Post by #1 Jays Fan on Mar 1, 2008 21:59:25 GMT -5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Casey Janssen will be a part of the Toronto Blue Jays puzzle this season, only it's going to take some time to see where he fits in.
Outstanding in a set-up role out of the bullpen last season, the 26-year-old is being stretched out this spring and is in the mix for the fifth starter's job.
Some in the organization would rather leave him in relief, while others feel he'll provide more value out of the rotation. For now, the right-hander is staying out of the fray and using the extra innings set to come his way to his benefit.
"I wouldn't say it's weighing on my mind, I'm just kind of doing whatever they tell me," Janssen said after throwing two scoreless innings in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I'm just going to have fun with it this spring and see what happens. I'm getting stretched out a little bit and whatever they ask me to do I'm going to do."
It's the wisest approach to take for Janssen, who was 2-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 70 games. He also picked up six saves along the way and combined with Jeremy Accardo to help ease the sting of B.J. Ryan's loss to injury.
Showing that he plans to take nothing for granted, Janssen looked sharp from the get-go and threw 15 of his 20 pitches for strikes. He was among the few highlights for the Blue Jays as they fell to 0-3 in Grapefruit League play, while the Rays improved to 2-0 before a crowd of 4,918 at Progress Energy Park.
A John McDonald sacrifice fly in the second and Rod Barajas run-scoring single in the third put Toronto up 2-0 but that lead disappeared during a four-run Tampa sixth against Ryan Ketchner.
Mike DiFelice halved the lead with an RBI single before top prospect Evan Longoria ripped a two-run triple and later scored on Ben Zobrist's triple.
Utilityman Marco Scutaro and catching prospect Robinzon Diaz kept further damage from happening by combining on a beautiful inning-ending double play. Scutaro hauled in John Rodriguez's drive to right and then threw a strike to Diaz at home, who blocked a sliding Zobrist beautifully before slapping down the tag.
Diaz also singled in two at-bats to make an impressive spring debut after getting held up from arriving in camp because of visa problems.
"He's a good-looking young catcher," said Jays manager John Gibbons. "We'll try to get him as much playing time as possible before we start pushing the regulars."
Notes: Closer B.J. Ryan will throw another session of batting practice Sunday. The Blue Jays are building him up slowly with the aim of having him pitch in a spring game by mid-March. "B.P. Sunday, then I don't know the day but a couple of simulated games and then boom," said manager John Gibbons. "Everything is going along on track." ... 3B Scott Rolen was initially slated to make the trip but 2B Aaron Hill took his place at DH instead. "I just decided to leave him back there and let (Rolen) play (Sunday)," said Gibbons. ... ABC newsman Sam Donaldson threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Outstanding in a set-up role out of the bullpen last season, the 26-year-old is being stretched out this spring and is in the mix for the fifth starter's job.
Some in the organization would rather leave him in relief, while others feel he'll provide more value out of the rotation. For now, the right-hander is staying out of the fray and using the extra innings set to come his way to his benefit.
"I wouldn't say it's weighing on my mind, I'm just kind of doing whatever they tell me," Janssen said after throwing two scoreless innings in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I'm just going to have fun with it this spring and see what happens. I'm getting stretched out a little bit and whatever they ask me to do I'm going to do."
It's the wisest approach to take for Janssen, who was 2-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 70 games. He also picked up six saves along the way and combined with Jeremy Accardo to help ease the sting of B.J. Ryan's loss to injury.
Showing that he plans to take nothing for granted, Janssen looked sharp from the get-go and threw 15 of his 20 pitches for strikes. He was among the few highlights for the Blue Jays as they fell to 0-3 in Grapefruit League play, while the Rays improved to 2-0 before a crowd of 4,918 at Progress Energy Park.
A John McDonald sacrifice fly in the second and Rod Barajas run-scoring single in the third put Toronto up 2-0 but that lead disappeared during a four-run Tampa sixth against Ryan Ketchner.
Mike DiFelice halved the lead with an RBI single before top prospect Evan Longoria ripped a two-run triple and later scored on Ben Zobrist's triple.
Utilityman Marco Scutaro and catching prospect Robinzon Diaz kept further damage from happening by combining on a beautiful inning-ending double play. Scutaro hauled in John Rodriguez's drive to right and then threw a strike to Diaz at home, who blocked a sliding Zobrist beautifully before slapping down the tag.
Diaz also singled in two at-bats to make an impressive spring debut after getting held up from arriving in camp because of visa problems.
"He's a good-looking young catcher," said Jays manager John Gibbons. "We'll try to get him as much playing time as possible before we start pushing the regulars."
Notes: Closer B.J. Ryan will throw another session of batting practice Sunday. The Blue Jays are building him up slowly with the aim of having him pitch in a spring game by mid-March. "B.P. Sunday, then I don't know the day but a couple of simulated games and then boom," said manager John Gibbons. "Everything is going along on track." ... 3B Scott Rolen was initially slated to make the trip but 2B Aaron Hill took his place at DH instead. "I just decided to leave him back there and let (Rolen) play (Sunday)," said Gibbons. ... ABC newsman Sam Donaldson threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
