Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Ricky Romero to the DL

The Jays placed Ricky Romero on the 15-Day DL with a strained oblique. The move is retroactive to April 20th. Yikes.

Isn't it funny how baseball works? Four weeks ago, losing Ricky Romero for any period of time wouldn't have been cause for much concern. Now he's legitimately the team's second best starter and a thin staff suddenly gets much thinner. Too thin, actually. Like those models that everyone's trying to ban from catwalks.

Anyway, questions arise. Who will replace Romero? Brad Mills, who pitched last night? Brett Cecil? Fabio Castro? Pedro Martinez?

And just how long does a strained oblique keep a guy out? Chris Carpenter is on the shelf with a torn oblique and can't throw for 6-8 weeks.

In any event, the injury bug has bitten again and things are likely about to get fairly interesting.

Posted by braden on Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:13 PM EDT.

Ricky Romero to the DL | 85 comments | Create New Account

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

MatO - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:24 PM EDT (#198832) #

Heard on the FAN that Tallet will be moved up to tomorrow's game and Cecil will make his ML debut on Saturday. Do they need to drop someone from the 40-man? McGowan to 60 day DL?

John Northey - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:29 PM EDT (#198835) #

Cecil is up eh? After I just finished writing...

--------

Argh! Romero showing promise then he gets hurt out of nowhere? Sheesh. So, we lose AJ in the winter, Marcum and McGowan injured for the season, Litsch out for an unknown length, and now Romero down. Now _this_ is a test of how deep the staff is and how good Arnsburg is.

So, now what?

Options on the 40 man: Luis Perez (L in AA 17 IP 11 H 9 BB 15 SO 2.65 ERA), Robert Ray (in A+), relievers Brian Wolfe (8 2/3 IP 11 H 0 BB 2 SO 4.15 ERA), Accardo (6 IP 8 H 2 BB 3 SO 2 R/ER), DL'ers Davis Romero and Cassy Janssen.

Late Cuts: Cecil: 10.80 ERA in AAA in 2 starts, Mills: 15 1/3 IP 19 H 8 BB 9 SO 4.70 ERA

Interesting possibility: Fabio Castro AA 3 starts 0 ERA 16 2/3 IP 11 H 2 BB 17 SO after a 4.71 ERA last year between AA/AAA

ML Possibilities: Murphy has been a starter, as has Downs.

---------

The 40 man appears to have just 36 on it right now so space isn't a problem.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:33 PM EDT (#198836) #

At this point, an injury to a Jays starter is like kicking a puppy. Poor Romero too, this is just about the worst case scenario for him because he hasn't had long enough to run with that successful, attacking mentality. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

I think that JP should really start thinking about making a move for a starter. Even with a healthy Romero our rotation is weak and now we're back to the old "Roy Halladay and pray for Rain" system. I am fine with Cecil coming up for a start or two, but don't want to see him up for the whole season if it can be avoided, a few years from now we'll be decimated by these decisions (see the current Tigers pitching staff who destroyed its young arms when they ran to the WS).

Pedro? Are you there?

Mike Green - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:37 PM EDT (#198837) #

Braden's link indicates that it is a right oblique strain. I presume that this is an error, but hope springs eternal.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:38 PM EDT (#198838) #

I'd be more in favour of Perez myself, which would be trying to catch lightening in a bottle like we did with Litsch a few years back. I guess that they think Cecil will be an easier sell to the fans. Mills started last night which is probably why he wasnt considered.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:39 PM EDT (#198839) #

Sorry, I meant Castro

Anders - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:43 PM EDT (#198842) #

Even with a healthy Romero our rotation is weak and now we're back to the old "Roy Halladay and pray for Rain" system.Even with a healthy Romero our rotation is weak and now we're back to the old "Roy Halladay and pray for Rain" system.

At least those old Braves teams had a second starter - Johnny Sain (thus the rhyme.) The Jays meanwhile have Purcey, Richmond, Tallet and apparently Cecil now, who before this year had combined for twenty-four starts total. I'm thinking of a four letter word right now, and it's not "ball."

Matthew E - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:48 PM EDT (#198843) #

A few things:

First, we knew stuff like this was going to happen. So let's not get too excited.

