Good move all around by JP. The Jays brought in a good glove and possible platoon for Adams in case he melted down in his rookie season. Now that Adams has settled in for half season and is starting to assert himself, they get MacDonald out of the way so Adams can play full time.

Hopefully the PTBNL turns out to be as good if not better than Mastny.

I guess the best memory of Johnny Mac would be the infield single in Tampa Bay to drive in the winning run in extra innings after grounding out into a couple of double plays previously. With the Jays facing the Tigers twice next month, let's hope he doesn't came back to haunt us.

Strange move.

Considering Guillen absolutely kills Lefties, and can't Infante play SS on his off days anyways? Considering Polanco is their starting 2B.

Maybe not so strange.

Polanco hasn't played for over a week, so maybe the Tigers felt they needed a little depth. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Polanco heads to the DL to make room for McDonald.

I still think it's sad that the nickname "The Prime Minister" didn't catch on for John McDonald.

But I guess this move solves the dilemma of what to do when Koskie comes back....

So, who comes up to take Mac's place, until Koskie offically returns?

JF?
Gabe?
'Nick' Cannon??

In the Doc - Big Unit game at yankee stadium from late April
McDonald had to jump up and catch a ball from behind his head. Maybe its wasn't from behind the head (I was in upper deck behind home plate so I could be a little fuzzy on the details) but it was impressive enough to silence the crowd

Oh, wait.... Bush is up today, isn't he? How many pitchers on the Big club does that make?

Geez...if the Jay's get an rash of injuries, any those pitchers have fielding experience?

I figure Bush takes McDonald's spot on the 25-man, and then Koskie will replace the bullpen guy of the team's choosing on Tuesday.

Kinda suspected that either Johnny Mac or Frankie M would be moved to make room for Koskie. Although this opens up a roster spot, JP and Gibbons still need to resolve the playing time issue.

I have seen a couple of news articles relating to moving Hinske to the Twinkies (to play 3rd) - perhaps that the answer. Not sure who the Jays might want in return, although that probably depends on how much salary the Jays absorb, if any. Would they give up Cuddyer?

In the Doc - Big Unit game at yankee stadium from late April McDonald had to jump up and catch a ball from behind his head. Maybe its wasn't from behind the head (I was in upper deck behind home plate so I could be a little fuzzy on the details) but it was impressive enough to silence the crowd

I was at that game as well; sitting behind the plate. I'll definately never forget that night, and that Johnny Mac play was pretty insane. G'Luck in Detroit, hopefully he's in uniform when I go to a couple games in Comerica in August.

Is there any reason why Hill wouldn't be our back up SS when Koskie returns? It's a nice way to juggle 1B, 3B, SS, DH between Hill, Adams, Koskie, Hillenbrand, and the occasional Hinske start.

If Griffen is going to get a taste of Toronto this would be the perfect time to call him up.

Didn't JP say that they weren't bringing Koskie back to DH?

I think Hill will DH most of the time, while working on his defence in practice.

Yeah, I expect Koskie to see the bulk of the playing time at 3B, not Hill. I also think that Hill will get the backup SS duties more often than Menechino. I think Frank will find most of his playing time occurs at 2B or DH.

John McDonald made his debut with the Tigers tonight against the Twins. He pinch hit for Guillen in the 8th and stayed in at SS.

I've been basically saying the same thing for weeks.

Guys like McDonald are very underrated. He served this team well and earned his paycheck.

I'm sure he will bounce around the majors for years to come.

"I'm sure he will bounce around the majors for years to come."

Agreed. Guys like McDonald are extremely useful for both re-building teams as well as contenders. Although he has never been known for his bat, he is able to ease younger players into their roles (much like his role in Toronto) as well as being versatile enough to allow contending teams to stick him in to play SS or even 2B in later innings. He will probably bounce around the league for a few more years, and not because teams don't like him.. but because other teams recognize the value he brings to the table. He served the Jays very well..

I'm the Utility Middle Infielder on my team, the guys have started calling me "John MacDonald" and I took it as a compliment to be compared to a pure defender like that..

Is there any reason why Hill wouldn't be our back up SS when Koskie returns? It's a nice way to juggle 1B, 3B, SS, DH between Hill, Adams, Koskie, Hillenbrand, and the occasional Hinske start.

Personally, I'd like to see Hill try a game or two at second, if its a success then I'd be thinking that Menechino is surplus now too... and he'd be "useful" in a deal maybe get a prospect?...

Of course, Frankie has the ability to close games, can Hill pitch?

J.P. said they wouldn't be trying Hill or Adams at second this season out of concern for them messing up their knees playing a position that they're not used to and that is quite different from third / shortstop.

Isn't it ironic that now that he's gone we find out how much "everybody" loved him? ;) Too bad he lost out on the numbers game but sometimes you have to move the guy that somebody wants if no other moves seem to be working out. Better to get a PTBN than a kick in the you know where :)

I don't think that's true at all -- people constantly spoke of how great a guy he was while he was here.

He did exactly what he was supposed to do, and better than was expected of him -- did anyone think he'd be hitting .290? -- and unfortunately for him, Russ Adams progressed the way the team hoped he would and Aaron Hill came up in an emergency role and excelled. So the good fortune of the Toronto Blue Jays left John McDonald with no position to play.

It's too bad that he'll bounce around precisely because of his skill set. The guy deserves to have a place for his family to settle down in. At least Detroit isn't that far away.

Good luck in Detroit, John. Maybe next month when the Tigers visit the Rogers Centre I'll be able to get some shots of you in your new uniform.

I hate to always be the guy to despise that nickname, but no country in the world has a "Minister of Defense".

Not even Canada!

On a related note - was there ever anything more exciting than seeing John McDonald as one of the team leaders in batting average? What insanity.

I hate to always be the guy to despise that nickname, but no country in the world has a "Minister of Defense",

Yes, yes, and there's no such animal as an "O-Dog", and when you hit a home run it's "Going, going gone". Also, no one ever said "Beam me up, Scotty" in an episode of Star Trek, and likewise the line "Play it again, Sam" does not appear in Casablanca.

Really, what bearing does that have on a nickname?

"Yes, yes, and there's no such animal as an "O-Dog","

Yes, but it's clearly referring to a Dog, which does exist.

"and when you hit a home run it's "Going, going gone"."

And the modification is a clever rhyme.

"Also, no one ever said "Beam me up, Scotty" in an episode of Star Trek,"

And people mention that quite often.

"and likewise the line "Play it again, Sam" does not appear in Casablanca."

But "Play it, Sam" does.

Those are massively unrelated.

Yes, but it's clearly referring to a Dog, which does exist.

So you still maintain that it's very important for baseball nicknames to reference things that are real and exist?

Wait! You mean there really isn't A Wizard of Oz?

There's a movie with that title.