Fans here in Toronto were treated on the weekend to two teams moving at right angles to one other. The Cubs appear to be headed straight towards the postseason, and have so for a long time; they now have the best record in baseball, and 98 wins in their past 162 games, dating back to last June. The Blue Jays have fallen two games under .500; at some point they will bounce back by one or two games, but don't appear to much more than that at the moment.

Being a baseball fan in Toronto has not been fun recently. The Jays hit a low point on Saturday when they were shut down (one run, four hits) by Jason Fucking Marquis - not to be mean or anything, but that's worse than getting shut down by Josh Towers or Mark Redman. To make it worse, the big hit was a three-run homer by Reed Johnson - the popular former Jay who's playing better than any of his replacements here in Toronto. Johnson added two more hits on Sunday to emphasize the point.

I've hardly watched them at all this past week; as a fan of the team, it's depressing to see them fritter away their fine pitching and defence. And as a fan of baseball, my sensibilities have been offended; they released Reed Johnson, they have a 24-year-old outfielder batting .330 in the minors who they keep buried there, while continuing to play veteran crap in left field and getting shut down by the league's worst pitchers.

EDIT: This article was begun roughly 48 hours ago; in that time, the Mariners have fired Bill Bavasi, the Mets hired a Russian operative to assassinate Willie Randolph, Chien-Ming Wang has suffered what is perhaps a season-ending injury, A.J. Burnett has sent the local media into a tizzy with this suggestion that he might like to play for the Cubs... it's been a busy few days. And last night, the Jays were crushed by the Brewers - getting shut out yet again while the opposition hit five homers - making one wonder if firings can be contagious. A few points:

• There were plenty of warning signs about the Mariners during the past season, starting with their Pythagorean record (79-83), and their performance in the second half under a different manager. They were an aging team with a shallow roster that traded considerable youth and depth for one pitcher. Bavasi shot for the moon, but did it with an N1 rocket
• Another inevitability; I have no idea to what extent Willie Randolph was responsible for the Mets' collapse last season, but it never really mattered. Don Zimmer didn't rebound in Boston, nor did Jimy Williams in Toronto nor Marcel Lachemann in Anaheim. And I'm hardly alone in making this point; the question is, why did the Mets think that Randolph would turn out differently? It may not have been fair for the Red Sox to can Grady Little when they did, but fairness has nothing to do with it; once a manager and team have been through that kind of experience, you have to start fresh.
• Points 3 and 4 should solve each other; an A.J. Burnett-for-Johnny Damon deal should already be in the works*. The Jays need to put an end to the Burnett saga, plus Damon is having a nice year and would bring some badly needed speed and stability to the top of the lineup. The Yankees needed a pitcher before Wang was hurt; now they need two. Burnett has issues, but is the best pitcher they can get without giving up one of their kids.

* While a Burnett-for-Damon deal (or something similar) would be quite satisfying, the Dodgers are apparently thinking about trading Matt Kemp for a veteran outfielder, for reasons I don't really understand but no matter; in the past week, their ace Brad Penny has come down with a sore arm, while Jason Schmidt has hit another roadblock in his return. May I, very humbly, offer Ned Colletti an A.J. Burnett-for-Matt Kemp exchange? C'mon, Ned... trust your feelings. You KNOW you want to make this deal!

Of course, any trade scenario involving the Blue Jays depends on them having a sentient creature in the front office. J.P. Ricciardi... appears to be gripped by some strange paralysis at the moment. I would like to think that he is working on something to rejuvenate the club - but then, in 2002 I wanted to think that he would grow to become a good young GM, and even this spring I wanted to think that he would start to learn from past mistakes. It's true that there's not a heck of a lot that they can do about guys not hitting with runners in scoring position... but there are tangible problems that can be addressed. On this date (June 18), the total production of American League left fielders looks like this:

You read that right; Toronto left fielders have a .312 slugging percentage this season. They have 12 extra-base hits. Adam Lind and his 1-for-19 performance earlier this year are partly responsible - but there are 241 other ABs to account for.

I don't want to put Reed Johnson on too high of a pedestal and suggest that he would be the cure for the team's problems - I hope that we've learned by now that ballplayers are just ballplayers and it's both silly and somewhat delusional to think that anyone who is not an elite player can have a transcendent effect on his 24 teammates. That said, I think that Reed is a guy who, if you had a choice, you would rather have around - and the Jays did have a choice, and they chose poorly. He's not the reason for the Cubs' success, but OTOH the Cubs ain't giving him back.

To get around to the whole point of this digression... this weekend, for the first time, I felt cheated that the Blue Jays have not been the team to sign Barry Bonds. Many would call such a move cynical and classless - but after you dump someone like Reed Johnson, it's the next logical step, right? Once you decide that you do not want heart and soul (Johnson), then you must opt for soulless talent (Bonds); the nature of competitive baseball doesn't allow for middle-ground compromises.

I wouldn't have liked it at the time - but then I don't care much for instant replay either, even though I know it's an inevitability, and may even be good for the game in the long run. I think that the fans would rather have Johnson back, but that's not happening so you should treat them to someone who is the exact opposite. Johnson is white, right-handed, a modest talent who always hustles and is a fan favourite - he gets cheered even when he hits a home run against the home team. Bonds is black, left-handed, an enormous talent who, love him or hate him, fans can't take their eyes off of. J.P. Ricciardi opted for neither, and has chosen to wallow in mediocrity instead. Such has been the past 6 ½ years of Blue Jays baseball.