Jays pitching in shambles…does it have to be?

This past week, we bore witness to a series of unfortunate events. Like clockwork they fell, one by one, much to the chagrin of Jays fans.  Somehow the team has shown a great deal of resiliency with a series sweep in Philly and a home run showcase in Milwaukee. Watching the balls fly out of the park last night brought me more joy that that time at Canada’s wonderland when I shared a tube with the Raptors Dance Pack on White Water Canyon! My apologies for even mentioning the Raptors on this site…it will not happen again.

 The organization seemingly has but two choices, the Panic Button or the Easy Button (shout out to Staples). No Drabek for 1+ year, Hutch also potentially a Tommy John candidate, and Morrow out 4-6 weeks with an oblique strain which is an injury that has notoriously plagued pitchers. Rolling the rest of the way with Ricky and a struggling Alvarez is NOT OK. We cannot allow the team to roll out bullpen arms and triple-A starters for the rest of the season.

 Should we choose to hit the panic button as an organization, we will go into full blown “Sellers Mode” and start the paring down of our potentially expendable assets such as Thames/Snider, Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar, and Edwin Encarnacion. This is an option that will be about as enjoyable as dinner with Bobby Valentine.  The Panic Button options are nothing more than innings eaters who will get us to 2013 where we can start fresh….again.

 Panic Button options:

-          Jeremy Guthrie

-          Jeff Francis

-          Sean Hill (haha…please NO)

-          The continual rolling of Villanueva, Laffey, and Chavez

The Easy Button options, while they may not seem “easy” in that we will have to give a little to get a little. Easy refers to the decision that the Jays as an organization need to make.  Is the time to win now?  YES! Seems like a no-brainer. The attendance numbers are escalating nicely and there is a tangible buzz around the city about this team. Crisp new duds can be seen in every ballpark we travel to and excitement about any potential winner in this city will snowball.  The time is now… I think that AA believes this and that his plan was to make some difficult trades leading into July/August. Unfortunately these injuries have forced his hand and perhaps driven up the price for SP because of our clearly desperate status.  Choosing the Easy Button will bring joy to the fanbase, sheer and utter joy, like 20 puppies in your back yard…you know, the cute kind.

 Easy Button options:

-          Gavin Floyd

-          Joe Saunders

-          Matt Garza

-          Off radar pickup…because that’s the AA way.

 These options will cost the organization, a lot, but adding SP depth needs to happen. The offence can carry us only so far and has shown that it can score runs with the elite offenses in the American League. Our bullpen, provided we don’t completely blow them up with overuse during this transition period, is a good one. People are settling in to their roles nicely and the influx of Santos can’t hurt us. The time to make these difficult decisions is now.  Waiting gets us nowhere.

-          Snider vs Thames

-          JPA vs D’arnaud

-          Gose vs Marisnik

-          Cooper vs Lind

-          Hechavarria vs Escobar

-          Lansing SPs….how many high ceiling pitchers do we need at this level when we are replenishing thought the draft effectively?

The time is now to hit the Easy Button.