30 Jays in 30 Days - Jesse Litsch is a Nimble Kitty

Who: Jesse Litsch, No. 51. Starting pitcher? Relief Pitcher? (You tell us!) 6’1, 225 LBS. 26 years old.

Tao-Approved Nicknames: Ginger Kitty. Don’t let your eyes deceive you, friend. He may not look like a varsity athlete, but he’s as nimble and spritely as a cat when pouncing on a ball hit in his direction.

History: Five MLB seasons and 88 games, including 67 starts, all with Toronto.

Contract Status: Signed one-year, $975,000 contract this past offseason to avoid arbitration. Has minor league options remaining.

Career Stats: 4.16 ERA in 417.2 innings pitched. 239 strikeouts, 119 walks.

2011 Stats: 4.44 ERA in 75 innings pitched, including eight starts. 66 strikeouts, 28 walks. 6.64 ERA in nine starts across three minor-league levels.

Splitting the Season into Meaningless Portions: In 46.1 innings as a starter, Litsch posted a 4.66 ERA with a 6.99 K/9 rate and a 3.50 BB/9. In 28.2 innings as a reliever, he was marginally better with a 4.08 ERA. Notably, he raised his strikeout rate to 9.42 per nine when coming in from the bullpen.

Looking Back: Since his surprise call up in 2007, Jesse Litsch has hung around the periphery of the Jays’ pitching staff for the past five seasons, though never really as an integral part. He’s never been a player for whom there have been high expectations, given that his fastball at best just ekes over 90 mph. He’s also never been – and we’re measuring our words here – a physical specimen that you could dream on or project. Still, with all of that middling prologue, it’s easy to forget that he’ll only turn 27 next month.

Litsch has improved his game in some key areas from his early days, learning how to put players away rather than depending on the good graces of his fielders. In his rookie season, Litsch posted a respectable 3.81 ERA, but also managed to strike out just 4.05 batters per nine. By last season, he’s increased that mark to a very serviceable 7.92, which will be especially important if he’s asked to pitch out of the bullpen this year.

His 2011 campaign is a hard one to judge, mostly because of how he was squeezed out of his spot on the roster by players with better stuff and lesser results (R.I.P., Summer of Jo-Jo). In his eight starts before relegation, Litsch pitched okayish (4.66 ERA, 36 Ks/18 BBs), though he only reached the seventh inning twice, and never pitched more than 6.1 innings in any start. Litsch threw a lot of pitches, averaging 100 per start, and 3.94 pitches per plate appearance.

Oddly enough, Litsch’s “best start” in that span is also the one that most frustrated us. In his April 11th start at Seattle, Litsch battled and got plenty of enthusiastic glove taps for keeping the Mariners off the scoreboard while the Jays’ bats were busy pounding Felix Hernandez to the turn of seven runs. The problem was that it took him 111 pitches to get through five innings, leaving the final 12 outs to the bullpen. The bullpen’s inability to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard in what turned into an 8-7 walkoff loss wasn’t Litsch’s fault. But a meandering, pick-and-nibble approach to each at bat left a lot of work on the table by the time Litsch was hitting the showers. That’s not what you hope for from your starting pitcher.

Looking Forward: In 2009 and 2010, injuries conspired to keep him off the major league roster, while last season, a combination of injuries and a full roster pushed him off the 25-man squad and down to Las Vegas, New Hampshire and Lansing. This year, the pile-up of pitchers might even be worse, so Litsch will be hard-pressed to wedge his way into an airplane seat headed north come the end of March.

Litsch’s best opportunity to stick with the Jays will be as a reliable and efficient reliever who might be able to pitch multiple innings. Otherwise, he’ll be cooling his heels in the Pacific Coast League, waiting for disaster to beset the starting rotation.

2012 Expectations: Litsch has a five pitch repertoire (fastball, slider, cutter, changeup and the occasional curveball), and when healthy, he’s demonstrated decent command of those pitches. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Litsch make the team out of spring training in a relief role, but we wouldn’t count on him sticking around for long. The battle for innings will be fierce this year, and Litsch has yet to show that he’s grasped the skill of good health, so we’d place the over/under on his MLB innings at about 50 this year.

(Photo? That's from the Daylife. There's a ton of pics there. Pretty cool, eh?)

The April Afternoon of Jo-Jo, and Other Observations

Ok, we've probably worn out this meme before it even really caught on, so from here on out, we'll try to find a more nuanced and mature way to express our mancrush for the Jays' peripheral sixth starter.

(Also, our affections are beginning to float over towards tonight's pink, round, efficient and gingerbearded starter. And there's only so much room for mancrushes in our cold, cold heart.)

After some early inning scuffles and a handful of deep counts, Jo-Jo gutted through a much needed seven-inning, quality-start-worthy performance to keep the bullpen rested. It didn't always look pretty, but we give our hero full marks for working through his delivery and eventually getting the ball down in the zone as he should have from the start. And had the Jays not been utterly flummoxed by Jered Weaver's nasty stuff, maybe he walks away with a meaningless win to look pretty in his top line stats.

We won't bore you too much more with Jo-Jo, except to say that he's pitched better than a certain goggled, squinting starter who still has options. So think of that what you will.

Briefly...

It shouldn't surprise that Rajai Davis might be on the shelf, as he's limped away from a number of plays so far since returning from his ankle ouchy...

You're already mad enough at umpire Bob Davidson. So we needn't say much more. Though Dustin has a nice rev-you-up-all-over-again piece on him over at Getting Blanked. He's a curious character in Jays history...

