Post by #1 Jays Fan on Mar 1, 2008 22:02:23 GMT -5
THE CANADIAN PRESS
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- These are days of process rather than results for Roy Halladay.
The Toronto Blue Jays ace threw primarily fastballs and changeups during his two innings of work Friday in a 3-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Detroit Tigers.
He gave up a run on three hits and was saddled with the loss, none of which mattered to him nearly as much as the consistency he had with his changeup.
"It's hard sometimes to not get caught up in competing, keeping guys from scoring," Halladay said. "But you really have to keep in mind what your ultimate goal is and that you're trying to prepare for the season and the best way to do it is to stick to your plan and the things you plan on doing.
"You've got to swallow your pride sometimes, but it's so beneficial in the long run to stick to that plan."
Halladay plans to avoid throwing his cutter for a while yet to ease the strain on his forearm, an approach that helped him through last season after forearm issues ended his 2006 campaign early.
He threw just one curveball, a beauty that buckled the knees of Marcus Thames for strike three looking to end the first, and won't throw more until later in the spring.
For now it's just more fastballs and changeups, the latter a pitch he'd like to use more often this season.
"I feel like the ball speed is better this year than it was in the past," said Halladay. "I just want to work with it and get it more consistent, something I can have a little more trust in. That's the biggest thing in throwing it a lot, is being able to trust it when you might need it."
The only run Halladay allowed came in the second on Brandon Inge's RBI groundout.
The Tigers (3-0) went up 2-0 when Curtis Granderson ripped a solo shot off Scott Downs to left for his second homer in two days versus the Blue Jays (0-2).
Frank Thomas led off the fourth with a double that the wind knocked down but later scored on Lyle Overbay's single for the only run Toronto would manage.
"Yeah, I crushed it," Thomas said of his double. "I thought it was going to be way back there. It got up there and just fell."
Overbay was back in action after a stomach bug knocked him out for a few days. The RBI single came on a nice swing against lefty Nate Robertson and he put another nice stroke on a Francis Beltran offering for his double.
"It's good to be back," said Overbay, who lost seven pounds in recent days. "I wanted to lose seven pounds but not like that."
Max St. Pierre of Quebec City started behind the plate for the Tigers and went 1-for-3.
Notes: Baseball cards of fellow starters A.J. Burnett, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch were placed over the nameplate above Halladay's locker. "They just showed up there, I had no hand in that," Halladay said, laughing. Asked if Litsch, who is battling for the No. 5 job, put his own card up, Halladay replied: "Apparently, yeah." ... Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said closer B.J. Ryan would meet with Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who performed elbow surgery on the left-hander last May, on Sunday. The team had initially said the follow-up exam would be Thursday in Sarasota. ... Ricciardi also said nothing was happening in talks about a long-term deal with Alex Rios. ... Dustin McGowan starts for the Blue Jays on Saturday when they head to St. Petersburg to play the Devil Rays. James Shields starts for Tampa Bay. ... Reliever Jason Frasor was scheduled to throw an inning Friday but sat out with an illness.
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- These are days of process rather than results for Roy Halladay.
The Toronto Blue Jays ace threw primarily fastballs and changeups during his two innings of work Friday in a 3-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Detroit Tigers.
He gave up a run on three hits and was saddled with the loss, none of which mattered to him nearly as much as the consistency he had with his changeup.
"It's hard sometimes to not get caught up in competing, keeping guys from scoring," Halladay said. "But you really have to keep in mind what your ultimate goal is and that you're trying to prepare for the season and the best way to do it is to stick to your plan and the things you plan on doing.
"You've got to swallow your pride sometimes, but it's so beneficial in the long run to stick to that plan."
Halladay plans to avoid throwing his cutter for a while yet to ease the strain on his forearm, an approach that helped him through last season after forearm issues ended his 2006 campaign early.
He threw just one curveball, a beauty that buckled the knees of Marcus Thames for strike three looking to end the first, and won't throw more until later in the spring.
For now it's just more fastballs and changeups, the latter a pitch he'd like to use more often this season.
"I feel like the ball speed is better this year than it was in the past," said Halladay. "I just want to work with it and get it more consistent, something I can have a little more trust in. That's the biggest thing in throwing it a lot, is being able to trust it when you might need it."
The only run Halladay allowed came in the second on Brandon Inge's RBI groundout.
The Tigers (3-0) went up 2-0 when Curtis Granderson ripped a solo shot off Scott Downs to left for his second homer in two days versus the Blue Jays (0-2).
Frank Thomas led off the fourth with a double that the wind knocked down but later scored on Lyle Overbay's single for the only run Toronto would manage.
"Yeah, I crushed it," Thomas said of his double. "I thought it was going to be way back there. It got up there and just fell."
Overbay was back in action after a stomach bug knocked him out for a few days. The RBI single came on a nice swing against lefty Nate Robertson and he put another nice stroke on a Francis Beltran offering for his double.
"It's good to be back," said Overbay, who lost seven pounds in recent days. "I wanted to lose seven pounds but not like that."
Max St. Pierre of Quebec City started behind the plate for the Tigers and went 1-for-3.
Notes: Baseball cards of fellow starters A.J. Burnett, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch were placed over the nameplate above Halladay's locker. "They just showed up there, I had no hand in that," Halladay said, laughing. Asked if Litsch, who is battling for the No. 5 job, put his own card up, Halladay replied: "Apparently, yeah." ... Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said closer B.J. Ryan would meet with Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who performed elbow surgery on the left-hander last May, on Sunday. The team had initially said the follow-up exam would be Thursday in Sarasota. ... Ricciardi also said nothing was happening in talks about a long-term deal with Alex Rios. ... Dustin McGowan starts for the Blue Jays on Saturday when they head to St. Petersburg to play the Devil Rays. James Shields starts for Tampa Bay. ... Reliever Jason Frasor was scheduled to throw an inning Friday but sat out with an illness.
