Image via Canadian Press

It’s been a couple days since Alex Anthopoulos did the unthinkable and traded fan favourite, Travis Snider, to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

At the time of the trade, I was in the Midwest US, and not consuming the Toronto media as much as I normally would have.  As I crossed the border late last night, I turned on the radio to hear JaysTalk after the game to hear 2 of 3 calls get upset over this move.

As baseball fans, we try to humanize the players we like to watch.  Today, that is easier than ever to do with the social media channels that exist.  Travis Snider, the player and Travis Snider, the personality are two entirely different things.  The personality was unmatched for a Blue Jay in my time as a fan.  Tweeting photos of meals, interviews about nachos, and a t-shirt line inspired by a catch phrase, was just the tip of the iceberg for him.  As has been well documented here, here and here, Snider represented hope for this team through an era where fans were made to watch players of the Kevin Millar, Brad Willkerson and Kevin Mench for full seasons at a time.

As a player, Snider enjoyed several short bursts of success at the MLB level, followed by well-documented struggles to catch up with big league pitching.  With a career 27.2% Strikeout rate, and some nagging injuries to his wrist and hand, the decision was made to move him for depth in the bullpen.  ESPN’s Keith Law called this a challenge trade on the July 31 episode of Baseball Today and further broke the move down on his blog (via ESPN Insider):

“he’s had exactly one season where he’s reached 500 plate appearances, and that was in 2008…the other issue, and arguably the more concerning one, is that he’s swinging and missing far too often at pitches in the zone. Even after the Blue Jays worked with him on shortening his swing this offseason, they only saw him regress once the season began. Snider’s swing is long enough from load to contact that pitchers, especially southpaws, can beat him out over the plate”

It’s important for Blue Jays fans to remember that as a baseball move, this trade makes sense.  It’s alright to be disappointed that someone you really like to follow is no longer on the Blue Jays, but looking long term, this is a deal which gives the team financial flexibility by maintaining a cost-controlled bullpen.

All that said, Snider was a player I too, enjoyed watching.  I remember his walkoff hit vs. Mariano Rivera in 2009, and his opposite field bomb at the Metrodome in 2008.  I laughed at his fake moustache on Cito Gaston Night, and bought a “Meats Don’t Clash” shirt as a birthday gift for a friend.

All the best in Pittsburgh, Travis.  You’ll have a legion of fans in Toronto pulling for you in the NL Pennant race.

Romero’s next start comes on Wednesday vs. Yankees.

On Saturday, Aaron Laffey squared off against the ghost of Ubaldo Jimenez.  After an 8-run 3^rd inning, it appeared that the game was all but over, but as the 2012 season has proven, no lead is safe.  Laffey would surrender 4 runs over 5 innings, with most of the damage being done on a two run home run by Shelley Duncan.

Despite Jesse Chavez giving up 2 home runs, while failing to record an out, this game was highlighted by a 2-inning relief debut for the young Aaron Loup.  Casey Janssen completed 1.1 IP for his 13^th save of the season.

Janssen provides the hope for Jays fans with the news of Sergio Santos being shut down for the rest of 2012, and being scheduled for labrum surgery.  Having a reliever who can succeed in high leverage situations is a wonderful luxury on a team that has seen many of their best arms go down to injury.

Sunday was the “Carlos Villanueva show” as he shut down the Indians offense by the tune of 6 shut out innings of 3-hit, 8 strikeout pitching.  In his 3 starts (all at Rogers Centre) this season, Villanueva has yet to allow a home run, and in 17 IP has only allowed 4 extra base hits.  It certainly appears that Villanueva will be an adequate starter for this team in the second half of the season.

One of the more impressive parts of the weekend series as well was the crowd.  Total attendance was over 91,000 for the series.  That’s better than 20,000 more attendees than for the Kansas City series before the All-Star Break.

I was hooked.  The star power, the game…and a home run competition to boot!  Without resorting to hyperbole this early in my time here at Jays Journal, I would suggest that almost everyone reading this would have dreamed (or continue to dream) about hitting a home run as far as you possibly could?

As an adult, the luster and fun of the event is not lost on me.  I choose not to get worked up about the phoney “this one counts” idea, or the expanded rosters.  I believe that the biggest names should be there, and that snubs aren’t important.  At its core, the Midsummer Classic is a celebration of the game by some of the best players that play it.  Whether you’re 8 years old, or 28, it’s still pretty cool.

That said, here’s a quick run down on Jays content from the last 3 days in Kansas City.

Futures Game

I’d like to call this the coming out party for Anthony Gose, but everyone already knows about the tools that this guy has in his arsenal.  The starter in Centre Field for the loaded Team USA, Gose had a single and a walk in the contest.  Unfortunately baseball fans didn’t get a chance to see his speed in action, but he easily made the defensive play of the game.

Jays fans have reason to be excited about this young outfielder.  In 2011, at AA New Hampshire, Gose collected 43 extra base hits, and stole 70 bases.  At AAA Las Vegas this season, Gose continues to improve his offensive game with 31 extra base hits, in 50 fewer games thus far.

Home Run Derby

After a very poor showing in the 2011 Derby, Jose Bautista was back in 2012 with something to prove.  He broke out in round 1 with an 11 HR showing, with his longest shot being 439 feet.  He and Mark Trumbo tied after Round 2 went to a swing-off, which Jose won on two swings.  Unfortunately, he ran into a red hot Prince Fielder in the finals who went off for 12 home runs before Bautista could even swing a bat.  Finishing with 7 home runs in the final round and a total of 20 for the tournament was a great improvement for Jose.

All-Star Game

With the lone Blue Jays participant being Jose Bautista, and he being the Right Field Starter for the American League, the game was limited for Jays involvement.

Bautista walked and struck out before being lifted in the 6^th Inning.

2013 sees the game move to Citi Field in New York.  Personally, I can’t wait.