Weekly Round Up : June 28 - July 4

Consider this your required reading for the week.  Drew is rock solid as usual.

Courtesy of King Jordan:

NEW YORK -- The Blue Jays will have a trio of players at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for this year's All-Star Game on July 13.  On Sunday, it was announced that outfielders Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista, along with catcher John Buck, will represent Toronto on the American League's elite squad as reserves. It marks the first career All-Star selections for Bautista and Buck and the third for Wells.
Bautista and Wells were each selected in peer balloting, while Buck -- second in voting by his peers for his position -- was named as a replacement for injured Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez. The three All-Stars are the most for the Jays in one year since the club sent five to the Midsummer Classic in 2006.

Here are your All Stars for 2010.  Thank God none of our pitchers will be going to Anaheim.  Navin is pumped for Vernon and Ian is stoked for Bautista.  Congratulations to all. 

Courtesy of ESPN:

Last year, Scott Rolen told me he wanted to be traded because his family didn't like living in Toronto. The Cincinnati Reds showed a strong interest in him from the beginning. For three weeks, we went back and forth with Cincinnati, and the deal finally got done close to the deadline. Actually, it was almost too close to the deadline. As we were trying to send all the details to the commissioner's office, the fax machine stopped working. Here I am, kicking the fax machine, and screaming at Rolen's agent, saying, "Send the agreement again!" (Rolen had to sign off on the deal because of his no-trade clause.) It took us about five tries to finally get the fax through. We got it into the commissioner's office with less than a minute to spare.

J.P. talks about his old job.  I could say a lot of things here but truly I'm just relieved this pipsqueak was run outta town.  

Courtesy of MLBdepthcharts:

Brett Wallace, 1B - Triple-A Las Vegas (TOR): Wallace made this list back on April 19th after hitting 4 HR's in his first 11 games and with Lyle Overbay off to a 4-for-50 start with the Blue Jays. Since, the Overbay-bashing has died down a bit as he hasn't been terrible (.265 BA, 7 HR, 15 2B, 25 RBI since April 19th) and the 23 year-old Wallace had just 4 BB's and 32 K's in the month of May. However, the Blue Jays, who were 31-22 and 3.5 games out of 1st Place at the beginning of the month, have gone 9-14 since and are 7.5 games out. In another division, you could still call the Jays contenders. In the AL East, it's safe to say that they can start looking towards next year. Which is why it might make sense to bring up their first baseman of the future, Wallace, while he is on his hottest streak of the season (.450 BA, 3 HR over last 10 games) and with Overbay coming off of a week in which he had just three singles in 19 AB's. Not to be overshadowed, designated hitter Adam Lind is hitting just .203 (.148 BA in June) and could also be in danger of losing AB's to Wallace. 

I'm beginning to wonder if the impending Overbay deal is actually going to turn into the impending Overbay DFA.  If we can't move him at the deadline, look for him to be on waivers at the very least in August.

Courtesy of Globe Sports:

General manager Alex Anthopoulos said that Marcum would undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) examination, possibly on Monday. He and manager Cito Gaston both expect Marcum back after the All-Star Break.
“I didn’t mention going on the DL, but I did mention maybe the possibility of sliding back in the rotation towards the end of next week,” said Marcum, who is 7-4 (3.44) in 17 starts with 88 strikeouts and 27 walks. “I thought with the off day, we could do that and everybody could stay on their regular day’s rest.”

I wonder if AA wanted to avoid Marcum getting selected to the All Star team?  I wonder.....

Courtesy of Pro Rumors:

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays have made an offer to elite Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia. According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have a $2.5 million bid and the Blue Jays have a $2.8 million bid.
Heredia’s rights are controlled by the Veracruz team in Mexico and they will keep three-quarters of whatever bonus Heredia receives. However, Heredia will have most of the say – if not the final word – in where he goes.
Heredia, 15, is a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher with the potential of four above-average major-league pitchers. He cannot be signed until he turns 16 on August 16.

I got nothing to add.  Not much info on this 15 year old out there right now.  Stay tuned.

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick @ The Star:

The Jays have to make a decision on Hill following the 2010 season, one that will be made more difficult if his struggles continue for the entire season. The 28-year-old’s original four-year contract, one with imagination and innovation that helped make the reputation of Alex Anthopoulos when he was an assistant GM, runs through 2011.
But there are club options for 2012-13-14 totalling $26 million (U.S.). The Jays must inform Hill after this season if they want to pick up all three option years. He becomes a free agent after the ‘14 season. If they wait until after the 2011 season, the club can only accept the 2012-13 options and he becomes a free agent a year earlier, that off-season. They could also decline all three option years and make him free after 2011. Whoever thought that would be an issue?
Hill’s offensive performance, if it does not pick up soon, will become a big issue.

I wish Dick had the balls to open up the comment feature on all of his "work".  Wow.  Just wow.  Newsflash for you Dick: Aaron's team friendly options will be picked up, whether you like it or not.

Courtesy of King Jordan:

For those that may have missed it, I did a Q@A during today's Blue Jays' game on Twitter. I'll try to do these from time to time. You can follow me at @MLBastian. Here are today's questions and answers, in 140 characters or less...

Q- RT @Kellardens: Am I the only one that thinks Cito is going through the motions?
A- You're probably not alone, but I wouldn't describe Cito that way. I think Jays and Cito both looking forward to the future.
Q- RT @rampage55: How far away is Sinder from a return and how soon will Brett W be up
A- Snider currently rehabbing in GCL. Next: A & AA stints before Jays. Post All-Star break return. Wallace? I'd wager on Sept callup.
Q- RT @footejb: Are Frasor, Camp and/or Downs still with the team after July 31st?
A- Jays want prospects. Wont give away for scraps. I'd say 2 of Frasor/Downs/Camp are still with the team post Trade Deadline.
Q- RT @AlanSimpson: @MLBastian Thoughts on the Fasano rumors?
A- As a reporter, having Sal as manager would be fantastic. Right now, tho, know that Anthopoulos' list of candidates is quite long.
Q- RT @500LevelFan: Any chance Romero picks up a few Cy Young votes?
A- How about the Jays offense offers him some more run support first. Way too early to talk CY votes in my opinion.

My question didn't get any ink.  You guys got any thoughts on it?

Courtesy of our boy Jay @ Phoul Ballz: