What a busy weekend this was for the Blue Jays this past weekend. The big news is the firing of John Gibbons and the return of Cito Gaston. The fireings didn't stop there; also to go was hitting coach Gary Denbo, first base coach Ernie Witt and third base coach Marty Pevey. Replacing them were hitting coach Gene Tennace, who was Gaston's hitting coach during the back to back world championships, first base coach Dwanyne Murphy and third base coach Nick Leyva, who also was part of Gaston's staff back in the 90's.

Cito brings in a completely different style. Last year the Jays appeared to be too aggressive. This year they are showing better patience, but now they are too patient. Almost every hitter has been in a slump. Power numbers are way down. Two key players are Alex Rios and Scott Rolen. The big surprise is Alex Rios, who hasn't hit a home run since early May and only has three home runs for the year.

What kinds of challenges will Cito face?

The Blue Jays are a good team, but the big problem is hitting with runners in scoring position and hitting into double plays. The Jays have a good OBP at .337, but fail to get the big hit. This is something Cito is very good at, getting players to hit timely hits, which is something that this offence has been unable to do the last few years. If you got a chance to catch the last couple of games in Pittsburgh this weekend, you may have noticed the changes starting to begin. The other big challenge he will face is to try and get this team back into contention this year. Near the end of the first half of the season, this could be a daunting task. However, Cito has history on his side. The first time he took over the Blue Jays, the team was 12-24 and then came back and won the division that year. It's certainly possible, but this team will have to put together a few more months like they had in May and they will have a shot.

One of the things I talked about in the beginning of the year was how critical it was for the Jays to beat their AL East rivals and also play better in interleague. So far neither has happened. They are 9-14 (.391) against the AL East and 4-8 (.333) in interleague play. The combined record is 13-22 (.371).  The Jays have two more series against the Reds and then the Braves. Both series are at the Rogers Centre.

Also this weekend The Jays recalled Adam Lind from Syracuse. Lind looked very comfortable at the plate going 2-3 with a homer. Kevin Mench was sent down to Syracuse and the Jays recalled reliever Brandon League. Shaun Marcum was placed on the DL for soreness in his elbow. Roy Halladay was hit on the head, but was okay and is expected to make his next start.

Marcum has been the best pitcher so far for the Jays this year, losing him for two weeks will hurt the Jays Dustin McGowan continues to struggle as has Jessie Litsch. Litsch lost his third strait after starting the year 7-1. He has had some problems with his control in the last month. AJ Burnett has also been inconsistent. Those three will need to step things up. Scott Downs has been outstanding in relief and BJ Ryan has recovered from his recent woes, showing some of that dominance we are use to seeing.

Even as the pitching has struggled, the offence is showing good signs. Let's hope Cito can turn this team around like he did nearly twenty years ago and turn them into a championship team.

The Blue Jays finally stopped a four game losing streak defeating the Orioles on Sunday and avoiding the sweep. Since finishing May 20-10, they have slide to 2-5 in June. There were three blown leads lost by the struggling bull-pen. In fact just about the entire pitching staff has been struggling. BJ Ryan has two blown saves, but did have a solid 9th inning on Sunday to close the game. AJ Burnett struggled with his control in the last outing. He was booed after being removed. Ditto for Jessie Litsch, taking just his second loss of the season It seemed every reliever John Gibbons used in the 9-8 loss to the Yankees struggled, then in the 9th BJ Ryan gave up three runs including a walk-off homer by Jason Giambi. Benito Santiago gave up 2 homers in one inning against Baltimore and was designated for assignment the next day. Even Doc was not immune, but while not having his best stuff he has managed to get 2 wins in the last week. Shaun Marcum remained consistent pitching a gem that was blown by the bull-pen.

It's not all bad though. The hitting, that was virtually nonexistent, has certainly come alive in the last couple of weeks. Vernon Wells added an exclamation point in a surprise return from the DL going 5-7 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in two games after replacing Shannon Stewart, who rolled his ankle at first base. Wells is not alone on his tear, Rod Barajas has been hot and Alex Rios has started to come out of his slump. David Eckstien also had key hits after returning from the DL last week. Brad Wilkerson has done a great job filling in for Vernon Wells and now Shannon Stewart. As a team the Jays have scored 36 runs so far in June in 7 games, while hitting .275 over the same stretch.

