2007 Fictional Toronto Blue Jays - Page 4

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 01:47 PM

Boston Sweeps 2 Game Mini-Series, Tied With Toronto

June 3rd, 2008.

The Boston Redsox took a 2 game mini series form the Toronto Blue Jays in Boston that vaulted the Red Sox into a tie with the Blue Jays for first place in the American League East. The Jays dropped both games that wew decided by less than 2 runs. Despite a jewl of a performance from SP Christian Jacobs in game #1 which saw him go 8 innings and give up only 4 runs the Jays offence could do nothing and lost the game 4-3. Game 2 was not much better for the Jays as SP Mike Witner lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up 6 earned runs on 12 hits in a 7-5 loss. The Jays have not been doing anything well lately and rumours abound that GM Ryan Stewart is ready to make sweeping changes to the roster. The first person rumoured to be in jepordy is SP Tenshin Imai who has been a complete dissapointment this season after being an allstar last year.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 01:50 PM

Jays Lose 5th Straight, Swept by Cubs Now 1.5 Back of Boston

June 8th, 2008.

Things just keep worse for the Toronto Blue Jays as they dropped their 5th straight decision today to the Chicago Cubs who are in last place in the entire National League. With the losses the Jays are now tied with the Yankees 1.5 games bak of the red hot Red Sox in the American League East.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 01:55 PM

Jays Sweep Marlins to Finish off Terriable Month

July 1st, 2008.

Finally some good news for Jays fans as the Toronto Blue Jays swept a 3 game series from the Florida Marlins to put an end to an awful month that saw them go 10-15 and fall from atop the American League East standings to 3rd place 2.5 games behing Boston and .5 games behind the Yankees. The Jays will have to have a good month of July or there could be sweeping changes come trade deadline day. Reports indicate that GM Ryan Stewart is furious about the teams performance in June and that no one is safe from being traded come the July 31st trade deadline. GM Ryan Stewart was unavailable for comment.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 02:02 PM

Former Allstar Imai's Time with Toronto Up?

July 1st, 2008.

With the Toronto Blue Jays free falling down the Americal League East standings questions are beginning to arise about the possibility of SP Tenshin Imai retuning to the Blue Jays next season. Imai is in the last year of his contract and is making $12,617,300 this season. At 38 years old it seems unlikely that GM Ryan Stewart wants to bring him back at such a high price. Imai's performance this season has also been terriable as he has gone from winning 19 games last season to a 3-9 record this year with a 5.30 ERA. When asked about the possibility of Imai being resigned an obviously agitated GM Ryan Stewart replied "No comment" and quickly walked away. Imai might command a decent return of a prospect or two if he is traded as he still shows good ratings and could be an excellent boost to a contending team that is looking for help pushing them over the hump and into the playoffs. The only problem is that the fans might view this as throwing in the towel on a season in which the Jays are only a few games out of the race themselves.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 02:09 PM

3 Jays Selected to American League Allstar Roster

July 13th, 2008.

The 2008 American League Allstar rosters were announced today and 3 Blue Jays players will participate in Coors Field in Colorado. Pitchers SP Bill Arkell, CL Lorenzo Silva and SS Richard Evans will represent the Blue Jays. This is the first Allstar selection for Arkell and Evans who are both having exceptional years. Arkell is 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 18 games started. Evans is hitting .358 with 19 HR and 64 RBI in 88 games and has turned into a leader on and off the field for Toronto. This is the second Allstar selection for CL Lorenzo Silva but it will be the first time he is able to participate. Last season Silva was sidelined the day after being named to the American League squad with an elbow ligament strain that caused him to be out for 5 weeks. This season Silva is 4-2 with 17 Saves and 34 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA in 29 games.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 02:22 PM

American League Triupmhs in Allstar Game
July 15th, 2008.

