Remember spring training? Back then, the Blue Jays' rotation looked like this: Roy Halladay, Cory Lidle, Tanyon Sturtze, Pete Walker and Mark Hendrickson. Had we told you back then that Lurch would have been the second-best starter of the lot -- and that his mid-September line would be 9-9, 5.46, 153 IP, 199 H, 39 BB, 75 K -- then you'd probably have predicted the Jays and Rays would be battling for the basement right about now. Thanks to the big bats and the remarkable in-season transformation of Kelvim Escobar, the Jays might yet hit their 85-win plateau. But it's no thanks to their erstwhile #2 and 3 starters.
Here's what the two righties have contributed this year:
Cory Lidle
12-13, 6.04, 177 IP, 205 H, 55 BB, 100 K
Tanyon Sturtze
7-6, 5.94, 89 IP, 107 H, 43 BB, 54 K
With even league-average starters in these slots, the Blue Jays might have been serious wild-card contenders right now. As it stands, neither of these men will be wearing the Fighting Jay logo next season, and no one hereabouts is likely to shed a tear about that. JP continues to do a remarkable job turning the organization around, but it must be acknowledged the stopgap pitching he brought in to fill the rotation behind Roy Halladay has been a disaster.
You can lay Sturtze's performance at JP's feet, I think: there was no indication from Tanyon's pre-Jays career that he was anything but a lousy pitcher, and there should never have been any expectation that that would change. Granted, $1M doesn't buy you a whole lot on the open market these days, but Sturtze is a #5 starter at best, and passing him off as other than that was a little disingenuous. The only reason his final numbers aren't far worse is that Tosca hid him in the bullpen for most of the season, after the extent of his destructive capability became clear. So Sturtze was bad, but not shockingly so.
Lidle, on the other hand, has to be classified as a disappointment. Again, he was oversold as a #2 starter when he's a #3 or #4 most days, but the guy has never had this kind of horrible season. His ERAs the last two years were 3.59 and 3.89; if those numbers hid wildly inconsistent first and second halves, well, the final results were pretty good season and even had stretches of dominance. Nothing of the sort was evident in Toronto this season; even Lidle's good first-half record was undermined by bad secondary numbers. The Jays badly needed someone to follow their ace and maintain strings of solid outings; in that respect, Cory was walking a tightrope in the first half and fell off completely in the second. And let's not forget that handsome $4.6M contract he's wearing around his collar.
I don't mean to be spiteful here; I'm sure both of these guys are as disappointed with their seasons as we are. But there's also no question that more was expected of them -- fairly or otherwise -- and they did not deliver at all. So you make the call: who was the bigger disappointment, Tanyon or Cory? Or is there a third Blue Jay who let you down even more in '03?
Here's what the two righties have contributed this year:
Cory Lidle
12-13, 6.04, 177 IP, 205 H, 55 BB, 100 K
Tanyon Sturtze
7-6, 5.94, 89 IP, 107 H, 43 BB, 54 K
With even league-average starters in these slots, the Blue Jays might have been serious wild-card contenders right now. As it stands, neither of these men will be wearing the Fighting Jay logo next season, and no one hereabouts is likely to shed a tear about that. JP continues to do a remarkable job turning the organization around, but it must be acknowledged the stopgap pitching he brought in to fill the rotation behind Roy Halladay has been a disaster.
You can lay Sturtze's performance at JP's feet, I think: there was no indication from Tanyon's pre-Jays career that he was anything but a lousy pitcher, and there should never have been any expectation that that would change. Granted, $1M doesn't buy you a whole lot on the open market these days, but Sturtze is a #5 starter at best, and passing him off as other than that was a little disingenuous. The only reason his final numbers aren't far worse is that Tosca hid him in the bullpen for most of the season, after the extent of his destructive capability became clear. So Sturtze was bad, but not shockingly so.
Lidle, on the other hand, has to be classified as a disappointment. Again, he was oversold as a #2 starter when he's a #3 or #4 most days, but the guy has never had this kind of horrible season. His ERAs the last two years were 3.59 and 3.89; if those numbers hid wildly inconsistent first and second halves, well, the final results were pretty good season and even had stretches of dominance. Nothing of the sort was evident in Toronto this season; even Lidle's good first-half record was undermined by bad secondary numbers. The Jays badly needed someone to follow their ace and maintain strings of solid outings; in that respect, Cory was walking a tightrope in the first half and fell off completely in the second. And let's not forget that handsome $4.6M contract he's wearing around his collar.
I don't mean to be spiteful here; I'm sure both of these guys are as disappointed with their seasons as we are. But there's also no question that more was expected of them -- fairly or otherwise -- and they did not deliver at all. So you make the call: who was the bigger disappointment, Tanyon or Cory? Or is there a third Blue Jay who let you down even more in '03?
