Purcey shut down

We're probably a little late to the punch, but bluejays.com is reporting that Purcey has been shut down for the year. The reason is because he pitched 182 innings this year over various levels, and they don't want to ruin his future by having him throw so many innings in a season.

Generally with young pitching the rule is never to increase a pitcher's workload by more than 30 innings over their previous career high. Purcey only pitched 62 innings last year, but before that his career high for innings in a season was 140, back in 2006.

The Jays must be well aware of the fact that young pitchers should not throw more than 30 innings over their previous career high, which is why it's odd that Purcey was allowed to throw 182 innings this season. Unless I'm mistaken, the most he's ever thrown was the 140 in 06, which means that he shouldn't have thrown more than 170 this year over AAA/MLB.

Purcey hit 171 innings on Sept 7, when the Jays beat Garza and the Rays 1-0. At that point, I believe they were around 6-7 games out of a playoff spot. Purcey should have been shut down then, with his starts being given to Richmond or Parrish. Purcey's future with the Jays is more important than trying to push him in order to compete for a playoff spot.

I'm sure some of you are reading this, wondering why I'm making such a big deal about an extra 10 innings. But with so many young Blue Jay pitchers getting injured, it would have been wise to take a more cautious approach than to push Purcey over the 30 inning mark.

The article also makes a brief mention about McGowan, stating that:

The Jays will also be missing starter Dustin McGowan at the onset of next season. The right-hander had shoulder surgery earlier this year and may not be ready to return until at least May.

That might change between now and spring training, but if that's the case then May might be a best case scenario. Dusty is more likely to show up in June after a couple of tune up starts down in the minors.

Twitchy.

Good News! Good News!!

To quote the inimitable Roscoe P. Coltrane "Good news, Boss! Good news!"

No, I'm not talking about any sort of trade completed, I'm talking about what's buried in one of Jordan Bastian's updates:

Also, good news for Jays starter Dustin McGowan. He had successful surgery on his right shoulder, but did not need work on his rotator cuff. He can begin a throwing program in roughly four months.

That's better than Raul Ibanez from where I sit!

BTW, for those of you disappointed that the Jays apparently made no moves, please keep in mind that all of the chips the Jays might want to move will pass through waivers easily enough. And if, perchance, someone did claim - for instance - David Eckstien, we can always just let them have him to clear the payroll.

We still have a month to make moves.

~WillRain

Done and done.

Well, that sucks.

The word is out that Dusty McGowan WILL go under the knife to repair his [EDIT] FRAYED labrum - NOT torn (per Mike Wilner [end edit]. That means he is done for the year, obviously, but we don't know until the operation is over how 2009 will be affected.

Apparently the surgeon will examine him to see if anything needs to be done to the rotor cuff which, if so, would lengthen the recovery time.

During the operation, the tear in his right rotator cuff that forced him to the disabled list July 9 will also be examined to see if a further procedure is necessary to correct that problem.

The hope is that the rotator cuff can be left alone and that McGowan will be ready to go next spring.

To review, this is a tear the team already knew about coming into the season, the sort pitchers often go many years with. While it's not in the story one may surmise that the Jays decided that the potential of having future seasons interrupted by soreness in the shoulder, and/or the potential that there's something going on with the rotor cuff, was compelling enough reason to go ahead and repair it.

Jon, over at the Mockingbird, quotes Will Carroll's admission that his previous article about the severity of this sort of injury no longer applies:

The reason the article is “essentially obsolete” is that techniques in both surgery and rehab have changed so significantly. Whether it’s newly constructed bone anchors, changes in surgical methodology, or having far too many pitchers to practice on, it’s not a death sentence for pitchers any more. It’s not good by any stretch, but it’s not as bad as it was just a few years back.

I hate to crib directly from Jon with no new information but that seemed significant enough that it needed the widest possible audience. Hat tipped.

*****

Can't post this without commenting on today's impressive game. The Jays today played exactly like the team that most of us (a few malcontents notwithstanding) thought we were going to get back on April 1. Rios homers twice, Mighty Joe 3/4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and a BB (since June 1 he's hitting .308 - .371 - .450 - .821 in 120 AB....what I wouldn't give if the man could play a decent SS), Matt Stairs had his second consecutive productive game and David Purcey cruised through the first 5 innings before making one mistake in the sixth.

The Jays are now 18-10 since June 22 and I feel the need to point out again how significant it is that the really horrible results this year are confined to two, two-week, stretches. Not to say they have been without issues in the other games to be sure, but in all other games (outside those two slumps) they are 47-29 (.618). As much as some don't want to hear it, overall this is not a bad team. Which is why it's been such an astoundingly frustrating season.

~WillRain

The Doc Speaks

By now, if you are any sort of Jays fan and haven't been undercover as a covert agent in some primitive land, you are aware of Roy Halladay's measured remarks about the state of the Jays and his ambitions. I must be the contrarian in the crowd because I see more that's hopeful in his remarks than things to be feared.

It is, of course, a given, that Doc wants to be the tent-pole of a championship team. While others are panicking at his (understandable) frustration at the Jays not being able to turn the corner, I for one find encouragement in his disinterest in being the "final piece" hired gun. That says to me that it will take more than just money to lure him away. Many seem to also be overlooking the fact that his wife said it was important to him to spend his whole career with one team. It seems to me that one has to ASSUME that the Jays will not be better than they are now in order to reach the conclusion that Doc is in danger of getting out.

I find it even more intriguing that Halladay voiced open support for JP. I think there is a very interesting dynamic at play in their relationship and one not to be easily overlooked when fans rush to get on the "Fire JP" Bandwagon. All of this goes back to Mike Wilner's true observation that the primary reason so many are so frustrated with this team is not because it's a bad team but because we could all see even from Spring Training that this is a team that should be contending. After all, if you know a team truly sucks, there are no expectations to be disappointed about. Doc can see this as well or better than any fan - JP didn't put together a bad team, he put together a very good team that didn't produce (so far) good results. That has to be maddening to passionate players who look around them and see talented teammates not producing. For now, I'm not worried about Doc wanting out. There's a lot of baseball to be played between now and November 2010.

On another note, we are informed that the second opinion on Dusty was like unto the first - no new damage and no surgery necessary. N projection yet on a return date - JP initially projected at least a month but nothing from the doctors - off the top of my head, I'm gonna spitball August 15 against the Red Sox as a good target date.

Hat tip to Stoeten at DJF for the link.

~WillRain

Wells out 4-6 weeks

If there was any remaining sliver of hope for this season, the twin injuries to McGowan and Wells have now sealed the fate of the 2008 Jays. McLeod at The Globe & Mail reports that Wells has a "grade 2 strain" of his left hamstring. In the same post he reports that Dustin McGowan has no NEW tearing in his shoulder so there is much more hope that it is simply inflamed and with rest he can return, but that would still be at least a month away.

Hopefully the Jays take that as a warning shot regarding pitch counts, as Twitchy has pointed to, but it's still also good news that he doesn't, apparently, have a major issue. In the mean time, it seems almost certain now that David Purcey and John Parrish will both get regular turns over the next month (assuming an AJ deal coincides more or less with Marcum's hoped-for return). Should Marcum's injury keep him out longer, there will be a very interesting discussion of who else might join the team - and you can bet Brett Cecil's name will come up a lot.


The Jays have not revealed who they will add in Vernon's absence, but, interestingly, McLeod asks the following question:

Why not bring up Travis Snider, their No. 1 pick in the draft in 2006? He's hitting .286 in Triple A at Syracuse and leading the team with 13 home runs.

With the way this season is turning for Toronto why not bring him up and start him in the outfield like the Jays are doing with Adam Lind?

At the very least it would give the fans something to cheer about.

I'm not at all sure JP is willing to do that yet - especially given that Snider is not, in point of fact, in AAA Syracuse but in AA New Hampshire - and as anxious as I am to see Snider in the bigs it is legitimate to question his how his strikeout total would translate over such a jump. Conversely, unless you are pining for the return of Shannon Stewart, Kevin Mench or Buck Coats, there's not an obvious stopgap alternative.

My guess is that we WON'T be seeing Snider yet.

~WillRain

I hate to say I told you so...

So the official word on McGowan is that he has a torn rotator cuff. In the article JP says:

"I think right now, we're probably looking at, I don't know exactly how long, but probably longer than four weeks... regarding how much time the pitcher could miss.".

I didn't think much of it at the time until I came across this little gem by Rotoworld:

"Blue Jays placed RHP Dustin McGowan on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right shoulder. The team made the decision before finding out the results of his MRI, which isn't a great sign. The team has publicly admitted they're out of it in the last couple days, and will play it very safe with their young pitcher. Dont' be surprised if he's out months instead of weeks. It's worth noting that McGowan threw 125 pitches in a complete game on June 10, and has allowed four runs in each of his five starts since." Huh. How about that. Apparently, McGowan hasn't been the same since he threw 125 pitches in some June 10th game against the Mariners. I just can't seem to remember if anybody had mentioned that it might have been a problem to have McGowan throw a meaningless, complete game against the Mariners since he had to throw 125 pitches in the process. This is why we have pitch counts to protect young pitchers like McGowan. All this nonsense about a torn rotator cuff most likely could have been avoided by him not throwing 125 pitches in that game. It's why I won't buy into the argument that a starter 'earns' or 'deserves' a chance to finish a game, when they have a high pitch count. As you saw, yes, the starter can finish the game strong. But down the line, shit like this is bound to happen. Twitchy.

McGowan to the d/l

According to foxsports.com, McGowan's been put on the 15 day d/l with Brian Wolfe being recalled. This is terrible news, but the one hope I have is that McGowan's injury problems are the reasons for his struggles. He's been a big disappointment this year, and it'd be easier to accept his issues if it was related to his shoulder. Hopefully it's nothing major, but it doesn't say in the report what the results of the MRI are.

John Parrish is the 'winner' of McGowan's injury as he'll likely stay on with both Marcum & McGowan on the d/l. Edit: TSN says that Tallet will start the final game of the Yankee series.

Twitchy.

A pitch count is just a number...

I don't think I'm in the minority here that asking Dustin McGowan to pitch in the 9th inning of tonight's game was a retarded move by Gibbons. The Jays are up by 2, and yes, the bullpen hasn't been perfect as of late. But pushing Dusty to throw 125 pitches in a meaningless game against the Seattle Mariners brought a ton of risk to McGowan's future with the reward being a game we should have won regardless of who pitched the ninth.

It's not like this was a do or die game for the playoffs or anything. There's no excuse for McGowan to throw 125 pitches in a game like this...

McGowan is a TJ survivor, and this will essentially be his first full season in the majors. To allow him to throw 125 pitches in this game is inexcusable. If the bullpen can't be expected to hold a 2 run lead while getting 3 outs, we have bigger issues than the flawed lineup that cannot hit with RISP.

I didn't mind too much when McGowan threw after the 100th pitch. 110 shouldn't be too bad, and while 116 makes me nervous, as long as he doesn't do that very often; or has an extra day of rest; or is pulled out earlier in his next start, it's not a horrible pitch count. But I think at that point (the end of the 8th) you gotta tell McGowan he's pitched a terrific game, and that you're going to hand it over to the bullpen.

I'm glad the Jays won, and McGowan looked pretty sharp in the 9th. But I don't think it was a necessary move to keep him in, and I hope that McGowan's health doesn't come into jeopardy as a result.

Switching Gears

Just throwing it out there - when Zaun comes back from the D/L, if Wilkerson isn't producing, should the Jays try out a DH/C platoon with Barajas and Zaun, with Stairs/Mench playing in LF? With Stew on the d/l, Wilkerson becomes the fourth OF. With my idea, the Jays keep Barajas kickass bat in the lineup. By the way, at the time nobody gave a shit about the Barajas signing, but since I've bitchslapped a lot of JP/Gibbons decisions lately, I'll give him props for signing Barajas, who's been an absolute monster lately. Definetly looks like a terrific FA signing to this date.

But back to my original point - if Stairs/Mench platoon in LF (with Stairs getting an odd start vs RHP as a DH cause he's old and we don't wanna wear him out in the OF), would it be wise to use Zaun & Barajas as DH/C? Alternate them every day or so, and they stay pretty fresh. Wilkerson becomes Stairs personally caddy in LF when the Jays have a lead. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but this lineup needs all the help it can get, so I'm just trying some out of the box thinking. Wilkerson has looked better as of late, but I'd hate to see Zaun get AB's over Barajas with the way he's been playing lately. Here, both of these guys get a chance to hit, and I think it has the chance of helping this team score more runs in the short-term.

The only flaws with this is that:

A) If a catcher gets hurt you might have to lose the DH (ie Zaun injured and Barajas = starting DH than Barajas moves to C and the pitcher has to hit).
B) You probably want to avoid A so you keep a third catcher - Thigpen? I'd hate to kill his development, but the way the Jays have used him they really have no intent on making him the C of the future...

Is this idea completely batshit insane, or does it have some merit to try this out maybe 3-4 times a week?

Twitchy.

The Roundup

I return to you punch drunk from the desert heat (and margartias) of Arizona and haven't seen a Jays game since Thursday, though I'm aware they they put on radical exclamation point on a crucial road trip my taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies of Philadelphia.

