Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Glitches in Litsch's Pitches!

The first inning was the worst inning as the Jays lost their first game of 2009, a 5-1 setback to the Tigers at Ted's Shed Wednesday night.

Miguel Cabrera got the Tigers purring with a three-run blast in the first off Jesse Litsch, who needed 24 pitches to get out of the inning. It looked like the home side would bounce back as Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill hit back to back doubles to break the goose egg aganst Detroit righty Zach Miner. Alex Rios then pushed Hill to third with a base knock but those two wound up getting gunned down at the plate. Hill was thrown out by Brandon Inge at third after a groundout by Adam Lind and Rios was pegged on a throw by right fielder Josh Anderson after Rios tagged up on a Scott Rolen fly ball. That 9-2 double play ended the inning and the ball game for all intents and purposes.

Litsch had only one clean inning out of six. His downfall was the long ball as Cabrera got him again in the fifth and Inge sent one over the wall in the sixth. Cabrera's hitting .700 so far this season while Inge continues his home run binge as he is on pace for a 162 homer season. Litsch gave up five runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batsmen. His K/BB ratio was a very respectable 5-1 but the groundout/flyout ratio was 6-7.

Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet combined for three innings of shutout relief as Frasor scatted a hit and a walk over two frames while Tallet punched out two in his inning of work. The Detroit pen of Bobby Seay, rookie Ryan Perry and Fernando Rodney matched that and was one out better with 3 1/3 hitless frames in relief of Miner.

The Jays could only muster six hits and two walks off Minor. Scutaro, Rios and Vernon Wells reached base twice but "Scoots" had the only two hit night and scored the only run so that's why he is the Batter's Box Jay of the Game.

If you're going to today's game, you'll get to witness baseball history in the making. With lefty Ricky Romero set to face the Tigers Rick Porcello, it'll mark the first time that two first round draft picks will face each other on the mound in their major league debut since the implementation of the 1965 draft. Romero was the Jays first pick in 2005 while Porcello was the Tigers first choice in 2007. That tidbit is courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau and the Canadian Press. First pitch is 12:37 p.m. at the Rogers Centre.

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In other TDIB notes........

* The Braves bullpen blew a 10-3 as the Phillies scored eight times in the seventh for a 12-11 win on a day the Phils got their World Series ring. Former Jay Matt Stairs got a hero's welcome and contributed a pinch-hit walk and a run scored during the big rally.

* The O's beat the Yankees again 7-5 as Koji Uehara pitches five solid innings in his ML debut while batterymate and former Jay Gregg Zaun contributeed a RBI double and a run scored.

* The Rays are back at .500 and so are the Red Sox after Tampa beat Boston 7-2 at Fenway Park.

* The Marlins are 3-0, Rangers are 2-0, the Mets and their bullpen are 2-for-2, Cubs win, the Royals win their first, and the Pirates and Rockies win again.

* Out west, the Brewers have their first "W" of 2009, the Dodgers have their second "W", and the A's rally for a win against the Angels.

* Here are the guys likely to pitch today!

Posted by #2JBrumfield on Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 01:22 AM EDT.

Glitches in Litsch's Pitches! | 27 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 07:24 AM EDT (#198075) #

Win or lose the next game, it's not a bad start to the Jays' season. I just hope they can really take it to left handed pitching this year, so I am looking ahead to the games against Cleveland already.

Matthew E - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 07:36 AM EDT (#198076) #

Name three prominent baseball figures whose last names start with the letter combination "Ue".

ahitisahit - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 07:43 AM EDT (#198077) #

Is Millar ever going to get into the game? I think pinch hitting for Overbay against Seay would have been a good spot. I didn't need a crystal ball to see that strikeout coming.

Chuck - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 08:00 AM EDT (#198078) #

Name three prominent baseball figures whose last names start with the letter combination "Ue".

Uecker. Ueberoth. Uegueth Uerbina. Okay, so maybe I cheated on the last one.

ayjackson - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:09 AM EDT (#198086) #

Any TV for the game today?

C Snoy - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:11 AM EDT (#198087) #

Jeez, not a whole lot being said today...

Can we at least talk about the nice work by the bullpen?

smcs - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:14 AM EDT (#198088) #

Sorry to bring the mood down, but this is really just awful. Given the website, it might be speculative, but TMZ.com is reporting that Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash last night. Just terrible news.

ayjackson - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:17 AM EDT (#198089) #

After a spotty spring, it does appear normal service has resumed from the usual suspects in the pen. I wonder if Atlanta might be considering bullpen help today?

C Snoy - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#198091) #

Haha.. That was an embarrassing defeat for them eh...
It was good to see the Phils win on the day they got their rings though.

ayjackson - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 12:13 PM EDT (#198094) #

Here's the MiLB story on Adenhart's passing.

Matthew E - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 12:20 PM EDT (#198095) #

Chuck: This is what happens when you post without reading the accompanying article closely.

Chuck - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 12:47 PM EDT (#198098) #

I read the article. I wasn't thinking that you were including Uehara.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 02:48 PM EDT (#198100) #

Man... at this rate our #2 and #3 starters will be David Purcey and Ricky Romero, and our #3-5 hitters will be Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Travis Snider. Maybe I should cut down on the JP criticism, at least the early draft criticism... Quick, lets get Russ Adams back before anyone notices that our first rounders can play.

ayjackson - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 03:38 PM EDT (#198104) #

I watched Romero's last two innings on mlb gameday. He threw mainly 89mph 2-seamers, 93mph 4-seamers and mid-70's curveballs. He also mixed in some sliders and changeups. He looks like another one of these pitchers who will throw four different pitches at least 10% of the time (like Doc, Marcum, Litsch and Dustin). Somebody (Hale?) showed that there was success attributed to that ability.

