Thoughts on the weekend in a flash

Honouring our patron saint: It was great to see and hear so much about Dave Stieb this weekend, as everyone seemed to trip over themselves to find enough superlatives for the former ace. (If you missed it, there's a nice bit of ceremonial huzzahs available on the Jays site.)

It was especially interesting to hear Stieb in conversation with Jerry and Alan on the radiocast mentioning how Buck Martinez used to have to remind him to lay off on the slider and throw some fastballs here or there. Stieb also bemoaned his own approach on the pitches he threw that saw previous no-hitters get broken up. More than 20 years later, you can still hear him kicking himself for throwing a curve with perfection on the line.

And you'll excuse this cliché, but he does look as though he could go out and toss six solid innings tomorrow if he had to.

Less than perfect, Part 1: As was brought to our attention last week by email, the coveted Stieb bobble had a few flaws in it. Firstly, the cap was the wrong one (Jays wore solid blue caps on the road that season) and the jersey has the wrong lettering (road jerseys read "Toronto", not "Blue Jays".) So if you are superstitious enough not to talk about no-hitters and such in the middle of the game, maybe you'd agree with us that such flaws in the promotional swag were certain to doom yesterday's game for the Jays.

Less than perfect, Part 2: If you're more literal-minded, perhaps you're looking at the actual pitching in yesterday's game when assessing what went wrong. Last year's callup surprise, Marc Rzepczynski's output this year has been bad enough to make us forget how to spell his name. His mechanics, which were very tight last season, look completely messed up now. Last year, he threw a lot of strikes down in the zone to keep things under control. This year, he's having a hard time getting anything where it should be.

Especially telling was the pitch Rzep threw after a mound visit from José Molina with two balls and the bases loaded. After all of the shoulder rubs and "just chill and throw strikes" that his catcher could offer, Rzep still let his lead shoulder fly out and threw a mid-80's fastball a foot outside. Not good.

Who's next? With the announcement that Brandon Morrow is going to get an early end to his season (a very good call, in our estimation), and the possibility that Shaun Marcum might also see his innings limited in his first post-TJ season, the Jays will be looking for additional starting arms to pick up the slack.

And if that additional arm is Brian Tallet, we'll die a little extra on those days.

The smart money would seem to be on Bobby Ray, who pitched well last year in a brief time with the Jays, and whose innings aren't up particularly high because of some minor league DL stints. Brad Mills, who looks like a mess of messes on the mound lately, could also get some starts down the stretch. Canadian Shawn Hill might have also been an option, but he tossed just one inning in his last start and is coming off a long road back from injury, so he's a long shot.

But don't get your hopes up for appearances from Kyle Drabek: The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are headed towards the playoffs(!!!1), and he'll eat up his remaining innings at that level.

Jeremy Accardo would like to be heard: If you read the original Las Vegas Review-Journal piece (as opposed to some of the overheated clips from it that were tossed around on this side of the border), Jeremy Accardo doesn't sound so much aggrieved as he does frustrated and resigned with his lot in the Blue Jays' organization.

This might be forgotten at this point, but Accardo broke camp with the Jays, and promptly sat for two weeks in the pen. And though Accardo has put up respectable numbers in Las Vegas (especially considering the inflation inherent in pitching in that division of the PCL), he'll be hard pressed to get a sniff of the pitching rubber in the Bigs so long as The Manager is still wearing the windbreaker and crossing his arms in the dugout.

To be honest, we'd almost prefer to see Accardo go somewhere in the National League and get the opportunity to work in the back end of a team's bullpen next year. He's been painted as a bit of a jerk for his outspokeness, but we're inclined to think that he has the very same "hustle" and "heart" that the team likes to proclaim as primary values in its marketing campaigns.

In lieu of thoughts, 10 random tweetable whims

We'd prefer not to put too much more thought into last night's game. We're not even going to repeat the score or the details, because such a thing will only help the thought to take purchase in the soil of our mind. And so, we forget.

