Walking Wounded

 
Player: Travis Snider

Injury: Upper-left (rib) side intercostal muscle strain

Quotes: "I tweaked something. We've just been taking a very cautious approach with the idea in mind of being ready for opening day. Hopefully, this thing is short-term. It happened about a week ago while playing golf before we even reported. It was a freak thing. It wasn't something that exploded on me, but just progressively got worse. It was a par-3. I hit it in the water. The best way to treat it is with rest and ice and not push it. I'll start playing as soon as possible. There's no timeframe at this point. It's already gotten a bit better. I'm glad it happened in February so that I don't have to be away from the team and trying to rush things back. The timing is unfortunate for spring training. There's a lot of work I wish I was able to be out there doing, but the most important thing is to get healthy." Travis Snider

Where he's at right now: He has taken batting practice for three consecutive days.

Prognosis: Expected to resume full baseball-related activities this weekend.

Bullshit Meter: Off the charts. Bob Elliott thinks something is up. He's not the only one.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Everybody took Snider on their ballot. So if he is unable to go then everyone is fucked equally.


Player: Aaron Hill

Injury: Tight right quadriceps muscle

Quotes: Manager John Farrell described the decision as “precautionary” and said the injury is unrelated to the hamstring problem that put Hill on the disabled list at the beginning of last season.

Where he's at right now: He went through full baseball-related activities on Sunday.

Prognosis: Expected to make his Spring Training debut on Wednesday morning.

Bullshit Meter: Extremely high. To say that this injury - considering it`s proximity to a known previous injury - is unrelated, is a little suspect. Generally the human body over compensates when a specific area is hurt and that sometimes results in another injury. Anyone that has sprained one of their ankles will tell you that eventually the other ankle gets worn down due to over use. Perhaps that is what is going on with Hill's leg. Just saying.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: See Snider.


Player: Frank Francisco

Injury: Undisclosed shoulder issue

Quotes: "It's not alarming, he's still throwing a baseball, we've got a progression mapped out for him. There's not an injury here per se, there's not a fatigue factor, he just likes to take things a little more slow, a little bit of a more gradual buildup to games." John Farrell

"It's the shoulder. We're just working to get it strong enough to go through the season. ... I think it's just part of the process." Frank Francisco

Where he's at right now: He never actually got shut down.

Prognosis: Expected to get into a game this weekend.

Bullshit Meter: Very low. The slower pace is consistent with Francisco's past so there is nothing to see here.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Everyone took 2Frank as well. Team April and Team OKBlujays were the only ones to not select him as the closer for the tie breaker. If he is unable to go, they stand to gain the most.


Player: Jon Rauch

Injury: Twisted right ankle

Quotes: “We just want to be sure that he has passed some tests from a physical standpoint before we put him back on the mound, we’ve got time on our side right now, and there’s no reason to think he won’t be ready once we get into the [Grapefruit League] schedule.” John Farrell

Where he's at right now: He is throwing 40 pitch bullpen sessions restriction free.

Prognosis: Expected to get into his first game on Thursday.

Bullshit Meter: Very high. Word is he hurt himself while walking down a flight of stairs. The only thing less believable than that is if they said he hurt himself walking up a flight of stairs.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: See Snider.


Player: Scott Podsednik

Injury: Plantar fasciitis in his left or right foot or both

Quotes: "I did everything normally up to a few days ago then it jumped back up and bit me. I want to do all the things to prevent this from coming back during the season. It would be easy to try to hit the ground running, but I can't do that. I have to be smart with it. I have to get prepared to take on the demands of 162 games, so I've communicated well with (trainer George Poulis) to this point and they're going to have a good plan for me to do that." Scott Podsednik

Where he's at right now: He took live batting practice yesterday and is expected to begin a light running program.

Prognosis: Doctors told him the cortisone shot he had injected normally takes around a week and a half to two weeks before it starts to work. Do the math.

Bullshit Meter: Ridiculously high. A quick recap shows that this injury apparently happened during a three day window. Sure it did.

• signed to a minor league deal Feb. 16

• received a cortisone injection on Feb. 19

• arrived at spring training Feb. 23

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Team James and Team Dave were the only contestants not to have Pods on their ballot.


Player: Kyle Drabek

Injury: Stiff neck

Quotes: "It's starting to get a little bit better, but not to the point where we're going to think [Monday] is going to be that drastic of an improvement," John Farrell

Where he's at right now: He missed his (dream match up) scheduled start yesterday.

Prognosis: Will throw a bullpen session tomorrow and is expected to make his first start of the Spring on Saturday.

Bullshit Meter: Very high. We are being led to believe he hurt himself sleeping. Really?

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Team Jonathan, Team James, Team Nemesis Enforcer and Team Man With The Golden Arm are the only managers not to have Drabek on their ballot.


Player: Dustin McGowan

Injury: Entire right arm and shoulder area

Quotes: "This is basically my last chance to get it right, and I want to do it the right way and make sure everything goes smoothly," Dustin McGowan

Where he's at right now: He is still throwing his scheduled bullpen sessions and continuing to building up his pitch count, intensity and repertoire.