Second, as far as Romero's concerned, there's a definite silver lining here. It's not an arm injury, so that's one thing, and it'll keep his IP count low for this season, which slightly improves his chances of not getting such an arm injury in the next couple of years.

Obviously it's not *good* news. But in the long run it's no big thing.

Alex Obal - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:50 PM EDT (#198844) #

Defense. Arnsberg. Both are still here. And didn't we all think Cecil was better than Romero in March anyway?

We're just getting started.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:51 PM EDT (#198845) #

Good point Matthew, and one that I'm surprised I didn't consider given my desire to keep young pitchers innings down.

Another possibility is Paul Byrd, who has said that he'll be ready in two weeks. So now we have Pedro, Mark Mulder, and Byrd out there. Its funny, but this is the first time in JP's history that I would actually support him bringing in a burnt out old arm on a risk (Thompson, Zambrano, Clement... were never needed). Knowing him, he'll probably pass this time.

christaylor - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#198846) #

If this injury is a right oblique strain, it could be a less than nothing freak accident that happened while Romero was having fun (hopefully, baseball players do that sometimes). If it is a left oblique strain or another minor, pitching-related injury that could explain some of his lousy minor-league performance (imagine: you're young, a 1st rounder and desperately make the big leagues, do you whinge about about your side or do you buck up and try to pitch through -- especially if you've got no trust built up with anyone in the organization).

This could be an another example of: a) Arnsberg notices something b) the trust he's built up with Romero pays-off and Romero admits to something that he ought to have a long time ago.

Yes, the above is pure speculation, but I'm riding the high of being given great seats for tonight's game and the record. It is a natural high that feels better than swearing - any day of the week, no matter which starter is going for the Jays.

China fan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:57 PM EDT (#198847) #

The Globe & Mail and MLB.com are also both calling it a right oblique strain. There's also this optimistic-sounding line in the MLB.com article: "The move was retroactive to Monday, meaning he'd be eligible to come off the DL stint as early as May 5."

MatO - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 01:58 PM EDT (#198848) #

I heard right oblique strain on the FAN as well. Maybe when Arnsberg adjusted his motion he started putting more strain on the oblique. Just a wild guess.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:03 PM EDT (#198849) #

Its certainly possible (that the adjustment strained the oblique), but to that I say deal with it, because this adjusted delivery has made you look like the second coming of Tom Glavine

Flex - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:11 PM EDT (#198850) #

According to what I've read on the injury, it is the opposite oblique that tends to get injured when it's a pitcher. Has to do with the torque of the body in the pithing motion. So for Romero the right oblique makes sense.

LouisvilleJayFan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:12 PM EDT (#198851) #

At this point, the Jays will be dialing up Nate Cromwell, Steve Karsay, and Huck Flener...

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:18 PM EDT (#198852) #

damnit... I was hoping for Xavier Hernandez as I have his rookie card.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:25 PM EDT (#198853) #

Thanks, Flex. I read up a bit on oblique strains, and yeah it's typically on the opposite side and it is a RSI. This explanation makes sense to me:

The mechanism of injury for internal oblique muscle strain is sudden eccentric contracture with rupture of muscle fibers. Movements associated with bowling (cricket), rowing, swimming, and golf cause lengthening of the muscle, which is then subjected to superimposed eccentric contraction, making it vulnerable to rupture. Six of the 10 injuries in our study occurred in bowlers, with the muscle tear occurring on the non�bowling arm side. For example, in a right-handed bowler, the left arm is initially hyperextended and then forcefully pulled through to allow the right arm to follow through and release the ball. In the hyperextended position, the internal oblique muscle on the left side can be assumed to be at maximum tension or eccentric contraction. The sudden vigorous motion from this eccentric contraction or pull through that allows the dominant shoulder to flex and release the ball is the probable point at which the internal oblique muscle is likely to rupture

robertdudek - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:57 PM EDT (#198856) #

As bad as the Jays have it, the Angels have it even worse. Angels starters on the DL:

John Lackey
Ervin Santana
Kelvim Escobar (now on the 60-day)
Dustin Moseley
Darren Oliver (himself a long reliever thrust into a starting role)

As well as, of course, Nick Adenhart.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 02:59 PM EDT (#198857) #

If you can catch the Milwaukee-Philadelphia game in progress, you might want to tune in.

raptorsaddict - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:04 PM EDT (#198859) #

Great point Matthew about the injury-imposed innings limit being a silver lining.

