This article has been submitted by Jason Petznick.

While A.J. Burnett’s fate as a Toronto Blue Jay garners the majority of the media hype, I think there’s another spot in the Jays’ lineup that deserves just as much attention with the trade deadline quickly approaching.

During the past few seasons, Aaron Hill and John McDonald have made numerous appearances on highlight reels with their defensive prowess up the middle for the Blue Jays. Most nights it seems as though these guys could turn the most difficult double plays with their eyes closed. However, with Hill on the disabled list, a number of other players have shown that they can perform just as well up the middle.

Up to this point in the season, the second base and shortstop duties have been shared primarily between five guys: the previously mentioned duo of Hill and McDonald, as well as David Eckstein, Marco Scutaro and Joe Inglett.

If the Jays are to trade away one of these players, who will it be? Let’s see if the numbers can help us out.
More after the jump!

This article has been submitted by the debuting Jason Petznick.

Will the Jays break the .500 mark before the All-Star Game?

As I’m writing this, the Toronto Blue Jays are down three runs in the bottom of the 6th against the L.A. Angels, and A.J. Burnett is on the verge of another lacklustre outing. Never mind, make that a five run deficit.

Lets face it Jays fans, the odds of the boys in blue breaking the .500 mark before the All-Star break are slim-to-none. Even if they manage to pull off a win tonight, they still have to finish up with at least a 6-2 record (something they haven’t done since the end of May) going in to the break.
More after the jump!