Good news, but Nix is more preferrably to be sent down.

Nix can't be sent down. He's out of options. Jay's could DFA him, which will almost certainly occur sooner or later anyway.

Tomorrow's lineup??

Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind , Arencibia, Thames, Hill, Rivera, Encarnacion.

MacDonald and McCoy should be enough insurance to cover the infield in case someone goes down. Nix's job could be on the line if he doesn't start to produce.

I'm guessing we'll see a stronger hitting lineup and a weaker defensive alignment for the next few games.

There's got to be a better solution than turning our franchise RF (a guy who has become well known as an OF, as his AS votes would indicate) into a stopgap 3B.

Can't disagree with this. As was stated earlier, the Jays have been throwing scrubs out there (3B) since Opening Day, why stop now just because the team is even further out of the dreamy wild card picture. If management wanted to do this, it should have been done back on Opening Day as planned and used Encarnacion strictly as a DH, as was promised. Now because of the ineffectiveness of the rest of the outfielders, Bautista is moved to 3B, ensuring that Patterson and Davis are likely NOT going to be platooned. Doesn't make much sense to me, but hey, hopefully Thames lights it up.

Anyone care to take a shot at what good ol' boy Richard Griffin means in his latest piece with this statement?

"Escobar has not showed the offensive instincts of a true major-league leadoff man."

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/bluejays/article/1014063--griffin-jays-need-to-shuffle-deck-with-bautista-at-third-base

Seems way off to me. Let's take one of the 3 players who can get on base out of the leadoff position because he has the ultimately subjective "bad instincts." Griffin often pains me, but it's my own sin for reading.

I find it funny that the same people who don't want to disrespect Bautista wanted to move Wells out of CF. They also probably laugh at the New York Yankees for continuing to roll out Jeter & Posada, applauded the Angels for moving Torii, and think it's great that Pujols plays 3B in a pinch.

#1. There was a long-term reason to move Vernon Wells off the position. There isn't one here...they're turning their best player into a stopgap solution in a lost season. It's going to be very awkward when Lawrie is taking the spot of the team's best player whenever he arrives.

 #2. There's nothing wrong with moving Bautista to 3rd, just as there was nothing wrong with moving Wells to LF. If you're going to do it, though, you should be doing it at the beginning of the year, not mid-season. Bautista is not just some utility guy, anymore. He’s a legitimate star (and as the AS vote suggests, perhaps the biggest star in all of baseball). Stars don’t switch positions in this league mid-season.

I too was upset all winter that Bautista5/Snider9 wasn't how they were going to open the year, but these notions that the Jays should not make the correct moves out of respect for a player because they are 36-39 is really silly.

Not just a player. He's the best outfielder in the entire league and he's more than earned the right to choose the position he wants to play (especially because he's actually better defensively in right field than 3rd). 

 Every single player in that clubhouse still believes they are contenders, and should. If Bautista didn't want to move to 3B to help the team get better, there would be a problem.

There's not a chance that's true. They know exactly what they're up against and how long the odds are. Of course Bautista isn’t going to deny them, but I find it incredible that the Jays would even ask after allowing the team to fall out of the race with Jayson Nix for a month.

He's the best outfielder in the entire league

Wrong. He has been the best hitter in the entire league - his defense continues to be vastly overrated.

Stars don’t switch positions in this league mid-season.

Except apparently Torii Hunter, the 9 time Gold Glover who was moved out of CF last season when the Angels were 8 games back in August.

and he's more than earned the right to choose the position he wants to play

No player earns this right. The manager chooses where and when a player plays, and any change to that is a serious problem.

It's going to be very awkward when Lawrie is taking the spot of the team's best player whenever he arrives.

So essentially because Lawrie was in the system you are saying the Blue Jays HAD to move Bautista to RF to start the year, and are not allowed to move him off that position until his contract is up. That's swell. And if less than halfway into the season the players already think the season is over, it's going to be a long summer.