What's the problem, more than the pitching has been key defensive plays that the Jays normally make but haven't. One key mistake was by Eckstein in the 9-8 loss to the Yankees. Eckstien misplayed a ball that went into the outfield--a play he typically makes. Had he made that play Jason Giambi would have never has a chance to hit that home run and the Jays would have won. Those types of plays are even more critical when the pitchers are struggling.

In the beginning of the season I talked about how the Blue Jays needed to improve against the AL East to have a shot at the play-off this year. They have not improved from last year. This was evident in key losses that they took against New York and Baltimore, blowing comfortable leads twice, once against New York and once against Baltimore.

What's up next:

The Jays finish the home stand throughout the next week against Seattle and the Chicago Cubs. The Pitchers will have to get back to form against a tough Chicago line-up. 

This week the Jays made a comeback after a starting with a dismal series in Cleveland. After losing the first three in Cleveland, the Jays won the last of a double-header on Monday and then swept the next series in Minnesota before taking two out of three from Philadelphia to leave them with a .500 record at 23-23. The Jays have had just two bad series this month, one at home against Tampa Bay and the other in Cleveland. Their record for the month is 12-6 as of May 19.

So is this the comeback we are expecting? It looks like it. The hitting has started to get much better, less GIDP has lead to more base runners and more runs. In the last 7 games in which the Blue Jays were 6-1, they scored 32 runs. That averages out to be 4.5 runs a game. The pitching remained steady, In the same 7 games they gave up 28 runs, but 10 of those were from Friday nights game that the Blue Jays gave up 10 runs. 8 of those runs were from rookie David Purcey, who was shelled that game. If you take away that game, then the Jays only gave up 18 runs while scoring 29. Another key stat has been the long ball. Toronto hit 7 home runs in that 7 game stretch, two were grand slams. 4 from Matt Stairs, 2 from Rod Barajas and 1 from Lyle Overbay. While the offence seems to be improving the Jays batting average was only .233 over that 7 game stretch.

The key is for the Jays to keep it up. Despite the bad April, the Jays are still close and only 4 games out of the AL East lead. They have a tough schedule coming up though. The Angles come to town followed by the Royals.

Thursday, David Eckstein could rejoin the team after a stint on the DL for a hip flexor.

Key stats for the week:

Record 6-1
ERA: 3.87- pretty good, but it would be much better if you take away Fridays game. That leaves the ERA at 2.89.
Batting average: .233- The Jays scored a lot more runs, but the batting average was lower than their season average of .254
HR: 7- including 2 grand slams, this was a big reason for the Jays success this week.
Runs scored to runs against: +4- 32 for, 28 against. Again if you take away the shelling that occured Friday it's +11- 29 for, 18 against.

Hello Jays fans and welcome to the first Blue Jays Beat of the year. The Jays are off to another slow start. Expectations are high for the team this year, but once again the Jays are under-achieving. It is a tale of two teams, one that is living up to expectations and one that isn't. The pitching has been outstanding and the hitting has been almost nonexistent. The Jays rank 2nd in Pitching even with poor outings by relievers Camp and Accardo in the last two games. The offence is 7th in the AL, which may not seem that bad, but the Jays have been terrible hitting with runners in scoring position. The team is +7 in run differential, so it's hard to believe the team is 17-20, but in close games they have failed to get base-runners home.

Time and time again the Jays have wasted quality starts from the pitching staff when they can't score. The Jays, Whose record of 17-20 could very easily be 25-12 if (key word if) they had won games they should have won, but were unable to get runners home. This includes Thursday nights game, when Alex Rios had a lead-off triple in the 10th inning and the Jays were unable to get Rios plated with no outs.

