Tallet and Jays Pen 2 Hit The O’s

It’s only spring training, but this win was impressive for the Jays. The Orioles had the majority of their regulars in the lineup, from Adam Jones to Nick Markaikis (Roberts was the only real omission), and the Jays simply shut the bats down. Brian Tallet, in a fight with Dana Eveland for the #5 spot in the rotation, led the way as he was lights out with only 1 hit allowed in 4 innings. He allowed no walks and struck out 3, getting 6 ground outs and 3 fly outs. He was followed by Camp, Downs, Gregg, and Frasor who all followed suit with 4 shut out innings and only 2 walks allowed, no hits. Merkin Valdez allowed the only run of the game for the Jays in the 9th inning. It seems that no matter what happens this spring, the Jays have 2 very good options for the #5 role in Tallet and Eveland. If they can provide the Jays with stability until the return of Jesse Litsch the Jays will benefit from a hefty amount of pitching depth.

Other notes from the game that I gathered include the fact that very time Travis Snider is in the #6 spot in the lineup he gets at least a hit. Today was no different since he gathered 2 hits including a solo HR off Kam Mickolio. Cito may want to consider keeping Snider in the #6 hole as he seems very comfortable there. Brian Dopirak went 0 for 4 to bring his average down to .222 while Randy Ruiz went 1 for 4 and now has a .467 average on the spring. It’s looking more and more like Dopirak may begin the year in AAA unless he gets hot from now to April. I’m still impressed about how consistently the Jays are getting 10 hits or more per game this spring.

Other news and notes:

• Apparently some teams have shown interest in SP David Purcey who has really found himself at the bottom of the list in terms of depth for the Jays. Some believe he can still be a starter, while others believe he could be a power reliever. My question is if the Jays trade him now, would they be selling low? They’d be better off showcasing him for a little while and getting a better price for him once teams get desperate for pitching.
• I think the Jays may have a closer by committee situation until Kevin Gregg proves he can handle the job (if he does, that is). There’s an article by Jordan Bastien on the subject here.
• No official word on the Adeiny Hechavarria signing yet. Who knew a physical could take that long. Maybe U.S. authorities are having a hard time putting the controls on that $10 million dollar check!
• The Jays optioned pitchers Sean Henn and Reidier Gonzalez to AAA Las Vegas.
• The Jays are facing Baltimore again tomorrow, followed by Houston and the Braves.