Hey Folks,
A quick update for all you wondering how Dirk Hayhurst is doing.
In early February 2010, Hayhurst underwent shoulder surgery that was to keep him out for 4-6 months. The other week I realized that it had been 6 months, so I tracked Dirk down, and he informed me that he is doing well and will resume throwing off a mound shortly. He said that if the minor league season was just a little bit longer, than we may have seen him come back this year. We can expect to see him back in spring training next March.
In 2009 Hayhurst pitched in a middle/long-relief role, racking up 22 2/3 innings, while sporting a 2.78 ERA and allowing just over 1.4 baserunners per inning.
Had Hayhurst entered spring training in 2010, he would have had to deal with quite a bit of competition for one of 7 bullpen spots. Obviously a lot can change between now and next April, but if Hayhurst can come back in his 2009 form, he should have a better chance of making the team out of spring training. Both Scott Downs and Jason Frasor will be free agents. It would be difficult to see the Jays exercising their $4.5M option on Kevin Gregg. And Brian Tallet, who makes $2M this year, is a good candidate to be non-tendered in the offseason with his 5.65 ERA.
PS - If you haven't picked up a copy of The Bullpen Gospels, you really should do so.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Strasburg delivers stunning performance
It has been a long time since the debut of a player, in any sport, had been hyped as much as that of Stephen Strasburg's. It's so difficult to live up that kind of hype but Strasburg's performance probably exceeded the high expecations of most - at least in his first start.
Five of his first 8 pitches went for balls, and one wonders if there might have been some early jitters, but if he was a little nervous (but really, who wouldn't be a little nervous) he seemed to settle in fairly quickly, ultimately getting a 1-2-3 inning in his first inning of work, and finishing it off with his first major league strikeout.
This guy just has killer stuff! He was an absolute joy to watch. The fastball topped out at 100mph, and it's got great movement on it. I saw a 98mph fastaball that I thought was a slider for a second because of the movement that it had on it. His changeup hit 91mph on the radar gun. Shaun Marcum doesn't throw his fastball at that speed! He's almost throwing his changeup too hard. With the fastball coming at 96mph sometimes, throwing your changeup at 91mph isn't putting hitters out in front of the pitch as much as they should be in order to make the changeup effective. I love the curveball. Just deadly. Throwing the curveball at about 79/80mph when your fastball is hitting triple digits on the radar gun can really make hitters look stupid, and that's exactly what Strasburg did.
He struck out a total of 14 over 7 innings! 14Ks! He struck out every player in Pittsburgh's starting lineup at least once. He also didn't even walk a batter. The only real mistake that he made was one of his 90mph changeups that should have dove out of the strike zone, but didn't get quite low enough, and Delwyn Young hit the ball out to right-centre field.
Strasburg would have had himself an infield hit in his first big league AB, but he took a nice little jog down to first base, either because he felt like he was going to be thrown out easily by Ronny Cedeno or because he is being told not to go nuts on the basepaths in order to avoid injury.
If you're on the road in the US this summer, and you're in the nation's capital, go check out a Nationals game. It would be an absolute treat for any baseball fan to see Strasburg, and Nationals Park is gorgeous. From my experience last summer, very friendly ushers that make the fans of the visiting teams feel very comfortable. The one usher told us that he could grab us some nicer seats half way through the game if we wanted. I was fine with my seats right by the Jays bullpen. However, if you're going to see Strasburg pitch, there might not be many seats available - it was standing room only tonight.
Don't expect Strasburg to be quite as dominant in his next few starts as he faces offences stronger than that of Pittsburgh, and as major league hitters get used to his stuff.
Five of his first 8 pitches went for balls, and one wonders if there might have been some early jitters, but if he was a little nervous (but really, who wouldn't be a little nervous) he seemed to settle in fairly quickly, ultimately getting a 1-2-3 inning in his first inning of work, and finishing it off with his first major league strikeout.
This guy just has killer stuff! He was an absolute joy to watch. The fastball topped out at 100mph, and it's got great movement on it. I saw a 98mph fastaball that I thought was a slider for a second because of the movement that it had on it. His changeup hit 91mph on the radar gun. Shaun Marcum doesn't throw his fastball at that speed! He's almost throwing his changeup too hard. With the fastball coming at 96mph sometimes, throwing your changeup at 91mph isn't putting hitters out in front of the pitch as much as they should be in order to make the changeup effective. I love the curveball. Just deadly. Throwing the curveball at about 79/80mph when your fastball is hitting triple digits on the radar gun can really make hitters look stupid, and that's exactly what Strasburg did.
He struck out a total of 14 over 7 innings! 14Ks! He struck out every player in Pittsburgh's starting lineup at least once. He also didn't even walk a batter. The only real mistake that he made was one of his 90mph changeups that should have dove out of the strike zone, but didn't get quite low enough, and Delwyn Young hit the ball out to right-centre field.
Strasburg would have had himself an infield hit in his first big league AB, but he took a nice little jog down to first base, either because he felt like he was going to be thrown out easily by Ronny Cedeno or because he is being told not to go nuts on the basepaths in order to avoid injury.
If you're on the road in the US this summer, and you're in the nation's capital, go check out a Nationals game. It would be an absolute treat for any baseball fan to see Strasburg, and Nationals Park is gorgeous. From my experience last summer, very friendly ushers that make the fans of the visiting teams feel very comfortable. The one usher told us that he could grab us some nicer seats half way through the game if we wanted. I was fine with my seats right by the Jays bullpen. However, if you're going to see Strasburg pitch, there might not be many seats available - it was standing room only tonight.
Don't expect Strasburg to be quite as dominant in his next few starts as he faces offences stronger than that of Pittsburgh, and as major league hitters get used to his stuff.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Why Matt Garza is no longer the Jay-killer that he once was
It's the return of the blog...
The Blue Jays began a crucial stretch of 9 games tonight where they will play the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays in 6 games, and the one team that is edging them out by 1 game for the AL Wildcard - the New York Yankees in 3 games.
Going into battle with the best team in baseball is never an easy task, and theoretically, made even less easy when the starting pitcher you are facing has historically had the Jays' number. Going into today's game, Matt Garza had made 11 starts against the Jays and had posted an ERA of of 2.19 and a WHIP (Walks & Hits per innings pitched for you non-stat geeks) of 1.20. The Blue Jays, going into today's game, had been hitting .232/.297/.308 against Garza - pitiful numbers. 2 HRs over 276 At Bats.
However, a closer look at the numbers suggests that Garza has had excellent numbers against the Blue Jays of 2008 & 2009, but against the current lineup - not so much. If one looks at the offensive numbers of all current Blue Jays players against Garza it's a different story, with those players hitting .275/.346/.394. Garza has dominated players like Marco Scutaro, Alex Rios, Joe Inglett, Rod Barajas, Kevin Millar & Matt Stairs in years past. Looking at the offensive of numbers of these departed Blue Jays, one finds they've had 123 ABs against Garza, sporting a batting average below the Mendoza line at .195, an OBP of .273, and an embarrasing slugging percentage of .228. Once you take those numbers out of the equation, it's no wonder that the Jays have handed Garza 2 losses in the two games in which they have faced him. In the 2 games this year that Garza has started against the Jays, he has pitched 11 1/3 innings, giving up 8 earned runs, 18 hits and 6 walks.
There were a lot of really good signs tonight from the Jays' point of view. Arguably the most important thing that we saw tonight was Brandon Morrow showing some control and only walking 2 over 7 innings of work - amazing! Thus far we have got used to Morrow putting up a ton of strikeouts - 10.42 K/9 innings - that puts him in a tie for first place with Giants' ace Tim Lincecum. Morrow only managed one strikeout tonight, but he did manage to take a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings. In addition to Morrow's stellar performance, Fred Lewis (or FLewis for short) stroked 2 doubles and the slumping Aaron Hill went 3 for 4 tonight. If the Jays are at all hoping to make a run for a playoff spot, the Blue Jays' 2009 All-Star has to step it up.
The Rays send 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jeff Niemann to the hill tomorrow, who has yet to lose a game, to face off against Brian Tallet, who has just been called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Tallet has "handsome" 54 ERA after his one start last week where he only lasted an inning and a third.
First pitch goes a little bit after 7pm as usual.
The Blue Jays began a crucial stretch of 9 games tonight where they will play the best team in baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays in 6 games, and the one team that is edging them out by 1 game for the AL Wildcard - the New York Yankees in 3 games.
Going into battle with the best team in baseball is never an easy task, and theoretically, made even less easy when the starting pitcher you are facing has historically had the Jays' number. Going into today's game, Matt Garza had made 11 starts against the Jays and had posted an ERA of of 2.19 and a WHIP (Walks & Hits per innings pitched for you non-stat geeks) of 1.20. The Blue Jays, going into today's game, had been hitting .232/.297/.308 against Garza - pitiful numbers. 2 HRs over 276 At Bats.
