black and blue.

Yup! You're reading that properly--it's already a black and blue beginning of the Blue Jays season and we're only one week away with Brandon Morrow, Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel all bound to start the season on the 15-day DL [disabled list]. 


It's not often I have too many concerns going into the season, but a healthy bullpen really does concern me considering the "bullpen arms" are often the ones bitten by the injury bug (so to speak). I'm not sure what to expect out of Dotel and Francisco, but I do hope Morrow finds his form from last year when he managed to record 17 strikeouts in a single game--against the base stealing happy Tampa Bay Rays of all teams and winning that game 1-0. 


So...what does all this mean? Here's the answer as told by Scott Carson (sportsnet.ca MLB analyst/insider):

"Those two injuries mean that Jon Rauch, who saved 21 games last season with Minnesota while replacing injured closer Joe Nathan, will open the season as Toronto’s ninth-inning option. This is where the depth of the bullpen that Alex Anthopoulos built this off-season will come in handy.

I realize the last thing that the Blue Jays brass and their fans wanted to hear on Wednesday was that Brandon Morrow was going on the DL to start the season. After a dominating performance against the Yankees on Mar. 18 (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), the big right-hander felt some tightness in the forearm/elbow of his pitching arm.

"We had a nice program going, our pitch counts were perfect, everything was going the right way," pitching coach Bruce (Pappy) Walton told Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler during the fourth inning of Wednesday's telecast. "I think it's just a minor setback. I don't want to read anything into it, but I think he'll be back sooner than you guys think."

Everyone associated with the team believes that this is just a minor setback for Morrow and he should be able to make his 2011 season debut on Apr. 6 against the Oakland Athletics after coming off the disabled list. For now, Morrow will take five days off to let the arm settle down and then should be able to make a minor-league appearance next week."

What are you worried about going into this season? Pitching? Bullpen? ERAs? Offense? write us back and let us know!

potential roster?

Yup. The article attached says it all: who should be in and who should be out. Personally, I'm still quite unsure about the bullpen, but I think Frasor and Purcey should be the lead contenders for a potential role as a closer. Frankly, there isn't a whole lot more for me to say on this topic except that time will tell how the Bullpen shapes up and who has what role.

As much as I know Bautista's defensive arm is better suited for RF (right field), 3B (third base) should suit him just fine--besides, if Rivera's injured then it'll allow Bautista to take his place, Encarnacion could still DH and MAYBE a player like John MacDonald would play 3B. I know it's not THAT likely, but in the world of the Blue Jays and the infamous "injury bug", anything can happen.

Jays' opening-day roster taking shape - sportsnet.ca

17 days to go.

Bats Come Alive For Blue Jays

The Blue Jays brought out the big bats today as they defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-3 in Grapefruit League action Sunday.

Brandon Morrow had a tough first inning throwing over 20 pitches. He gave up a double to Johnny Damon to left and hit Manny Ramirez. He should have been out of the inning as the number-four hitter grounded one to second for a tailor-made double play, but Escobar air mailed the ball over first base, allowing Damon to score. But, he settled down only giving up three hits over four innings, while striking out six and only one earned run.

Marc Rzepczynski looked strong in his three innings of work. He retired the first seven batters he faced. He located pitches and established his fastball early in the count. Though he surrendered three consecutive hits in his final inning, Rzepczynski finished with a double play stranding a runner at third and only one run. He is in the battle for one of the last two jobs in the starting rotation. If he continues to have similar outings like he did today, he will make John Farrell's decision tough.

Toronto's offence had a little bit of everything today. We saw a little bit of small ball with Corey Patterson advancing the runner with a bunt, Jose Bautista and Eric Thames going deep with home runs and both adding sacrifice files combining for five RBIs.

Yunel Escobar looked good at the plate. He went 1-for-3 with a two-run double and a walk. He hit the ball with authority today. In 23 at-bats, he is batting .423 with an OPS of .978 (On-base Plus Slugging percentage).

Today was my first chance to see David Cooper. He made two great plays at first, showing some range and his glove scooping a couple of short hops. At the dish, Cooper went 2-for-3 with a pair of base hits and an RBI.

Notables:

B. Morrow: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 1 HB, 65 pitches
M. Rzepczynski: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 30 pitches

J. Bautista: 2-for-2; HR, 2 RBI
E. Thames: 1-for-3; HR, 3 RBI

I think a big key to the Jays success this year is their ability to drive in runs without relying on the home run. They were one of the worst when it came to average with runners in scoring position (RISP). The home runs will be there and the defence will be among the top again in the American League. But the ability to drive guys in down the lines or to the gaps late in games may give the Jays those extra wins for a potential run come September.

On a side note, Aaron Hill during the pre-game told Sportsnet that he will appear in a B-game on Tuesday and will either be in an A-game Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully he can recover from his hamstring injury (which hampered him for most of 2010) and be ready for opening day.

Chase

Twitter: @ChaseHadden

Call of Duty

Let me make one thing perfectly crystal clear: by no means is there any reference to the Call of Duty games in this blog, nor will there be. Call of Duty here refers to our young rotation once again potentially facing adversity and hoping that they will be able to rise to the occasion.

With Morrow projected to pitch 175 innings (and I read that he plans to exceed that), here's what else I've noticed so far in Spring Training with about 22 days left before opening day: Romero has the potential to bring his game up a notch yet again having pitched a masterful game last weekend vs the Pirates (the Jays won 5-0).

As for the rest of the rotation, here's the perspective from MLB insider Scott Carson:
" While the top three pitchers in the rotation have pitched according to expectations, the battle for the final two spots is heating up.

Kyle Drabek was slowed by a stiff neck and missed his first start. Jesse Litsch looks to be all the way back from arm and hip surgeries and it would be shocking if he didn't break camp as one of the five starters. Marc Rzepczynski bounced back from a tough start against the Atlanta Braves (five hits, three runs in 2/3 of an inning on March 4) with three scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

The wild card in this whole scenario is youngster Zach Stewart, who struck out five in two innings of work in his last outing. While it's a long shot that Stewart, acquired in a 2009 deadline deal from the Cincinnati Reds in the Scott Rolen trade, breaks camp and heads north, he has shown enough to figure into the mix should injuries pop up to the rotation in the regular season."

While that's fine and dandy with me, my bigger concern looms its ugly head in the BULLPEN. Most likely seen as the "problematic" area for the team. With so many arms in the bullpen, it's hard to say who will be the one mostly likely to be pencilled in as the Closer for opening day...but my bigger question is this (and it's one that you all know and know well): Can our relievers and closers actually do us a favour by preserving the lead more frequently instead of wasting save opportunities?

Till next time, 

jLau 

Finding something to look forward to

(Note: this is my first time blogging about, well, anything, so mind the sloppy style)

As baseball season draws near, it's once again time to look at our favorite teams and either brag about how they'll win it all this year (see: Philly, Boston) or rant about how big of a joke they are (see: Mets, Cubs). For me and my hometown Blue Jays, though, it's another story.

To be honest, I've always seen this team to be akin to those big-name grunge bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Sure, they made quite a splash back in the nineties (*cough*back-to-back World Series*cough*) and they've been showing up and getting some attention lately, but between then and now? They may have popped up once or twice in the mainstream sports media (like when Roger Clemens came here for a season, and most of Halladay's career), but they've generally slipped into the kind of obscurity you'd find the new Power Rangers seasons in.

(Before I go on, yes, they're still making Power Rangers. Look it up if you don't believe me)

Adding to this is the division they're in, the A.L. East. This division is the closest thing to a group of death you'll find in North American pro sports. You have the perennial contenders in the Yankees and Red Sox, the upstarts in the Rays (though that might change with how they were dismantled during the last off-season), and the Jays themselves as the 'anywhere but here' team (as in "We'd be a playoff team anywhere but here"). Heck, even the Orioles, long treated as the division's punching bag, are starting to turn things around with Showalter as the manager.

All that being said, after last season, I'm starting to feel hopeful about this team's chances of breaking out of the snake pit known as the A.L. East. The starting rotation was fantastic (especially Morrow, with the whole 'it's his first full season starting' thing and all), the offense was incredibly powerful (though it was hit-and-miss as well), and they even had an MVP candidate in Bautista and his franchise-record 54 home runs. Of course, maintaining that will be difficult, especially with a new manager on board and several players either being traded away (Wells, Marcum) or leaving for free agency (Overbay, Buck). This is mitigated by a farm system regarded as one of the best in the league and prospects like J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Drabek, giving the team solid depth and a good foundation to build on.