In lieu of any day after gnashing of teeth, we offer up 10 brief and random notions on the season thus far. We do this also because since we been on the Twitter, we can no longer shape or develop any cogent argument in a paragraph. We can only hint at the possibility of one in 140 characters.

(All hail Twitter: The End of Thought, The Triumph of Whims!)

1. We'd given up on Casey Janssen, but he now looks like he could throw a pitch past someone if he needed to.

2. Randy Ruiz is a big dude, but he can run the bases with fury if he needs to.

3. We like seeing Adam Lind in the field. It reminds us that he's going to play there when the Jays make it to the World Series.

4. Overbay complained in '09 about not getting regular playing time. We hope he's enjoying his 2010 so far. We're not. So far.

5. Kevin Gregg just looks like a closer. Like a big, jarheaded nasty shut-the-door closer. And that appeals to some part of us.

6. Frasor is about eight inches shorter than Gregg, but still throws harder. It just doesn't seem that way.

7. Ruiz has now scored more runs than Aaron Hill. And not in the good way we might have imagined before the season.

8. Hamstring injuries scare the shit out of us. We remember the first time Vernon pulled up lame with one.

9. A sign that this might be more than a hot start: In addition to his improved swing, Vernon is letting pitches off the plate go for balls.

10. The 51s are 6-1 so far. And Brad Mills' line looks like this: 2-0, 0.79 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 18 Ks, 1 BB.

The five guys we (almost) completely forgot

We were half way through this article in today's online edition of the Star about the numbers game with the Jays as they approach Spring Training when we were shocked and bewildered by a name that emerged from the foggy mists of the past: Jesse Carlson. (Wha? Who's that guy?)

We're not at all being facetious when we say that we figured Carlson was already gone and on his way to scraping together innings here or there wherever he could, or picking up with an ultimate frisbee team and to play in regional tournaments where he could hook up with his female teammates.

(Side note: Ultimate is the urban hipster version of paintball. Just so you know.)

This isn't to say that we think that Carlson has no value for the Jays. His ERA climbed significantly last year (from 2.25 to 4.66), even as his strikeout and walk rates remained pretty close to the same. This might have something to do with his BABIP jumping from .230 (probably unsustainably low) to .300 (possibly higher than he deserved).

We've likely misplaced Carlson in our mind's muddled filing system because there has been so much transition and turnover within the Jays' roster since the middle of last season. We're getting old and forgetful in the twilight of our youth, and have too often reached for the "what's-his-name-the-guy-with-the-tattoos" to get us through a line of thought in the middle of a conversation. And a scan through the roster has led to understand just how many of these guys have completely fallen out of our mind since the end of September. Here's a few other dudes who totally fell below our dim radar over winter.

Chad Jenkins: Not that we were necessarily expecting this guy to step in and make his presence felt this year, but the Jays' top draft pick (20th overall) in 2009 was supposed to be fairly polished as a college pitcher and at least closer to the Majors than some other picks. Maybe the fact that Jenkins didn't pitch in affiliated ball last season helped push him to the back of our dusty cranial filing cabinet, but we're hoping to get to know a little bit more about him than his college stats (8-1, 2.54 ERA, 98 Ks / 15 BBs in 92 IPs).

Brad Mills: At a certain point last season, there was actually some talk that, amongst the endless line of left-handed pitchers at the top of the Jays' system, Mills might be the best of the bunch. But he slipped backwards in our consciousness because of the performances of Brett Cecil and Marc Rzepczynski last season, along with the shitkickings that he took in his two starts.

Brad Emaus: Emaus was the talk of Spring Training last year after he tore things up good. People even started speculating as to who would have to move where when he stepped up and pushed Aaron Hill aside. As it turned out, Emaus stumbled to a .712 OPS in New Hampshire, while Hill did okay for himself.