However, a closer look at the numbers suggests that Garza has had excellent numbers against the Blue Jays of 2008 & 2009, but against the current lineup - not so much. If one looks at the offensive numbers of all current Blue Jays players against Garza it's a different story, with those players hitting .275/.346/.394. Garza has dominated players like Marco Scutaro, Alex Rios, Joe Inglett, Rod Barajas, Kevin Millar & Matt Stairs in years past. Looking at the offensive of numbers of these departed Blue Jays, one finds they've had 123 ABs against Garza, sporting a batting average below the Mendoza line at .195, an OBP of .273, and an embarrasing slugging percentage of .228. Once you take those numbers out of the equation, it's no wonder that the Jays have handed Garza 2 losses in the two games in which they have faced him. In the 2 games this year that Garza has started against the Jays, he has pitched 11 1/3 innings, giving up 8 earned runs, 18 hits and 6 walks.
There were a lot of really good signs tonight from the Jays' point of view. Arguably the most important thing that we saw tonight was Brandon Morrow showing some control and only walking 2 over 7 innings of work - amazing! Thus far we have got used to Morrow putting up a ton of strikeouts - 10.42 K/9 innings - that puts him in a tie for first place with Giants' ace Tim Lincecum. Morrow only managed one strikeout tonight, but he did manage to take a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings. In addition to Morrow's stellar performance, Fred Lewis (or FLewis for short) stroked 2 doubles and the slumping Aaron Hill went 3 for 4 tonight. If the Jays are at all hoping to make a run for a playoff spot, the Blue Jays' 2009 All-Star has to step it up.
The Rays send 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jeff Niemann to the hill tomorrow, who has yet to lose a game, to face off against Brian Tallet, who has just been called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Tallet has "handsome" 54 ERA after his one start last week where he only lasted an inning and a third.
First pitch goes a little bit after 7pm as usual.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
It's been a while ...
I haven't posted anything in quite a while... I figured I was due...
Just some random thoughts...
I was thinking that when Aaron Hill got back in the lineup that would mean some difficult decisions about who to remove from the 25-man roster. With E5 (that's right I said it... E5) on the DL, the hard decision was averted. E5 will return though, and he's going to be in the lineup most likely leaves one of Ruiz, McDonald or McCoy as the odd man out. That'll be a shame.
It appears as though the Merkin Valdez era in Toronto has come to an end. He didn't really get much of a chance, but he didn't really do too much in his brief time in the spotlight. I feel for Jeremy Accardo. He's gotta be really frustrated. 30 saves in 2007 and now he's struggling to get playing times in the big leagues. That Jays don't have a lot of guys who can deliver some serious heat, but that is one of Josh Roenicke's strengths, so it'll be good to see him up here. Rommie Lewis... I'm going to be that will be short-lived. I'd like to see Jesse Carlson back up here, but he hasn't had the best results so far down in Vegas. Bad news is that he's allowed 12 hits in 8.2 innings. Good news is that he's only walked 1 batter over that period.
That's it for now.
Just some random thoughts...
I was thinking that when Aaron Hill got back in the lineup that would mean some difficult decisions about who to remove from the 25-man roster. With E5 (that's right I said it... E5) on the DL, the hard decision was averted. E5 will return though, and he's going to be in the lineup most likely leaves one of Ruiz, McDonald or McCoy as the odd man out. That'll be a shame.
It appears as though the Merkin Valdez era in Toronto has come to an end. He didn't really get much of a chance, but he didn't really do too much in his brief time in the spotlight. I feel for Jeremy Accardo. He's gotta be really frustrated. 30 saves in 2007 and now he's struggling to get playing times in the big leagues. That Jays don't have a lot of guys who can deliver some serious heat, but that is one of Josh Roenicke's strengths, so it'll be good to see him up here. Rommie Lewis... I'm going to be that will be short-lived. I'd like to see Jesse Carlson back up here, but he hasn't had the best results so far down in Vegas. Bad news is that he's allowed 12 hits in 8.2 innings. Good news is that he's only walked 1 batter over that period.
That's it for now.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Mike Wilner agrees with me!
So apparently the all-knowing Mike Wilner of the FAN 590 agrees with me. I make posts on Wilner's blog on the FAN website regularly, and posted my ideas about how to get Randy Ruiz into the lineup, and his response was: It’s not a bad idea, and it keeps Bautista from being a complete bench player. And Encarnacion can play first against lefties to keep him in the line-up everyday.. For Wilner to say, "it's not a bad idea", I interpret that as he thinks it's a good idea, or as good of an idea as any out there.
I like his addition he's made to my plan to put Encarnacion at 1st base against lefties. Offensively, it makes perfect sense. Lyle Overbay, being a left-handed batter, fares much worse against left-handed pitching than the right-handed batter, Edwin Encarnacion. Against left-handed pitching, over the course of their careers, the two players' numbers are as follows:
OVERBAY - .262/.307/.398
ENCARNACION - .270/.375/.464
Overbay's batting average isn't that much worse against lefties than it is against righties, but you see a much more significant decrease in production when it comes to his on-base percentage (walks) and slugging percentage (power). I'm just a touch skeptical about Wilner's suggestion to put Encarnacion at first base simply because of the fact that Encarnacion has started just a single game at first base in his major league career. However, the transition from 3rd base to 1st base is not a difficult one. That is actually the transition that Blue Jays' prospect Brett Wallace has recently gone through. With Encarnacion, in my opinion, it's his throwing arm that is of more concern than his glove, and at 1st base, there's much less need to have a solid throwing arm than at 3rd base. Let's just hope that he doesn't throw the ball into left field when he's trying to turn a 3-6-3 double play!
I like his addition he's made to my plan to put Encarnacion at 1st base against lefties. Offensively, it makes perfect sense. Lyle Overbay, being a left-handed batter, fares much worse against left-handed pitching than the right-handed batter, Edwin Encarnacion. Against left-handed pitching, over the course of their careers, the two players' numbers are as follows:
OVERBAY - .262/.307/.398
ENCARNACION - .270/.375/.464
Overbay's batting average isn't that much worse against lefties than it is against righties, but you see a much more significant decrease in production when it comes to his on-base percentage (walks) and slugging percentage (power). I'm just a touch skeptical about Wilner's suggestion to put Encarnacion at first base simply because of the fact that Encarnacion has started just a single game at first base in his major league career. However, the transition from 3rd base to 1st base is not a difficult one. That is actually the transition that Blue Jays' prospect Brett Wallace has recently gone through. With Encarnacion, in my opinion, it's his throwing arm that is of more concern than his glove, and at 1st base, there's much less need to have a solid throwing arm than at 3rd base. Let's just hope that he doesn't throw the ball into left field when he's trying to turn a 3-6-3 double play!
My Plan to get Randy Ruiz into the lineup
Eight games into the season, Randy Ruiz has just a single at bat. In a way that's quite shocking given that Ruiz actually led the Blue Jays in 2009 in terms of on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Other than the departed Scott Rolen, he also led the club in terms of batting average. I will concede, he accomplished this feat with limited playing time (115 ABs), but that's still a decent sample size. On the other hand, with Cito Gaston as the manager, someone who does not use a lot of pinch hitters, it's not that surprising that he only has 1 at bat thus far.
However, regardless of Cito's managerial philosophy when it comes to pinch hitting, I think I have a feasible solution to get Randy Ruiz some playing time. Having said that, there are certain caveats, or conditions that have to be met. Travis Snider has to be an everyday player, and has to face lefties. The youngster is going to be a key piece to this franchise in the near future, and the club has to show him that they have confidence in him, and he needs to develop his own confidence against lefties, and he needs as much playing time as possible to continue to improve defensively. If he stubs his toe this year - so be it. This the year to make mistakes. Lyle Overbay is going to be an everyday player as well. Plugging Ruiz in at 1st base is too much of a defensive liability. And it goes without saying, but Randy Ruiz cannot bump Adam Lind out of the lineup.
So, the only possible solution is to: put Bautista at 3rd base against left-handed pitching; sit Edwin Encarnacion; move Snider to right field; and give Adam Lind some time in left field. I'm not saying that the Jays should do this because I'm a big Bautista fan (which I am) or because of his sudden outburst of home runs in August/September of 2009, and during spring training. Nor am I saying this because I'm not Edwin Encarnacion fan (which I'm not) or really even because of his sub-standard defense. I'm basing this decision solely on each players' respective career numbers against left-handed pitching. There's no question that over their entire careers, Encarnacion is a superior hitter, but against left-handed pitching it is quite a different story.
Against left-handed pitching, Encarnacion has hit .270/.375/.464 and has an OPS of .839. Bautista has hit .265/.359/.478 against left-handed pitching, and has an OPS of .838. OPS is On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage. On-base percentage is more effective than measuring simple batting average because it takes into account walks and hit-by-pitches in addition to base hits. Slugging Percentage (total bases/at-bats) not only measures how often a player gets a base hit (batting average), but what kind of hits they are getting (singles, doubles, triples or home runs). Combining the two metrics gives a great measure of overall offensive production. A measly 1 point separates the two players when it comes to this stat. So in my books, against left-handed pitching, they're equal. One could argue that Bautista actually has a bit of an upside because of his new-found power from August/September 2009 and during Spring Training, but that argument does not need to be made in order to make this move convincing. The other reason to do this is because when you have Bautista at 3rd as opposed to Encarnacion, you're definitely giving your defense a boost.