Travis Snider's been pretty great in the field so far this year, even playing a couple of innings of credible CF for the injured Davis. As for Saturday night's brutal gaffe that led to the winning run, we'll chalk it up to fatigue and focus on the vast improvements that he's shown in his footwork so far...

José Bautista is pressing, having only eeked out a couple of excuse-me singles in the Angels series. He seems to get legitimately upset after each failed at bat, but we hope that he chills out and relaxes and finds that swing again...

Finally, the outstanding Mariner blog Lookout Landing has a breakdown of the upcoming series, replete with smart words and bar graphs. Go ahead and read it, but don't go getting any ideas about what your hometown blogs should be doing in terms of prep work...

Making something out of numbers that mean nothing

(I've never actually seen the show above. Though both of those guys seems like real mensches.)

Indulge us, if you will, the latitude to contradict¹ ourselves.²

If years of reading this blog hasn't led you to the notion that we don't put much stock into Spring Training, then perhaps you've missed the past few years where we refer to this part of the schedule as "fake games".

And yet...tilt your head in just the right way, and there's something to be gleaned from the collected output of 21 exhibition matches. Not that we think that they are overly predictive, but some of the whatnot and wherefore makes for amusing chatter. So here are a few curios that we've plucked out of the pile.

Iron Men: Both Jonathan Diaz and David Cooper have played in 20 games thus far in the spring, most of any of the Dunedin denizens. Though most of those appearances have come off the bench, allowing their big league brethren to peel out of the parking lot before the last pitch is thrown, we suspect that the brain trust have chosen to take a longer look at them in the pre-season. Same goes for Eric Thames, whose 46 ABs (in 18 games) are most this spring for the Jays.

Why the lingering gaze? In the case of Thames and Cooper, we get the sense that a decision has to be made within the next 12 months on where they fit in the plans for the future, and this spring is a crucial piece of their evaluations. Neither player is heading north any time soon, but the 2012-2013 rosters are beginning to take shape. And as well as they've performed so far, we suspect that neither will have any sort of profound impact on those future contenders.

As for Diaz, he sounds as though he's in possession of a magnificent glove, though his acumen with the bat makes Mike McCoy seem like the Splendid Splinter. Our guess is that he's a body who can fill in at enough positions to get the Jays through the overly long tune-up period.

Ratios! We heard ESPN fantasy dude Nate Ravitz make mention on his podcast this week that the only stat he observes through the spring are K-to-walk ratios for pitchers. Which seems about right to us, especially with his proviso that the ratio has to be really impressive or really bad to catch his attention. So here's what we found upon a brief review of the Jays' hurlers:

Jesse Litsch - 17Ks/3 BBs. Woah. If we had any reservation about his spot in the rotation, it's probably gone. For now.

Brandon Morrow - 16Ks/3 BBs. Okay, we're not going to put too much stock into this...But Jesse Litsch's K/BB ratio is slightly better than Brandon Morrow's so far. Roll that around your noggin for a while.

Kyle Drabek - 9Ks/1 BB. Still under a strikeout per inning pitched, but you at least have a sense that he's ready to step in as the fourth/fifth guy and work his way up the ladder.

Bret Cecil - 10Ks/4BBs. Sounds about right.

Ricky Romero - 10Ks/9BBs. Aside from Aaron Hill's spotty attendance record so far, this is the March development that concerns us most. When we watched him a few weekends ago, he looked as though he had great control over all his pitches...so we'll chalk this up to spring experimentation.

David Purcey - 5Ks/7BBs. That's how you pitch your way out of town. Or pitch Marc Rzepczynski (9/6) into contention for your spot in the bullpen.

Other fun numbers of note: The Jays are taking a lot of walks so far, with J.P. Arencibia leading the way with six (tied with Thames). For all of the talk about his bad start at the plate, we'll gladly take the walks...Rajai Davis is slugging .639, with three homers and five doubles so far. Now that's our kind of slap-hitter...Yunel Escobar has 16 hits and five walks so far, which gives us a modicum of hope that he'll be back to a 3ish WAR.

So that's about it. We could really parse these numb3rs and try to figure out who the killer is before the third commercial break, but that would just make us look silly, wouldn't it?

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1. Walt Whitman wrote: Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) So there.

2. Amongst the hazards of my continuing insistence on using this "we" voice is getting stuck with this awkward quandry: "ourself" or "ourselves"? Either way sounds wrong. Comes off simultaneously as oafish and poofy . No small feat, that.

A One-Sentence Post on...The Inevitability of Litsch Love

In spite of the golden retriever pelt on his face (and his retriever-like enthusiastically-needy personality on Twitter), his rotundness, the endless comments about his "surprising agility", the multitude of Devil Rays' bat boys stories and the notion that there are more interesting options in the mix for the rotation, there exists within us a small flickering light that keeps a little warmth in our heart for Jesse Litsch, a pitcher with a career 4.10 ERA - lower than both Cecil and Morrow's marks - who does not turn 26 until tomorrow.

I think he'll fit in

I mean, what do you want me to say about the debut of JP Arencibia?

Seriously.

Home run to left on an inside fastball - the first major league pitch tossed in his direction? Sitting back and smashing a double to right on a breaking ball down and away? A second home run to right field on a fastball away? Another measly single mixed in among his 4/5 major league debut?

Seriously.

Unbelievable, right? I kid you not when I tell you that watching the highlights, again, more than 12 hours after Arencibia's debut still leaves me with chills. It was an unforgettable performance for both The Player and the fans, and it's these moments exactly that allow the loyal to dream of better days in the near future.