Scott Campbell: Speaking of guys who were supposed to supplant Hill, the Kiwi (with Canadian roots!) who put up pretty respectable numbers (.825 OPS) at Double-A in '08 and represented the World team in the Prospects Game stumbled backwards in '09, posting a .747 OPS at New Hampshire and a .608 OPS in his 27 game taste of Triple-A. Unless he makes some significant step forward, Bob Elliot can probably file away that profile that focuses on Campbell's Canadian roots, and just how goshdarned Canadian Campy (or Camps or Campser) really is.

Richmond to the DL? Sure, why not

In the least surprising (but still entirely depressing) development of late, Scott Richmond has hit the DL with tendinitis in his throwing arm (read: impending Tommy John or labrum surgery - heyo!). Rookie Brad Mills, coming off a spectacular start in Vegas (8IP, 2H, 0ER, 1BB, 7K), will take his spot on the roster. Let's just forget about that 850 foot Werth-bomb from his last big league effort, shall we? Go get 'em, kid.

Since we're already here, can anyone think of a starter or two who the Jays have DL'd in the last few seasons? Oh wait - I can:

Halladay
Burnett (barf)
Marcum
McGowan
Litsch
Janssen
Romero
Richmond
.
.
.....and that's just from memory. Feel free to bitch-slap me with glaring omissions in the comments section (no - guys like Vic Zambrano don't count). At least the arm woes haven't affected the bullpen though, right? Wait, nevermind.

Do you think Summer of Tallet and Franchise Cecil feel the guillotine staring down on them? It's only a matter of time, right? WRONG - FUCK OFF!

(Cue Arnsberg haters in 3, 2, 1.....)

Up today
Cecil vs Jabba. Please? Come on Jays. I need it. I can't do an 0-for the weekend. I just can't.

PANIC! Romero on the DL!

Via the Globe's Bobby Mac, Ricky Romero is headed to the DL with an oblique strain.

(Don't panic...don't panic...don't panic...don't panic...don't panic...don't panic...)

No word yet on who will get the call to come up, but the Jays don't have an off day until May 11, so they won't have much latitude with their rotation, and will have to get a body to fill in. None of the starters at Las Vegas are setting the world ablaze at this point, though Brad Mills (4.70 ERA, 9 Ks / 8 BBs in 15.1 innings) seems like the most likely candidate.

The Jays could go a little nutty and look to Double-A prospect Reidier Gonzalez (1.37 ERA, 9 Ks / 5 BBs in 19.1 innings at New Hampshire), or Fabio Castro or Luis Perez. Of those four pitchers, Perez is the only one on the 40-man roster, which might also contribute to the decision.

UPDATE!!! MORE PANIC!!! MLBastian tweets that B.J. Ryan is headed to the 15 Day with trap tightness.

(Actually, we're kinda relieved - pardon the pun - about this news. New closer auditions!)

First day of spring means baseball, baby

I'm going to go on record right now and say that this has been one of the worst fucking winters of my life. Top five, for sure, and that's really saying something when you live in a city where -30 degrees is commonplace and simply means you need to zip your jacket up. -40 to -50? That shit is cold, man, and only an outrageous (and potentially baldfaced) liar will tell you that you "get used to it". You don't. Things freeze. It's painful. Not cool.

But that's all over for another year, my friends. Spring is in the air. Can you feel it? Can you? I can. Weather aside, the first day of spring means we are on the verge of some real baseball. What? Canada got eliminated good and early? You're dead to me, World Baseball Classic.

Spring training isn't just for the players - it's for the fans too, if my opinion counts for anything (that's rhetorical, smart guy). I keep up a ridiculous intensity for a 162 game season, and I need a good month of idle speculation and foaming at the mouth over stud prospects to ease me into this thing.

Projected 75 to 80 win season be damned (PENNANT!), I'm getting stoked. Come on April 6th - let's go.

