SB Nation - Dustin McGowan

Thursday Bantering

Tom Dakers — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:33:10 -0000

There's nothing out there that I want to pad out to a full post so let's look at a few little bits:

There was a tweet this morning from the Blue Jays 'Official Twitter' saying that Dustin McGowan is still in the Jays' plans for next year. My immediate thought was 'yes, but then Dave Stieb is still in their plans for next year.' Kind of mean, and, who knows, Dustin might surprise us. But even if he does, what would the Jays do with him?

If he is a starter, how many innings would you let him pitch? Let's pretend all goes well. Would you cut him off at 100 innings? 125? 150? He'll be 31 next year, we can't exactly build up his innings slowly.

If he is in the pen, who do you kick out to give him a spot? We look to have a pretty stacked bullpen next year. Who would you dump to give him a chance? I can't see wanting him over anyone that we' have kind of penciled in now. I just don't see his role.

Alex Anthopoulos talked about Adam Lind yesterday and that his future with the club is 'up in the air'. Yeah, I'd say thats a good description. Adam looked good, when he first came back from the minors, but since his return from the DL, he hasn't hit a thing (I was going to look up his numbers but I feel pretty confident that 'hasn't hit a thing' is pretty accurate.

The trouble is that we are going to pay him $5 million next year and I'm old enough to think that $5 million is a lot of money. If fact (picks up a calculator) it would take 1247 years for SB nation to pay me $5 millions total (throw calculator across the room). So Lind will be at spring training, and if he shows anything at all, he'll likely have a bench job. I wouldn't mind that, a lefty bat with the hint of power, sitting on the bench. He could spell Edwin at first base once or twice a month. All presuming Farrell isn't going to do the idiot 8 man bullpen thing again.

But no way do we count on Lind to DH next year. Not a chance, can't do it, no way no how.

Alex also talked about Carlos:

"I just said we don't have enough information but that's not to say we don't like him or don't want him back."

Are you skeptical of him?
"I guess I don't want to use a term that's derogatory to the player. I don't want to doubt him. But I also have to be objective and realistic too. It's more how do you value a player.

Carlos really has to finish the season off well to prove he deserves a spot in the rotation next year. He has given up 9 runs in 12.2 inning in his last two starts. He has to pick it up for his last few starts. If he can't show he can make more than 13 starts, without dropping in quality, you can't count on him to be a starter next year.

Alex also suggest Travis d'Arnaud could be in the mix at first base next year. I very much doubt it. That would be asking a lot from his bat. I think it is more likely that JP gets traded this summer.

Series Preview: Misery Loves Company

Jason Collette — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:19:11 -0000

The Rays have certainly had their share of injuries this season, but they welcome in a team can shares their pain in many ways. Toronto currently has seven pitchers on the 60-day disabled list including 3/5ths of their pre-season rotation and their closer. Add to that losing their opening day catcher, first baseman, and their franchise player, and it is no wonder the Toronto Blue Jays have fallen below .500 after being competitive for most of the season.

In all,the Jays have used ten different starting pitchers this season and 30 different pitchers have taken the mound.That includes a completely retooled bullpen after additions at the trade deadline to replace some of the injured relievers. One of the new faces to Rays fans will be J.A. Happ who takes the mound tonight as one of the two lefties the Rays will face in this series. The Rays have had their fare share of offense struggles this season which have been exacerbated when they face left-handed pitchers of any shape and size. Hopefully, tonight's return of Evan Longoria will help that situation.

Longoria was sorely missed as the team went 41-44 without out and scored just 3.86 runs a game. Before the injury, the team was 15-8 and scored 4.61 runs per contest. How much has Longoria's bat been missed? In his extended absence, the 3rd and 4th hitters in the lineup have gone 146 for 643 (.227) and have hit just 12 home runs and driven in 55 runs (from Rays communications department)

Stats	Rays	Blue Jays
wOBA	0.300	0.323
wRC+	91	102
BB%	9.7%	8.1%
K%	21.4%	19.3%
BABIP	0.274	0.281
FIP	3.67	4.67
xFIP	3.74	4.24
SIERA	3.61	4.15
K/9	8.42	7.12
BB/9	3.17	3.60
BABIP	0.285	0.292

Regressed ZIPS RoS batter platoon splits (sortable):

