Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Just another maddening start from Mr. Lilly.

Yesterday's Game, Executive Summary: Ted The Tease: All those K's and just two hits, but five runs. If it was anyone else, I'd appreciate his ability to stay in there after being down 5-0 in the fourth.

Star Of The Game: Brandon Inge? Marcus Thames?

For The Jays: I grudgingly type Ted Lilly's name.

Bottom of the ninth, real-time: Oh, Todd Jones is pitching. Maybe the Jays have a shot after all. And Hillenbrand grounds out as soon as I type that. (Is it me, or does Todd Jones look like the kind of guy who crashes his pickup truck into a gas station outside Fort Lauderdale while on his way back from squirrel-hunting?) Squirrels, by the way, stand a better chance against a major league pitcher than Alfonzo, which is why I'm glad to see Gregg Zaun batting with two outs. I'm also not sure where Brian Runge's strike zone is today, but I bet you Aaron Hill out there on second has a much better view of the pitches than the HP umpire.

Full count, two outs, tying run up. The Rogers Centre is un-SkyDome-like. Zaun fouls off something low, then walks. Kudos to Jamie Campbell for shutting up and letting the crowd call the game on that one pitch...for a little bit, anyway.

Ah, well. Even Herb Washington would be out at second on that one.

Helping the bullpen: Pete Walker has been pitching "with soreness in his shoulder for the last two weeks." Seems to me he's done this before. If we believe the two weeks, that means it started two Saturdays ago, around May 27. What has Walker done since then? Well, he gave up six runs and eight hits.

Who is Zach Miner? He was part of the Kyle Farnsworth trade, is 24 years old, and seems to be the rare pitcher who does better after leaving the Braves' organization. The more you know...

Dave Bush Update: You know, I'd mention how well he's been doing, but when the only non-Halladay member of the Opening Day rotation still on the active roster is Ted Lilly, it wouldn't come out right. So I won't say that he's in the top 10 in more than a few categories in the National League, and I won't reference the fact that A.J. Burnett is averaging $27.5M per start.

Alfonzo Watch: 83 AB, .108/.187/.120.

Since Edgardo Alfonzo has been alive, only one American League player has had a lower OPS in 83 or more AB, and that was Ron Karkovice in 1987. If Alfonzo stays at his current level of futility for 11 more AB, he will pass Tom Egan (1974 Angels) and set a new record for lowest OPS in 94+ AB. From there, it's only 12 more AB until he breaks Kevin Cash's Blue Jay record!

Posted by Rob on Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 09:00 AM EDT.

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Original Ryan - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 11:11 AM EDT (#148675) #

I thought Miner looked a bit like a blonde Josh Towers. It's just unfortunate it really wasn't Josh Towers pitching for the Tigers yesterday.

While Lilly certainly pitched well yesterday when he wasn't coughing up big home runs, it was kind of annoying listening to the commentators afterward saying how great a start it was (primarily on the highlights shows). No, it wasn't great. Lilly still gave up five runs (four earned) on those two home runs. His start wasn't awful, but it was far from spectacular.

Speaking of Towers, Mike Wilner mentioned on the pregame that Towers could be the one replacing Chacin in the rotation. I guess Josh had to get a second chance at some point, and there aren't exactly a lot of other options right now.

Chuck - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 11:51 AM EDT (#148677) #

Am I the only one worried about Rios these days? It seems ridiculous to be worried about a guy with an OPS just south of 1000, and who has exceeded expectations by such an incredible amount. So know that my worrying is definitely in context.

His at-bat against Colon yesterday, the only AB of his that I saw, was symptomatic of his recent struggles. The count started 0-1. And then the predictable happened. Curve ball, low and outside. Swing. Curve ball, low and outside. Swing. And everyone watching knew where pitches 2 and 3 were going.

The discipline that Rios had been showing, not to necessarily draw walks, but to at least swing at good pitches, seems to have abandoned him. He's getting himself out in most at-bats, too eager to swing at anything.

Hopefully Brantley will be able to steer Rios back to his earlier form. The league is making adjustments to Rios. He's got to start making adjustments to counter them.

Joanna - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 11:54 AM EDT (#148679) #

Man, baseball is mean. Lilly pitched really well. 116 pitches- 78 were strikes. 12 Ks and only 2 BB. It's those damn walks that wrecked him. How often does a pitcher walk only two guys and then have it bite him back a minute later? He could've pitched way, way worse and come out with the win. Bad luck. Self- inflicted bad luck, but still bad luck. The offense didn't pick him up at all. Best thing he did though was pitch into the ninth.

Fletcher kept talking about how mad Lilly seemed when he was pitching, that it was giving him some bite to the fastball. So maybe they should piss him off more. The stubborness I keep reading about him was on display as well.

Wildrose - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 12:23 PM EDT (#148681) #

Much has been made of the Jays tired, overworked, beleaguered bullpen. Is it true? According to this, it is ( although you may argue that the manager precipitates some of this usage with quick hooks).

How effective has the bullpen been? Using ERA as a measure (It's not the perfect tool individually, but as a measurement for a group it's a little better), here's how the pen ranks.

