I don't understand the Jays. Why recall Clark after not getting Hermansen any PT? The only thing I can think of is that JP wants to keep everyone fresh, and shuttling them back and forth between Syracuse, where they're getting regular PT, and Toronto, where they sit on the bench. Not a bad strategy, I guess, but a little strange.

The Jays now have three utility infielders and no fourth outfielder. This is just not really any good at all.

Clark up and Hermanson down? What's the point of this?

Clark up and Hermanson down? What's the point of this?

The Jays need a pinch hitter more than they need a defensive replacement. Clark is a better hitter. Hermanson has not looked good since his call up.

Three utility infielders, and only one of them can play shortstop. Yeesh.

J.P. seems a bit antsy: Bring up Pond, demote Pond after realizing he has nowhere to play. Bring up Hermanson, demote Hermanson after 7 ABs. Bring up Howie Clarke...

J.P. must be praying that Rios and Adams really start to heat up in AAA. There's simply no one there right now who could fill the Jays' needs: A good shortstop and a right-handed bat that can play the outfield.

Who'll be next in the desperation shuffle: Noah Hall? Shawn Fagan? Jeff Guiel?

This makes no sense at all? If they wanted a bat they should have kept Pond and given him more time to prove himself. I dont believe for one minute that Clark is a better hitter than Pond.

Unless JP didn't want to deal Berg, it is a little puzzling that the Mets grabbed Gutierrez instead of him. Berg is OK defensively, can hit better, and makes less. This roster construction/tweaking is just bizarre...

I'll reiterate again how much following the Mets makes me appreciate the Jays though. After a two week slump, Jason Phillips (team's best hitter last year) has lost his job to Todd Zeile, and we're watching Gutierrez, Wigginton and McEwing while Scutaro hits .350 for Oakland (and the Cannibals :>).

That said, I'm not sure who is a worse tactical manager- Art howe or Tosca.

And a last thought- if the Jays continue to struggle into May, does JP sacrifice Tosca, or are the Jays too level-headed for that? I'm not saying it should happen, just wondering if it could...

I thought Howie bailed out.

Out of curiosity, how many people on B-Box subscribe to BPro?

What's the expression about shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic? :)

Seriously though, while I can understand thinking that Clark can hit better than Hermanson, I don't understand this in the context of Pond versus Clark. It doen't really affect the ballclub much so its not a big deal one way or the other.

One question that's been rolling around in my mind. If the Jays have a 72 win, 5 place finish this season (I'm not saying this will happen although it becomes more possible with every loss) will this kill baseball in Toronto? That may sound extreme but at some point the fans have to return to have any chance in this division and this season with its promise seemed like a good place to start. A disaster season seems like it has a chance to kill baseball in TO.

I suppose the point is so Tosca has a LH pinch hitter without having to use his only backup catcher. You have to hit for Cash, and you have to hit for Woodward. They'd rather have Clark batting two or three times a week, if that, and Pond hitting every day in AAA.

The one thing to like is seeing the last (I hope) of Hermanson. I don't know why he was here. He's spent the last six years in the PCL, and last year he got hot for a couple of months. Absolutely nothing in his record suggests he's a better hitter than half a dozen pitchers in the other league.

This team sometimes seems so casual about the last roster spot. Didn't Weaver once say he spent more time worrying about who his 25th guy was going to be than anything else?

Pond had a tremendous spring training and went north with the team. Hermanson was ripping the cover off the ball and was called up. Clark ... was hitting .188 in 32 at-bats, so there goes the hot-hitter theory. Clark at least has walked 10 times in limited action (a .381 OBP), so maybe he's now the guy who comes off the bench to draw a walk.

Seriously, I don't know what this is all about. Tinkering with the 24th and 25th men on the roster strikes me as a waste of resources; it's not like the Jays are 3-10 because the end of their bench isn't quite right. I'd like to think Clark is here to stay for a while as the LHB, the Jays having decided that Hermanson's not suited for the majors and Pond is more valuable playing every day; I'd like to think this is the sign that a conclusion has been reached. But if Howie is dropped back to Syracuse next week and someone else brought up to appear every five games, then I'll start getting exasperated.

