David Purcey struggling with focus

Blue Jays number two starter David Purcey has had an inconsistent start to the 2009 season. In four starts, his record is 0-1 with an ERA of 6.10. Purcey has had stints of being very solid, and some mental lapses that have cost him dearly.

The number one issue with Purcey is his focus. Consider his past two starts against the Athletics and the Rangers. In both instances, Purcey has been given a lead, only to surrender it the following inning. Against Oakland, Purcey was given a 4 run lead after the 3rd inning, but in the following frame, the wheels fell off and the Jays lead disintegrated. Giving up runs right after taking a lead is detrimental to the team, and the Jays ended up losing that constest. In Wednesday's tilt against Texas, Rod Barajas hit a 2 run blast to put Toronto up 2. Before you know it, Purcey has coughed up the lead again.

This demonstrates that Purcey has a lack of focus, as he relaxes when given a lead. He is very good when the ball game is tied, but when he has been given leads, his game goes south, causing him to have stretches where he's pitching poorly.

For a young pitcher the challenge will be to learn from this to become a quality Major League starter.