The On Deck Circle

I’ve heard a lot of people complain this offseason that the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t do enough to improve their team for 2012. Of course, these people tend to be those who believe the Jays should have thrown $300M at Pujols, $250M at Fielder, and $100M at Buerhle, but do they have a point that, [...]

If we’re being completely honest, the best rookie in the American League this season has been Brett Lawrie, followed closely by Desmond Jennings and Dustin Ackley. The Rookie of the Year race should be between these three future franchise cornerstones, but it seems grossly unlikely that voters will give the nod to players who played [...]

Search “Nestor Molina” on ESPN.com and it returns 0 results. That’s how under the radar Blue Jays pitching prospect Nestor Molina is/was. But this is absolutely a name to make note of and file away for 2013, because Nestor Molina has been an absolute beast in the minors so far this season. Signed out of [...]

The Blue Jays dipped into the post-deadline trade season, shipping Aaron Hill and John McDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson. On the surface, the deal is more or less a wash, a “challenge” trade, or moving deck chairs, if you may. On a deeper level though, this has the makings of another savvy [...]

The basis of this article, as you’ll probably discern, is a bit selfish in nature. To provide context, some #HumbleBrag is necessary. To wit - I have strong intangibles (I think). In general, I’m not an exceptionally talented person in any measurable way, and what I bring to the table professionally, socially, and athletically, is [...]

Update: At Tao of Stieb, Tao and Chris Jones have a great discussion on the topic worth giving a read. So, according to this ridiculous “investigative” article from ESPN, the Jays are well-known sign stealers, and use it to an unfair advantage, and everyone knows it. Well then. 28-27 at home. Ouch. The article focuses [...]

The Toronto Blue Jays have made another roster move with a look towards the future, sending left-handed reliever Wil Ledezma to Triple-A and giving rising-star prospect Henderson Alvarez the call up to the Majors. Alvarez will make his debut Wednesday night at home against Oakland, although his role the rest of the way remains unclear. [...]

On the odd chance you somehow haven’t heard, Toronto Blue Jays’ top prospect Brett Lawrie made his MLB debut this weekend, joining the big league club for the three-game series in Baltimore. Lawrie, of course, is the Canadian uber-prospect acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason for Shaun Marcum. He is also the most [...]

No lie, I was planning on writing today before the news broke. I had planned to start Part 1 of a three-part series updating my devoted readers (cough) on the state of the Blue Jays farm system at different levels. Well, the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher-Cats took a hit today. See ya, Zach Stewart, it [...]