Wrong. He has been the best hitter in the entire league - his defense continues to be vastly overrated.

Go to FanGraphs, look up major league outfielders on the WAR list and tell me who you find on the top. He's the best overall outfielder in baseball (offense and defense combined).

And, for the record, Bautista's defense is even worse at third.

Except apparently Torii Hunter, the 9 time Gold Glover who was moved out of CF last season when the Angels were 8 games back in August. and he's more than earned the right to choose the position he wants to play.

Except they didn't do that to make Hunter a stopgap in a lost season. They brought in a far superior defensive player to replace a regressing player and made the change to help the ballclub in the long-term. The Jays, on the other hand, are moving Bautista into a position that he's just going to have to move from again in a few that months.

  No player earns this right. The manager chooses where and when a player plays, and any change to that is a serious problem.

I'm sure some managers would like to believe that, but that isn't the case in this day and age of baseball. There's a reason AA and Farrell called Bautista up to get him to agree to this move before they finalized it.

So essentially because Lawrie was in the system you are saying the Blue Jays HAD to move Bautista to RF to start the year, and are not allowed to move him off that position until his contract is up. That's swell. And if less than halfway into the season the players already think the season is over, it's going to be a long summer.

Not at all. I'm saying if they wanted Bautista at 3B, they should have put him there to begin the year. Nothing has actually changed (they still aren't trying to win in a "development year," Lawrie is still months away, and their mediocre/terrible 3B options are all still here). Unless AA owns Bautista in his fantasy dynasty league, asking him to move positions mid-season in a lost year makes little sense at all.

Baseball is not exactly deep in third basemen these days.

• Youkilis moves back to 3B to replace Beltre (and obviously to accommodate Gonzalez)
• Pujols plays some 3B in a pinch for the first time in a decade
• Talk now of returning Bautista to 3B as an interim measure
• Oakland tries to create a 3B out of a Tiger 2B castoff Scott Sizemore
• the Giants had been using Tejada's withered corpse (albeit as an injury replacement)
• the Dodgers thought Uribe was a good idea
• Arizona has gotten surprisingly good work from former Jay farmhand Ryan Roberts
• Cleveland is using David Magadan wannabe Jack Hannahan
• Chone Figgins is no longer alternating good years and bad ones

Texas tried moving Michael Young's oversized contract in the off-season and couldn't. You'd think that given the current 3B environment that they would still be able to head down this path in the next off-season if they had a mind to (I don't see them moving Young mid this season given the eminently winnable division they are playing in).

Go to FanGraphs, look up major league outfielders on the WAR list and tell me who you find on the top.

His overall WAR would be relevant if I hadn't specifically pointed to the fact we are discussing his defensive capabilities in RF, which aren't much outside of a hose.

Except they didn't do that to make Hunter a stopgap in a lost season.

I brought Hunter up as a direct response to your quote of "Stars don’t switch positions in this league mid-season", yet you chose to defend the idea of Bautista being a "stop gap". One has nothing to do with the other, and clearly stars DO switch positions mid-season, even if their teams are way out of the playoff race. Stick to the points if you want to carry a conversation. (And if you're going to try and tell me stars don't switch positions as stop gap solutions, Pujols & Youkilis beg to differ.)

Not at all. I'm saying if they wanted Bautista at 3B, they should have put him there to begin the year. Nothing has actually changed (they still aren't trying to win in a "development year," Lawrie is still months away, and their mediocre/terrible 3B options are all still here).

But then they'd be forced into a situation of It's going to be very awkward when Lawrie is taking the spot of the team's best player whenever he arrives"! According to you, AA was damned if he did, damned if he didn't. And something HAS changed - Nix & EE have proven they can't handle 3B for an extended period of time. When JP kept rolling out turds like Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson, it drove us up the wall because he refused to shake things up. Now that AA is reacting (not overreacting, it's been 2.5 months) to his current team needs, people are upset?

