But, breaking through that traditional belief can be difficult. After all, who really wants to see things like VORP, BABIP or WAR on a screen while watching a game? It just doesn’t quite feel right. Because statistics like ERA and won-loss record are continually used, they become a ingrained and form a perception about a player. That’s why a pitcher with a 10-11 record along with a 4.72 ERA is thought of as nothing more than, at best, a league average pitcher.

The Toronto Blue Jays, however, decided to give their 27 year old starting pitcher Brandon Morrow a two year contract worth $20 million. Morrow is guaranteed $4 million for 2012 and $8 million in 2013 and 2014. The Blue Jays hold a club option for $10 million in 2015. Morrow, the starter turned reliever turned back to starter again, is that pitcher with the 10-11 record and 4.72 ERA. The Blue Jays would never be confused with the Yankees or other big market teams. While the organization has systematically locked up their talent such as Jose Bautista and Rickey Romero, the idea of throwing $20 million to a pitcher who has some injury history and hasn’t produced anything more than league average results seems a bit of a stretch.

Except, that it really isn’t.

The Toronto Blue Jays may just be getting themselves quite a bargain. Brandon Morrow will enter his age 27 season and just his third season as a full-time starting pitcher. Once the Seattle Mariners’ top prospect, Morrow was used out of the bullpen during his first two seasons, even closing games during the 2008 season. The Mariners were a bit scared of his injury trouble during the 2009 season. The organization evidently refused to admit that shifting pitching roles multiple times with a such a young pitcher is dangerous business. They shipped him to Toronto in exchange for reliever Brandon League. League did prove valuable as a reliever, but the Blue Jays have reaped the benefits of making Morrow a full-time starter and continuing to give him the ball.

Morrow compiled a record of 10-7 during the 2009 season in 26 starts. He was shut down in late September to preserve his innings count. In 146.1 innings, he allowed just 8.5 H/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 10.6 K/9. Had Morrow pitched enough innings to be considered a league leader, his 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings would’ve led all of Major League Baseball. He was the only pitcher to average over 10 strikeouts per nine. His walk total was obviously too high, but he made up for it by eliciting swings and misses closes to 15 percent of the time on pitches within the strike zone. In other words, he might put himself into stressful situations, but he is more than capable of getting out of them. While he is not a ground ball pitcher, he did compile a 0.97 ground ball to fly ball ratio.

The strikeouts were impressive, as was the August 8th 1 hit shutout of the Tampa Bay Rays during which he struck out 17 batters. But, that 4.49 ERA screamed mediocrity. That’s where the advanced metrics come in to give a more complete picture. His 2010 BABIP was .342. That’s indication of some bad luck. With the league average hovering around .315, it means that when batters did make contact in 2010, a few more balls found holes in the defense. Then, one can look at his 3.16 FIP, a measure of how well a pitcher succeeds when defense is taken out of the equation. The difference between his ERA and FIP are great, meaning that his defense really hurt him. The 2010 Blue Jays defense certainly wasn’t good. They ranked 9th in the American League in terms of UZR at minus-2.5. That coincides with Morrow’s high BABIP.

2011 was quite similar for Morrow. While building his innings count, Morrow compiled that 10-11 record with the 4.72 ERA. In 179.1 innings, he allowed 8.1 H/9,  1.1 HR/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 10.2 K/9. Obviously, there are quite a few positives. First, he built his innings appropriately. The Blue Jays have been careful with him after having many of their young pitchers go down with injuries in the past decade. He cut his walk total while not sacrificing his strikeouts. His 10.2 strikeouts per nine led all American League starters and trailed only Zack Greinke for the Major League lead.

But, that ERA got worse. His BABIP even fell back down to a more normal .299 so even luck couldn’t be a cause. One cause is that his homerun rate did jump from 0.68 in 2010 to 1.05 in 2011. That will cause an ERA spike. But, his FIP was a more than solid 3.64 for season. That is still a huge disparity. But, then, you look at the defense and it starts to make sense again. The Blue Jays ranked 10th in the American League with a minus-10.4 UZR, meaning their ground covered was less than the season before. And, unlike 2010 when the defense didn’t make many errors, the 2011 club had the fourth highest total in the league with 110 errors. While those errors don’t add to the ERA, they do indicate a terrible defensive team that didn’t get to many balls and didn’t handle them well either.

