My chief observation from the weekend is that the Tigers have the best record in baseball (and, by the way, the best road record -- they're only 4 games above .500 at home) at least partly on merit. I too thought they were largely a creature of a soft schedule, but they can pitch, they can hit a little, and they responded to that catastrophic 8th inning Friday night with two solid wins. They'll slow down eventually and significantly, but there's more to that team than smoke and mirrors.

The Blue Jays give off another vibe entirely. I don't mean to be morose -- there's still 100 games left, Burnett has yet to contribute, and Adams' return should help settle the infield. They're within a solid six-game winning streak of the divison lead. But I just don't see that kind of streak in the offing, because they don't have a contender's pitching staff. The rotation is a shambles and the relievers are not nearly as strong this year as they were in '05 -- a flaw that has been doubly taxed by too many five-and-two-thirds-innings starts. Burnett could be a ten or a zero when he returns. And say it quietly, but Halladay, while very solid, has not been his normal dominant self (his K/9, which hasn't been below 6 since 2000, is at 4.5).

The pitching is far less likely to suddenly rebound and become a strength than the hitting is likely to cool off. If the batters do fall back to their career lines (and at least haf will) without a corresponding improvement from the pitchers, then the Jays could be mired in a losing streak before you know it.  And here comes interleague play, which has always baffled the Jays. From this perspective, this is a pretty decent and potentially dangerous team, but only a fringe playoff contender.

I guess smiley faces don't have the impact that they used to. Let me try again, more clearly.

Yes, a six-game winning streak is possible with a rotation of Halladay, Lilly, Janssen, Towers and Taubenheim, assuming the team throws enough runs per game on the board every night. That would be 3 runs for Halladay, 4 for Jannsen, 5 for Lilly, and that's doable. Then you need 6 for Taubenheim and 10 for Towers -- and that's assuming all those guys go 9 innings, because otherwise you're into a relief corps that, apart from BJ Ryan, sports a median ERA of 5.51, and also assuming flawless defence night after night. And if it's that easy, why hasn't it happened yet? Why hasn't this team put together even 4 wins in a row more than once?

What you're describing isn't a realistic assessment of what this pitching staff can reasonably deliver. You're describing a fan's best-case-scenario. If this were the Yankees rotation we were talking about, you'd be salivating over the chance to light up an inconsistent Lilly with the home run ball, knock around one rookie in Jannsen who hasn't faced tough opposition, another rookie in Taubenheim who hasn't gone more than 5 innings yet, and a batting-practice tosser in Towers. But because it's your team's rotation, you cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Could that rotation win six in a row? Yeah, it could. But it's a better bet they could lose six in a row, and that's what will happen if even half the lineup slumps (unless you think 7 separate hitters will continue to post 900+ OPS the rest of the way). Engage in all the wishful thinking you like, but don't wait around by the phone for that hot streak.

Maybin

While I'm happy the Blue Jays finally didn't shy away from a high school player in the draft, it would have been nice to see them decide a year earlier.  Romero over Maybin was a debacle at the time, and it's even worse now. 

While I'm happy the Blue Jays finally didn't shy away from a high school player in the draft, it would have been nice to see them decide a year earlier.  Romero over Maybin was a debacle at the time, and it's even worse now.

While Maybin is putting up some sweet numbers I'd hardly call Romero's selection a "debacle". Looks like two very promising players with many years to go before we can decide between to two.

'While Maybin is putting up some sweet numbers I'd hardly call Romero's selection a "debacle". '

I was lucky enough to see them both in Spring Training this year, I feel they made a horrible decision.

If you've followed the Blue Jays system at all in the Riccardi era, I don't know why you would look at anyone's stats before AA.  Across the board the Jays have had dominant performances from players through Dunedin who don't project to be major league assets.   Not that Romero doesn't have a chance to contribute, but if you polled scouts and executives, it wouldn't even be a contest as to who they would prefer.

I would like to know why Tallet was called up instead of League. While I'm sure Tallet gets sent down once AJ comes back, League deserved a look.

  I wonder if the answer to this isn't the same one to Mike Green's preference of Marcum to Taubenheim: Perhaps Tallet/Taubenheim are up precisely because the organization thinks more highly of them than Marcum, League, or McGowan, and that the former are being thrown into the fire because the Jays want the latter to get more experience in AAA and be better prepared for their eventual, more permanent promotions. League in particular has suffered from a bit too much promotion, so it's a good idea to make sure he's got his head and his delivery straight before bringing him up.

  I do wonder if we'll see Ben Weber get called up, though: Nice minor league numbers to go along with major league success.  He's not on the 40-man, but it's not like you can't make room by tossing Alfonzo or Figueroa.

Ricky Romero(High A) (Age 20):

Cameron Maybin (A) (Age 19):

A little disingenous with the ages.

Ricky Romero born 11-6-1984.  That's 21.5

Cameron Maybin born 4-4-1987 That's 19.2

Romero is more then 2 years older, not the 1 year spread you are trying to show. 

if you polled scouts and executives, it wouldn't even be a contest as to who they would prefer.

Oh? John Sickels is a pretty well-informed guy when it comes to prospects, and he rated Romero a B+ coming into this season, Maybin a B. Are we to believe that Sickels is an exception?

coming into this season

So we should ignore what we've seen since then?

Is John Sickels a scout or an executive?  He's a guy who reads a lot and puts together composite opinions of other sources.  I like his site and I think he's a good writer, but it's not like he's going to work for a major league organization anytime soon.

Is John Sickels a scout or an executive?

Nope. He's a guy that is employed full time in following prospects, a guy that attends dozens of minor league games every year. Who are you?

I would expect that Towers will be called up on Wednesday to take Chacin's spot in the rotation, and Tallet will be returned to Syracuse.  I agree with not bringing League up for such a short stint.  Let him get his work in at AAA - I expect he will be a permanent part of the bullpen by late this year or next year at the latest.

In other news, along with Adams' being called up, McDonald has been activated off the DL, Figueroa has been outrighted to Syracuse, and Alfonzo has been released.  Opens up a couple of spots on the 40 man, one of which would be needed for Towers.

Well said as always, Gitz.  Compounding the problem with objectivity is the navel-gazing element, in which every loss is Somebody's Fault, as if there isn't a highly skilled opponent trying its best to defeat the home team.  Believe me, I thought Speier was lousy in Thursday's defeat at Baltimore.  But throughout that entire game, some excellent veteran Oriole hitters put superb swings on the ball.  When you throw a pitch knee-high on the outside corner with movement, and the hitter nevertheless pokes it the other way for a single, there's just not much anybody can do.

My take, for what it's worth?  The Jays have too much offensive talent 1 through 12 in their hitting depth chart to ever be irrelevant this season.  But they need to reinforce the 'pen or stretch out their starters more if they want to thrive.  The declining bullpen (save for B.J.) is being exposed as either subpar or tired, and either way, the club needs to act.

A little disingenous with the ages. Ricky Romero born 11-6-1984.  That's 21. Cameron Maybin born 4-4-1987 That's 19.2.
Romero is more then 2 years older, not the 1 year spread you are trying to show.

Oops! More than a little disingenuous I'd say. Widely inaccurate is more like it. Sorry about that. A brain cramp while quickly finding a few stats. Apologies.