As for Cecil, I have mixed emotions. If he had been tearing it up in Vegas, that would have been one thing, but his slow start would have led me to leave him in the minors for a little while longer. I would have preferred they bring up Perez and see what he can do. On the other hand, how pumped is everyone about actually seeing Cecil in a real major league game, for a team that is 11-5?

Gwyn - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:18 PM EDT (#198861) #

wow! thanks for the heads up Mike G.

Gerry - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:22 PM EDT (#198863) #

Of all the starters in Vegas (Burres, Hayhurst, Miller, Mills and Cecil) I think Cecil is best equipped to handle one start. cecil is a power lefty and if he can hit some spots he should give the Sox lots to think about. He has been mixed so far in AAA but this will at least be a learning opportunity for him.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:25 PM EDT (#198864) #

Never was a big Dave Bush fan when he was in TO, and I still don't like him much. Not sure why, but I do know that those emotions are responsible for me saying "Dave Bush has a no hitter through 7" :-)

smcs - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:33 PM EDT (#198866) #

It just had to be Matt Stairs, didn't it?

damos - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:33 PM EDT (#198867) #

Matt Stairs breaks up the no-no with a blast off the foul pole.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 03:51 PM EDT (#198868) #

I love that it was Stairs

zaptom - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:06 PM EDT (#198871) #

Does it make sense to look at Pedro Martinez? We'd have to be pretty desperate... but heck, we are pretty desperate!

The Nationals are apparently interested in him, but c'mon, we are a contender!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9490804/Sources:-Interest-in-Pedro-heating-up

I'd rather have a look at Pedro in the minors than say... ask Matt Clement to unretire.

Just throwing it out there!

Mylegacy - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#198872) #

When a young pitcher comes up and is "mature" and "effective" right out of the chute you've hit lightening in a bottle. Our hopes now lie on more lightening in more bottles. Lightening usually isn't that co-operative.

No question Cecil is our TOP - pitching prospect but at 22 I think this might just be a bridge too far. Fabio Casto is my pick, 24 year old, 5' 7", 180 pound lefty in AA now with an era of 0.00 a whip of.78 and 16.2/11/2/17. I saw him on TV during spring training and he looked really good to my slightly droopy eye.

HOWEVER, baseball is FULL of guys that got their chance and ran with it. Cecil - run like you're mommy taught ya!

Interestingly - in 2010 when all 2,348 of our walking wounded starters come back - this is gonna be some kick butt staff!

jmoney - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:16 PM EDT (#198873) #

Le sigh...

This is just cruel.

Brian W - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:34 PM EDT (#198875) #

From Jordan Bastian on Twitter: MLBastian BJ Ryan on 15-day DL with left trap tightness

damos - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:37 PM EDT (#198876) #

McCown just said BJ Ryan is on the DL

Jbar - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 04:47 PM EDT (#198877) #

Better than "on the DL for a face-saving measure," which might be the real sub-text here.

damos - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 05:02 PM EDT (#198878) #

Wilner just filed a radio report correcting earlier info about Saturday's starter.
Brian Burres is gonna start on Saturday - not Cecil.

lexomatic - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 05:03 PM EDT (#198879) #

We could be the Angels. Just sayin', ya know?

Alex Obal - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 05:11 PM EDT (#198880) #

In general, pitching for a team with a strong defense, it makes sense to have strike throwers. When you face the White Sox specifically, you want righthanders. When you're playing at the Cell, you especially want righty groundball pitchers...

zeppelinkm - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 05:15 PM EDT (#198881) #

The Blue Jays rotation. Injury style.

Dustin McGowan
Shaun Marcum
Rickey Romero
Jesse Litsch
Casey Jannsen

Jeremy Accardo
BJ Ryan

We've got Ricky Ro in the 3 spot to break up the righties.

Pretty positive our injured rotation and relievers, if healthy, would be superior to a few MLB teams current staffs. I'm looking at you Washington.

You too, Baltimore.

China fan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 06:00 PM EDT (#198883) #

If it's Brian Burres to start on Saturday, the Jays are going to need to score a lot of runs. Burres has been a model of consistency: an ERA of 5.95 for Baltimore in 2007, an ERA of 6.04 for Baltimore last season, and an ERA of 6.97 at Las Vegas this season. He has a career WHIP of 1.655 in the majors. At the age of 28, he's not exactly a young prospect. On the positive side, he has 7 strikeouts and two walks in 10.1 innings this season.

katman - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 06:08 PM EDT (#198884) #

Add Ryan to the DL.

Quick poll: is the Ricky Romero "sneeze into an oblique strain" injury stranger than Glenallen Hill's "night-time spiders", or not?

Magpie - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 07:11 PM EDT (#198885) #

No. Nothing is stranger than that.

I believe Sammy Sosa once sneezed his way onto the DL as well.

Magpie - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 07:14 PM EDT (#198886) #

Let me get this straight - it's not Ryan's arm, it's his back?

chips - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 07:42 PM EDT (#198887) #

I think it's more like, " BJ, you have 2 weeks to figure this out. We'll use the injured back routine while you work it out.

Nick Holmes - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 08:01 PM EDT (#198888) #

On a lighter, off-topic note, two of the pulp-and-ink beat reporters have good Expos related stories:

http://thestar.blogs.com/baseball/2009/04/darren-odayjoel-youngblood-whats-in-a-name.html

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bob_elliott/2009/04/23/9213216-sun.html

Griff's an easy target most of the time, so a let's give him a little credit for this one.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 08:37 PM EDT (#198889) #

Part of the trapezius muscle supports the arm, Magpie. That said, my eyebrows are arched whenever there is any report about Ryan's health.

China fan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#198890) #

Quote of the day, from Ricky Romero, as told to MLB.com: "I'm so scared to sneeze now, it's crazy."

Encouraging news of the day, also from MLB.com: Ricciardi said that Romero, Litsch and right-hander Casey Janssen could all be ready to return midway through May.

source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090423&content_id=4395476&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Ryan Day - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:03 PM EDT (#198891) #

Who needs those other guys when you've got Scott Richmond? I suppose he's just going to keep pitching until people start taking him seriously.

China fan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:10 PM EDT (#198892) #

hWell, it's a good thing that Richmond lasted for six innings, and it's a good thing that League did his job perfectly in his inning, because the Jays are very short-handed in the bullpen tonight. Ryan's sudden departure -- without any replacement -- has left them with only six pitchers in the bullpen. Of those, Downs is unavailable tonight, according to Cito. And Frasor pitched two innings last night and might also be unavailable -- not to mention the fact that the 11-inning game yesterday required 6 Jays pitchers. So, thanks, BJ. If you'd mentioned your injury a bit earlier, the Jays might not have needed to go short-handed into their game today. If Richmond had been blown out in three innings, the team would have been in very deep trouble today.

LouisvilleJayFan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:30 PM EDT (#198893) #

No way does the Romero sneeze injury top the Hill spiders injury. The Hill injury has to be in the top 3 funniest/weirdest injuries of all time.

Thomas - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:45 PM EDT (#198894) #

Scott Richmond now has made eight career starts. He has not given up more than three earned runs in any one of those starts. That is quite impressive (pick a pitcher and see if he can match that; odds are he can't) and a firm tip of the hat to Mr. Richmond for his continued good work. Scott looked quite impressive today.

scottt - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:48 PM EDT (#198895) #

Gaston said that left-hander Scott Downs likely would be the closer, though he was not available to pitch in Thursday`s game.

"More than likely he will step into that role after (Thursday night)," Gaston said.

That didn't make any sense to me as Downs only threw 13 pitches yesterday following 2 days of rest. Sure enough...Downs picks up the save even though they could have used anybody against the bottom of the order and a 3 run lead.

China fan - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:49 PM EDT (#198896) #

Another excellent game by the much-depleted Jays pitching staff.

I was surprised to see Downs out there -- Cito had clearly said that he wasn't available to pitch today. (Source: a CP story on the Globe website: http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090423.wsptjays0423/GSStory/GlobeSports/home) Cito must have changed his mind -- perhaps when he realized that the alternative was Bill Murphy....

Mike Green - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 09:51 PM EDT (#198897) #

Richmond has now thrown 43 major league innings, struck out 35, walked 9 and given up 5 homers. This performance is reasonably consistent with his minor league record, and the numbers are those of an above average starter, believe it or not. We will see if he can sustain it. Halladay, Purcey, Richmond, Tallet and Burres doesn't sound like much of a rotation, but the club should be all right. In the long run, it may even rebound to their benefit if Romero is OK and does not tire at the end of the season.

The MLT for League might be nearing 60, right?

brent - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:02 PM EDT (#198898) #

That didn't take long for the first reliever to drop. I was wrong that BJ would be the first, but right that it wouldn't take long. I wish I would've seen that two starters were going to get hurt along with Janssen and McGowan delays.

I am glad the Jays put a little more space between them and the evil ones.

Gerry - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:05 PM EDT (#198899) #

Brett Cecil is starting tonight for Las Vegas

Gerry - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:08 PM EDT (#198900) #

According to Bastian, Bryan Bullington is being called up to take Ryan's spot.

Thomas - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:10 PM EDT (#198901) #

Wilner just said that Bullington will get the call to replace Ryan in the bullpen.

Thomas - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:13 PM EDT (#198902) #

Cito must have changed his mind....

Jerry and Alan speculated that Downs probably changed his mind for him and that he may well have called to the dugout to tell Arnsberg and Cito that he was ready to pitched. I wouldn't be surprised if that was true.

Magpie - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:19 PM EDT (#198903) #

Scott Richmond now has made eight career starts. He has not given up more than three earned runs in any one of those starts.

Somewhat at ESPN mentioned this - I forget who - and ran through a random bunch of established star pitchers and the only one who had done what Richmond's done was Brandon Webb. Not Halladay, not Lee, not Santana etc. etc. I remember saying last year (I was in the house for three of his home starts) that he's got a real chance to be a good pitcher - good fastball, good breaking ball, very good control. I thought then that he needed to get over being impressed by major league hitters. I thought he would get ahead and then start to nibble. I think he's over that. Now I think he needs some reliable off-speed pitch to mess up the LH batters.

I wonder if Richard "Blow-it-out-your-ass J.P." still regards Richmond's callup last year as "the most ridiculous promotion in Blue Jays history" and if he still thinks Richmond is only on the team right now as a consolation prize for not going to Beijing?

Magpie - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:21 PM EDT (#198904) #

That's Richard Griffin I'm referring to in the previous comment. (Well, who else?)

Downs said in the post-game interview that he told them he could go tonight. That he wanted to, in fact.

Dave Till - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:27 PM EDT (#198905) #

I didn't realize Richmond threw that hard. He threw his fastball past a couple of people. From what I'd read, I thought he was a nibbler.

Rios is starting to turn on inside fastballs again.

12-5. Five straight series wins. Whoa.

Nick Holmes - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:33 PM EDT (#198906) #

Griff doesn't seem to change his mind much these days. I read the headline to see if it's an Expos/trivia article, & skip the ones that aren't.

Jdog - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 10:52 PM EDT (#198907) #

Somewhat at ESPN mentioned this - I forget who

Mike Wilner mentioned it on his blog. I am not sure if he got it from ESPN originally, but that was where i first saw the information.

Richmond was throwing a good curveball down in the zone today, his stuff is a lot better than his reputation had me believing.

pooks137 - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 11:36 PM EDT (#198908) #

The injury announcements today made me thankful that JP didn't trade from our position of strength in the bullpen this offseason as many posters here were advocating a few months ago.

It seems like I read countless number of threads where some Bauxites could not understand why Frasor and Tallet were being overpaid in arbitration and taking up roster spots in lieu of cheaper alternatives. I definitely glad to have both of those vets on the roster for the next 2 weeks instead of having an extra 500k each in payroll.

Magpie - Thursday, April 23 2009 @ 11:53 PM EDT (#198909) #

So I'm watching the Deadwood Season 2 DVD, and a frustrated Al Swearingen just exclaimed:

Ain't the state of things cloudy enough? Don't we face enough f***in imponderables?

Know the feeling.

subculture - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 12:03 AM EDT (#198910) #

The amazing thing is how unhealthy our pitchers are, and how healthy our position players are!