Don't start planning the victory parade, yet, though. The wheels looked like they were about to come off in Cleveland and this club returns home just as capable of losing 5 in a row as the opposite. Enter the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, United States of America, not Mexico.

The Jays have looked great against the Angels, even when they were a playoff team, over the past few years. Last year they were 4-3, 6-4 in 2006, and 5-1 in 2005 for a cumulative 3-year record of 15-8. Whereas, say, the Rangers might be a poor-average team that has given us fits over the years we seem to be the bug in ointment for the Angels. So bring on the AL West leaders without fear in your heart.

Random trivia courtesy of Baseball Almanac:

Did you know that "On August 25, 1979, the Angels set a team record for hits during a game with twenty-six (26) versus the Toronto Blue Jays?" That was a 24-2 win if you didn't open the box score. Serious pwnage, but odds are you hadn't even been born then, so who cares really?

Tonight's matchup should be an interesting one as Dustin McGowan takes on Angels ace John Lackey. As Juan Guzmany as McG has been through the first month and a half of the season, he still remains a lock down stud at home (2-0, 1.86 ERA, .614 OPS against), where he throws tonight. In general, McG has been more hittable, given up more BBs and registered fewer Ks than he did last year. Getting a start against a relatively impatient, free-swinging club might help him get back on track. Lackey, just off the DL, is one of the best starters in the AL and looked good last week against the Chisox in his first start of the season. Is a low-scoring 2 hour, 20 minute affair in the cards? Perhaps.

If you too disappeared into an alcohol-induced haze over the weekend, no better place to catch up with the Jays than by checking in with Senor Mike Wilner.

Why has Alex Rios sucked so heartily thus far? Don't ask Cathal Kelly because he doesn't know.

The sched gets a little soft and gooey for the next 19 games: the Angels (6) are a very good team but don't have much luck with the Jays, the Royals (4) are still the Royals, which is a polite way of saying they only suck a bit less than in the past, the A's (3) defy expectations, the battered Yankees (3) and wrapping up with the expectation-defying Orioles (3). Let's start rollin', boys!

ELSEWHERE:

* No hitters against the Royals (or Orioles) are less special than no-hitters against proper teams, so forgive me the lack of any Jon Lester love.

* As they like to say at Ghostrunner on First, this is more gay than 9 guys blowing 8 guys. Why this Yankee Stadium construction worker opened his fat gob (to Yankee fans presumably) in the first place is beyond me. Will they order a complete demolition of the new stadium and greater security screening for the crew on rebuild? Only time will tell.

* Random trivia, part II: Did you know that roughly half of big league managers are, like John Gibbons, former catchers? What's Pat Borders doing? He used to be a catcher. I caught a few innings (with a second baseman's glove no less) back when I was 10, too. Hello, job offers?

-- Johnny Was

The Roundup

As far as polish goes, Doc's birthday outing last night was more punk rock than jazz band, but he was good enough to win in the end and that's all that really matters.. You don't take too many games from the Twins on defensive miscues and poor base-running on their part, so savour the not unpleasant odour that rare flower.

And what's this, 3-hour games now? I'll take it if they're winning.

Dustin McGowan takes on lefty Glen Perkins in a getaway day game that begins at 1 this afternoon. It feels like the Jays have been involved in an inordinately high number of sweeps this early into the season, so it wouldn't be shocking to see them come away with a W here. No jinx!

Some rando Italian at the Sun checks in on our injured shortstops and it appears that Eckstein will be ready to play before J-Mac. Scutaro is getting on base at a good enough clip now that both can afford to take their sweet time.

You've got to admire Jesse Litsch's "youthful exuberance" in offering to start Friday night's game on 2 days rest (his last outing was only 70 pitches), but please, don't cockblock Dave Purcey, kiddo.

The Oracle summarizes Wednesday's with JP, which I was unable to listen to because AM 980 here in London was playing hockey and the Fan was playing a repeat of Prime Time Sports. Why is hockey still being played? And I deliberately skip PTS the first go around, so thanks for the double dose.

Dick Griffin's new mailbag is up. As always, please skip if your mental health is fragile.

Ok, I can't resist. Why even print a question this flamboyant?

Q-Dear Richard,

What are the chances of the Blue Jays being contracted from Major League Baseball? Doing so seems like the only way for me to break my obsession with this pathetic team and organization. This season really has me at the end of my rope. If not, is there some form of sports fan rehab available?

James Riswick, Los Angeles

Sneak preview: the answer is only slightly less retarded than the question.

