I am sure AA is asking "what's the plan if Lind doesn't hit?"

You can bring up Snider, move EE to first.  But Snider is a risk with all the injuries he has had and with his swing being unproven over an extended period

You can use Francisco or Davis but thier bats likely don't stand up to everyday use against righties

So plan C, if he hits, is Lind to the bench, EE to first and Vladdy to DH. 

It might work, it might not, it's low risk and you decide by June 15 or July 1

Just for the record, Pedro would have been my favourite had his Expo career not been so short, another one of those stop whatever you are doing and watch right now players. Oh what should have been.

One of the fringe benefits of the Twins being awful is we won't be hearing how the Minnesota Twins teach their players how to play "the right way".  Highlights from last night's game:

• Encarnacion's "RBI single" (100 ft up and 5 ft in front of the plate)
• runner thrown out at 3rd with 2 out after Alvarez throws away the ball on a bunt single
• Lawrie goes from 1st to 3rd standing up after a passed ball which lay there about 15 ft from the catcher
• Escobar scores from 2nd standing up after a force play at 2nd

Is there any reason not to see if he is on a minor league deal?

In all seriousness, what performance level at AAA will signal to the Jays that Guerrero can outperform Francisco, say, at the major league level? Above and beyond the perils of reading too much into a small number of at-bats, there will be the challenge of translating the AAA numbers into MLB equivalents. That said, I imagine that much of the assessment process will be based on look and feel, perhaps even most of the assessment process.

Guerrero used to be a great player. No question. Now he's a prematurely old player whom nobody deemed worthy of a major league contract in the off-season. My first thought, when I heard of the signing, was Dave Parker. Another washed up, once famous player signed for no obvious reason.

AA had an agenda with this signing, but it's not clear to me what it was. If it was to passively aggressively signal to some of the underachievers that that their jobs were not secure, he chose a very tepid way to deliver that message. AA is just too smart to honestly believe that Guerrero has much of anything left in the tank and is also too smart, I believe, to be bedazzled by someone who used to be famous.

Part of my problem is that I am a former Expos fan and next to Vlady is my third favorite Expos of all time. (next to Walker and Dawson).  Call me a romantic.... I love having him on the team.

Another thing, it is a positive thing for all of the latinos on the team.  The Jays now have 2 of the greatest Dominican Republic ball players on roster.  There is a large Latin American movement on the roster.  This cannot be underestimated.

As a bat coming off the bench, I love it.  He is a shadow of himself, but he is still Vlady.  He is not going to play everyday, nor should he. 

Also, it is only a minor league contract.  Nice gamble.  I like it.

Vlad = high risk / high return - if he is right (like Frank Thomas was for the A's a few years back)

When the A's signed Thomas, he had been oft injured, certainly, but had been producing, with OPS+s of 146, 156, 131 leading up to his season in Oakland. Toronto then signed him off a season of 140.

Whereas Frank Thomas was a fit old man when he came to Toronto, albeit with diminished bat speed, Guerrero hobbles around like a 60-year old with arthritis. His previous 3 seasons have seen OPS+s of 107, 119, 101. I simply do not see the potential high return you speak of. What I see is someone who's reasonably optimistic output is that of a replacement level DH. I think the likelihood that he is toast is much higher.

 He's a Hall of Famer, he's hispanic and he has a history in this country. I don't think any of this matters a whit to this team at this stage.

I told you they were bad! They are running out below average defenders at pretty much every position on the infield, and they have a groundball pitch to contact staff. Things are going to get worse before they get better.

Also, the cheapest contract I can see Hamels signing is 5/125, and I suspect he could get 6/150 pretty easily. I can't see the Jays going more than 5 years on a pitcher, and I don't imagine they'd give up say Travis d'Arnaud and Justin Nicolino for three months of Hamels, when they've been pretty firm about trying to maximize value, wait for their window, etc.

Early returns indicate Drabek's out for another sucky start, is it his control, or is he landing out of position after delivering the pitch?   Arencibia should have surely noticed this.

I would trade Alvarez and Hutchison for a top of the rotation type like Hamels (who was the Phillies Ace, and in the World Series, before Halladay and Lee arrived).

The idea of trading over 11 years of service from those two pitchers or four and a half months of Cole Hamels is one that should invoke horror in any right-thinking Jays fan.

Very enjoyable - LOL

• 2012 is proof, yet again, that what looks like good pitching is often at least partly good defense. The infield combination of Lawrie, Escobar and Johnson is hoovering up all ground balls in the immediate vicinity. In particular, the combination of Lawrie and Johnson on 5-4-3 is something wondrous to behold. Is it any surprise that the Jays' starting pitchers are doing better than expected?
• I don't think I have ever rooted for a Blue Jay more than I am rooting for Joey Bats to break out of his slump. When I read that he got two home runs last night, it didn't bother me that the Jays lost. I'm pleased that Farrell has left him in the #3 slot - in my opinion, the amount of time that the Jays should be patient with Bautista is approximately forever. Or at least as long as they have been patient with Adam Lind. (By the way, Bautista is now on the leader board in home runs - he's tied for eighth with 7. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water...")
  
• Speaking of which: it might be time to feed Lind to the sharks. It's not hard to find first basemen who can hit at least a little. And, while Lind is good at scooping throws, he's not a tremendously good defensive first baseman. (By the way, I don't think that David Cooper is the answer - he's not a great fielder and he doesn't hit for power.)
• I've heard rumours that Omar Vizquel wants more playing time. While I can't blame him, I don't see any logic in sitting Lawrie, Escobar or Johnson down more often just so that Omar can get in there. The man knew what he was getting into when he signed up with the Jays. If he is actually complaining - and I don't know if he is - there's lots of utility infielders who would be more than happy to take the 16 at-bats. Mike McCoy is only a phone call away!
• I think Vlad is done, but if there is anything at all left in his tank, the Rogers Centre is probably the best place for him. He'll have Bautista and Encarnacion to hang around with, and a homer-friendly ball park to play in. Ben Francisco isn't likely to be here long regardless of what happens.
• As I type this, Brandon Morrow is fifth in the league in ERA. I'm just sayin'.
• Come home, Sergio Santos. All is forgiven.
  

Let's not forget Eric Thames, who let a runner go first to second on a high and not especially deep fly ball to left field by being lazy about getting the ball back in to the infield, then missed home plate by 8 feet on a shallow single to left that scored that runner!

Last years offense to date with this years pitching to date and 30 games would be won.

The team's offense, to date, has been better in 2012 than it was in 2011 by almost half a run.

In the first 35 games in 2011, the Jays scored 147 runs.
In the first 35 games in 2012, the Jays scored 163 runs.

In all of 2011, the Jays scored 4.59 runs per game. The league average was 4.46.
In 2012, the Jays are scoring 4.66 runs per game (4th overall). The league average is 4.32.

In 2012, the team's runs for, prior to day's game, was better than league average by 0.39.
In 2012, the team's runs against, prior to today's game, was better than league average by 0.29.

I have to wonder if the Angels would ever deal with AA again after last time...and I'm not seeing a fit for Bourjos in Toronto - we already have a promising and light-hitting CF.

The following is not a serious proposal -  Maybe if they throw in Pujols (but pick up half the contract) with Bourjos, we can send back Rasmus and Lind. An old-fashioned challenge trade! I don't think the Jays have any dead weight contracts left for the Angels to take on at this point, but I'd risk Pujols' contract at half it's value. Worth a try to see if AA really does have them hypnotized. Also, don't turn around and trade them for a middle reliever.

Worth a try to see if AA really does have them hypnotized.

The "them" they had hypnotized was GM Tony Reagins who no longer occupies the position.