Blue Jays

[jn_12]

Awesome, have fun in Philly! I would have loved to have done that but the timing didn't really work out. Is the Phillies' rotation cooperating so you can see Doc?

I agree entirely with your assessment. Their avg and OBP is really poor for a team scoring as much as they are and you have to think that the home run well is going to dry up eventually especially since the home runs are coming from weird sources. To me, if they can finish the season anywhere near .500 I'll be happy. They're a top ten team in the majors, it's just unfortunate that the top 3 teams are in their division.

[marcus_a_j]

I missed the end of last night's game but heard a bit of the post game talk with Wilner and I must admit I agree with him on giving Camp a chance as the closer. Seriously, talk about deja vu with Gregg. When he took over the closer role from Frasor he was pretty darn good. I don't know what happened but he did a complete 180 making Frasor's blow up actually a bit tolerable.

I'm looking forward to tonight's game vs. Colorado to get a glimpse at Jimenez. What a year he is having so far! If Romero can pitch like he has all season it should be a really good matchup.

When I decided to try to get tickets in Philly I looked up Doc's next start and used a 5-day rotation (not game, it is Halladay after all) to try to figure out if he'll get a start that weekend. It worked out to be he would pitch the Saturday game. I remember reading around the time he got his perfect game (totally stoked about) that he may be given additional days rest, ie. sticking to a 5-man rotation since they didn't want to burn him out, regardless of his intense workout regiment. The manager figures they have a decent rotation and team and do not need to use him every 5 days like the Jays did. In light of that and being a few weeks since I tried working out his potential start dates, I'm not sure at the moment what game he will pitch, if he does. I was able to get tickets to the Friday and Sunday games so we'll see how their pitching rotation works. Perhaps he may pitch a game early or later in order to face the Jays. Whether he pitches or not it should be a good trip. I love going to different ballparks and the only time I've been to Philly is to change planes.

[syn]

Morrow is still really learning to pitch. His arm and stuff is amazing, but he never learned how to control his upper-90s fast ball. Since he's come here they've been working on that and the results are starting to come and the last two starts have been stellar (against the two best teams in the majors too). You can see the progress he's been making. He's 6th in Ks (and that's with a 1 k start last week) and leads the league in K/9. He's really only had two shaky starts out of 12. Fact is, the guy was the 5th overall pick only 4 years ago (first pitcher taken in the draft too and ahead of Lincecum) so his potential is immense. League will never be more than an average middle reliever. Anytime you can get a stud for a middle reliever it's a steal. Not sure why Seattle gave up on him so quickly.

That's not true. Morrow has had quite a few bad starts.

His first two starts of the season were awful. Hes' given up 5 or more ER in four starts. On two other occassions he gave up 3 ER in 5 innings. Shaky? Definitely. He still has a very long way to go before he proves he's a legitimate starter.

[marcus_a_j]

Morrow's start yesterday was decent. Still having some issues with control issues (98 pitches, 42 balls) but was able to get out of some jams. Over 6+ innings he had 6 Ks, 6 hits and 3 walks (including the pitcher who ended up scoring the only run of the game).

Litch has been called up for Sunday's game although I have some reservations due to his long time away and that I've never found him to be very effective. He has decent stuff but I think management is rushing his return.

I did not expect Litsch to make as poor of a start as he did today. 7 runs in 2.1 innings, including 4 in the first and 3 in the third. I wonder how he will do in his next start if he gets one.

[syn]

Morrow's start yesterday was decent. Still having some issues with control issues (98 pitches, 42 balls) but was able to get out of some jams. Over 6+ innings he had 6 Ks, 6 hits and 3 walks (including the pitcher who ended up scoring the only run of the game).



I did not expect Litsch to make as poor of a start as he did today. 7 runs in 2.1 innings, including 4 in the first and 3 in the third. I wonder how he will do in his next start if he gets one.

He's coming off majory surgery and a long layoff. He relies a lot on good location - it's not surprising he was off his game today.

[marcus_a_j]

Exactly. He did not pitch well in Vegas leading up to this start (20 runs in 21 innings) which is why I feel they brought him back too soon. It was literally just over a year since he had Tommy John surgery, usually the minimum amount of time off rehab. BJ Ryan was back on the mound less than a year since going under the knife and where is he now (while collecting his millions from the Jays)?

[jn_12]

I wouldn't worry about Litsch. It's just one game.

That's not true. Morrow has had quite a few bad starts.

His first two starts of the season were awful. Hes' given up 5 or more ER in four starts. On two other occassions he gave up 3 ER in 5 innings. Shaky? Definitely. He still has a very long way to go before he proves he's a legitimate starter.

I guess we have differing opinions of what is considered shaky. 3ER in 5ip isn't shaky as much as it's average or pedestrian. I think he's already a legit starter, it's just a matter of how good does he get? His stuff shows he could be a front of the rotation guy, and of all of the Jays pitchers, he's the one with the highest potential. He's only 25 right now and if he can continue learning to pitch consistently (which he's working on by dialling back a bit) he'll be a top 3 starter easily for the next 7-10 years.

