The return of Roy Halladay to his rightful place atop the Blue Jays rotation could not come at a better time.
Back on June 12, while pitching to the first batter of the fourth inning of an interleague contest against the Florida Marlins, Halladay threw a pitch, awkwardly stepped away from the mound, and looked to the bench like something was wrong. Rod Barajas trotted out while manager Cito Gaston and the head trainer wandered out to see what was up.
Halladay, at 10-1 and in the midst of his best start to a Major League season, had felt something pull in his groin. After throwing a couple of pitches to see if he could continue, they shut him down and he hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch since.
That is until Monday when division-rival Tampa Bay arrives for their first visit of 2009 having just knocked the Jays down to their pre-determined spot as the number four team in the ultra-competitive A.L. East.
Halladay’s return couldn’t be better timed. With Doc on the sidelines for 15 days, throwing in the bullpen and with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg in the outfield, the Jays have basically spun their wheels, going 7-7 without their ace. The other starters have done their best to keep the team afloat, but with all the injuries and youngsters Brad Mills and Brett Cecil getting the classic baptism-by-fire with the Jays instead of honing their craft in the minors, games falling off the schedule while backing through the division isn’t helping their waning playoff chances.
Halladay also returns at a time when the Blue Jays schedule, arguably light to this point in the season, starts to really toughen up beginning Monday. From this point forward, the Jays have 85 games remaining and the breakdown of those games doesn’t exactly inspire optimism. Fifty -seven of those games come within their own division.
Rays: nine home, nine road
Yankees: six home, nine road
Red Sox: six home, six road
Orioles: six home, six road
The Jays also have 21 games remaining on their schedule against teams currently above .500 outside of the AL East, so it’s a tall task indeed.
The return of Halladay, whose season stats still put him right at the top of the Cy Young race, also gives the rest of the pencil-thin rotation someone to follow and puts them back into their proper slots. Brian Tallet has been the best of the bunch. When he’s been good, he’s been very good, but as we saw on Sunday against the Phillies (six walks) when he’s off, he’s way off.
Ricky Romero is still a raw rookie, but he is starting to look like a first-round pick. Scott Richmond has pitched surprisingly well and he keeps the Jays in most of his starts. Cecil is a work in progress. And when you put these names up against the other beasts of the East, Halladay is the only one you’d take if you were allowed to pick five to start your fantasy rotation.
Roy Halladay returns and that’s a good thing as the Jays try and stay in the playoff hunt. After that, cross your fingers and hope that the offence can continue to steal wins here and there like they have done to this point.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
One of the biggest mysteries to this point in the season is Vernon Wells’ inability to hit at home. After Sunday’s 0-for-5 – with only one ball hit out of the infield – Wells is now hitting just .168 at the Rogers Centre, the lowest of any American League regular in his own park this season. Kind of makes you wonder why he is continually placed in the middle of the lineup on a daily basis.
In my 17 years in the booth, I can’t remember a more frustrating pitcher to watch than Brandon League. When his power sinker is on, he’s one of the most unhittable pitchers in the game. But when he’s off, like he’s been over his past 15 appearances (18 hits, 13 earned runs), League looks like he might be best served getting it together in Triple-A. Unfortunately, with injuries having left the entire pitching staff dangerously thin, the cupboard is bare in Las Vegas.
With his two home runs Sunday off Jamie Moyer, Aaron Hill now has 19 on the season, breaking the Blue Jays record for home runs by a second baseman in a season that previously had been held by Roberto Alomar. That put Hill on a pace to hit 40 home runs this season. And remembering that a year ago, he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome and couldn’t perform even mild tasks without feeling physically ill, there’s no reason that Hill shouldn’t be the front-runner for the A.L. Comeback Player of the Year, outside of the fact that he plays in Canada and doesn’t get a lot of ink south of the border.
Perhaps getting picked for the upcoming All-Star game might remedy that.