Prognosis: Not expected to break camp with the team. Looks like another DL trip and "rehab assignment" to start the year in his future.

Bullshit Meter: Non existent. Not much to say here. It is what it is.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: No one selected him. Everyone is cheering for him.


Player: Jesse Carlson

Injury: Inflammation in his left shoulder

Quotes: "We're going to back him out for a couple of days," John Farrell

Where he's at right now: Recent test results revealed there is no structural damage to his left shoulder.

Prognosis: Doctors recommended that he stops throwing for the next seven days.

Bullshit Meter: Very low. Cito abused Jesse for a season and a half. Looks like it may be catching up with him.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Team Last Row 500`s, Team April, Team OkBluejays, Team Jeff and Team Jonathan all have Carlson making the Opening Day roster.


Player: Chad Cordero

Injury: Inflammation in his right shoulder

Quotes: "What's best for him is to back off a little bit," John Farrell

Where he's at right now: He has thrown a bullpen session and is scheduled for another one tomorrow.

Prognosis: Not expected to pitch in a game anytime soon.

Bullshit Meter: Uber low. The Chad had the same shoulder surgically repaired and lost pretty much two full seasons because of it. Yikes.

25 Man Roster Challenge Implications: Team LastRow 500`s is the only contestant that took a flyer on Cordero.

Quickly:

You Don't Know Dick really, really just needs to let it go. J.P. is long gone and voluntarily signed up to deal with the NY Mess. Ha!

Weekly Round Up: June 21 - 27

Consider this your required reading for the week.  It's more like required viewing and a bit of reading but what you gonna do?

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick @ The Star:

Thanks to the humanity shown by the Jays, McDonald was home for the final 11 days of his father’s life, alternately laughing and crying but always celebrating a life well lived. McDonald recalled for the fans one of the highlight conversations from that final week.
“One year I struck out only once in high school,” he said. “We had a game where no umpires showed. They knew my dad was an ump so they pulled him out of the crowd. On a two-strike pitch, he punched me out on a curveball. We were talking in the hospital with a bunch of his umpire friends. I said, ‘Dad, was that really a strike?’ He said, ‘Son, it was a strike then and it’s a strike now.’”

This is a touchy subject for me.  I lost my Dad when I was younger and debated on whether or not to add this wonderful story.  In the end, this may end up being the story of the year and I am happy John had an opportunity to spend some time with his father before he passed away.  To hit a homerun in his first at bat back in the line up after his death, considering he had 13 in 1911 plate appearances over his 12 season in the Major Leagues, well that is something very special.      

Courtesy of MLB.com:

Hours prior to the Blue Jays' contest against the Cardinals on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre, an earthquake reading 5.5 on the Richter Scale sent shock waves throughout the city of Toronto, spanning as far as Boston, Chicago, and New York. While an earthquake in Toronto is practically unheard of -- the last one of this magnitude coming nearly 20 years ago -- this is the second time this month the Blue Jays have experienced a series of tremors.

Earthquake in Ontario?  Last year we had a bunch of tornadoes touch down and now this?  Yikes. 

Courtesy of Buck Martinez @ Sportsnet.ca:

BOB OWSNETT ASKS: I've always wondered what's involved in a pitcher's SIMULATED game? Does it take place under the stands with a strike zone target OR out on the diamond with a catcher? Are certain situations set up? Do they pitch a full game or just a few innings? Do they actually face batters, OR is it like throwing in the bullpen? Please enlighten me on this subject.
BUCK: Good question Bob. We always talk about a pitcher throwing a "simulated" game without much explanation. Generally this involves a pitcher coming back from injury. As he builds up his arm strength and stamina getting closer to major league action, the team will set up one of these sim sessions. The idea is to simulate the action of pitching an inning. He will face some of his own hitters, the catcher will call pitches and the pitching coach will serve as the umpire. The inning will consist of a regular sequence of pitches to a batter that has an at-bat. If he gets a base hit he doesn't run the bases but the pitcher will work out of the stretch. When three outs are recorded, the inning is over, the pitcher takes his normal break between innings and resumes the process. This simulated game is the last practice a pitcher has before he makes a "rehab assignment" in the minors as a final tune up before activation onto the major league roster. Of course I would always prefer they simulate no-hitters!

Buck does his weekly Q & A.  Usually pretty basic stuff but this was somewhat enlightening. 

Courtesy of MLBTR:

The Padres have acquired Kyle Phillips from the Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter). The move represents a homecoming for Phillips, who was born in San Diego.
The 26-year-old broke into the major leagues for the first time last year, compiling five hits in 18 late-season plate appearances for Toronto. Over the course of nine minor league seasons with three different organizations, Phillips has a slash line of .265/.333/.381. Though he came through the minors as a catcher, he has spent most of his time this year at third base, hitting .258/.310/.333 in 71 plate appearances for the Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star points out (via Twitter) that Phillips was stuck behind a slew of players on the Jays' catcher and corner infield depth charts.

Phillips was not going to see anytime behind the plate because of the following guys:
Arencibia 
Jeroloman
d'Arnaud 
Jimenez 

Things look good with respect to depth at the catching position here in Toronto.  Should we shop John Buck and see what we can get in return? 

Courtesy of Bob Elliott @ Toronto Sun: 

Paul Beeston’s November presidential visit to Halladay in Oldsmar, Fla. in was the date when there was no turning back.
“I didn’t tell Paul I didn’t want to come back,” Halladay said. “I said I didn’t want to sign long-term, keep my options open. I wanted a chance to win ...”
Halladay catches himself and adds: “basically I guess by me saying that, I was saying the same thing.”

A lot of interesting stuff came out about the Roy Halladay trade this week.  I'm glad this ordeal is over with and wish him well on the rest of his season.    

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick @ The Star:

“When (former GM) J.P. (Ricciardi) was still with them, he had come to us and said what about this extension, blah, blah, blah,” Brandy explained. “They offered us a lot of money. Like we said, it’s not about the money, it’s about putting ourselves in the position to attain the goals we set for ourselves. We said at this time we can’t sign that extension because we don’t know where the team’s going.”
The Jays sent an entourage to Tampa to meet with the Halladays at their home in December of ’08 prior to the winter meetings. The option for the best pitcher in baseball at the time was to sign an extension or else the Jays would explore trade opportunities.

“At that point we had been asked for a list of teams,” she said. “At spring training we said, ‘Look, if you’re going to (trade), do it now. Don’t do it during the year because it’s a media frenzy for the team, it’s a media frenzy for us. Either get it done or let us do our job. When they didn’t, we thought we would be here all year. We never went and said we want a trade. They came to us every time.”

 

This interview with Roy's wife Brandy was particularly insightful.   

Courtesy of Bob Elliott @ Toronto Sun: 

Isn’t it nicer, now that the Blue Jays clubhouse is so loose?
That real serious guy, who never smiled or laughed, has left.
In the spring, Shaun Marcum said with Roy Halladay gone the Jays clubhouse would be looser, the Jays would “have fun,” and Marcum would “talk to young guys.”
It was a shot at the departed Halladay’s intensity. People within the Jays organization have said the clubhouse was more relaxed once Halladay left with his all-too-serious attitude.

This story got a few of my fellow Jays bloggers pretty pissed.  What do you guys think?  

Game 24 Recap: Timely Hitting, Quality Pitching = Blow Out

Your Toronto Blue Jays put up a bunch of crooked numbers on the boxscore.  A 10 - 2 thumping tends to include that.  Looks like the team has done some sort of voodoo ritual on the bats.  Thank God.  Hopefully we can keep it going.  We were 3 for 7 with runners in scoring position and had 6 two out RBI.

Everybody except Fred Lewis and Jose Bautista got in on the fun.  A quick look at some of the individual hitting performances:

Alex Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with 2 homers and 4 RBI.  The first one was a three run job to get us on the board in the second inning.  The other one he hit in the sixth was a frozen rope to the pull field.  He got his average up to .289 for the season.  Impressive display from the all glove shortstop.

Vernon Wells went 3 for 4 with a homer his 200th for the career.  It took him nearly 5,000 at bats to reach the milestone.  Congrats is in order.  Oh, and one more thing: #SorryVernon.

Aaron Hill was 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 RBI.  He seems to still be a little banged up from his hamstring injury.  Playing on the turf can not be helping. 

Travis Snider was 1 for 3 with a walk.  His plate appearances are getting a little easier to watch.  Still swinging for the fences but at least now he seems to be grasping the concept of working towards a hitters count.

John Buck continued his hot streak with a 2 for 3 night.  He managed to get his average up to .215 for the year, which is 60 points higher than it was on Thursday.

The pitching side of the house did a fantastic job tonight as well.  Brandon Morrow seems to have found his groove and won his second game of the year.  Just keeping pounding that zone down early in the counts, then climb the ladder with the hard stuff Brandon and everything will be ok.  I promise.

Tonight his line was 6 IP, 7 Hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K on 109 pitches.  73 of those were strikes.  Nice outing.

Jason Frasor came in and tried the pitching thing again.  First pitch he threw almost took his head off on the comebacker.  To his credit, he settled down and striking out two batters in his inning of work.  Mr. Umpire missed the call on the back end of a double play or else he would have faced the minimum.

Looking Forward:

We got Dana Eveland taking the ball for us against Gio Gonzalez for the 1:07 start.  Eveland is coming off a bad start against Boston where he gave up 7 earned runs in just three innings pitched.  I wonder if he has another bad one or two, will he be a candidate to move to the pen?  He is out of options and would need to be exposed to waivers if the brain trust tries to send him down.  Wolverine is scheduled to begin his "rehab assignment" soon and will do so as a starter.  His return is said to be sometime in May.

Quickly:

Speaking of waivers, much to my surprise Merkin Valdez passed through them unclaimed on Thursday!  He will join the 51s in Vegas after being outrighted to the minors.  Bonus.

Game 22 Recap: So You Wanna Play With The Big Boys?

For the record: 

We have played six games against the Red Sucks and Tampon Bay and we are 1 - 5.

Do I have to remind you that, along with the Evil Empire, we play these divisional rivals 54 times combined this season?  The months of August and September are particularly brutal with 17 and 13 games respectively.  That should be right around the time we are running out the kids. 

Let the calls for re-alignment commence.....now!

With respect to this game:

LHP Brett Cecil was very good.  His line:

6 IP 5 Hits 1 ER 1 BB 3 K 100 pitches.  Normally good enough to win but this is the AL East baby!

LHP John Lester was better.  His line:

7 IP 1 Hit 0 ER 2 BB 11 K 119 pitches.  What are you gonna do? 

Interesting facts from Game 22:

The Cito must have heard the collective voice begging him to pinch hit.  He sent three players up there in the eighth, representing the game tieing run and all three struck out.  FYI:  Probably won't be seeing that again anytime soon.

It was Major League debut time for LHP Rommie Lewis.  He logged one shut out inning, giving up one hit.  I think he looked good and probably could help us out down in the pen moving forward.

RHP Josh Roenicke got an inning as well.  He looks like he belongs in the Majors.  Nice moving fastball and decent breaking ball.  He faced the minimum and had two strikeouts.  It looked to me like he was loading up the ball.  Mr. Umpire asked to see the ball during the V-Mart at bat, which is quite out the ordinary.  If I had to guess, the Vaseline is on the brim of his cap.

Quickly:    

By my count, E5 is eligible to come off the 15 day DL today.  We can send him down for a "rehab assignment" which could last up to 20 days.  The brain trust may choose to do that to buy some time before having to make a decision.  What I'm wondering is who gets sent down when he is ready to come back?

The candidates:

Travis Snider
Mike McCoy
Randy Ruiz

Anybody got an argument against sending down Ruiz other than the fact he is awesome?  He hasn't played much and has options.  What do you guys think? 

More Quickly:

Brian (Wolverine) Tallet is eligible to come off the 15 day DL in three days time.  He is out of options and must be put back on the roster.  He could go down for a "rehab assignment" of up to 30 days.  That seems likely to me at this point.

Finally:

I will be going to my second game in the last three days tonight.  Forth game this season if you include the shitshow Opener.  On the hill for the 7:07 start:

Justin (my elbow, back and head hurts) Duchscherer

2-0, 1.82 ERA for 2010

1-0, 3.09 ERA vs. TOR

VS.

Ricky Romero

1-1, 1.80 ERA for 2010

2-0, 1.29 ERA vs. OAK

Las Vegas 51's 2010 Roster

Here is the 2010 roster for your Toronto Blue Jays triple-A affiliate Las Vegas 51's.

5 Jarrett Hoffpauir INF *
8 Luis Figueroa INF
11 Christian Colonel INF
13 Jesus Merchan INF
23 Brett Wallace INF
31 Kyle Phillips INF
33 Brian Dopirak INF *

3 Chris Aguila OF
6 Chris Lubanski OF
7 Jeremy Reed OF
12 Aaron Mathews OF
35 Jorge Padilla OF

44 J.P. Arencibia C
45 Raul Chavez C


10 Josh Roenicke RHP *
14 Robert Ray RHP *
19 Ray Gonzalez RHP *
21 Zach Jackson LHP
25 David Purcey LHP *
26 Steven Register RHP
27 Brett Cecil LHP *
37 Willie Collazo LHP
38 Sean Henn LHP
41 Rommie Lewis LHP
43 Jesse Carlson LHP *
49 Brad Mills LHP *
88 Lance Broadway RHP

20 Dan Rohn Manager
17 Dave LaRoche Pitching Coach
36 Chad Mottola Hitting Coach

* indicates player is currently on 40 man roster 

Analysis:

These are the players that will most likely be called up in the event of an injury or a trade at the Major League level.  I noted the guys who are on the 40 man roster for a simple reason, they will be the first ones called up.  The other players would have to be added to the 40 man prior to be summoned to the majors.  Subsequently, someone else would have to be removed from the 40 man, most likely via trade, or be placed on the 60 day DL before that could happen.  It's a lot easier for the organization to just call up a guy who is already on the 40 man then deal with the headache.

Look at all that lefthanded pitching!  

8 southpaws and 5 righties.  By my count we only have 4 guys in the rotation unless Purcey is allowed to start.  Keep in mind LHP Marc Rzepczynski (15 day), RHP Jesse Litsch (60 day), RHP Scott Richmond (60 day), RHP Dustin McGowan (15 day), RHP Dirk Hayhurst (60 day) and RHP Shawn Hill (minor leagues) are listed as disabled.  These guys are on various timetables in terms of recovery.  Hopefully they will be added to this list whenever they have completed their respective 30 day "rehab assignment".

