Land of the Leaf

Roy Halladay can stop the bleeding, but he needs some support.

Vernon Wells needs to hit the ball today, and I’m not talking about off of his ankles or shins.

I still believe in Alex Rios, just not as much as I used to.

Left handed Rich Hill coudn’t hold down a job a year ago, the Jays are loaded with right handed power hitters.  They should crush him.

Losing is unacceptable today, eight in a row is enough.

TOR: Halladay (8-1, 2.52 ERA)

BAL: Hill (1-0, 3.18 ERA)

Game Time 1:35 PM ET

Jays anyone?
It doesn’t really matter that the Blue Jays haven’t faced a Divisional opponent yet, what they’ve accomplished in the first three weeks of the season has been remarkable.  Cathal Kelly believes that they’re breathing new life into a sad-sack city of sports fans.  It’s too bad that no one shows up for their games, I guess there’s still some zombies sitting at home glued to their internets waiting to see if Brian Burke can land John Tavares.  Keep dreaming.

Did I mention Ricky Romero yet?
I didn’t have to, Eyebleaf is already head-over-heels for him.  Never rub another man’s rhubarb.  Ricky Romero is looking like the kid that Colorado chose Troy Tulowitzki over right now.  Lights-out!  Speaking of optimism, “The Statsman” Paul Bruno lays out his realistic, yet highly optimistic expectations for the 2009 Blue Jays at Fanball.

Toronto’s Playoff Hockey Club
The Marlies probably could have given the Maple Leafs a run for their money at a couple points this past regular season.  Right now, they’re leading the Manitoba Moose 2-1 in their AHL Playoff series.  Justin Pogge, yeah that soggy bag of mud made 30 saves last night and he’s out to prove he “belongs”.  I think he belongs just fine… in the AHL.

NHL Playoffs: the best time to do drugs
Gary Bettman loves to claim that the NHL doesn’t have a drug problem.  That’s a pretty bold claim coming from someone enforcing a joke of a testing policy.  The NHL stops drug testing in the playoffs.  Not making the playoffs doesn’t suck so much when you’ve got an extra six weeks to get the dope out of your system before training camp. [FanIQ News via Columbus Dispatch]

The Bills staying busy
North America’s team has remained committed to adding pieces to the roster in an effort to be a contender this coming season.  With Marshawn Lynch sitting out the first three games with a suspension, the Bills added RB Dominic Rhodes to carry the load.  Their offensive line is beginning to look a little bit different after trading Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to Philadelphia on Friday for the 28th overall pick in this Saturday’s draft.  [Bills Gab]

The “Last Expo” retires
Shed a tear, down a couple of beers because Brad Wilkerson has retired.  I mean it, Brad Wilkerson left his heart at Olympic Stadium.  [MLB Trade Rumors]

Take a look at the classic TSN logo in the corner of this one.  It’s been 11 long years since I last saw this monologue, and boy was it missed.  A huge tip of the hat to Deadspin for digging this up.  Anyway, without further ado, Norm MacDonald at one of his finer moments before he voiced an annoying beaver on high-speed internet commercials:

We usually just refer to him as “the guy we traded for Van Ryn”, but Bryan McCabe is showing us otherwise.  Flyin’ Bryan scored a powerplay goal with a minute and a half to go in the second period versus Ottawa last evening.

The goal eventually became the game-winner in the 5-2 thumping, it also became the goal that officially ended the Ottawa Senators’ long-shot playoff hopes.  They now sit with the Leafs staring into the sad face of mediocrity.

McCabe also had an assist, but finished with a McCabe-like minus-2 and two giveaways as well.  The points were McCabe’s first since March 17, but at least they helped sink the Sens.  Way to go…

Garner Leaves The Score?
According to The Toronto Star’s Chris Zelkovich, Drive This!’s other watchable personality and Producer, Richard Garner is leaving the show and ticker-laden sports network. He left a message to staff cryptically outlining plans to: “provide programming that focuses on the many similarities that all human beings share instead of the few differences.” Garner appeared on the program today. I don’t know what’s happening… anyone?

Steve Simmons Opts For Drive-Thru Over Journalism
Read this if you must, but beware; Steve Simmons says Wilson has done a remarkable job with the lousy Leafs roster. He also explains how Wilson could make himself more likable to the media and the fans, as though Wilson should give a fuck.

Bastian Reports That B.J. Ryan’s Velocity Is A Concern To Jays
Oh man, I don’t think this is good. Cito Gaston and Brad Arnsberg let their concerns be known about Ryan’s loss of velocity, his fastball is topping out at 86 mph. We might get to see what Brandon League can do in the 9th, I’m trying to be optimistic.

Weighing Potential Draft Options For The Raps, phdsteve Likes Shooting Guards
Steve the doctor at Raptors Republic discusses the possibilities of the Raptors pursuing a SG with their first-round pick. It makes sense, Anthony Parker is a free agent at season’s end and the crop of 2’s is pretty deep.

PPP’s Leaf of the Day, Luke Schenn He is Not
Poor Drake Berehowsky, his rookie card probably never fetched more than a dollar. If it did, it was surely before he ever actually played a game in the NHL.

Word from this Mike Rutsey piece is that Brandon League is looking and feeling good this spring.  The article gives little in the way of League’s actual performance this spring, but both League and pitching coach Brad Arnsberg feel this is the best he has looked since ‘06.  He’s going to need to be if the Jays expect to take pressure off of the back-end of their rotation.

Take it for what it’s worth (I hope he’s dominant and eventually closing).