Sean Nolin Will be OK (Optioned to Double A)
When I lived in England, I had a boss that used a particularly annoying English phrase where she would say ‘I’m not being funny, but…..’ before launching into a diatribe about whatever was pissing her off at that particular juncture. I learned rather quickly that as soon as I heard ‘I’m not’ to do my best Keyser Soze impression and disappear. So, I’m not going to be smug here and say I told you so, but……I did suggest that Sean Nolin may not be quite ready for the big stage.
Nolin was optioned back to New Hampshire after last night’s game where he gave up six earned over an inning and a third. I got this info from the usual source:
I love the reply from Marc. Of course, he was speaking from a position of strength after writing on Monday that Nolin needed ‘another 10-15 minor league starts’ before the Jays should re-assess. Unfortunately, with the accumulated injuries, Toronto’s needs must and calling up Sean was a short term need.
I can’t really add much that’s not already been said about the start. I think he was a bit unlucky early when both Machado and Hardy hit pretty good breaking balls that were down. Machado was obviously fooled. Hardy was sitting on his. It’s quite possible Baltimore had picked up some sort of pattern by that point. After that, Nolin was leaving way too many pitches up in the zone and, at this level, those will get punished.
Feb 24, 2013; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia (9) against the Baltimore Orioles during a spring training game at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
On a completely unrelated note, and I don’t want this to sound like sour grapes after his three strike outs lowered his already absurd BB/K rate further, but is there a worse pitch framer than J.P. Arencibia? Unless Pitch Trax is waaaay off, which it may be, considering the pitches Brett Lawrie was rung up on, JPA makes borderline pitches look worse rather than better. Is very frustrating.
So, where do we go from here? Hopefully Nolin forgets this quickly and continues to dominate double-A hitters, making it difficult for the Jays not to consider him the next time a starter is needed. Unfortunately though, from what I can gather, the Jays have burned one of Nolin’s options a season earlier than what was necessary. Doesn’t really seem worth it now.
For the Jays? They’re going to need another couple of spot starts while both Josh Johnson and J.A. Happ continue their recoveries. I just hope I’m not writing a similarly depressing morning after in regards to Marcus Stroman.