The American League Allstars defeated the National League Allstars today by a score of 6-3. The game was started by Toronto Blue Jays SP Bill Arkell who was opposed by Philedelphia Phillies Ace SP Boyd Hull. Arkell went 3 innings giving up 2 hits walking 2 and striking out 2. SS Richard Evans was the starting SS for the AL and also lead off. He was 1-3 with a double and scored a run. He was replaced in the 6th inning by Yankees 1B Dave Young. CL Lorenzo Silva who missed the allstar game last year pitched 0.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and struck out 1. The game was won on a 2 run homerun by Chicago White Sox 1B Lucas Sheffield in the top of the 8th inning making the score 5-3. Cleveland CL Dave Denis got the win while San Francisco Giants CL Gary McNight took the loss. Seattle Mariners CL Sherman Padgett got the save for the second consecutive year as the AL topped the NL 6-3.

As the Allstar festivities close the Blue Jays find themselves with a record of 47-42 4 games back of the Yankees and .5 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East. The Jays head to Oakland for a 4 game series against the Athletics who are in 2nd place in the AL West 6.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners. If the Jays want to move up in the Standings they better start winning and fast.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 02:25 PM

Blue Jays RF Named AL Player of the Week

July 14th, 2008.

Toronto Blue Jays RF Raul Pagan was named the Alerican League Player of the week for the week ending July 14th. In the past 7 days Pagan dominated American League Pitching going 13-25 with a .580 batting average with 3 HR and 6 RBI.

In 89 games for Toronto this season Pagan has hit .225 with 15 HR and 45 RBI

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 02:31 PM

Blue Jays Top Pick Rocketing Through Farm System
July 15th, 2008.

2008 1st Round Pick SP Raul 'Hawk' Ruiz is moving up the Toronto Blue Jays Minor league system at an exceptional pace. He started out in Single A Dunedin and in 4 games went 3-0 with a 0.88 ERA with 5 BB and 34 K in 30.2 innings. He was than promoted to AA New Hampshire where the 22 year old fro Hawaii has gone 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA with 10 BB and 43 K in 31.2 IP. When asked about the possibility of Ruiz making his debut this season with the Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart said "It is highly unlikely. We think he is a very talented youngster but we don't want to burn him out too quickly. He is pitching very well but you have to remember this is his first year of professional baseball. He may not even make it to AAA Syracuse this season we will just have to wait and see. If he was to make his Major League debut this year it would be as a September callup, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that one"

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 03:52 PM

Jays Sweep 4 Game Series vs A's

July 20th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays completed a 4 game sweep of the Oakland Athletics in Oakland today start a road trip that will take them to Chicago to face the White Sox for 3 gmaes. The wins moved the Jays back into 2nd place, 4 games back of the Yankees in the American League East. The Jays got wins out of Franciso Romero (7-6), Christian Jacobs (8-7), Bill Arkell (13-2) and Manuel Villalobos (6-4) to complete the Sweep of the A's.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 03:57 PM

Jays Complete 2nd Sweep of A's to Finish Off July

July 30th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays completed their second sweep of the Oakland Athletics to a successful month where the Jays wnet 16-10 and improved to 56-46 overall. Despite winning 5 of their last 6 games the Jays remain 4 games back of the New York Yankees for 1st Place in the American League East.

In other Jays News the Trade Deadline came and went and the Jays held pat. Opting not to trade SP Tenshin Imai wh has been pitching better of late going 1-0 with a 3.25 era in 3 starts. Imai is a free agent at seasons and end and still could be dealt but would have to pass through waivers first so that makes any move unlikely. Reports indicate that Imai is looking to test the free agent waters after his current contract runs out and the chances of him returning to the Jays are very slim.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 03:59 PM

Jays CF Named American League Player of the Month

August 1st, 2008.

Toronto Blue Jays CF Vitantonio Ardinghi was named the American League Player of the Month for July today. Ardinghi hit .398 with 3 HR 17 RBI and scored 23 runs.

