Diamonds in the Rough

This year marks the 15th year in a row that the Toronto Blue Jays will not be playing baseball in October. The team started off strong going 27-16 and taking the division lead but since then have gone a pathetic 39-64.

To make matters worse the team has been surrounded with negativity all season as "star players" Vernon Wells and Alex Rios (who was shipped off to the Chicago White Sox for nothing in return) vastly under achieved. Add to the this the fact that ace pitcher Roy Halladay was involved in trade rumors for half the year and you have yourself a real problem.

The Halladay trade deadline talk really hurt not only the team's play but also the Blue Jays as an organization as it made them look foolish and very unorganized. Many fans were calling for GM JP Riccardi's head and even other baseball executives around the league were scratching their heads at the way Riccardi was handling the team.

Despite all of this negativity some players have managed to have amazing seasons providing the Jays with some optimism moving forward.

Adam Lind has had a MONSTER season. He is one of only 3 players in the MLB to be hitting .300 or better with at least 30 HR and 100 RBI. The other two are Derek Lee and Albert Pujols. Lind is also tied for 2nd in the league in doubles with 46 behind only Brian Roberts. These are crazy numbers for a guy who is in his 3rd season in the big leagues and really only his 1st full season. He will only get better as he moves forward and he is the kind of player that the Jays can build a team around.

Aaron Hill is another guy who has had a breakout year. He currently leads the Blue Jays and all second baseman in the league with 32 HR and 98 RBI. He is also hitting a healthy .285 and is playing his usual stellar defense. When Hill first came into the league I was pretty down on him but he has grown on me and time after time he has produced when called upon. The guy is a great baseball player and at 27 he should provide the Jays with stability at the position for years to come.

Marco Scutaro is another guy is producing. Granted his numbers have tailed off a bit after his crazy start but they are still pretty solid. 12 HR 60 RBI and a .285 average from your lead off man is pretty good. He also leads the team in OBP with a .382 and runs scored with 100 (9th in MLB). It would be nice if he could steal a few more bases, only has 14, but he gets the job done nicely. The problem with Scutaro is that he will become a free agent at the end of the season and might want some big bucks.

As always Halladay has been amazing. He leads the team in wins (15), ERA 3.03, inning pitched (214), strikeouts (189) and complete games (7). The man is an absolute beast who can eat up innings and win games on his own. Now he does have 9 losses but that is because he didn't get much run support at the beginning of the season and he also struggled a bit near the trade deadline when rumors were swirling. The Jays may trade him in the off season but if they decide to keep him then he will be solid again next year.

Going into next year the Jays will also have an abundance of young pitchers to choose from. Robert Ray, Brett Cecil, Mark Rzepczynski, and Ricky Romero have all shown flashes of brilliance this year. While their stats may not be very impressive they are all still very young and very talented and should provide some good competition at spring training.

As always the Jays bullpen was solid this year with Jason Fraser and Scott Downs splitting time as the closer nicely. Jeremy Accardo had himself a pretty nice year as did Shawn Camp. The Jays will need to get themselves a solid closer if they want to compete next year however as no one they have right now is a stellar closer. They have guys who can fill in nicely but no one that can come in and just shut down the opposition.

So while it may seem like the Jays suck there are reasons to be positive. If Travis Snyder can have a full season in the majors and the new stand outs on the team can continue their success then the Jays can build. Sign a couple of free agents in the off season, maybe dump Vernon Wells and his fat head and contract and you might have something.

I also must remind everybody that Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan should be back next year adding some much needed stability to the Jays rotation and allowing the team to trade some of their young pitchers for some solid bats.

Maybe 2010 could be the year the Jays finally get back into the playoffs.

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The Contract Year

In 2006 Vernon Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays hit .303 with 32 Home Runs and 106 Runs Batted In. He also won a Gold Glove Award and was rewarded with a 7 year $126 million contract extension. Since that time Wells has yet to hit more than 20 HR and hasn't cracked the 80 RBI mark.

To me this proves only one thing. Once he got his money he lost all incentive to try.

Now you might expect me to go on a rant about how I think this is terrible behavior and how it is ruining the game but in all honesty I agree with it.

Think about it. If I told you that for the next 7 years I would give you $126 million guaranteed what would you do? Would you quit your job or maybe drop out of school? 99% of people would and that's because once financial security is achieved what incentive is there to try?

I know that if I was promised that kind of money I wouldn't get a job and if I was still in school I would not be going to 3 hour lectures when I could be out buying Lamborghinis. Athletes should be no different.

If you want someone to blame for this attitude of laziness then look no further than the owners and GMs who sign these contracts knowing full well what will happen. It doesn't take someone with a business degree from Stanford to understand that if you give a 26 year old $126 million they are going to lose their motivation.

Most modern athletes come from the lower class. This isn't a stereotype against minorities it is a fact. These kids grow up with no money and are using sports as a way to reach the end goal in life = financial security. They get the big contract and all their problems are gone. Vernon's got his millions why run down fly balls and possibly hurt yourself when you could just jog there?

