The Fifth Liners

It has been a big week trade wise in Ontario and the Toronto Blue Jays have succeeded in giving fans a renewed faith. After a season of fans and experts talking about changes that needed to be made, GM Alex Anthopoulous has apparently been listening keenly. From out of nothing the last 48 hours have been a trade deadline whirlwind. On Wednesday, All Star short-stop Troy Tulowitzki was traded to Toronto from Colorado Rockies for Jose Reyes , Miguel Castro , Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco. This move came a big but very welcome surprise to Jays fans and it is a move that has bolstered their already thriving offense. There were rumblings that Tulo wasn't made aware of the deal until moments before and that he wasn't at all happy. Any baseball fan could probably side with his mentality here because his entire career had been played at Coors Field. Despite any misgivings, he still gave Toronto fans a debut to remember with a home run blast in an 8-2 win over the Phillies. Given...

After personally witnessing his complete game shut out victory in the Toronto Blue Jays 6-0 over the Chicago White Sox last night, you have to wonder whether pitcher Drew Hutchison is the new ace that the team so badly needs? Pushing his record to 4-1 this season, the 24 year old Florida native struck out 8 different batters, allowed only 4 hits and and looked in complete control, 96 pitches was all it took. Yes, he was aided by a substandard White Sox performance, but taking nothing away from the young man. When he was selected as opening day pitcher in the Jays 6-1 win over the Yankees, few eyebrows were raised. In getting the start over more experienced candidates such as Mark Buerhle and R.A Dickey , it shows just what high hopes the organization has for this man. The bullpen has been a source of concern to the Blue Jays this season, with young talent Daniel Norris being already sent down to Triple A along with talented reliever, Miguel Castro . But Hutchison has been noted as...

When Marcus Stroman was ruled out for the entire season after tearing his ACL, you could hear the cries of anguish echoing around the Toronto area. After a stellar rookie season, Stroman had appeared due for a break through year and was set to solidify his standing as the new Toronto Blue Jays star pitcher. But from out of nothing, there now appears to be an unlikely new solution that could well turn a few heads at the Rogers Centre this year! Ever heard of Daniel Norris ? Well if you are from outside of Toronto probably not, but during spring training this year the 21 year old Tennessee native made headlines for his living arrangements . Rare is it that you see a guy so fond of not only the outdoors, but his VW van! Listed as the third best LHP prospect by MLB this year, Norris made his debut last September against the Boston Red Sox where he struck out David Ortiz! Making his first start soon after, he pitched only 6 2/3 innings and posted a 5.40 ERA, along with 4 strikeouts, and ...