Jays Roundup - Riot Shields, Voodoo Economics,

Monday, June 28 2004 @ 09:15 AM EDT

it's just business, cattle prods and the I.M.F.
I trust I can rely on your vote.

I can't say that I'm thrilled to be back from my mini-vacation, but I did miss doing these roundups. The Jays went 3-2 over the 5 games I saw this weekend, so I'm not sure if my partner and I should be considered good or bad luck. On to the roundup!

1. The Jays won the last seven innings of yesterday's game by a score of 4-1 against the Expos. Unfortunately they lost the first two innings 8-0, leading to an overall 9-4 deficit. Here's what the scribes are saying: Spencer Fordin - "Expos prevent Jays sweep", Bill Ladson - "Batista leads Expos over Jays", Mike Ganter - "Look of disgust: Expos rough up Hentgen", Allan Ryan - "Hentgen horror show", and CP - "Expos get one back".

2. Fordin Notes on the struggling Blue Jay (and Fish Candy!) pitcher Pat Hentgen, the second outing for Kid Peterson, and yesterday's collision between Reed Johnson and Hannah's Hero Dave Berg.

3. You'll want to vote early today so you won't miss a second of tonight's game. The Jays are sending Halladay to the hill. The Rays counter with the surprising 7-4 Victor Zambrano. The two teams are fighting for third. It should be a great one; be sure not to miss Spencer Fordin's game preview.

4. In "Struggling Hentgen seems to have lost it" Jeff Blair quotes J.P. as saying "Moving [Hentgen] to the bullpen is definitely an option". The problem with this is that the Jays aren't exactly overloaded with alternatives. Thus Blair suggests "A likely scenario would see the Blue Jays bring up David Bush, one of their top pitching prospects, from Triple-A Syracuse." Does Blair have any inside information or is this just speculation? Do you think this would be a good idea? Bush isn't on the 40-man roster, so a spot would have to be made for him. He's 6-6 this year for Syracuse with a 4.06 ERA. His peripheral stats look pretty good though: In 99.2 IP, he's walked 20, struck out 88, and allowed 7 homers and hit 6 batters. Is David Bush the next Alex Rios?

5. If you want a different take on the Hengten situation see Richard Griffin's "Hentgen's not worried, but he should be". In traditional Griffin fashion, he ends in a sour note by stating "Blame? Hentgen is one of six Jays with an ERA higher than his lifetime mark, joined by eight hitters with averages lower than their career mark. The team struggled prior to injuries. They're just not very good."

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