Mike Green - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 12:31 PM EDT (#148682) #

Shaun Marcum is at least as good an option to start as Josh Towers right now. He went 5 innings, 74 pitches in his last outing in Syracuse. Rosario would be another possibility.

Wildrose - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 12:47 PM EDT (#148683) #

Here's how the starters rank, notice the comparison between the Jays A.L. East division rivals.

The relievers, as various pundits have described, really has been a weakness for this squad.

robertdudek - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 01:02 PM EDT (#148684) #

It's been more than 10 days; are they really planning to go with McDonald and Alfonzo at 2B? When the rest of the lineup cools off (and it will), 2B is going to be a major sinkhole. Adams needs to come back up here.

PeteMoss - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 01:25 PM EDT (#148685) #

Regarding the bullpen stats from ESPN.com, the periphial numbers are much better than the ERA would suggest. The Jays rank 5th in WHIP, 6th in K/BB and 3rd in K/9. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with BJ Ryan's insane numbers, but it does inspire a bit of confidence.

Pistol - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 02:25 PM EDT (#148686) #

It's been more than 10 days; are they really planning to go with McDonald and Alfonzo at 2B?

Actually, I suspect the Jays will release Alfonzo and keep Figueroa when Johnny Mac is back.

Either way the Jays need Adams' bat at 2B right now.

rtcaino - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 02:47 PM EDT (#148687) #

Adams is sporting some nice numbers down in AAA:

.338/.400/.500 7bb 8k

I'm not sure how those stats translate to the Majors, but I'd guess it is somewhat better than Fonzie's 300 OPS.

Also, I was at the game yesterday, and I felt bad for Lilly. He was really unfortunate to give up 5 runs. A line including 12 strikeouts 2 walks 3 hits and 5 runs just doesn't seem fair. Offensively, the Jays had ten base runners and two homers but could muster only 3 runs.

As I write this, Alfonzo raises his average to .118 with an RBI double.

China fan - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 03:26 PM EDT (#148689) #

Here is a fascinating factoid that offers another reminder of how good the Jays offence has been this year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this year's Blue Jays squad and the 2001 Rockies are the only two teams since 1969 to post an average of at least .300 after 60 games.

source: mlb.com

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060611&content_id=1500138&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Gerry - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 03:46 PM EDT (#148690) #

So Johnny Mac is coming back and either Alfonzo or Figueroa has to go. So what does the wily vet do today? Only two hits so far. That's what motivation does for you.

Magpie - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 04:01 PM EDT (#148691) #

seems to be the rare pitcher who does better after leaving the Braves' organization.

I suppose the best examples here would be the two Jasons, Schmidt and Marquis. And they did receive Denny Neagle for Schmidt and J.D. Drew for Marquis, so it's not like they gave them away for a bunch of rosin bags.

Odalis Perez and Justin Speier... working on it, I guess.

Joe Borowski?

VBF - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 06:50 PM EDT (#148696) #

A few observations from the weekend:

-From section 518, you could stick a Halladay jersey on Taubenheim and never know it was Ty until he started pitching. Just the way they walk and move, they're very similiar.

-Ted Lilly has to be cursing Mario Coutinho (VP of Stadium Operations) for his decision to keep the roof closed on Saturday. It was bright and sunny, the temperature was bright, and the baseball Gods decided to put a strong wind on the city of Toronto. All management had to do was open the roof and Ted Lilly gets his 6th win of the season. Instead, Marcus Thames puts a ball just over the fence, and the Jays cannot come back.

-I would have liked to see Chulk replace Rosario instead of Tallet. Bringing Tallet into a 2-run game doesn't put alot of confidence in anybody. I would have saved Tallet in case Vinnie couldn't do the job, instead of hanging Chulk out to dry and bringing in Frasor and SS later.

Mike Green - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 07:49 PM EDT (#148698) #

Adams did catch a line drive in the top of the first; it would be a bit unusual to pull him out in the bottom of the inning if he was going to be called up. I hope that he is OK.

The whole point of sending him down was to get him experience at second. He has not made an error in a couple of weeks, and I am confident that he will display adequate range at second. I do not recall a single 6-4-3 or 5-4-3 double play since he was sent down, so whatever work he is doing on the pivot has been outside the game situation. Personally, with the pitching staff struggling, I'd keep Adams in triple A for a while longer until he's had a chance to work with Butterfield outside the game situation (presumably at the triple A or major league All-Star break). I acknowledge that Adams has a far superior bat to McDonald, but at this point the pitching staff needs all the help it can get.

FisherCatFan - Sunday, June 11 2006 @ 08:51 PM EDT (#148701) #

In case this hasn't already been mentioned...AJ Burnett is scheduled to make a rehab start this Saturday against the Portland Sea Dogs.
I'll be sure to get a few pics and video footage.

Take Care.

mcpherv - Monday, June 12 2006 @ 08:31 AM EDT (#148706) #

According to the syracuse post, Adams did play in the defensive part of the first inning, however, he has been called up by the Jays:
http://www.syracuse.com/skychiefs/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1150103523105450.xml&coll=1

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