Starting 3-1 is a good thing. Only if you can push that to 4-1. Toronto might be in tough to do so tomorrow against Cleveland with Canadian Scott Richmond toeing the rubber. How long will the Jays hand the ball every 5 days to a 29 year old rookie if he struggles out of the gate?
Richmond went 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA last season in just 5 starts. He surrendered 3 runs in no more than 5.2 innings of work in his first four starts, and had his longest outing in his final start (6 frames) against Baltimore. Richmond did not look good in the spring, barely beating out prospect Brad Mills for the 5th and final spot in the rotation...
The Canuck is auditioning with Toronto for probably a month. If he doesn't show much after that I'd expect him to be replaced (barring injuries to other pitchers.) Unlike youngsters David Purcey and Jesse Litsch, he hasn't established himself with a truly phenomenal outing at the big league level. Richmond's ceiling is not very high which will likely prevent him from making a long term impact with the Jays organization...
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Jays bats continue to sizzle to win series vs. Tigers
The Jays bats continue to be a source of power so far this season. Toronto smacked three more home runs, winning the series finale against Detroit 6-2. The great part of the early success with the bats is it seems to be a new guy or two every game stepping up for Toronto...
Aaron Hill and Adam Lind both had solo blasts, giving them a pair of dingers in the opening four games. Lind's blast to left centre was followed by a Travis Snider RBI double and a Marco Scutaro (Scutsy!) 2 run bomb to break open the contest in the 6th...
The only Jays without a hit in this one were Alex Rios and Vernon Wells. Imagine that, Toronto won without either of those two playing a factor. How many times could you say that in the past?
Up next a visit to Cleveland for a 3 game tilt with the Tribe. Scott Richmond is on the bump for Toronto. Uh oh...
Aaron Hill and Adam Lind both had solo blasts, giving them a pair of dingers in the opening four games. Lind's blast to left centre was followed by a Travis Snider RBI double and a Marco Scutaro (Scutsy!) 2 run bomb to break open the contest in the 6th...
The only Jays without a hit in this one were Alex Rios and Vernon Wells. Imagine that, Toronto won without either of those two playing a factor. How many times could you say that in the past?
Up next a visit to Cleveland for a 3 game tilt with the Tribe. Scott Richmond is on the bump for Toronto. Uh oh...
Romero picks up win in Major League Debut
2005 1st round draft pick Ricky Romero had a very respectable major league debut. He went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, striking out 5 to pick up his first "W" of his career. Even more impressive is that he worked out of a jam and then settled down afterwards. He didn't look flustered out on the mound with his family in attendance...
Romero really had one poor inning (the 3rd), but managed to get out of the frame with minimal damage thanks to a phenomenal defensive play by Jose Bautista. His 5 K's were the most for a Blue Jays pitcher making his debut since Dustin McGowan fanned six in 2005, looking poised against a solid Tigers squad. Those that were quick to label Romero a "bust" might have to reserve judgment on the young lefty...
It's only one game, but the Jays hope that Romero will string together a number of quality starts in the coming weeks to quash any belief that it was a mistake selecting Romero with the 6th pick in the '05 draft...
Romero really had one poor inning (the 3rd), but managed to get out of the frame with minimal damage thanks to a phenomenal defensive play by Jose Bautista. His 5 K's were the most for a Blue Jays pitcher making his debut since Dustin McGowan fanned six in 2005, looking poised against a solid Tigers squad. Those that were quick to label Romero a "bust" might have to reserve judgment on the young lefty...
It's only one game, but the Jays hope that Romero will string together a number of quality starts in the coming weeks to quash any belief that it was a mistake selecting Romero with the 6th pick in the '05 draft...
Lyle Overbay is scuffling...
Yikes. After a 2 run double in his 1st at-bat of the season, 1st baseman Lyle Overbay has gone 0 for 11. Not one measly hit! That's awful. Sure, he's hit a few balls to the warning track that have been caught, but after a miserable spring causing him to be "demoted" to 7th in the order, he's starting to press...
If Overbay stinks up the joint against the Tigers in the series finale Thursday then it's time to really start worrying...
Is it too early to coax John Olerud out of retirement?
If Overbay stinks up the joint against the Tigers in the series finale Thursday then it's time to really start worrying...
Is it too early to coax John Olerud out of retirement?
Litsch roughed up for first Jays loss of season
Jesse Litsch did not have his best stuff Wednesday against the Tigers, surrendering 3 home runs (tying a career high) to Miguel Cabrera (two homers), and Brandon Inge (who hit his 3 round tripper in as many games.) Is there a way to paint Litsch in a good light after this contest? Kind of...
