Notes: Lilly makes spring debut
03/05/2006DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Before Sunday's game against the Yankees, John Gibbons was asked when Ted Lilly last made a Spring Training start for Toronto. The Blue Jays skipper shrugged his shoulders and couldn't come up with an answer.
"Has he made one?" Gibbons asked the small crowd of reporters, which also had a hard time recalling the last time the lefty took the mound in March.
Believe it or not, Lilly made a pair of Spring Training starts back in 2004, but he missed most of that spring with a wrist injury. Lilly didn't pitch at all last spring due to shoulder issues.
There he was, though, back on the hill against New York at Knology Park -- a rare sight since he signed with Toronto before the '04 season.
"I'm ahead of schedule if you compare it to last year," Lilly joked. "This is something that I missed and that I needed to do. It's nice [to be back on the mound]."
Lilly pitched threw 36 pitches -- 24 for strikes -- in two innings against the Yankees. He gave up one run on five hits and struck out one. His outing wasn't picture perfect, but the southpaw said afterwards that he was focussing more on making quality pitches, rather than worrying about the outcome.
"Obviously, I don't want to go out there and give up runs, but the objective is to make good pitches and if guys happen to get infield hits, that's going to happen," Lilly said. "That's the objective, especially here in Spring Training, to not focus so much on the results at this point."
Toronto is counting on better results from Lilly during this season.
Last year, the left-hander missed a month in the second half with biceps tendinitis. Lilly finished 10-11 with a 5.56 ERA a year after being selected as an American League All-Star and posting his second straight 12-win season. He notched just 25 starts after making at least 30 starts the previous two years.
"If we're going to do anything this year, we need a big year out of him," Gibbons said. "So the sooner he can get ready the better. He's feeling good."
One more to go: Left-handed pitcher Adrian Burnside will head to Orlando on Monday to join Team Australia for the World Baseball Classic. Burnside -- born in Alice Springs, Australia -- is excited about his chance to represent his country.
"I don't know what to expect. But baseball is baseball, so it should be fun," Burnside said.
Australia is in Pool D of the tournament with the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Italy. The Australians' first game is against Toronto's Frank Catalanotto and Team Italy at 8 p.m. [ET] on Tuesday in Orlando. The Dominicans and the Venezuelans are the heavy favorites to advance to the second round, but Burnside isn't heading to the Classic worrying about his team's chances.
"Well, I don't think many people thought Korea would beat Japan," Burnside said with a smile. "You never know."
Besides Burnside and Catalanotto, Vernon Wells (Team USA), Alex Rios (Puerto Rico), Gustavo Chacin (Venezuela) and Vince Perkins (Canada) are the other Blue Jays taking part in the innaugural tournament.
Burnside made his first appearance of the spring on Sunday and picked up the loss against the Yankees. The 6-foot-3 left-hander gave up one run on three hits in one inning. Burnside also had one strikeout and one walk.
Progress: The Spring Training season is still young, but Gibbons has liked what he's seen so far from new second baseman Aaron Hill.
"The few days I've seen, I've got a pretty good idea of how he's going to be," Gibbons said. "I think he's going to be solid. I think he's going to improve throughout the year. As the season goes on, he's going to get better and more comfortable out there."
On Sunday, Hill flashed some of his solid glovework in the second inning. Hill made a sliding grab behind second base on a grounder from New York's Robinson Cano. After the 23-year-old infielder recovered, he threw to first base from his knees to force Cano out.
Hill's defense at second isn't the main concern right now for the Blue Jays. He is a converted shortstop and spent time at third, short and second last year with Toronto. What Hill is working on the most is turning double plays from the right side.
"I saw enough of him out there last year," Gibbons said. "The big thing is he's got to get his footwork down. He's got to get his hands down. [Toronto infield instructor Brian Butterfield] is working with him on getting his hands together on the turn and that's going to come with time."
Guests of honor: Former Toronto manager Cito Gaston and former Blue Jays outfielder George Bell have made appearances at Knology Park this weekend as guest coaches for the Jays. On Saturday, Gaston and Bell sat together next to Toronto's dugout during the game against the Phillies and the crowd gave the pair a warm round of applause before the first pitch. Former Toronto pitcher Pat Hentgen has also been in camp working as a guest coach for Jays pitchers.
Back to camp: Catcher Robinzon Diaz, who was a non-roster invitee for Toronto, was returned to Minor League camp on Sunday.
Quotable: "This is a battle of cellar-dwellers then, right?" --Gibbons, joking about both the Blue Jays and Yankees entering Sunday's game without a win
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
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