Hot Takes on Ancient and Newer News: Rookies and Buehrle

Anthopoulos made some MLB news early last month when the Jays broke camp with six rookies. It was fun!  It's now a month in, and 50% of those rookies are in AAA Buffalo.

Dalton Pompey, who grew up half an hour from the ball park, had flashes of brilliance as well as some scary routes to balls and got outplayed by Kevin Pillar. He also openly talked about playing scared without being probed to, which discomfited the beat writers. Pompey is a very talented athlete and is also really young. He should just put his head down, get his work in and work on not playing scared. He'll be fine.

Daniel Norris, who drives a van that he parked in a WalMart in Florida, had flashes of brilliance (his start on his birthday) as well as some scary starts and some dead arm. Lots of talent and I think he'll be fine. His start in Buffalo the other day wasn't great

It was a bit of a record scratch moment when I heard Kevin Barker  and Jeff Blair talk about Miguel Castro's poor start in Buffalo on Baseball Central earlier this morning. Not just because his start was poor, but that they have him starting at all. I'm sure they have their reasons, but if I were making the decisions, I'd have Castro work on controlling his fastball down in the zone, which would compliment that hard changeup he's got. And I'd work on getting him to a point that he can be a solid back end of the bullpen guy.  I understand that the opportunities for relief pitching in the minors aren't as good as in the bigs and that the Jays want Castro to have regular work, but I might even just have him throw his fastball/change for strikes when he starts. I doubt that's something that actually happens, but that's what I'd do.


Mark Buehrle actually beat the Yankees. It's been 11 years. I suspect Buehrle might've had an edge on Wednesday night, because dude was a little fired up about the media post game.

There have been reports that Buehrle is hurting and even whispers about  an actual DL stint as reported by TSN's Scott MacArthur. A DL stint is the thing that has never happened to Buehrle. (He's like the anti-Jose Reyes that way. Buehrle also doesn't record his own reggaeton records, so that's another difference. There may be others.)

Buehrle is having none of it. When asked if there is a possibility of a DL stint, Buehrle said,"Yeah, if I get hit by a car on the street tonight." (Money quote of the early season? Yes, I think so.)

“I’ve heard I’m going on the DL, back’s hurting, doing everything I can do (to make starts),” he said. “One thing is right: I had been pitching in pain and everything for 10 years now, so that reporting’s a little bit late, and I do everything I can in between my starts to go out there and get ready for my next one.”

He also doesn't like all the retirement talk, mostly because he finds it a distraction and needs to discuss it with the Mrs in the off season.

“I think it’s kind of ridiculous that somebody’s got to go to somebody else instead of coming and asking me, to report the same thing about retiring next year,” Buehrle said. “I haven’t made a decision yet and people, I don’t know whoever these close sources are to me, they’re not paying them enough or not going to the right people.”