Pitching Woes

Many times in baseball we see that a team looks like it has the potential to reach the post season based on the lineups.  we all know the teams that start the season with what looks like a batting line-up with great potential, and a rotation that should go the distance.  But then, only one pans out.  The bats are hitting, but there’s no pitching.  Or, the pitching is solid, but the run support never materializes.

This is frustrating to the casual fan, as seeing half of your team develop and contribute is great, but the lack of the second half of the puzzle is more than just a little annoying.  The Toronto Blue Jays are a great example of this.  Last year it was all pitching an no hitting.  This year the hitting has been solid (with the exception of two notable players), but the pitching has experienced the greatest string of injuries that I have ever witnessed.

I was wondering if the same phenomenon can happen to a country.  Can the Canadians in the major leagues experience this bi-polar problem?  What lead me to thinking about this was reflecting on the World Baseball Classic, and the news that Colorado Rockies Jeff Francis is starting to throw again.

In the WBC, we had a very solid offense, with Jason Bay, Justin Morneau and Joey Votto leading the way.  They did OK, but nothing spectacular.  But then the pitching was very weak.  Our ace was Scott Richmond, who never got into a game.  The rest of our pitchers were minor leaguers, where a few had previous major league experience.  Sure, there were some prospects like Phillipe Aumont, but they were prospects and not proven starters.  This weak rotation was because Erik Bedard, Jeff Francis, and Rich Harden were injured.  Adam Loewen is no longer pitching due to multiple shoulder injuries, and Ryan Dempster … well, he just didn’t show up.  Overall, it was not the line-up we were expecting, and the results reflected this large weakness (yes, I am still bitter about those results).

So what is next for the set of Canadians who are major league pitchers.  Well, Demspter has had a good year for the Cubs, and Francis is on his way to an uncertain recovery.  Bedard has had a rough year, and is currently back on the DL.  Harden has pitched well and been one bright spot in the Cubs rotation.  But we also have not season any new pitchers emerge from the minors.

So all in all, next year seems to have a lot of potential for Canadian pitching.  But potential is just that … potential.  It is uncertain what we will see.  Hopefully the injuries will subside and new stars will emerge.  But lets just hope we don’t go through the same thing with the position players.

Slow Year for the Canadians, but …

As we pass the half way mark in the season, it becomes a time where people reflect on the year-to-date and what we should expect going forward.  I’ve always thought this is because the math becomes easy to do (i.e. take the stats, double them and you have a projected total for the year).  So why not look at the Canadians in the big leagues and see what has transpired to date.

So far this year we have seen a decrease in the number of Canadians playing at the major level.  2007 was a banner year with 23 appearances by northerners, but this year has lagged well behind, as we started the year with only 13 and have seen a few brief appearances by others (i.e. Chris Leroux in Florida).  A few injuries (such as Erik Bedard and of course don’t forget Jeff Francis who is lost for the season) have inhibited progress, and a few players in AAA are doing well and still might make an appearance.  Hopefully we can see that number rise.

The All-Star game is next week, and only 2 Canadians are representing … Justin Morneau and Jason Bay.  This is really no surprise, as these are the top two Canadians and are at the top of their games.  Many people, especially those located in the Cincinnati region, were not happy to see Joey Votto excluded.  He had a great start to the year, but of course his stuggles with anxiety and depression set him back.  I feel that based on the limited performance we saw of him, and giving no special consideration to his problems, he should have made the team.  At least they should have given him a second chance in the last chance voting that is going on now (vote Adam Lind!!).  A few Cubs fans wanted to see Ryan Dempster on the team, but his strong start has turned into a decent but not spectacular year.  Overall, we can always enjoy seeing Jason and Justin in the game, and it’s unfortunate that Morneau will not be defending his home run derby crown.

However, I was purusing a list of Canadians in the minor leagues, and to my great surprise there are 108 in the leagues from rookie level to AAA.  Yes, 108!  That should be some indication of the potential of these Canadians, and the possibility of seeing quite a surge over the next few years.  Now, baseball is not like the other sports where you can move through the development leagues rather quickly, so let’s not make any bold predicts about next year.  But in the upcoming years, 2007’s record of 23 should be challenegd, and I think surpased.  How long will it take until we see a canadian on every team?

One point of interest, the team with the most Canadians in the minors???   ———-  Your Toronto Blue Jays with 16, which included Scott Richmond who is now playing (and injured) with the parent club.  No surprise, given their recent drafting habits.  Second up was the Milwaukee Brewers (10 players), once again not a surprise given the amount of Canadians in their front office who bring a familiarity of the country to their team.  Last year’s draft star Brett Lawrie and Alexandre Periard are notables on the list.  Third place was, the New York Mets??  Wasn’t expecting that one, but they have 8 players in their system, including top prospects Shawn Bowman and Mike Nickeas.  So although there has been a dip in the numbers in the majors, the minors look strong.

The second half of 2009 should be a fun one to watch.  How taken with Jason Bay will Boston fans be, and can they sign him to a contract?  Can Mariner Erik Bedard, Cubs Ryan Dempster and Blue Jay Scott Richmond return from injuries to be successful pitchers?  Can Justin Morneau keep bing Justin Morneau, as he is on his way to being on of the greatest Canadian players of all time?  What new prospects will catch our attention?

Stay tuned, this should be fun …