A Note on the Rotation

Wednesday, March 24 2010 @ 12:37 AM EDT

Contributed by: Magpie

The Blue Jays have to replace some starter pitcher innings this season. You probably knew that.

Four of the men we can reasonably expect to see pitching out of the Toronto rotation this season were here last year. They are Ricky Romero, Mark Rzepczynski, Brian Tallet, who will open the season in the rotation. Presumably either the first or second call for help will go to Brett Cecil. These guys started more than half of the team's games last season and collectively fought the league to a draw:

GS      IP    H    R    ER   BB  SO   W  L  ERA
82    471.2  509  261  249  209 370  29 25  4.75

I think the team will be hoping to get a little more than 82 starts out of this Gang of Four, but it's hard to fathom a scenario where these guys start as many as 100 games.

Anyway, we're left with the 80 games started in 2009 by pitchers who are extremely unlikely to start any games for Toronto in 2010. This work will be picked up, first of all, by Shaun Marcum and Brandon Morrow. We may see Dana Eveland and, eventually, Dustin McGowan step into the job. And here's what they have to replace.

GS     IP    H    R    ER   BB   SO   W   L   ERA
80   492.3  533  271  250  146  404  29  32  4.57

In this the winter of my discontent, it's comforting to remember that it's not just Roy Halladay's starts that must be replaced. It's also the starts accumulated by Scott Richmond, David Purcey, Casey Janssen, Bobby Ray, Jesse Litsch, Brad Mills, and Brian Burres. Those seven men started 48 games for the 2009 Blue Jays, and it didn't go well.

GS     IP    H    R    ER   BB   SO   W   L  ERA
48   253.3  299  189  176  111  196  12  22  6.25

You gotta take your silver linings where ever you can find 'em, right?

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