Thursday, September 3, 2009

Blue Jays are practically unwatchable

Despite being a die hard supporter of the Toronto Blue Jays, I find myself having little motivation to watch the games because they are simply so hideous. This team is so awful that it's hard to watch the carnage night in and night out.

Consider that in their past 91 games, Toronto has won just 32 of those contests, trailing only the woeful Kansas City Royals for the worst record in major league baseball in that span. That dazzling 27-14 start to the campaign is strictly in the rear view mirror. In their recent 7 game road trip, where Toronto had an opportunity to play spoiler against two teams in the hunt for the A.L. wild card, the blue birds lost six of seven to Boston and Texas. The numbers are even more horrifying over the previous 21 games, which has resulted in 16 losses.

The Jays got off to their strong start with the aid of having to avoid the beasts of the American League East in the form of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. Now that they have been exposed playing against those tough squads, their record within the division is a measly 17-37. Without being able to see a glimpse into a hopeful bright future in the form of Aaron Hill, Adam Lind and Travis Snider, along with starters Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil, this team would be unquestionably 100% unwatchable, if they aren't already.

Snider scuffling at the dish

Travis Snider started off his second tour with the Blue Jays in August on fire, smacking three home runs in the first eight contests, but the talented right fielder has fallen drastically on hard times in the subsequent eight games.

Snider, the 14th pick in the 2006 draft, has just two hits in his last 23 plate appearances, while striking out an alarming 13 times during that span. His approach at the plate has been flawed with the 21 year old chasing at a lot of bad pitches, leading to him getting behind in counts which have resulted in bad at bats. It was the same kind of problem that led to his demotion in May after he also roared out to a quick start, but then followed that with a .192 batting average in the following 18games.

Though it could be argued that the Jays #1 prospect should have stayed in AAA longer to work on his swing, the team feels it was best to have him take his lumps at the major league level which will allow him to progress further along in his pro career. This situation is very reminiscent of Adam Lind's first few seasons of his career, where he bounced from Toronto to the minors. Lind has put it together and is now one of the games brightest young stars, and in a few years, that likely will be said of Travis Snider.