First call ups for starting pitchers in order are:

1. Brett Cecil
2. Brad Mills
3. Robert Ray
4. Ray Gonzalez  

Relievers really depend on what the big club needs.  But since we only have one lefty, Scotty Downs, in the bullpen right now, I figure the call ups will look something like this:

1. Carlson
2. Roenicke
3. Purcey

Contrary to popular belief, I do not think Brett Wallace will be up with the big club until the rosters are opened up in September, even if/when we trade Lyle Overbay.  Boy Wonder will be very weary of his service time and not want to "start his clock" until he absolutely has to.

I see Brian Dopriak going up whenever the impending Overbay deal finally does happen.  He will be given an opportunity to hit major league pitching.  Unfortunately for him, regardless of the results, he more than likely eventually gets outrighted off the 40 man roster in favour of a pitcher at some point this season.

Jarrett Hoffpauir will also probably see some time in the big leagues this year but I wouldn't run out and buy his jersey just yet.....because if we need an outfielder, Jeremy Reed is the guy and he needs to be added to the 40 man before he can go up.  Raul Chavez and J.P. Arencibia are in the same boat with respect to the catching position.

Look for Hoffpauir to be the first guy outrighted off the 40 man when we eventually need that spot.  Another candidate, although much less likely is Luis Perez.  He is slated to begin the year in New Hampshire.  25 year old left handed pitchers do not tend to make it through waivers.

Aside from Rommie Lewis, who opened some eyes in camp, the rest of the guys on this pitching staff are known as organizational depth and are expendable.  We got them from someone else and we will give them to someone else. But don't feel too bad for them, they still get paid decent money to play the game they love but need to catch a break to get to the bigs.

Boy Wonder is going to have some decisions to make when Litsch, Richmond and Hayhurst are ready to pitch due to their status.  I predict trades are going to start being considered in about three months time.  We will be looking for players coming back that do not need to be added to the 40 man roster right away.

Question:

How does anybody actually play baseball in Vegas with these types of distractions omnipresent.

Are You Injured Or Are You Hurt?

There are two Disabled Lists in major league baseball, 15-day and 60-day.  To be placed on either DL, a player must be certified disabled by a doctor and may remain on either list for as long as required to recover.

Players may be disabled retroactively, up to a maximum of 10 days, beginning with the day after the last day they played.  During this 10 day period, a player status is said to be day-to-day, indicating that the team is in the process of deciding if the player must be placed on the DL or if he is healthy enough to return to active service.

Injured players may not be traded without permission of the Commissioner nor may they be optioned to the minors, though they may be assigned to a minor league club for a "rehab assignment" for a limited amount of time (30 days for pitchers, 20 for non-pitchers).




15-day: There is no limit on the number of players per club.  

Players on the 15-day disabled list are removed from the 25 man active roster, but are still a part of the 40-man roster and may not play for at least 15 consecutive days.

Players placed on the 15-day DL may be shifted to the 60-day list at any time, but not vice versa.



60-day: There is no limit on the number of players per club, but it may be used only when a club is at the maximum of 40 players. 

If a player is transferred to this list, sometimes called the Emergency DL, after Aug. 1 he must remain there through the end of the season and postseason.

Players on the 60-day disabled list do not count against either the active 25-man or the 40-man roster and may not play for at least 60 consecutive days.

Weekly Round Up : Feb. 8 - 14

It's been a busy week.  I'm guessing that the American media has now turned their attention to baseball, with the SuperBowl being done and all.  There were a ton of stories that I was unable to get to, which is precisely why I decided to create this weekly feature.  Leading off are two articles about our LL Cool J look alike.  I think there is a good chance he will be on the hill for Opening Day and I look forward to seeing him pitch around 200 innings for us in 2010.

Courtesy of Jordan Bastian:

"Wherever I end up in the rotation doesn't matter to me," Romero said. "I just consider myself as one piece of five guys that make up the rotation, and the five guys that end up making the team are going to be the five guys we go to battle with. I just want to be a leader. I want to be a guy that leads by example.

"Do I consider myself an ace?" Romero said during a phone conversation this week. "Obviously not."

Courtesy of Morgan Campbell @ The Star:

"I'm humbled and hungry, man," Romero said. "I've never gotten complacent and I'm not about to start now. ... There's about 15 other guys that want my job and every one of them is hungry."

Analysis:

Nice to hear the man is not leaving anything up to the element of chance.  I think he is all but guaranteed a spot in the starting rotation and I'm glad his head has not gotten too big.....yet.  I remember he was the first pitcher drafted in 2005.  I'm going to block out the fact that Matt Garza was available and selected 25th.  He was a college guy as well so no excuse by J.P. not selecting him.  Oh well, I like Ricky Romero's music and now Boy Wonder has 69 scouts, so it won't happen again right?

Courtesy of Ed Eagle @ MLB.com

Blue Jays right-hander Scott Richmond's quest to win a spot in Toronto's starting rotation has been sidetracked by a shoulder impingement.  Richmond, 30, went 8-11 with a 5.52 ERA in 27 appearances (24 starts) last season. According to a team release, the injury occurred during his preparations for Spring Training, and he will be "monitored closely throughout his revised throwing program" to rehab the shoulder. 