Early May isn't time to panic yet, but the Jays will quickly start running out of time. The good news is that with the weather is warming up and it will will favor the hitters.

2007 was an injury filled season for the Jays and 2008 has had a few bumps in the road. Scott Rolen started the season on the DL, but has returned and has been a spark plug for the Jays hitting .333 and slugging .604. leading the Jays in both categories. Brian Wolfe RHP was the only other player to land on the DL till this week. David Eckstien and John McDonald were injured in the same game. Vernon Wells, who the Jays can not afford to lose, suffered a jammed wrist and aggravated hamstring Friday night in Cleveland and may have to go on the DL.

The Jays enter May 10th 5.5 games out of first in the AL East and 5 games out of the Wild Card. The season is far from over, but the Jays will need to get thing going by the end of May before they slip too far behind. The Jays have the offence and certainly have the pitching be a better team, but as always potential means nothing unless it is capitalized in the real world. The jays have the potential to turn things around in a hurry, the lingering question is: will they?

New from Bijou Media:

Check out The Poets Stage and my tribute to the great writer and inventor Arthur C. Clarke.

Check Bijou Studios for winter scenery.

Check out the Dime for Your Thoughts E-Zine. The latest article is about the end of the iconic Polaroid camera 

Did the Twins file a police report? I like the four youngsters that were on the list, but the Twins could have done better. Both Boston and the Yankees had better players they were offering, plus they already had MLB experience. Both Boston and the Yankees had some good Minor League talent they were offering as well. Don't get me wrong The Twins picked up a possible Ace, and a possible lead-off man, but they could have done much better. Just my humble opinion, they were robbed.

Here's what the Twins received, and a review of the players:

Carlos Gomez, OF age 21
.275/ 2-HR /13-RBI/ 27-SO /.355-OBP/ 19-SB
Not overly impressive hitting numbers, but he has a pretty good looking swing. Great speed on the bases. If he can get his hitting numbers up he has potential to become a lead-off hitter.

Deolis Guerra, RHP: age 18
4-1/ 4.01 ERA/ 66 SO/ opponents average .240
6-5 200 lbs tower with a nasty, nasty change-up. This guy is very young, and looks like he could be a dominant pitcher in about 3 or 4 years. He had some control problems, but he is young still. good looking kid.

Philip Humber, RHP age 25
11-9/ 4.27 ERA/ 120 SO/ Opponents average .244
Another tall pitcher at 6-4 225 lbs. He has a great strike out per inning ratio. He had 120 strikeouts to 139 innings pitched. He had Tommy John surgery in 2005. I didn't see any video of him. Numbers are not super impressive though. He strikes a lot of hitters out, but also gives up a lot of hits: 129 in 139 innings, and surrendered 66 earned runs.

Kevin Mulvey, RHP age 22
12-10/ 3.20 ERA/ 113 SO/ Opponents average .246
Another good strikeout pitcher, that has four effective pitches with a good slider. He showed excellent control, and could earn a spot in the Twins pen this season. However like Humber he gives up a lot of hits. 147 in 157.2 innings pitched, while surrendering 56 runs. His numbers have progressed every year, and he looks like he will be a good SP in the future

all stats are 2007 minor league stats.

Check out February's updates to Bijou Media.

At Bijou photo studios gallery:
The first photo is the Good Year Blimp cruising above Akron, OH.
The second photo is Alum Creek Lake above Columbus, OH at sunset.
http://www.bijoumedia.net/photo_art.htm

New at the Poets Stage just in time for Valentine's day a poem by Curlethia Sykes Swaigon titled "I just Wanted to Leave you a Note" http://www.thepoetsstage.com/

Spring training will be here before you know it!

Need some love tips this Valentine's day? Try Love Trace.com

Give the gift of poetry this Valentine's day.
Definitions is full of brilliant deep and meaningful love poetry, the perfect gift for Valentine's day.