[syn]

I wouldn't worry about Litsch. It's just one game.


I guess we have differing opinions of what is considered shaky. 3ER in 5ip isn't shaky as much as it's average or pedestrian. I think he's already a legit starter, it's just a matter of how good does he get? His stuff shows he could be a front of the rotation guy, and of all of the Jays pitchers, he's the one with the highest potential. He's only 25 right now and if he can continue learning to pitch consistently (which he's working on by dialling back a bit) he'll be a top 3 starter easily for the next 7-10 years.

If a pitcher gave up 3ER in 5IP for every start he'd have an ERA of 5.40. That isn't average nor pedestrian; it's awful.

Morrow has a long way to go before he proves he's a top end starter. I'd say it'll be at least a few seasons before it becomes clear.

[marcus_a_j]

Man, I miss watching Halladay pitch every 5 games! He was on point Friday night and I was so thrilled to get to see him in action live again. I am a huge Doc fan and although he absolutely dominated my beloved Jays, I enjoyed watching him go to work at his new office. He gave up only four hits and I am sure he would have gone the distance if needed, but the Philly bats finally came out and wreaked havoc on Litsch and the bullpen.

Even though the Jays lost both games I was at (with a combined score of 20-2!), I had a great time at Citizen's Bank Park. The stadium is amazing. It's a ballpark, the type of place where baseball is meant to be played. We had tickets at the top of the 4th deck for both games, right behind home plate on Friday and in line with 3rd base yesterday, and both areas had great views of the field. From behind homeplate the Philly skyline is clearly visible beyond right-centre field. The whole stadium is open and allows for cool breezes to blow through the stadium, which was a relief yesterday with it being in the mid-high 30's C in the sun. Tons of concessions everywhere with reasonably priced food and beer, at least for a sporting event ($7.75 for a pint). Everyone is allowed to wander throughout all the levels and there are high tables along the concourse in the outfield so you can have a dog and a beer and watch the game from there. The Philly fans were not as bad as I thought they would be (towards fans of the opposing team). Although when their team is winning by a good margin they are happy and have no reason to give us a hard time. I'd say at least 85% of the people at the games were wearing Phillies' jerseys, many with Halladay on the back (I wore my black Halladay shersey, which they couldn't really jeer me about). I even spent a good 15 minutes talking to some guys about the Flyer's playoff run and the hockey at the Olympics.

I don't want to get into how the Jays played on Sunday, it was the only downer to the whole trip (I can live with their performance on Friday because of Doc, and a significant amount of beer that added to the wonderful experience at Citizen's Bank). I am a bit tired after getting home around 2 am after driving back from Philly, and thankfully I took the 427/401 combo to Scarborough instead of Gardiner/DVP due to the flooding that closed the DVP at that time.

Other than a little rain in Toronto, did I miss anything exciting in the City over the weekend?

[jn_12]

nope, pretty boring weekend. Quiet as hell.

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. From the sounds of it, the Philly fans seem to have really embraced and acknowledged Halladay and everything he brings. It's only too bad the Phillies are playing poorly (relatively).

I think your points about the experience in Philadelphia were meant to reflect the opposite feeling you get in Toronto. Wandering around is discouraged, there's no way to go buy some food and still see the game and people are told to sit on their hands and not give anyone a hard time or even to heckle opposing players. With the Windows restaurant closing, I'm hoping they'll figure out a way to convert that space. It'd even be cool if the outfield 100 level was a porch rather than seats. The skydome led the way with the idea of he restaurant over the field, but they fell behind and really need to catch up now.

[marcus_a_j]

The Philly fans love Halladay. Ironically, the first person I saw with a Philly shirt was when as I was waiting for the subway, and he had on a Lee shirt. As much as they are stoked to have Halladay, the consensus I got while talking to some people was they wish Lee wasn't traded away so they would have both pitchers. Mind you, who wouldn't, but to them it would have been better than getting some prospects back.

My thoughts about Citizen's Bank were exactly that, comparing all the benefits to the drawbacks at the 'Dome. It's a completely different atmosphere: better fans (sorry, but overall it's true), better environment, better amenities, better experience. I am not sure if the only entrance to Windows and former Hard Rock are from the outside. It would be nice if they opened those spaces up to fans who have regular seats and can go in during the game. Another change that would be nice for Windows is if they got rid of the windows and have it open to those watching the game from there.

[Build Up]

Blue jays prospect jp arencibia went 4-5 with two home runs and a double in his first mlb game. Jays have a bright future.

[jn_12]

The guy had a day yesterday, that's for sure. I wouldn't say one game is an indication of a bright future, but he's certainly having a great year and yesterday was the highlight of the Jays' season so far.

[Irishmonk]

^ Actually, today was the season's highlight. Jays are on a roll. Two bad the 3 best teams in baseball are in their division.

[jn_12]

Well I did say "so far". That game was amazing though and had me on the edge of my seat. Morrow really turned the corner when he changed his approach and he's proving to be a huge steal.