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Cleveland Indians' Ryan Garko, left congratulates Grady Sizemore, right, after he hit his second home run of the game as Toronto Blue Jays' catcher Gregg Zaun, center right, looks away in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Wayne Thomas)

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Blue Jays place Wells, Accardo on DL

CLEVELAND (TICKER) —The struggling Toronto Blue Jays’ offense will be without one of their top hitters for an extended period of time.

Toronto placed center fielder Vernon Wells on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a fractured left wrist.

The Blue Jays also placed right-hander Jeremy Accardo on the 15-day DL with tightness in his right forearm.

Wells, 29, is expected to miss six to eight weeks after injuring himself in the sixth inning of Toronto’s 6-1 setback at Cleveland on Friday.

With a runner on first base and no outs in the sixth inning, Franklin Gutierrez’s soft liner to center field was snared by Wells. While making the catch, Wells awkwardly bent his wrist as he hit the ground.

“I felt it when I rolled over,” Wells said. “I was hoping for the best, but it got worse as the night went on. It is frustrating.”

Wells is batting .281 with a team-best five home runs and 25 RBI for Toronto, which ranks 12th in the American League in runs scored.

“There is no use in complaining,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We’ll have to play ball with the players we have.”

A season after leading the Blue Jays with 30 saves, Accardo has struggled in the bullpen in 2008. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.57 ERA in 16 games this season.

To fill the roster spots, Toronto purchased the contract of right-hander Armando Benitez and recalled infielder Joe Inglett both from Class AAA Syracuse.

Benitez has 289 saves over his 14-year career but struggled last season while playing for San Francisco and Florida. The 35-year-old went 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 55 games last year.

Inglett has played in 13 games for the the Blue Jays this season, hitting .303 with four RBI. The infielder was hitting .407 for Syracuse through 15 contests this season.

Blue Jays acquire Mench, sign Wilkerson

CLEVELAND (TICKER) —The Toronto Blue Jays made an attempt to give their sluggish offense a boost, acquiring a pair of former accomplished hitters.

The Blue Jays traded for outfielder Kevin Mench and signed outfielder Brad Wilkerson prior to the start of a four-game series at the Cleveland Indians on Friday.

Sitting second-to-last in the American League in RBI with 133 in 36 games, Toronto acquired Mench from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. The 30-year-old has yet to appear in the majors this season, hitting .282 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 29 games with the Rangers’ Class AAA affiliate in Oklahoma.

In six seasons with Texas and the Milwaukee Brewers, Mench has hit .271 with 89 homers and 320 RBI in 651 games. He twice has 25 or more home runs in a season.

Wilkerson, 30, joins the Blue Jays after being released by the Seattle Mariners on April 30. He was hitting .232 with five RBI in 19 games with the AL West club.

For his career, Wilkerson is a .249 hitter with 118 home runs and 376 RBI in 887 games. The Kentucky native hit 20 or more homers three times in eight seasons, including 20 in 119 games with Seattle in 2007.

To make room on the 25-man roster, the Blue Jays optioned infielder Joe Inglett to Syracuse of the Class AAA International League.

Toronto also had to clear room for Mench and Wilkerson on the 40-man roster, designating lefthander Gustavo Chacin and infielder Sergio Santos for assignment.

Blue Jays place Eckstein and McDonald on DL

TORONTO (AP)—The Blue Jays placed shortstops David Eckstein and John McDonald on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, two days after both were injured in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The DL stints were made retroactive to Wednesday. Utilityman Joe Inglett was promoted from Triple-A Syracuse, with another roster move likely before Friday’s game at Cleveland.

“By tomorrow we’ll have something, either internally or externally,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. “It’s all pending a couple of things that I can’t say right now. We’ve got some irons in the fire. Hopefully we’ll be able to see it through. If not, we’ll have to go to Plan B.”

Inglett appeared in 12 games for Toronto earlier this season, batting .303 with no homers and four RBIs.

Eckstein suffered a strained right hip flexor diving for a ball in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss. McDonald came on to replace Eckstein, but sprained his right ankle one inning later, catching a cleat and rolling over on his ankle as he went down to backhand a grounder.

McDonald immediately clutched his lower leg and had to be carted off the field. He left the stadium on crutches, but is now walking without them.

“I’m walking on it but I can’t run on it,” he said. “I wrenched it pretty good. The ligaments have got to heal up.”

McDonald is batting .182 with no homers and one RBI in 17 games. Eckstein has a .246 average with one homer and 12 RBIs in 30 games.

Marco Scutaro was in the lineup at shortstop for the second straight game Thursday. Jorge Velandia, whose contract was purchased from Syracuse on Wednesday, will serve as Scutaro’s backup.

Jays announce 2008 TV schedule - 144 games all available in high definition

The Toronto Blue Jays have partnered with Rogers Sportsnet , CBC and TSN to broadcast 144 games during the 2008 season. For the first time in the clubs history, all broadcasts will be shown in high definition by all three networks.
Rogers SPORTSNET, now entering its tenth season as a Blue Jays broadcaster, will produce 100 games, including the season opener at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Blue Jays home-opener vs. the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox on April 4 is also featured on the SPORTSNET calendar.

The CBC will produce 24 contests beginning with a June 7 game against East Division rival, the Baltimore Orioles. The CBC and the Blue Jays reunited last season to continue a long history that began with the clubs inaugural season in 1977.

In its 25th consecutive season as a Blue Jays broadcaster, TSN will produce 20 games, commencing with the April 3 contest in New York. The TSN schedule will feature seven September games.
2008 Jays Regular Season Schedule (incl. TV Schedule)

Check out all the links above

2008 Jays Birthdays

April

4 - Scott Rolen (33)

14 - Greg Zaun (37)

19 - Curtis Thigpen (25)

22 - David Purcey (26)

August

9 - Jason Frasor (31)

28 - Randy Wells (26)

28 - Brad Arnsberg (45)

30 - Russ Adams (28)

May

14 - Roy Halladay (31)

27 - Frank Thomas (40)

September

5 - Rod Barajas (33)

17 - Casey Janssen (27)

19 - Robinson Diaz (25)

21 - Brian Tallet (31)

24 - John Mc Donald (33)

June

8 - John Gibbons (46)

9 - Buck Coats (26)

13 - Erine Whitt (56)

17 - Adam Lind (25)

October

30 - Marco Scutaro (33)

2008 Stats Leaderboard (Up to May 10 ,2008)

Batting Statistics (Complete Batting Stats)

Batting Average		Home Runs		RBI
Vernon Wells	. 281	Vernon Wells	5	Vernon Wells	24
Lyle Overbay	. 280	Matt Stairs	4	Aaron Hill	15
Alex Rios	. 280	Alex Rios	3	Alex Rios	15

Pitching Statistics (Complete Pitching Stats)

Wins		Losses		ERA
Jesse Litsch	4	Roy Halladay	5	B.J Ryan	0. 00
Shaun Marcum	4	Jeremy Accardo	3	Jesse Carlson	1. 62

Glancing at the '08 Jays (Up to May 10, 2008)

Under Gibbons (Overall)	287-287
Under Gibbons (2008)	17-21
Come from behind wins	5
vs RHS / LHS	14-14 / 3-7
1-Run / 2-Run Games	4-9 / 2-4
Current Streak	Lost 3
Home / Road	10-9 / 7-12
Day / Night	8-1 / 9-20
'07 record - 38 games	16-22
Franchise Record	2445-2490-3

Team		GP	W	L	PCT.	GBL	Home	Away
	Boston	40	24	16	.600	-	14-5	10-11
	Tampa	37	21	16	.568	1.5	13-7	8-9
	Baltimore	38	19	19	.500	4.0	10-6	9-13
	New York	38	19	19	.500	4.0	9-9	10-10
	Jays	38	17	21	.447	6.0	10-9	7-12

P - Clinched Playoff Spot

X - Clinched Division

Y-Wild Card

Today's Game - May 12, 2008

Time

Jays	@	Cleveland	4:05 pm	RSN , STO
Jays	@	Cleveland	TBA	RSN , STO
Boston	@	Minnesota	7:05 pm	ESPN
New York	@	Tampa	7:10 pm	YES , WXPX
	@

Yesterday' s Games - May 11, 2008

New York	0	Detroit	0	PPD.,Rain
Jays	0	Cleveland	0	PPD.,Rain
LA Angels	5	Tampa	8
Baltimore	0	Kansas City	4
Boston	8	Minnesota	9

05/11/08

4/20/2008

Blue Jays release slumping DH Frank Thomas

TORONTO (AP)—Slumping designated hitter Frank Thomas was released Sunday by the Blue Jays, who cut the 19-year veteran one day after he became angry for being taken out of the lineup.

