Adams Joins The Family

Wednesday, January 07 2004 @ 12:08 PM EST

Contributed by: Jonny German

Is he here to replace Lurch?

As first reported by R Billie and confirmed by Donkit R.K. in the hijack thread, the Blue Jays have signed righthander Terry Adams to a one year deal for $1.7M. According to his scouting report on ESPN.com, Terry is a severe ground ball pitcher who features a straight, low-90s fastball and a sharp slider, and must keep both offerings low in the strike zone.

Here are his numbers over the past 5 years:


Season	Team	  G	  GS	  IP	  ERA	K/BB	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
1999	ChC	52	0	65	4.02	2.04	7.89	3.88	1.25
2000	LA	66	0	84.1	3.52	1.44	5.99	4.17	0.64
2001	LA	43	22	166.1	4.33	2.61	7.64	2.93	0.49
2002	Phi	46	19	136.2	4.35	1.66	6.34	3.83	0.59
2003	Phi	66	0	68	2.65	2.22	6.75	3.04	0.13
Career	-	497	41	786	3.97	1.85	7.23	3.92	0.57

Looking at his 3-year splits makes it even more apparent why the Jays were interested:


	AB	H	HR	BB	SO 	AVG	OBP	SLG
vs. RH	785	219	11	66	151	.279	.333	.382
vs. LH	631	153	8	69	137	.242	.316	.326

In addition to the excellent homer rate and the fondness for chewing on lefties, Adams has been durable (just one trip to the DL in his career, a strained oblique this past August). His experience as a swingman doesn't hurt, but he hasn't been particularly effective as a starter.

So what's not to like? Well, as noted by Ryan01 in the hijack thread, Terry is facing four charges related to an incident this past summer in which he allegedly attacked his wife in front of their infant child in a New York hotel room. Given the current front office's track record of emphasizing "good character" guys, I'm inclined to think they have solid reason to believe that Adams is innocent. I'll hold off on forming an opinion on this angle.

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