Player	Projected wOBA vs. RHP	Projected wOBA vs. LHP
Edwin Encarnacion (R)	0.361	0.393
Brett Lawrie (R)	0.338	0.361
Colby Rasmus (L)	0.343	0.304
Yunel Escobar (R)	0.310	0.320
Kelly Johnson (L)	0..321	0.333
Jeff Mathis (R)	0.265	0.286
David Cooper (L)	0.302	0.279
Anthony Gose	0.289	0.316

I answered some questions for our SBN friends at Bluebird Banter today and their site manager, Tom Daker, answered some for us:

DRB: I've been on record saying Edwin Encarnacion had a 40 home run season in his bat but I am a renowned E5 fanboy. Did Jays fans ever think they'd see this kind of season out of him?

BB: As always, it depends on the fan, I've always thought he could be good, but I didn't expect 40 home runs this quick. The average Blue Jay fan hated him, he was called lazy and worse. Even the team lost faith in him, letting him go to Oakland, on a waiver claim, back in 2010. Fortunately the A's didn't realise what they had either. He has always been a streak hitter, prone to long slumps, but this year he's been very consistent. If he has had slumps, they don't last long. He goes up looking for his pitch and if he doesn't get it, he's willing to take the walk.

DRB: Has the Jays' training staff run out of ace bandages yet this season? The amount of injuries the team has dealt with has been unreal. Any updates on health status and who may be back in this series?

BB: Man, I hear the M*A*S*H type in my head at the start of every game. It is possible that Brett Lawrie and/or Colby Rasmus could be back this series, both are listed as day-to-day, Lawrie with a muscle strain in his side and Rasmus with groin tightness, but every injury we've had has turned out to be worse than first expected. As for the rest:

• Brandon Morrow should be back in the next couple of weeks, he is rehabbing in the minors from an oblique strain.

• Jose Bautista hurt his wrist or forearm on a swing, he went on the DL, but we were told he was progressing 'better than expected'. Well, his 15 days were up last week and he's not back. They have given us no suggestion of when he might be back. The injury is apparently worse than what we were led to believe.

• Adam Lind is on the DL with 'back tightness'. At first we were told he was only on the DL to open a roster spot. Since we were running with an 8 man bullpen, bench spots were at a premium. His 15 days are up at the end of the week but it sounds like he might be out longer

. • J.P. Arencibia broke his hand, he might be back in September.

• The others: Jason Frasor, Kyle Drabek (Tommy John), Drew Hutchison (Tommy John), Sergio Santos, Luis Perez (Tommy John), Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch will not be seen on a playing field again this year.

DRB: When the Rays do get on base, they do like to run. How are the Jays doing in controlling opponents' stolen bases this season?

BB: Our new full-time catcher (see injury list), Jeff Mathis has been very good at cutting down base stealers, catching 38% of those trying to take a base on him. I'd be careful about running on him. Yan Gomes, who'll likely catch one of the games, hasn't been run on yet in his 6 games behind the plate. I'd think you would want to run on him

DRB: Are things really that bad that Yunel Escobar has to hit cleanup vs. LHP as he did Sunday against the A's? How has John Farrell been putting lineups together with all of the injuries?

BB: It isn't the way I'd do it but Farrell has had as many as 5 recent call ups in the lineup. Add in that Jeff Mathis has been the main catcher and there isn't much that Farrell can do to make it look like a major league lineup. Pity us. On the flip side of that, Anthony Gose, Moises Sierra and David Cooper have added some life to the team.

DRB: Romero had his best start in eons his last time out but still walked four batters. In fact, it was his second straight start of allowing 3 runs or less. Was this from improvements or just a side effect of pitching at Seattle and at Oakland?

BB: Yeah, he has looked better the last couple of starts. I guess he best was to say it is that he went after the batters. For the longest time, he seemed to be afraid to throw strikes. He'd get himself behind in the count and either give up a walk or serve up a batting practise fastball right down the middle. The last two starts, for the most part, he was getting ahead of batters and then having them chase his pitches. I wouldn't say that he is 100% back, we are moving in the right direction.

DRB: The bullpen had to throw over 17 innings in the series against the A's and now the team is flying from coast to coast adding jet lag issues to the arm slag issues. What is the state of bullpen these days and what is the pecking order in front of Casey Janssen now?

BB: The pecking order is something that Farrell is still working out. We've made a couple of trades, that have added some arms to the pen, and I think Farrell is still trying figure out where everyone fits. Casey has been great in the closer role, but we haven't had many chances to make use of a closer for the last couple of weeks. Darren Oliver has been great in the 8th inning slot. I think Farrell is going to have Brad Lincoln share that role with him. Earlier innings will go to some combination of Brandon Lyon, Steve Delabar and Aaron Loup. The bullpen is greatly improved, and much deeper, than what we had earlier in the season.

DRB: Anything else Rays fans should know about the Jays?

BB: A season that started with so much hope has disintegrated into a mess of injuries and inconsistent play. The fun part now is watching the young players. Adeiny Hechavarria, Gose, Sierra and Cooper have given us something to watch, as we try to fight our way back to .500. We've been .500 19 times this season. If we can pick up a couple of wins, we'll be there yet again. It really feels like the Jays are underdogs right now, so any win feels that much sweeter.

Blue Jays RHP's Drew Hutchinson, Dustin McGowan Slated for Surgery

Blaine Blontz — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:00:14 -0000

Toronto Blue Jays right-handers Dustin McGowan and Drew Hutchinson are set to undergo surgery Thursday, the team has announced:

.@bluejays announce that Drew Hutchison (Tommy John) and Dustin McGowan (Arthroscopic Schoulder) to undergo surgery on Thursday.
— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 7, 2012

Hutchinson is slated for season-ending Tommy John surgery, which will likely cause him to miss about a year of action following the procedure. McGowan will undergo arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder that has given him issues over the past several seasons.

McGowan appeared in five games, including four starts, with the Blue Jays last season. Prior to these contests, the 30-year-old hadn’t appeared in a major league game since the 2008 season due to ongoing shoulder issues.

Over his five seasons in the majors, McGowan owns a career ERA of 4.80 with 7.3 SO/9 and 3.7 BB/9.

Hutchinson was shutdown with a UCL sprain earlier this season. It was initially reported that he would not require Tommy John surgery, but it has since been determined that he will.

Hutchinson made his major league debut with the Blue Jays this season, maintaining a 4.60 ERA over 11 starts with 7.5 SO/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

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What do you think the future holds for these two pitchers?

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Two Blue Jay Pitchers Head To Surgery Thurday

Tom Dakers — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:46:34 -0000

Minor Leaguer posted that Drew Hutchison is headed for Dr. Andrew's surgery room on Thursday, but at least he won't be alone. Dustin McGowan will be having arthroscopic shoulder surgery to further evaluate the right shoulder joint on Thursday too. Dr. Andrews is a busy man.

I really feel sorry for McGowan, this will be the 3rd time his shoulder gets opened. He had shoulder surgeries back in 2008 and 2010, but at least there aren't saying that it is major surgery this time. That might change once they get looking inside.

The Jays owe McGowan $1.5 million for each of 2013 and 2014, and there is a team option for $4 million for 2015. I wasn't a fan of that deal, I know, by baseball terms, it isn't a lot of money, but it isn't nothing. You never know, the surgery Thursday might go well and maybe we'll see him next year. But I wouldn't bet $3 million on it.

David Cooper and Ryota Igarashi Promoted to Blue Jays

Tom Dakers — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:19:01 -0000

The Jays have made a couple of moves:

Ben Francisco has been put on the 15- day DL with a hamstring strain and Evan Crawford has been sent back to the minors. I wonder if the back troubles were worrying the Jays?

In their places, David Cooper and RHP Ryota Igarashi has been called up. Igarashi had to be added to the 40-man roster. To make room Dustin McGowan has been moved to the 60-day DL.

Cooper was hitting .298/.378/.497 with 12 homers and 23 doubles at Vegas. Igarashi had a 1.29 ERA (pretty amazing for the PCL) in 19 games with the 51's. Ryota is from Japan, we picked him up from the Pirates for cash at the end of March.

McGowan has already been on the DL for almost 60 days so moving him to the 60-day DL doesn't change much for him. I'm not expecting him to be back in a hurry. Maybe sometime in July.

I'm glad to see that Alex is taking my suggestions, I suggested that Cooper be called up just a couple of days ago.

Blue Jay Starting Pitcher's Report Card at the Quarter Pole

Tom Dakers — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:12:54 -0000

We've passed the quarter mark of the season and the Jays are 23-19, good for 3rd place in the AL East. If they continued at this rate they would finish with 89 wins. Pretty decent really.

On the pitching side, we are allowing 3.93 runs per game (that was before yesterday's game), 4th best in the AL, trailing the Angels (3.90), the A's (3.90) and the Rangers (3.60). Quite good. I know I didn't expect them to be in the top 5 of runs allowed, especially without Dustin McGowan and Brett Cecil. And yet, I still get folks, in my twitter feed, telling me that the Jays should fire Bruce Walton. Yeah, there is a plan.

Our starting pitchers have thrown 262 innings (6.4 innings a game) with a 3.33 ERA.

Brandon Morrow: A. 5-2, 2.63 ERA (and that's with him picking up 5 earned runs without even throwing a pitch, due to a scoring change) in 9 starts. 61.2 innings (6.9 innings/start). Batters are hitting .192/.248/.352 against him. His strikeouts are down from last year, 7.9/9 compared to 10.2, but he has been getting more strikeouts the last few starts. Only walking 2.5/9, compared to 3.5 last year. I used to get emails asking why I liked this guy, I kept saying you had to watch him to understand. Two shutouts so far, the team has 3 total. He's had 0 or 1 walk in 5 of his 9 starts.

Ricky Romero: B+. 5-1, 3.64 in 9 starts, 59.1 innings (6.4 innings/start). Batters are hitting .216/.314/.357 against him. Once again he is doing better against RHH (.190/.293/.303) than lefties (.268/.358/.465). He's been good. Not great every time out, but good. It seems funny to complain about a guy with a 5-1 record. His walk rate has jumped, compared to last year. Last year he allowed 3.2/9 walks a game, this year 4.6/9. That's really too many. I'm sure it will come down And his strikeout rate has dropped, 6.4/9 from 7.1/9 last year. May hasn't been as good as April was, he has a 4.26 ERA in May, everyone is allowed to slump a bit.

Henderson Alvarez: C+. 3-4, 3.30 ERA in 9 starts. 60 innings (6.7 innings/start). Batters are hitting .244/.299/.410. Lefties (.266/.339/.422) are hitting him much better than RHB (.219/.250/.396). He's only getting 2.7 strikeouts/9. He has the other shutout. I don't know what to think about the guy, he's got 19 starts behind him and has been pretty good, the future is the question. It's going to be interesting watching him.

Kyle Drabek: B-. 3-4, 3.30 in 8 starts. 46.1 innings (5.8 innings/start). Batters are hitting .226/.338/.411. LHB (.244/.347/.451) are hitting him better than RHB (.209/.330/.372). He's still walking too many, 5.4/9, but strikeouts are up 7.4/9 compared to 5.8/9 last year. He's going to have good days and bad days, I'm hoping the Jays keep him up with the team no matter what, and let him work through his issues here.

Drew Hutchison: C+. 3-1, 4.81 ERA in 6 starts. 33.2 innings (5.6/start). Batters are hitting .276/.347/.433. Lefties (.283/.371/.483) are hitting him much better than right-handers (.270/.325/.392). He's looked better his last couple of starts, only allowed 1 run in 6 innings against the Twins and the Yankees. Earlier he seemed to have one bad inning a start, I'm hoping that he has gotten past that.

Dustin McGowan out with Shoulder Inflammation

Tom Dakers — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:48:06 -0000

This must be at the top of the list of headlines I didn't want to write. The Jays announced that Dustin McGowan has shoulder inflammation and will be shut down for 2 weeks. If he didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. Apparently he's been to see Dr. He Who Should Not Be Named and 'there is no structural damage. But inflammation isn't a good thing for a guy that has been trying to 3 years to get back onto the Jays roster.

I'll admit I wasn't thrilled with giving him the two year contract before he had even thrown a regular season pitch, this year. It might not be much money, by MLB standards but it's money they didn't have to commit to yet. They could have waited until he showed everyone that he could pitch in a major league rotation again. I'll hope the best, that he can over come this and that we might see him at some point this season.

Poor Dustin. I guess we knew there would be setbacks for Dustin, this year, I hope this is the last of them.

As well, Brett Cecil will be out for at least three starts. He has a groin injury (insert Sam Malone clip here). Hope he'll be back pitching for the Fisher Cats quick.