General manager J.P. Ricciardi said he and Thomas came to “a mutual agreement” after meeting in the clubhouse early Sunday.

“Our best opportunity is to put other guys in the lineup at this point,” Ricciardi said. “Obviously, reduced playing time is not something that he was interested in. In order to let him go forward and get on with his career, I think it’s fair to do it at this point.”

The move leaves the Blue Jays on the hook for $7,081,967, the remainder of his $8 million salary this year in the $18.12 million, two-year contract the 39-year-old Thomas signed in November 2006.

Thomas was hitless in his past 13 at-bats and had gone 4-for-35 since homering in three straight games April 5-8. Known as a slow starter, he batted .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs for Toronto this year.

Last season, Thomas batted .277, leading the team with 26 home runs and 95 RBIs.

“I don’t know that we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for somebody to kick in because we can’t let this league or this division get away from us,” Ricciardi said.

Ricciardi said the Blue Jays offered Thomas “a lesser role playing two or three times a week,” but weren’t surprised the veteran slugger chose not to accept.

“Out of respect for his career, it’s not fair to him to sit around and become a part-time player,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “I know he wasn’t going to be happy with that and you can definitely understand.”

Center fielder Vernon Wells praised management for finding a quick resolution to the situation.

“I think it’s better for (Thomas), too,” Wells said. “He gets a chance to have more time to possibly pick up with another team, with us it may give some of our younger guys a chance to come up.

“We haven’t been the best team so far this season. We definitely have some improvements to make.”

Toronto beat Detroit 5-3 Sunday to improve to 10-9, 2 1-2 games behind Boston in the American League East.

With Thomas gone, outfielder Matt Stairs and catcher Rod Barajas will split time at DH for Toronto. Catcher Robinzon Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse after Sunday’s game to give the Blue Jays an extra option behind the plate on days when Barajas starts at DH.

Diaz hit .333 with one home run and seven RBIs in 26 at bats with Syracuse.

Thomas’ deal included a $10-million option for 2009 that would have kicked in automatically if he made 376 plate appearances this season. On Saturday, Thomas said the Blue Jays had benched him to prevent him from reaching that mark.

“It’s pretty obvious,” Thomas said. “Sixty at-bats isn’t enough to make that decision. I’m angry, I know I can help this team. My career isn’t going to end like this.”

Thomas did not shake hands with his teammates following Toronto’s 3-2 victory over Detroit on Saturday and left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters.

“If you know Frank, he’s an emotional guy,” Ricciardi said Sunday. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. I would be disappointed if a player didn’t have a reaction that he cared. That wasn’t really that important to me.”

Ricciardi said Thomas was more calm when they met Sunday, adding that the contract was not part of their discussion.

“That never came up,” Ricciardi said. “I told Frank our decision is based on performance and his decision is based on not being able to be in the lineup.”

He reached the 500-homer plateau on June 28 against Minnesota’s Carlos Silva.

Thomas has 516 career homers, placing him 18th on baseball’s career list. He also has 264 career home runs as a designated hitter, the most in baseball history.

With a career average of .302, Thomas is one of four players in baseball history with at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks. The others are Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.

Also Sunday, the Blue Jays assigned third baseman Scott Rolen (broken finger) to Class-A Dunedin to begin a rehabilitation assignment. Ricciardi said Rolen will play third base Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before being re-evaluated.

Acquired from St. Louis in an offseason trade that sent Troy Glaus to the Cardinals, Rolen fractured the middle finger on his right hand during a fielding drill in spring training, and has yet to play for Toronto this season.