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Toronto — Now that everyone's decided the manager, his coaches, the general manager, the trainers, Paul Godfrey and Alex Rios need to go — so far, there have been no calls for Cito Gaston's head — let's take a minute to consider the question: What will the Toronto Blue Jays do about their starting pitching?
Will they find life beyond Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett? No small detail, considering there are 129 games left on the schedule.
Dustin McGowan is one part of the answer. General manager J.P. Ricciardi said Wednesday that McGowan is "here for the rest of the season."
Good. After the slop tossed up by Josh Towers, Gustavo Chacin and Victor Zambrano, McGowan will be an improvement, even if he gets lit up every now and then. It's time to say to McGowan: "You have a job, now focus on pitching."
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- Boston Red Sox
- Cleveland Indians
- Houston Astros
- Minnesota Twins
- New York Yankees
- Toronto Blue Jays
- A.J. Burnett
- Gustavo Chacin
- Roger Clemens
- Jason Davis
- Jason Davis
- Troy Glaus
- Roy Halladay
- Casey Janssen
- Brad Lidge
- Dustin McGowan
- Roy Oswalt
- Lyle Overbay
- Andy Pettitte
- Alex Rios
- B.J. Ryan
- Frank Thomas
- Josh Towers
- Vernon Wells
- Victor Zambrano
And at some point in the next two days, Casey Janssen will likely also be revealed as another part of the answer and moved out of the bullpen into the rotation.
Asked whether Zambrano will get another start after Tuesday's gruesome 2 2/3-inning outing, Ricciardi would say only, "We'll have something to say about that later in the week."
It would be a stretch to say that next year for the Blue Jays officially arrived in Toronto on May 9, although McGowan and Janssen were not expected to be in the rotation this early this season.
No, what we are seeing are the nascent stages of an overhaul.
This is not the type of roster you disassemble with a couple of telephone calls — not with so many multiyear contracts — and, when you get down to it, Halladay, B.J. Ryan, Frank Thomas, Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay aren't going anywhere.
Troy Glaus has a no-trade clause and another year worth $12.75-million (U.S.) on his contract, but the guess here is he could be compensated financially to waive the clause.
The Blue Jays are still looking for stop-gap solutions, too.
They have some interest in pitcher Jason Davis, designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians. But any moves of significance will likely need to wait until later in the year, and Ricciardi can only hope his hand is strengthened by then.
Already, the Blue Jays have pointed to the Minnesota Twins of 2006 and the Houston Astros of 2005 as teams that made it to the postseason after poor starts.
The Astros became the first team in 91 years to make the World Series after being 15 games under .500, but they weren't chasing the Boston Red Sox and didn't have the New York Yankees in the same division.
Brad Lidge was a healthy, dominant closer then — Ryan is injured — and Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens were stronger than the Blue Jays' rotation.
Rebuilding? No.
Retooling for next year? Sort of.
The Blue Jays need to string some wins together and hope the Red Sox — deliriously lucky so far this season with a lack of injuries — come back to the pack.
Whatever is done from this point on must be equally aimed at 2007 and 2008. In a few weeks, without improvement, that equation shifts.
Next year isn't here yet. But it's visible.
Closer, certainly, than postseason visions.