To date with the Blue Jays Ardinghi has hit .324 with 8 HR 39 RBI and 77 runs scored for the Toronto Blue Jays.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 04:04 PM

Blue Jays Open 3 Game Set against the Yankees at Rogers Center

August 8th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays host the Division leading New York Yankees starting today at Rogers Center. It is only August but with the Jays trailing the Yankees by 4 games this series has serious playoff implications. GM Ryan Stewart was quoted as saying "This is definately an important series for us we don't want to fall so far back that we don't have a chance to get back into the race. If we sweep we are only 1 game back and it becomes anyones guess who wins" The Jays will have to win al leat 2 of the 3 games to at least gain some ground on a very good Yankees team. The Jays will send SP Francisco Romero (7-7), SP Christian Jacobs (10-7) and SP Bill Arkell (15-3) at the Yankees.

ryan008 · 10-19-2007, 04:12 PM

Jays Sweep Yankees! Only 1 Game Back

August 11th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays completed a series sweep of the New York Yankees at Rogers Center. the jays got masterful pitchig performances from F. Romero (8-7) who went 8 innings allowing only 1 ER in a 4-1 jays victory. SP C.Jacobs (11-7) went 7 strong innings allowing 3 Runs while Striking out 10 in a 6-3 victory and SP B.Arkell went 8 innings allowing 3 runs and striking out 6 as the Jays completed the sweep with another 6-3 victory. In Game 3 the hero for the Jays was LF M.Rosario who went 2-3 with a 3 run HR and 5 RBI's to help the Jays sweep the series. With the sweep the Jays move to within one game of the Yankees for first place in the American League East standings. GM Ryan Stewart said "That was a really good series for us. It shows how much hart these guys have, the never give up. Hopefully we can ride the momentum from this series for the last 2 months of the season"

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 08:08 AM

Jays Win 6th Straight, Sweep White Sox.

August 14th, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays completed a second consecutive series sweep this time of the Chicago White Sox. Offence was the story of this series as the Jays scored 27 runs in 3 games pounding out 38 hits in the process. With the sweep the Jays vaulted theselves back into 1st place in the American League East standings taking a 1 game lead over the New York Yankees.

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 08:50 AM

Jays Wrap Up August in 1st Place
September 1st, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up the month of August today with a 5-4 12 inning loss to the Texas Rangers. Despite the loss the Blue Jays had a very good month that saw them go 20-9 and climb back into 1st Place in the American League East Division opening up a 3 game lead on the New York Yankees and a 6.5 game lead on the Boston Red Sox. The story of the month has to be SP tenshin Imai who just last month was the topic of trade speculation in Toronto and was 5-10 with a 5.65 ERA. Well in the month of August Imai went 5-0 in 6 starts to even his record at 10-10 and was a major reason why the Jays are playing such good baseball. The month of September is an important one for Toronto as the Jays will play 8 games against the Red Sox and 2 against the Yankees. The season is far from over and with 10 games against teams that are chasing the Jays for the Pennant a 3 game lead can evaporate very quickly. The good news for Toronto is that the MLB Rosters expanded today and it is likely that the Jays will get some help for the streach run. GM Ryan Stewart was asked about who might get the nod and if 2008 1st round pick SP Raul 'Hawk' Ruiz would be among those called up "At this time we are looking at bringing up a couple of arms to help out our bullpen. They have been used quite a bit lately and it would be nice to give some of the guys an extra day of rest or two. We are also looking at bringing up a position player or two for the same reason, to give our starters an extra day of rest here or there. The callups won't be getting as much playing time as they would if we had already clinched or were completely out of the race simply because we are still right in the thick of the playoff hunt. As for Raul Ruiz he was promoted to AAA Syracuse in early August and has gone 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 7 BB with 40 K in 5 games. He has gone through a lot this year with stops in Dunedin, New Hampshire and Syracuse and we don't wan't to burn him out too early or wreck his confidance just in case he runs into trouble in the Majors. The AAA season is over soon and we plan on shutting him down for the season. He might compete for a spot it the rotation next year"

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 09:07 AM

Al Pitcher of the Month Awarded to Imai

September 1st, 2008.

Tenshin Imai of the Toronto blue jays was on top of his game for the entire month of August, capping it off with American League Pitcher of the month honors. He was outstanding in 6 starts going 5-0 with 47 innings pitched 44 strikeouts and a fine 1.34 era.

Imai has made 26 starts for the Jays this season, posting 10 wins and 10 losses. Opposing clubs are hitting just .260 against him and he has 149 strikeouts in 173.2 innings pitched with a 4.09 era.

