Wow, was I wrong.
When the Blue Jays summoned Dustin McGowan from Syracuse at the beginning of May, I leaped boldly upon my high horse and explained why I didn't think much of the idea:
Maybe after all of the turmoil, maybe after all the serious and
frightening health issues (surgery on his pitching arm! an incurable
disease!), maybe after being bounced around like a goddam yo-yo between
the majors and the minors, between starting and relieving... maybe,
after all of this nonsense, maybe all McGowan needed to settle his life
and career was just one uneventful month in upstate New York. Sure, this could work.
This had better work.
Sold!
I think it's working out just fine.
In baseball you don't know nothing, as Yogi once said, and as we should all always try to remember. And there was no flaw in my logic, as Spock would say. But it's always, always useful to remember that the people who get paid the big money to actually make these decisions really do know things that you don't know, and have information you don't have.
And if you should happen to forget that.... I suppose it's good for the soul to have that truth whack you upside the head with a bit of force.
Mmmmmm.... crow! Yummy good!
Well. While I of course am the guy who ripped the move to summon McGowan, and while I'm the one who will have to humble myself before Ricciardi the next time I see him - which will happen, by the way - I didn't notice any of you disagreeing with me (he says, pathetically.)
Well, almost none of you. VBF was happy to see McGowan come up, and said
I for one, am looking forward to getting Zambrano, McGowan, and
hopefully Janssen, Marcum, and Thomson into games. Because I guarantee
you that at least one of those guys is going to sparkle for us.
One of those guys? Three of them, as it turns out. And the other two we may never see again, anyway.
[ACTION: Magpie removes hat, makes vague saluting-type gesture.]
So all in all, a pretty good day for the Blue Jays. McGowan provided what was a coming-out, star-is-born performance if I've ever seen one - he was far more impressive and far more casually dominant than Halladay was in the Bobby Higginson game. But there was more good news. Not only did McGowan announce his Presence with Authority - the offence in general, and Frank Thomas in particular, is showing any number of encouraging signs of finally waking from its long slumber. The team is back at .500 for the first time since that ugly stumble at the beginning of May. They just swept one of the hottest teams in baseball - the Rockies were on fire when they came to town. And just to top off the tasty dish, the Yankees lost again, to slip below .500 and below the Blue Jays, who now stand second in the division.
It's a start.
A ten game road trip is next, beginning with four games in Minnesota. The Jays, one would think, are catching a break by seeing every Minnesota starter not named Johan Santana. Be wary, however - those breaks never do seem to work out the way one expects.
Halladay, Marcum, and Towers are scheduled to work the first three games. Burnett, if he's ready, and Taubenheim if he's not, will get the finale. Halladay appears to be back in top form. Marcum is pitching very well - his last start, against the Dodgers was extremely impressive in a number of ways. He didn't seem at all on top of his game, to me anyway - but he held the other side hitless until the fifth and handed a 3-2 lead over to the bullpen.
Josh Towers' short leash must be getting very short indeed, although he probably gets a mulligan for his last start. But if he doesn't pitch well on Wednesday, and Burnett is ready to go on Thursday, I would not be surprised if Taubenheim sticks around to fill that final spot in the starting five until Chacin is ready to come back.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20070624211719279