So Bautista replaces Encarnacion against left-handed pitching, which is an offensive-neutral change, but an improvement defensively. And Randy Ruiz has the all the potential in the world to be a more productive hitter than Jose Bautista. The only reason not to make this move is if the Jays actually feel like Encarnacion could be their 3rd baseman of the future, or even in 2011. Encarnacion's contract with the Jays ends after the 2010 season.
On a completely separate note, Jason Frasor is no longer the Blue Jays closer. Kevin Greg, the newly-appointed closer, through 4 1/3 innings this season has allowed only 1 hit, has struck out 6, and hasn't allowed a single walk. He has faced the minimum 13 hitters. This move gets the thumbs up from me.
However, regardless of Cito's managerial philosophy when it comes to pinch hitting, I think I have a feasible solution to get Randy Ruiz some playing time. Having said that, there are certain caveats, or conditions that have to be met. Travis Snider has to be an everyday player, and has to face lefties. The youngster is going to be a key piece to this franchise in the near future, and the club has to show him that they have confidence in him, and he needs to develop his own confidence against lefties, and he needs as much playing time as possible to continue to improve defensively. If he stubs his toe this year - so be it. This the year to make mistakes. Lyle Overbay is going to be an everyday player as well. Plugging Ruiz in at 1st base is too much of a defensive liability. And it goes without saying, but Randy Ruiz cannot bump Adam Lind out of the lineup.
So, the only possible solution is to: put Bautista at 3rd base against left-handed pitching; sit Edwin Encarnacion; move Snider to right field; and give Adam Lind some time in left field. I'm not saying that the Jays should do this because I'm a big Bautista fan (which I am) or because of his sudden outburst of home runs in August/September of 2009, and during spring training. Nor am I saying this because I'm not Edwin Encarnacion fan (which I'm not) or really even because of his sub-standard defense. I'm basing this decision solely on each players' respective career numbers against left-handed pitching. There's no question that over their entire careers, Encarnacion is a superior hitter, but against left-handed pitching it is quite a different story.
Against left-handed pitching, Encarnacion has hit .270/.375/.464 and has an OPS of .839. Bautista has hit .265/.359/.478 against left-handed pitching, and has an OPS of .838. OPS is On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage. On-base percentage is more effective than measuring simple batting average because it takes into account walks and hit-by-pitches in addition to base hits. Slugging Percentage (total bases/at-bats) not only measures how often a player gets a base hit (batting average), but what kind of hits they are getting (singles, doubles, triples or home runs). Combining the two metrics gives a great measure of overall offensive production. A measly 1 point separates the two players when it comes to this stat. So in my books, against left-handed pitching, they're equal. One could argue that Bautista actually has a bit of an upside because of his new-found power from August/September 2009 and during Spring Training, but that argument does not need to be made in order to make this move convincing. The other reason to do this is because when you have Bautista at 3rd as opposed to Encarnacion, you're definitely giving your defense a boost.
So Bautista replaces Encarnacion against left-handed pitching, which is an offensive-neutral change, but an improvement defensively. And Randy Ruiz has the all the potential in the world to be a more productive hitter than Jose Bautista. The only reason not to make this move is if the Jays actually feel like Encarnacion could be their 3rd baseman of the future, or even in 2011. Encarnacion's contract with the Jays ends after the 2010 season.
On a completely separate note, Jason Frasor is no longer the Blue Jays closer. Kevin Greg, the newly-appointed closer, through 4 1/3 innings this season has allowed only 1 hit, has struck out 6, and hasn't allowed a single walk. He has faced the minimum 13 hitters. This move gets the thumbs up from me.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Upsetting Home Opener
Just a quick post tonight, but I figured I should put something up here given that it was the home opener. I did make the trip down and was WAY up in the 500s. I've included a picture so you can get the view from the cheap seats. I saw at least 3 fights break out in the 500s tonight.
The Jays continue to swing the bat very well with home runs from Vernon Wells (his 5th) and an absolutely TOWERING shot from John Buck which just about made it up into the 500 level.
Tallet got knocked around pretty well by the Sox, including former Blue Jay Alex Rios who went 3 for 5 on the night (all singles). I wasn't really sure what kind of reaction Rios would get from the fans, but it was not pretty at all. Downright nasty, actually. I guess it probably sounds that much worse when you have 46,000 fans booing you as opposed to only 20,000. Every time Rios came to bat or fielded the ball in the outfield the crowd erupted in rounds of boos, or 'RIOS YOU SUCK' or 'RIOS SUCKS'. I didn't hear anyone get all that creative with their Rios taunting. I thought it was a little too harsh. The only thing I hold against Rios is that he wasn't that much better about 3 years ago so that the trigger was pulled on the rumoured Rios-Lincecum deal. If that had happened, Halladay and Lincecum as the #1 and #2 starters in 2008, that would have almost definitely resulted in playoff baseball in Toronto for the first time since 1993. But I digress...
"Canadian" Mark Teahen hit a home run to left field in the 9th inning that gave Jason Frasor his second blown save of the season already. From my vantage point (500 level a few sections into foul territory on the 3rd baseline) I have no idea how that ball had enough to get out of the yard. Teahan struck again in the 11th inning with an RBI-triple that scored 42-year old Omar Vizquel. That handed Jeremy Accardo with the loss and a less-than-impressive season debut. I believe Merkin Valdez was warming in the bullpen in the 10th/11th inning, but he remains the only Blue Jay who has not got any action over the first week.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Blue Jays lead the AL East!
The Blue Jays are now in territory that was familiar to them at the beginning of the 2009 season, if only for a short period. Last year the Jays got used to seeing themselves at the top of the toughest division in baseball, the American League East, after starting the season 27-14 – a winning percentage of .659. Their 42nd game of the season marked the beginning of the end when the Jays went on a 9-game losing streak.
Chances are that the Jays’ time in the sun will not be as long-lived as it was last year. And hopefully… we won’t have to see our beloved Blue Jays endure another 9-game losing streak. (That wasn’t fun)
The Blue Jays are in first place currently because of a total team effort with some less-than-likely suspects, Travis Snider and Jose Molina, stepping up on Friday and Saturday respectively to put their team over the edge. Most fans would have considered Vernon Wells an unlikely suspect to carry the team on his shoulders, but that’s exactly what he did during the season-opening series against Texas hitting 4 home runs. The Jays have also had some of the best starting pitching in the American League so far, which leads me to my next point…
DANA EVELAND. He looked a little shaky in the first couple innings, but really settled in after that. Other than a 13-pitch at bat against Nick Markakis in 4th inning, Eveland worked very efficiently throwing just 94 pitches over 7 1/3 innings. Eveland relied heavily on his changeup, which served him well throughout the game. He is not overpowering, throwing a 4-seam, and 2-seam fastball between about 86-90mph, and also mixes a curveball into his repertoire. He pitches to contact, and as such, if I were Cito, I would have been a little more inclined to start defensive specialist John McDonald at second base on Saturday in order to solidify the defense behind Eveland who induced 12 ground ball outs against the Orioles. With power pitcher Brandon Morrow on the mound on Friday, there is less of a need for superior defense when he is striking out more than 1 batter per inning on average, so Mike McCoy could have started that game instead of McDonald with Aaron Hill still listed as day-to-day with hamstring tightness.
Offensively, Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gonzalez and Jose Molina stepped it up with two base hits each. Jose Molina really made his plate appearances count with 2 RBIs. His first came after he was plunked in the left shoulder by David Hernandez in the 4th inning with the bases loaded, and he drove in Edwin Encarnacion in the 6th inning with a base hit.
I’m officially starting my Randy Ruiz count. How many games before he gets an at bat? We’re at 5 games now.
The Jays have officially won their first two series of the season, but will go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:35pm at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Chances are that the Jays’ time in the sun will not be as long-lived as it was last year. And hopefully… we won’t have to see our beloved Blue Jays endure another 9-game losing streak. (That wasn’t fun)
The Blue Jays are in first place currently because of a total team effort with some less-than-likely suspects, Travis Snider and Jose Molina, stepping up on Friday and Saturday respectively to put their team over the edge. Most fans would have considered Vernon Wells an unlikely suspect to carry the team on his shoulders, but that’s exactly what he did during the season-opening series against Texas hitting 4 home runs. The Jays have also had some of the best starting pitching in the American League so far, which leads me to my next point…
DANA EVELAND. He looked a little shaky in the first couple innings, but really settled in after that. Other than a 13-pitch at bat against Nick Markakis in 4th inning, Eveland worked very efficiently throwing just 94 pitches over 7 1/3 innings. Eveland relied heavily on his changeup, which served him well throughout the game. He is not overpowering, throwing a 4-seam, and 2-seam fastball between about 86-90mph, and also mixes a curveball into his repertoire. He pitches to contact, and as such, if I were Cito, I would have been a little more inclined to start defensive specialist John McDonald at second base on Saturday in order to solidify the defense behind Eveland who induced 12 ground ball outs against the Orioles. With power pitcher Brandon Morrow on the mound on Friday, there is less of a need for superior defense when he is striking out more than 1 batter per inning on average, so Mike McCoy could have started that game instead of McDonald with Aaron Hill still listed as day-to-day with hamstring tightness.
