We Got Ourselves a Losing Streak

One day, you're extrapolating out to a 108 win season, and a few sleepless nights later, you're trying to remember what a win feels like.

We're in a losing streak, friends.

And this is no garden variety losing skid. This is a junk-caught-in-a-zipper level of frustrating pain. Losing on dodgy calls, extraordinary pitching performances and ugly, late inning implosions is enough to drive you a little bit crazy, even this early in the season.

Being a glass-half-full type (okay, probably not really, but for the sake of argument, let's pretend I am), we'd say this: The Jays have been in every game they've played this season, and aside from the bullpen meltdown, there hasn't been a lot of truly bad play over this past spell. So relax. It's all gonna come back to us soon enough.

(And if you are really a cynical monster who feeds off negativity, here's a quick hit for you: Holy shit, are Lind/Hill/Snider ever going to make good contact with a ball again? Because we can't remember the ast time they weren't feebly fouling something off or swinging through a fastball.)

Purcey Snatchers
Let's get one thing clear straight away: David Purcey is 28 years old. He might stick around for another 10 years in the bigs, occasionally having a halfway decent year of getting lefties out (à la Arthur Rhodes). But he is what he is at this point, and for a team that building towards a brighter future, there are better options for the Jays, even if Purcey's controlability and affordability are taken into account.

There may well be a few suitors for his services, as Alex Anthopoulos intimated to the beat corps, which means that the Jays might be able to finagle a bit of Minor League depth out of this set of circumstances.

We know that you're all sick of our professions of love for him, but remember that Jo-Jo Reyes is two years younger. Plus, Marc Rzepczynski is three years younger, as is Brad Mills.

Purcey deserved a shot at showing what he had this year, and if roster pressure wasn't what it is, then maybe a longer look would be in order. But having too many arms for too few roster spots is just about the nicest problem we can think of having.

So Much Blame, So Few Strikes

You see how happy those guys are, right there? That's how pissed we are. Tired, grumpy, and frankly, just a bit stabby.

We're sure that someone might want to go back through our Twitter feed, and assess some blame to us for attempting to cash out at 2 am last night when the Jays had a 7-1 lead. Yes, it did occur to us that we might be tempting fate by walking away from a game still in progress, but we're not so silly as to assume that our decision to head towards Sleepytown was in way really responsible for the shit-tastic bed-shitting that ensued.

And OH! What a spectacular evacuation from the the pitching staff!

On a night when the men who swing clubs hang seven runs on Felix Fucking Hernandez, King of the Two-Seamer, Archduke of the Sinker and Commander-in-Chief of the 90 MPH changeup, you'd expect your pitchers just to go out and throw strikes. It's not much more complicated than that.

This is the Mariners, and this is Seattle, and this is Safeco Field. You could put the ball on a tee for last night's opposition, and they probably don't score eight runs in the final three innings. And yet, somehow, the Jays' pitching staff looked utterly Canadian in their unwillingness to impose their presence on the strike zone. ("Oh, excuse me. Sorry. Pardon me. I'll just leave this pitch down in the dirt. Oh no really. I insist.")

And don't go stroking anybody's ginger beard after his performance last night. Sure, Jesse Litsch pitched in and out of trouble for several innings, and performed some escape routines that would make Houdini envious. There were no runs on his ledger, but he also only got 15 outs for his team, and left 12 for his partners in the bullpen. That's not a good start. That's not, as one departed soul used to say, pitching like a man.

And here's a funny thing: Carlos Villaneuva, who gave up the first run of the game, pitched like an hombre. Yes, Milton Bradley got ahold of one of his pitches - a good pitch in a good location - but he also exited the game quickly, and when things got dicey after a walk to Justin Smoak, he nutted up and threw some goddamned strikes.

(And yes, the strike zone last night was tight. Look at the pitch charts on Brooks Baseball, and you'll find more than a handful of balls that were either inside the zone or just on the cusp that went for balls. If it's a Sunday afternoon, the Jays might walk away with a 7-1 win, and David Purcey walks away with strikouts and a hold. But that only underlines the fact that you can't try to counteract bad calls on the margins of the strikezone with more nibbling around the plate.)

We were about to close this off with a clichéed "today is a new day." Except that it just occurred to us that yesterday happened today. Which only serves to make us feel angry and sleepy at the same time. Let's hope the Jays can cap off a terrible Tuesday on a much better note.

David Purcey is going to have to do better than that

If Purcey expects to compete and fill up the all-important win column, he's going to have to do more than pitch eight innings, strike out 11 and hold the opposition to one run as he did in last night's 1-0 loss to the Rays.