And why shouldn't we? Arencibia could go 0/5 with 4K's in his next appearance, but why buzzkill just for the sake of it? For now, let's allow hyperbole to rule the day and dream that we've just witnessed a significant piece of tomorrow's puzzle find it's place on the board.

And its about more than just Arencibia - it's about Travis Snider continuing to prove he's ready to be a no-doubter everyday player, verging on stardom. It's about Aaron Hill and Adam Lind finding their forms as the season rolls through summer. It's about Yunel Escobar erasing memories of the never-ending search for a starting shortstop. And how about Eddie Encarnacion forcing his name into discussions and thoughts of "next year"?

With the starting 9, there are still holes to fill and names to pencil in - but not many. In his debut, JP Arencibia did his part to claim one of those spots in ink.

The Jays' young starters pitch like Men
Maybe I'm the only one, but loved this piece by Mike Rutsey on the personalities of the rotation. Then again, I'm a sucker for the cheese. I've made mention in these parts about how it really appears - the young starters in particular with Shaun Marcum as their leader - that this group of Blue Jays enjoys playing together, and maybe - just maaayybe - it shows in the results on the field.

OK, maybe not. But still, how good is this?

"Every time I come in after warming up before I start a game, Shaun (Marcum) comes over and says: 'Are you going to pitch like a man today?'

"Every time the answer is: 'Yes.' And we do the same thing to him. He's the oldest guy on the staff and we can say stuff like that to him."

C'mon, friends....not even a little?

Kyle Drabek is ready to pitch like a Man
He likely only has a few more starts before his innings-limit shuts him down for the year, so I'm going to continue banging the Kyle Drabek drum as a reminder to us all that the core of the rotation is not yet set in stone. Drabek's latest result?

6 IP-2H-0R-1BB-7K

That makes for 1 earned run in his last 3 starts (covering 18 IP), along with 12 baserunners allowed vs 15 Ks. That's significant, in that the right-handed starter sometimes described as "undersized" appears to be getting stronger as the season progresses.

Boo-ya.

A quick word on Jesse Litsch
He's an easy target, that Litsch. Not the most svelte athlete to appear in a Jays uni and not possessing the nastiest of stuff, he's an easy head to call for when better options appear to be on the horizon.

But I, for one, take no pleasure in hearing news of a player forced to undergo surgery and being disabled for 6 months. The career of a major leaguer is short, so effectively wiping out a 1/2 season of time is a massive blow to any player's shelf life.

I know that cutting remarks and cold dismissal of yesterday's flavor often contributes to blogosphere popularity, but I just don't have it in me to be brutal. Here's to hoping that Litsch manages his way back from his latest setback to resume a productive major league career.

Reprieves, squandered second chances and weekend stuff

We'd hate to go down the road of talking how something in a baseball helped us to see what really matters and all that jazz. Still, we were left dumbfounded when John McDonald hit his ninth inning homer on his first Father's Day after his father's recent passing. We don't really need to tart the moment up, because most of you readers saw it yourself, and had your own moment with it. We hope that you can remember whatever you felt in that moment, and we'll leave it there.

A bucketload of Sunday transactions
The Jays have been nudging the pawns around board for the past few weeks, adding players with marginal roles like DeWayne Wise and Nick Green to the roster, while sending Jeremy Reed away and waiting for Travis Snider's wrist to recover.

But Sunday's transactions are a bit more intriguing to us. The Jays dispatched Jorge Padilla to the Mets for essentially nothing, which tipped us off that something else might be moving later in the day. (We can't remember is Padilla was still on the 40-man, but we figured a move like that was making room for something else.)

Before the Jays even had time to hit the showers after yesterday's loss to the Giants, the team announced that they were calling up Triple-A slugger Jarret Hoffpauir, while sending Edwin Encarnacion off to Vegas to chill and get his swing back.

We love the move to bring up Hoffpauir, as it shows that the team might not be quite so stubborn about trying to get the most out of the minor-league veterans on its roster. He's posting a .910 OPS in Vegas, with more walks (21) than strikeouts (15), which shows a level of maturity with the strike zone. Moreover, he's in his 27 year-old season, which means (if the old scouting addage holds true) that the next few years might be his most productive. So why not give him a chance?

The only thing that is perplexing about this is the sequence of adding journeyman Nick Green and his career .656 OPS to the mix while dispatching Encarnacion, who's OPSing .765 this year. We're not entirely sure what Encarnacion is supposed to learn at this point in the PCL, and the Jays should know that they have a guy who will hit the ball hard and whiff a lot. We're not sure how that's supposed to change from here on out.

Maybe this is just the beginning of the end for Edwin.

A Minor League Hero is something to be
Another couple of transactions that might have slipped below the radar drew our attention this weekend. First off, our off-season mancrush Brian Dopirak was dropped from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Vegas.

It's funny to us now how much we spent the off-season bitching and moaning about the raw deal that Dopirak and Randy Ruiz were getting, and how the Jays should be making room for both of them on the 25-man roster. Now, Ruiz is getting back into game shape and helping the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, while Dopirak is rocking a sub-.700 OPS and grounding into double plays like your grandma.

We're sure there's a lesson to be learned there.

Meanwhile, Kevin Ahrens (the next Chipper!) and his .524 OPS was shipped from high-A Dunedin to end-of-the-line Lansing last week, with an order to stop with his switch-hitting nonsense (Thanks to Lott at the NP.) We'd say something hopeful about the young-ish (21) Ahrens' chances of pulling it together, but a slide back to the Midwest League at this point pretty much wipes clear most of the optimism that we might have had for him.