Imai's contract is up at the end of the season and he would become an unrestricted free agent. At 38 years old Imai is romoured to be asking for a new 2 year deal worth between $14-16 million dollars. GM Ryan Stewart has been tight lipped about the negotiations but an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation said that it is unlikely that the two sides aren't anywhere close to a deal with the Jays offering somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5-8 million for 2 years. The Emergence of SP Raul Ruiz may also b a contributing factor in GM Ryan Stewart's decision regarding brining Imai back or not.

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 09:30 AM

Jays Call Up 4 For Stretch Run

September 1st, 2008.

The Toronto Blue Jays got a boost today in the form of 4 players who were called up from AAA Syracuse. The Jays added 3 pitchers and a 3B.

SP Manny Armando (waiver claim from Pittsburgh)
2008 (AAA) 19-7 2.35 ERA 179.2 IP 49 BB 147 K 1.03 WHIP
GM's Comment: The 25 year old from Florida has performed exceptionally well for the Chiefs this season and has exceeded the expactations that we had for him when we claimed him from the Pirates. He is auditioning for a postion in the starting rotation next season.

CL Curt Cox
2008 (AAA) 6-5 29 SV 3.53 ERA 54.0 IP 13 BB 34 K 1.24 WHIP
GM's Comment: The 27 year old was a callup for the Jays on a couple of occasions over the past 2 seasons and looks to be a lock for a bullpen spot next season.

MR Ray Russell
2008 (AAA) 6-2 8 SV 1.78 ERA 76.0 IP 12 NN 67 K 0.82 WHIP
GM's Comment: The 23 year old soft throwing right hander is on the fast track to being a member of the Jays bullpen and we would like him to get some more experience against major league hitters.

3B Byron Webb (waiver claim from Chicago Cubs)
2008 (AAA) .296 37 HR 102 RBI
GM's Comment: The 21 year old showed tremendous power in AAA this season leading the team with 37 homeruns and hitting for a very respectiable .296. At 21 he still has time to develop but could challenge current Jays 3B Mario Rivera for the starting job next season.

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 09:38 AM

Keys KO'd by Major Injury

September 4th, 2008.

The expression on his face said it all when reliever Mark Keys was injured in a game against the Boston Red Sox. Keys was examined quickly by team doctors and immediately rushed to the local hospital. After several tests, the diagnosis was revealed as being a torn labrun (shoulder) and in this case it means that his career is over.

The Toronto Blue Jays issued the following statement: "It is with great sadness that we see Mark leave the game so soon. He was a great competitor on the field and an even better person off the field. We hope that he will stay with the organization in some capacity after he has recovered"

In 2008 the 23 year old was 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA with 2 saves in 27 games.

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 02:19 PM

Jacobs Fires Shut Out in Jays Win

September 10th, 2008.

SP Christian Jacobs bent a little but didn't break against the Cleveland Indians today at Jacobs Field. The Toronto hurler tossed a 3-hit 3-0 shutout of the Indians. In a fine performance Jacobs surrenderd 3 hits allowed 3 walks and struckout 7.

"Christian is good at getting out of jams" his manager told reporters after the game. "He's almost more effective when guys get on base or he gets behind in the count, because he uses your agressiveness against you"

In 2008 Jacobs has a 13-9 record with a 2.92 ERA.

ryan008 · 10-22-2007, 02:26 PM

Arkell Gets 20th Win. Jays Magic Number 8.

September 12th, 2008.

Toronto Blue Jays SP Bill Arkell got his 20th win of the season today as the Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-3. The win gives the Jays the sweep of the Devil Rays and it is their 7th win in their last 9 games. 1B Nathan Wilder was 2-2 with 2 RBI's and 3 BB and LF Marcos Rosario was 1-5 with 2 RBI to pace the Blue Jays attack. Arkell went 7.2 innings allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 10. Lorenzo Silva pitched a scoreless 9th allowing 1 hit and strikingout 1 for his 30th save of the season. With the victory and the Yankees losing in Kansas City to the Royals the Jays magic Number to clinch their second consecutive AL East Title is down to 8. They currently hold a 9 game lead on the New York Yankees and an 11.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox.

