Reyes Of Sunshine in the Forecast For Blue Jays

Apr 25, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Toronto Blue Jays injured shortstop Jose Reyes before the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

April 12^th, 2013. Over nine weeks and 61 games ago. Toronto Blue Jays at the Kansas City Royals.

Jose Reyes, he of 10 games for the Blue Jays, sporting a sparkling 0.395 BA and 0.465 OBP, slid awkwardly into second base, crushing  his ankle and with it our collective spirit.

Reyes getting injured was not surprising. A player with a history of injuries, playing on the taxing turf of the Rogers Centre – it was bound to happen. Toronto can’t have nice things.

But on the road? Sliding late into second base? This early into the season? Any player getting injured is a sad sight indeed – one who is making this much money and playing as well as he was is just downright heartbreaking. We got a taste and then it was taken away from us.

However, any day now, Jose Reyes will return.

And based on some of the feedback from his appearance yesterday, it just might be happening soon:

Could it possibly happen at a better time? Six straight wins and the team is flying high. The Blue Jays are finally playing like the team we thought they would be…only with a resurgent Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus contributing, a new Brett Cecil, and a seemingly steady pitching rotation that was patched together on the fly.

With Jose Reyes and his career average .343 OBP leading off, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have a much higher chance of having someone on base when they come up to the plate. Furthermore, with some pretty decent options behind them, including the ever steady Melky Cabrera, you have some nice options for picking who bats fourth and fifth.

And to think that Brett Lawrie will be back at some point, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek are getting closer, and maybe, just maybe, R.A. Dickey is on the cusp of figuring it all out.

Lots to be happy about right now as we await the return of Jose Reyes while the Blue Jays continue their strong play.

Let’s try to remember this next time we’re on the receiving end of baseball’s cruel emotional cycle.

To keep spirits high, below are some links to the many positive stories coming out of Jays nation:

Per John Lott at the National Post, the Blue Jays are hot!

Also from Lott, Brandon Morrow coming back too!?! The Jays pitcher, who once fanned 17 Tampa Bay Ray’s en route to a one hit complete game, has started his rehab stint! Sure, that game happened three years ago, but it’s all positive news here today!

According to Mop Up Duty, JP Arencibia is really good at something!

From Shi Davidi: Free at last! Free at last! Brett Lawrie’s foot is free at last…from a walking boot…status remains unclear.

Strong starting pitching! Our main man Kyle Franzoni breaks it all down. Bonus: Bullpen has been killing it too!

Ricky Romero showing us something good! More on that and some other highlights from last week courtesy of fellow Jays Journal-er Jay Blue.

From Gregor Chisholm: Sergio Santos threw long toss last week!

Buster Olney thinks that teams will be interested in Casey Janssen at the trade deadline. Nice to see Janssen playing well enough to deserve that kind of interest. It’s great to feel loved!

Let’s keep the good vibes going because, why not? Pathways to Education Canada is celebrating a $1-million national partnership with the Jays Care Foundation! The organization works to reduce high school dropout rates in low-income communities.