Bring Back B.J. Birdy
It's amazing how important re-signing Ted Lilly has become for the Blue Jays. During the season, I can't recall hearing many positives about Lilly other than that he consistently wins about 50% of his games (15-13 last season, 59-58 in his career). Now, as he appears to be one of the handful of decent pitchers on the free agent market, that 50% is gold. Lilly has thus become a must-sign for the Jays and they will have to overspend (probably in the $8-million-plus range) to get him back, especially considering the Yankees are going to give him an offer if they haven't already done so.
J.P.'s master plan has made the Jays an offensive force that they haven't been in about a decade. The only flaw – and it's as glaring as an elephant walking into a room – is that the Jays don't have pitching. B.J. Ryan? Solid closer, no help needed there. Let's look at the starting rotation:
1. Roy Halladay – can' get much better
2. A.J. Burnett – he was nothing but a disappointment in his first season with the team, but think of the team without this solid No. 2 starter
3. (Ted Lilly) – you'll see how important it is to bring Lilly back as we get deeper into the five-man rotation
4. Gustavo Chacin – I am a huge Chacin supporter but he did not have a good season. He was 9-4 and injured for a couple months, but those nine wins really shouldn't have been more than five. In his first few wins, he got killed, but the offence saved him. His season-ending ERA is 5.05, too much. Despite all this, I am fine seeing him as the team's fourth starter.
5. Ah… nobody. See? It's not as simple as letting Lilly go and singing someone else. The Jays would need to sign someone else, and then another someone else. Let's hope they get Lilly back and someone like Gil Meche, an above-average pitcher, maybe a tad better than Lilly, someone hovering around the 50% mark like Lilly, but a solid pitcher that can be in the rotation, which really only had three or four players last season.
J.P.'s master plan has made the Jays an offensive force that they haven't been in about a decade. The only flaw – and it's as glaring as an elephant walking into a room – is that the Jays don't have pitching. B.J. Ryan? Solid closer, no help needed there. Let's look at the starting rotation:
1. Roy Halladay – can' get much better
2. A.J. Burnett – he was nothing but a disappointment in his first season with the team, but think of the team without this solid No. 2 starter
3. (Ted Lilly) – you'll see how important it is to bring Lilly back as we get deeper into the five-man rotation
4. Gustavo Chacin – I am a huge Chacin supporter but he did not have a good season. He was 9-4 and injured for a couple months, but those nine wins really shouldn't have been more than five. In his first few wins, he got killed, but the offence saved him. His season-ending ERA is 5.05, too much. Despite all this, I am fine seeing him as the team's fourth starter.
5. Ah… nobody. See? It's not as simple as letting Lilly go and singing someone else. The Jays would need to sign someone else, and then another someone else. Let's hope they get Lilly back and someone like Gil Meche, an above-average pitcher, maybe a tad better than Lilly, someone hovering around the 50% mark like Lilly, but a solid pitcher that can be in the rotation, which really only had three or four players last season.
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