- Jason Frasor, who's struggled immensely this season, was sent down to the minors this past Friday. Dustin McGowan, who's performed adequately in AAA, was called up to replace him in the bullpen.
Frasor's struggles this season have been somewhat surprising considering how reliable he was during the previous two seasons. Entering the season, he appeared to be one of the few safe options out of the bullpen. For one thing, Pete Walker, Vinnie Chulk, Brian Tallet, and Scott Schoeneweis (unless he's facing left-handed batters) simply aren't good pitchers. Unless Frasor has an undisclosed injury of some sort that has led to a decrease in velocity, I fail to comprehend how he wouldn't post superior totals to the aforementioned fab four. In all honestly (and this is probably the case with many teams) I only really trust the setup man and the closer, Justin Speier and B.J. Ryan, respectively.
I've long been a supporter of McGowan's. He has great raw talent and is about as major league ready as any pitcher in the Blue Jays' farm system. On the surface, he certainly didn't dominate AAA this season (5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings), but his 17:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio bodes very well for the future. If he can maintain a low walk rate -- which he's consistently had trouble with in the past -- he could be a force out of the bullpen. Also, I'm not entirely sure what the team's long-term plans are with him (I'm not entirely sure the team is entirely sure, either). If he blossoms into an above average (or even average, really) major league pitcher, it'd be wise to yield more innings from him. Naturally, that would mean a switch from a relief role to a starting one.
If and when Frasor returns to the majors, I'm not necessarily convinced it'll be in place of McGowan. Although that's the likely scenario, demoting Tallet or Walker may be a more suitable option, considering how well McGowan pitches.
- Scott Downs was recently placed on the bereavement list to be with his infant daughter, who's been hospitalized. Obviously that's a very serious matter, and Downs should be given full discretion in regards to how long he should remain away from the club. I'm not absolutely positive, but I believe a player can spend a maximum of seven days on the bereavement list before he must be moved to the disabled list.
- The Blue Jays finished the month of April with a record of 12-11. It's not anything to write home about, of course, but they're currently in the thick of the race for the division lead, which is what's ultimately important. Here's how the Jays have historically fared in the month of April:
Year April Record Final Record
1977 10-11 (.476) 54-107(.335)
1978 8-13 (.381) 59-102(.366)
1979 7-15 (.318) 53-109(.327)
1980 9-7 (.562) 67-95 (.414)
1981 7-12 (.368) 37-69 (.349) <-- Strike-shortened season
1982 8-12 (.400) 78-84 (.481)
1983 8-10 (.444) 89-73 (.549)
1984 13-9 (.591) 89-73 (.549)
1985 13-7 (.650) 99-62 (.615)
1986 9-11 (.450) 86-76 (.531)
1987 12-8 (.600) 96-66 (.593)
1988 9-13 (.409) 87-75 (.537)
1989 9-16 (.360) 89-73 (.549)
1990 12-9 (.571) 86-76 (.531)
1991 12-9 (.571) 88-74 (.562)
1992 16-7 (.696) 96-66 (.593)
1993 13-10 (.565) 95-67 (.586)
1994 14-10 (.583) 55-60 (.478) <-- Strike-shortened season
1995 3-2 (.600) 56-88 (.389) <-- Strike-shortened season
1996 11-14 (.440) 74-88 (.457)
1997 11-12 (.478) 76-86 (.469)
1998 10-16 (.385) 88-74 (.543)
1999 13-11 (.542) 84-78 (.519)
2000 12-14 (.462) 83-79 (.512)
2001 16-9 (.640) 80-82 (.494)
2002 8-16 (.333) 78-84 (.481)
2003 10-17 (.370) 86-76 (.531)
2004 7-15 (.318) 67-94 (.416)
2005 13-12 (.520) 80-82 (.494)
2006 12-11 (.522) ?All-Time April Record: 315-322 (.495)
All-Time Final Record: 2255-2318 (.493)
Average April W%: .487
Median April W%: .477The Blue Jays' all-time record in April is considerably similar to their all-time franchise record. Also, it's clear that the team's record in the opening month of the season is not indicative of its record for the remainder of the season. Remember, it's only one month out of six, or approximately 17% of the season. It's best to reserve judgement until a longer portion of the season has passed.
- Alexis Rios and Vernon Wells enjoyed a career month in April. Rios hit .362/.368/.725/1.093 while Wells hit a highly impressive .396/.437/.740/1.176. During a recent Blue Jays redio broadcast, Jerry Howart described Rios' and Wells' month of April as the best "line drive month" he's ever witnessed. By that he means that a very high percentage of the balls they hit were hard line drives, and whether they were hits or outs is of minimal importance. Now, it's probable that he's an unfortunate victim of recency error, but it's hard to argue against him.
- Random, funny picture of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash circa 1996:
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