Sunday, May 10, 2009

Short & sweet: Mothers Day edition

Under normal circumstances, I'd be lying in bed recovering from the worst head cold in history (just take my word for it), then prepping for a big Mothers Day extravaganza here at 1 Ack Drive. But considering the rubber match between the TFBJ and Billy Beane's A's goes this afternoon with our (my?) first real look at Brett Cecil, I felt it my duty to at least semi-mail in a post for your reading (dis)pleasure.

Rotation dilemma?
Brian Tallet is The Cito's boy. Cecil is the next big thing. Scott Richmond is pitching like an established veteran. Ricky Romero is rehabbing his way back, and Casey Janssen looks to be close. So how does the rotation shake out after the ace?

Given the recent bullpen follies, I'd be inclined to bring Janssen back pitching out of the 'pen, but the organization seems intent on working him into the rotation. A compromise? A promotion to the bigs pitching out of the pen with an eye to easing him into the starting 5? Regarding Cecil, he seems to destined to head back to 'Vegas, but the smart money says he's a permanent fixture before long. A big effort today could go a long way to solidifying that position....

In case you needed more evidence
Solid piece from Griff on Scott Rolen. The money quote:

Rolen is one of those guys. Leadership is not always about being vocal. After Travis Snider had smashed two home runs off the upper deck in Minnesota, he cited Rolen's example as one of the reasons he didn't stand and watch and showboat those tape-measure blasts. He had too much respect for the way Rolen prepared and played.

"That gives me goose bumps to hear that," Rolen stumbled. "That's prideful for me. I love hearing that."

.....and I just got goosebumps reading that, Scott Rolen. I believe in you. If you can't get behind a guy like that, then just quit watching baseball. Seriously.

12 comments:

SP said...

I got more than just goosebumps

Crap, you guys went with the DJF-style comments too? I guess I can handle it as long as the comments stay around 50 posts.

Oh and I had a horrible revelation yesterday. I was flipping through my TV guide channel and saw a certain movie title called "The Tao of Steve". I swear I died in like three different universes. I've been reading this blog since the beginning thinking all along that you came up with the genius name out of the blue and now I find out it's a reference to some movie about a fat kindergarten teacher. Does it make me a retard for not having heard of this movie before?

Voodoo Matt said...

For the starting rotation I see it this way: With Janssen, Richmond, Romero and Cecil in the rotation (sooner or later) the Jays are going to need a long guy out of the pen. Six foot six inches long with a kick-ass mustache.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

The Jays have so many arms, it's kind of ridiculous. 2010 is going to be insane, as we go for back-to-back championships with McGowan and North of Steeles back in the rotation. All hail KING J.P.!!!1

And Griff really did nail that column on Rolen. Pure respect.

Jason Frasor said...

Rolen really is the GBJOAL. I have a hard time deciding what appears more effortless; Rolen throwing to first on a routine grounder or Wells catching a pop fly.

Could I get added to the blog roll? Thank you, kind sirs.

Tao of Stieb said...

Hey, did you see that Cito Gaston said that Alex Rios' mechanics were "a mess"? (It's in the RotoWorld gadget to the right).

The question is: Did Cito figure this out for himself? Or did he read it here on the blog, seeing as how we've been saying this for weeks now.

We're guessing the former, but in our special alternate universe, it's the later.

@SP
You should watch that movie. It is good fun. Just like we are. And Dave Stieb was.

Johnny G said...

Josh Towers signs with NY!

http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/archive/2009/05/09/towers-added-to-scranton-wilkes-barre-roster.aspx

Christopher said...

Hey Ack or Tao, I got first base side tickets 10 rows up for Halladay v. Burnett on Tueday if you shake off that cold and come to T-Dot.

Darren said...

Cecil pitched very well again today. Pretty astounding how the Jays keep rolling despite the injuries.

I wonder if Rios will want to keep using a pink bat.

I am so looking forward to Tuesday. I can't recall the last time I was this anxious to see a regular season game in May.

The Ack said...

Christopher, dude, that's one helluvan (?) offer, and if I could make that feasible in any way, I'd take you up on it.....but that's like a thousand dollar jaunt from here at this point.

Have a blast. Hope to see a big crowd for that one.

PS - Cecil = "B"

PE_ _ _ _ _.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

So what you're saying, Ack, is that we'll see you in Toronto on Tuesday...

The Ack said...

I just realized that I didn't even mention Litsch in this post. Woops. Sorry Uncle Jesse.

Halladay
Marcum
McGowan
Cecil
Romero
Litsch
Janssen
Purcey
Richmond
Mills
Tallet
What?

Tim in London said...

Rolen's comments make me "prideful" that I know that is not a word. Regardless of that, I like the guy, his attitude and his impact on the younger guys.