Vernon Wells' .257 batting average is now the lowest among regulars on the Toronto Blue Jays. Ditto his .310 on-base percentage. His .394 slugging percentage is better than only Jose Bautista's, and not by much (.389). Our cleanup hitter hasn't homered since May 6th. May fucking 6th.
I don't even want to talk about his OPS, but I have to. .704? The Vernon Wells Hatred Advisory System is about to break.
Wells' OPS at the Rogers Centre (Happy Birthday!) is a pathetic .563. He's hitting .172 in the friendly confines of home, with two jacks and nine RsBI. I kid you not: a single, solitary tear fell from my eye while looking at Wells' splits.
Adam Lind, by comparison, is the proud owner of a .967 OPS at the Dome. He's batting .333, with six home runs and 24 RsBI. Lind has, for all intents and purposes, outperformed Wells this season in only 25 home games.
Enough is enough. Cito Gaston has to move Wells out of the four-spot. One can only sit and watch Wells' futile attempt at being a legit cleanup hitter for so long. Of Toronto's 25 remaining games in June, 15 are at home. The Cito knows it has to be done. It's no longer a matter of if, but when.
I've got a lot of time for Vernon Wells. He can play on my team, and patrol center field, any day of the week. But he can't bat fourth. Not anymore.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention it, but it's official: the Jays are Jared Weaver's bitch.
UPDATE #2: Adam Lind is batting cleanup this afternoon. Wells has a "day off." A real day off. Not one of his regular days off, when he's in the lineup, and does shit all.
8 comments:
You're right. There hasn't even been any signs of improvement for us to get excited about. 4 RBI's in the last month is pathetic. I could handle the low ave and OBP if he was still driving them in when it counted, but he isn't.
He's the reason Lind has so many RBI's. Scuts and Hill get on, Rios and Wells get out, then Lind drives them in. He should be batting cleanup right now.
I've always been a big Wells fan, and I hope he bounces back soon, but in the meantime, we need to win games, and moving Wells out of the cleanup hole is, IMO, the right move.
@ RapsGurl: Vernon is the opposite of clutch. If Wells could actually get on base, Lind would have even more RsBI. Bastard. Lind is our cleanup hitter. It's as clear as day. Like you said, we need to win. We have an opportunity here. I love Wells, I'm one of his biggest supporters, but I just can't wait anymore. Seeing him strike out on breaking pitch after breaking pitch is killing me!
@ Stephen: Man, I can't even talk to you right now.
I hate to go all Wilner on you here -- especailly since I agree -- but it's not going to happen. Cito doesn't change his lineup.
You have every right to be upset at Vernon. It's sad that he's the face of this franchise for years to come, and yet he's playing like he's a veteran on his last stop to retirementville.
Hey, did you hear that Jeff Blair digs the Vernon Wells Hatred Advisory System? VICTORY!
@ Infieldfly: You're probably right. But how much longer can Cito let this charade continue? I know Wells is a notoriously slow starter, but nothing is working for him right now. Move him out of that spot, and let him work his shit out. I'm not saying he shouldn't be playing. Nobody is. Well, everyone except Stephen, probably. I just think Wells in the 7 or 8 spot would be a lot better for the Jays. And there's no way The Cito can tell me otherwise.
@ LeafFan1989: Overrated? Perhaps. Overpaid? I will say yes, but with an asterisk. Don't have on Wells because of what he makes. The market dictated his contract and if you want to hate on his salary, hate Jays' management. Blame J.P. Don't shit on Wells for signing that contract. As for trading him, it's a pipe dream.
Ian: He'll turn it around. I'd just rather he work his shit out lower in lineup. FREE ADAM LIND!!!1
And I saw that Blair was digging the VWHAS. That was fantastic. All thanks to you, brother. Thanks again for the pics. You're a rudey of the highest variety.
Alex Rios: 5 strikeouts!!!
Vernon Wells: useless again
We need name for this useless duo.
Suggest one here:
http://anationofmasochists.blogspot.com/2009/06/brothers.html
the strike out kids -
scutaro singles - hill walks - rolen advances the runners with a pop fly , one out and the meat of the order -
too bad the hamburgers rotten and vernon wells hasnt seen a homerun since freddy mercury was poppin
- are first pitch swings not reserved for certain pitches an expectations you have for the pitcher -
whether fast ball curveball breaking pitch whatever - vernon wells seems to have a pretty good idea of what to expect just not what it takes to turn those expectations into relizations -
my idea would be to lose vernon at whatever price tag ( minus paying half of his annual pay ) to set up rios in center - lind in left and snyder in right -
vernon ;
Hes a rally killer - emotionless when it comes to his shortcomings - and what the hell happened to that gun in center that would hold runners from tagging at third from balls hit middle deep to center ... ive watched this guys stock fall from top ten player in the game to vernon who ?
last years injuries were an excuse for 20 an 80 in limited time - but with a full year under his belt protection from hill and lind ( carreer numbers ) theres no excuse other than lack of preperation or talent - if i was vernon id pray it was the first one .
a jays fan since they stopped being great
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