10-19-2007, 02:31 PM	#68
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Top Pick Rocketing Through Farm System July 15th, 2008. 2008 1st Round Pick SP Raul 'Hawk' Ruiz is moving up the Toronto Blue Jays Minor league system at an exceptional pace. He started out in Single A Dunedin and in 4 games went 3-0 with a 0.88 ERA with 5 BB and 34 K in 30.2 innings. He was than promoted to AA New Hampshire where the 22 year old fro Hawaii has gone 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA with 10 BB and 43 K in 31.2 IP. When asked about the possibility of Ruiz making his debut this season with the Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart said "It is highly unlikely. We think he is a very talented youngster but we don't want to burn him out too quickly. He is pitching very well but you have to remember this is his first year of professional baseball. He may not even make it to AAA Syracuse this season we will just have to wait and see. If he was to make his Major League debut this year it would be as a September callup, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that one" Last edited by ryan008; 10-19-2007 at 02:36 PM.

10-22-2007, 09:07 AM	#76
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Al Pitcher of the Month Awarded to Imai September 1st, 2008. Tenshin Imai of the Toronto blue jays was on top of his game for the entire month of August, capping it off with American League Pitcher of the month honors. He was outstanding in 6 starts going 5-0 with 47 innings pitched 44 strikeouts and a fine 1.34 era. Imai has made 26 starts for the Jays this season, posting 10 wins and 10 losses. Opposing clubs are hitting just .260 against him and he has 149 strikeouts in 173.2 innings pitched with a 4.09 era. Imai's contract is up at the end of the season and he would become an unrestricted free agent. At 38 years old Imai is romoured to be asking for a new 2 year deal worth between $14-16 million dollars. GM Ryan Stewart has been tight lipped about the negotiations but an unnamed source with knowledge of the situation said that it is unlikely that the two sides aren't anywhere close to a deal with the Jays offering somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5-8 million for 2 years. The Emergence of SP Raul Ruiz may also b a contributing factor in GM Ryan Stewart's decision regarding brining Imai back or not. Last edited by ryan008; 10-22-2007 at 09:19 AM.

10-19-2007, 01:47 PM	#61
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Boston Sweeps 2 Game Mini-Series, Tied With Toronto June 3rd, 2008. The Boston Redsox took a 2 game mini series form the Toronto Blue Jays in Boston that vaulted the Red Sox into a tie with the Blue Jays for first place in the American League East. The Jays dropped both games that wew decided by less than 2 runs. Despite a jewl of a performance from SP Christian Jacobs in game #1 which saw him go 8 innings and give up only 4 runs the Jays offence could do nothing and lost the game 4-3. Game 2 was not much better for the Jays as SP Mike Witner lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up 6 earned runs on 12 hits in a 7-5 loss. The Jays have not been doing anything well lately and rumours abound that GM Ryan Stewart is ready to make sweeping changes to the roster. The first person rumoured to be in jepordy is SP Tenshin Imai who has been a complete dissapointment this season after being an allstar last year.

10-19-2007, 01:50 PM	#62
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Lose 5th Straight, Swept by Cubs Now 1.5 Back of Boston June 8th, 2008. Things just keep worse for the Toronto Blue Jays as they dropped their 5th straight decision today to the Chicago Cubs who are in last place in the entire National League. With the losses the Jays are now tied with the Yankees 1.5 games bak of the red hot Red Sox in the American League East.

10-19-2007, 01:55 PM	#63
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Sweep Marlins to Finish off Terriable Month July 1st, 2008. Finally some good news for Jays fans as the Toronto Blue Jays swept a 3 game series from the Florida Marlins to put an end to an awful month that saw them go 10-15 and fall from atop the American League East standings to 3rd place 2.5 games behing Boston and .5 games behind the Yankees. The Jays will have to have a good month of July or there could be sweeping changes come trade deadline day. Reports indicate that GM Ryan Stewart is furious about the teams performance in June and that no one is safe from being traded come the July 31st trade deadline. GM Ryan Stewart was unavailable for comment.