ELSEWHERE:

* The Rays continue to lock up their core long-term. Scott Kazmir extends for 3 years at $28.5 million. Next move? Eric Hinske, 5 years,$22 million? I flicked back and forth between the Jays-Twins and Yankees-Rays last night and I can tell you that fans at Trop were considerably more raucus than the staid Metrodome crowd on a Wednesday night. They're gaining self-esteem in Raysland and that can't be good.

* The Bosox are a bit banged up. JD Drew did the Vernon Wells sliding catch/broken wrist catch the other day, Julio Lugo has a concussion and Coco Crisp is suffering from naseau. I told him to stay away from the bouillabase, but he wouldn't listen. Clay Bucholz joins their ranks with a broken nail on his right middle finger.

* The Yankees too are feeling a bit uncomfortable with their early season performance. Hank Steinbrenner remains a cartoonish villan.

* Well, this ought to solve the PED problems plaguing the sport.

-- Johnny Was

The Roundup

Nice win yesterday, if accomplished by means of good ball-playing rather than scrappiness. J-Mac sat on the bench despite torrid numbers off of Yankees starter Mike Mussina and a pretty solid track record in Yankee Stadium, but perhaps tonight's your night, little guy (too bad we could've used you more yesterday). But that's cool, too; David Eckstein is helping out in his own way by selflessly helping fill the team quota for grounded into doubleplays.

Oh, and can we jettison the LAA Angels approach to base stealing now, please? It was funny on Tuesday, but we can't send Scutaro every time he reaches first. Can we?

Speaking of whom, Marco "Polo" Scutaro is going in for X-rays today after being being hit in the left hand in the 8th by Ross Ohlendorf. He stayed in the game after the beaning and played defense in the ninth, so no one is dropping the I-bomb quite yet. Matt Stairs, however, is possibly on his way to the DL; Sandler at the Post says he's ready to play tonight or he's injured, no more mucking about.

Dustin "Mr. Burns" McGowan is apparently good to go for tonight after battling flu-like symptoms (code for a really horrorshow dump) that confined him to the team hotel last night. I wouldn't have minded seeing him flipped with Shaun Marcum so folks like me could see him live at tomorrow's home opener, but still, good news is good news.

(Why do I do the nickname thing? Even I find it annoying. Must stop. Now.)

You might think that we look like a bunch of silly dicks for suggesting that V-Dub gets dropped from the cleanup hole to 5th or 6th after what was a pretty impressive night at the dish (3 for 4 with a homer). Not so fast. Wilner notes that V-Dub was pull happy to the extreme, more disappointing since he had made progress in using the entire field in spring training. It's hard to argue with a homer and a couple more hits for good measure , but we stand by our earlier position that he is not the best option hitting fourth against righties over a full season.

This is another point Wilner made on JaysTalk last night that bears repeating (plagarizing) in full:

... [Re:] the fact that David Eckstein made the last outs of the 9th and came back out for defense in the bottom of the inning. Had John McDonald been sent into the game there, to help protect a three-run lead, he wouldn’t have had to bat until the 11th or 12th had the Yankees come back to tie. The only reason not to use McDonald there (unless he’s sick or hurt and we haven’t been told) is to not insult Eckstein, or to not make Eckstein think the Jays lack confidence in his glove. That’s a losing game to play. Eckstein is a big boy, and he knows full well that McDonald is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. I don’t think he’d be hurt by being replaced for defense late in close games - though even if he would be, I don’t care - everyone understands that the win is the most important thing. And if the win is the most important thing, John McDonald must play shortstop late in close games in which the Blue Jays lead.

Indeed.

For his part, Blair doesn't think you win too many more games over the Yankees making as many mistakes as the Jays did last night. Fair enough.

Before leaving last night's game behind, I note that we here have long been fans of tall, weird-looking lefty Brian Tallet, who was absolutely brilliant. I almost want to dig deep and spend the $10 to sponsor his page over at baseball-reference.com, but then my conscious tells me that I could better use that money on one extra overpriced Rogers Centre beer this weekend. Sorry, Tallet, it was a popularity contest you could never hope to win.

Interesting but not shocking tidbit: speaking to Bastian in regards to McG potentially being bumped, JP says the club will likely look first look internally (Tallet, Randy David Wells) for spot starters when injuries arise, and then to Purcey, Romero and Cecil (in that order). That's pretty much what we figured; Purcey's really got nothing but himself standing in the way of a big league gig at some point this summer.

McGowan-Hughes tonight at 7:05 on TSN in a battle of future aces. Rack up some Antibalas, Tribe Called Quest and the Roots, pour a vodka tonic, then sit back and enjoy.

-- Johnny Was