I'm hoping Mr. Hale does a proper breakdown of Romero's stuff today, because it looked pretty good from my amateur eyes.

subculture - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 03:44 PM EDT (#198106) #

I was at the game today for the first 6 innings (until my 2-year old was ready to expire), and though enjoyable, it seemed like the Jays hitters were mostly being overly aggressive and mostly guessing wrong. But once Hill's blast tied it up, I just had this sense that the bullpen was going to win it for us, and that the bats were going to come around (the Jays hitters seem more comfortable up there with a lead, or even tie game).

I think with our bullpen, we're not going to be giving up too many leads, and that gives us a chance this year if the starters can give us enough innings and quality starts, like they have been (understand that's a big if).

I was worried that Scutaro and Hill would be well-below league average 1-2 hitters, that Rios and Wells would be slightly below-average 3-4 hitters, but our 5-9 hitters would be slightly above-league average hitters. So far the depth seems pretty good, but having the flexibility to bring Snider up in the near future bodes well for this offence...

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 05:50 PM EDT (#198111) #

I hate when the Jays have to play a team coming off of getting swept. Cleveland is 0-3 to start the season. I hope Cito can work some magic because pre-Cito this would mean a definite series loss. Let's hope the Jays can hit lefties.

scottt - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 08:39 PM EDT (#198116) #

Should be a though test for Richmond, but I like the other 2 matchups.

greenfrog - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 09:26 PM EDT (#198118) #

Hey, the Jays are 3-1 and looking pretty good for a team that most people have been panning in recent months. Where is all the blog chatter? Or is there really that little to talk about?

As for Nick Adenhart, that is some sad news. All the best to his family and loved ones.

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 09:37 PM EDT (#198119) #

I hope that Doc can make sure he gives the pen a rest. Cito better be careful with his bullpen usage because the Jays still have 10 more straight games to play before a day off. As soon as the score goes large either way, it is time to bring in Frasor ^^ and let him go two innings.

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 09:43 PM EDT (#198121) #

I checked again. It is 20 games after that day's rest before the next one! The Jays play 33 games in 34 days! We're going to be seeing someone from Vegas promptly. Who is going to be the first reliever to drop? I think it will be Downs then League.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 10:14 PM EDT (#198122) #

Sorry, I don't get it. If you are talking about the immediate future, the Jay starters have gone 7, 7, 6 and 6 innings. For the first week of the season, that is probably on the high side. Cito has had the relievers going out usually for an inning or more each outing. With a 7 man pen and the starters going 6-7 innings, there is no risk of overwork.

It was an excellent opening series for the home nine against a team that many have picked to be a contender in the AL Central this year.

ANationalAcrobat - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 10:30 PM EDT (#198125) #

Awesome quote from Alex Rios in the Globe:

"If we keep doing this," right fielder Alex Rios said, "we'll win, like, 300 games."

Such a Spinal Tap moment.

Mick in Ithaca - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:30 PM EDT (#198127) #

Best moment of today's game (IMHO): Snider's at bat against Robertson in the 6th. Robertson struck him out on 3 pitches Monday night, and made him look bad, like he was lost against sliders breaking low and away from him.

In today's at bat, Snider took the first pitch, another slider low and away, but outside, for a ball. The next two were 82 mph sliders, virtually the same as the three from Monday night, and Snider swung and missed both, again looking pretty helpless. Then Robertson came inside with a fastball, and missed with another slider. Snider held off on both, setting up a 3-2 count. That pitch was yet another slider, which didn't break quite as much as the previous ones, and Snider smoked it to the base of the right field fence. Overbay was running on the pitch, and the play at the plate was close, but he got his foot in ahead of the tag. RBI double.

That kind of thing is worth the price of admission. Not only will it undoubtedly support Snider's confidence, but it'll also have the effect of making Robertson think differently the next time he faces him. I'm grateful that Cito is a manager who doesn't constantly "micro-manage." He's going to let young guys like Snider and Lind play, which means they'll get the opportunity to succeed despite the fact that they will also sometimes fail. He's going to stick with whoever's struggling, at least for a reasonable amount of time, as he did with Overbay, for example, who wacked another gapper today after a bit of a drought. He's not going to panic when Wells or Rios have a couple of 0fers. For this I'm grateful, as I say.

The other thing I noticed watching these four games pretty closely (on MLBTV: got the Tiger's feed today and Tuesday night) is that several times right after his at bats, Snider sat down right beside Cito, who was talking to him. I don't know if they do this with unremitting regularity, but it wouldn't surprise me. If Cito's taken Snider under his wing in this way, I have to say I'm looking forward immensely to the rest of this season, just to watch that kid develop. Anything else will be gravy.

And yes, it's early, but right now there looks like there's a nice puddle of gravy on the plate.

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:39 PM EDT (#198128) #

Mike, I meant that the Jays don't have any days off to give the bullpen a rest if there are extra inning games or the starters get chased early on in the game. He should keep that in mind going forward. This has nothing to do with the way he has been using relievers so far. I hope that clarifies what I meant.

brent - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:42 PM EDT (#198129) #

That's the right thing to do with young players. Give them a chance to hit against same side pitching to improve. However, a platoon is always going to have an advantage, but that won't happen enough carrying the extra pitcher in the bullpen.

Jdog - Thursday, April 09 2009 @ 11:52 PM EDT (#198130) #

I watched all 4 games in this last series, and I came away fairly unimpressed with Adam Everett. I haven't watched him a ton in the past, but his defense did not live up to the reputation.

brent - Friday, April 10 2009 @ 01:15 AM EDT (#198131) #

I think he had a broken leg a year or two ago, so I don't think he came back as good as he was before. It's also very early in the year.

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