10-19-2007, 02:02 PM	#64
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Former Allstar Imai's Time with Toronto Up? July 1st, 2008. With the Toronto Blue Jays free falling down the Americal League East standings questions are beginning to arise about the possibility of SP Tenshin Imai retuning to the Blue Jays next season. Imai is in the last year of his contract and is making $12,617,300 this season. At 38 years old it seems unlikely that GM Ryan Stewart wants to bring him back at such a high price. Imai's performance this season has also been terriable as he has gone from winning 19 games last season to a 3-9 record this year with a 5.30 ERA. When asked about the possibility of Imai being resigned an obviously agitated GM Ryan Stewart replied "No comment" and quickly walked away. Imai might command a decent return of a prospect or two if he is traded as he still shows good ratings and could be an excellent boost to a contending team that is looking for help pushing them over the hump and into the playoffs. The only problem is that the fans might view this as throwing in the towel on a season in which the Jays are only a few games out of the race themselves.

10-19-2007, 02:09 PM	#65
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	3 Jays Selected to American League Allstar Roster July 13th, 2008. The 2008 American League Allstar rosters were announced today and 3 Blue Jays players will participate in Coors Field in Colorado. Pitchers SP Bill Arkell, CL Lorenzo Silva and SS Richard Evans will represent the Blue Jays. This is the first Allstar selection for Arkell and Evans who are both having exceptional years. Arkell is 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 18 games started. Evans is hitting .358 with 19 HR and 64 RBI in 88 games and has turned into a leader on and off the field for Toronto. This is the second Allstar selection for CL Lorenzo Silva but it will be the first time he is able to participate. Last season Silva was sidelined the day after being named to the American League squad with an elbow ligament strain that caused him to be out for 5 weeks. This season Silva is 4-2 with 17 Saves and 34 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA in 29 games.

10-19-2007, 02:22 PM	#66
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	American League Triupmhs in Allstar Game July 15th, 2008. The American League Allstars defeated the National League Allstars today by a score of 6-3. The game was started by Toronto Blue Jays SP Bill Arkell who was opposed by Philedelphia Phillies Ace SP Boyd Hull. Arkell went 3 innings giving up 2 hits walking 2 and striking out 2. SS Richard Evans was the starting SS for the AL and also lead off. He was 1-3 with a double and scored a run. He was replaced in the 6th inning by Yankees 1B Dave Young. CL Lorenzo Silva who missed the allstar game last year pitched 0.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and struck out 1. The game was won on a 2 run homerun by Chicago White Sox 1B Lucas Sheffield in the top of the 8th inning making the score 5-3. Cleveland CL Dave Denis got the win while San Francisco Giants CL Gary McNight took the loss. Seattle Mariners CL Sherman Padgett got the save for the second consecutive year as the AL topped the NL 6-3. As the Allstar festivities close the Blue Jays find themselves with a record of 47-42 4 games back of the Yankees and .5 games back of the Red Sox in the American League East. The Jays head to Oakland for a 4 game series against the Athletics who are in 2nd place in the AL West 6.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners. If the Jays want to move up in the Standings they better start winning and fast.

10-19-2007, 02:25 PM	#67
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays RF Named AL Player of the Week July 14th, 2008. Toronto Blue Jays RF Raul Pagan was named the Alerican League Player of the week for the week ending July 14th. In the past 7 days Pagan dominated American League Pitching going 13-25 with a .580 batting average with 3 HR and 6 RBI. In 89 games for Toronto this season Pagan has hit .225 with 15 HR and 45 RBI

10-19-2007, 03:52 PM	#69
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Sweep 4 Game Series vs A's July 20th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays completed a 4 game sweep of the Oakland Athletics in Oakland today start a road trip that will take them to Chicago to face the White Sox for 3 gmaes. The wins moved the Jays back into 2nd place, 4 games back of the Yankees in the American League East. The Jays got wins out of Franciso Romero (7-6), Christian Jacobs (8-7), Bill Arkell (13-2) and Manuel Villalobos (6-4) to complete the Sweep of the A's.

10-19-2007, 03:57 PM	#70
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Complete 2nd Sweep of A's to Finish Off July July 30th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays completed their second sweep of the Oakland Athletics to a successful month where the Jays wnet 16-10 and improved to 56-46 overall. Despite winning 5 of their last 6 games the Jays remain 4 games back of the New York Yankees for 1st Place in the American League East. In other Jays News the Trade Deadline came and went and the Jays held pat. Opting not to trade SP Tenshin Imai wh has been pitching better of late going 1-0 with a 3.25 era in 3 starts. Imai is a free agent at seasons and end and still could be dealt but would have to pass through waivers first so that makes any move unlikely. Reports indicate that Imai is looking to test the free agent waters after his current contract runs out and the chances of him returning to the Jays are very slim.

