July 31st, a day that lives in infamy every year for certain Baseball teams. As we edge closer and closer to the trade deadline, general managers across the land are asking themselves the same question. Am I a buyer or am I a seller this year? Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi is no exception to this, as we’re pretty sure he’s peering over his injury plagued roster like Harry Potter over a new batch of spells, trying to figure out the right combination that could put the Jays over the top, or at least back in to contention for a wild card slot.

So the million-dollar question is, what’s J.P. going to do?

Publicly, J.P. has been as stoic as a rock on this issue. But you can only straddle the fence for so long and after doing this for a few weeks, and I think the man might just have some holes in his pants. It’s time for J.P to admit that he’s wrong, that his major signings were a bust and that it’s time to re-build the Jays for the future.

To paraphrase Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four, It’s Sellin’ time!

Ricciardi has suggested to us that this core team that the Blue Jays have is one that is set to run straight through till 2010. If he enjoys watching the team tread water, something they’ve done for the last few years and are most likely going to continue to do, now is the time to make it happen. It’s like the black plague has hit the Jays, injuries pile up through parts of the season, bogging the team down just enough that they continue to remain also-rans behind the Red Sox and the Yankees. As I write this, they’re eleven games out of first place in the East and nine game out of the wild card slot. Not an insurmountable distance, but with both Cleveland and Seattle playing like there’s no tomorrow, it’s looking more and more like it’s time to pack it in and start adding some newer, younger faces to the line up at Rogers Center.

So sell em’ all. If you can’t get off your asses and surpass an achingly old Yankees team, then you’re done. The boat is sinking and as much as it hurts to say it, it’s time to start tossing players over the side.

A.J Burnett: There has been no bigger disappointment in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays since they helped send the Kansas City Royals to their first and only world series in 1985. I mean George Brett not withstanding, who loses to the Kansas City Royals? Signed on as the second coming of Dave Stieb, Burnett has spent more time on the disabled list than Frank Thomas has spent at the dessert bar at the Hooters off Queen St ;and doesn’t look like he’s going to be back anytime soon. Best to cut bait now and be done with this horrible, horrible experiment. If the team is lucky, they may be able to get someone to take a chance on him, trouble is, most teams will want the Jays to pay THEM to take A.J. away.

What the Jays Will Get: An end to a bad headache.

Troy Glaus: This is by far the most sought after trade chip that the Jays have on their table and if Ricciardi is anywhere close to serious about trying to rebuild for the future, they’ll send Glaus packing and think about starting Howie Clark on a full-time basis. Both the Dodgers and Angels have expressed strong interest in the all-star third baseman and even though he has a no-trade clause, I’m pretty sure that after a few years of floating between Arizona and Toronto, the California-born Glaus would have no issues going home.

What the Jays Will Get: Dodgers prospect Delwyn Young is burning up Triple-A and for the right price, could be a good fit in a Jays uniform.

Vernon Wells: Blasphemy? I’m quite sure, but if you’re rebuilding a team from the ground up, you’re going to want to build around Alex Rios and not a declining Vernon Wells. He signed a seven years, $16 Million deal and is currently being out hit by the likes of Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay and Matt Stairs. Not the kind of bang for your buck that the Jays were hoping for. He’s still got enough weight behind him that he could certainly be dealt off for the right price and would make an lovely power-hitting addition to any team looking for the extra push to get over the hump. Vernon in Yankee pinstripes? With A-Rod soon to be on the way out, it might just happen.

What the Jays Will Get: With the Marlins looking to get rid of Dontrelle Willis, a big contract for big-contract deal could work out nicely, giving the Jays the perfect compliment to Roy Halliday.

B.J Ryan: Yup, the other one with the injuries. Jeremy Accardo has shown himself to be the Jays reliever of the future, so its time to toss Ryan over the side, injuries and all. An unfortunate winner in the “One Good Season Made Me Rich” sweepstakes, Ryan hasn’t shown himself to be worth five years and $47 million dollars. Hell, even Mariano Rivera isn’t making that much. If we knew he could come back from Tommy John surgery and still be solid, that’d be one thing but that’s a surgery that brings guys back with differing results. Kerry Wood, Billy Koch and Jon Lieber were never the same again after the surgery and are barely playing ball right now. Even Tom Gordon was reduced to playing set-up man after a promising beginning to his career as a flame throwing reliever. The odds aren’t there, so Ryan goes with Burnett onto the scrap heap,

What The Jays Will Get: Hopefully for a few cases of beer and a coupon for a few dollars off a sandwich at Subway.

J.P Ricciardi: Now admittedly, we can’t trade the man, but it may be time for the Captain of the ship to go overboard with the rest of the scraps. Brought on board from the A’s organization as the next Billy Beane, J.P Ricciardi has shown himself to the be wishy-washy and generally unable to hold up his end of the job. The acquisitions of both Burnett and Ryan have been failures for the most part and the signing of Vernon Wells to an extensive deal seems to have been a desperation move at this point. Look as far back even as the Raul Mondesi/Bobby Kielty/Shawn Green era and you’ll see that it’s been a handful of years of roster and farm-team decimation with very little to show for it. The second coming of Pat Gillick has fallen flat on his face and at this point, it’s time to lead the re-building process with a G.M.

What the Jays Will Get: Relief.

Sell em' all! they're all bums these days, build around Rios and aim for 2010.

Wow, everyone needs to chill out a little bit. Even if trading everyone was a good idea, JP isn't capable enough to turn them into assets. And trading Glaus (one of our best offensive players) and starting Howie Clark (a journeyman utility dude) is crazy.