Pitchers like Purcey have got to learn to show more heart out on the mound, and with a little more grit and determination, they can will their teammates to score more runs.

With every great pitching performance, we worry about the pitching staff
You see a performance like last night's and you wonder: Where does Purcey fit in next year? Obviously, you have to figure that he'll be in the rotation. Does he skip past Litsch? Does it even really matter?

Moreover, we wonder about how the entire staff shakes out after A.J. Burnett leaves (and we're pretty much resigned to the fact that he will.) While everyone is certain that this year's success from the pitching staff is a sure indicator that everything is fine and that all efforts should be focussed on getting a bat for next year, we're a little concerned with Shaun Marcum's post-injury struggles, Dustin McGowan's unknown prognosis, Litsch's teeter-totter of a season and Purcey's control issues.

Yeah, sure the Jays have got the lowest ERA in the Majors, but does it necessarily follow that you'll see the same level of performance next year? We're not convinced.

Why are we so focussed on next year all of a sudden?

Hey, Hunter Wendelstedt....

You just embarrassed yourself out there tonight.

Hunter, you made the right call by not buying Travis Metcalf's little song-and-dance routine on the faux-hit by pitch and waving him back to the plate.

Then out trots Ronny Washington, who you basically allowed to throw a bucket of cold water directly on your crotch when you agreed to confer with the rest of the crew.

By changing the call and awarding Young Travis (TM) the base, you completed the humiliation by essentially pulling down your pants for all to see.

That was bullshit, Hunter. Total bullshit. Of course, David Purcey didn't HAVE to throw an 0-2 meatball to Gerald Laird (thanks for finding your power stroke this series, by the way) two batters later, but that wouldn't have made for much of a post now, would it?

You say goodbye, and we say hello

Goodbye, Jesse
And so it has come to pass. Our favorite round, pink and efficient member of the Jays' starting staff has been sent back to Syracuse to ride the buses and find his stuff again. After a an unbelievable 7-1, 3.18 ERA start to the season, our favorite round mound has been overmatched since the beginning of June (1-6, 6.12 ERA).

We like Lil' Litschy as much as the next guy, but this demotion is probably for the better. The notion that he was ready to be a permanent fixture in the rotation as a 23 year-old was likely a bit overenthusiastic on the part of Jays fans and the front office. Let's hope that Jesse can drop a little poundage with the Chiefs and gets himself back on the right track. Hey, it worked for Roy Halladay once upon a time.

(Incidentally, we don't mean for the weight thing to come off as a cheap shot. Alan Ashby noted on the radiocast the other night that this is a concern for the front office, and that although he had slimmed down before the season, he's packed the weight back on and then some.)

The Jays, in an effort to maintain the all-important Ginger Factor on their 25-man roster, have recalled David Purcey to take a spot in the rotation.

Hello, Ack
Some of our more eagle-eyed readers might have noticed a new name to the list of contributors to the blog.

Since we started the blog about 15 months ago, we've received plenty of inquiries from people wanting to contribute along with us. Usually, we ignore such requests, but occasionally, our advice to anyone wanting to contribute has been as follows:

1) Be desireless
2) Be a commenter
3) Be excellent

Having fully met these requirements, it is our pleasure to introduce The Ack as the new Weekend Editor.

(We're not sure about the title, actually. We were thinking Associate Adjuct Assistant to the Editor, but we'll settle these things before we order any business cards.)

Having demonstrated a keen wit, a sharp tongue and a willingness to agree with us no matter how indefensible our position may be, we believe that The Ack will provide you with the high levels of insight and snark that have become the hallmark of our blog.

Give it up for The Ack, everyone! He'll be here all weekend. Try the veal.

At least one Blue Jay got to start an All-Star Game

Even if Roy Halladay had to wait until the fourth inning to get into the MLB All-Star game, there's a slight amount of solace for us in seeing that Jays farmhand David Purcey got the start for the International League in last night's Triple-A All Star Game in Louisville.

Purcey pitched two strong innings, allowing no hits, no walks, and no runs while striking out three Pacific Coast Leaguers.

Though Purcey's two spot starts for the Jays this season have been something less than spectacular, he continues to pitch well for Syracuse and offers a glimmer of hope that there is something in the back closet for the Jays should the rotation's ranks continue to thin out through injuries and/or trades.

Purcey told a local Syracuse new channel that the experience of being called up has prepared him for his next opportunity with the big club. Moreover, he sounds as though he's maturing in his approach to pitching: "I'm finally starting to realize that I don't have to overthrow every pitch, and that I can stay in a certain range," Purcey told News 10.