ERA aside, Brandon Morrow has put together two very credible seasons befitting of a number two or three pitcher. His team has hurt him in terms of the traditional statistics. But, given his improved walk rate, his elite level strikeout rate, and that the Blue Jays are handling him properly, there is every reason to believe that Morrow can be one of the top pitchers in the sport. Even more exciting is that Morrow has compiled those numbers in the American League East, the most offensive division in the sport. The Red Sox knocked him around in four starts, but Morrow dominated the Yankees (2-1, 1.74 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 20 innings) and the Rays (2-2 3.38 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 24 innings). In two starts against the American League Champion Rangers, Morrow struck out 17 batters in 13 innings along with a 2.77 ERA.

There are still obstacles in front of Morrow as he heads into the 2012 season. His flyball rate cannot increase, especially when he pitches in the East. He will have to continue to decrease his walk total to avoid those possible bad luck scenarios. And, he will have to hope that the Blue Jays are a better defensive club in 2012. With essentially the same club returning, that may prove difficult. But, the stuff is there and it has been succeeding for the past two seasons. With some improved luck, improved command, and an improved defense, Morrow may just turn out to be the most surprising pitcher of 2012.

He has been a secret over the past two seasons for a couple of reasons. First, he is playing in Toronto which has really experiences Jose Bautista mania. Secondly, his traditional statistics aren’t all that special. But, hiding under the Bautista frenzy and the elevated ERA is a pitcher who has the stuff to dominate. Entering his third year as a full-time starter, it may just be time for Brandon Morrow to show just how dominant he can be.

BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

Toronto Blue Jays President Paul Beaston and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos made no secret of the fact that 2011 would be a transitional year for the team.  Expectations were tempered as the team was more interested in adding pieces, developing the future core group of young players and finding out exactly what this team had, and if all went well maybe 2012 would be the year they went for it.

The result was a mixed bag of ups and downs for the Toronto Blue Jays 2011 season and the end result was a 4^th place finish and an 81-81 record for season.  The positives included the emergence of Brett Lawrie, the continued development of Ricky Romero as a staff ace and the surprising success of Henderson Alverez.  Some of the negatives included Travis Snider’s continued inability to live up to his potential, an ominous beginning to the career of Kyle Drabek who was the key piece sent in return for Roy Halladay, and a Jekyll and Hyde season from Adam Lind.

Rotation: Grade C
The obvious bright spot of the rotation was Rickey Romero who finished the year with 225 IP, a 2.92 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  Things kind of fell apart from there as Brandon Morrow couldn’t build off his second half success from 2010 and did his best A.J. Burnett impression by looking unhittable one night and awful the next.  Jo-Jo Reyes was released after 20 horrendous starts, Kyle Drabek was sent down to Las Vegas after an unremarkable half season, Brett Cecil’s fastball disappeared and it took 12 starts in the minors for him to find it again, and a revolving door of Carlos Villanueva, Luis Perez, Brad Mills, Jesse Litsch, and Zach Stewart didn’t fair much better.

It was not all bad however as fans witnessed a remarkable comeback from Dustin McGowan, who hadn’t pitched in 3 years as a result of injuries, and even though his results were mixed just seeing him on the mound again was all that seemed to matter.  Additionally, Henderson Alvarez opened some eyes with an impressive 10 start performance with the big club to close out the season.

Bullpen: Grade C
Frank Francisco the teams’ closer started the season on the DL and just didn’t seem right until after the All-star break.  He lost his role as closer to Jon Rauch who was equally unsuccessful, then regained the role and finishing the season strong.  It was also a tale of two seasons for the rest of the bullpen as Marc Rzepczynski, Jason Frasor and Octavio Dotel were traded mid season which left the team without any reliable options in the pen other than Casey Janssen.

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Catchers: Grade B-
Rookie catcher J.P. Arencibia immediately played himself into the starting role and performed admirably in his 129 games.  His defensive abilities, which were identified as a weakness to begin the season, steadily improved although he still needs to work on blocking balls in the dirt. Arencibia who is known for his power didn’t disappoint knocking 23 home runs and coming one short of setting a team record for most home runs by a rookie, and for most this was enough to overlook his pedestrian .282 on-base percentage.  Back-up Jose Molina had what may have been his best season, posting a stat line of .281/.342/.415.

Infield: Grade B-
Going around the horn beginning with first base, Adam Lind was given the Blue Jays everyday job in spite of not having played there since college.  The big concern going into the season was how he could handle the position defensively, however he played the position like he had been doing so for years, consistently scooping throws out of the dirt and committing only 4 errors all season.  Lind also got off to a strong start offensively putting up a pre all-star break stat line of .300/.349/.515, however his second half was historically bad leading many to question how healthy he really was and some fans suggesting the team should find an alternative solution in 2012 at 1^st base.