Buy now at Amazon.com

This week the Cleveland Indians removed the letters that spelled "Jacobs Field" from the Stadium. The new name is Progressive field named after the insurance company that is located in Mayfield Ohio, a suburb east of the city. The original name was named after the Jacobs brothers, who owned the team when the stadium was built in 1994. The trend of naming rights to stadiums caught on long ago, but I started wondering just how many teams have a regular name like Yankee Stadium, or the former Jays stadium Sky Dome. What happened to great names like that?

It looks as though the days of what I call "cool creative names" are long gone. Jacobs field may have not been that creative, but it sounds better than Progressive field!

Sky Dome was one of those creative names. Sky Dome was completed in 1989 and was the first retractable dome stadium. The stadium was open on sunny days and closed for rainy days making Sky Dome a cool name. The stadium is now called Rogers Centre after the Canadian cable company. Rogers just doesn't have that cool name not just because it is a corporate name but Sky Dome fits the old feeling of the mechanical function of a retractable dome. It's not just a dome but an open stadium too.

There are more examples such as the old home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Three Rivers Stadium. Simple, but sweet and much better than PNC ballpark! The name fit since there are three rivers that start in the heart of Pittsburgh; the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny. How about the Astrodome in Houston? The stadium was named after NASA, which is a big part of Houston, the new stadium is Minuet Maid park. How about old Mile High Stadium home of the Rockies, before they moved to Coors field? The stadium is in the Rocky Mountains and a mile high. Perfect name right?

Three stadiums are still named after it's owner; Turner field in Atlanta, Kauffman stadium in Kansas City and Wrigley Field in Chicago. Comisky park in Chicago now named US Cellular field was named after it's owner like Jacobs Field was.

What's wrong with naming the Stadium after the team that plays in it? Tigers stadium in Detroit was the old stadium, the new stadium is Comerica Park. I personally like naming the stadium after a team better than a bank! The famous Yankees Stadium won't change when the new Yankees stadium opens in 2009. The Yankees ownership seems to be smart enough to keep the tradition in place! Another AL East team that has named the stadium after the team is Baltimore; Orioles park at Camden Yards. There's also Dodger Stadium, Angels stadium of Anaheim, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and Nationals Park. Nationals Park opens it's inaugural season this year in 2008.

The new Twins Ballpark is under construction and Rays Ballpark is under proposal. Not everybody is following Minnesota, Washington and New York Yankee's lead however, The New York Mets, whose stadium will also open in the 2009 season will be named Citi Field after Citi Bank. The proposed new field for the Oakland A's is Cisco field replacing McAfee Coliseum. Neither one has a good ring to it like the old Candlestick Park across the bay in San Francisco. The new stadium is AT&T Park.

It's debatable when the first commercial name started, since Wrigley field in Chicago was named after the gum giant William Wrigley, though it could be argued it was just named after his name. One thing is certain is that for the most part naming rights started back in the 90s and have become common among all major sports arena throughout North America.

I may be old fashioned and some of the companies that paid for the naming rights will disagree with me, but give me the old creative names back any day! I'm sure Rogers Centre is great advertisement but I like Skydome much better!

Coming soon to The Blue Jays Beat

It's been a busy offseason after all. The Jays signed free agent David Eckstein, traded Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen and signed all restricted free agents except for Alex Rios. Rios is negotiating terms at the moment. The six other players include: Scott Downs (P), Marco Scutaro (infielder) , Jason Frasor (P), Gustavo Chacin (P) Reed Johnson (LF) and Brian Tallet (P). I will take a look at how each one of these players are key to the Blue Jays success in 2008.

The Jays swaped Third Basemen with St Louis. The Jays sent Troy Glaus to St. Louis for Scott Rolen. Both players are returning from season ending surgery; Glaus for his left foot and Rolen for his left shoulder.