Offensively, Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion, Alex Gonzalez and Jose Molina stepped it up with two base hits each. Jose Molina really made his plate appearances count with 2 RBIs. His first came after he was plunked in the left shoulder by David Hernandez in the 4th inning with the bases loaded, and he drove in Edwin Encarnacion in the 6th inning with a base hit.
I’m officially starting my Randy Ruiz count. How many games before he gets an at bat? We’re at 5 games now.
The Jays have officially won their first two series of the season, but will go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:35pm at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Give Ruiz a chance!
Hi All,
Brandon Morrow definitely made it an interesting game yesterday. I'm sure there were plenty of fans tuning in on the FAN or watching the game (and maybe even a handful who made the trip down to Camden Yards) who could only think during that first inning - "WE GAVE UP BRANDON LEAGUE FOR THIS!?". But fans often jump to conclusions way too quickly. His battery mate, John Buck, said afterwards that it was most likely just excitement and nerves that led to Morrow surrendering 3 earned runs in the first inning, but probably even worse, 4 walks, and one hit batsman. The new Jay settled in and ended up striking out 5 through 5 innings of work and kept his team in the game. He showed that by far, he is the hardest throwing pitcher in the Jays' starting rotation with a fastball that topped off yesterday at 97mph, whereas the rest of the current Jays' starters are lucky to hit 92-93mph on the radar gun. Look for a solid performance from Morrow next Wednesday against the White Sox where he faces a group of hitters to whom he has only given up 6 hits over 34 ABs.
The other story I feel is worth noting and giving a little analysis to is the Randy Ruiz Situation. I understand that we're only 4 games into the season, but I think it's unacceptable that Ruiz has not received a single at bat, and that Cito has only used one pinch hitter thus far - John Buck. With Ruiz' defensive deficiencies, and Cito's commitment to both Overbay and Snider to play them as everyday, non-platoon players, Cito admits, "At this point in time, we just just don't have any space for him." Snider, who is by all accounts supposed to be a key piece to the future of this franchise, needs to be shown that management has the confidence in him to face left-handed pitching, unlike the 2009 season where they handled him with kid gloves, giving him at bats almost exclusively against righties before his demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas in May.
Overbay is a completely different story. This is surely Overbay's last year in a Toronto uniform, given that this is his last year under contract with the team, and that they have Brett Wallace as the first baseman of the future down in Vegas currently. If I were a betting man, I would say Overbay is traded to another team before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Cito, being the players' manager that he is, is likely to give Overbay plenty of time to shine and show his stuff in preparation to enter the free agent market at the end of the season. But given that this is a re-building/re-tooling year (however you want to refer to it - we all know what it is) the Blue Jays have no illusions of making the playoffs this year. They'll probably be more than happy if they manage to beat out Tampa for 3rd place in the AL East. So having said all that, GIVE THE 32-YEAR OLD, ALMOST-ROOKIE A REAL SHOT, AND SEE IF YOU'VE ACTUALLY GOT SOMETHING! This is the person who led the Blue Jays in 2009 (in limited action, yes, 115 ABs, but that's still a decent sample size) in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Also, in terms of all players who finished the season with the Blue Jays, he led the club in terms of batting average, hitting .313 on the year. (Scott Rolen hit .320). He has hit at every level in his long minor league career, and had arguably his best season ever hitting .320/.392/.584 with Triple-A Las Vegas and earning the Pacific Coast League's Most Valuable Player Award.
Randy Ruiz is definitely psyched to have been apart of a major league opening day roster for the first time ever earlier this week, but that high will certainly wear off shortly if he's not getting at bats, and he will be left wondering to himself, "What on earth do I have to do to prove that I am ready to be given a real shot in the major leagues?!" The Jays have nothing to lose with Ruiz, but very well may have found a diamond-in-the-rough. Now they've just gotta dig that diamond out, polish it off, and see how many karats it weighs... or... how many home runs it can hit!
Brandon Morrow definitely made it an interesting game yesterday. I'm sure there were plenty of fans tuning in on the FAN or watching the game (and maybe even a handful who made the trip down to Camden Yards) who could only think during that first inning - "WE GAVE UP BRANDON LEAGUE FOR THIS!?". But fans often jump to conclusions way too quickly. His battery mate, John Buck, said afterwards that it was most likely just excitement and nerves that led to Morrow surrendering 3 earned runs in the first inning, but probably even worse, 4 walks, and one hit batsman. The new Jay settled in and ended up striking out 5 through 5 innings of work and kept his team in the game. He showed that by far, he is the hardest throwing pitcher in the Jays' starting rotation with a fastball that topped off yesterday at 97mph, whereas the rest of the current Jays' starters are lucky to hit 92-93mph on the radar gun. Look for a solid performance from Morrow next Wednesday against the White Sox where he faces a group of hitters to whom he has only given up 6 hits over 34 ABs.
The other story I feel is worth noting and giving a little analysis to is the Randy Ruiz Situation. I understand that we're only 4 games into the season, but I think it's unacceptable that Ruiz has not received a single at bat, and that Cito has only used one pinch hitter thus far - John Buck. With Ruiz' defensive deficiencies, and Cito's commitment to both Overbay and Snider to play them as everyday, non-platoon players, Cito admits, "At this point in time, we just just don't have any space for him." Snider, who is by all accounts supposed to be a key piece to the future of this franchise, needs to be shown that management has the confidence in him to face left-handed pitching, unlike the 2009 season where they handled him with kid gloves, giving him at bats almost exclusively against righties before his demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas in May.
Overbay is a completely different story. This is surely Overbay's last year in a Toronto uniform, given that this is his last year under contract with the team, and that they have Brett Wallace as the first baseman of the future down in Vegas currently. If I were a betting man, I would say Overbay is traded to another team before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Cito, being the players' manager that he is, is likely to give Overbay plenty of time to shine and show his stuff in preparation to enter the free agent market at the end of the season. But given that this is a re-building/re-tooling year (however you want to refer to it - we all know what it is) the Blue Jays have no illusions of making the playoffs this year. They'll probably be more than happy if they manage to beat out Tampa for 3rd place in the AL East. So having said all that, GIVE THE 32-YEAR OLD, ALMOST-ROOKIE A REAL SHOT, AND SEE IF YOU'VE ACTUALLY GOT SOMETHING! This is the person who led the Blue Jays in 2009 (in limited action, yes, 115 ABs, but that's still a decent sample size) in on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Also, in terms of all players who finished the season with the Blue Jays, he led the club in terms of batting average, hitting .313 on the year. (Scott Rolen hit .320). He has hit at every level in his long minor league career, and had arguably his best season ever hitting .320/.392/.584 with Triple-A Las Vegas and earning the Pacific Coast League's Most Valuable Player Award.
Randy Ruiz is definitely psyched to have been apart of a major league opening day roster for the first time ever earlier this week, but that high will certainly wear off shortly if he's not getting at bats, and he will be left wondering to himself, "What on earth do I have to do to prove that I am ready to be given a real shot in the major leagues?!" The Jays have nothing to lose with Ruiz, but very well may have found a diamond-in-the-rough. Now they've just gotta dig that diamond out, polish it off, and see how many karats it weighs... or... how many home runs it can hit!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
2 games - 2 solid efforts
Overall, the Blue Jays fan has to be pleased with the effort put forth by the club in their first two games of the season. The performances of the two starting pitchers were absolutely stellar (Marcum) and solid (Tallet). On Monday, Marcum briefly flirted with history, almost joining Bob Feller as just the second pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter on opening day as he took the no-no into the 7th inning. Gritty as usual, Brian Tallet battled through 6 2/3 innings. He had to deal with some poor defence behind him, and a little hiccup in the 4th inning giving up back-to-back home runs, on back-to-back pitches to Vlad Guerrero and Nelson Cruz.
Offensively, Vernon Wells has (surprisingly) been the story for the Jays so far. The wrist must be feeling better for Wells because now he's making solid contact with the ball as opposed to getting under the ball, popping it up, and slamming his bat down in frustration - a sight that was all too familiar last year. Wells has gone 5 for 7 so far, with 3 home runs and 6 RBI - most definitely doing his job so far as the cleanup hitter. Given that Wells never blamed his wrist last year for his performance, it is doubtful now that he will attribute his performance to a healthy wrist. Wells will most likely never live up to his rich, back-loaded, 7-year, $126M contract, but if the wrist his 100% healthy, I would predict him having a season that the average Jays fan can be very pleased with.