At second base incumbent Aaron Hill put up a second consecutive disappointing season offensively, and this year his power also disappeared. Hill was eventually dealt along with John MacDonald to Arizona for Kelly Johnson.  At shortstop Yunel Escobar dazzled on defense and also had a strong year offensively leading to a season of 4.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

The 2011 season at Third base for the Blue Jays didn’t start off with a bang as Edwin Encarnacion received more playing time than anyone expected, or wanted, then Jayson Nix started to receive regular playing time before getting released, then the team had to move Jose Bautista to third base from RF temporarily.  On August 4^th,  Langley, British Columbia’s Brett Lawrie was called up from Las Vegas to take over the 3^rd base position permanently and an instant sensation was born.  Before going down with a broken bone in his hand in the final week of the season, Lawrie in 150 at bats slugged 8 doubles, 4 triples and 9 home runs on his way to a stat line of .293/.373/.580.

Outfield: Grade B+
The shining star of the Toronto Blue Jays was once again right fielder Jose Bautista.  After signing a 5 year contract extension in the off season, Bautista followed up with a second consecutive Hank Aaron award given to the top hitter in the American league and Silver Slugger award for the best hitter at his position.

In centerfield the season began with Rajai Davis manning the position and although he continued to steal bases at an impressive rate, he just didn’t get on base at an acceptable rate.  Then Alex Anthopoulos pulled off what was deemed the deal of the century, acquiring Colby Rasmus for what was thought to be very little.  Rasmus was immediately identified as a core piece of the teams’ future, however after much turmoil with Tony LaRussa in St. Louis he never got his head straight and struggled mightily in his brief time with Toronto.

In left field Travis Snider started the season in what many expected would finally be his break out season.  Unfortunately it was more of the same from previous season which saw his continued inconsistent play lead to multiple demotions.  Rookie Eric Thames was then given the everyday job in the second half of the season and put up respectable numbers in 95 games, including hitting 24 doubles, 5 triples and 12 home runs.

Top Offensive Player
Since I voted for Jose Bautista for first place in my Stan Musial Award ballot here…

An award given out by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance for the Top Player in the American League, I think it is safe to say that I also think he was the top offensive player for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011.

Top Pitcher
This one is fairly easy call as well, as Ricky Romero season was far better than anyone else on the team in 2011.  Although some advance statistics suggest that if it weren’t for bad luck, Brandon Morrow would have been the best pitcher on the team, however I’m not buying it.

Peter DeMarco
Some Thoughts on Baseball

Starting Rotation: The Blue Jays starting rotation has always been the achilles heel of the team, but that all changed last season. The Jays have developed a rotation that doesn’t need the offense to out-slug the other teams for victories—but a staff that keeps runs off the board. Expect the Jays staff to continue being a strong point this season

Ricky Romero leads the Toronto rotation coming off of his second full season as a starting pitcher. The Cal State Fullerton product shaved a half of a run off of his rookie season ERA while pitching over 50 more innings. Romero pitches in the low 90s with excellent command. However, it is his off-speed pitches that allows him to dominate the A.L. East lineups. The Jays will look towards Romero to not only lead their young staff, but to improve upon his 3.73 ERA from last season.

Brandon Morrow came over to the Jays after spending his first three big league seasons in Seattle. Morrow possesses ace-quality stuff but was not able to consistently translate it on the mound. The Mariners slowed his development by not giving him a defined role, having him pitch in the bullpen for part of the year and starting the rest. However, with the Jays he became a full-time starter and rewarded them with arguably the most dominant pitching performance of the season—a 17 strikeout one-hit gem against the Tampa Rays. The Jays hope to harness Morrow’s untapped potential (95 mph heat) and unleash his power-pitching ability on the rest of the East.

Brett Cecil burst onto the scene last season by winning 15 games in his first full season of starting. The 23-year-old lefty is not a flame-thrower like some of his rotation counterparts, but can still reach the mid 90s when he needs extra velocity. However, Cecil relies on command of all his pitches and the movement he incurs on the ball. Cecil utilizes his cut fastball against lefties and righties, limiting them to a .264 batting average against him. Cecil will be asked to once again help anchor the rotation and supply the Jays with 200 plus innings for the first time in his young career.

Kyle Drabek has all of three starts in his major league career but in being counted on by the Jays to help fill one of their five rotation spots. However, Drabek is not an ordinary young pitcher. If you seem to recognize his last name it is because his father, Doug Drabek, was an N.L. Cy-Young award winner during his time in the major leagues. His son was the prized prospect the Jays received in return for shipping Roy Halladay to Philadelphia. The 6’1” Texan possesses a mid 90s fastball and a devasting 12 to 6 curveball. Look for Drabek to win a spot out of Spring Training and make an immediate impact, however, an innings limit may be in effect for the youngster.