The Cardinals traded the unhappy Rolen who requested a trade after the Cardinals re-signed skipper Tony La Russa. Both Glaus and Rolen had slow years in 2007 after having good years in 2006. Glaus hit .262 with 20 HR and 62 RBI in 2007. Rolen hit .265 with 8 HR and 50 RBI. Rolen doesn't have the power number that Glaus has but would bring a big improvement in defense and range in the field. in 2006 he helped the Cardinals win the World Series and hit .296 with 22 HR and 95 RBI. 2004 was his best year when he hit .314 with 34 HR and 124 RBI. The Jays would be happy if he was able to get back to the numbers he had in 2006. Glaus hit .252 with 38HR and 104 RBI. Glaus certainly had better power numbers but a lower average, though Glaus has been a good clutch hitter. The trade looks pretty even on paper. The Jays would give up a little power to gain a little average and defense, though health questions will linger for both players.

I like the move, but like many other positions on the squad, it all depends on how healthy Rolen is. It looks like I was wrong about the quiet offseason! I like the new additions to the Jays and if everyone is healthy this team will be tough to beat.

The Blue Jays came to terms with Reed Johnson earlier this month signing him to a one year deal. Johnson is another player that had a great year and 2006 only to struggle through an injury filled 2007. His average dropped nearly 80 points. The Jays are hoping he can get back to those numbers this year, he will be key for the Jays to make a playoff run.

Best wishes for everyone in 2008. One of my wishes for 2008 is a Blue Jays World Championship.

Coming soon to Bijou Media

January 2, 2008

Brand new Photos at Bijou Studios. Some stunning pictures of the Flat Rock trail in Colonel Denning state park in Pennsylvania and two bonus photos of Poinsettias.

Also January 2 the January Dime for Your Thoughts magazine. In this issue I will review 2007, all the top news stories, sports, entertainment, and deaths.

January 5, 2008

The Poets Stage will have the next poem in the Ikado the Dragon series. Ikado experiences New Years.

Go Leafs and Raptors.

Just 3 more months till the season begins. Go Jays Go

It has been a busy week in MLB this week, yet no game was played. The Mitchell report came out, and several free agent signings and trades were made around the league. The Blue Jays added David Eckstein as the new SS for 2008. Also this week the potential trade of Alex Rios for Tim Lincecum fell through.

The Blue Jays made their biggest off-season move so far this year signing David Eckstein to a one year deal worth $4.5 Million. The Jays did not offer arbitration to RHP Josh Towers to make room for Eckstein. Towers was due to make $2.4 Million this year, but with a record of 7-20 over the last two years Towers was hurting the team more than helping. Eckstein hit .309 with 3HR and 31 RBI in 2007. Eckstein will probably be the new leadoff hitter with an OBP of .356 and 10 SB. Eckstein is the only starting SS to win a World Series in the AL and NL. He won the MVP in both Series. He won with Anaheim in 2002 and St. Louis in 2006. With all the talk of The Yankees or Red Sox signing Santana, the Jays want to continue to add depth to the team. A two time World Series MVP will help. In other signings; the Jays signed catcher Sal Fasano as the Jays back-up catcher. John-Ford Griffin left the Blue Jays and was invited to spring traing by the LA Dodgers.

The Mitchell Report came out this week and had two Blue Jays players on the list. Greg Zaun and Troy Glaus. 10 former players made the list Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Scott Schoeneweis, Glenallen Hill, Howie Clark, David Segui, Benito Santiago and Bobby Estalella. Troy Glaus has already been cleared by MLB. Greg Zaun released this statement "I am stunned by the allegations set forth in Senator Mitchell's report," Zaun said in a statement released by the Blue Jays on Thursday night. "I emphatically deny these allegations but am not prepared to comment further at this time."

Jays CF Vernon Wells is ready to pick up the bat and begin swinging again. Wells had shoulder surgery this past fall. Wells expects to be in shape for Spring Training and ready for the start of the season in April.

The Blue Jays announced December 3 that they will be using the 1979 uniforms on "Flash Back Fridays" every Friday home game. Alumni will be at the games to sign autographs. The Blue Jays said that fans expressed they wanted to see the team wear the throwback uniforms one in a while.

