Josh Johnson to start for Dunedin on Monday per Davidi.

"My baseball people love his arm. They keep telling me, David Phelps, David Phelps, David Phelps!"

Sanchez, Nolin, and Norris take the hill tonight for the Baby Jays.

It's too bad Morrow wasn't pushed back again after this debacle. I guess it was a case of catching the Giants at the right time.

It is unfair to pick on one player or one off-season move and single it out on a team that is struggling so painfully but at the risk of seeming unfair, I come today to talk about Maicer Izturis. I come to bury him, not to praise him.
I accept that he may not hit for a high average or have a high OBP. I accept that he has very limited power and virtually no speed. There are two things about him, however, that I cannot abide and one of those is not his fault in any way.
The first is his defence. He cannot play 3B at all. He throws from 3B like an outfielder forced into emergency use in an extra inning game when the manager has accidentally burned his bench. From 2B, he is average or below and does not turn the double play very well no matter what Robbie Alomar says to him and from SS he is significantly below average with a weak, unreliable arm.
And the second thing about him which is not his fault is his contract. Why would anyone give him three years? Guys with his skill set fall from trees. I do not understand this signing even a little and the more I see him play the more befuddled I become. Thanks for listening. I promise to suffer the remainder of the three years in silence. Did anyone see him get thrown out trying to steal 3B? Yech!

It looks even worse when Kelly Johnson is sitting at .273/.348/.496 for 2.5m.

Also, as pointed out by MLBTR, the Indians have made out pretty well so far in the Aviles/Gomes - Rogers trade.

Gomes: 273/283/545 / 0.6 BRef WAR
Aviles: 266/296/438 / 0.4 BRef WAR

Rogers: 1-2, 5.95, 19.2 IP, 25 H, 2 HR, 7:11 BB:K / -0.2 WAR

The ball club was better off with Rogers not trying to win.

Observations from the latest debacle in New York.

These guys are the streakiest bunch of streaks that ever streaked. Seriously. Four straight games of absolutely murdering the ball, then two where they might as well be swinging fishing rods out there.

3-1 count with runners on, left handed hitter who is swinging well, two out, and you get picked off second base. Inexcusable, unacceptable, whatever you call it, it's fair criticism. I can't understand why Bautista is ten feet off the bag anyway. Cano and Nix were playing Lind up the middle and were closer to second so there's no way a bigger lead would have given the Jays a positioning advantage. Not sure if Rivera missed Nix sneaking in either. Either way, it was just awful judgement all around.     

On the positive side, Colby Rasmus is a damn fine defensive centerfielder.

These guys are the streakiest bunch of streaks

Well, apart from their recent 4-0 run, the Jays are 13-26. So, with the exception of Janssen and a couple of others, the team has been mostly cold this season.