If these two games were played with Vernon Wells circa 2009, the Jays probably lose these two games. Taking a cursory look over the box scores from the last 2 days, you may think that the Jays received some timely hitting with runners in scoring position given that today in particular, the Jays scored 7 runs with just 5 hits. But in fact, the Jays actually went 1 for 13 with RISP. But when you're hitting 5 HRs, 3 coming courtesy of your cleanup hitter, and when you make the opposing team pay when they make mistakes (walks), you put yourself in a very good position to win (as long as your closer doesn't blow a save).
Canadian pitcher, Rich Harden, looked dominant and out-of-place all at the same time on Wednesday night. It's not often that you see a pitcher rack up 8 strikeouts over just 3 2/3 innings. (5 of the first 6 outs for Harden were recorded by way of the K). The walks killed the Rangers' first two pitchers of the day - Harden & Dustin Nippert - who walked 9 collectively over 6 1/3 innings. Back-to-back bases loaded walks surrendered by Harden to Snider and Bautista in the 4th marked the end of the day for the Canuck.
So far, so good. Don't get too excited, don't write them off. Just sit back and enjoy some baseball
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Offensively, Vernon Wells has (surprisingly) been the story for the Jays so far. The wrist must be feeling better for Wells because now he's making solid contact with the ball as opposed to getting under the ball, popping it up, and slamming his bat down in frustration - a sight that was all too familiar last year. Wells has gone 5 for 7 so far, with 3 home runs and 6 RBI - most definitely doing his job so far as the cleanup hitter. Given that Wells never blamed his wrist last year for his performance, it is doubtful now that he will attribute his performance to a healthy wrist. Wells will most likely never live up to his rich, back-loaded, 7-year, $126M contract, but if the wrist his 100% healthy, I would predict him having a season that the average Jays fan can be very pleased with.
If these two games were played with Vernon Wells circa 2009, the Jays probably lose these two games. Taking a cursory look over the box scores from the last 2 days, you may think that the Jays received some timely hitting with runners in scoring position given that today in particular, the Jays scored 7 runs with just 5 hits. But in fact, the Jays actually went 1 for 13 with RISP. But when you're hitting 5 HRs, 3 coming courtesy of your cleanup hitter, and when you make the opposing team pay when they make mistakes (walks), you put yourself in a very good position to win (as long as your closer doesn't blow a save).
Canadian pitcher, Rich Harden, looked dominant and out-of-place all at the same time on Wednesday night. It's not often that you see a pitcher rack up 8 strikeouts over just 3 2/3 innings. (5 of the first 6 outs for Harden were recorded by way of the K). The walks killed the Rangers' first two pitchers of the day - Harden & Dustin Nippert - who walked 9 collectively over 6 1/3 innings. Back-to-back bases loaded walks surrendered by Harden to Snider and Bautista in the 4th marked the end of the day for the Canuck.
So far, so good. Don't get too excited, don't write them off. Just sit back and enjoy some baseball
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Jays finalize pitching staff
No, it wasn't an April Fools joke, Brett Cecil is going to start the year in Triple-A Las Vegas. Cecil figured that he showed management enough during his start on Wednesday against the Phillies to warrant him breaking camp with the club, but apparently not. I find it a little peculiar that they made the final decision before Tallet's final start of the spring. If they were able to make that decision when they did, that tells me they basically had their minds made up even before Cecil's start on Wednesday. No matter how good Cecil pitched on Wednesday, he wasn't going to make the team.
Not that the order of the pitching rotation matters all that much in the grand scheme of things, but fans were under the impression that sophomore Ricky Romero was supposed to be the #2 starter, but in fact, it will be reliever-turned-starter Brian Tallet that will occupy that position and start next Wednesday against Texas. Tallet's position as the #2 starter also wins him the honour of starting for the Blue Jays in their home opener on April 12th vs. Chicago. Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Dana Eveland round out the starting rotation as the 3,4, and 5 pitchers.
Since both Tallet and and Eveland (possibilities for the bullpen) are currently in the starting rotation, that leaves only one lefty in the Jays' bullpen - Scott Downs, who last year, got used to the role as the Jays' closer for a period of time after the departure of BJ Ryan, but now may simply be used as situational lefty - quite a change from the closer's role. Obviously having only one left-handed pitcher in the bullpen is not a long term solution. To me that indicates that they believe Jesse Carlson will be returning soon. It also indicates that ideally they would like to have at least one of Tallet or Eveland in the bullpen - maybe both - when Marc Rzepczynski, and hopefully, Dustin McGowan return from their respective injuries.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Not that the order of the pitching rotation matters all that much in the grand scheme of things, but fans were under the impression that sophomore Ricky Romero was supposed to be the #2 starter, but in fact, it will be reliever-turned-starter Brian Tallet that will occupy that position and start next Wednesday against Texas. Tallet's position as the #2 starter also wins him the honour of starting for the Blue Jays in their home opener on April 12th vs. Chicago. Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow and Dana Eveland round out the starting rotation as the 3,4, and 5 pitchers.
Since both Tallet and and Eveland (possibilities for the bullpen) are currently in the starting rotation, that leaves only one lefty in the Jays' bullpen - Scott Downs, who last year, got used to the role as the Jays' closer for a period of time after the departure of BJ Ryan, but now may simply be used as situational lefty - quite a change from the closer's role. Obviously having only one left-handed pitcher in the bullpen is not a long term solution. To me that indicates that they believe Jesse Carlson will be returning soon. It also indicates that ideally they would like to have at least one of Tallet or Eveland in the bullpen - maybe both - when Marc Rzepczynski, and hopefully, Dustin McGowan return from their respective injuries.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Blue Jays hand Halladay a loss...? (That just doesn't sound right)
Former Blue Jay, now Philadelphia Philly, Roy Hallady had an uncharacteristically short outing today against his former club going just 3 innings, while surrendering 5 hits and 4 earned runs - all in the first inning. The Blue Jays jumped all over their former ace early with 3 extra-base hits in a row to start off the game. Halladay looked great in his second inning of work striking out the side in order, but he struggled with his command in the first inning. He threw a lot more curveballs than Blue Jay fans were used to see last year. The curveball visibly fooled right handed batters like Jose Bautista, Vernon Wells and Edwin Encarnacion who all turned away from the pitch thinking it was coming well inside to them.
The Blue Jays starting pitcher, Brett Cecil looked good in what should be his last outing of the spring. Cecil went 6 innings giving up no walks, and just 2 earned runs (2 solo home runs). A solid performance from Cecil today should be enough to win him a spot in the Jays' rotation after it was announced today that the bruised middle finger that Marc Rzepczynski sustained in Tuesday's game against the Yankees is actually a broken or fractured middle finger which will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Once again, this changes the look of the Jays pitching staff. As opposed to speculating who is going to be in the rotation and who is going to be in the bullpen (the wildcards of Tallet & Eveland make that argument too complicated) I think one can easily say that the following 11 pitchers are locks to break camp with the club in some form:
-Shaun Marcum
-Ricky Romero
-Brandon Morrow
-Brett Cecil
-Brian Tallet
-Dana Eveland
-Jason Frasor
-Kevin Gregg
-Scott Downs
-Casey Janssen
-Shawn Camp
The final spot could go to:
-Merkin Valdez
-Jeremy Accardo
-Josh Roenicke
One would think Valdez has the option because he is out of options and would need to be placed on waivers if they Jays wanted to send him down to Las Vegas, and he has quite arguably pitched better than Accardo and Roenicke.
Today Raul Chavez was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas to serve as the backup to the Jays' top catching prospect - J.P. Arencibia, which means that Jose Molina will serve as the Blue Jays backup catcher.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
The Blue Jays starting pitcher, Brett Cecil looked good in what should be his last outing of the spring. Cecil went 6 innings giving up no walks, and just 2 earned runs (2 solo home runs). A solid performance from Cecil today should be enough to win him a spot in the Jays' rotation after it was announced today that the bruised middle finger that Marc Rzepczynski sustained in Tuesday's game against the Yankees is actually a broken or fractured middle finger which will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Once again, this changes the look of the Jays pitching staff. As opposed to speculating who is going to be in the rotation and who is going to be in the bullpen (the wildcards of Tallet & Eveland make that argument too complicated) I think one can easily say that the following 11 pitchers are locks to break camp with the club in some form:
-Shaun Marcum
-Ricky Romero
-Brandon Morrow
-Brett Cecil
-Brian Tallet
-Dana Eveland
-Jason Frasor
-Kevin Gregg
-Scott Downs
-Casey Janssen
-Shawn Camp
The final spot could go to:
-Merkin Valdez
-Jeremy Accardo
-Josh Roenicke
One would think Valdez has the option because he is out of options and would need to be placed on waivers if they Jays wanted to send him down to Las Vegas, and he has quite arguably pitched better than Accardo and Roenicke.
