There's been some talk about the defensive shortcomings of John Buck and Jose Molina, talk which generally focuses on one thing - baseballs rolling to the backstop. It's my understanding (I don't hear the radio team much) that Alan Ashby, a former catcher who was very good at this part of the game, has been talking about it all season.

Bauxites in multiple threads this week have begun to wonder en masse -- hey, the Blue Jays have honored Cito this week. Where's the Batter's Box "Gone but not Forgotten" thread?

Well, you asked, we answer ... it's right here. Cito isnt actually gone yet, of course, as there's another game to play this season, as the Jays -- who fell to the Twins in the ninth today -- search for their 85th win of 2010 to close out the season.

So step up and say "thanks" to the man who led the Jays to the only two non-US-based World Championships in MLB history in his first go-round, and who, here in take two, look to crack that 85-win barrier for only the fourth time since the 1994 strike season.

13 seasons, nearly 900 wins, five division titles, two league champtionships, two titles. Not bad at all, Clarence. Thanks!

Good ol' Don Baylor. Attached by the SABR crowd regularly (myself included) and loved by old school types including Cito Gaston. Lets see what the case is for him and if he could be the ideal manager for a young team in the toughest division in baseball™.

Cito Gaston managed his last home game as a Blue Jay two nights ago, and was sent off in style; who was the last manager to receive a portrait of themselves painted by Vernon Wells' dad as a parting gift? But soon Cito's final season will be officially over and it will be time for the Blue Jays to start looking for their next manager.

With only a handful of games remaining, Cito Gaston’s time is almost up as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s about time that we begin a discussion on who should be the field chief in 2011 and beyond.

Cito Gaston was in a no-win situation with JP Arencibia yesterday. Meanwhile, on Wednesday Brian Tallet went to bat for a Blue Jays fan.

It's been a couple of years since I examined how the rotation was managed...

As I write this sentence, the Jays (81-76) are sitting squarely on a season total of 81 wins, which is exactly half of the schedule's 162 games, which means they cannot, in any scenario finish below .500 and label 2010 as a "losing" season. Um ... hooray?

So, the question today is this ... does it matter to you at all ... should it matter to you at all ... does/should it matter to players, to retiring manager Cito,, to the fanbase, that the team win at least one of its final five to finish at least 82-80, a "winning" record?

Obviously, nobody wants to close the year on a six-game skid, so there's that. But a fourth-place finish in what is clearly the toughest division in baseball, where two teams are making the playoffs and a third might end up with a better record than three other playoff teams? So, overall, our Question of the Day ... does that 82nd win matter? Should it?

The All-Star teams that get to play, that everyone remembers, get picked at the beginning of July when there's an awful lot of baseball yet to be played. Let's do this thing right!

The Blue Jays handed out the Webster Awards on Saturday at the RC.  Prior to the game, in an on-field ceremony, the award winners received a plaque to recognize their achievements.  The Webster Awards are an MVP-type award for the minor leagues.

It's time once more for me to pick up, with failing hands, the torch first carried by the great Dave Till....

You know what we need?  Another Jose Bautista thread!  Here's a look at #19's 50th homer of the season Thursday afternoon.

Well, this has been a year to remember for Jose Bautista. Jumping his Slg by 214 points, OBP by 34, Avg by 30 from last year. He is 29 though, a great age for peak seasons. But how odd is this? How often has this happened, and to whom?

The Blue Jays have never had a 50 home run hitter before. Now they do. Thanks for the great season, José! Here's a tribute to your amazing achievement.

When I was much younger, my then-favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds mad a trade to acquire a starting pitcher you may have heard of, guy named Seaver. And for several years, every time he took the hill, I was confident (even convinced) the Reds were bound to win that day. He was the Jays' Roy Halladay, c. 2009 and before. He was, put another way, the anti-Mike LaCoss.

Now to be fair, LaCoss was not a bad pitcher; he won 98 games (and lost 103) over 14 years, cracked double-digit wins in a season four times, even made the 1979 All-Star team, ahead of his teammate Seaver. But LaCoss was a guy, in my young teen brain, who every time he took to the mound, disaster awaited. Not sure why I thought that, exactly, but it seemed inevitable.

So today's Question of the Day: What Blue Jays fit this profile in your personal history? Don't stick to pitchers, though they're probably the easiest to identify ... let's see if we can build an entire lineup, or even a full roster ... who are The Scary Jays?