Litsch is bitchin'; Brian leaves us cryin'
How good did Jesse Litsch look on Saturday? Good enough that we're going to give him one week's worth of free passes. There shall be no discussion of his follicular colouring or pigmentation, nor shall there be any brickbats launched at the expense of his physique. You toss a three-hitter where you attack hitters like that, and you get yourself a nice reprieve.

As for the man he replaced in the rotation, Mr. Tallet: Shave your stupid lambchops, you beatnik.

Optimism! More Optimism Please!
Five Dunedin Blue Jays were named to the Florida State League All-Star game, including starter Henderson Alvarez, catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Yan Gomes and infielder Tyler Pastornicky. (And some other dude got added, but we're inclined to believe that it was a sympathy thing...or we're just too lazy to go back and find who it was.)

We've got a lot invested emotionally in Alvarez, d'Arnaud and Pastornicky at this point, so any good news coming from wherever they are is fine by us. We just wish we didn't have to wait so long for them to get here, because the more levels that they have to traverse, the more that we get nervous about whether if they can surmount the next obstacle.

On the other hand, the past few weeks worth of performance from J.P. Arencibia (still young at 24!) has us feeling like we might actually start to see real live prospects emerge from the system any day now. Arencibia is doing a passable job in terms of throwing runners out (24%) while reclaiming some of his past form at the plate (.884 OPS, 14 HRs, 35 RsBI.) It was in his 24th year that Mike Napoli finally emerged from the minors to start making a dent in Anaheim, and Arencibia's numbers compare pretty favorably with the Angel's backstop.

We could definitely learn to live with that.

Working for the weekend

Hey kids. Remember us? Your somewhat-less-than-dutiful-blogger? Yeah, that's us. Nice to see you again.

So, it's been one of those weeks, where suddenly just about every free hour of our day gets sucked into some sort of vortex of consultative stratgery and mid-management monkeyshines. Working for a living is a drag, and we keep pulling our eyelashes out to wish upon them that one day, a big sports-media conglomerate will come and whisk us away from all discussions of business plans and outreach and stakeholder relations.

(Although some relations with stakeholders sounds fun on a Friday night, youknowwhatI'msayin'?)

Anyways, we'll try to squeeze in some extra work this weekend so that we can get some regular infotainment posted throughout next week. We wouldn't want to have you all start coming to your own conclusions about the state of the Blue Jays, because what use would we be to you then?

There's a post on the staff ace, which has probably totally changed by now, although likely for the better. It seems like folks are already picking their sides, and aligning themselves behind one of the top three starters, but we really want to see someone make the case for the fifth starter, whoever that is this week.

Speaking of rotations...
The Jays miss Tim Lincecum in this weekend's series, which we suppose is a good thing. But instead, they run into Barry Zito (3.10 ERA, 4.71 xFIP), Matt Cain (2.05 ERA, 4.54 xFIP) and Jonathan Sanchez (2.78 ERA, 4.13 xFIP). That's pretty scary, and we don't even know what the hell an xFIP is, or where it grazes in the winter.

Moreover, the Jays will counter with Brandon Morrow (who's been better over the past month, with a 3.60 ERA), the Pasty Ginger Ghost of Jesse Litsch (we can't bear to watch, so we'll be FFing through his innings) and Team Marcum (who we encourage to make his case for acedom).

There's a part of us that wants to think that this weekend, those three Gigantes pitchers get their comeuppance, and start to realize that pitching in the AL East is different than soft tossing into the 7-8-9 hitters in a Quadruple-A lineup and in a cavernous NL West ballpark. We'd really love to see a few of the Jays scuffling hitters (JoBau, Hill and Lind, in particular) get dialed in and start peppering the 200 level outfield seats with scorching hot projectiles.

More xFIPpery
Did you know that RickRo is seventh in the Majors in xFIP? He trails only Cliff Lee, some cat named Holiday or something like that, Frank Liriano, Lincecum, Wainwright and Josh Johnson. Which is some pretty elite company.

More over, he's far ahead of chuck-and-duckers like Chris Carpenter, King Felix, Ubaldo Jimenez, or C.C. Sebaceous Glands.

A few more advanced metrics like this, and we just might find ourselves on Team RickRo by the end of the weekend.

A Friday Rock Out for Jonah Keri
The wise and sage Mr. Keri noted his undying devotion to Loverboy to us over Twitter last month, so we figured we'd make his day with an utterly appropriate Rock Out. Because when it comes right down to it, we have to concur with the words of Mr. Mike Reno:

Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance

Have a great weekend, y'all.

The Litsch is back

So all of our rotation issues are officially solved. Right?

Err...maybe. We suppose that would be a nice thought, and were we the type who could write off Litsch's 8.18 ERA and 34 hits in 22 innings over a four game stretch through the Pacific Coast League, we could start to think about how nice it is to have a solid fourth/fifth starter back in the rotation. Unfortunately, we're not able to convince ourselves that young Jesse's AAA beatings were completely the result of thin, dry air in deserts at altitudes.

(Although it would be really nice if we could, because then we could explain away the brutal ERAs being posted by Brad Mills, Ray Gonzalez, Marc Rzepczynski and most everyone in Las Vegas other than Zack Jackson and Bobby Ray. And even their averages in the high-3.00's aren't exactly the stats of which championship dreams are made.)

It could be that the Jays have decided to give Litsch the same treatment that Brian Tallet received when coming back from his injury: The courtesy of a couple of starts, with a decision on his rotation spot to follow. But where Tallet's lopey/gangly/junky/lefty stuff might make him a useful LOOGY or swingman in the suddenly porous an pitiable bullpen, Litsch's sub-90's fastball and crafty cutter might mean that he's a man without a role or a future in these parts if he can't prove himself to be useful from the start of his new beginning with the team.