Today Raul Chavez was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas to serve as the backup to the Jays' top catching prospect - J.P. Arencibia, which means that Jose Molina will serve as the Blue Jays backup catcher.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
David Wright = Rick Moranis in Spaceballs
2009 seemed to be the season of hitters getting plunked in the head by pitchers. David Wright, Francisco Cervelli, Scott Rolen and Marco Scutaro all faced similar scary incidents, but none was worse than Wright's though. Along with Wright, Cervelli is now wearing an oversized helmet that can reportedly withstand those 94mph fastballs like the one from Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants that beaned Wright in the head in August of last year.
But is it just me, or do these helmets remind you of Rick Moranis in Spaceballs?!
Randy Ruiz the Pinch Runner...
That's not something you're too likely to see the big boy from the Bronx doing during the regular season even though he has trimmed about 20 lbs. off his frame over the offseason.
The bigger, or biggest story of the game was arguably how Marc Rzepczysnki struggled to hit his spots giving up 5 earned runs, 8 hits and 2 walks to the Yankees over 4 and 2/3rd of an inning. Rzepczynski's only real saving grace was his curveball at times, which helped him strike out the last two hitters in the 4th inning - catcher Francisco Cervelli, and minor league speedster Greg Golson. The young pitcher must have felt that his curveball was working so well for him that he decided to open up the 5th inning against Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter with that pitch, only to hang it a little bit up in the zone. Jeter made Zep pay by tripling to center field. That was the beginning of the end for Zep who left later on that inning after reaching out for a ground ball hit up the middle by Ramiro Pena which hit him on his throwing hand. The extent of the injury to Rzepczynski was not made known during or after the game, but one could tell that he was in obvious pain.
Zep's lack-lustre outing tonight coupled with a potential injury makes things even more interesting for the Blue Jays' starting rotation. Brett Cecil, who many in the media had already pegged to start the season in Triple-A Las Vegas, starts on Wednesday for the Blue Jays against the Phillies and could book himself a ticket for a flight out to Texas next week as opposed to Sin City if he delivers a solid outing against Roy Halladay's new club. Rzepczynski's shaking outing also keeps things open for Dana Eveland to join the Jays' rotation as opposed to the bullpen.
The Jays struggled at the plate especially during Sergio Mitre's first three innings where he was perfect and had his changeup working particularly well for himself. Mitre started the game even though Phil Hughes has already been named the Yankees fifth starter. The only hits for the Jays came from Aaron Hill who homered in the 4th inning to give the Jays a brief 1-run lead; Jose Bautista and Lyle Overbay who both singled; and Adam Lind who doubled.
In other Blue Jays news, a few more cuts were made today with David Purcey, Jesse Carlson and Jeremy Reed being sent to Triple-A Las Vegas. Purcey doesn't come as much of a surprise, but Carlson and Reed were a little less expected. As I mentioned yesterday, Gaston seemed very partial to Carlson last year and was quoted as saying about Carlson, "He's one of the guys I really, really like as a person." Carlson who has dealt with a knee injury this spring will get some work in Vegas and we will surely see him up with the big club later this season. Jeremy Reed is being sent to Las Vegas after hitting .431/.460/.490 in the spring over 51 ABs (more than any other Blue Jay hitter). Although Reed couldn't have done much more during the spring, Blue Jays' GM Alex Anthopolous felt that Mike McCoy did that much more than Reed, and McCoy's versatility in the field was surely one factor that made the decision easier for management.
If you have MLB.TV, tune in tomorrow at 1:05pm EST because the Jays take on the Phillies in Clearwater with Roy Halladay taking the mound for the Phils!
The bigger, or biggest story of the game was arguably how Marc Rzepczysnki struggled to hit his spots giving up 5 earned runs, 8 hits and 2 walks to the Yankees over 4 and 2/3rd of an inning. Rzepczynski's only real saving grace was his curveball at times, which helped him strike out the last two hitters in the 4th inning - catcher Francisco Cervelli, and minor league speedster Greg Golson. The young pitcher must have felt that his curveball was working so well for him that he decided to open up the 5th inning against Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter with that pitch, only to hang it a little bit up in the zone. Jeter made Zep pay by tripling to center field. That was the beginning of the end for Zep who left later on that inning after reaching out for a ground ball hit up the middle by Ramiro Pena which hit him on his throwing hand. The extent of the injury to Rzepczynski was not made known during or after the game, but one could tell that he was in obvious pain.
Zep's lack-lustre outing tonight coupled with a potential injury makes things even more interesting for the Blue Jays' starting rotation. Brett Cecil, who many in the media had already pegged to start the season in Triple-A Las Vegas, starts on Wednesday for the Blue Jays against the Phillies and could book himself a ticket for a flight out to Texas next week as opposed to Sin City if he delivers a solid outing against Roy Halladay's new club. Rzepczynski's shaking outing also keeps things open for Dana Eveland to join the Jays' rotation as opposed to the bullpen.
The Jays struggled at the plate especially during Sergio Mitre's first three innings where he was perfect and had his changeup working particularly well for himself. Mitre started the game even though Phil Hughes has already been named the Yankees fifth starter. The only hits for the Jays came from Aaron Hill who homered in the 4th inning to give the Jays a brief 1-run lead; Jose Bautista and Lyle Overbay who both singled; and Adam Lind who doubled.
In other Blue Jays news, a few more cuts were made today with David Purcey, Jesse Carlson and Jeremy Reed being sent to Triple-A Las Vegas. Purcey doesn't come as much of a surprise, but Carlson and Reed were a little less expected. As I mentioned yesterday, Gaston seemed very partial to Carlson last year and was quoted as saying about Carlson, "He's one of the guys I really, really like as a person." Carlson who has dealt with a knee injury this spring will get some work in Vegas and we will surely see him up with the big club later this season. Jeremy Reed is being sent to Las Vegas after hitting .431/.460/.490 in the spring over 51 ABs (more than any other Blue Jay hitter). Although Reed couldn't have done much more during the spring, Blue Jays' GM Alex Anthopolous felt that Mike McCoy did that much more than Reed, and McCoy's versatility in the field was surely one factor that made the decision easier for management.
If you have MLB.TV, tune in tomorrow at 1:05pm EST because the Jays take on the Phillies in Clearwater with Roy Halladay taking the mound for the Phils!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Say Hello to your 2010 Blue Jays
With the 2010 Regular Season starting in 1 week, it seems like an appropriate time to comment on what the opening day 25-man roster should look like.
So here we go...
ROTATION
Marcum
Romero
Rzepczynski
Morrow
Tallet
BULLPEN
Frasor (Closer)
Downs
Gregg
Camp
Janssen
Eveland
Carlson/Valdez
Frasor was recently named the closer by Cito, and Downs and Gregg were the other two locks from the beginning of the spring. Camp has been solid, and Janssen seems to be getting back to his 2007 form. Dana Eveland has been given more of a chance than any other pitcher to show his stuff this spring with 22 innings pitched so far - 5 innings more than both Tallet and Rzepczynski. Eveland has impressed during his audition especially today when he gave up no runs and allowed just 4 hits and one walk over 6 innings while striking out 8! Cito has not ruled out the idea of starting both young pitchers, Cecil and Rzepczynski, in Las Vegas. If that were the case, that would definitely leave room in the rotation for Eveland. Brian Tallet could also move back to his familiar spot in the bullpen as well. Either way, Eveland is making it a very easy decision for management to bring him north for the beginning of the season. As he is out of options, if the Jays wanted to send him down to the minors, he would be exposed to other teams on waivers. In the past Cito has been very partial to Carlson giving him more appearances in 2009 than any other Blue Jays pitcher. So I can only imagine that he will get the call instead of Valdez even though he’s out of options.
BATTING ORDER
Bautista RF
Hill 2B
Lind LF
Wells CF
Overbay 1B
Ruiz DH
Encarnacion 3B
Gonazalez SS
Buck C
BENCH
Snider
McDonald
Molina/Chavez
McCoy/Reed
Neither Jose Molina nor Raul Chavez have impressed offensively. Expect Molina to start the year with the big club until either he gives the Jays a reason he doesn't deserve to be there and/or Chavez gives them a reason that he should be there. Both Mike McCoy and Jeremy Reed have played well enough during the spring to earn themselves a spot on the 25-man roster. Surely the one who doesn’t come north with the team at the beginning of the season will get a shot later on this year.
Ruiz really deserves a shot to be the everyday DH for the club this season. If there's one thing he knows how to do - it's hitting. Especially given the fact that the Jays aren't exactly competing for a playoff spot this year, it's worth giving Ruiz a good hard look to see if this guy can put up some sustained, above-average numbers at the plate in the majors.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
So here we go...
