Toronto Blue Jays

There have been many rumours swirling about the Blue Jays, suggesting who they might be moving before the July 31st trade deadline.  Names like Scott Downs, Jose Bautista, John Buck, and Kevin Gregg are all being mentioned as possible trade chips.  The rumour mill on ESPN even suggests that they might be buyers.  So what are Jays fans supposed to draw from all of this?

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports , the market for Blue Jays lefty reliever Scott Downs is heating up and the Yankees, along with the Red Sox, are said to be the favorites to land him. The Mets, Reds, and Twins are also said to be involved.

These days in Montreal, baseball fans have a reason to cheer for the very first time since the Expos left town to Washington D.C. to become the Nationals.

One of the greats in Expos history will be inducted finally into Cooperstown's Hall of Fame. That is Andre “The Hawk” Dawson.

Change is in the air here in Toronto.  It seems that most of the city's sports teams are in the midst of an overhaul.  The Raptors are transitioning into the new era without Chris Bosh.  Brian Burke continues his push with the Maple Leafs in hopes that they can make the playoffs, acquiring Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong this offseason. 

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos also continues to put his impressive stamp on the Toronto Blue Jays.

Yunel Escobar is the main player Alex Anthopoulos acquired when he dealt Alex Gonzalez away. Anthopoulos had stated that his plan to build (not rebuild) the Toronto Blue Jays is to get young, controllable players—players whose salary we can control for several years.

Stop me if this sounds familiar. A mid-20s middle infielder loses the faith of the Atlanta Braves organization and is sent packing, making him a classic change of scenery guy.

Yup, I will call this Yunel Escobar trade “Kelly Johnson Part 2.” Now of course the biggest difference between Escobar and Johnson is that Johnson left as a free agent after he wasn’t tendered a contract. With Escobar, the Braves got something in return.

Escobar is headed north of the border.

At the halfway point of the season, the Boston Red Sox are five games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees. That doesn’t look very satisfying, but considering what they have been through it undoubtedly is.

The injury bug that has hit them borders on ridiculous, with many of their impact-players on the shelf. The performance by the pitching staff hasn’t been anywhere near eye-opening, and their offense has missed its usual bop of years past.

Alex Anthopoulos is continuing his revamping of the Toronto Blue Jays by trading star shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Braves along with Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky in exchange for Jo-Jo Reyes and Yunel Escobar.

This is a great deal for the Blue Jays, as they get a player who is steadily improving defensively in Yunel Escobar while is very solid at the plate (somewhat rare for a SS). Anthopoulos thinks he's a great player and took the risk of acquiring him because great players are impossible to acquire if they're playing well (I wonder if Matt Cain is available).

The Toronto Blue Jays showed their first decisive sign that they're starting to look beyond 2010 and gear up for the future with a five-player trade with the Atlanta Braves in which the Jays received shortstop Yunel Escobar and left-handed pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes.