Casey Janssen.
Jeremy Accardo.
Dustin McGowan.
And now, Shaun Marcum joins the list of talented young Blue Jay pitchers to have a season wiped out by major arm problems. Nice little run of luck there, huh? You know, we're not talking about a group of roster filler, AAAA-type pitchers here, either. These were (are) all players who showed they were (again, are) capable of being big pieces of this "new Jays" team that was poised to take a run at the top of the division.
All Casey Janssen did in 2007 was post a tidy 2.35 ERA in 70 relief appearances, serving as arguably the team's most reliable set-up man. Jeremy Accardo? Stepped in and saved 30 games for the injured BJ Ryan (another TJ survivor). Dustin McGowan? Started fulfilling his promise as a top-of-the-rotation future staff ace - a guy touted as a Cy Young dark horse by the likes of ESPN's Buster Olney, who just might know a thing or two about baseball. Shaun Marcum? Well, I'd argue this is the biggest blow of the bunch.
This one hurts.
See, starting pitching is a hot commodity in MLB, in case you haven't noticed. Young, cheap, talented starting pitching? Forget it. Losing McGowan mid-season was tough, but we knew he'd be back in the spring (or close to it), and the Jays would just have to rely on one of the other arms in the system (as it turned out, Dr. Purcey and Mr. Hyde) to close out the year, and with AJ Burnett surely leaving (or is he?.....), maybe serve as the fifth man heading into next. Now, the Blue Jays have to add two unproven arms to the equation (failing any significant free agency moves, as JP is hinting will be the case), as Marcum won't even be back throwing until 2010 - and probably not back to being fully effective until 2011.
You may have seen me say this in the comments section, but......fuck.
Oh, and can we put to bed the notion that Marcum had become a bit of a prima donna around the clubhouse? Watch the end of the clip attached here, and tell me if it doesn't get a little dusty for you. Christ, I bet Doc even welled up before telling his tear ducts to fuck off.
Let's hope AJ gave Marcum one of his patented hugs. Huggy Bear Burnett, I've been calling him. Has anyone else been noticing this all season?
Don't worry Shaun....we won't forget about you.
(see how I tied it all together there?)
12 comments:
The Jays are gonna end up in 4th place this year...can you imagine what will happen without the best top 4 in the AL? What a bunch of shit! Doc will probably leave at the end of his contract or ask out as next year is a BS year. There is no way they can compete in that division without making severe adjustments. They needed offense BUT now that Marcum and AJ won't be on the scene next year, they will get lesser pitchers AND have the same shitty offense.
Just Mr. Sunshine, aren't you, Anon?
I refuse to subscribe to the chicken littling going on here. It completely sucks that we're losing Marcum, but we do have a lot of great arms. Remember when Litsch came out of nowhere? Remember Marcum came out of nowhere? Remember when Accardo all of a sudden became a closer? I firmly believe JP is right, people will step up.
And Ack, why do you keep insisting that Doc is an inhuman machine? He's shown plenty of emotion in the past and he seems to be a down-to-earth kind of guy. He's just an intense, focused, competitor that is a huge inspiration for me personally.
mr p, Accardo, Janssen and a lot of those promising pitchers are on the DL. The thing is Tampa has happened, they have tons of young pitching AND they are adding Price. BTW, how many of their pitchers on the DL? Get JP out and get a better GM BECAUSE they need another pitching philosophy due to these injuries.
I predict this comment next season from JP: "I like our team, and when all our guys get healthy, 2010 will be our year!". Hoo-rah! Contract extensions for everyone! lol
I can see why you'd think so, but I'm really not trying to be a chicken little. I'm just frustrated as all fuck. A week ago, I was telling myself "we have the pitching, now we just need to add a few offensive pieces". Now, the rotation is suddenly in disarray, the bullpen might get weakened as a result (Downs or Janssen to the rotation?)....and we still have to adress the offence.
It can still be done - maybe Cecil or Romero steps in next year and solidifies the rotation. Maybe Purcey figures it out and finds some consistency. But how many times can we expect to be pleasantly surprised a la Litsch and Marcum?
....Just give me a week or so, I'll talk myself into being fully optimistic again. That interview clip with Marcum where he broke down at "not being one of the guys next spring" sent me into a state of melancholy before posting this.
Oh, and Ry Halladay was sent here from the future to kick all kinds of baseball ass.
Ack, cool thoughts BUT Doc is gonna get sick of this shit soon enough. AS loyal as he is and no matter was the MRS says he can win elsewhere AND get paid handsomely. Doc is the ultimate Jay but I think the next GM who should come on board next year BUT is gonna come on board in 2010 because next year is a debacle unless......
JP has a lot of work to do, he could sign a Lowe, Garland or Byrd by overpaying and sign a reclamation or two, like Ponson or Pavano that would be cheap. THEN he should trade Ryan as a salary dump. Take the excess money and get Manny. He will have Giambi as plan B or even Thome because they would be cheaper BUT he has to shore up the offense. He shouldn't trade Lind or Snyder, they need some fucking people that can hit because Wells, Rios,Rolen and Overbay are underachieving chumps.
No one is going to get Manny for B.J's money.
so i guess today's victory by Doc over Lester proves that Doc is a BIG GAME PITCHER. right?
i swear there's way too many morons out here on al gore's internet.
marcum's loss hurts, no doubt. but we gotta have faith in JP's system. Purcey, Romero, and shit. it's time for them to shine.
they need some fucking people that can hit because Wells, Rios,Rolen and Overbay are underachieving chumps.
Rolen has changed his swing and is producing results, so should be better next year. Wells was on the DL twice, and each time upon his return, was producing within a week or two. Overbay has returned to form in the second half of the season. And Rios is still a developing young player.
Ryan has also looked sharper in the last month, probably because as he gets more removed from TJ, he's getting control back. And who would take his contract, anyway? I'd rather keep Uncle Beej, convert Downs and Janssen to starters and see how that goes, and use Carlson, League and Accardo as setup. So even if our starters can't go more than 6, we have a nice back end still.
Yes, Janssen and Accardo are questions marks but they very well can come back and pitch as well as they did before. And who's to say that Purcey or Richmond or Cecil won't step up?
I'm not willing to throw in the towel because the truth is, thanks to JP, we DO have pitching depth.
Or hell, weren't we trying to stretch out Wolfe? And there's still the Romeros as well.
I don't know Ack, it sure seems like there are lots of possibilities within the organization.
This can't have effect in actual fact, that's exactly what I believe.
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