Roy = Monster

This is what happens when your GM is from Massachusetts…boston.com has managed to get an interview from J.P. that is more interesting than any from the local papers (which reveal that…GOSH! There is likely to be some competition for the 5th spot in spring training).

First, J.P. refers to Janssen as a 4th starter:

“Well, we’d love to move Casey Janssen into the rotation. We feel he’d be an excellent fourth starter for us. But we’ll have to see how Ryan is and make our decision from there.”

Now I know that numbering starters is highly overrated…one team’s #1 can be another team’s #5. But it’s interesting he would go out of his way to mention it. Remember that Marcum only got his shot at the rotation last year because Gibbons balked at Janssen being plucked from the bullpen. It could be just a slip, but it’s not ridiculous to say that even after his success last year Janssen is considered to have more long-term upside than Marcum. And the thought of Marcum as a 5th starter makes me want to click my heels.

Random aside about another challenger for the role: despite his underwhelming “stuff”, Jesse Litsch is not a control pitcher/soft tosser. His fastball sat at over 90 mph last year- that’s just below average for a starter and he even threw it (terribly unsuccessfully) at 92-3 for a couple of games last year. The real issue is that his changeup (which he only really started throwing last year) was inconsistent last year, as was his slider. Just because he gets a lot of grounders and was pretty dominating in AA last year doesn’t mean that he’s through learning and may as well be thrown out there. He’s a 22 year old kid who is still figuring out what he’s got.

Next, Ricciardi refers to the rumours that Halladay wanted to pitch the last game of the year on short rest:

Halladay would pitch in a three-man rotation if you let him. He’s just cut from a different cloth than anyone else. I get along great with Roy but the one time we’ve been at odds or had a disagreement, I told him we needed to hold him back. He wanted to pitch the final game of the season on three days’ rest and I said no.

The thought of Roy Halladay snarling at J.P. over a totally meaningless start against the freaking Devil Rays makes me love him even more. I know the Doctor is from Colorado, but what better icon is there for a Canadian team than someone who is overly polite and soft-spoken in public and then turns into some sort of bizarre howling animal when he’s handed the ball? And while we’re at it:

Santana’s 2008 Salary: 19 Mil
Burnett’s 2008 Salary: 12 Mil
Halladay’s 2008 Salary: 10 Mil

Is it more appropriate to say “Thank you” or “Sorry?”