ROTATION
Marcum
Romero
Rzepczynski
Morrow
Tallet
BULLPEN
Frasor (Closer)
Downs
Gregg
Camp
Janssen
Eveland
Carlson/Valdez
Frasor was recently named the closer by Cito, and Downs and Gregg were the other two locks from the beginning of the spring. Camp has been solid, and Janssen seems to be getting back to his 2007 form. Dana Eveland has been given more of a chance than any other pitcher to show his stuff this spring with 22 innings pitched so far - 5 innings more than both Tallet and Rzepczynski. Eveland has impressed during his audition especially today when he gave up no runs and allowed just 4 hits and one walk over 6 innings while striking out 8! Cito has not ruled out the idea of starting both young pitchers, Cecil and Rzepczynski, in Las Vegas. If that were the case, that would definitely leave room in the rotation for Eveland. Brian Tallet could also move back to his familiar spot in the bullpen as well. Either way, Eveland is making it a very easy decision for management to bring him north for the beginning of the season. As he is out of options, if the Jays wanted to send him down to the minors, he would be exposed to other teams on waivers. In the past Cito has been very partial to Carlson giving him more appearances in 2009 than any other Blue Jays pitcher. So I can only imagine that he will get the call instead of Valdez even though he’s out of options.
BATTING ORDER
Bautista RF
Hill 2B
Lind LF
Wells CF
Overbay 1B
Ruiz DH
Encarnacion 3B
Gonazalez SS
Buck C
BENCH
Snider
McDonald
Molina/Chavez
McCoy/Reed
Neither Jose Molina nor Raul Chavez have impressed offensively. Expect Molina to start the year with the big club until either he gives the Jays a reason he doesn't deserve to be there and/or Chavez gives them a reason that he should be there. Both Mike McCoy and Jeremy Reed have played well enough during the spring to earn themselves a spot on the 25-man roster. Surely the one who doesn’t come north with the team at the beginning of the season will get a shot later on this year.
Ruiz really deserves a shot to be the everyday DH for the club this season. If there's one thing he knows how to do - it's hitting. Especially given the fact that the Jays aren't exactly competing for a playoff spot this year, it's worth giving Ruiz a good hard look to see if this guy can put up some sustained, above-average numbers at the plate in the majors.
Reasonable and rational comments are always welcome.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Marcum continues to solidify himself as the Ace
Hi All,
Today was unfortunately the first Blue Jays game of the spring that was not broadcast in any form. If you have mlb.tv, you have been able to listen to all Blue Jays games up until this point, and you were actually able to watch last Saturday's game against the Yankees. I would highly recommend for the hardcore baseball fan.
But from the reports, today's game was another excellent outing for Marcum. 3 IP, 1 hit, no walks, 39 pitches, and 30 were thrown for strikes. That's pretty impressive who hasn't pitched in the major leagues in about 18 months! Odds are now that Marcum becomes the opening day starter.
Jose Bautista continues to keep making things interesting. He currently has the second highest batting average on the team, the highest slugging percentage, and is kicking everyone else's butts in terms of total bases with 22 so far. With both Bautista and Ruiz swinging the stick as well as they are, and Travis Snider lacking a little bit in that department, going 3 for 16 so far at the plate, don't be so sure that Snider is the Blue Jays' starting right or left fielder. I don't want to make a full prediction of the Jays' starting lineup just yet, because it's still quite early, but right now, I have difficulty penciling in Snider in either corner outfield position.
The one new Jay that is quietly impressing is Mike McCoy. The shortstop is competing for playing time at a position where there is a bit of a void. The Jays' stop-gap at SS, Alex Gonzalez, has a career batting average that is less than 1% higher of that of John McDonald. Jonny Mac has always been criticized of being just miserable at the plate, but he's not much worse than Gonzalez who has never hit for average, and has posted only one 20+ HR season in his career back in 2004. McCoy only got his first taste of 'the show' just last year, and it was quite brief at that, getting just 6 plate appearances, but he has been kicking around the minor leagues for 8 seasons now. He earned his promotion to the big leagues after hitting .307/.405/.400 in AAA in 2009. He isn't going to hit for power, but he will steal some bases for you. (He stole 40 for Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League last year). And did I mention that he is leading the Jays' in batting average so far this spring going 6 for 9 at the plate?
As I said, McCoy has earned the top spot in terms of batting average on the club quietly given that he has only had 9 ABs - so don't get too excited. But I would expect McCoy to be making the trip north with the big club at the start of the season rather than heading out to Vegas. Don't expect the soon-to-be 29-year old to garner too much playing time, especially at the beginning of the season, but keep your eye on him - he could be fun to watch this season.
Rational and reasonable comments are always welcome.
Today was unfortunately the first Blue Jays game of the spring that was not broadcast in any form. If you have mlb.tv, you have been able to listen to all Blue Jays games up until this point, and you were actually able to watch last Saturday's game against the Yankees. I would highly recommend for the hardcore baseball fan.
But from the reports, today's game was another excellent outing for Marcum. 3 IP, 1 hit, no walks, 39 pitches, and 30 were thrown for strikes. That's pretty impressive who hasn't pitched in the major leagues in about 18 months! Odds are now that Marcum becomes the opening day starter.
Jose Bautista continues to keep making things interesting. He currently has the second highest batting average on the team, the highest slugging percentage, and is kicking everyone else's butts in terms of total bases with 22 so far. With both Bautista and Ruiz swinging the stick as well as they are, and Travis Snider lacking a little bit in that department, going 3 for 16 so far at the plate, don't be so sure that Snider is the Blue Jays' starting right or left fielder. I don't want to make a full prediction of the Jays' starting lineup just yet, because it's still quite early, but right now, I have difficulty penciling in Snider in either corner outfield position.
The one new Jay that is quietly impressing is Mike McCoy. The shortstop is competing for playing time at a position where there is a bit of a void. The Jays' stop-gap at SS, Alex Gonzalez, has a career batting average that is less than 1% higher of that of John McDonald. Jonny Mac has always been criticized of being just miserable at the plate, but he's not much worse than Gonzalez who has never hit for average, and has posted only one 20+ HR season in his career back in 2004. McCoy only got his first taste of 'the show' just last year, and it was quite brief at that, getting just 6 plate appearances, but he has been kicking around the minor leagues for 8 seasons now. He earned his promotion to the big leagues after hitting .307/.405/.400 in AAA in 2009. He isn't going to hit for power, but he will steal some bases for you. (He stole 40 for Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League last year). And did I mention that he is leading the Jays' in batting average so far this spring going 6 for 9 at the plate?
As I said, McCoy has earned the top spot in terms of batting average on the club quietly given that he has only had 9 ABs - so don't get too excited. But I would expect McCoy to be making the trip north with the big club at the start of the season rather than heading out to Vegas. Don't expect the soon-to-be 29-year old to garner too much playing time, especially at the beginning of the season, but keep your eye on him - he could be fun to watch this season.
Rational and reasonable comments are always welcome.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Bautista gives Gaston something to think about
Jose Bautista's role with the Jays this season is definitely in question. But Bautista is hoping to show that it’s not a question of if he will be in the starting lineup everyday, but where exactly he will be.
For much of the 2009 season, Bautista served as a utility player. For any player, coming in off the bench to pinch hit after sitting for over half the game is never an easy task. Not knowing where you’re going to be playing in the field each day when you come to the ballpark can also serve as a point of distraction. But oftentimes, when players are finally given the opportunity to have a consistent spot in the starting lineup, their offensive numbers can improve significantly. This is exactly what happened in September/October of 2009 when Bautista compiled 10 HR and 21 RBI while sporting a .606 SLG percentage, and an OPS of .918. Bautista has started off spring training on a similar note going 5 for 6 at the plate with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 2 games.
Over Bautista’s last 30 games of the 2009 season, he solidified himself as the Jays’ starting right-fielder, but it was only over the last 13 games of the season that Bautista also had the piece of mind of knowing that he was going to be penciled in every day in the leadoff position. Many argue that he is the Jays' de-facto leadoff hitter if speedsters, and more proto-typical leadoff hitters like Joey Gathright or Mike McCoy don't step up. So far, they haven’t given Cito Gaston much reason to entrust them with the responsibility of kick-starting the Blue Jays’ offense.
But do Bautista’s offensive numbers through September/October of last season, and his first 2 games of spring training make him the best fit for the leadoff position? Would he be better suited further down in the lineup? In 2009, Bautista had an above-average walk-rate of .139. However, while he went on his offensive tear during his last 30 games of the season, his walk-rate slowed to a rate of .088, and his OBP, which for the entire season was .349, dropped to a pedestrian .312 during this stretch. Throughout 2009, the only Blue Jay to draw a base-on-balls at a faster clip than Bautista was Lyle Overbay at .148. Earlier today, Mike Wilner suggested on the radio that Overbay may be another choice for the leadoff spot. I would tend to agree with Mr. Wilner with regards to that assessment. (To answer your question, Mr. Wilner, Overbay has never led off a game in the major leagues – so no surprise for you there!)
Early on in spring training many are projecting Bautista to be the leadoff hitter, and Overbay to be hitting fifth in the lineup. Maybe those two positions in the batting order end up getting swapped. It would be wrong to suggest that Bautista is secretly a pure power hitter, but when comparing Bautista and Overbay, it is interesting to note that they have identical 162 game averages for home runs – 17. It’s still very early in the spring, and there are still many questions to be answered before the Blue Jays’ opening day lineup is finalized. The flipside of a potentially sub-par season for the Jays is at the very least, an interesting competition in March for jobs on opening day. The Jays are only three games in, and we can only infer so much from such limited action, but Jose Bautista is certainly making a strong case for himself thus far.