The upcoming season will definitely be an interesting time for the Jays and their fans, to be sure. Let's hope the only direction they're going is up.

Morrow's transformation...

i must admit...it's been fascinating to see how Brendan Morrow managed to unleash his incredible gifts....and to think we were all wondering why we acquired him from Seattle? Here's part of the story according to Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press & MLB Insider at Sportsnet.ca:

"A simple five or six inch drop in Brandon Morrow’s arm angle early last season began the process of unlocking the electric right-hander’s potential. Transformed from a straight over the top “Iron Mike” to a “high three-quarter” hurler, Morrow was suddenly able to find the strike zone more consistently and locate his dominating repertoire.

FAST FACTS

• Morrow posted 178 Ks in 2010
• Struck out 39 batters in August (3-0, 2 ND)
• Threw one-hitter on Aug. 8, with 17 Ks

RELATED

• Tuesday: DET 6, TOR 2
• Molina to be Morrow personal catcher
• All 162 games on Sportsnet

He later learned to pitch to contact by reducing his velocity, so that on days when his fastball doesn’t sit at 95-96 m.p.h., he can still thrive. But the door to Morrow’s evolution into the dominant power pitcher long envisioned for him first opened with that slight drop of 

his right arm."

I also think that a big component of what helped Morrow with his successes last year was having Jose Molina as his catcher.  This year, I hope he keeps up his dominating repertoire of pitches...remember the 17-strike game he had where the Jays defeated Tampa 1-0 on August 8, 2010? Yeah...THAT domination!

Overall, based on what I've seen from the tandem of Morrow and Molina, I believe they are a fantastic team. They read each other well..and they both manage to pick off want to be base stealers!

till next time,
-jLau

Young Guns 2.0

March is finally here along with baseball. It is back! And very soon (depending on what happens with the neighbours down Bremner Blvd) the Blue Jays will be the talk of the town again.

After an exciting 2010 campaign filled with home runs and near no-hitters, Toronto looks to the young guns in 2011. With the departure of Shaun Marcum, Alex Anthopoulos was able to bring in one of baseball's top prospects in Brett Lawrie. As much as most fans not agreeing with the trade, I think it was a must. I am a big Marcum fan and always will be. But, A.A. was able to get an elite talent in return. Marcum's mechanics are not the greatest in the world and the way he delivers the ball, his arm could go out at anytime (though that could be said for any pitcher). The Blue Jays have one of the best, young pitching staffs in the majors.

I start with Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow. Either one could be the Jays opening day starter and ace of the staff. Romero a lefty, and Morrow a right-hand pitcher; both have lights out stuff. Romero can touch 94-95 mph on his fastball, with an above average curveball and a wonderful change-up that the rest of the starters were able to learn from Marcum before he was shipped out. Morrow has one of baseball's most electric arms. His fluid motion allows for his fastball to reach 97 mph, a devastating curveball to go along with a hard, breaking slider. Toronto basically stole him from Seattle after they gave up on him.

Offensively, I do not expect the same kind of output of home runs leaving the yard in bunches. With new manager, John Farrell, he is looking to add a new dimension to the club, which we have not seen in quite some time, speed. With the addition of Rajai Davis and Scott Podsednik (minor league contract with an invite to spring training), the Blue Jays should be using the hit and run more often, and more attempts at stealing bases.

Jose Bautista has been an interesting topic during the off season. Now that he is signed long-term, the questions now rise to "Can he have a similar offensive season as 2010?" "With the departure of Vernon Wells, who will protect him in the line-up?" Well, I can tell you nobody knows how Bautista will perform in 2011. If I were to guess, I would be happy with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI.

The Blue Jays are going to be very exiting to watching again this season. I urge you to come to the ballpark and see for yourself.

Our team will go over the rest of the pitching staff, roster and predictions before opening day.

The countdown is on! 31 days!


Chase Hadden

Twitter: @ChaseHadden