If there is one thing that you could accuse Purcey of in his first two starts, it was overthrowing, as he walked 11 in 7.1 inning over those first two starts. Here's hoping that his stated realization translates into a palpably better performance when the next opportunity comes his way.

You can't keep Hector Luna down

We were reasonably sure that we'd never write these words again, but Hector Luna has been called up to the Jays from Syracuse for the weekend's series. So the Jorge Velandia Era may be over almost as quickly as it started.

Luna takes the place of Friday's emergency starter David Purcey, who is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to AAA where he can get the fuck away from Jayson Werth and pitch to minor league calibre hitters again. God speed.

(And incidentally, the fact that Jesse Litsch had to come mop up after Purcey kinda defeats the purpose of having brought him up in the first place...but we're sure it will all be fine in the end. Right?)

Scrappy Doo Eckstein will come off the DL and be back with the team on Thursday, so Luna's stay will be brief.

How Greene is my middle infield?
Speaking of infielders, we've been letting Jeff Blair's notion of Khalil Greene coming to the Jays stew in our noggin for a few days now, and we're now convinced that this would be the Single Greatest Player Personnel Move in the History of the Blue Jays. (Okay, that might be hyperbole, but we like to get the strongest opinion possible out there first, if only to stake out the territory for ourselves.)

Don't be deceived by the appearances. Sure, Greene pretty much sucks ass this year. We're not even clear how it is possible to have a sub .600 OPS, but he's managed to pull it off. Nevertheless, he managed 27 homers and 97 RsBI last year, playing half of his games in the cavernous neverland that is PetCo Park. Even if for the season Greene regresses back to his mean (15 homers in each of his last three years), he'll still be a far more productive hitter than Scrappy Doo. Moreover, he is a better defender than Eckstein, and he tends to heat up in July and August.

If the Pads are looking to hold a yard sale, then we sincerely hope that J.P. will be like our crazy aunt: get there at the crack of dawn carrying only a change purse and the negotiating skills of a third-world dictator.

The Tao's Interleague Intern in Philly
Having received many generous offers from readers this week willing to act as interns after our plaintive call for help, we took up one particular reader on his offer to send us missives from his road trip to Philly this weekend. The first reports back from the field were filed at about 4 am, and speak to the level of depraved individual to which our blog proudly appeals:

"went to a titty bar, byob, and full nude, saw not a single jays fan, but it was cold and rainy and we got our asses kicked. didn't wear my jays gear, because not sure if the titty bar would allow hats and jerseys.....

pussy good here, philies fans not so much. Got my 93 hat to show off and a modern hat too. fuck them mother fuckers, 1993 was a glorious year. JOE CARTER

will report later when I actually go to a game tomorrow........"

Go forth and do us proud, young taoist.

Pitching staff merry-go-round

So here's the newest latest and the band of brothers in the bullpen:

Randy Wells gets sent back to Chicago: Thanks for your time, but you're just not what we're looking for.

Brian Wolfe goes to the DL: Somehow, you had to figure that one arm was going to get mangled in the first month of the season, and after pitching three times in four days, Wolfe blew his tricep.

But most importantly, David Purcey gets the call!!: We know we shouldn't get overly excited about a few early season Triple-A stats, but still, a 1.89 ERA and a 21/6 K to BB ratio in 19 innings is nothing to sneeze at. The baldfaced speculation has Purcey taking the mound on Friday, with last night's late night losing pitcher Dougie Burnett* getting moved to Saturday.

Now the only question is who gets to carry the Dora the Explorer bag o' treats out to the bullpen.

(*NB: We think we might start calling A.J. Burnett "Dougie" or "Gord", because we believe it will make him a more relatable, cuddly figure to Canadian sports fans.)

The Farm Fresh Report

After an ugly series like the one that just finished against Oakland, it's time to cast our eyes to the next generation of Jays, if only to keep ourselves from doing something rash. Like tossing ourselves out the window. (Then again, since we are like all bloggers and writing this from our parents' basement, throwing defenestrating ourselves out and up onto street level isn't a very effective way to deal with our frustrations.)

First, allow us to introduce the experts
You may have seen this posted elsewhere, but we'd be remiss if we didn't tip our retro caps to Dave Rouleau and Marc Hulet for the bang-up job that they are doing with their new electronic magazine Behind the Dish. Blogging for shits and giggles is fun, but the BTD dudes are doing an excellent job of taking on real reportage on the Blue Jays' farm system. You can find the first two issues here, and they are worth your time, especially as we try to determine who is going to get the call to salvage our hopes and dreams for a playoff season. We highly recommend it.

