September is here and Riccardi and the Jays have finally surrendered the season.  That’s okay, it was a good run.  Toronto is currently nine games behind the Wild Card leading Boston Red Sox.  However, they still have a chance to pass the Yankees and get third place in the always tough American League East.

          This past weekend, Riccardi traded Matt Stairs and David Eckstein.  These moves further solidifying that the season is finished.  They traded Stairs to the Phillies for a player to be named later early Saturday.  Yesterday, the Jays traded David Eckstein promptly after the game against the Yankees where he went 2-4, to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  He traveled from New York to Arizona where he started at second base on Monday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Stephen Drew of the D’Backs hit for the cycle today against my Cardinals in an 8-6 win.   David Eckstein went two for four with two runs batted in and a sacrifice fly.  He was slotted number two in the batting order.  I hope Arizona gives him the recognition that he deserves.  I personally think (which I have mentioned in a previous blog) that he was black balled in Toronto by the media and the fans.  Also, let’s not forget about Cito Gaston who left Eckstein on the bench to rust away.  I’m glad that J.P. traded him to a playoff contender, because Eckstein does his best in October (2006 World Series MVP).   The same can be said about Stairs.  With Travis Snider being recalled and the playoffs a miracle or two away, Stairs was going to be left on the bench.  So as I am sad to see both leave the Jays, I am happy too.  As both players are top quality people, both on and off the field.  Good Luck guys!

          Speaking of call-ups, we will find out tomorrow who Riccardi will recall since the rosters are now expanded.  I figure we might see former first round pick Ricky Romero.  He was the guy who was drafted ahead of all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.  Other players who could possibly be recalled are Shaun Marcum, Brian Wolfe, Scotty Richmond and Kevin Mench.

          Now just because our beloved Jays are pretty much out of the pennant race, doesn’t mean you should stop watching baseball.  There are plenty of races left.   Let’s start in the National League East where there are three teams trying to win it.  Currently the Mets are two games up on the Phillies and seven games ahead of Florida.  Will the Mets fold like last September?  We will see.  The NL Central has the best team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs, leading the way.  Milwaukee trails them by four and a half games.  Than there is the NL West, where nobody seems to want the division.  Arizona is the only team currently above .500 with the LA Dodgers and the surging Rockies hot on their heels.

Now let’s go to the American League.   It looks like Tampa might hold on to the AL East (they currently have a 5.5 game lead over the Red Sox).  The AL Central is still up for grabs.  The race is between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins with the Chisox leading by half a game!  The Angels have the West locked up as the closest team (Texas) is 17 games behind.

The Wild Cards in both leagues are still up for grabs as well.  The AL has Boston leading Minnesota by 2.5 and the Yankees by six and a half.   The Milwaukee Brewers have the NL Wildcard by 5.5 games on the Phillies and 6.5 on my Cardinals. 

Some questions that September will answer are:

Will Tampa do the impossible and win the AL East?

The New York Yankees don’t make the playoffs in their final season at Yankee stadium?

Will the Yappy Ozzie Guillen and his White Sox be held out of the playoffs while their cross town rivals the Cubs make it?

Can Canadian Superstar Justin Morneau lead the Twins past the Sox?

Can the Brewers hold off the Phillies/Mets (depending on who wins the NL East) and the Cardinals?

Will the Rockies have déjà vu and rocket past the D’Backs for the 2^nd straight year?

Will the Mets have another September meltdown?

All these questions will make the final month an exciting one.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and bye for now.

Did you know?   That the Toronto Blue Jays have 12 complete games this season and are 7-5 in those games?    That is the most  complete game losses in a season by a team since the Oakland A’s in  2003 (6).