Though he denied it was the cause of the 5-1 defeat, Litsch hasn't faced many big league hitters in quite some In spring training, the club opted to give Jesse more innings in minor league affairs because there was such a battle amongst a slew of candidates for the 4th & 5th spots in the starting rotation. It'll probably take a few more starts to really get a gauge on how Litsch will fare this season. Though he's the 2nd longest tenured member of the starting staff, it is sometimes easy to forget that at age 24, Litsch is the youngest member of the rotation...
However, it certainly was not his best outing. He did serve up three huge home runs. And they were of the 'no doubt about it' variety. At this stage of the season, however, team's are looking at the positives in each outing. Litsch's next start better be a good one or else it'll be much harder to remain optimistic...
Though he denied it was the cause of the 5-1 defeat, Litsch hasn't faced many big league hitters in quite some In spring training, the club opted to give Jesse more innings in minor league affairs because there was such a battle amongst a slew of candidates for the 4th & 5th spots in the starting rotation. It'll probably take a few more starts to really get a gauge on how Litsch will fare this season. Though he's the 2nd longest tenured member of the starting staff, it is sometimes easy to forget that at age 24, Litsch is the youngest member of the rotation...
However, it certainly was not his best outing. He did serve up three huge home runs. And they were of the 'no doubt about it' variety. At this stage of the season, however, team's are looking at the positives in each outing. Litsch's next start better be a good one or else it'll be much harder to remain optimistic...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The forgotten at bat: Adam Lind's walk in the 9th
So Adam Lind did not have a 6 RBI encore performance like he had on opening day. In fact, he didn't even pick up a hit in the 2nd game of the series. He did, however, come up large to play a key role in the Blue Jays victory...
With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Lind had a superb battle with Tigers reliever Brandon Lyon. After going ahead 2-0 in the count, he fouled a couple of pitches off to square it at 2-2. Lind continued to fight, fouling another pitch back and then drawing a ball. After spoiling the next pair of pitches, he promptly was issued a free pass after a solid 9 pitch at bat. Jose Bautista came in to pinch run for Adam, so Lind represented the winning run on the Rod Barajas Sacrifice Fly...
Little things like that shouldn't go unnoticed with Lind displaying that even if he isn't dynamite some days, he can still be a vital part of this ball club winning games...
With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Lind had a superb battle with Tigers reliever Brandon Lyon. After going ahead 2-0 in the count, he fouled a couple of pitches off to square it at 2-2. Lind continued to fight, fouling another pitch back and then drawing a ball. After spoiling the next pair of pitches, he promptly was issued a free pass after a solid 9 pitch at bat. Jose Bautista came in to pinch run for Adam, so Lind represented the winning run on the Rod Barajas Sacrifice Fly...
Little things like that shouldn't go unnoticed with Lind displaying that even if he isn't dynamite some days, he can still be a vital part of this ball club winning games...
Gaston confidence in David Purcey pays off
After pitching six solid innings against a potent Tigers offense, starter David Purcey ran into trouble in the 7th. Down 1-0, Purcey surrendered an RBI double and then with runners on 2nd and 3rd his attempt to intentionally walk Brandon Inge sailed over Rod Barajas. To make matters worse, on the same play, Purcey could have caught Marcus Thames at 2nd after the relay but he whaled it into centre field allowing a 3rd run to score...
Manager Cito Gaston could easily have yanked the young lefty right then and there. Instead, he allowed him to battle through it. Gaston showed a little confidence in Purcey, and he returned the favour by whiffing Inge and inducing a line out to end the inning. While this was a risky move by Cito, I was glad he left him in there. If, at the first sign of trouble Gaston pulled the hook, what's that telling Purcey and the rest of the team? It'd be displaying little faith in the young man's abilities, which could hinder his development...
This situation is reminiscent to a Jays/White Sox game two years ago. Dustin McGowan loaded the bases with no one out. He was left out on the mound to work through the mess he'd created and he proceeded to retire the next three batters to end the threat. That was a key moment in McGowan's career where he started to fulfill his potential. Could it have the same impact for Purcey?
Manager Cito Gaston could easily have yanked the young lefty right then and there. Instead, he allowed him to battle through it. Gaston showed a little confidence in Purcey, and he returned the favour by whiffing Inge and inducing a line out to end the inning. While this was a risky move by Cito, I was glad he left him in there. If, at the first sign of trouble Gaston pulled the hook, what's that telling Purcey and the rest of the team? It'd be displaying little faith in the young man's abilities, which could hinder his development...
This situation is reminiscent to a Jays/White Sox game two years ago. Dustin McGowan loaded the bases with no one out. He was left out on the mound to work through the mess he'd created and he proceeded to retire the next three batters to end the threat. That was a key moment in McGowan's career where he started to fulfill his potential. Could it have the same impact for Purcey?
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