We here at 1bluejaysway have been collectively shitting on Richmond for a while now.  We love the fact that he is Canadian, but his numbers in the second half of the season indicated he had hit the wall.  Now with this news, I have to think he is a long shot to make the starting rotation.  He will be brought along slowly and may be a candidate for a 15 day DL trip with an extended spring training and "rehab assignment" to begin 2010 along with McGowan.  I  think he has some value as a fifth starter when he's right.  But throwing shoulder injuries in a pitcher is obviously not good, especially when they are not a lock for a job.  I could never bring myself to wish that a player gets hurt with an injury but this news seems to have cleared up some of  the rotation question marks.  Good luck on your recovery Scott.  We wish you well.     

Courtesy of Jordan Bastian:

Please consider this your required reading of the week. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Baseball Musings:

Players A to Z, Edwin Encarnacion

Edwin Encarnacion plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. The long time Reds hitter went north in the trade for Scott Rolen. Edwin’s batting stats don’t stand out as great, but they’re certainly not bad. The average American League hitter in 2009 posted a slash line of .267/.336/.428. Encarnacion’s career line comes in at .260/.341/.448. So he’s above average in both OBP and slugging percentage. If your entire team produced those numbers, they’d likely be above average in runs scored.  Unfortunately, Edwin gives a lot of those runs created back on defense. That may hurt Toronto as they try to develop a young pitching staff.  Encarnacion also is coming off a poor offensive season. At seasonal age 27, I would expect him to bounce back from that. He needs to have a very good season with the bat to make up for his glove, otherwise he may not last too long in the majors.

Again, I have to preface this analysis: I have E5 for measly 3 bucks in my AL only, big money fantasy league.  Just the thought of a 3 dollar third basemen getting me 20 + bombs is giving me a semi.  But he had some wrist surgery and I'm hesitant to keep him over other players on my roster.  I will be watching him with great interest this spring training.  What do you guys think he will produce if he's able to get 500 at bats? 
 

Courtesy of You Don't Know Dick Griffin @ The Star

Cynical baseball observers ( I guess your talking about ME here Dick ) point to the Yankees and their World Series wins and simply shrug – anyone can spend money to win.  The Bombers bought a championship, after all. Anyone could do the same given the Bronx Bombers' financial resources.  Well, the fact is, that despite becoming the first and only major-league team to spend more than $200 million (all figures U.S.) in 2008 and 2009, it does take some skill to build a World Series roster.  General manager Brian Cashman deserves some credit.

Dick then goes on to take the undisputed worst contracts in all of baseball and concludes:

So that 25-man roster adds up to $252.4 million and would be enough to get any GM fired.  As more GMs study their mistakes, it seems free agency for veterans will no longer be the windfall it originally was intended to be.

Ah, ya Dick it would.  It must be a coincidence that 3 guys on your 25 man roster there, are Blue Jays signed by J.P. and he was fired.  Guess it proves your right.

On more thing Dick, I wonder how many of the players on your overly simplistic, kindergarten level, 25 man roster WERE ACTUALLY free agents?  Because I remember Rios signed a thing called AN EXTENSION buying out his arbitration years and some free agent years.  Wells signed a contract extension as well you fucking idiot.  As always, the comments section of Dick's column is littered with people shitting on the writer.  This time 3 out of the total of 10 comments are less than complimentary.  Nice to see him giving the shout out to Cot's Baseball Contracts although it is too bad he hasn't figured out how to use the link feature on the dreaded computer thingy yet.  

Courtesy of RotoAuthority:

Closer Report: Blue Jays

By Tim Dierkes [February 10, 2010 at 12:10pm CST]

The Blue Jays currently have a three-man competition at closer, with Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor, and Scott Downs duking it out.  Gregg is a recent free agent signee, while Frasor and Downs are entering their walk years and are trade candidates.  Since all three pitchers are being drafted in the 26th round or later, Toronto presents a nice fantasy opportunity if you pick right.
Right now all we know is that Gregg signed in part because he'll get a shot at closing, and manager Cito Gaston will make the decision (MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reporting).  According to Mock Draft Central, fantasy owners are currently voting for Downs (311.73), Frasor (323.34), and Gregg (327.29) in that order.
There is reason to believe Downs won't be the guy.  The Toronto Star's Richard Griffin notes that Downs is not the lights-out type for the ninth inning.  That's understandable; Downs is a southpaw who averages about 90 mph on his heater.  Frasor throws harder and he's right-handed.  Downs and Frasor both had better peripherals than Gregg in 2009, though they lack his closing experience.  Of the three, only Downs had a strong groundball rate.
So while you could make a case for any of the three, I'd be surprised to see Downs get the nod with two capable righties also in the mix.  If you're drafting now, take Gregg.  Unlike Frasor, Gregg's not a spring trade candidate.  And I'm guessing Gaston will choose the experienced closer even if Frasor stays.