I personally believed that Bautista should have opened the season at 3B, but that's only because I would have had no problem with Lawrie forcing his way on to the team and shifting Bautista into the OF.

Goldstein responded to AA’s tirade on his latest podcast:

 - 4 different people told him the Jays had a deal with Beede.

- the Jays violated the rule of negotiating with a player/pre-draft deal before the draft but this happens all the time. He provided examples of Butler, Bush, and Gonzalez

- he read the letter from Beede’s father telling teams not to contact his son because he was going to Vanderbilt and looked forward to being a top 5 pick in 2014

- no team was going to waste a pick on Beede unless they knew they could sign him

- likes the fact the Jays are aggressive in the draft and thinks AA is a bright GM

- hasn’t talked to AA directly after this story came out

I don't know who is right re: Beede but Goldstein's argument is not very strong.

First, the Jays are very tight with news.  I doubt they have told anyone that there is a deal even if there is one.

Second, just because four people tell you something doesn't mean four people heard it independently.  Keith Law said it but he said he heard it from Goldstein, is that two people or one?

Third, Beede was expected to go to college but the Jays took him anyway.  Other teams, perhaps to cover their butts as to why they didn't take him, could have said the Jays might have had a deal with him.  That goes along the line and the Jays might have had a deal becomes the Jays must have had a deal which becomes the Jays had a deal.

In any event it's a "he said, she said" situation.

Goldstein responded to AA’s tirade on his latest podcast:

 - 4 different people told him the Jays had a deal with Beede.

I think it's pretty obvious there was a deal. Anthopoulos is obligated to deny it, and there's no inherent reason why Goldstein, Law, etc. would just make something like this up. By being so forceful about it, as opposed to just ignoring it and assuming the commissioner's office would do the same, AA is taking a page out of the JP media relations playbook. Let's hope it's only a momentary lapse.

Though "It's not a lie if we know the truth" was a pretty great modern-Orwellianism.

No inherent reason why Keith "we hates it forever" Law would make up something/repeat something less-than-rosy sounding about the Jays?

My sarcasm meter's broken today. You are joking, right?

If the speaker of the comment had a Dali moustache, or a Rollie Fingers' one

Some moustaches are more equal than others.

Where would you play Ramirez, by the way, if the Jays acquired him?  Would you shift Escobar to 2B already?  What if Aaron Hill rebounds in the second half of this season?  What would this do for Hechavarria -- do you write him off already?  How would you build any trade value for Hechavarria if there's no room on the roster for him to gain any major-league experience in 2012? 

I'm not suggesting that these are insurmountable obstacles.  And I agree with your fundamental point that the Jays have enough payroll flexibility to acquire one or two players with higher salaries.  But I think Anthopolous will shy away from a $46.5-million contract if there are any question marks at all about the player -- and if he already has players available on the roster (Hill, Hechavarria) who might be able to do the job for a lot less money.  Not saying that I would agree with AA on that money-saving strategy, but that's clearly his tendency:  looking for bargain players, rather than big contracts.

Fits in right beside his claims that Thames and Arencibia weren't legit prospects, to wrap up yet another golden offseason for our man Keith.

This is part of what KLaw said of JPA (#82 on his top 100) this offseason: "Arencibia does two things well -- throw and hit home runs -- and given the state of catching in the majors right now, that makes him a pretty good prospect."

Or is there a difference between a pretty good prospect and a legit prospect?

Where would you play Ramirez, by the way, if the Jays acquired him? 

Moving Ramirez off of shortstop has been discussed for a long time and seems to be a foregone conclusion in many circles (though some have argued that his glove has improved at shortstop from terrible to not terrible). Center field would seem to be a logical fit, just as it was for BJ Upton. Ramirez's career 131 OPS+ would play anywhere, even an outfield corner, but it would be a bonus to couple his bat (if this year's slide is an anomoly) with the demands of a key defensive position. Some might consider keeping Ramirez at a key defensive position obligatory given his paycheque.

