doggy steps

Cito Gaston made a commitment stating that he wants to bring the Jays within .500 before the all-star break, and by the way the team is hitting this year, it may be a tougher task than he imagined. the jays have 3 series remaining, the first one which includes tonights match against the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim. After that, they will head back to the Rogers Center to finish the first half of the season against their divisional rivals, the Orioles, and the Yankees. The Jays have a 41-45 record entering tonight and will need to win atleast 7 of their remaining 9 games, a streak they haven't been able have all season long. AJ Burnett will go for his 3 straight victory. He has only allowed 1 run in his last 2 starts.

 

So can Cito accomplish what he said when he was hired?

The Toronto Blue Jays have not been satisfied with either of their 2 shortstops, John McDonald and David Eckstein. McDonald who last season signed a 2-year deal with the Jays and Eckstein signed this off-season, have both been frustrating the Jays and there is talks that JP Riccardi will try to trade Ace, AJ Burnett, for a good everyday shortstop. Mcdonald has been impressive with his defensive game but is batting under .200 and it seems like he is unable to reach base safely everytime he steps to the plate. Eckstein however is the complete opposite. His hitting has been acceptional and has been coming through in the clutch, but his defense is just plain awful this season. JP will took to bring someone that is good at hitting and defense, things Eckstein and McDonald are not good at.

During the Off-Season, the Blue Jays signed catcher Rod Barajas to a 1-year deal worth $1.2 Million. Barajas was assigned to be the Blue Jays back-up catcher to Greg Zaun, but when Zaun entered the disabled list earlier this season, Barajas stepped up as the starter. The Jays were not expecting much from the back-up but now in only 53 games and 163 at-bats, Barajas has a batting average of .276 and an on base % of .333. While the Blue Jays offense has struggled this year, Rod has been one of the more consistant on the team. He has 25 RBIs and 6 Home Runs including a Grand Slam and a 2 HR night in Philly earlier this year. His defensive game has also been very consistant. Now with Zaun back, Barajas is still considered as the starting catcher and if Zaun wants to regain his position as the starter, then he better start playing more consistant offensively, and most important, defensively. Rod Barajas is definately a key to the Blue Jays lineup this year.