DUNEDIN, Fla. – Mark Buehrle hopes that he and R.A. Dickey will have company in the 200-inning club this year. By the end of the season, Buehrle would like to see Drew Hutchison and Marcus Stroman pitch close to 200 innings, too.
Buehrle doesn’t push that threshold on his younger teammates, but he believes it’s worth striving for. And he’s an authority on the subject after 14 consecutive seasons of 200-plus innings.
“I think that’s a good mark to go off of, because if you’re going 200 innings you’re going to get your strikeouts, you’re going to get your wins, everything else is going to come into place,” Buehrle said. “I’ve always said when you’re going deep into games, you’ve got a better chance to win. You know you’re not getting your butt handed to you because you’re going deep into games.”
Hutchison (184.2) and Stroman (130.2) both set career-highs in innings in 2014.
Some more notes from Blue Jays camp:
- The Blue Jays are confident Brett Cecil will be good to go opening day. “I think he’s going to be ready, there’s no question in my mind,” Gibbons said. The left-hander did not play catch Monday morning, but he’s “feeling fine” according to Walker. The Blue Jays hope Cecil will resume throwing bullpens this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday.
- Bench coach DeMarlo Hale believes Maicer Izturis can help the Blue Jays even if he doesn’t win the starting second base job. “Maybe if it’s not one role he can fill another role because of his versatility,” Hale said. “It’s not just ‘I’m the starting second baseman or I’m competing the starting second baseman,’ it’s what role that you might fit if you’re not the guy and he has shown the versatility that’s important for the team.”
- Jeff Francis has impressed some onlookers this spring and I’m starting to wonder if he could be a first line of defence for the Blue Jays should they need an extra starter or lefty reliever. The good news: Francis has options, meaning he can be shuttled back and forth between triple-A and Toronto provided he provides advance consent. He’s even working on lowering his arm slot at times to create additional deception. “As you get a little bit older you can reinvent yourself a little bit,” pitching coach Pete Walker said. “He’s a guy who’s trying to do that. He’s certainly going to get a long look here and if he fits into the plans, he fits into the plans.” The bad news for Francis: he has a 5.22 ERA with nearly 11 hits allowed per nine innings since winning 17 games for the 2007 Colorado Rockies team that reached the World Series.
- Daric Barton and Justin Smoak continue flashing strong defence at first base, giving the Blue Jays a couple of potential defensive difference makers.
- Kyle Drabek may be out of options, but that will only help his case so much. If he doesn’t command the ball — or at least attack the strike zone — it’d be tough to justify putting him on the roster.
- Expect the timeline for pitching decisions to extend late into spring. But many of those who don’t make the team will still be counted on over the course of the season. “The guys that don’t make the team, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to be a big part of the team all season long,” Gibbons said. “They know that.”
- Who’s poised to become the next Todd Redmond and go from the waiver wire to the bullpen? Colt Hynes looked good early, and Matt West has power stuff worth keeping an eye on, though neither could reasonably be considered a frontrunner for an opening day bullpen role.
