12 posts tagged “red sox”

Jesse Litsch

Through the end of May, Jesse Litsch was 7-1 with 3.18 ERA. Now, after going 1-6 and 6.12 in June and July, the sophomore right-hander is on his way back to Syracuse for some seasoning. Don’t fret, though, Jays fans, he’ll be back in due time.

One thing that stands out about Litsch is he acts like he belongs in the big leagues. Unlike his replacement, David Purcey, Litsch has never looked nervous in his time in Toronto, as was especially evident in his memorable debut last June against Baltimore. In that game, Litsch allowed just four hits and a run while coming up one out short of a complete game.

He did, however, struggle at points last season, but bounced back, which makes it all the more possible to believe his latest rough stretch is just another hiccup on his road to becoming an established major league starter. In his fourth start of 2007, Litsch gave up five runs and failed to get out of the first inning against the Yankees, and was subsequently sent to the minors afterwards. He was recalled a month later, and responded with four quality starts in his first five outings. Then, after losing his first three starts of September, Litsch finished the season by allowing just three runs in his final three starts, two of which were against Boston and New York.

Purcey has struggled mightily in his two starts with the Jays this season, surrendering nine runs and 11 walks in just seven-and-a-third innings. Both, however, were spot starts, and the former first round draft pick’s confidence should benefit from having an established spot in the rotation, at least for the time being. He’s been great at Syracuse thus far, going 8-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 19 starts, and was a starting pitcher in last week’s International League All-Star Game.

I’m not sure this move is in any way a sign of whether or not the team thinks it has a shot at competing the rest of the season. At this point in time, it just looks as though Purcey has earned a chance to start regularly, and Litsch has shown he’s in need of some work on the farm. In the long run, both should benefit from the move.

Johan Santana

1 comment

Alright, so I grabbed that headline right off of ESPN.com. I thought it was clever, so I'll give credit where it's due.

Anyway, by now you're aware that Johan Santana is on his way out of Minnesota and not heading to the Red Sox, Yankees or Tigers, perhaps a sign that the baseball gods aren't necessarily out to get the rest of the American League. Instead, arguably the greatest pitcher on the planet is a New York Met. The Mets are reportedly sending prospects Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to Minnesota, and Santana is expected to sign a six-year, $150 million contract extension with New York.

Of the players heading to Minnesota, I've only heard of Gomez, and even he never stood out as a can't-miss prospect. Not sure what the Twins were thinking here -- the Yankees were reportedly dangling Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera and the Red Sox had Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury on the table -- but I'm not about to argue. Another star joining an American League East team not named the Blue Jays, Orioles or Devil Rays would've been enough to damper my excitement about this upcoming season, which is a mere two months away.

The Mets, in the meantime, have to be considered favourites in the National League in '08, even after last season's colossal collapse. In Santana, they get what they sorely lacked last season -- a proven ace (with apologies to John Maine and Oliver Perez, who should shore out a suddenly deep rotation). More than anything, though, I'm just relieved to see the guy out of the American League.

Scott Rolen

I remember how naive I was in December 2005 when Toronto acquired Troy Glaus for future All-Star Orlando Hudson. A legitimate power threat! Yeah, right. That was before I realized he struck out once every 1.3 at-bats and moved as though he was wearing bricks for shoes. Well, I got my wish last weekend when we dumped him on the Cardinals for Scott Rolen, a player I'm guessing Cardinals fans are as down on as I am on Glaus.

Overall, I still like the trade a lot. I realize Rolen is coming off a nightmarish season and I'm aware of his ongoing spat with Tony La Russa. Still, he's a defensive upgrade and should be a solid addition to the middle of the order. I'd grown so fed up with Glaus that you could plug just about anyone into the five hole and I wouldn't complain.

Having spent his entire career thus far in the National League, I'm not too familiar with Rolen. He was, however, a key pickup on my 1997 ESPN Fantasy Baseball championship team (A team I managed as a 13-year whiz-kid. This was a pre-Yahoo!, pre-head-to-head, rotisserie-style league) and for that I'm forever grateful.

Does this put Toronto in a class with the Yankees and Red Sox? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, we're just two-and-a-half months from Opening Day -- the only day of the season when all 30 teams are tied for first (A day that, as a Blue Jays fan, you learn to cherish).

Chris Bosh

The sports weekend from hell (Raptors playoff loss, Jays swept by Baltimore) has come and gone, and things look to be getting back to normal for Toronto's two best teams. The Raps recovered with a nervous 89-83 win last night, and the Jays bounced back with a sweep of a two-game set in Boston.

It's been five years since I've watched a Raptors game that had any meaning, and I'd forgotten how unnerving these playoff games can be. I had the chills before Saturday's Game 1, only to have my world thrown into a tailspin by the Raptors' horrible showing at the hands of Vince and the Nets. The chills were back for Game 2 last night, when Anthony Parker helped a shaky Raptor squad escape with a narrow win. Unless one of these teams gets a serious shot in the arm, I get the feeling each game is going to be a grind---you can throw whatever happened in the regular season out the window.

Of course, the key to success for the Raptors is Chris Bosh. He's the only legitimate big man in the series, but hasn't played like it at times thus far. It took him awhile to get going last night, and if the Raptors are going to steal a game on the road, he has to play a full 48. Parker, the difference maker in Game 2, is a better scorer than his 12 point per game regular season average suggests, and will be called upon to create shots if the offense keeps breaking down the way it did in the first two games. Also, any contribution from Andrea Bargnani would be welcomed.

Bostjan Nachbar

Parker, Joey Graham and Morris Peterson did a great job of shutting down Carter in the first two games, but you have to figure he's going to go off one of these games. Aside from Kidd and Jefferson, another player that terrifies me is Bostjan Nachbar, one of the best players that nobody has heard of. He's made huge shots in the fourth quarter of both games thus far, and he'll likely continue to get good looks playing alongside the big three. The Raptors can't forget about this guy.

This series looks like it may be a an all-out, seven game grind. As of right now I still have the Raptors taking it, but partly because I'm afraid to imagine how I may react to losing to Carter.

This incident didn't make it onto live TV like the pizza toss at Fenway earlier this week, but fortunately a fan at the Rogers Centre was able to catch it all on camera. In case you weren't sitting in Section 113A for the Jays-Red Sox game on Tuesday night, here's what went down: