The Blue Jays' attempt to build a contending team has failed.

When you log on to ESPN.com and the top story listed is Blue Jays GM: We'll listen to Halladay offers, well, naturally that grabs your attention. Go read the story yourself -- not actively shopping, blah blah, have to consider our options, etc. etc. You've seen this story before -- just insert the names "Santana" and "Twins" where you see "Halladay" and "Jays" and it should ring more than one bell.

So, a whole bevy of questions for loyal Bauxites ... is this an early white flag? Should the team even consider trading the good Doctor? What if it's the Yankees or Red Sox who make the best offer? And -- get creative, kids -- what realistic package would you like to see coming Toronto's way if this were to actually happen?

P.S. We can all agree (can't we?) that the best answer to "who should the Jays trade Roy Halladay for?" Is "Nobody. Ever."

The Jays took that sentiment to heart, ending the Rays' 7-game winning streak.

I paid my second ever visit to Manchester to catch the opener of a series between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Erie Sea Wolves in AA action.  Timing in life is everything.  I missed a walk off win by the F-Cats the night before and this one was decided in the late going as well. 

Another depressing night on the farm as the affiliates went 1-3 after blowing two big leads and narrowly avoiding a third.

Every autumn, there are arguments about what the "Most Valuable Player" award means, or should mean, and all the familiar arguments about winning teams, lineup protection and hitters vs. pitchers are trotted out ... among so many others. So let's settle this -- okay, at least set up the argument -- in June, rather than waiting to see if anyone wins 25 games or knocks in 150 runs or whatever ...

Here's the question: Who is the most valuable player in the game today, right now? And here are the parameters: If every player in the game was a free agent entered into a common draft, and you had the first pick, who would you take?

Some things to consider ... Age, salary, general health. So for instance, is Albert Pujols, age 29 and making $14M, worth more than David Wright, age 27 and making $5M? Or do you actually gamble on a rookie-wage youngster? Or ... do you prefer to fill a "tougher" position like catcher with Victor Martinez (Late edit: OK, OK, I should have written "Joe Mauer." Would you believe it was  typo?) or shortstop with Hanley Ramirez?

Make your pick. And defend it!

Las Vegas and New Hampshire won, Lansing lost, Auburn were washed-out.  The FSL had their all-star game and Moises Sierra had three hits, Tim Collins pitched a shutout inning.  Randy Ruiz and Brian Dopirak wielded the lumber for their teams with three hits each.  Ruiz had two home runs, Dopirak one.

So... where exactly does the Blue Jays pitching stand at the moment? Why don't we investigate.

I was saving this for tomorrow, but with the prospect of three pitchers hitting the DL all at once, it seems best to add this information to the discussion.

John Feinstein wrote a book titled "Next Man Up" a few years ago.  The book followed the Baltimore Ravens for a season and the title of the book comes from the theme that football is a game of injuries.  Football is a tough, vicious, injury-causing game and teams are always looking for the next man up to replace someone who has to leave the game due to injury.  The Blue Jays current theme is Next Man Up. 

The Jays have reportedly signed OF David Dellucci to a minor league deal, and will call him up after a couple of games in AAA.

While I had the spreadsheet open, I thought I'd check Jays starts on short rest. This data goes all the way back to the beginning.

In the wake of Roy Halladay's recent 133 pitch effort, the most ever in his career, I took a quick look at how Halladay had fared in his subsequent outings (very, very well indeed as it turned out.)

Seeing as how I have all this data available, I thought I'd also have a look as to where that game stood on the all-time list of pitches thrown by a Blue Jays starter, as well as any other bright and shiny objects that caught my attention.

The bats and brooms were out Monday night, as both Dunedin and Las Vegas had big offensive days, with Dunedin sweeping their two game tilt against St. Lucie.

Funny how a 9 game losing streak shifts the Jays from massive depth in the pen and rotation with a solid offense to a team needing help everywhere :)

Lets do some overall checking...