This team though seems to be able to find ways to win, even with rookie/unheralded hurlers and mostly no-name hitters! Outside of Rios and Wells (who are regarded as very good players, not proven stars or consistent all-stars), and one great pitcher who only has an impact every 5 games, I would bet the average American fan couldn't name 2 more Blue Jays!

And yet here we are at 11-5 !!

EAT IT MR GRIFFIN, EAT IT AND CHOKE ON IT!! :)

That might extend to the Toronto Star editors as well - anyone else notice that typically when the Jays win, the reporting article shows up at best on page 3 of the sports section, but usually more often page 4 or 5? Yet when they lose, it's quite often on the 1st or 2nd page? And as well, even when they win, the headline will often be negative? Such as today's headline which focused on Ryan blowing the save, instead of the Jays pulling out the win.

MR. GRIFFIN must have considerable influence at the STAR.... if the wife didn't insist on subscribing for the other sections, I would have cancelled years ago (thinking about the 'white jays' article).

Mike D - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 01:31 AM EDT (#198911) #

The Rays are now 5 1/2 games back of the Jays. As early as it is, it's starting to become a difficult and time-consuming proposition for Tampa to go well clear of Toronto. And that's a pretty meaningful accomplishment.

92-93 - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 02:13 AM EDT (#198912) #

Overbay .342/.490/.684
Millar .321/.367/.536

Bautista .344/.417/.438
Snider .270/.341/.649

Those platoons are looking good so far.

Are most of Rolen's injuries related to his hitting/swinging? I ask because I wonder if, on days we face a LHP and Bautista starts, it would be smart to DH Rolen and move Lind out to LF occasionally to rest Rolen as much as possible.

Magpie - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 02:50 AM EDT (#198913) #

Rolen originally sustained his injury in a collision at first base with Hee Seop Choi. But it's swinging a bat that has always seemed to aggravate it.

smcs - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 04:06 AM EDT (#198914) #

The Hill injury has to be in the top 3 funniest/weirdest injuries of all time.

Number 2 behind John Smoltz trying to iron his shirt while he was still wearing it.

Magpie - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 04:48 AM EDT (#198915) #

On September 18 1967, the Detroit Tigers were caught up in the tightest pennant race of all time. Playing Boston that day, they fell behind twice (it was Yastrzemski, of course, in the midst of it both times). But the Tigers rallied to tie the game in the 6th and then went ahead in the 8th. Naturally (it was September 1967) Yastrzemski tied the game with a 9th inning homer and the Red Sox won in extra innings. Which put Detroit, Boston, and Minnesota into a three way tie for first place, with identical 85-66 records. The White Sox were half a game back at 85-67.

After the game, Tigers starter (and 17 game winner) Denny McLain sprained his ankle leaping off a couch and would be out until the final game of the season.

#2JBrumfield - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 07:56 AM EDT (#198916) #

I think it's more like, " BJ, you have 2 weeks to figure this out. We'll use the injured back routine while you work it out.

Remember, it's not a lie if they know it's the truth. Who would've thought Jays fans would be more upset about Romero going on the DL than Ryan? Baseball is a funny game.

Jevant - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 09:06 AM EDT (#198921) #

Not just "most upset", but in my opinion "relieved". Haha. My thoughts:

Romero: "Oh, come ON. Are you kidding me? Can we catch a break? This sucks."

Ryan: "Oh, thanks GOODNESS. Finally some explanation, and now we get to use good pitchers in our pen more often."

To think that 3 weeks ago my reactions would have been close to reversed.

Mike Green - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 09:15 AM EDT (#198922) #

It should be noted that Richmond had a great start on six days rest. It may be that he is one of those pitchers who can thrive in this situation. If one is trying to keep Halladay and Purcey starting every 5 days, come hell or high water, it helps to have a pitcher who can safely be pushed back.

Cito is going to have give a day off to Scutaro, and more time off for Barajas, soon. Chavez is a career 44 OPS+ hitter, although he is solid defensively. Personally, I'd rather have Jeroloman in there against a RHP twice a week. There is unfortunately no internal option at shortstop aside from McDonald. Fortunately, Scutaro will probably last the season if he gets 10-15 games off, barring injury.

whiterasta80 - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#198934) #

I can see the argument for Barajas, and completely agree that Jerolman would be the better choice here (it'd be JPA, but he seems to need some AAA time ala Snider at AA last season). However, I don't see why Scutaro can't play close to 162 games. Sure maybe give him the second half of a double header here and there, or give him a day off if we're in Texas in August (haven't checked) but in general there's nothing to suggest he can't be an everyday guy.

