04/14 – Line-up, etc.
So, Litch, it seems, will be gone for a while.
It’s being reported that he will be restricted from picking up a baseball for the next two weeks before he begins a throwing program. Brian Tallet will take his spot in the rotation while Bill Murphy is coming up from triple-A Las Vegas to fill out the bullpen.
Ricky Romero gets the start today, the second of his career. After a strong showing in his first start, the Blue Jays are hoping for more of the same. With even more questions surrounding the Jays pitching staff now, I’m sure management is hoping Romero can eat some innings to save the bullpen as much as possible.
The line-up for today was taken from Jordan Bastian’s MLBlog: Major League Bastian
Today’s lineups:
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (6-2)
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Jose Bautista, LF
Starter: LHP Ricky Romero (1-0)
MINNESOTA TWINS (3-5)
1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Michael Cuddyer, DH
5. Joe Crede, 3B
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Mike Redmond, C
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF
Starter: LHP Glen Perkins (0-1)
Ryan picks up save, first
B.J. Ryan (1-0) picked up his first save in his second opportunity in a come-from-behind victory for the powerhouse hitting Jays.
Jesse Litch left the game early with forearm tightness, but the bullpen came in with strong performences from Brian Tallet, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and even BJ, who has struggled in his first couple of appearances of the season.
It used to be that when the Jays fell behind early (like in todays 3-1 start), I would give up hope. However, the 2009 Jays have continued to play to their offensive potential, rocking the Twins for 3 HR, 8 runs, and 19 hits. Travis Snider contributed 2 HR, his 2nd and 3rd of the season, while Lyle Overbay knocked his first of the young season.
Despite all of the hits, the twins stayed ahead for much of the game, making bigs plays with runners in scoring position. The Twins came up with 3 double plays and an outfield assist.
However, the Jays mighty bats proved to be too much for the struggling Twins and increased their American League East leading record to 6-2, and raised their winning streak against the Twins to 10 games.
Litch update
Jesse Litch has been diagnosed with a strained right forearm after leaving Monday’s game with muscle tightness in the 3rd inning. Toronto is planning to re-evaluate Litch Tuesday morning before deciding what course of action is appropriate. Therefore, still no word on whether Litch may miss some time.
JB
Litch Leaves Game..!
Not too sure how serious it is yet, but Jesse Litch has had to leave the game early in fourth inning. The youngest pitcher on staff but also second on the rotation and holding the most experience in the rotation outside of Halladay, has left with an apparent injury. After what appeared to be a routine pitch, Litch immediately turned around to the dugout to call out Gaston.
Brian Tallet (0-0), makes his 4th appearance of the young season so far following a strong showing in his last appearance against the Indians. He will be given as much time as he requires to warm up. We can only hope that Litch, a key cog in the Blue Jays’ already decimated rotation, is not absent for an extended period.
The Blue Jays trail the Twins 4-2
Welcome
Hey everyone, JB here, welcome to my first Blog post.
A positive outlook on the 2009 edition of the Toronto Blue Jays.
All that I have heard over the entire off season is how terrible the Jays season will be. The universal pick for last in the American League East, the Blue Jays must struggle through the loss of 3 starters from their rotation, formerly one of the best in the game, their replacements, 2 rookies and one virtual rookie, and an offense that was among the worst in baseball last season.
However, the continuing presence of Doc Halladay, along with a superb pitching coach in Brad Arnsberg, suggests that the pitching scenerio is not as dire as it has been made out to be while, over the last half of last season, the staff selected by new/returning manager Cito Gaston has given the offense a new burst of life that has the potential to support the pitching staff far more than in previous seasons.
Though critics will always be critics, I will be looking for the positive side of the 2009 Jays that can’t rightfully be as bad as everyone has been led to believe.
Now, I’m just getting settled in to watch the series opener between the Jays and Twins. As I speak, pitching coach Brad Arnsberg is fist-pounding each guy on the bench. Twins are taking the field first, so we are going to get to see the Jays suddenly high-powered bats up first. Look for the Jays to get after this guy (Slowey) early, as he struggled in his first outing.
Up on the mound for the Jays will be Jesse Litch (0-1). The most experienced pitcher on the Blue Jays rotation outside of Doc, Litch, after an up and down season last year, really needs to be solid for the Jays this season. However, the first time through the rotation, he has had the most struggles, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits through his first 6 innings of work on the season. We’ll see if he gets back in stride today.
The real story of today, and for the rest of the season, will be if the Jays hitters, led by DH Adam Lind, can maintain the absolute tear that they have been on to begin the season.
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