This is the full article because I got nothing to add.  I do want the 10 minutes of my life it took me to read Dick's mailbag back though.  Bang on analysis by a contributor over at the biblical mlbtraderumors.com.  With this news my fantasy team is now officially fucked.

Courtesy of Big League Stew:

Shaun Marcum, Toronto Blue Jays: Another one in Tommy John recovery, he missed all of 2009 after being hurt at the end of 2008, but the reports on his elbow are good. He's no Roy Halladay, but Marcum is effective when healthy. General manager Alex Anthopoulos said of Marcum, "There's no restrictions. No limitations at all. He looks great. He's going to come into camp with full guns-a-blazing. We think he's going to be ready to go to pitch, hopefully, a full season for us and have a great year."

What can I say about Marcum?  He's a right handed Jimmy Key.  Needs to be spot on, all the time to be effective.  To his credit on most nights he is good more than he is bad but man, it must be tough trying to get major league hitters out that way.  I hope he comes in and everything feels good.  As important, if not more important than his surgically repaired elbow, will be his head.  It may take a while for his confidence to come back.

Courtesy of Fan Graphs:

Rzepczynski tossed his 88 MPH sinker 55 percent of the time with Toronto, going to his 80 MPH slider a whopping 39 percent and sprinkling in some 82 MPH changeups (six percent).

In 2010, CHONE has Rzepczynski posting a 4.05 FIP, with 8.7 K’s per nine innings and 4.4 BB/9. It’s going to be interesting to see how his punchout rates translate long-term to the majors. Despite not having the archetypal power pitcher’s arsenal, Rzepczynski has deftly avoided lumber at each level of competition. His control needs work, but this lefty’s combination of whiffs and worm burners could make him The Dude to target late on draft day.

I'm liking the thought of this guy in the rotation a little bit more everyday.  He's got an above average groundball rate of 51.2% as mentioned earlier.  Another guy to watch closely this spring.  But due to the fact he has an option year or two to burn, I think he starts the year in AAA and is one of the first guys called up when the situation presents itself.

Courtesy of OK Blitz:

“I’d like to start; I’ll make that known.” Tallet said. “It’s going to be one of those things where I just go into camp and do what they want me to do. That’s all you really can do.”

And if it were up to Tallet, he wouldn’t give Toronto a second chance to question his ability. He plans to be at the Jays’ camp on Feb. 12, nearly a week before the optional reporting date for pitchers.

Wolverine really had a lot to say in this article.  He covered the Halladay / Lee trade from both perspectives.  Good read.  This guy has a spot locked up on the 12 man pitching staff.  I'm just not sure what his role will be at this point.  I think it depends on a lot of things beyond his control.

Courtesy of Razzball:

All right, but you can’t just ignore those 108 RBIs he had last year.  Maybe you can.  He hit behind a career year from Marco Scutaro who had a .379 OBP in 680 plate appearances.  Speaking of which, Aaron Hill had the most plate appearances in the major leagues last year.  Number one.  As in, no one was in front of him number one.  You have to take that many plate appearances with a grain of salt.  In 2010, Hill will be hitting behind who?  John Buck?  Jose Bautista?  Yeah, there goes those RBIs.  People are drafting him around the same time as Justin Morneau (30/100/.290) and Curtis Granderson (30/20)… Okay, different positions.  But how are people drafting him at the same time as Cano’s 90/27/100/.315/5?  Take a 2nd baseman later (Ian Stewart, Scott Sizemore, Kelly Johnson) instead of reaching for Aaron Hill.  He’s overrated.

I was spewing this venom about Aaron Hill in last week's round up comments section.  I did not take it quite as far as this guy but I agree with his message in principal.  Hill will have a great year for a second baseman.  But in 2009 he seemed to have a few things go his way, which contributed to his career high numbers in the following offensive categories:

• Hits
• Home Runs
• Runs
• RBI
• At Bats
• Slugging Percentage
• Stolen Bases  

Can he do it again?  Based on where he is being taken in fantasy drafts, I think most people would say yes.  But I fear this is simply explained by the fact he is eligible at such a weak position and his offensive production is far too tempting to pass on at two bag.

Courtesy of Jordan Bastian's Inbox:

With Spring Training almost here and the Blue Jays in a rebuilding period, who are the organization's top 10 prospects?
-- Nolan F., Peterborough, Ontario
Without the December trade that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies and the deal last July that sent third baseman Scott Rolen to the Reds, the Blue Jays' top prospects list would look very different than it does right now. With those two moves, Toronto reeled in what I believe to be its top four prospects for the time being.
First on the list, in my opinion, is first baseman Brett Wallace -- one of the players netted in the Halladay swap. He's nearly ready for the big leagues and could have a home in the heart of the Jays' lineup in the near future. Next on my list would be right-hander Kyle Drabek (also added in the Halladay deal), followed by right-hander Zach Stewart (picked up in the Rolen swap).  Drabek and Stewart are unlikely to make the Blue Jays' rotation this spring, but they will be in camp with the rest of the big league starting candidates. The pair of talented righties could see The Show some time this year, but it seems more realistic that Drabek and Stewart could have more of an impact beginning in 2011.  Fourth on my list would be catcher Travis d'Arnaud, who was the third prospect added in the Halladay trade. It appears as though d'Arnaud will open the year at high Class A Dunedin, so he is a few years away from a potential promotion to Toronto. Still, he heads the list of three catchers that make my Top 10 prospects list. Behind d'Arnaud, I'll go with right-hander Chad Jenkins and outfielder Jake Marisnick, who were selected by the Jays in the first and third round, respectively, in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. I'll round out my list with right-hander Henderson Alvarez, followed by catcher J.P. Arencibia, lefty Tim Collins and catcher Carlos Perez.

