Wouldn't you know it...Johnson's the hero, Rolen's not.

This has been posted on http://mvn.com/mlb-bluejays/
What do the friends on OA (House, Cliff, Rick, the fish) think about this J.P. and Rolen bashing? Discuss.

The Blue Jays fell 6-2 to the Chicago Cubs at Rogers Centre on Saturday, thanks to a former friend’s big three-run blast.

That would be ex-Blue Jay, Reed Johnson, who clubbed a three-run shot off Toronto ace Roy Halladay in the second inning.

Of course, Johnson was released in March thanks to the signing of Shannon Stewart, and he then signed on with the Cubbies.

In yesterday’s post, I’d already outlined the contributions of Stewart on this Jays team, so I’m not going to rehash it here.

But now it’s all clear: the man who made all these baseball decisions, trades, and so on, has to be held accountable.

That man would be general manager J.P. Ricciardi.

There is no way that a team with this much pitching depth should be just a .500 club after 70 games.

Of course, the Jays have the misfortune of playing in the AL East, where the Boston Red Sox are ahead of Toronto by 7 games, pending the outcome of the Boston-Cincinnati game.

The Blue Jays are in last place.

In Saturday’s game, Vernon Wells left after the seventh inning with an apparent wrist injury.

If this injury proves to be serious, the Jays are finished.

If the Jays still had Reed Johnson and Troy Glaus, and Frank Thomas, wouldn’t they be a better ballclub?

It’s all on the G.M.

How much longer can this team continue without a major shakeup?

J.P. Ricciardi has to go. None of his moves have really panned out. Lyle Overbay and A.J. Burnett haven’t worked out.

Overbay isn’t the worst first baseman in baseball, but come on? Just five homers and a .260 average?

Burnett, a .500 pitcher with that ugly ERA (4.90)?

And I haven’t talked about Scott Rolen yet.

The Jays were down 6-0 heading into the eighth, with Jason Marquis tossing a one-hitter.

The Jays, however, collected three straight singles to load the bases with none out, chasing Marquis in favor of Carlos Marmol.

Marmol got two straight strikeouts, before Matt Stairs walked on a 3-2 pitch to force in a run. Shutout broken.

Rolen, the No. 3 hitter, had a chance to make things interesting, but once again, could not deliver in the clutch.

Rolen hit a very easy popup to second, and the inning was over.

And the kicker? Kevin Mench, who subbed for the ailing Wells, tripled leading off the ninth.

What if Rolen had gotten a big hit in the eighth to prolong the inning and give Mench a shot?

Thanks a lot, Rolen.

I blame J.P. Ricciardi for this one. He was the one who acquired this star third baseman and No. 3 hitter.