It's not to say that we're rooting for Jesse to fail, because nothing would make us happier than to see him come in and post a sub-3.70 ERA by pounding the strike zone and mixing his pitches well. We're just not confidant that, post-surgery, he's going to be willing to toss his cutter more than 40% of the time, as he did when he was successful.

Moreover, we're not sure that now is the right time to move him into the rotation when the aforementioned Bobby Ray is pitching better (UPDATE: Oops...Bobby Ray is hurt, and hasn't pitched since mid-May) and Litsch seems to need more time to get his stuff correct.

Questions

Heyo friends - who wants to talk about shortstops?

Yeah, me neither. When do the Winter Meeting start again? Until then, I've got questions, maybe you have some answers....

When did prospect porn become the baseball fan's vice of choice?
Regurgitating discussion from comment sections this week....but seriously, what's up with the completely absurd fascination with unproven prospects - talented as they may be - who haven't even advanced beyond the low minors?

Honestly, if I read "No way I would give up (Casey Kelly, Jesus Montero, Ryan Westmoreland, Kyle Drabek, etc) for one year of a 32 year old pitcher" one more fucking time, I think I might just go on ahead and gouge my eyes out.

There are so many things wrong with the reasoning behind this line of thought that I'm not even going to bother taking it down. Actually, yes I am:

(1) That "32 year old pitcher" is one of the best (if I was biased, I'd say the best) in the game, he's at his peak, he's not declining, and nobody works harder. I understand, prospect fans, that you love to show just how clever and informed you are by touting your team's "next big thing"....but in actuality, all you're really proving is your ignorance by dismissing the greatness of Doc. Jesus, this makes me angry.

(2) In all likelihood, you're not getting one year of Doc, you're getting a contract-extended Doc. Oh, and don't worry about the goddamned payroll - you are all big market, free spending clubs. You'll manage.

(3) Your teams are involved in the discussions because they are built to win now. Prospect X, should he pan out, will be a guy who can help you win in 2 or 3 seasons. What, you have an aversion to winning today? You'd rather roll the dice on potentially being in the same position a few seasons down the road?

(4) Please, Yankee/Red Sox/Phillies/Dodgers (to a lesser extent) fans, don't insult our intelligence by clinging to the value of "cost controlled players". Are you just trying to be cruel?

(5) That player you're touting as the next big thing? The guy you've never seen play, but can't possibly bear to lose? He'll be replaced in short order by the next guy on your team's top-10 prospect list, or perhaps by the next high schooler who slips to the 6th round on signability concerns that your team drafts and "convinces" to bypass college.

So there.

Why can't Dustin McGowan become Toronto's Jonathan Papelbon?
....minus the part about being a douchebag, of course.

I'll remind you this is all hypothetical on my part. I'll let you know that I know there's probably a prettttty, pretty slim chance that ol' Dusty can even recover from his shoulder woes to be an effective MLB arm. But hear me out - didn't Boston go through the same thing with their (begrudgingly) nails closer? I can't pretend to know the severity of Papelbon's history of arm troubles, but I do recall (with a google assist) that Papelbon was a rising power arm who was moved to the bullpen in an effort to placate that tender shoulder.

Can this scenario unfold for McGowan? And really - doesn't he seem perfect for the role? Power fastball? Check. Hammer breaking ball? Check. Superficial "unique" look required for a memorable closer? His lambchops say "check".

Bears watching, is all I'm saying.

Shouldn't we be talking a little more about Jesse Litsch?
Hey, he is what he is. Jesse Litsch is probably no more than a back end starter who can provide the club with some serviceable major league innings. That's not a knock, that's just who he is. In fact, I mean it as a compliment, because I really do believe that he doesn't receive near the credit he should for being just that.

He doesn't throw 95 and he won't get you more than about 5K/9. But if he can bounce back from his TJ (does that stand for "Tommy John" or "Toronto Jay"?) surgery and provide the club with some rotation stability, the club will be much better for it. And that, my friends, would be admirable. I'm pulling for the guy.

Do writers make absurd claims because they think the Jays are wholly incompetent? Or are they just smug?
Actually, I've got the answers here:

YES, the Jays will offer Marco Scutaro arbitration.

NO, the Jays will not accept a package of Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and Francisco Cervelli in exchange for Doc.

...and NO, Alex Anthopoulos will not "throw in" Adam Lind to "even out the deal" in exchange for your precious little prospects.

Can we convince ourselves that the disdain we feel for the Jays offseason moves to date will dissipate as the plan becomes clear?
Yeah, I probably can, personally. I've been getting on (for now) by telling myself that if these were the final moves of the offseason (throwing 2 years at Johnny Mac, signing Alex Gonzalez v2.0) rather than the first moves of the offseason, things would make more sense.

I'll carry on believing that these moves are not a precursor to more of the same in addressing the many other holes on the roster, and by April 1 we'll have reason for hope.

I keep telling myself that it's all part of the process, and AA knows what he's doing - because I want him to succeed. I'll keep believing that better days of baseball are ahead.

We have to, man.

Pitching Bonanza! The Summer of Tallet, injured pitchers, and drafted pitchers

Are you all on board with the Summer of Tallet yet? Because after last night's seven innings of two-hit shutout ball against the Swingin' Rangers of Arlington, you really should be.

Since getting blowed up real good against the Royals back in April (and sucking up that shit kicking for the good of the team and the overworked bullpen), Tallet has been solid and has given more than anyone would have guessed. In his last eight starts, Tallet has posted a 3.12 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, with opposing hitters posting a measley .551 OPS against him in 52 innings.