The final spot in the rotation will come down to a battle between four-year veteran Jesse Litsch and Marc Rzepczynski who has all of 33 games started in the majors. Whoever wins the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation will only be asked to give the Jays a chance to win and help rest up the bullpen. Look for Rzepczynski to win the battle during the Spring and earn the last spot, helped by some promising starts he made last season along with his room for improvement.

Bullpen: The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has been steady throughout this past decade. The Jays have been known to have hard throwers in their pen who have been taught the art of the cutter and sinker to add movement to their pitches. This season will be more of the same for the Jays as all of their acquisitions and hold-overs possess big-time arms and will give the opposition fits in the late inning.

Frank Francisco is one of the three new acquisitions manager John Farrell will be able to play with this season. Francisco has the highest octane repertoire of the three pitchers and is the favorite to earn the closer’s role this spring. Francisco, 31, possesses a fastball that touches the upper 90s but his out-pitch is a split-finger fastball. He hops across the border after spending his first six seasons with the Rangers where he served as the closer until Neftali Feliz took over the reigns. Francisco suffered a minor injury last week but the Jays hope he will provide veteran experience and help stabilize the back of the bullpen.

Octavio Dotel enters his 13th big league season and his first with the Jays. Dotel, 37, provides the Jays with veteran experience and will be asked to get crucial outs, whether it be in the closer’s role or the latter stages of the game. Dotel still possesses electric stuff, capable of throwing in the mid 90s, but has struggled with consistency over the course of his career. The right-hander  suffered an injury already this Spring and sent the late-innings situation into shambles, however, his sore left hamstring should heal quickly allowing him to help secure victories for the Jays.

Jon Rauch is the final candidate for the closer’s role this spring. Rauch heads across the border after spending last season in Minnesota where he took over the closers role for the injured Joe Nathan. Rauch is a physical presence on the mound—standing at 6-foot-11—possessing a low 90s fastball to go along with an assortment of breaking pitches. Rauch, 32, has a career ERA of 3.71 and has been nothing but consistent and durable. Expect Rauch to continue to pitch well this year and the years ahead.

Jason Frasor enters his eighth season in the big leagues—all with the Jays—and is coming off of his two best seasons in his career. Frasor, 33, turned a corner two seasons ago when he posted a career best 2.50 ERA as one of the main set-up men in the bullpen. Expectedly Frasor digressed last season but still finished with a 3.68 ERA which should give manager John Farrell the confidence to use him when the game is on the line.

Shawn Camp, Casey Jannssen and David Purcey are the favorites to round out the bullpen for John Farrell. Camp, 35, is coming off of a career season which saw him finish with a 2.99 ERA while throwing 72 innings. Ecpect Camp and Jannssen to eat up the middle innings and Purcey to be the long man in relief.

Infield: The Jays infield features a player off of a career season, a Atlanta Braves castoff, a former All-Star second baseman and a rising star who slumped off last season. Together they form a nucleus that will be able to handle every position offensively and be solid defensively.

Third base: Jose Bautista, 30, set a career-high in home runs last season when he belted 54. Bautista held a previous high of only 16 home runs when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is unreasonable to expect Bautista to reach over 50 home runs once again this season, but expecting anywhere from 25 and above is much more likely. Expect Bautista to struggle when adjusting to pitchers new strategies to counteract his power stroke.

Shortstop: Yunel Escobar, 31, has played in only 506 major league games, but will be asked to carry the load as the starting shortstop for the Jays. The Braves castoff is best known for his slick glove on defense but is adequate on the offensive side. Escobar holds a career .289 average while blasting 33 home runs in 1,858 at bats. It’s easy to expect that Escobar will make his difference with his defense and not his offense.

Second base: Aaron Hill, 29, is entering the prime of his career and should only achieve new career-highs this season. He slumped off from his 2009 season when he belted 36 home runs compared to last year’s 26. However, expect Hill to rebound in a big way this season and get over the 30 home run plateou, culminating into another All-Star selection. Hill is one of the best second baseman in the game and arguably all of them reside in the A.L. East.

First base: Adam Lind is another Blue Jay coming off of a season where his stats dropped off from the previous season. Lind, 30, dropped off from 30 home runs to only 23 last season, but should bounce back this season. His compact lefty swing is perfect for playing in A.L. East ballparks. As the regular first baseman, Lind will provide above-average defense—saving errors for the rest of the infield—and supply pop with his bat.

Catcher: The catching duties are being handed over to a rookie who only had 35 total at bats last season. J.P. Arencibia, 25, is being given the opportunity to establish himself as the clear No. 1 starter this season. Last year—as a member of the Blue Jays Triple A affiliate—Arencibia belted 32 home runs while hitting .302. Arencibia will have no problem adjusting to major league pitching but still has some learning to do on the defensive side.