Tosca's not going anywhere unelss the team thinks he's lost the clubhouse, which is not evident at all. Firing the manager is what badly run teams do when they're losing and can't figure out why, so it must be the manager's fault. I don't see that happening here.

Clark's not any worse of an outfielder than Pond is. He's got more professional experience out there than Pond does, and he's definitely a better infielder. I don't see anything wrong with giving the three guys all a little major league time and still getting some minor league at-bats. To me it's not so much confounding as it is irrelevant. What does it matter who keeps Dave Berg company on the bench?

Clark's not any worse of an outfielder than Pond is. He's got more professional experience out there than Pond does, and he's definitely a better infielder. I don't see anything wrong with giving the three guys all a little major league time and still getting some minor league at-bats. To me it's not so much confounding as it is irrelevant. What does it matter who keeps Dave Berg company on the bench?

Absolutely nothing in his record suggests he's a better hitter than half a dozen pitchers in the other league.

Well, except for his whole minor league record before 2000. He fell off the rails, he was worth taking a flier on because he defends well and used to hit. No harm done. I wanted him up because at least he represented an option against lefties instead of Catalanotto.

I never thought I'd see the day when anyone objected to demoting Chad Hermansen. His scintillating .198 career average going into this season was only trumped by the fact he strikes out more than a sabermetrician using baseball statistical analysis to pick up a girl. Fun fact: The name "Chad Hermansen" is Dutch for "steaming pile of dog crap."
Ryan01 is correct. Maybe Howie Clark can spark something, and we'll lose 7-1 instead of 7-0. The house ain't anywhere near being in working shape to be worrying about a leaky faucet.
Incidentally, I got cut from the Pirates and am a free agent. There you go, a backup outfielder who bats left-handed. Sign me and your prayers have been answered.

Something about this move ticks me off. I don't know what it is. Did Ricciardi decide that the team's problem was that they had too many outfielders they weren't using and not enough infielders they weren't using? I don't get it, but there's something here I don't like.

dp: I subscribe. I like it.

Nigel: I don't think there's any way to kill baseball in Toronto without really working at it. The team fits into the business plan of committed and stable ownership, the local market is quite sizable and there is a loyal fan base. The situation is fundamentally sound, although far from ideal in many ways (i.e. stadium lease, local profile compared to the Leafs, Canadian economy).

The house ain't anywhere near being in working shape to be worrying about a leaky faucet.

A lot of people said this (not so eloquently) last year when Mets fans were b*tching about the club playing McEwing over Scutaro. Roster composition is very important- and one of the things that I've come to appreciate about well-run teams is that they recognize playing time as one of a team's most important resources. This is IMO the problem with the Jays bullpen- it is overcrowded, and Tosca use of the guys out there limits his ability to evaluate their talent.

Matthew - I'm relieved to hear it. It's been a few years since I lived in Toronto and out here on the left coast it seems from a distance that support is dwindling. But its really hard to tell from so far away!

Out of curiosity, how many people on B-Box subscribe to BPro?

I do, not that i've had the time to check it out in over two weeks.

Nigel: Well, the level of support is far from optimal, but anybody who can't make money running a major league sports team in Toronto doesn't deserve the opportunity to try.

This team sometimes seems so casual about the last roster spot.

Unlike the fans. Really, if players have options, and Syracuse is a four-hour limo ride away, why not "extend the bench" and keep the shuttle going? In their limited opportunities, Pond and Hermansen combined for a .000 OBP, while Howie Clark has hit over .300 in both his previous trips to the Show. Clark has also demonstrated an ability to stay sharp on the bench, even if he isn't used for several days. I just don't understand all the fuss about this move.

What's still missing is a 2-hitter vs. lefty pitching, a role that Mike Bordick filled quite nicely last year, among the other positive things he brought to the club.

I am glad to see Howie back, he is a gamer and has proved he can do well when called upon for short periods of time.

Let Pond play everyday for a bit in Syracuse and hopefully he will be back soon.

Berg? Why is he even here???

It's the timeless baseball tradition of trying to get the regulars to play better by abusing the bench.

By why DFA for Hermanson, particularly when they were only at 39 to begin with (I think)? Couldn't they just option him? Is there an arcane rule that I'm forgetting on why they had to to this route?