Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Four wins in six tries for the affiliates. But you'll have to read the details to believe some of the stuff that went on.

Reno 0 Las Vegas 9

David Purcey took the hill for the 51s and was his usual wild self.......wait, what? He pitched a shutout?! And how. Purcey went the distance on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. It took just 106 pitches to dispatch of the Aces, a total Purcey usually hits around the 5th inning.

To continue with the craziness, J.P. Arencibia went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBI. Brian Dopirak nearly matched him with a 3-for-4 of his own but with just one homer. Dopirak's AAA OPS is sitting at a healthy .897. Aaron Mathews added a three-run homer of his own.

Portland 3 New Hampshire 5 (Game One)

The Fisher Cats scored all five of their runs in the first off a rehabbing Daisuke Matsuzaka to coast to victory in the opener of a double-header. Todd Donovan helped supply the offense with a two-run shot while David Cooper and Brian Jeroloman added RBI doubles.

Luis Perez started and went six, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks against five strikeouts. Danny Farquhar pitched a perfect seventh, striking out the side.

Portland 2 New Hampshire 4 (Game Two)

Well, a double-header sweep of the Red Sox affiliate exacts some revenge, right? There wasn't much to this one either as the Fisher Cats were led by a two-run shot from Nick Gorneault and two hits from Brian Van Kirk.

Nate Starner took the hill for the Cats and went four shutout frames before being relieved by Wil Ledezma who picked up the victory in going the final three.

Lakeland 0 Dunedin 1

No surprise here in that the D-Jays managed just a run on two hits (Jesus Gonzalez and Matthew Liuzza) but the affiliates stayed perfect thanks to a great start from Robert Bell who went six and allowed just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Daniel DeLucia and Matthew Daly protected the one run lead over the final three frames.

Lansing 2 Dayton 8

Well, the Lugnuts spoiled the party thanks to a drubbing at the hands of the Dragons. Chad Beck was rocked for eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits in just three innings. Five shutout innings from the bullpen didn't make much difference at that point.

Both Lansing runs were driven in by Wellinton Ramirez while Ryan Goins picked up a pair of hits. Everyone else was pretty much silent.

Auburn 4 Batavia 5 (10 innings)

The Doubledays dropped this one despite a 4-for-5 night from Sean Ochinko. Ochinko's destroying the NYPL with a .514 average over his past ten games and a .975 OPS to date. The 21 year-old might be looking at a jump straight to Dunedin for next year.

Scott Gracey started for Auburn and was perfectly mediocre allowing three runs on three hits and three walks against five strikeouts in five innings. Casey Beck took the loss in relief.

Three Stars:

3rd Star: Sean Ochinko; 4-for-5, 2 2B

2nd Star: J.P. Arencibia; 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

1st Star: David Purcey; 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Posted by braden on Monday, August 31 2009 @ 09:11 AM EDT.

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92-93 - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 01:23 PM EDT (#205728) #

It's sad how far our #3 heading into the season, David Purcey, has fallen. Does he have any trade value left, or is it at the point where if he carves out a major league career it will likely be elsewhere after the Jays have given up on him? I have a hard time believing a dependable, 6"4 LH SP who takes the ball every fifth day and puts up a 4.50era in the PCL has no value to an NL club, even with his weakened peripherals.

It's quite clear we have given up on Purcey, so why not move him for whatever you can get? Even if it's an Emaus or Campbell type prospect, it would appear that sort of player has more value to the Jays as currently constructed.

tercet - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 01:41 PM EDT (#205730) #

I believe he will get one last shot as a Sept Callup to fill in SP after Rzep and Cecil are done after their final starts this week.

China fan - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#205731) #

I agree with Tercet -- I don't believe the Jays have totally given up on Purcey yet. Perhaps they wanted him to stabilize at AAA after a stressful rollercoaster in the majors. If he does well in a September call-up, he could have a shot at the rotation in spring training next year, especially if Cecil or Zep are deemed to be not quite ready at the beginning of 2010, or if Halladay is traded. I realize that Purcey still has control issues, but he seems to have achieved a bit of an improvement in the past two or three months and might warrant another look.

Doom Service - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 02:42 PM EDT (#205733) #

I think Purcey has a LOT of value left. Tall left-handers who throw hard, but have control and command issues.... there's a ton of those guys who don't settle down until their mid- to late 20s....(And of course, tons who never do...) The comp that always comes to mind for me for Purcey is Al Leiter. Leiter bounced around in AAA until he was 26, because of injuries and control concerns..couldn't stay healthy, couldn't throw enough strikes, but he sure threw hard enough. Even if the Jays have soured on Purcey, I think he'll be back in September as others have suggested, and if he hits the trade bin in the fall, I can see lots of teams wanting to take their chances on a former first-round pick who throws hard and has had some success in the majors.

John Northey - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 04:25 PM EDT (#205738) #

Purcey will probably get his last chance here in September. If he does well, 2010 he fights it out for that 5th starter role with a shot at the pen as well. I'd bet against him making it, but one never knows. If he fails then the pen in AAA would be a smart move for 2010 to see if he can be a solid option there.

PeterG - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 05:11 PM EDT (#205740) #

I believe he is out of options. If so, he would have to be traded if they don't want him here.

Spifficus - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 05:24 PM EDT (#205741) #

His contract wasn't purchased until after the 2007 season, which means he'll have one more option year. This, combined with his limited trade value, is why I think he's better for the Jays as depth than as trade bait (unless something unexpectedly pleasant comes along).

Jim - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 07:39 PM EDT (#205745) #

I'd just go ahead and try to make him a reliever. Maybe in short bursts his stuff will play better. Give him a shot as a left handed Camp, who maybe pitches multiple innings instead of Carlson's role.

Waveburner - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 09:51 PM EDT (#205749) #

I think there needs to be some doubts about Cecil's viability as a starter. He has gone from sitting 90-93 with his fastball early in the season to sitting 85-88 with his fastball. His groundball rate has dropped significantly over the second half as well. Maybe he just needs to hit the gym or something, but his innings are not that much higher than last year to account for such a huge drop in velocity. I suppose it could be injury too, but haven't the Jays filled the quota of young injured pitchers for the next decade?

Spifficus - Monday, August 31 2009 @ 11:14 PM EDT (#205750) #

I noticed he was down, too, but I'm not worried at this point. I saw mostly 88-90 after the first inning (which was 87-88) so it was only down about two ticks from his usual spot. That's understandable, though, considering he's at his career high in innings. As a trade-off, his command was better than usual until he hit the 5th, when he started leaving pitches up and over the plate (presumably from fatigue).

ayjackson - Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 10:06 AM EDT (#205755) #

Sportsnet's gun can be all over the place.

Fangraphs says Cecil throws a four-seamer 38.6% of the time, averaging 90.9mph; and a two-seamer 20.5% of the time, averaging 88.6mph.

This chart hasn't been updated for last night's game, but it certainly doesn't indicate any loss of velocity, so I'd chalk it up to the Sportsnet gun.

I actually thought Cecil did a better job of getting the ball down last night. He was pretty unlucky in the fifth, giving up three ground ball singles and a flare; and the pitch to Kinsler was in a good location. It was a very odd seven run inning.

Matthew E - Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 11:27 AM EDT (#205756) #

I'm with DoomService. What would be the downside of *not* giving up on Purcey?

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