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| Wednesday, July 12 | ||||||||
| Blue Jays fans give midseason report | ||||||||
| We told you what we thought of the Blue Jays' first-half performance, now you've told us. Here is what you had to say about what the Blue Jays have to do in the second half:
To say that the Blue Jays have been a surprise AL East leader is wrong. Everyone knew that they had the offense to compete witht the big boys (or at least they should have). Going into the season their pitching was supposed to be even stronger, but has failed. Just imagine if their big 3 young guys (Carpenter, Escobar, and Halladay) pitched to even half of their potential. Scary!
Chris Gilmore Lepreau, New Brunswick
The Jays have exceeded expectations on offense but their pitching has been terrible. Their young pitchers have not developed at all, if anything, they've regressed. Their pitch sequence is unbearably predictable. Fastballs to get ahead, fastballs if they're behind. It's time to say goodbye to pitching coach Ray Langford and bring assistant GM Dave Stewart into the dugout!
Chris Black
Jeremy Allingham
Will the real Kelvim Escobar please stand up? Jim Fregosi is never sure which Escobar will appear on the mound: the one who threw his first shutout in June or the one who throws 100 pitches (and generally gives up 5 or more runs) by the fifth inning.
Nik Jones
Billy Koch has been irreplaceable since the middle of May. He's dominated ever since a blown save in Florida, where he gave up back to back home runs to lose a game. He's also becoming a two inning guy - doing the 8th and 9th and has had to be the savior of a beleaguered bullpen. Without him, the Jays are under .500.
Aaron Niman
Wells and Delgado bring veteran leadership along with the newly team-oriented Raul Mondesi. With enough pitching to simply keep them in ball games, the Jays will be a factor come September. Home runs are great, sparkling plays in the field are exciting, genuinely liking the guys you play with ... priceless.
Robert Palumbo
David Wells, oh, how we do miss you. Just a note to say we love you, come back soon. Sincerely, every Yankee fan in NYC.
David Eskew
Remember all of the people calling for Gord Ash's head last year? Looks like a genius now with the acquisition of Wells, Bush and Batista, getting Mondesi for Green has not turned out so bad either, Raul has been great and is a pleasure to watch play the game. What GM has done better than that?
Jason Madge
The biggest disappointment this year has to be those Three Bustateers: Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Kelvim Escobar. Combined, they would have a record of 16-21, ERA of 7.69, 136 BBs and 174 Ks. That's one more win than Wells has, almost double the ERA of Wells, 20 or so strikeouts less than Randy Johnson, and, get this, almost 8 times as many walks as Wells. That's mind-boggling.
James McCullough
You guys were spot on when you said the key to the second half for the Jays is in the rotation. Chris Carpenter in particular really needs to step it up, he's supposed to be a future No. 1 and it's time for him to show it. Perhaps another big key will be whether Vernon Wells is ready for the big show in time for Jose Cruz to be sent away for a good starting pitcher (if any are available).
Darren Thomson
David Wells has been rock solid all year and Billy Koch has turned things around from a rocky beginning. I can't say enough about Frank Castillo, who has also been solid the past 7 weeks. Outside of those three, you have a mess. Escobar, Carpenter and Halliday have to get their act together.
Don Taylor
The problem has been the young starting pitchers. Roy Halladay looks completely lost this season, Kelvim Escobar is a .500 pitcher despite what many think is the best stuff in the organization, and Chris Carpenter has taken major steps back this year (I'm starting to wonder if he's completely healed from offseason elbow surgery).
Jayson Hajdu
I have been a Jays fan for over 15 years and I have to say that this is one of the least balanced teams I have seen in many of those in the pitching department. You take away David Wells' 15 wins and this team is a sub-500 team.
Todd Bird | ALSO SEE Midseason report: Toronto Blue Jays MLB midseason reports | |||||||