The Jays Have Their Scapegoat

Lyle Overbay is terrible. How terrible?

Here are some of the players hitting "better" than Lyle Overbay:

Lou Marson CLE - .091 AVG in 2010 (2-for-22), .218 career AVG
Jeff Clement PIT - .103 AVG in 2010 (3-for-29), .222 career AVG
Brandon Wood LAA - .105 AVG in 2010 (4-for-38), .178 career AVG

Lyle Overbay - .080 AVG in 2010 (4-for-50).

Horrendous. Overbay is making $7 million in 2010 and he can't even hit the weight of one of the Olsen twins.

The worst part? Coming into today, Overbay was in the top 25 in the majors in at-bats, which essentially means he has the lowest possible average in the most possible chances given to a player sucking this badly.

Of course, the reason he's getting these chances is because the Jays have no one to replace him. Randy Ruiz is a part-time player at best and Brett Wallace isn't ready.

But if it wasn't apparent before that the Blue Jays have the absolute worst starting first baseman in the league, it certainly is now. I'd rather have the Marlins' Gaby Sanchez (he's hitting .308!), Oakland's Daric Barton (.317!), or heck, even Seattle's Casey Kotchman (.229).

Unfortunately, because Cito Gaston fills out his lineups like he's in a weekly fantasy league (once on Mondays, good for seven days) don't expect to see Overbay on the bench anytime soon:

"I don't think sitting him is going to help him at all. He needs to get out there and just keep battling and hope something turns around."

Translation: get used to seeing Overbay's awful bat (and terrifying face) in the five-spot for the foreseeable future.

Seriously, that face will haunt my dreams.