In 2000, Baseball Digest released an article chronicling the MVP caliber season of the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado. It can be read here.

Outfield: For the first time in 12 seasons, the Blue Jays outfield will not feature Vernon Wells patrolling center. Wells never fully lived up to the big-money contract bestowed upon him and was shipped to the Angels earlier this offseason. Instead the outfield will feature two new acquisitions from the west coast and a rising star.

Left field: Juan Rivera was imported from the Angels this offseason. Rivera, 32, has plenty of pop in his bat—averaging 20 home runs a year—albeit in limited action. Rivera is battle-tested as well after spending the first three seasons of his career playing in the A.L. East and will not be fazed by anything he may face.

Centerfield: Raja Davis played last season with the Oakland Athletics where he displayed his speed prowess. Davis, 30, is not known to hit for power, but can be an above-average leadoff hitter because his speed will keep him out of extended slumps. He finished last season with a .284 average and the Jays would happily take that out of him this year.

Right field: Travis Snider, 23, had only 298 at bats last—yet still blasted 14 home runs. If he stays healthy, he should only improve upon those power numbers this upcoming season. Scouts have predicted Snider to be a perennial 25 to 30 home run hitter and expect him to fulfill those expectations this season.

DH: Edwin Encarnacion, 28, will be the primary designated hitter for the Jays. Encarnacion has plenty of pop in his bat—blasting 16 home runs last season in limited time. Encarnacion will help fill out the Jays lineup, making the assignment of pitching against them a mine-field for opposing pitchers.

Bench: The bench is normally not an important part of the American League game unless one of the starters suffers an injury and can no longer play in games. If the Jays need a stop gap at shortstop, John McDonald, has proven himself more than capable of handling any position in the infield. In the future, the Jays can look to Adeiny Hechavarria to man short for many years. Hechavarria, 19, was signed out of Cuba and has a world of talent but is still very raw. Look for him to make in impact in two to three years.

Manager: As alluded to earlier, the Blue Jays have a new manager at the helm. John Farrell—former Boston Red Sox pitching coach—was hired to replace the retired Cito Gaston. Farrell has been highly though of around baseball circles over the past few seasons whenever a managerial opening has cropped up. Farrell will no doubt help develop the young and talented pitching staff he has inherited and the team may benefit from hearing a new message—especially coming from a person who knows how to win. The Jays hope he can right their ship and lead them to the top of the division.

Flexibility: The Blue Jays head into the season with no apparent weakness expect they play in the toughest division in baseball. However, if a need arises within the season expect the Jays to only be in the market if they are within striking distance. The Jays have been cautious for far too long and are starved to finally have a winner—if they believe they can make that a reality, they will add the pieces necessary.

Ryan Lazo is a senior writer for BaseballDigest.com covering the A.L. East. You can email him at lazorm09@bonaventure.edu  follow him on Twitter at @RMLazo13 and read his blog Artificially Enhanced.

2010 Season Record: 69-42

The Yankees went through a disappointing 3-4 week against a pair of AL East foes, but remained ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the divisional race.

The Yankees kicked off the week with a three  game series against the very dangerous Toronto Blue Jays.  Game 1 turned out to be an offensive battle, as both starting pitchers were hit hard.  AJ Burnett lasted only 4.1 innings and gave up eight earned runs.  Toronto starter Brandon Morrow wasn’t much better; he lasted only 5.1 innings and allowed 5 runners to cross the plate.  In the end the Jays beat the Yankees 8-6 with the help of a major league record six doubles.

The Yankees were probably wishing they had saved some of Game 1′s output for the second game of the set.  Ricky Romero, who the Yankees pounded back in July, limited the Yankees to just two runs and a pair of hits.  The Blue Jays offense continued to roll over Dustin Moseley and the Yankees pen en route to an 8-2 win.

Suddenly the Yankees found themselves in 2nd place in the AL East as play began in the series finale.  A-Rod helped kick the game off on the right foot, finally belting his 600th career home run.  Derek Jeter went 4-4 on the day and  Phil Hughes allowed a single run in 5.1 innings before the pen shut down the Jays the rest of the way.  The 5-1 victory, coupled with the Rays loss to the Twins put New York back into a first place tie with Tampa.

After a day off, the Yankees took on their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox, in a big four game set at the Stadium.

The Yankees struggled offensively and defensively in the opener and the Red Sox took advantage.  Javier Vazquez streak of great starts ended with a 5.1 inning, three earned run performance that was magnified by Francisco Cervelli’s critical error.  Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz was solid in Boston’s 6-3 win.