Ramirez does seem to need about 5 or 10 times the ass-kicking that Escobar needs, so potential suitors will always have to decide if they have the appetite for such a thing.

Let's be accurate about what was said.  Nobody is worried that Hechavarria would be "blocked" by Ramirez, and nobody said that.   What I said was this:  first, Anthopoulos has never shown any tendency to trade for players on big expensive contracts, especially when he thinks he might have cheaper in-house alternatives.  Second, he is likely to wait to see how Hill and Hechavarria perform in the second half of this season, since either of those guys could be a middle-infield solution in 2012 or 2013 if they show some improvement in their hitting.  (Their defence, in both cases, is already perfectly adequate.)  Third, Anthopoulos has committed significant resources to Hechavarria, which -- given his thrifty tendencies -- could persuade him to wait for Hech's development to see what he's got.

Personally, I'd love to see the Jays acquiring elite talent, regardless of the cost.  I just don't see any indications (so far) that Anthopoulos would do it if the cost is $46.5-million.  When I make a prediction about AA's tendencies, that doesn't mean that I am defending his thriftiness, and I'm certainly not suggesting that the existence of Hech is a reason for the Jays not to acquire Ramirez.  I don't think anybody on this thread has suggested such a thing, so let's eschew the misquotes, please.

Let's wait to see how the year pans out -- maybe Ramirez will dramatically improve -- but right now he has a .603 OPS in almost half a season, and FanGraphs is predicting that he could be moved to a corner outfield position in 2012 because of his declining defence at shortstop.  What if it's an Aaron Hill or Vernon Wells situation again?  Do the Jays want to get into that kind of commitment to a declining talent? 

Just because the Jays gave $64-million to a player who was coming off a .995 OPS season doesn't mean that they'll happily accept a $46.5-million contract for someone who is coming off a .603 OPS season.

And just because Escobar bounced back from a sub-par season doesn't mean that Ramirez necessarily will.  Escobar was a lot cheaper than Ramirez when he was acquired.  And his defensive skills were greater.

The Yankees are in a spot.

First place.

The Yankees are in a spot.

First place.

The context of my remark had to do specifically with Jeter. But thanks for this.

And Bautista is still in RF today, instead of 3B.  All the urgency seems to have faded from the offensive overhaul that the Jays were planning.  A couple wins seem to have deflated the momentum for change.

With all the unearned runs yesterday, I wouldn't assume that the Jays have solved their offensive woes.  I'd like to see Thames in the outfield and Bautista at 3B today, but we'll have to wait a bit longer.  The real news yesterday was Carlos Villanueva -- his 3rd consecutive quality start for the Jays.  He is quietly turning into one of their more reliable starters.  Should he stay in the rotation when Litsch and Cecil are ready?

In other news, Snider is doing okay and will hit off a tee today and do running drills.  He's expected back in game action at Las Vegas on July 1.

McClellan's severe reverse splits are the reason for the righty-heavy lineup.

I certainly hope that was the reason. For a while there, I was thinking it was because Rivera hit a HR last night.

I think you were right the first time.  If we were playing reverse splits, why Patterson over Davis? 

Farrel remembers Rivera's homerun, but has forgotten Thames two doubles?

Yes!  This cruel and unusual treatment of our star player is quite likely the most unconscionable move that Anthopoulos has yet to make.  I just bet a players-only meeting will be called over this one.  Have to clear the air. 

They will probably demand that Alex impersonate an actual baseball player--stand around, spit and scratch himself--for a week.  You know, to find out how the hard-done-by other half lives. 

You are not alone, The_Game; none of us can believe it.  My God, I think it may be actionable.  If Jose were you, I'm sure he'd demand to be traded.  However, he's neither a whiner nor a crybaby, so he will simply soldier on for the good of the team.