Aaron Hill who hit the break with just four home runs and a .234 batting average. A lot more offence is needed and expected from the veteran second baseman. Rajai Davis brought an element of speed to a lineup that was devoid of it a year ago. His 24 steals is the most by a Blue Jay in over a decade. But Davis fell into some bad habits midway through the first half and went into an extended slump, adding little of anything.
The arrival of Eric Thames and the brief tryout of David Cooper gave a glimpse into what offensive weapons are coursing their way towards Toronto. Everyone is still waiting on the Jays’ top prospect, Canadian third baseman Brett Lawrie, who was poised to make his debut in early June, only to suffer a broken hand after being hit by a pitch.
Only recently has Lawrie been swinging a bat again and he likely won’t putting on a Blue Jays uniform until at least mid-August. But based upon his triple-A stats (.354 average, 19 doubles, 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 52 games) he’ll be worth the wait.
With all that has happened so far this season, rookie manager Farrell and his hard working coaches have done stellar work keeping this team hovering around the .500 mark. There have been questionable decisions leading to great debate in the blogosphere, but Farrell’s straight-forward approach towards his young charges has been a vast change from Cito Gaston’s old-school ways.
It appears that the Jays have a harmonious clubhouse, which carries a lot of weight in today’s climate.
You can’t expect a player to play his best if he’s not happy.
At the beginning of the season, I had the Jays pegged as a 78-win team. Sure, that’s a step back from the 85 wins a year ago, but that doesn’t mean it can’t translate into a successful season.
They are taking stock of what they have and are seeing how young players are responding to life in the majors. To some, that might seem like just another wasted year.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in the midst of a rebuild.