For much of the 2009 season, Bautista served as a utility player. For any player, coming in off the bench to pinch hit after sitting for over half the game is never an easy task. Not knowing where you’re going to be playing in the field each day when you come to the ballpark can also serve as a point of distraction. But oftentimes, when players are finally given the opportunity to have a consistent spot in the starting lineup, their offensive numbers can improve significantly. This is exactly what happened in September/October of 2009 when Bautista compiled 10 HR and 21 RBI while sporting a .606 SLG percentage, and an OPS of .918. Bautista has started off spring training on a similar note going 5 for 6 at the plate with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 2 games.
Over Bautista’s last 30 games of the 2009 season, he solidified himself as the Jays’ starting right-fielder, but it was only over the last 13 games of the season that Bautista also had the piece of mind of knowing that he was going to be penciled in every day in the leadoff position. Many argue that he is the Jays' de-facto leadoff hitter if speedsters, and more proto-typical leadoff hitters like Joey Gathright or Mike McCoy don't step up. So far, they haven’t given Cito Gaston much reason to entrust them with the responsibility of kick-starting the Blue Jays’ offense.
But do Bautista’s offensive numbers through September/October of last season, and his first 2 games of spring training make him the best fit for the leadoff position? Would he be better suited further down in the lineup? In 2009, Bautista had an above-average walk-rate of .139. However, while he went on his offensive tear during his last 30 games of the season, his walk-rate slowed to a rate of .088, and his OBP, which for the entire season was .349, dropped to a pedestrian .312 during this stretch. Throughout 2009, the only Blue Jay to draw a base-on-balls at a faster clip than Bautista was Lyle Overbay at .148. Earlier today, Mike Wilner suggested on the radio that Overbay may be another choice for the leadoff spot. I would tend to agree with Mr. Wilner with regards to that assessment. (To answer your question, Mr. Wilner, Overbay has never led off a game in the major leagues – so no surprise for you there!)
Early on in spring training many are projecting Bautista to be the leadoff hitter, and Overbay to be hitting fifth in the lineup. Maybe those two positions in the batting order end up getting swapped. It would be wrong to suggest that Bautista is secretly a pure power hitter, but when comparing Bautista and Overbay, it is interesting to note that they have identical 162 game averages for home runs – 17. It’s still very early in the spring, and there are still many questions to be answered before the Blue Jays’ opening day lineup is finalized. The flipside of a potentially sub-par season for the Jays is at the very least, an interesting competition in March for jobs on opening day. The Jays are only three games in, and we can only infer so much from such limited action, but Jose Bautista is certainly making a strong case for himself thus far.
The Jays Spank the Yanks!
A solid effort from the Blue Jays (big leaguers and minor leaguers alike) lead them to a commanding 9-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the first televised (online at least) Blue Jays game of the season.
For Blue Jays fans, the most encouraging sign is definitely that Shaun Marcum looked sharp pitching 2 innings, not allowing a single hit, and only allowing one walk to Alex Rodriguez on 4 pitches where Marcum was most likely being cautious about giving the future hall-of-famer anything to hit. If Marcum keeps this up throughout the spring, you can pencil him in as the ace of the staff. That's not a knock against Ricky Romero, but that would be a lot to put on the shoulders of a sophomore pitcher.
In terms of position players, Jose Bautista, Vernon Wells, and J.P Arencibia have also been impressive in the Blue Jays first few games of the spring. Both Wells & Arencibia are obviously trying to bounce back from disappointing offensive seasons. Wells' offensive numbers lagged in 2009 highlighted by just 15 HRs - his lowest season total since becoming the Jays' everyday centre-fielder in 2002. Wells has looked solid in the 2 games in which he has appeared going 4 for 6, making some solid contact with the ball. J.P. Arencibia has given Jays fans a glimpse of why there has been so much hype about him over the last couple of seasons, leading the Jays so far with 2 HR and 5 RBI. As for Jose Bautista, check back shortly for a detailed article about the Blue Jay whose role with Jays this season is highly-debated.
As for the Yankees, they will surely shake off this poor performance. The Jays hitters rocked Jonathan Albaladejo with 7 hits over 1/3 of an inning, thus ballooning the Yankee reliever's early spring ERA to a laughable 189! Former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett lasted 1/3 of an inning less than expected after surrendering 2 ERs on 5 hits. Burnett is hoping to add a changeup this season to his arsenal which currently consists of a devastating '12-to-6' curveball (which he did not throw today) and an overpowering fastball. If you're a Jays fan, don't get too excited just because your Blue Jays knocked around Burnett a little bit. If A.J. can actually incorporate a changeup into his suite of pitches, it will make his fastball that much more effective by leaving hitters guessing. If he can learn to locate his pitches a little bit more, and NOT lead the AL in walks as he did in 2009, Burnett will surely be one of the most feared pitchers in professional baseball.
The Jays host the Tigers Sunday at 1pm in Dunedin.
For Blue Jays fans, the most encouraging sign is definitely that Shaun Marcum looked sharp pitching 2 innings, not allowing a single hit, and only allowing one walk to Alex Rodriguez on 4 pitches where Marcum was most likely being cautious about giving the future hall-of-famer anything to hit. If Marcum keeps this up throughout the spring, you can pencil him in as the ace of the staff. That's not a knock against Ricky Romero, but that would be a lot to put on the shoulders of a sophomore pitcher.
In terms of position players, Jose Bautista, Vernon Wells, and J.P Arencibia have also been impressive in the Blue Jays first few games of the spring. Both Wells & Arencibia are obviously trying to bounce back from disappointing offensive seasons. Wells' offensive numbers lagged in 2009 highlighted by just 15 HRs - his lowest season total since becoming the Jays' everyday centre-fielder in 2002. Wells has looked solid in the 2 games in which he has appeared going 4 for 6, making some solid contact with the ball. J.P. Arencibia has given Jays fans a glimpse of why there has been so much hype about him over the last couple of seasons, leading the Jays so far with 2 HR and 5 RBI. As for Jose Bautista, check back shortly for a detailed article about the Blue Jay whose role with Jays this season is highly-debated.
As for the Yankees, they will surely shake off this poor performance. The Jays hitters rocked Jonathan Albaladejo with 7 hits over 1/3 of an inning, thus ballooning the Yankee reliever's early spring ERA to a laughable 189! Former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett lasted 1/3 of an inning less than expected after surrendering 2 ERs on 5 hits. Burnett is hoping to add a changeup this season to his arsenal which currently consists of a devastating '12-to-6' curveball (which he did not throw today) and an overpowering fastball. If you're a Jays fan, don't get too excited just because your Blue Jays knocked around Burnett a little bit. If A.J. can actually incorporate a changeup into his suite of pitches, it will make his fastball that much more effective by leaving hitters guessing. If he can learn to locate his pitches a little bit more, and NOT lead the AL in walks as he did in 2009, Burnett will surely be one of the most feared pitchers in professional baseball.
The Jays host the Tigers Sunday at 1pm in Dunedin.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Inaugural Post
Hey Everyone,
This is my first post on the blog. This blog will cover everything pertaining to the Toronto Blue Jays and other MLB topics.
This blog will not simply be my personal thoughts on what's going on with the Blue Jays, nor will be it be a place for me to complain about what may potentially be the worst season for the Jays in a long time.
On this blog I hope to engage readers with thoughtful analysis about issues important to Blue Jays fans. The blog will consist of everything from a simple summary of the Jays' latest game, to more complex, highly-debated issues like what pitcher should get brought into the rotation when one of the starters goes down with an injury.
I find that there are many sports fans out there whose arguments are poorly formed, and not at all backed up with any kind of factual information, or even worse, backed up with completely false information. This doesn't allow for a healthy dialogue or argument to take place between fans about the issues at hand. Having said that, you can count on this blog for reliable and verifiable information, as well as educated, and I hope, thought-provoking analysis to the issues that interest you, the Toronto Blue Jays fan.
Reasonable and rational comments are more than welcome.
-Steve
This is my first post on the blog. This blog will cover everything pertaining to the Toronto Blue Jays and other MLB topics.
This blog will not simply be my personal thoughts on what's going on with the Blue Jays, nor will be it be a place for me to complain about what may potentially be the worst season for the Jays in a long time.
On this blog I hope to engage readers with thoughtful analysis about issues important to Blue Jays fans. The blog will consist of everything from a simple summary of the Jays' latest game, to more complex, highly-debated issues like what pitcher should get brought into the rotation when one of the starters goes down with an injury.
I find that there are many sports fans out there whose arguments are poorly formed, and not at all backed up with any kind of factual information, or even worse, backed up with completely false information. This doesn't allow for a healthy dialogue or argument to take place between fans about the issues at hand. Having said that, you can count on this blog for reliable and verifiable information, as well as educated, and I hope, thought-provoking analysis to the issues that interest you, the Toronto Blue Jays fan.
Reasonable and rational comments are more than welcome.
-Steve
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