List of Friday Home Games:

April 4th (Home Opener)  vs. Boston Red Sox

April 18th vs. Detroit Tigers

May 2nd vs. Chicago White Sox

May 23rd vs. Kansas City Royals

June 6th vs. Baltimore Orioles

June 13th vs. Chicago Cubs

June 27th vs. Atlanta Braves

July 11th vs. New York Yankees

July 25th vs. Seattle Mariners

August 8th vs. Cleveland Indians

August 22 vs. Boston Red Sox

September 5th vs. Tampa Bay Rays

September 19th (Irish Night) vs. Boston Red Sox

Check out the photo gallery, which has Vernon Wells with the retro uniform.

This week was a busy week around the league, here are some of the major deals.

The Yankees have begun talks with Minnesota for a trade for Johan Santana. The Yankees also inked a deal with Andy Pettitte. The big deal was to keep the AL MVP and near triple crown winner 3B Alex Rodriguez to a 10 year deal. 

The biggest deal this week was an eight player deal between Arizona and Oakland. The Diamondbacks picked up all-star starting pitcher Dan Haren for six prospects. The Diamonbacks also picked up another pitcher

The Cubs sign Kosuke Fukudome  to a 4 year $48 million dollar contract. The Cubs win the draw on the highly touted outfielder. Several other clubs were looking in to Fukudome including the crosstown rival White Sox. Fukudome hit .305 in nine seasons with the Chunichi Dragons. He is also touted as a Gold Glove fielder.

Eric Gagne signes with the Brewers. The Brewers had a void at the closer position. Gagne will fill that void signing a $10 million deal. 

The Giants signed CF Aaron Rowand to a five year $60 million deal filling the opening for that position and closing the potential deal with the Blue Jays for Alex Rios. Rowand brings hustle along with a .309 average and gold glove to the Giants.

The Rangers signed RHP Kazuo Fukumori from Japan. Fukumori was an impressive closer in the Japanese pacific league, though he had a lack luster year in 2007 the Rangers think he can be a big help to the club.

The Astros picked up Jose Valverde RHP in a trade with Arizona

The Nationals signed Paul Lo Duca to a one year $5 million contract. Lo Duca hit .278 with the Mets last year.

The Pirates signed free agent SS Chris Gomez. He hit .283 last year with the Indians. Gomez signed a one year deal worth $1 million.

The Padres sign Jim Edmonds the 8 time gold glover and power hitter. Edmonds hit .252 last year with 12 HR and 53 RBI. They also sign veteran RHP Randy Wolf to a one year $4.75 million deal. Wolf was lost last July to a shoulder injury. in 2006 he was 4-0 with a 5.56 ERA with the Phillies.

Dodgers sign CF Andruw Jones. The deal is two years $36.2 million. Jones hit .222 last year in Atlanta. The other big signing by the Dodgers was RHP Hiroki Kuroda, who pitched for the Hiroshima Carp and went 12-8 last year.

Coming soon from Bijou Media, the Dime for Your Thoughts Year of 2007 Report. I will give my 10 cents on the top news including sports and many other topics. Included in the article will be my top 25 ridiculous things of the year.

Dime for Your Thoughts?

The Nats beat the Blue Jays, at least for the free agent Paul Lo Duca. As many suspected Lo Duca was looking for a full-time role, which he would get with the Nationals. He would be number 2 behind Greg Zaun in Toronto.

So what's next? The Jays were dealt a blow losing this battle. This position is weak. Zaun underperformed as a hitter last year and throwing out base stealers. Curtis Thigpen did not perform well at the major league leval last year. There is also a possibility the Jays could sign Sal Fasano the free agent catcher that spent most of the year at Syracuse last year. Robinzon Diaz is another young talent that is waiting and could be ready to move to the big leagues soon. Diaz hit .320 with 4 HR and 40 RBI with AAA Syracuse last year. Curtis Thigpen Hit .285 with 3 HR and 20 RBI with AAA Syracuse and .238 with 0 HR and 11 RBI with Toronto. The Veteran Sal Fasano hit .262 at Syracuse and .178 with Toronto.

If Diaz makes it to the big leagues and makes a big impact it could be better that the Jays didn't sign Lo Duca. I think you bring Diaz to spring training and see how he does, then make the decision