And to think that Tallet's name was tossed around in the off season as the throw in that we'd give to anyone if they gave us a mediocre shortstop or Mencherson-type back.

While we are praising Tallet and his unmatched will to make this Summer his own, let's take a moment to recognize the fact that it was one John Paul Ricciardi who grabbed this guy for the low low price of a minor leaguer named Bubbie Buzachero.

Yes, this is the same J.P. who you've all fired a dozen times a week over the past seven years because of his five-year plans (no planning!) and his home address in Worcester and his reticence to share his phone number and his lack of respect for Reed Johnson. And J.P. is such an idiot that he actually got Bubbie Buzachero back in the system (1.04 ERA, two saves, 17 Ks / 3 BBs in New Hampshire)...so essentially, we got Tallet for nothing and Bubbie for free.

Drafting Pitchers Like Gallileo Dropped an Orange
The Jays loaded up on pitchers like it was going out of style in yesterday's MLB Draft. The Jays started off with Kennesaw State pitcher Chad Jenkins (Mr. Handsome, as Parkes called him) with the 20th pick in the first round before grabbing Scott Boras client James Paxton with the 37th pick. Paxton is lanky left-handed pitcher and a good Canadian boy to soothe the more parochially-minded of the fan base (and, as Jeff Blair noted, the Rogers folks.) A high-ceiling Canadian may well be worth the Jays going over the slot recommendations, as it seems likely that they'll have to.

(And won't it be fun to have a Boras client around these parts?)

The Jays grabbed another Canadian lefty, Newmarket's Jake Eliopoulos, with their next pick (68th overall), and Arizona high school pitcher Jake Barrett with the 99th pick.

And now, we sit an wait patiently for five years for these guys to make their way to the big leagues, and then another year after they blow out their arms. Fun!

The Drunk Jays Fans have a much better breakdown of the draft that we do, with lots of links and video, so go there for more information. We don't like to duplicate their efforts.

Another arm bites the dust
Whenever forearm tightness is mentioned for a pitcher, you pretty much bide your time and wait for the inevitable announcement that they're going to go under Dr. James Andrews' knife. Such is the case for Jesse Litsch, whose impending TJ surgery was confirmed yesterday. The Star is reporting that it could take 18 months before Litsch brings his transferred ligament back to the bigs, so here's wishing him a pink, round and efficient recovery.

In praise of Dirk Hayhurst
Last night was the first time that we got to see our springtime mancrush Dirk Hayhurst take the mound for the Jays, and he looked great in a clean frame, striking out one batter. Too bad he's not still blogging, because we'd love to see what he has to say about life in the Toronto clubhouse. (Feel free to drop us a line, Dirk!)

That's what Travis Snider thinks of your small ball

When it comes time to actually take the wrecking ball to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, someone might consider giving Travis Snider a call.

Snider, who a day earlier was asked to square around and bunt over runners in an 8-4 loss to the Clevelanders, crushed two mammoth blasts into the far reaches of the aging stadium, leading the Jays to an 8-6 victory over the Twins. So the moral of the story, once again, is that small ball sucks.

(Take that, Juan Pierre Fan Club!)

When Snider was asked to give himself up to help move Rod Barajas' big slow butt up 90 feet, we turned to the father-in-law and said that we hoped that this is the last time we had to see nonsense like that. And while we mind don't that Magical Baseball Sage Cito Gaston has decided to take a slow route with Snider and make him earn his Major League bona fides, we're pleased as punch that The Great Big Giant Pasty White Hope^TM has already begun to make the case for a spot further up the lineup and a green light at the plate.

Where's Tomo Ohka these days?
As if the Jays didn't have enough worry over the state of their rotation, Jesse Litsch walked off the mound with "tightness" in his elbow. Given what happened with Shaun Marcum after his bout with elbow tightness last year, we're more than a little worried about what the Jays will have to do if Litsch is going to miss significant time.

It begs the question: Is there anything left out there on the scrap heap of starting pitchers? Because off the top of our head, we can't think of anyone who would do much better than just setting up a tee at home plate.

Also, doesn't this lend a bit of credence to Keith Law's notion that Brad Arnsberg, while being a wizard of a pitching coach, is also murder on young arms?

Around the Minors
The Las Vegas 51s' affiliation with the Blue Jays is off to an inauspicious start, with the Triple-A club going 0-4 out of the gate. If you've got trouble with your blood pressure, we don't suggest looking at the team's pitching stats to start the season, because there are some gaudy ERAs after the first series in the thin air of Colorado Springs. For the first time in Tao of Stieb history, allow us to use the following caveat: "The PCL is a hitters league."

On the plus side, 1B Randy Ruiz drove in eight in the first series, with 14 total bases and an OPS of 1.268, while Voodoo Joe Inglett is rocking a 1.000 OPS.

In New Hampshire, the Fisher Cats are off to a 3-2 start, with Springtime hero Brad Emaus driving in eight to start the season.

In Dunedin, the Advanced-A Jays are 1-3 to start. Diminutive reliever Tim Collins - a prospect discovered by J.P. Ricciardi's dad on the fields of Worcester, Mass., has stood out so far, striking out seven batters in four and a third innings while walking none and giving up a single hit.

Thanks to the Ack
While some in the comments figured that the Ack spent too much time in the comments of the Drunk Jays Fans, we tip our cap to our colleague for coming in and holding the fort in an extra long relief outing over the holidays. Great job Ack...now go and put some ice on those blogging fingers, because we'll need you back soon.

There go our dreams of 162-0

Maybe people should have pulled back on all the talk about the Jays' record for wins to start the season until, you know, maybe at least three? Because when you start to go down that road too far, talking about the 1992 team's six win streak to start the year, you're really setting yourself up for a Voodoo Whammy(!) in the form of Miguel Cabrera's bat.

We could pick apart last night's performance in the 5-1 loss to the Tigers by both the offense and the pink-round-efficient pitching, but frankly, it's a little too early to start taking the micro and blowing it up into the macro. There were a few bad pitches and a few bad at bats, but we're not going to lose our shit about them until they become an actual trend.

Give it at least until the end of the weekend.

Let's hear it for the bullpen boys!
We've kicked Jason Frasor around a bit over the past few years, but he looked pretty great last night. In fact - and we hope we're not getting way too far ahead of ourselves - it crossed our mind that Frasor and his newfound circle-change might actually be a candidate for the closer job if someone else in the bullpen isn't able to fulfill those duties.

Brian Tallet -who has a mustache that would look right at home in the 1984 Blue Jays team picture -looked really good last night in his inning. We know that people keep talking about him as a surplus lefty arm and perfect trade bait, but we're inclined to think that this is The Year of The Tallet^TM. You don't want to mess with that sort of good ju-ju.

Apologies and Kudos to the Mainstream Media
After excoriating the hockey-centric sports media in Canada yesterday, just watch us now as we backpeddle. Or at least tip our cap to Sportsnet, who appear to be committed to a half-hour JaysConnected pre-game show this season. We're not exactly Brad Fay fans (that guy's like a can of mousse reading the autocue), but Barry Davis and Sam Consentino come off as actual baseball fans with a sincere interest in the game.

We'd suggest putting Davis and Consentino together before the game to have them chat it up amongst themselves on the state of the Blue Jays and what's happening around baseball. For away games, we'd see putting Davis in the studio (give him a phone book to sit on), then do a two-ender with Consentino on site. We'd also suggest forgoing the interviews with the players, because that sort of thing is as dull as shit now that they are media-trained within an inch of their sanity.

We'll still go to bed dreaming of the MLB Network, but this is progress. And as Lloyd the Barber quite rightly pointed out yesterday in response to our temper tantrum, we'll likely watch more games on TV and see more baseball content this year than our parents would have seen in a decade.

Cripes, we flipped back and forth last night between three games AFTER the Jays game was done, so we probably shouldn't put on the poormouth as much as we do.

This afternoon's affair
The getaway day matchup between Ricky Romero and Rick Porcello at 12:35 this afternoon should be interesting. As has been noted, it is the first time in history that two first round picks make their MLB debut against one another.

Also, we should expect to see a few new faces in the lineup, as Mike Barrett and Kevin Millar should be in the lineup.

Speaking of redheads with big knockers

Check out those Litsch tits.

And by the way, if you're interested...
We've slavishly followed the Drunks and Ghosties by signing up for Twitter. They tell us it's there's a social media revolution going on there. Come waste your precious time with us!

Jesse Litsch - never meanin' no harm

When you've had an offseason like the Blue Jays have had this winter, strange things happen and you don't even bat an eye.

A former first round draft pick is introduced to those three dreaded letters - D, F, and A? Seriously, all the best and good luck to you, Rusty. Your team is the only one in the league not to sign a free agent to a major league deal? It's "the economy", I guess. Assistant GM's are cut loose to save a little cash? Let's call it a redistribution of assets instead. A 23 year old pitcher with less than 50 big league games under his belt becomes a staff mentor? No big dea.....what?

Jesse Litsch - veteran influence?

That's right, Uncle Jesse is ready to step up and be a leader. And you know what? That's just fucking nails, man. Oh sure, you can question the wisdom and validity behind the rationale that sees a kid who spent some time in AAA last season saying "follow me"....but just listen to him:

"We just have to think we're better than them," Litsch said of the Jays' positive thinking. "If we come out hitting and pitching like we did last year ... at the end of the season we were just as good as anybody. We have to overlap that into this season and run with it. We're all good enough to be at the major-league level, it's just a matter that they spend more money. Some people may not be worth the money they get, but we still have the same number – nine guys – that they have. It's just you against the Yankee hitters, and you're going out there with same winning mentality as their pitchers."

You know what, I'm sold. Now if he can just master the art of the fist pump after inducing a weak inning-ending grounder, and maybe sprinkle in the odd congratulatory hug for his teammates, we're all set at the #2 spot in the rotation.

(14 wins and a sub-4.00 ERA would be nice too, but let's not get crazy.)

A one-sentence post on...statement games

Pinkly, roundly and efficiently, Jesse made his point last night: the Litsch is back.

All right, new policy

From now on, I'm not saying nothin' about nobody.

OK, so I'm not really going to follow that, otherwise - what the hell am I doing here? But it made me feel better to say it, so piss off!

A few hours after I posted that I didn't think Marcum looked right, the Jays optioned him to AAA Syracuse. Let me repeat that, but in a more complicated manner this time - the guy now relied on as the Toronto Blue Jays #3 starter was demoted to the International League. In favor of John Parrish. Who was recently bumped for Scott Richmond. Who has since been demoted himself. Can somebody please explain just what in the fuck? Please?

I mean, I said so myself - since coming off the DL, he hasn't looked like "vintage" Shaun Marcum....but a demotion? Really? So, here's the frightening thing: it's not a health issue, but a mechanics issue - per JP (I know, I know)....which would be good news actually, if it were true. But word comes from Wilner that maybe it's an attitude thing? What? Our guy Marcum? Shaunie Marcum?

See, I hate reading shit like that. Instead of believing that Marcum is strutting around the clubhouse bragging about his change-up, I'm going to tell myself it's more a matter of being hardheaded and not taking instruction from resident pitching guru Brad Arnsberg. I can't live in a world where Shaun Marcum is a prick.

Vernon Wells is a man among boys, and Jesse's got his groove back
Vern was raking (4 for 5, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and putting on a clinic in the outfield today (2 webgems). So shut the fuck up about his contract already.

New #3 starter Jesse Litsch (um, wow) continued to show that maybe management knows how to handle young pitchers (making the first segment of this post entirely irrelevant, of course) by tossing 6 shutout innings against the Sox. If you're keeping track (and I am), that makes 13 scoreless innings of work since his recall.

Brett Cecil called, and he wants the keys to the Ricky Romero train
Brett Cecil's line Saturday night for the 'Cuse:

7 IP, Zero hits, Zero runs, 2 BB, 5 K

You read that correctly - I even spelled it out for you. Limited to a pitch count (90), Cecil no-hit Buffalo for 7 innings. Boners, my friends. Boners.

More fun with the Sons of Sam Horn
I had something ready to roll here for you, but Joanna pretty much nailed it already. Let me give you my favorite comment from this fantastic Sox forum, just for fun:

I hope Vernon Wells gets shot in the face. I don't care.

Now THAT is entertaining.

A modest proposal: Acquire Gil Meche

Okay, fine. Maybe it's a stupid idea. But just hear us out on this one.

You can never have too much pitching, or so goes the axiom. Certainly, the 2008 edition of the Jays bears that out, what with the dodgy labrums on Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum's slow recovery from an elbow something-or-other, A.J. Burnett's potential opt-out, and Jesse Litsch's recent crash back to reality.

Meanwhile, the Royals are apparently prepared to start their annual house-cleaning, with Meche's name being amongst those being mentioned as possible trade bait. After a rocky start to the season, Meche has been fairly effective since June 10, going 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA in 44 innings. His strikeout rate isn't great (29 Ks over that period), but he's not walking a ton of guys either (13 BBs).

Mind you, Meche might not be overly anxious to get to Toronto given that J.P. Ricciardi essentially questioned his manhood after he spurned the Jays' contract offer before the 2007 season. But give Doc Halladay an opportunity to nestle him under his wing, and we're sure Meche will come around...right?

Meche has three years left on his five-year $55 million deal, and as has been noted in the case of A.J.'s deal, that seemingly insane figure has quickly become a bargain when it comes to mid rotation starters. At that number, Meche could fit in nicely as a number three starter, and could provide some insurance should A.J. bolt in the off-season and should Casey and Dusty Peaches recover slowly from their shoulder troubles.

Hey, what can we tell ya. It's trade deadline week, and we've just decided to throw some junk against the wall. There are four more days of this nonsense, so get ready for a whole barrelload of silly speculation.

Cheers to the Weekend Editor
Our thanks to The Ack for his steady relief performance over the weekend. While we were away attempting to explain to the missus why a $50 Expos t-shirt with Al Oliver's name and number on the back was a wise investment, the Ack brought his own take on the weekend's events, replete with Meatloaf (and meatloaf) references. Well done, sir.

Now you should start praying for Aaron Rowand's demise, seeing as how you have been designated as our Raw Bacon Consumer of Choice should the Giants centrefielder hit 20 bombs in any of the next few seasons.

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.

Jesse Litsch is a pink, round and efficient giant killer

First he took on Joba (well, in our mind he did), then Jesse Litsch took down Edinson Volquez with a masterful eight inning, three hit, one run performance (and with a little help from his reinvigorated pull-happy friends in tonight's 7-1 win over the Reds.)

(And bless you, Joanna, for coining that description of Litsch, which never gets old.)

Speaking of Jesse's pink roundness
On the radiocast this evening, both Tom and Alan kept giving Jesse these backhanded compliments about his defense, especially after a couple of nice plays in the middle innings. The funny thing about their compliments was that they were all couched in terms of: "You wouldn't think it to look at him, but Litsch is a really good fielder", or "You might not get that impression from looking at him, but Litsch has cat-like reflexes." You could almost sense that they were holding back, and that they really wanted to come out and say: "Jesse looks like Barbapapa, but he can still field like a Gold Glover."


Is it too soon into this "hot streak" to point out...
That Scott Rolen is the Greatest Blue Jay of All Time^TM? Because after watching him catch up on the basepaths with Stone Cold Matt Stairs after swatting his third homer in four games, we had no other choice but to shout this from the rooftops. (The pigeons seemed non-plussed, but we don't care to hear their 6 am rutting sessions outside our bedroom window either, so we guess that evens it all out.)

Jesse Litsch is not invincible

Alright, so after hyping our pink, round and efficient marvel hither and yon yesterday, Jesse Litsch gets hit around like a number five pitcher in last night's 5-1 loss to the Yanks. We fully expect to eat crow all day.

More galling still, Worst Person in the World Mike Mussina pitched well as the Jays flailed and waved at his magically evil knuckle curve. (And not that we want to start rumours out of thin air, but...BALL SCUFFER!)

Hey man, a loss is a loss. Even the good teams have got to drop 65-70 games per year. Still, we get a little uneasy when the Jays once again stop hitting with runners in scoring position.

Hey look: afternoon game!
Dustin McGowan versus the Wang at 1:05. Abdicate your work responsibilities and listen in to Jerry and Alan all afternoon.