Moments after I posted yesterday that Bill Murphy was called up and was going to be inserted into the rotation, I had my doubts. Instead of reading between the lines of this peculiar promotion, I figured the team would give him a couple of starts. Wrong. Murphy is going to be a lefty specialist in the bullpen...
Which means (gulp!) Brian Tallet is the newest member of the Blue Jays rotation! He's been very good in a long relief role, and then suddenly quite poor in the early season. Tallet, originally selected by the Indians in the 2nd round of the 2000 draft, has started 6 times in his career, once with the Jays back in 2006. Look for Brian to make a couple of spot starts and then move over for one of the Jays prospects...
What do you think? Are the Jays doomed in games he starts? He can be fairly decent, can't he?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Snider sitting against Lefties...
In the three games the Blue Jays have faced left handed start pitching this season, Travis Snider has been on the bench to start the game in all three of them. It's an interesting decision by Manager Cito Gaston, one that could benefit the young rookie, at least in the short term. However, at what point do the Jays decide to let him loose and make him an every day player, regardless of who is on the mound?
After Snider's two monster home runs Monday against Minny, it might have been good timing to throw him in against a lefty and see how he does. Gaston instead opted to err on the side of caution (though Snider is still far better than Jose Bautista, regardless of who is pitching.) Another potential reason Snider isn't playing every day is due to the fact he jammed his knee in spring training. The Jays might want to hold off on him playing every day, and not having him hit against lefties is a valid "excuse" to do so...
It should be noted that Lyle Overbay has sat in favour of Kevin Millar in each of the three contests vs. left handed pitching also. But Overbay has been pretty bad. So it's only worth a brief mention...
After Snider's two monster home runs Monday against Minny, it might have been good timing to throw him in against a lefty and see how he does. Gaston instead opted to err on the side of caution (though Snider is still far better than Jose Bautista, regardless of who is pitching.) Another potential reason Snider isn't playing every day is due to the fact he jammed his knee in spring training. The Jays might want to hold off on him playing every day, and not having him hit against lefties is a valid "excuse" to do so...
It should be noted that Lyle Overbay has sat in favour of Kevin Millar in each of the three contests vs. left handed pitching also. But Overbay has been pretty bad. So it's only worth a brief mention...
Romero shines; Jays lose in extras
In his 2nd career Major League start, Ricky Romero was outstanding for the Jays. The '05 6th overall pick has certainly silenced the critics (for now) that labelled him a bust. He went deep into the game, pitching 8 solid innings and surrendering just 2 runs...
What was most exceptional about Romero was his poise on the mound. He never seemed to get rattled, working quickly and effectively, and pitched to contact. He threw 106 pitches, 70 of which were for strikes. For a staff that has issued far too many free passes, his control is a welcomed bright spot...
The most impressive aspect of his outing against the Twins was the 6th inning. Down 2-1, it all could have come unravelled for Romero. He loaded up the bags with nobody out. Showing the mettle of a vet, he promptly struck out Michael Cuddyer and induced an inning ending double play to get out of the inning unscathed...
The Jays did not get much offense in this contest, and Jesse Carlson lost it in the 11th when Joe Crede spanked one over the head of Vernon Wells. These types of games will happen. It would have been phenomenal to jump to a 7-2 start, but the Twins were due against the Jays having lost their last 10 until this one...
What was most exceptional about Romero was his poise on the mound. He never seemed to get rattled, working quickly and effectively, and pitched to contact. He threw 106 pitches, 70 of which were for strikes. For a staff that has issued far too many free passes, his control is a welcomed bright spot...
The most impressive aspect of his outing against the Twins was the 6th inning. Down 2-1, it all could have come unravelled for Romero. He loaded up the bags with nobody out. Showing the mettle of a vet, he promptly struck out Michael Cuddyer and induced an inning ending double play to get out of the inning unscathed...
The Jays did not get much offense in this contest, and Jesse Carlson lost it in the 11th when Joe Crede spanked one over the head of Vernon Wells. These types of games will happen. It would have been phenomenal to jump to a 7-2 start, but the Twins were due against the Jays having lost their last 10 until this one...
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