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.

Scott Rolen on bad road trips ...

"One year in Philadelphia we won four games in a month so there would have had to have been some bad trips. With St. Louis we went to Chicago and Detroit in 2006. The White Sox beat us in Chicago 20-6, 13-5, and 1-0. In Detroit we lost 10-6, 7-6 in extra extras and 4-1. We lost the next two at home against Cleveland. Inter-league was fun. We still won the World Series that year."

The Cardinals lost 10 of 11 during that brutal stretch of baseball in late June 2006.

And, yes, let's please conveniently ignore the fact that St. Louis won the National League Central with a paltry 83 wins that year. That's not the point.

I believe in Scott Rolen.

Vernon Wells, too.

Was that meaningful baseball?

Because it sure as hell felt like it.

More than 43,000 vocal fans in the building; incessant heckling of Allan James Burnett; a three-for-four night from the man we believe in: Scott Rolen; another home run by Aaron Hill; and a complete game five-hitter, in which he didn't walk a batter, from Harry Leroy Halladay III.

"[Burnett's] the enemy now. We're not rooting for him." - J.P. Ricciardi

Amen, wise general manager. Amen.

A.J. pitched a half-decent game.

Doc was better. He was, well, Doc; sublime. And there was never really any doubt that he would be.

This Blue Jays team is for real. They're also winning the pennant.

UPDATE: Burnett's walk of shame, courtesy my CrackBerry ...

UPDATE #2: I'm still swooning over Doc. Somebody please kick my ass the day I stop appreciating him, and what he does out on the mound.

From today's New York Times: "In his last 19 starts against the Yankees, dating to May 22, 2003, Halladay is 13-2 with a 2.09 E.R.A."

Giggity.

Scotty Richmond, tonight. Do your thing, Canada. ("Canada" is Richmond's new nickname. At least it should be.)

A quote from Michael Barrett ...

"I love playing for Cito."

You and everyone else, Michael. You and everyone else.

And, for the record, I quite enjoy Darrin Fletcher's colour commentary. He's good people.

Pennant. The Toronto Blue Jays are, in all likelihood, winning it.

UPDATE: It really is the Summer of Tallet.

UPDATE #2: The Toronto Blue Jays. DO YOU BELIEVE? (Say it like the annoying Olympics commercial.)

UPDATE #3: Fourteen runs; 21 hits; a 13-5 record. Pinch me.

Beer and the Blue Jays

Ricky Romero's been placed on the disabled list. Have a beer. To drown your sorrows.

B.J. Ryan joined him. Have a beer. In celebration.

Richard Griffin wrote an interesting and provocative blog post. Have a few. It may never happen again.

We, loyal fans, will only be able to watch an upcoming Blue Jays/Red Sox series on TSN2, which nobody has access to. Drink up. Get mad.

Scott Richmond once again performed yeoman's work on the mound. Six innings, six hits, two earned runs (albeit both on solo home runs), and eight strikeouts. What more can one possibly ask of a fifth starter? Cheers, Scott. With a Canadian lager, of course.

Three more home runs last night. Twenty-eight on the season; the second-highest total in baseball. Chicks dig the long ball. And so do I. Get drunk on that one. 

Scott Downs picked up his first save of 2009. I admit, I was loathe to have him move out of his set-up role. Why mess with a good thing? But he got the job done. Raise your glass in honour of the Jays' new closer. With the game on the line there's no one I trust more with the ball than Snakeface.

In spite of all the second-guessing of The Cito, and in spite of all the injuries, the Jays are still in first place; are still playing .700 baseball. Forget the beer. Believe that the Jays are going to win the pennant.

Yes. Jays.

I'm a little too inebriated to write anything substantial. So, pictures (courtesy of the fine folks at daylife): 

The home opener will forever be a momentous occasion.



Harry Leroy Halladay III: the greatest Toronto Blue Jays pitcher I've ever known.



In all the hype surrounding Travis Snider, I almost forgot about Adam Lind, the unstoppable, 6 RsBI man.



Rod Barajas could get used to this pose.

Careful of Aaron's head, Vernon. Please.

Pennant.

Opening Night

It has proven difficult to escape the copious amounts of negativity - whether in print, on blogs, on radio, and on television - that surrounds the 2009 edition of our Toronto Blue Jays. It is in abundance. It is everywhere. And I'm tired of it. Sick of it. Done with it, actually.

You will find none of it here. No sir. My glass is half full. 

Here you'll find someone who will be on his feet to welcome back Aaron Hill when he steps to the plate for the first time tonight; who can't wait to see what Travis Snider, only 21 years old, can do over the course of a full season; who thinks the Gastonian One can build on his half-season success of 2008; who can't wait to see how the Jays' young arms - Jesse Litsch, David Purcey, Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen, and eventually Brad Mills and Brett Cecil - respond to the monumental challenge at hand; who is looking forward to again watching Scott Rolen patrol the hot corner better than anyone in this city before him; and who will appreciate every single, solitary pitch Roy Halladay throws.

I could go on. I haven't even mentioned Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, or Lyle Overbay. And I won't, because there's really only more thing you need to know; that there's been a slight change to the Toronto Blue Jays' 2009 to do list. Here it is, amended:

Before I depart, I'd like to thank everyone who's taken a second to vote in the "Will the Blue Jays Win the Pennant?" poll currently up and running. I must admit, I'm most pleased with the results so far. It's heartening to know that, somewhere, there exist those who are as bullish on the Jays' chances as I am.

Remember, a little hope never hurt anybody. 

Because we could all ...

... use some more Katt Williams in our lives:

One of the Toronto Blue Jays should use that song this year at the Rog.

I was thinking Alex Rios, although he is partial to his Latino beats.

Even B.J. Ryan, 87 MPH heater and all. Because he'll still be hustlin'. Kind of. 

But I've got to go with Vernon Wells. It's a track fitting for the season he is about to have ...

They're back...

You can't see it in that picture*, but Jesse Litsch, along with his epic gut, has man-breasts.

It's great to see that Litsch has come to spring training in the best shape of his life, ready to seize the opportunity to become the number two man in the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation, behind the one and only Roy Halladay.

Truthfully, Litsch's gut and tits don't bother me in the least right now. Not even his rotund figure can deter the optimism that reigns supreme in February.

In stark contrast, The Beej looks great, doesn't he? I can hardly wait to see his first fist pump of the season after he closes out a game. Between B.J. and Jason Blake, the fist pump is enjoying a tremendous revival in Toronto.

Seriously, though, look at Litsch's smile. It just about rivals mine. The boys of summer are back.

And the Blue Jays are winning the pennant.

*A hearty tip of the hat to Ian over at The Blue Jay Hunter for letting me post that pic. It's a beauty. Head on over to his site, and add it to the RSS reader of your choice. Ian does yeoman's work, and even brings Blue Jays heads together for a weekly chat to talk about the upcoming season. And, by "talk about the upcoming season," I mean: Doc's winning the Cy Young, Travis Snider is winning AL Rookie of the Year, and Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Lyle Overbay and Scott Rolen are all going to have monster 2009s. Playoffs.