Return of the King

I'm sure all of you have been suffering some form of depression during my month long absence. But fear not, I'm back and ready to get this shit rolling again.

So as many of you may have heard already, Brandon Morrow was put on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 22 due to forearm stiffness and will miss his first scheduled start of the 2011 campaign. According to Mr. Anthopolous, it doesn't seem too serious as he attributes Morrow's DL stint to just being "very cautious". So we can just assume that there is no serious damage, and the Jays are just trying not to push him so hard before we start kicking ass during games that actually count.

With that being said, we now have a semi-permanent rotation in place for at least the next two weeks where we will see Romero, Drabek, Cecil, Reyes and Litsch (in that order) taking turning spitting hot fire. It would have been easier two weeks ago to make a perfect NCAAB March Madness bracket than it would have been to predict the opening week roto for the Jays.

As much as I think Marc Rzepczynski (AKA Scrabble) deserved a shot in at least the 5th slot instead of being relegated to the bullpen, I think putting Reyes in there makes a bit more sense seeing as how Jo-Jo is out of options. Plus, its still early enough to switch him with Scrabble if Reyes really begins to struggle in the starters role.

Closing Up Shop


The battle for the title of closer is really simmering down and we now have a better idea of who is going to wear that crown. For my money, I'd have the massive (6'11") Jon Rauch shutting it down in the ninth. Aside from the fact that most people would shit their pants to stand in front of someone that big tossing fire at them, he seems to be having a great spring so far (1-0,  0.00 ERA, 1SV, 6K, 2BB over 7.0 IP). He was also the closer for the Twins last year, converting 21 of 25 save opportunities.

The other candidates for the closer role include Octavio Dotel, Jason Frasor, and Frank Francisco. With both Dotel and Francisco landing on the DL with a strained hamstring and right pectoral muscle tightness respectively, and Jason Frasor fucking the dog in his past time as a closer on top of an average spring (2.25 ERA, 2K, 2BB, 4.0IP) I can't see any significant challengers in this role until Dotel and Francisco are healthy again.

Sell Outs


It was announced Wednesday that the Blue Jays Home Opener against the Minnesota Twins next Friday is sold out. SOLD THE FUCK OUT! I thought someone had slipped me some acid when I first heard the news, but it has been confirmed. I can't remember the last time the Jays officially sold out the Skydome (yes I still call it that) but I'm glad that people are finally paying some attention and more notably, showing the rest of the MLB that Canadians actually give half a shit about baseball.

So if you have a ticket, be sure to get belligerently drunk and show your support for the hometown team. This guide from Drunk Jays Fans is pretty bang with providing guidelines on what you should and shouldn't do when enjoying some ball on opening day. With that being said, I need to go and train my liver for next Friday.