In Game 2 the Yankees sent their big gun to the mound and CC Sabathia did not disappoint.  The Pinstripe’s ace threw eight strong innings and allowed just two earned runs.  Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano led the offense with two hits and an RBI each and the Yankees were able to turn the table on their rivals with a 5-2 win.

The Yankees kept the ball rolling in Sunday night’s prime time affair thanks to Dustin Moseley’s strong pitching performance.  The Bombers right hander went 6.1 innings, allowed only two earned runs and outdueled the much hated Josh Beckett.  The Yankees offense also did their part and smacked Beckett around the park.  Derek Jeter drove in thee runs and Lance Berkman enjoyed his first big day as a Yankee, going 3-4 with an RBI and two doubles.  The Yankees cruised to a 7-2 victory.

The final game of the series pitted Boston’s new ace, Jon Lester, against one of the game’s brightest stars in Phil Hughes. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it was a pitcher’s duel that Lester won.  Hughes survived a shaky first two innings and trailed just 2-0 when he departed after six innings.

Lester, Daniel Bard, and Jonathan Papelbon shut down a number of late opportunities and the Yankees could only manage a Mark Teixeira home run in the 2-1 loss.

Pinstriped Positives:

Despite a mediocre week, the Yankees still managed to gain a half a game over the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Rays fell to 1.5 games back in the division after going 4-6 over their last 10 games.  (The stretch included a 5 game losing streak.)

Robinson Cano’s bat is back on fire. The All-Star second baseman is 12-35 (.343) over his last 10 games.

Derek Jeter continued to snap out of his season long doldrums with a 13-40 (.325) streak.

Negatives:

Jorge Posada’s bat continues to be dormant; the Yankees’ catcher is just 6 for his last 33 which translates to a .182 average.  Posada’s time behind the plate hasn’t been much better as teams continue to run on him at will.  And to top everything off, he’s been bothered by a sore knee caused by a cyst.

What’s Next:

The Yankees will now take their show on the road as they first travel to Texas for a two game set with the AL West division leading Rangers.  Then the Bombers move on to Kansas City for a four game set with the Royals.

John Fetter is a regular Yankees contributor for Baseball Digest.  He can be reached at jfetter@sportstalk88.com.

WP – Bruney (3-0)  SV – Rivera (19)  LP – White (2-1)

Jorge Posada congratulates Mo Rivera after ceremonial 1st pitch

Joba Chamberlain and Brandon Morrow have both heard the debates.  Should they be closers, future closers, set up men, starters (though we’re sure that Morrow has no equivalent of the bag of hot air that is debating it onJoba’s behalf.)?  Last night’s Yankees-Mariners game was a good fodder for throwing them both back in the pen.  Both starters were mediocre, but the Seattle bullpen did a worse job than the Yankees’ relief corp.  The end result was an 8-5 Yankees win that moved them to within 2.5 games of Boston in the AL East.

Brian Bruney had just blown a two run lead when the Yankees came to bat in the bottom of the 8th against Sean White.  Hideki Matsui greeted him with a double up the alley in right-center and the Yankees had an instant rally.  Nick Swisher ill advisedly laid down a bunt, but it was a perfect one.  Pinch-runner Brett Gardner moved to 3rd base and Swisher reach 1st base safely for a base hit.

Melky Cabrera’s double to center put the Yankees ahead 6-5 (the Melkman’s 3rd Ribbie of the night) and Derek Jeter followed with a 2-run single to give Mariano Rivera plenty of breathing room in the 9th.  Rivera had the honor of throwing out the game’s first pitch in commemoration of his 500th save and then had the opportunity of throwing the night’s last pitch as well.  He cruised through a 1-2-3 9th inning for the 501st save of his illustrious career.

Things weren’t so illustrious for Chamberlain, who reverted back to “the nibbler” after his excellent start against the Braves his last time out.  He couldn’t hold the 3-1 lead his teammates had given him and lasted just 5 1-3 innings.  Of his 96 pitches, just 55 were strikes.  He allowed 9 hits, 3 walks, and went deep into counts all night.

Morrow’s night was worse (98 pitches, 58 strikes)- 4.2 IP, and although just 1 of the 3 runs he allowed were earned, he issued 5 walks and gave up 5 base hits.  Both teams failure with runners in scoring position is the only thing that kept the game from being a 14-12 shootout.

Alex Rodriguez belted a long 2-run home run off of Chris Jakubauskas in the 7th to put the Bombers back on top 5-3.  But Joe Girardi pulled Phil Hughes, who had pitched a dominant 9-pitch 7th inning, in favor of his 8th inning “follow the script” guy.  It backfired as Bruney allowed 3 hits and a walk.   Russell Branyan’s bases loaded sacrifice fly tied the game before Bruney finally got Jose Lopez to ground out to end the inning.

