Toronto Blue Jays: Rough Stretch Has Ruffled Some Feathers

I have been on the Toronto Blue Jays bandwagon for quite a while, hoping they could claim that wild-card spot this year. 

Right now, it seems as if the wheels are beginning to fall off. 

Amidst a horrid stretch, where the Jays aren’t scoring, ace Ricky Romero’s frustration has boiled over, and he called out his teammates (sort of) after his loss to the Atlanta Braves. 

Romero later addressed the team to clean the air. 

Jose Bautista was right in the middle of a power outage where he has hit just one homer in his last 22 games, until he belted his 22nd of the year on Wednesday. 

Aaron Hill has three home runs on the season (62 over the previous two years), is hitting .222 over his last 10 games, and doesn’t get on base nearly enough (.283 OBP). 

J.P. Arencibia is doing a heck of job handling the pitching staff and everything that goes along with that. On the other hand, he is looking overmatched more often than he should at the midway point of the season. 

The pitching staff is not performing as one would have expected; Cecil is still working out the kinks in Vegas, ROY-hopeful Kyle Drabek has joined Cecil, and Brandon Morrow has been hit or miss in his appearances. And because of these lackluster starting performances, the bullpen is getting overworked and having to appear in more games than usual. 

Sitting in fourth and 8.5 games out is pretty good, considering the horrible start the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox had to begin the year.

Here’s hoping that the Jays can stick it out for the next couple weeks and regroup at the All-Star break. Because if things continue to go the way there are right now, Romero won’t be the only one in the organization making comments.

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

Devon is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals& Gateway Grizzlies, and is now an independent scout.