I am not going to single out just Vernon Wells however as in all sports there are countless guys who have their career year during a contract year. If I was to field a baseball team of just players who in 2009 are in a contract year here would be my starting lineup:

Note: Keep in mind that the stats for this year only cover 60-75 games as the season is only half way over. Also I couldn't find a list of relief pitchers in a contract year so I left that out.

Catcher - Victor Martinez

This Year: .321 14 HR 57 RBI

Last Year: .278 2 HR 35 RBI

1B - Russel Branyan

This Year: .303 19 HR 38 RBI

Last Year: .250 12 HR 20 RBI

2B - Orlando Hudson

This Year: .303 5 HR 41 RBI

Last Year: .305 8 HR 41 RBI

SS - Marco Scutaro

This Year: .286 6 HR 32 RBI

Last Year: .267 7 HR 60 RBI

3B - Chone Figgins

This Year: .319 1 HR 21 RBI

Last Year: .276 1 HR 22 RBI

LF - Carl Crawford

This Year: .316 6 HR 35 RBI

Last Year: .273 8 HR 57 RBI

CF - Andruw Jones

This Year: .239 9 HR 23 RBI

Last Year: .158 3 HR 14 RBI

RF - Honestly couldn't find 1 Right Fielder in a contract year that was playing well or at least better than previous years.

SP - Kevin Millwood

This Year: 8-5 2.64 ERA 70 K 36 Walks 1.22 WHIP

Last Year: 9-10 5.07 ERA 125 K 49 Walks 1.59 WHIP

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Despite the fact that I a missing a right fielder that is not a bad team. All of these guys are doing better this year than they did last year. Now that may be due to other reasons besides money but in all likelihood it is the possibility that if they have a bad season they will cost themselves millions of dollars that is motivating them.

It is a sad but true fact that most athletes are just in it for the money.

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Big Bats Are Big Busts

62 games into the season the Toronto Blue Jays are 34-28 and sit just 2 games back of division leading Boston. The Jays have managed to surprise everyone with their excellent pitching and out of nowhere offense which was not expected to be very potent. Everyone in the line up is hitting well, everyone except Vernon Wells and Alex Rios.

Both Wells and Rios have struggled mightily this year and combined have only 12 home runs and 55 RBI. To put this into perspective Adam Lind has 12 home runs and 45 RBI alone. Rios is currently hitting .261 while Wells is batting a pathetic .250.

The supposed "big bats" just aren't getting it done and it is starting to cost the Blue Jays games.

So far in June the two have been the worst hitters on the team as they are both batting below .150 and have just 1 HR and 5 RBI between them. Rios is having a particularly bad month as a few days ago he went 0-5 with 5 strikeouts against the Angels and was then caught cursing at a young fan outside a charity event.

Rios and Wells are the number 3 and 4 hitters and are supposed to be the guys who can drive in the runs. Both players have shown in the past that they can hit the long ball as Wells has a career high of 33 in 2003 while Rios career high was 24 in 2007 yet neither of them is playing particularly well.

The Red Sox had the same problem with David Ortiz as his horrible numbers started costing the team games when he would come up to hit 3rd and would strand runners like it job. Eventually Ortiz was moved out of his line up spot and has responded by showing some signs of life. This tactic could work for the Jays as maybe shaking up the batting order might do some good.

The worst part is that Wells and Rios are two of the highest paid players on the team with Wells in year 3 of a 6 year $126 million dollar deal and Rios in year 2 of a 6 year $64 million dollar deal. Both players are getting paid the big bucks but play like they don't deserve a dollar of it.

Often times watching Jays games you can see Wells and Rios look so disinterested as if the last thing they want to be doing is playing baseball. Vernon never smiles and I mean why should he right? He is hitting .250 and is being compared to Barry Zito in terms of contract busts. Rios also looks bored and often looks like he doesn't have a pulse.

Both these guys need to get called out publicly by either Cito Gaston, a teammate (preferably Halladay), or by a sports writer with more credibility then me. They need to be embarrassed and made examples of so that maybe they can turn their seasons around. It may not be the most ethical solution to the problem but more often then not when guys get called out they step up.

Don't get me wrong I am a Red Sox fan but I also grew up watching the Jays and having to sit there and watch these 2 scrubs half ass everything they do is a real piss off. I mean Wells contract is the 11th largest in MLB history and he plays like just another guy. He used to hustle and try but now he is just out there going through the motions.

Wells and Rios are currently among the worst 3 and 4 hitters statistically and are dragging down the Jays in the worst way possible. While everyone else on the team is out there trying to win games these 2 clowns are out there just earning a paycheck. They are the perfect examples of players who try during contract years and then just coast once they get paid.

Something needs to happen with Rios and Wells if the Jays want to catch the Yankees and the Red Sox. No team is going to win the AL East with their 3 and 4 hitters being the worst on the team.

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