Alex, Keep José Bautista!

Of course, I am referring to Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

Well, I cannot help but feel a little bit like I was right. In my last post, ages ago at the start of the season, I stated how I was happy to see Roy Halladay gone, as this year may very well have been a distraction. Of course that is impossible to judge. Ideally, it would have been nice if he could have stayed with the Jays period, in that trade talks would not have been necessary if money to keep him was not an issue. However I am not too upset to see him gone, I digress.

Well, with José Bautista performing like a monster as of late, batting .353 in his last 12 since acquiring Yunel Escobar, and how he has clicked with Mr. Escobar, I certainly hope the Jays keep him. There’s no doubt he’d fetch some nice assets in return, and there is no guarantee as to how he will perform next year, the chemistry however cannot be purchased. I believe I heard the Jays announcers speculating on the potential numbers they could put up batting in the two and three spots. It is early, of course, yet I think I can agree. Since coming to Toronto Yunel is batting .386. Whereas month to month this year with the Braves, his best was .289 for June. .215 and .207 respectively for April and May. Thanks to being with the Jays, his July average has gone up to .308! Change of scenery sure can be good.

If the Jays can keep their winning ways into the next few crucial series, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox after three with Cleveland, they can gain some serious traction on making a run for the AL Wild Card. All of which, save for three against the Yankees are at home, before a West Coast road trip (three at LA, three at Oakland). Currently they are 10 GB for the Wild Card, with Detroit, Minnesota, Boston, Tampa Bay ahead. Their home record is slightly better than average at 25-20.

Being realistic, they will have to keep winning, no mucking about. And of course, it is best to not set our hopes too high, however remaining optimistic. As a Montreal Canadiens fan, I am used to nothing being done at trade deadline time, I certainly would be fine leaving the team as is. That includes keeping Scott Downs.