Back in November, the Blue Jays signed themselves a big ticket free agent - catcher Russell Martin.

The Vancouver Canadians put an end to a three-game losing streak thanks to five multi-run innings against the Everett AquaSox at Nat Bailey Stadium Friday night.


Francisco Rios got through five innings to pick up the victory in his last start of the season.

This has been an amazing month (with one day to go).  Have the Jays ever been this hot?

Recent readers of the Box may be aware of my crusade against the 8-man bullpen. I have nothing against it in principle, except that until September, the active roster for major league teams is limited to 25 players. When rosters expand, if you want a 14-man bullpen, I will raise a figurative glass of ale and say, why the heck not!

I'll add another caveat. On teams with weak starting pitchers wherein several starting pitchers have difficulty reaching the 6th and 7th innings, a three-man bench is defensible as long as at least two players and/or one regular are reasonably versatile. I don't believe the current Jays are in that category.

Just was thinking about who the Jays might face in the playoffs and if being so right handed is a good or bad thing depending on opponent(s).

"Oh dear... kids, tell me when your father stops scratching himself.

...kids?"

"We'll tell you mom."

Jose Reyes & 3 minor leaguers (reported as Jeff Hoffman and  Miguel Castro and Jesus Tinoco) for Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins (now a reliever).

Aaron Sanchez did little to ease fan concerns about our pitching as he was wild in Buffalo. Pitching was easier to come by further down the line though. Nick Wells was pretty darn good in Bluefield. Your affiliates were 4-4 on the night.

Some people work very hard

But still they never get it right

Well I'm beginning to see the light

The mid-season point is upon us and the Jays are not where we wanted them to be. The Jays have a losing record, are 4.5 games back of the Yankees and 4 games back in the wild-card. The Jays have played 91 games, they have 71 left. The Jays will need to go 45-26 to finish with 90 wins. Fangraphs projection system believes that 82 wins will get a team into the wildcard game. That seems to be overly optimistic or pessimistic, depending on your point of view. Baseball reference has the same numbers. Both systems give the Jays a 26%-28% chance to make the playoffs. A 40-31 finish will give the Jays 85 wins a decent shot. If the Jays can live up to their pythagorean record from the first half they can do that. But they need shutdown relief pitching and fewer errors.

Full slate of affiliate baseball. No prospects traded, yet.

Eventful day in minor league baseball for the Blue Jays. We had a trade, a major signing, and some encouraging performances down on the farm. Your affiliates went 4-3.

One affiliate was able to clinch a playoff spot, one had an off day, and 4 were able to win.

An ugly start for Jesus Tinoco turned into a memorable night. Dunedin swept a double header. And a look at possible reinforcements for the stretch run.

Now remember the story, we're newly weds hitching a ride to Earth Capital...