Game Notes

The Red Sox have had their way with the Orioles all season, but last night the O’s suddenly woke up.  Boston built a 9-1 lead before the rains came to Camden Yards and delayed matters.  Down 10-1, the Orioles rallied late and pulled out a stunning 11-10 victory.

Eric Hinske’s flight out of Pittsburgh was delayed by the weather and he wasn’t able to get to the game in time.  Ramiro Pena is expected  to be sent down to learn to play the outfield.  The Yankees envision a Mark Mclemore type of player.

Telling stat from mlb.com’s Noah Coslov – 12 of Melky Cabrera’s 29 RBI have came in the 7th inning on and have tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

Mariners 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his shoulder.

The Yankees-M’s series continues tonight with Andy Pettitte facing Jarrod Washburn (or is that Keifer Sutherland?).

His return to the Blue Jays is just a few days away, but his old job is gone. When B.J. Ryan is activated from the disabled list today, it will not be as the closer. General Manager J.P. Ricciardi said on Tuesday that the team will continue to use Scott Downs in the ninth inning even after Ryan rejoins the team.

Well, if you’re like me, and own both Ryan and Downs, it’s somewhat of a predicament. On one hand your obvious self is saying drop Ryan. On the other, you’re skeptical of the decision and mull over how long Downs keeps the job.

The ultimate answer is going with your instinct, and dropping Ryan. Besides his last outing, Downs has been lights out this season. Since installed as the team’s closer, Downs is three-for-four in save chances and had not allowed a run until his first blown save which came on May 9. Downs is sporting an absurd 20:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In last week’s blown save, Downs was roughed up for three runs on five hits. If not for that, Downs ERA would be 0.59. There is no guarantee that he holds onto this job long-term, but it’s the best bet if you are a betting man.

Before being shelved on April 23, Ryan struggled with his velocity, consistency, command, and overall effectiveness. Ryan’s ERA ballooned to 11.12 in his last outing before being put on the disabled list, and has walked more hitters than he’s struck out. In addition, there is really no way to tell that he’s righted the ship either. In his minor league rehabilitation, Ryan threw a total of three innings and allowed a hit, a walk, and a run. Not a bad stint, but these were against minor league hitters at Single-A Dunedin. It’s questionable how he will do against major league hitters again next week.

It’s important to remember how quickly things can change, and that Ryan is the first in line to claim the role if Downs should falter. But, it’s more important to utilize your roster spots. If you are in a deeper league with a deeper bench, it may be worthwhile to hang on to Ryan. Otherwise, it is time to move on.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the league in some of the regular weekly sections of the ‘Pen. Not many pitchers sounding the alarm this week, which is probably a good thing. But a lot of pitchers seem to be gaining a second wind after losing their jobs.

Check out the rest of the Call To The Pen article over at our #1 source for Fantasy Basebal — FantasyPros911.com

Coming off the excitement from the night before when the Rangers defeated the Mariners in walk-off fashion.  Hank “The Hammer” Blalock’s two-RBI double off of closer Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the eleventh inning sent the Ballpark in Arlington into a state of pandemonium.

Wins like that don’t happen every day, so there is no way it could happen again, right?

Texas and Seattle played a day game on Thursday, the Mariners looking to avoid the sweep and the Rangers attempting to improve their record against Seattle this season to 5-0.

Seattle sent their ace, King Felix, to the mound to face-off against Matt Harrison and his 19 scoreless inning streak.

Felix Hernandez started the year off 4-0 before losing last week to the Rangers and Kevin Millwood, the young phenom definitely was looking for some revenge for that outing.

Harrison was simply looking for zeros, the only two pitchers in baseball this season with longer scoreless streaks are Zack Grienke and Hernandez.

Hernandez who struggled in his first outing against the Rangers was on today, going seven scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, none for extra bases, and striking out six.

Harrison keep his scoreless inning streak going for three more innings, until the fourth when the Mariners put two on him.  His streak ended at 22 innings, tying Hernandez mark for the second longest of the season.

However, Matt would again complete what he had started, pitching another complete game (his second consecutive), allowing only five hits and striking out seven.  Three of the five hits he allowed came in the fourth when the Mariners scored their two runs.

Another superb outing from Harrison, but going into the ninth he was on the hook for the loss, unless the bats could rescue him.

Again Seattle sent their closer Morrow to the mound looking for some redemption after the night before, and as fate would have it the first batter he faced was The Hammer.