Magpie - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 12:16 PM EDT (#198937) #

This year's schedule feels a little compressed, but I suppose it's not, not really. The season normally plays out over 26 weeks. The Jays play 162 games in 181 days, which is 26 weeks minus a day. The Days off are:

April 20

May 11
May 28

June 1
June 15
June 22

July 2
July 13-16
July 20
July 30

August 3
August 6
August 13
August 17
August 27

September 17

October 1

The first two months are where they pile up - the off-days are built into the middle of the summer in the event make-up games are required. The Jays schedule doesn't have another stretch like the current one until September.

So I'd expect to see some guys get Sunday off (day game after a night game.) And as Gaston wants Barajas catching Halladay, I'd expect to see Chavez on Saturday night.

Next week, both Thursday and Saturday see the Jays playing the afternoon after a night game.

whiterasta80 - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 12:34 PM EDT (#198938) #

I guess the only good thing is that, presumably those games will be against teams that are also playing an afternoon game after a night game, as our bench depth (Batista, Millar particularly) is an area of strength we may be able to take advantage of those games

Mylegacy - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 12:52 PM EDT (#198939) #

Bullington, Burris and Jeroloman...

Bullington has an era of 1.87 and a whip of 1.14 with innings pitched, hits, walks and SO's of: 9.2/10/1/10

Burris's era is a SCARY 6.97 BUT the rest is OK with a whip of 1.26 and 10.1/11/2/7.

Jeroloman is TOO good and too young to be sitting up here yet as a back-up. If JP continues to struggle - Brian has the stuff to be a very capable full time catcher. Leave him on the farm polishing his skills.

zeppelinkm - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 01:09 PM EDT (#198940) #

How much lower do you think Burres ERA would be if he had pitched for Toronto the previous 3 seasons instead of Balitmore? Seems like Burres would benefit a fair bit as he is very much a contact pitcher. How much a good defence can help a bad pitcher is the question though.

Mike Green - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 01:30 PM EDT (#198942) #

Burres probably would have an ERA between 5.1 and 5.4 in Toronto. The defence would help quite a bit, but his HR/fly rate is lower than average in Baltimore, and that is what you might expect from a left-hander at Camden Yards.

John Northey - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 01:55 PM EDT (#198944) #

Wow, lots of rest in the summer for the Jays. Probably a good thing as that is the point one would expect players to be dragging a bit (summer heat, have been going for a few months so the early season 'woohoo' factor isn't there, nor is the contract/pennant drive of the last month). Give the pen a bit of recovery time as they'll be abused a bit before then with the DL group coming back (odds are Janssen/Litsch/Romero won't be at 7+ IP level right away thus wearing down the pen in May/June).

Given how well the Jays are playing right now the fewer offdays the better :)

Mike Green - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 02:47 PM EDT (#198946) #

The off-day distribution is very unusual, and actually favourable for a dome team. The club could pretty much go on a 4 man rotation from the last week of July into September.

Expecting Scutaro to play 160 games or something is not realistic, in light of his age and position.

Gerry - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 04:03 PM EDT (#198947) #

Brian Burres has been recalled and will start tomorrow.

Gerry - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 10:00 PM EDT (#198949) #

From Bastians Blog tonight:

Casey Janssen (right shoulder) will have a rehab outing in the Florida State League on Monday and could have two outings there before moving to Double-A. The schedule isn't set in stone yet. Shaun Marcum (right elbow) is going to throw in a bullpen session in Kansas City -- his hometown -- on Thursday.

scottt - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 10:33 PM EDT (#198950) #

I always liked Tallet as a starter.

Gavin Floyd had a pretty good run last year, but he's got a career ERA of 4.97

The WS showed a lot of patience with Egbert. He came in in the 5th, you'd think they replaced him before he put the game out of reach.
I guess they tried to save the bullpen for the rest of the series, but I don't think that's the way to do it. They need a guy like Swisher.

Flex - Friday, April 24 2009 @ 11:41 PM EDT (#198951) #

The best record in the majors: your Toronto Blue Jays.

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