Speaking of foaming at the mouth over stud prospects
Brad Mills is making this team, and I think we need to check our expectations. We're talking about a 24 year old arm who has never, in "the scouts'" estimation, projected to be anything more than a back-end starter, who is on the verge of making the bigs after one and a half seasons of pro baseball.

I think, in time, Mills can exceed those expectations - he's got a pretty good arm, Cito loves his makeup, he doesn't get rattled, he's apparently a pretty intelligent dude, etc - but even if he doesn't, that's still OK, right? I mean, come the World Series Season of 2010 (leave me alone), we're looking at a rotation consisting of some combination of Halladay, McGowan, Marcum, Litsch, Cecil, and Mills, right?

And yes, I know Doc is entering that tenuous "extend or trade" portion of his contract, Marcum is coming off TJ, and McGowan's surgically repaired shoulder is already barking. I know these things, but I'm wilfully choosing to ignore them. Besides, that's what big Dave Purcey is for, right? RIGHT??

Roy Halladay throws us a bone
That was cute of Doc to pretend he was human. I'm not fooled. Come on now Roy, you don't expect us to believe that you are anything more than a robotic pitching cyborg sent from the future to destroy opposing bats, do you? Because that shit is just ridiculous.

You know, it's a good thing that Jays management will find a way to extend his contract and ensure he never wears another team's jersey, because any other scenario would just be too much to bear.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves

In this, the Spring of Diminished Expectations, we Blue Jays fans may have been getting a bit too revved up about the possibilities presented by the dynamic southpaw duo of Brett Cecil and Brad Mills.

Could they step into the decimated rotation and help salvage what seems to be a bit of a lost 2009 season? Would they turn a seeming weakness into a strength? Would they blow away not only the opposition, but also all of the naysayers and prophets of doom?

The news this weekend tossed a needed bucket of icy-cold water onto some of these rather lofty expectations. Cecil was given his ticket to the minor league camp (in the dubious company of a certain Mr. Maroth), while Mills gave up four hits and five walks to the Reds in Sunday's 5-4 extra-inning win. (Curtis Thigpen! Still the catcher of the future?!)

It's not to say that they won't be with the big club sooner rather than later. It's just that we should maybe temper our expectations of what they'll be able to offer at this early point of their development.

Hell, at 23, Jimmy Key spent his first season coming out of the bullpen and posting a 4.65 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. If either of those two young lefties were able to replicate the performances that Key put in over his subsequent eight years with the Blue Jays, we'd be thrilled. But, as Axl Rose said so many years ago, all we need is just a little patience.

Other notable notey notebook notes

Item number 1! Nadir Mohamed will be the next CEO of Rogers. It's hard to guess what this will mean for the RCI side of the equation, including the Blue Jays. Mohamed comes from the wireless side of things, so he may be willing to defer to CEOs of Rogers Media (Tony Viner) and the Blue Jays (Paul Beeston or his *cough snort cough* replacement)...but ultimately, we're left a bit uneasy by this. Wireless has always been a huge money maker for Rogers (system access fee my ass), and the media side of things scraped by, even before the advertising market went into the toilet. What will Mohamed think of the "red ink" in the other divisions when he is ultimately responsible for them?

Item number 2! We've avoided reading too many J.P. quotes this spring, if only because we don't put a ton of stock into them at this point. However, we were a bit disappointed to see the GM mention that Matt Clement is likely on the "outside looking in right now". It's not that Clement has blown anyone away as of yet, but we had started to get a bit optimistic that maybe he could rehabilitate his game and contribute in the short term.

In spite of the fact that we'd previously stated our belief that Clement wouldn't throw a pitch for the Jays, we find ourselves somehow rooting for him. Maybe it's the fact that he shaved that stupid facial hair off, thus making him more human to us.

Final item! We came to a stark realization this Sunday, about halfway through our second fantasy draft of the day: We kinda suck at fantasy baseball. Nobody should think of themselves as a roto authority when they take Kaz Matsui that early in a draft.