Richmond bounces back

In what might be characterized as his most impressive outing of the season, particularly because it followed his worst start of the year, Scott Richmond bounced back in a big way Monday against the White Sox.

Had the 29-year old rookie had a poor showing following his 5 run in 1 1/2 inning debacle against the Yankees, he likely would have been on the hot seat with a number of pitchers in the minor leagues nipping at his heels. The righty went 7 strong innings without giving up a run, whiffing 7 batters and allowing just 5 hits. He left with a 2 run lead, but did not factor into the decision after Jesse Carlson coughed up the lead in the 8th.

The great start put to rest (for now) suggestions that his AL Rookie of the Month award in April was merely a mirage, where he was bound to fall back down to earth eventually. He better not get too comfortable, however, because the likes of Casey Janssen, Ricky Romero, David Purcey, Brad Mills, Fabio Castro, Jesse Litsch and others are awaiting their turn to be the next pitcher to turn heads north of the border.

And that's precisely what is so great about the situation with the pitching staff. They know the next start could be their last, so they are preparing, and giving their all each and every start.

Time to worry about Jesse Carlson?

It's easy to jump to conclusions pretty quickly about relievers, especially when they've had a couple of bad outings, but should we be worried about the effectiveness of Jesse Carlson?

Monday marked the 2nd straight sour outing in a tight ball game by the diminutive lefty. Though he eventually wound up with the win, Carlson surrendered a 2-run shot to Jim Thome in the top of the 8th, erasing a 2 run edge. The Jays scored one in the bottom half of the frame ro let him off the hook and award him a victory. On Thursday, it was Carlson's poor pitch to Hideki Matsui in the 8th inning that led to a series clinching solo home run fpr the Yankees. He's also had a rough outing against Cleveland in early May, and was saddled with the extra innings loss mid-April to the Twins.

The 28-year old Carlson took a long trip to the major leagues, and has been mostly quite productive since being called up in early 2008. The question is, however, has the league caught up to him? Will he no longer be an effective relief pitcher in the Blue Jays bullpen?

Scutaro doesn't miss any action after injury

I must admit, when Marco Scutaro was hit in the chest by a ball on his way to stealing 3rd base, which made him squirm in pain, my heart stopped. Based on his reaction, it seemed like he was toast, possibly with an injury that could be quite serious. Fortunately, it appears to have been just a minor ailment, and he made it back into the lineup today against Chicago.

Scutaro has been fantastic this year, exceeding expectations both with the bat and in the field. The question is, does anyone not love Scutaro? It seems impossible. In two seasons in Toronto, his give it his all style of play has endeared him to us all.

I'll re-open the question; if Scutaro misses time this year, who replaces him at the top of the order? Joe Inglett, currently playing in AAA Las Vegas and the Jays lead-off hitter for a good chunk of '08? He'd be a good option, but would he start at short? Does Alex Rios slide up to top of the order? What about experimenting with Johnny Mac at the top of the order? How about Lyle Overbay? My money would be on Jose Bautista moving up to lead the charge, because he has the club's best on base percentage and has moved around in the lineup all season. It's a tough call, one that Manager Cito Gaston doesn't want to make (which is why I'm convinced McDonald has just one start this year, though it was at 2nd base in place of Aaron Hill)

I'd rather not know the answers to these questions, because it would mean our boy Marco Scutaro is healthy and in the lineup the entire season. We all know he's a critical piece to this Blue Jays squad!

White Sox fail to bury Halladay early

Roy Halladay did not have his best stuff in the first inning Sunday against the White Sox. He allowed 3 hits and made an error which proved costly. The ChiSox took advantage, scoring a pair of runs to lift themselves to an early 2 run cushion. However, a poor base running decision by Jermaine Dye killed the early rally, and Doc Halladay dominated in typical fashion from there.

Up 2-0, with runners on 1st and 2nd, Dye attempted to swipe 3rd base. He failed, marking the first out of the inning. You can't make the first out of an inning at 3rd! It was at that moment where Chicago lost their early mojo, and three batters later, Doc navigated his way out of a tough start to the contest.

Against a brilliant pitcher like Halladay it's imperative bury him early to have any level of success, because he'll bear down and burn you later. After the first frame, Halladay allowed just 3 hits against no runs in the following six innings, striking out 7 more batters.

After digging themselves an early hole, the Blue Jays offense came to life, scoring 8 runs to lift Halladay to his Major League leading 8th victory. Vintage Doc. Just when he appears vulnerable, he bounces back to dominate.

Give Vernon Wells credit (for once)

It almost seems sacrilegious to be giving Vernon Wells his due because he's usually a waste of space run producer, but in the Blue Jays 2-1 victory over the White Sox Saturday, you have to tip your hat to V-Dub for playing a critical role in leading the charge back.

Down 1-0 in the 6th inning, with rookie Robert Ray having a career day, but still in position to be the tough luck loser, Wells singled, then stole 2nd base to get into scoring position. However, his efforts were unrewarded when Adam Lind promptly grounded out and Jose Bautista struck out to end the threat. Undeterred, in the 8th frame, the Jays Centre Fielder poked had another base rap, then subsequently swiped 2nd again. In this instance he was rewarded for his efforts. Adam Lind smacked a game tying double, and then later scored the winning run to cap the mini comeback.

It's easy to criticize Vernon for his paltry .180 batting average with runners in scoring position, or his penchant for putting up big numbers when the game is out of hand but give Wells credit in this one. He did the little things to ensure a critical victory for his club.

Wow, the name Vernon Wells and the word credit in the same sentence. Wow.

Robert pitching his way onto the Jays "Ray"dar

The Toronto Blue Jays keep churning out solid young pitchers, and that was not more apparent then today, when rookie Robert Ray produced his best outing of his brief major league career.

Ray was originally penciled in to the starting rotation to bridge the gap until Ricky Romero, Casey Janssen and Jesse Litsch could return from injury. Instead, Ray, who has just 1 career start in AAA, has certainly put himself squarely on the team's radar following a superb outing Saturday against the White Sox. The big righty was brilliant, working a career high 8 strong innings without allowing an earned run, striking out 3 and surrendering just 3 hits. He used all sides of the plate and had great movement on his pitches, keeping the White Sox hitters off balance.

Down 1-0 in the 8th, The Jays lifted Ray to his first victory of his career with some timely hitting. Adam Lind drove in Vernon Wells with a double to square the contest, and Jose Bautista followed, driving in the the eventual winning run.

Cecil with another solid performance

Brett Cecil has done a great job since being promoted to the Blue Jays rotation. Friday's start against the White Sox was no different, as the tall lefty picked up his second win of the campaign, working 6 solid innings, allowing just three runs. The Jays offense picked up the rookie, scoring 8 runs in the first 4 innings, and Cecil was able to cruise from there, but had it not been for his strong poise, it could have been a lot tighter.

Up 8-1 in the 6th inning, the 2007 first round pick ran into some trouble. He walked Carlos Quentin, then served up a meatball 2 run bomb to Jermaine Dye. At that point, Chicago was within 5, and ready to pounce on the rookie. The would have gotten a lot tighter around the collar had he not bared down, striking out Paul Konerko (who had homered off him earlier), and inducing a ground out to A.J. Pierzynski.

This performance will make it that much more tougher for the club to send him back down to AAA. He is stating his claim to one of the spots in the rotation every start, displaying whey he's the top pitching prospect in the Jays system.