Like the night before, Morrow used 96 and 97 mph fastballs and worked the count full, when The Hammer took the payoff pitch for a ride.

Hank’s 10th home run of the season was a bomb eight rows up in the right field upper deck home run porch.  Though it was only a solo home run and the Rangers still trailed 2-1, the feeling around the park and in the home dugout was of another rally.

Texas rallied from behind three times in the game the night before, won in walk-off fashion, and it seemed as though it was happening again.

To bring the team back down to Earth the next batter Nelson Cruz flied out to shallow center on the first pitch and Morrow was two outs away from avoiding disaster.

David Murphy batted next as the potential tying run, he would see only fastballs as well from Morrow.  With the count 2-2, Murphy lined a double down the right field line and the stadium was hopping.

Now the Rangers had the tying run in scoring position with only one out and Chris Davis coming to the plate.

Last night Davis set a new franchise record striking out in 21 consecutive games, so far in this contest he had yet to strikeout.  Morrow again would only throw fastballs looking to get the free-swinging Davis to extend his streak.

But on the 2-1 pitch, Davis would later say he was looking for a fastball high in the strike zone, he got his pitch and “Crush” Davis blasted the ball to deep center field.

As soon as he hit it Davis flipped his bat and began his trot, a no doubt shot that won the game in walk-off fashion for the second time in less than 24 hours.

With the 3-2 victory the Rangers completed the sweep of the Mariners, improved their record to 20-14, and will now face the red-hot Angels.

The Angels are still only 1.5 games behind the Rangers as they took two of three games at home from the Red Sox.

The Rangers come into the series winning four straight and a 10-2 record over the past two weeks.

The Angels also enter the series having won nine of the last eleven games.

Both teams do have some potent offense but the real story line will likely come from the pitching match-ups.  Friday Joe Saunders (5-1, 2.66) takes on Ranger ace Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92).  Saturday John Lackey makes his first start of the season for the Halos against Vicente Padilla (2-2, 4.97), who is coming off back-to-back one-hitters.  Finally in the series finale Jered Weaver (3-1, 2.45) will take the mound against  Scott Feldman (2-0, 4.85).

This is a big series as both teams attempt to make statements about the upcoming race for the divisional title.

Perkins took the mound and gave up just one run on five hits and two walks in eight innings. 72 of his 106 pitches were strikes. Washburn also went eight innings. He did not allow a run. He gave up five hits and a walk and threw just 96 pitches.

An insurance run off of Luis Ayala in the top of the 9th gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead which they handed over to Brandon Morrow. Certainly Mariners  fans were nervous when Morrow walked Michael Cuddyer on four pitches to lead off the inning. But Morrow settled in and struck out Justin Morneau and Joe Crede, both looking, before pinch hitter Jason Kubel flew out to end the game.

The Twins top three hitters (Denard Span, Alexi Casilla and Michael Cuddyer), who have come through so far this season for the Twins, went a combined 0-11 in the game. All told, the Twins left 14 runners on base. The lone bright spot in the lineup was Brendan Harris who made his first start of the season and went 2-3.

The Twins now head to Chicago for three games against the White Sox.

Seattle trailed 7-2 heading into the eighth inning, but scored four runs in the eighth to pull within a run and then pulled ahead, 8-7 on LaHair’s blast in the top of the ninth with Adam Moore aboard. Journeyman right-hander Randy Messenger retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth for his third save of the spring. Dodgers manager Joe Torre used four relievers in the final two innings to try to close the game out, but his leaky ‘pen couldn’t hold the lead.

Right-hander Gaby Hernandez, acquired from the Marlins last July in the trade that sent Arthur Rhodes to Florida, started the game in place of Brandon Morrow, who was scratched due to forearm stiffness. Hernandez, 22, retired the first seven batters of the game, but ran into trouble in the third and didn’t make it out of the inning. Hernandez allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Closer candidates Miguel Batista and Roy Corcoran each pitched scoreless innings, as did right-hander Tracy Thorpe, but non-roster left-hander Chris Seddon surrendered four runs (two earned) in the sixth thanks in part to an error by right fielder Mike Wilson.

On the hitting side, Wladimir Balentien hit his first home run of the spring, a long bomb to center field in the fifth inning and infield candidate Chris Woodward added a double. Balentien and Mike Morse had two hits each but both were caught stealing in the second inning. Non-roster outfielder Brent Johnson hit a two-run single in the four-run eighth. Mike Sweeney saw his first action of the spring and went 0-for-2 with a walk.

The Mariners (5-2-1) host the Arizona Diamondbacks tomorrow at 1:05PM (12:05PM Seattle time). Oufielder Ken Griffey Jr. is expected to make his second appearance of the spring tomorrow.