Actual Jay News

by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 12:44 PM EDT in Toronto Blue Jays News

The Jays have sent David Purcey down to Triple A Vegas and have called up Robert Ray, Brett Cecil and Brian Wolfe. Not sure who will start which game. Ray's last start was Tuesday and Cecil's last start was Thursday, so I'd imagine Ray will take Purcey's planned Saturday start and Cecil might go Tuesday. I'm really not understanding way we couldn't have called up Cecil last week instead of Brian Burres. You are telling me that last week Cecil wasn't ready to come up to the Jays but this week he is?

Anyway Cecil hasn't been tearing it up in Vegas, he is 0-3, with a 8.31 ERA. His last start was his best, 6 innings, 4 hits, just 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Ray has had just one start in Triple A and pitched 4.1 shutout innings. Wolfe has a 3.46 ERA in 9 relief appearances. I'd imagine Wolfe will be the long man in the pen.

Honest I didn't think Ray was on the radar to get called up now and I figured Purcey would get a couple more chances. But it should make this week interesting.

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Too early to start Doc on 3 days rest?? ;-)

If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.

by craig in calgary on May 1, 2009 12:52 PM EDT reply actions

Too early to do it regularily.

by Blue and White Expat on May 1, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

weird

why wasn’t Cecil just called up in the first place if he was so close to being ready?

The Ray thing is interesting, during the spring I got the sense he could be a servicable pitcher, though maybe nothing special. His K numbers are pretty pedestrian, but he has good walk numbers. But he has profited from low HR rates which are unlikely to continue in the majors.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on May 1, 2009 12:54 PM EDT reply actions

Seems like we are making pretty arbitrary decisions....

Can’t bring Cecil up because it is April, oh now it is May 1, time to call him up. Think we could make based on something other than flipping the calendar?

by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Cecil

I’m nervous about this move…he struggled in AAA and now gets a call up to face major league batters? Hopefully this will boost his confidence a little but still seems like a questionable move. I was acutally wondering if Cecil would get down to AA to work out the kinks and build confidence, I guess JP sees it the other way around.

by bunner on May 1, 2009 1:06 PM EDT reply actions

Well he's struggled in 3 of 4 starts...

not really a large enough sample to tell you much. His last start was good. It will take all those pitchers a little bit to get used to the PCL, it is a different animal then other leagues.

by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

PEDRO! PEDRO! PEDRO!

If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.

by craig in calgary on May 1, 2009 1:08 PM EDT reply actions

Ray is an interesting callup considering he never pitched above Double-A until this year…though I guess you might as well take a flyer on the guy since no one else in Vegas is lighting it up.

I will honestly take a pitching machine set at half-speed over ever having to see Burres in a Jays uniform again.

We WILL see a parade down Yonge Street one day soon...and I WILL be very drunk.

by snaptoit on May 1, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

You've heard of Tom, Dick and Harry...

Well now meet… Cecil, Ray and the Wolfman. I’ve NEVER seen a teams BEST lefty pitching prospect and a teams BEST righty pitching prospect get called up the same day! I wonder if it’s ever happened before?

If Ray hadn’t been injured as much as he has we’d all know more about him. The guy in a ground ball machine. Cecil is either READY – or VERY CLOSE to being ready.

By the All Star break – at the latest – we can pick and choose from: Halladay, Romero, Richmond, Tallet, Purcey, Cecil, Ray, Mills and Janssen. ALL those guys are MLB caliber pitchers – or will be. Go Jays.

by Mylegacy on May 1, 2009 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

callups

A pitching machine at 1/2 speed? LMAO snaptoit! I think Pedro is done & clearly our own veteran reclamation project Wade Miller isn’t ready or we would have called him up instead. As long as we can hold on the next couple of weeks & keep hitting, hopefully we will have Romero & Janssen as options which will help drastically. Burres was awful in Baltimore – who seriously thought he could be a miracle worker here? With only 2 days off in May, I think the Jays brass is worried about the consequences of a 4 man rotation. However, if the injury situation doesn’t improve, I think they should do it, even if for a couple of weeks. Right now – Halladay, Richmond, & 3 days of hopes & prayers – our bullpen will get slaughtered this month at that pace.

by djayfan77 on May 1, 2009 1:54 PM EDT reply actions

no they won't go to a four man rotation....

We have enough sore arms as it is. Tallet’s only had one bad start….let’s not throw him away yet. Cecil looked good this spring. He is the real thing. If he has a bad start or two let’s not decide to cast him off. Ray ought to be interesting to watch he could be good. If not Romero will be back in a couple of weeks. Janssen should be ready soon. Litsch should be back by the end of the month. Don’t live or die on every start.

by Tom Dakers on May 1, 2009 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Purcey down, but not out, maybe

Purcey definitely struggled during his time with the Jays this year, except for the first game versus Detroit. That said, the guy does seem to have some talent … good speed and curve ball. I am thinking he might need just another year in the minors to polish off his pitches and than could be quite respectable. Am I reading it wrong? Any folks with good pitching knowledge and logged some time watching Purcey who can comment? Thx.

by aagoodfella on May 1, 2009 3:30 PM EDT reply actions

The thing that worries me about Purcey

is that he is not young. He just turned 27, so he really needs to get his problems corrected and, depending on how the rotation is holding out, possibly come back up this season if someone needs to miss one. With Janssen, Litsch and Romero all hopefully coming back at once, there will not be many openings in the Jays rotation, particularly if Cecil and Ray perform as we hope they will.

"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

by jessef on May 1, 2009 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions

gotta say cecil being rushed doesn't impress me

Nor does yo-yo-ing Purcey around. 5 mixed starts is not worth bringing up your best prospect who has pitched worse at AAA than Purcey did in the Majors. Do not risk Cecil’s future and confidence when he has proven from spring forward that he is not ready yet. I mean cmon, guys like Beckett have a worse ERA than Purcey-it’s 5 starts! Unless they are drastically altering something with Purcey in the minors I can’t see much value in it. There is little reason to think he is going to be any worse on Saturday or going forward than the likes of Ray or Cecil. This seems purely reactionary to the record of the club.

At least Burres is hopefully dead now. With the Jays I mean…

And Wolfe over Bullington is a welcome change.

by Waveburner29 on May 2, 2009 4:05 AM EDT reply actions

the Jays have been impatient in the past with their young starters

when the young starters have not thrown strikes. both Litsch and Marcum were sent down to the minors last season, and neither was pitching particularly badly at the time. I think each one had three successive subpar starts before being sent down, and Marcum at least was not throwing strikes. And the Jays were basically out of contention last season so the only reason for sending them down was the pitchers’ development. Both Litsch and Marcum were much better on their return.

With an organizational philosophy like that, it’s not too surprising that they sent Purcey down when they did. I wouldn’t have done it, but I’m not surprised the club did. And I actually don’t think it was about the club’s record. As you point out, the Jays probably wouldn’t be any worse with Purcey on the mound – I think it’s about getting him on track for the rest of the season. Chances are that he’ll be back once he has 2-3 good starts in the minors.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on May 2, 2009 6:45 AM EDT up reply actions