Adam Lind makes his case
Obviously, these are early days, but Adam Lind is flat out raking in the first week-plus of the season. With two homers, nine RsBI and a gaudy 1.259 OPS over the first eight games of the season, one has to wonder how long the Jays can keep him in the 'Cuse.

David Purcey might be a good pitcher
Making the case that he should be the first hurler to get the call when the inevitable pitching staff DL stint arrives, David Purcey has been stellar through his first two starts in Triple-A. In 12 innings, he's struck out 14 (against four walks), allowed two earned runs (for a 1.50 ERA) and is rocking a 1.00 WHIP.

On the other hand
There's that other left hander, Ricky Romero. Sigh. Yeah, sure, it was one bad game at Double-A, but still. Sigh.

Travis Snider can still hit
Three doubles and two homers (and a stolen base!) so far for our Great White Hope.

How are things on the farm?

• Syracuse: 3-5, taking on Rochester and Buffalo next week.
• New Hampshire: 0-6 (yikes), taking on Connecticut and New Britain.
• Dunedin: 6-2 (first place in their division!), taking on Tampa and Clearwater.
• Lansing: 6-1 (first place in their division too!), taking on Cedar Rapids and Burlington.
  

Watching moving pictures...what a concept!

It's amazing how much more you can glean from watching game action as opposed to reading boxscores or watching Kathryn Humphries' attempts at humour. Not that seeing a handful of innings gives a fulsome view of the progress of the team, but it was certainly revelatory to see our boys on the field.

A few thoughts:

Chacin is a Machine in need of serious repair: As ugly as the line score was, it didn't nearly do justice to just how messed up Gustavo Chacin is at this point. His arm slot has dropped noticeably, with two major repercussions. First, he's not able to hide the ball nearly as well as when he came over the top, meaning that batters are getting a really good long look at the pitch before he delivers it. Second, he has absolutely no velocity. Not that he was a flame thrower before, but now his delivery is much more suited to tossing a bean bag through a clown's nose at the county fair than it is to getting big league hitters out. This guy is toast.

Shannon Stewart is not as gimpy as we thought: Stewart worked the count well in his at bats, and looked good legging out a double. Also, we were reminded of the fact that while he has a pop gun arm, he compensates by getting good jumps on the ball as he did when he made a nice catch in foul ground.

How can we not love Buck Coats? Coats crashed into the wall in the 8th inning to make a sweet over the shoulder catch off of Jorge Posada. Also, dude is seriously lanky. Like, Bargnani lanky.

Aaron Hill is in mid-season form: Hill went deep into the count in a couple of at bats, fouling off pitches and hanging in there long enough to stroke a solid run-scoring double late in the game.

Purcey brings heat: David Purcey's control isn't all there yet, but he was dealing in his inning of work. He did get tagged for a Jason Lane homer, but dude definitely has an arm. (Or maybe anything looks fast after watching two innings of Chacin.) He's not ready for prime time, but he's almost there.

Michael Kay is a douchebag: The YES booth of Kay, David Cone and John Flaherty spent close to two innings picking apart a J.P. Ricciardi quote on the strength of the AL East which ended with the words "we just need a little more." We took the quote to mean that the Jays need a little more out of their personnel, but Kay was dismissive, assuming that he was asking for some sort of handout from the league. Flaherty assumed that they were looking for more revenue sharing, while Cone assumed that it meant that they need more fan support. Seriously, two innings spent on a throwaway sentence which probably didn't mean all that much at all.

Making sense of TUEs in the era of suspicion

Jeremy Sandler had a story in Monday's National Post on Jays pitching prospect David Purcey, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in the off-season, and is now on medication to treat the condition. While the medication that he is using isn't explicitly stated, it is likely something along the lines of Adderall or Ritalin. These medications are both psychostimulants, and require a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) from the Commissioner's Office.

Purcey is not alone amongst Major Leaguers in being diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder. Since MLB expressly banned the use of amphetamines in 2006, the number of TUE's for ADD and ADHD medications grew from 28 to 103 in one season. This represents roughly 8% of players, which is about twice the rate in the general population.

Gary R. Gaffney, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa wrote on the use of TUE's by baseball players on his Huffington Post blog. He noted that we shouldn't be concerned about the spike in the number of players receiving this exemption:

"Eight percent of MLB players treated for ADHD does not set off alarm bells in my book. The increase could be due to a better understanding of the rule, and to a higher number of players seeking a deserved TUE.

If the physicians prescribing the medications make accurate diagnosis, and provide a reasonable dose of medication, this does not represent a way to 'cheat within the rules'."

We know of people who live in the U.S. and who have gone "doctor shopping" in order to get prescriptions for Adderall. They say that the medication allows them to work with surgical focus on the tasks in front of them. From the way they describe it, we couldn't imagine a medication that would be more appropriate for a big league pitcher. (For instance, Derek Lowe is among those with a TUE that allows him to take Adderall.)

We realize that we're entering delicate territory, so we're going to tread as lightly as possible. We'll confess to sitting on this post for a few days, simply because we didn't want to post something reactionary and cast aspersions at Purcey. We realize that it is at least as likely as not that Purcey's disgnosis is legit and that we'd be a terrible person for even raising the issue.

But in an era where suspicion is out default setting, it's hard for us to invest in the story of Purcey as the guy who is overcoming his personal obstacles. We want to buy in, and we don't want to go down the road of making allegations.

Maybe we're wussing out. Maybe we're playing favorites with the home town player. Or maybe we're not so bold as to pretend that we know what we're talking about. We want to love this guy, but we don't have the luxury of shutting out the little voice that will say "hmmm" if Purcey turns it on this year, for whatever reason.

Along the same lines
We've just noticed this profile of Gregg Zaun by ESPN's Jeff Pearlman. (He's not our favorite writer at all, but it is apropos.)

The Dog Days of February

It's barely a few weeks into spring training, and already, we're scrounging a bit for topics on which we can wax poetic. That's what happens when you've done more than 510 blogposts about the Blue Jays in less than ten months...eventually, you're trying to get something out of the resin in the pipe.

So thank the Baby Jeebus, real fake games start today!

Jesse Litsch gets the nod to pinkly, roundly and efficiently take on the refurbished Tigers at 1:05 pm. Wilner reports that while most of the big dudes in Dunedin will stay behind, the team will send some intriguing players to Lakeland: new Jays Marco Scutaro, and Rod Barajas will make the trip, while top prospect David Purcey should get the ball in the fourth and Travis Snider will DH.

And as a sign of our profound illness, we'll be keeping an eye on Gameday all afternoon.

The Jays haven't posted anything yet, but the Tigers' press notes are available here.

L'chaim, Shawn
Via Blair, the NY Post reports that Shawn Green is hanging them up, and is happy to stay home with the wife and kids. What a mensch.

Random thoughts on a shakey video of Travis Snider

Someone's got their ReggieVision Handicam down at the Arizona Fall League, documenting the prospects with a cinematographic skill that can onle be described as "Zapruderesque" . Among them was this one of Travis Snider cranking out a double.




The Good: Didja hear the beautiful sound of the crack of the bat? Niiiiiice.

The Bad: Not that we want to ponder this for too long...but doesn't Snider's body look a bit "Hinske-esque"?

Snider is one of the few players in the AFL who hasn't played above the single-A level, and he's still ripping it up. In 21 games, he's rocking a 1.025 OPS with five doubles, four homers and 11 RsBI. (And a .342 AVG, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.)

He's still only 20 (which is a few years younger than most of the top prospect in 'zona), but his performance bodes well for a possible 2009 appearance with the Jays. (Maybe...)

Other Futuer Blue Jays in the AFL

• Sergio Santos has 4 HRs and 14 RsBI along with an .823 OPS, and is playing a lot of third. In case the Jays should need new body at the hot corner sometime soon. Just sayin'.
• David Purcey's got a wicked 1.59 ERA in five starts and 17 innings. He's struck out 17 and walked 8.
• Ricky Romero's been pitching primarily in relief, and has a 4.22 ERA in 10-plus innings. He got off to a rocky start, but hasn't allowed a run in his last 7 innings of work, spanning four appearances.
  

This Tower Did Fall

Josh Towers, riding a wave of positive energy, was electrifying through two innings tonight. He struck out the side to start the game and was just as effective in the next inning. But then Josh Towers circa 2006 showed up to pitch the third. Three home runs on lollipop pitches were surrendered leaving the Jays in a 5-0 hole. Those three pitches were hanging like grapes over the plate where a juice fiend like Sammy Sosa could mash. A finesse guy like Towers cannot afford to make those mistakes.

The Jays offense, kept off balance by Rangers' starter Robinson Tejeda all night, managed to narrow the gap to 5-3 by the seventh, but fell short as the Texas Rangers managed to shut them down in the eighth and ninth innings. This is an all too familiar story for the Jays. They kill the giants of the league, and fold like chairs to second tier teams like Texas. This is not the sign of a playoff team.

In terms of pitching, perhaps at this point we should have a look at Dustin McGowan or David Purcey sooner rather than later this year. Zambrano's miracle seems to have fizzled as predicted and Towers is still and extremely unpredictable.