Facing a lefty isn't all right
HOUSTON -- As long as there's a righty on the mound, everyone in Toronto's clubhouse is happy. When the opponent starts a southpaw, that's when John Gibbons has to manage around some egos.Toronto's skipper learned that in recent days, when the Blue Jays faced three left-handed pitchers in a four-game span. Consequently, that meant Gibbons had to placate a few starters and explain why their platoon mates were in the lineup.
"You try to keep everybody happy and get everybody an opportunity," said Gibbons. "It's tough. Somebody's always getting cheated out there. Not by design, but everybody can't play everyday."
Eric Hinske, Orlando Hudson and Russ Adams were all back on the field Saturday, but Gibbons underscored the bottom line. None of them were thrilled about missing three starts, and it barely helped that Toronto went 2-1 in those games.
The next four days may appease that group and irritate someone else. The Jays are slated to face four straight right-handed starters, which means that Gibbons can pencil in his regulars every day. Of course, that would mean that his bench players went right back to the bench.
In baseball, as in life, nothing's ever that simple.
"You've got to try to balance it," he said. "You've got to keep your bench players fresh and get them enough at-bats so when you need them, their timing's where it needs to be. You've got to keep everybody involved because you need everybody over the course of a long season."
Gibbons was a reserve during his brief big league career, and he was asked if his playing experience had anything to do with his empathy for his backups. With that, the skipper noted that his 18-game career was really too brief to come to any wide-ranging conclusions.
"I was always [upset], so I appreciate that side of it a little more," he said. "From this side, you try to set your team to win every game. And then you just hope that you do."
Waiting list: The Blue Jays are exercising due patience with two of their top prospects, allowing them to progress toward the big leagues at their own pace. Guillermo Quiroz and Francisco Rosario seemed to be on a similar track before the season, but now they have two completely different situations.
Quiroz is currently out with a collapsed lung, and the Jays don't expect him back until late July or early August. The catching prospect will need plenty of game action before he can progress any further, which means that he'll likely miss a September callup for the second straight season.
J.P. Ricciardi, Toronto's general manager, said that he just wants to see Quiroz on the field by August.
"That's what we're targeting for him to get out and play," said Ricciardi. "In September, we're going to talk to him about coming to Instructional League to catch and work on his stuff. We also want to get him into the Arizona Fall League and get him into camp quick."
Rosario, meanwhile, is thriving at Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander is one of Toronto's most intriguing arms in the high Minors, but the Jays don't want to rush him. He's 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 12 starts for Syracuse, but he hasn't pitched more than 100 innings since the 2002 season.
The youngster has had Tommy John surgery since then, but he appears to be all the way back. He'll likely make his big league debut at some point this season, but Toronto isn't quite sure when.
"Not yet," said Gibbons. "You know he's there. As the season goes on, he's a guy you'd probably like to get up here at some point.
"He's been a little inconsistent -- he's very good at times and he's struggled at times."
Top of the hill: Vernon Wells, Toronto's center fielder, said he's not particularly worried about the hill in straightaway center at Minute Maid Park. He said he hasn't walked out there and hasn't thought about how he'd play a ball that carried back there -- largely because it's too deep for most hitters to reach.
The center field fence is 436 feet deep in Houston, and Wells said he'll worry about navigating the hill when the time comes.
"That's too far away for me to even be concerned with," he said. "It will be tough to get back on the ball anyway, in order to catch it -- even if it is on the hill. I'm not going to play deeper just because there's a lot more room out there. Hopefully, it doesn't come into play."
Quotable: "We've got to get our starting pitching on track. That's the key -- it's going to take you where you want to go. That's no secret. It's always been that way in baseball." -- Gibbons, on leading his team out of its current funk
On deck: The Jays and Astros will meet in a Sunday matinee for the series finale, pitting Toronto's Josh Towers against Houston's Roy Oswalt.
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
<< Home