Felipe Alou Is Wise

He knows the National League is full of shit. Even after managing in it for 14 years.

Courtesy the always on point Jeff Blair:

Of course, AL managers have to worry about double switches only when they're playing an interleague road game in an NL park. Same thing with having their pitchers hitting. And whenever I hear Gaston sadly mention incidents like Scott Downs injuring his toe while batting, I think about [Felipe] Alou. Despite managing in the NL, Alou loved the designated hitter because it made managing the offensive side of the game more interesting.

"Strategy," he told me one time with a frown. "What's the strategy in having a guy with a bat in his hand not knowing how to use it? What play can I put on besides a bunt?

It's true: the best baseball minds know the American League is far superior.

More:

If you missed Marco Scutaro's thievery on the basepaths on Thursday, check this out from Ghostrunner on First. Simply amazing ...

Jeremy Accardo threw two innings of one-hit relief last night, striking out four. I don't think you quite understand how pleased I am to see him back with the big club. Another two weeks, and I'll have completely forgotten about Brian Wolfe ...

Shawn Camp deserves some love. He's pitched well against lefties, and his 117 ERA+ in almost 27 innings of work is worthy of a boner or two ...

You have to read this: Pujols vs. Halladay, baseball's ultimate matchup (h/t Go Jays Go) ...

Big Bad Wolfe

I don't know about you, but I don't ever want to see Brian Wolfe - even a blurry Brian Wolfe - again.

FREE JEREMY ACCARDO.

I agree with Mike Wilner, Accardo's no "white knight." Not by any means. But surely he's better than Wolfe. And regardless of the role Accardo would play in the bullpen, I want the best arms coming out of left field ...

A 14-15 May is in the books. June will see the Jays play 17 of 27 at home, and finish up interleague play (until the World Series). In July and August, the schedule gets AL East heavy; 71% of games in July, and 77% of games in August, will be against divisional opponents.

June just might be where this race is won. Who better to kick it off than Roy Halladay?

It's going to be a marvelous summer.

Bent Not Broken

OK, fine. Really bent. But the point remains: not broken. Except Jesse Carlson and Brian Wolfe. They might be broken after Roy Halladay's though with 'em.

Hey, J.P. Ricciardi: free Jeremy Accardo.

The Blue Jays left home 10 days ago 27-14. They return 27-23. A winless nine-game road trip has rendered their hot start just that: a hot start. And there's nothing wrong with that. The hot start, I mean. Not the road trip. The road trip was completely fucked up.

If you had told me during the off-season that the Jays would lose nine in a row on the road in mid-May (including three to the BoSox) and head into the final series of the month four games above .500, and a game and a half behind the AL East and Wild Card leaders... well, there's no bloody way I'd have believed you. That's outrageous. They would have had to play over .650 ball over their first 40 games.

And they did. The Jays are a game and a half out. I'll take it. 

The road trip? Fuck it. What road trip? It's done and gone.

Much like Cito Gaston's honeymoon. Yesterday's epic loss brought out even the "Fire Cito!" crowd. That's not happening, nor should it. But some lineup changes, some put Lyle Overbay at first base late in games, some don't call for any of Shawn Camp, Carlson, Wolfe or B.J. Ryan from the bullpen, and some urgency would be appreciated. And a win. A win would definitely be appreciated.

Bring on the Red Sox. Greetings to the Massholes. Don't let that nine-game losing streak fool you. It's on. Time to take back the division.

Believe.

The Vernon Wells Hatred Advisory System

As you can see, in the sidebar to your right, up top a little bit, there you go, we're still coming in at SEVERE. But it's new and improved. Not the hate; the hate's been there ever since Wells signed his contract. The image. And it comes courtesy your friend and mine, The Blue Jay Hunter. Cheers, Ian. You're a rudey.

UPDATE: Doc's thrown 14 innings over his last two starts, giving up only three earned runs in the process. He should be 10-1, not 8-1, and that pisses me right off.

UPDATE #2: Archie picked Veronica? Seriously? What a mistake. She was nothing but a bitch, and a tease. 

Concerned

Jeremy Accardo blew the save. Second game in a row where he's given up the game winning run. Not good. I'm becoming a little concerned about our closer.

Nursing a 3-2 lead, Accardo beaned the first batter he faced and then gave up a triple to Jays killer Mark Ellis. He then struck out Daric Brown and intentionally walked Jack Cust before being relieved by Brian Wolfe. As a matter of fact, I'm not really feeling Wolfe all that much either right now.

Give Accardo a blown save and the loss, his second consecutive one. After being charged with four earned runs, Accardo's ERA is now 10.38. Even more disconcerting is that opponents are batting over .360 against him. Yikes.

Let me be clear: I'm not worried about Jeremy Accardo. He proved last year that he could be an effective closer in the American League East, and I'm not about to write him off after five games this season. I'm just a little concerned.

So, umm, B.J. Ryan, how you doin' buddy?

And on a side note, why can't the Jays hit rookie pitchers? It's fucking annoying.