Who's going to help Jose Bautista As The Season Looks As If It Might Be Over Before It Really Begins?

You couldn't be more disappointed by back-to-back weekend losses on home soil for the Toronto Blue Jays in what seemed to be two winnable games against the Rays this weekend.

The unfortunate injuries to Hill and Nix during the homestand put a rather weak offense on display against David Price and Big Game James Shields.

It just seemed like no other player other than Jose Bautista was able to step up to the Rays' challenge. Bautista reached base in 12 of 14 plate appearances, and now boasts a .359 average with 7 homeruns, 10 RBIs and 19 walks in just 18 games.

Romero's Sunday start was reminiscent of an early April one in Seattle- where one pitch got away and cleared the fences amounting to the difference in the game, for the Jays couldn't find a way to cross the plate against Shields.

Saturday was no different in the return of Brandon Morrow. One pitch defined the outcome when the game was turned over to the bullpen and in the hands of Villaneuva.

Ben Zobrist did all the damage with both homeruns and Tampa just seemed to cruise to victory after that, despite a ninth inning meltdown by David Price on Saturday- perhaps Maddon left him out there just a bit too long.

I guess you couldn't blame the Jays, and the struggling Travis Snider though who was horribly robbed by a diving Sam Fulo in the 7th inning Saturday Afternoon in what looked like it had extra bases written all over it.

I just wonder if Mike McCoy is really the answer as a bench player- he might take a mighty swing but the ball never goes anywhere.

But that's baseball I guess, a game of inches and especially today when batter after batter kept hitting it down in the hot corner, but only to be scooped up at third base and either dramatically thrown out or the rockets caught off the bat of Jose Bautista or our favourite, John McDonald.

In this 9-12 start, the Jays just have to weather the storm now, as the schedule doesn't do them any favours in the coming week and a half as they embark on yet another three-city road trip, the second such in the early going of this 2011 campaign, battered by offensive injuries and a rotation that will be possibly 3/5ths demoted if Jo Jo Reyes continues to deliver on the side of just mediocre.


One also looks at the paltry batting averages put up by Snider, Riveria and Patterson and wonders if these guys really should be bonafide major leaguers for Snider still hasn't proven he's worthy, Riveria's bat is beginning to wake up but now he's just getting unlucky, and Patterson despite his speed has bounced around the Majors for years and years.

With all that in mind, you sort of just think as the Jays head to Texas, New York and Tampa if the team might find itself in a gaping hole they won't be able to get out of for the rest of the season.

Unless of course John Farrell and everyone else finds a way to shockingly weather the storm.

It seems like management doesn't care enough that the season is about to go south.

After all, it was coined a rebuilding year, I guess.

But can we really give up hope if it's only April and no one's run away with the division as it seems like every team is mired in about a .500 or so start?