  Oh and Happy Valentine's Day Bitches

But you're a strange animal, I got to follow

So what the fuck are we going to do with Dustin Michael McGowan?

He was drafted by us in the first round, 33rd overall, in the 2000 Amateur Draft.  He will be 28 when the 2010 season starts.  For his career, he is 20 - 22 with a 4.71 ERA.  In 2007, his last full season of play he made 27 starts and held batters to a .230 batting average good for 4th best in AL.  He possess 4 above average pitches: a mid 90's fastball with good sink, a change up, a curveball and a slider.  He has 3.113 years of Major League Service Time and will not become eligible for free agency until 2013.

He was unable to throw a pitch for us in 2009 and has battled various injuries over the course of his career.

July 9, 2009: Surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee
July 31, 2008: Surgery to repair fraying of the labrum in his shoulder - Debridement surgery
May 13, 2004: Surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament - Tommy John surgery

He also has Type 1 diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes is the worst form of the illness, which has no known cure. McGowan receives a daily shot of insulin to regulate his blood sugar levels, and he will do so for the rest of his life unless it happens to get worse. If the disease progressed, McGowan could be forced to wear an insulin pump 24 hours per day.

Earlier this month some positive news came out.  It was reported that he was feeling good and was ready to resume pitching off a mound.  He indicated that he was looking forward to spring training and has hopes of being in the starting rotation.

“I feel good. My shoulder feels great. I’m throwing again and looking forward to getting back on the mound,” McGowan said.  On a scale of one to 100 percent, McGowan rated his fitness high. “Oh, I would say I’m somewhere around 85 percent.”

Great news! 

There is only one major problem that I can see, he is out of options.  So he had better be ready to go this spring.  He will be throwing off a mound tomorrow and needs to pass this major test if there is any chance of him making the opening day roster.  I doubt the brain trust would risk exposing him on waivers because someone would surely claim him.  He has to much potential not to take a chance on him.  So what do we do with him?  Does this mean he breaks camp with the team?  If so, where does he fit in? 

His arm stamina must be at an all time low.  He will need some time to build it up, especially if he is a starter.  I'm not sure if he will have time this spring to get it where it needs to be.  Perhaps he will is better suited for the bullpen to begin the 2010 season, which would only further complicate things there.

Now try to avoid the knee jerk reaction that I guarantee you are about to have.....at some point this season, Dustin McGowan should be our next closer.  I know, it sounds crazy.  But hear me out on this.  The more I think about it the more it works.  He would be able to reduce his inning totals significantly out of the pen.  He could drop one maybe even two of his pitches out of the arsenal, preferably his least effective and/or the one that causes him the most pain in his wing, and still have the stuff to do it.  We are going to need a long term solution in the back end of the pen and I don't see either Frasor or Downs as it.  I wonder if either of them are even going to be on the roster after the July 31st trade deadline due to their looming free agent eligibility.  Why not ease him back in by putting him on mop up duty for a couple of months and then give him a shot?

That being said I would love to see his power arm in the starting rotation along with Brandon Morrow.  You could split them up with a little Shawn Marcum action and follow with a funky lefty like Romero.  That type of mix from power to finesse back to power at the top of your rotation would certainly throw off the opposing hitters timing for a three game series.  Mix in a few southpaws and you might have a little something right there.

I guess it really boils down to how many innings can he pitch without hurting himself and if he has the balls needed to close.  We won't know the answer to those questions for a while.

In the mean time with respect to the waivers situation, fear not, there is a way around having to risk losing him that way.  Many teams attempt to do it with their players that are out of options.  I think it is very interesting to see all the guys who are in that situation suddenly get injured the week before the 25 man roster needs to be set.  The players don't really mind because they still collect their service time as if they were playing.      

So, McGowan starts 2010 on the 15 day disabled list similar to last season.  Then he would stay behind in Dunedin for an extended spring training followed by a trip to the minors on a "rehab assignment".  This might buy the brain trust the few weeks they need before having to make a decision.  In that time, hopefully, all the other major league teams finalize their rosters and our chances of sneaking him through waivers improve if we go that route.  As a nice side bonus, this may be the extra time he needs to build up his arm strength if we intend on keeping him on the major league roster.

Damn this spring is going to be interesting on the mound!  Pitchers and catchers report on February 18th.