Campbell: The final countdown

Here's my top 10 "Good and Bad" list for the 2009 Toronto Blue Jays season:
Good NFL jerseys

10. Carlson vs. Posada/Halladay vs. Ortiz:,/I> Jesse Carlson finally grew tired of seeing his teammates checking bruises in the mirror and, unprompted, threw at Jorge Posada. This decision drew massive praise inside the clubhouse. Intentional or not, Jonathan Papelbon smoked Adam Lind after the latter had hit three home runs. Halladay answered the next night, hitting the well-protected David Ortiz, and followed with a precious explanation: "The pitch just got away from me."
9. Marc Rzepczyski: In a season marked by opportunity, he seized one. Called up in July when Scott Richmond came down with an injury, Rzepczyski turned heads with an unwavering poise, solid command, and an excellent strike-outs-to-walks-ratio. The Jays seem to have something here.
8. Jason Frasor: The bullpen's forgotten man in 2008 was the best reliever of 2009. On his own dime, he traveled to Tennessee to develop a change-up for the coming year. That third pitch served him well in assuming the closer's mantel.
7. Marco Scutaro: The career utility-man had a career year, one that will allow him to cash in as a free agent. An excellent two-strike hitter, Scutaro drew his share of walks as the Jays' lead-off man. Defensively, he was as good as any shortstop. Too bad we may have seen the last of him.
6. May 18: Personal achievements are fun, but winning fills the seats. On this date, the Blue Jays were the best team in the American League, and led the East by three-and-a-half games. It was the season's apex.
5. September: The Jays blasted their way through September, hitting 46 home runs and winning more games than any other month. Most were meaningless games, but the sweep in Boston prevented the Red Sox from celebrating a playoff berth on the field.
4. Adam Lind: Lind is not a one-year wonder. He's a pure hitter - a student of the craft - with power to all fields. He's in the four-hole on this list because that's where he'll be hitting next year.
3. Aaron Hill: Last summer, he wasn't sure he'd ever play baseball again. This summer, he became a first-time father, a first-time All-Star and the League's best second baseman. This team has lacked a true clubhouse leader in recent years. Hill is hereby nominated for next season.
2. Roy Halladay: It wasn't his best year, but he sucked up the swirling trade talk and kept on winning, finishing the year with 17 victories and one of the finest single-game performances in team history (September 4th against New York). His departure, which appears imminent, will be considered a dark day in Blue Jays' history.

1. Ricky Romero: Honestly, did you see this coming? Sometimes dominant, sometimes not, his numbers are comparable to those of A.J. Burnett. His salary is not.
Bad
10. Attendance: This could have fit in either category. It's "Bad" because the Jays drew 1,876,129 - their lowest figure since 2003 - and "Good" because the team has done away with counting hand-outs and complimentary seats.

9. The Draft: Canada's only remaining Major League team has long been criticized for not developing a native star. That's why many were left scratching their heads when the Jays drafted a pair of Canadians - James Paxton (37th overall) and Jake Eliopoulos (68th overall) - and weren't able to find the extra dollars to get them signed.
8. B.J. Ryan and Alex Rios: Questions arose when Ryan dropped out of the World Baseball Classic in March after an alarming decline in velocity. His tumble was swift and expensive: the Blue Jays are paying Ryan $15 million to not play baseball. As for Rios, his scenario could be filed in the "Good" column. The Blue Jays saved millions by losing him to Chicago, and his passionless play continued with the White Sox. Due to great potential stalled, the Jays weren't even able to wrestle a low-level prospect.
7. The Halladay mess: Halladay was unwillingly thrown in to the cauldron of speculation for over almost two months. The man who dislikes media attention got plenty of it around the All-Star break. He says his performance was unaffected, but in a seven-week span he suffered a minor injury and won only once.
6. Ramiro Pena: He was a last-minute replacement for Derek Jeter on September 4th at the Rogers Centre. Who'd have thought his 6th-inning double would be the only hit surrendered by Roy Halladay? Thanks to the light-hitting back-up, Dave Stieb remains the only Blue Jay to ever throw a no-hitter.
5. Tampa Bay Rays: Boston and New York may be playoff bound, but the Rays were the ones who really put the "Blue" in Jays. In 18 meetings, our fearless birds won only four. Along the way, they beat Halladay four times too.
4. Bad Times in Baltimore: This is where the season ended, and it wasn't a memorable trip, to be sure. First, reports allege that the clubhouse is divided, with players on one side and manager Cito Gaston on the other. A day later, J.P. Ricciardi is dismissed. As the season ends, the direction of the team takes a sudden turn. Let's hope it's a positive one.
3. Vernon Wells: Be careful what you wish for. Two years ago, the phone-in crowd pleaded for the Jays to get him signed long-term. Now, those same people lament an unmovable contract. The burden of making that much money
2.Jesse Litsch: No Shaun Marcum. No Dustin McGowan. And by the middle of the first month, there'd be no Jesse Litsch too. The likeable right-hander broke camp as the rotation's second starter. His season-ending injury had a ripple affect, forcing the Jays to bring up pitchers like Brad Mills, Bobby Ray and Brett Cecil long before they were due.
1. May 19: This is the point of decline. The Jays had just swept a four-game series with the White Sox, and had a bounce in their step as they went to Boston. That night, Tim Wakefield made a mess of the bats, and a string of nine straight losses followed. When they woke up that day, the Blue Jays led the American League East by three-and-a-half games.