Notes: Halladay back in groove
03/07/2006DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Three innings. Nine batters.
Roy Halladay was back to his usual self on Tuesday, when he easily disposed of the Reds hitters he faced in his second Spring Training start at Knology Park. Toronto's ace was especially pleased with the outing, considering his spring debut didn't go as smoothly.
On March 2, Halladay gave up four hits and four unearned runs in just one inning of a loss to Tampa Bay. This time, though, the right-hander needed just 25 pitches to make his way once through the Reds lineup, and he forced five groundouts in the process.
"Last time, some of the fly balls were still bloopers, but [the hitters] were getting the bottom half, so it's a little elevated," Halladay said. "Location-wise, I was better down in the zone and early. If I can work down and get ahead, staying down, then I can get them to try and swing a bit earlier and hopefully hit the ball into the ground. That's always key for me."
The only batter who managed a hit against Halladay was former Toronto shortstop Felipe Lopez, who reached on a single to left. Lopez was then retired when Halladay picked him off while he was trying to steal second base.
After Lopez, Scott Hatteberg chopped a ball up the middle that bounced off Halladay's foot -- a scary reminder of the line drive that broke the pitcher's left tibia last July. Halladay fielded Hatteberg's hit and threw him out at first.
But did Halladay flinch?
"No," he said with a laugh. "I don't know where it hit me. I didnt feel it. I think it hit me on the bottom of the shoe."
After the first inning, Halladay set down the next six batters in order, including one strikeout to Austin Kearns.
"The first inning, there were a couple balls -- the base hit and the one back at me -- that [I left] more in the middle," Halladay said. "But I felt in the second and third inning [that] I was able to start locating a little bit better. I threw a good changeup and a couple decent curveballs."
While Halladay was happy with his results against Cincinnati, he still felt that it wasn't the sharpest he's been this spring. Other than his two spring starts, Halladay also threw in the first intrasquad game earlier this spring and needed just seven pictches to retire the only three batters he faced.
"I think stuff-wise, some of the batting practices have been a little better," Halladay said. "I had a little more movement, and I don't know if it's wind -- I don't know what it was. [Tuesday] was good, but there's always things you're looking to improve, especially in Spring Training. You're trying to find those things and work them out."
Checkups: Outfielder Reed Johnson hit off a tee and in a soft-toss session with manager John Gibbons on Tuesday. Johnson swung a bat in a cage over the weekend, but he didn't hit baseballs. Last week, Gibbons said that Johnson experienced pain in his right elbow while swinging, so he took some time off from hitting activities.
Johnson has been feeling pain in his elbow for the last couple of weeks, and he hasn't been throwing during that period. The left fielder was shagging fly balls in the outfield during batting practice, but he was either having another player throw balls back to the infield for him or tossing them in underhand. No timetable has been set for when Johnson might start taking part in throwing excercises again.
Reliever Justin Speier has been throwing with a splint on his injured middle finger for the last four or five days. Tuesday was the first day that the 32-year-old right-hander played catch without wearing the splint. Speier said that his finger, which he aggravated in the first batting practice of the spring, was feeling better and that he was still on pace to test it in a bullpen session on Thursday.
If everything goes well in the bullpen session, Speier should begin making appearances in some Spring Training contests. If he still experiences pain, Speier said that he'll receive a cortisone shot and would probably be questionable for Opening Day. The middle finger is the same one that suffered a strained tendon last September.
Long gone: A small crowd formed around a TV inside Toronto's clubhouse to catch some of the Dominican Republic-Venezuela World Baseball Classic game. The Toronto spectators tuned in just in time to see former Blue Jays closer Miguel Batista take the mound for the Dominicans.
When Batista entered the game, his team was winning, 6-0. When he was removed, Venezuela trailed, 6-4. The right-hander gave up two home runs -- a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera and a solo shot by Edgardo Alfonzo.
Batista, who was traded with Orlando Hudson to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Troy Glaus and Sergio Santos in December, allowed four runs on five hits in three innings.
Quotable: "The Dominicans are going to beat everyone easy." -- George Bell, who was born in San Pedro de Macoris, D.R., while watching the Dominicans play Venezuela on TV
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
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