10-19-2007, 03:59 PM	#71
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays CF Named American League Player of the Month August 1st, 2008. Toronto Blue Jays CF Vitantonio Ardinghi was named the American League Player of the Month for July today. Ardinghi hit .398 with 3 HR 17 RBI and scored 23 runs. To date with the Blue Jays Ardinghi has hit .324 with 8 HR 39 RBI and 77 runs scored for the Toronto Blue Jays.

10-19-2007, 04:04 PM	#72
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Blue Jays Open 3 Game Set against the Yankees at Rogers Center August 8th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays host the Division leading New York Yankees starting today at Rogers Center. It is only August but with the Jays trailing the Yankees by 4 games this series has serious playoff implications. GM Ryan Stewart was quoted as saying "This is definately an important series for us we don't want to fall so far back that we don't have a chance to get back into the race. If we sweep we are only 1 game back and it becomes anyones guess who wins" The Jays will have to win al leat 2 of the 3 games to at least gain some ground on a very good Yankees team. The Jays will send SP Francisco Romero (7-7), SP Christian Jacobs (10-7) and SP Bill Arkell (15-3) at the Yankees.

10-19-2007, 04:12 PM	#73
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Sweep Yankees! Only 1 Game Back August 11th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays completed a series sweep of the New York Yankees at Rogers Center. the jays got masterful pitchig performances from F. Romero (8-7) who went 8 innings allowing only 1 ER in a 4-1 jays victory. SP C.Jacobs (11-7) went 7 strong innings allowing 3 Runs while Striking out 10 in a 6-3 victory and SP B.Arkell went 8 innings allowing 3 runs and striking out 6 as the Jays completed the sweep with another 6-3 victory. In Game 3 the hero for the Jays was LF M.Rosario who went 2-3 with a 3 run HR and 5 RBI's to help the Jays sweep the series. With the sweep the Jays move to within one game of the Yankees for first place in the American League East standings. GM Ryan Stewart said "That was a really good series for us. It shows how much hart these guys have, the never give up. Hopefully we can ride the momentum from this series for the last 2 months of the season"

10-22-2007, 08:08 AM	#74
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Win 6th Straight, Sweep White Sox. August 14th, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays completed a second consecutive series sweep this time of the Chicago White Sox. Offence was the story of this series as the Jays scored 27 runs in 3 games pounding out 38 hits in the process. With the sweep the Jays vaulted theselves back into 1st place in the American League East standings taking a 1 game lead over the New York Yankees.

10-22-2007, 08:50 AM	#75
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Wrap Up August in 1st Place September 1st, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up the month of August today with a 5-4 12 inning loss to the Texas Rangers. Despite the loss the Blue Jays had a very good month that saw them go 20-9 and climb back into 1st Place in the American League East Division opening up a 3 game lead on the New York Yankees and a 6.5 game lead on the Boston Red Sox. The story of the month has to be SP tenshin Imai who just last month was the topic of trade speculation in Toronto and was 5-10 with a 5.65 ERA. Well in the month of August Imai went 5-0 in 6 starts to even his record at 10-10 and was a major reason why the Jays are playing such good baseball. The month of September is an important one for Toronto as the Jays will play 8 games against the Red Sox and 2 against the Yankees. The season is far from over and with 10 games against teams that are chasing the Jays for the Pennant a 3 game lead can evaporate very quickly. The good news for Toronto is that the MLB Rosters expanded today and it is likely that the Jays will get some help for the streach run. GM Ryan Stewart was asked about who might get the nod and if 2008 1st round pick SP Raul 'Hawk' Ruiz would be among those called up "At this time we are looking at bringing up a couple of arms to help out our bullpen. They have been used quite a bit lately and it would be nice to give some of the guys an extra day of rest or two. We are also looking at bringing up a position player or two for the same reason, to give our starters an extra day of rest here or there. The callups won't be getting as much playing time as they would if we had already clinched or were completely out of the race simply because we are still right in the thick of the playoff hunt. As for Raul Ruiz he was promoted to AAA Syracuse in early August and has gone 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 7 BB with 40 K in 5 games. He has gone through a lot this year with stops in Dunedin, New Hampshire and Syracuse and we don't wan't to burn him out too early or wreck his confidance just in case he runs into trouble in the Majors. The AAA season is over soon and we plan on shutting him down for the season. He might compete for a spot it the rotation next year"

10-22-2007, 09:30 AM	#77
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jays Call Up 4 For Stretch Run September 1st, 2008. The Toronto Blue Jays got a boost today in the form of 4 players who were called up from AAA Syracuse. The Jays added 3 pitchers and a 3B. SP Manny Armando (waiver claim from Pittsburgh) 2008 (AAA) 19-7 2.35 ERA 179.2 IP 49 BB 147 K 1.03 WHIP GM's Comment: The 25 year old from Florida has performed exceptionally well for the Chiefs this season and has exceeded the expactations that we had for him when we claimed him from the Pirates. He is auditioning for a postion in the starting rotation next season. CL Curt Cox 2008 (AAA) 6-5 29 SV 3.53 ERA 54.0 IP 13 BB 34 K 1.24 WHIP GM's Comment: The 27 year old was a callup for the Jays on a couple of occasions over the past 2 seasons and looks to be a lock for a bullpen spot next season. MR Ray Russell 2008 (AAA) 6-2 8 SV 1.78 ERA 76.0 IP 12 NN 67 K 0.82 WHIP GM's Comment: The 23 year old soft throwing right hander is on the fast track to being a member of the Jays bullpen and we would like him to get some more experience against major league hitters. 3B Byron Webb (waiver claim from Chicago Cubs) 2008 (AAA) .296 37 HR 102 RBI GM's Comment: The 21 year old showed tremendous power in AAA this season leading the team with 37 homeruns and hitting for a very respectiable .296. At 21 he still has time to develop but could challenge current Jays 3B Mario Rivera for the starting job next season.

10-22-2007, 09:38 AM	#78
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Keys KO'd by Major Injury September 4th, 2008. The expression on his face said it all when reliever Mark Keys was injured in a game against the Boston Red Sox. Keys was examined quickly by team doctors and immediately rushed to the local hospital. After several tests, the diagnosis was revealed as being a torn labrun (shoulder) and in this case it means that his career is over. The Toronto Blue Jays issued the following statement: "It is with great sadness that we see Mark leave the game so soon. He was a great competitor on the field and an even better person off the field. We hope that he will stay with the organization in some capacity after he has recovered" In 2008 the 23 year old was 0-1 with a 3.47 ERA with 2 saves in 27 games.

10-22-2007, 02:19 PM	#79
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Jacobs Fires Shut Out in Jays Win September 10th, 2008. SP Christian Jacobs bent a little but didn't break against the Cleveland Indians today at Jacobs Field. The Toronto hurler tossed a 3-hit 3-0 shutout of the Indians. In a fine performance Jacobs surrenderd 3 hits allowed 3 walks and struckout 7. "Christian is good at getting out of jams" his manager told reporters after the game. "He's almost more effective when guys get on base or he gets behind in the count, because he uses your agressiveness against you" In 2008 Jacobs has a 13-9 record with a 2.92 ERA.

10-22-2007, 02:26 PM	#80
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,362	Arkell Gets 20th Win. Jays Magic Number 8. September 12th, 2008. Toronto Blue Jays SP Bill Arkell got his 20th win of the season today as the Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-3. The win gives the Jays the sweep of the Devil Rays and it is their 7th win in their last 9 games. 1B Nathan Wilder was 2-2 with 2 RBI's and 3 BB and LF Marcos Rosario was 1-5 with 2 RBI to pace the Blue Jays attack. Arkell went 7.2 innings allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 10. Lorenzo Silva pitched a scoreless 9th allowing 1 hit and strikingout 1 for his 30th save of the season. With the victory and the Yankees losing in Kansas City to the Royals the Jays magic Number to clinch their second consecutive AL East Title is down to 8. They currently hold a 9 game lead on the New York Yankees and an 11.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox.