While I was happy to see a very solid throw from Gabe Gross to keep the Jays alive in the bottom of the 10th, I wanted even more to see more offense, and wanted to see less of us almost losing to the Devil Rays!

But nonetheless, a very solid outing from Roy Halladay, and fine defense from Gabe Gross to keep us in the 'W' column for tonight's game.

And then where do we get another closer from? Unless you're writing off the season right now, which is ludicrous with the division the way it is.

Sorry, I just had to pile on with the rest of the gang attacking that idea.

I'd imagine it was some sort of joke. Hinske and a prospect, depending on who, might get you Calvin Pickering, whom we all know, is worth a bucket of balls :)

Well, duh. We trade away the guys that suck! Let's package McDonald and Huckaby to Cincinatti for Adam Dunn. Maybe if we throw in Hinske, they'll throw in Kearns!

JP has, in the past, received criticism on this website about trading players after they've lost their value (Phelps.) But, once a chance comes to actually sell high, it's "What?? We can't trade him! He's actually good!"

I would love to see JP trade Batista for a good, young hitter. In two years, the Jays could come out way ahead on that one (Miguel would be 36.) Don't do what the Mets did last year and let playoff hopes cloud your judgment. What I mean is that before the season it was said that the Jays were rebuilding. That they would contend in 2007. I don't think we should lose sight of that goal. Keep building for '07, I think. The Jays have a good pool of pitching it looks like, but the offense in two years looks a bit scary (not in the good way.)

As for who would replace Batista, well there's Jason Frasor, who did a fine job last year and is pitching well this year. Or there's Justin Speier. Maybe in the future, League or one of the other pitchers in the minors right now. I don't think it's all that important. But then again, I don't think the Jays are making the playoffs this year so maybe I'm just a poopyhead.

I think JP has recieved more criticism for not putting together a decent pen.

In two years, I think the Jays will have to find a replacement anyways!

Let's be honest, guys. Do you really think that Miguel Batista will still be pitching this way in two years, at the age of 36? Oh I know, Percival and Hoffman are ~36, but they're different. They're strikeout pitchers. If you believe that Batista will be a 2.00 ERA 40 save guy in 2007, then that's your prerogative. But, personally, I do not. I think that by the time 2007 rolls around, we'll be looking for a new closer anyways, so it's better to trade him early than to trade him late.

When Lamar goes off his meds, he fleeces the Mets? Why does he go on them in the first place. :)

But lately he's been much better.

Month    Inn    K  BB   K/BB
Mar/Apr  10.0   3   3   1.0
May      12.1   9   3   3.0
June     13.0  10   2   5.0

Of course he's given up 3 HRs this year and they've all been in June.

The Jays shouldn't be in a rush to trade Batista, but if something came along that made sense I wouldn't have any problem with him being traded. I don't think Batista is, or ever will become, a dominant closer.

I don't know about you, but I thought he was safe. It was bang-bang, but I thought McDonald got his foot down.

And, like Fawaz, I was pretty upset that Gross didn't pinch-hit for McDonald in the ninth. I thought that was a huge blunder that may have cost us the game.

However, I was riding too high after that win to write a similar post and complain about a "should have been" move after such a great victory.

Two years is a long time to find another reliever to approximate what Batista is doing this year. It's not a long time to find two or three key offensive players to upgrade the lineup. You mentioned guys like Lee and Konerko. That's two guys in a 30 team league. You're banking on your ability to sign them as free agents? Are these guys you want to overpay for on the free agent market the way the Tigers overpaid Ordonez and the D-Backs overpaid Glaus?

From Ken Rosenthal: The Reds will trade outfielder Adam Dunn only if they receive a top young pitcher in return. Few teams will be willing to part with a potential Josh Beckett or Kerry Wood, but if the Reds play this right, they could make a franchise-altering deal.

Dunn, 25, isn't a free agent until after the '07 season, so his value might be at its peak. Any team that acquires him would get two-plus seasons of his prodigious power, albeit at arbitration-inflated increases from his current salary of $4.6 million.

Dunn's rising salary figures to scare off teams like the low-revenue A's and budget-conscious Braves, but the flip side is this: Young power hitters are in even shorter supply than young power pitchers, making sluggers like Dunn an increasingly rare commodity.

In other words, players of exactly the type the Jays need right now (productive, relatively affordable offensive players who can be here for at least two years) are in very short supply in the major leagues. The Atlanta Braves were interested in Gabe Gross because they were playing Mondesi and Jordan regularly. The Phillies want three players in return for Howard who older, strikes out a ton, and isn't even proven in the majors over a significant stretch.

Again, where are these offensive improvements going to come from? Where are the options for the Jays so plentiful such that a solid reliever like Batista becomes untouchable? I mean we can sit here like the Oakland A's with an all contact, no power, no walks offence which does nothing and struggle to be .500 while hoping the young pitching discovers a miracle. But that thought wearies me.