I'm pulling hard for Casey Janssen to make the Blue Jays bullpen this year. Big time. It's been a couple of frustrating seasons for Janssen, but he can be a very important piece in a late inning role. Even though he missed all of the '08 season and had a pedestrian 5.85 ERA in 21 apperances last year, including 5 starts, the guy can flat out pitch.In '07, he was one of the better up and coming late innings guys in baseball, racking up 24 holds with a dazzling 2.35 ERA. When healthy, that's the type of pitcher he can be. Unfortunately, staying healthy has been the problem. What's working against him is Cito Gaston wasn't the manager when he had his best year but he's doing his best to impress the bench boss this spring. The 28 year old has strung together five innings of shutout ball with five K's while allowing just one hit and one walk.
Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs as locks to make the 'pen, with Jesse Carlson and Shawn Camp presumably also on the squad. That leaves Janssen to duke it out with Dana Eveland, Jeremy Accardo, Josh Roenicke and David Purcey for two spots. Let's hope Janssen is part of that mix. He might prove to be a reliable stalwart in the 8th inning role in 2011 with Frasor and Downs presumably flying the coop after the season.
3 comments:
Agreed man. Big Janssen fan, with fond memories of his 07 season. I'd like to see both him and Accardo make the team because I also fondly remember JA's sparkling year as closer.
I'm huge on Accardo too. It just seems the organization is not a big of his for whatever reason...
probably cuz of that Joaquin Phoenix beard he had going at the start of last year. Not the greatest first impression to give Cito :P
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