When last we spoke, websites were indicating that Jeremy Guthrie would be starting tonight for the Orioles. I was all revved up to pump up Guthrie here and talk about how we're sure to win with him pitching. Only it turns out that Chris Tillman is starting tonight. Don't panic: there's nothing wrong with Guts and he's still tomorrow's scheduled starter.
One of the ongoing debates on CC has been concerning the treatment of Tillman by the front office compared to Brad Bergesen, who started out looking like crap, was banished to the bullpen briefly and then the minors briefly, came back to the bigs, continued muddling in the 6.50 ERA range for a month, then suddenly everything clicked and he's only given up 18 ER in his last 70 innings. Would Tillman figure things out if we gave him an extended look? I don't know. I don't think you can make that comparison because they're different pitchers who had different things wrong. I do know that Tillman walked six guys in each of his last two starts and so we should all expect a lot of three-ball counts tonight and quite possibly another short outing.
The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista hit his 50th home run of the season yesterday. The comparisons to Brady Anderson for an out-of-nowhere 50 HR season can't be helped. Given the year Brady first hit 50 bombs, I think most of us around here believe that was an enhanced performance and I hope that's not the case with Bautista. Even after the steroid era's presumed conclusion, 50 home runs in a year is impressive. 60 and 70 are gaudy numbers, nigh unattainable without the likes of andro, the cream or the clear. But when you're talking about 50 home runs, you're talking about a reasonable number for a guy who's maybe just having one fluke year where everything about his craft comes together along with a healthy dose of luck. Congratulations to him for that accomplishment. Now please strike out four times tonight.
Brett Cecil is starting for the Blue Jays. I'm always sure to call him Maryland's own Brett Cecil, because he was born in Maryland, went to high school (DeMatha) in Maryland and also went to college at the University of Maryland. No one's going to confuse Cecil for Cy Young, except for when he plays the Orioles, as he has a 1.96 ERA in three starts. But none of those starts have come in the Buck era, so maybe it's time to turn that around. The O's will probably need the offense if they want to end an 11-game losing streak in the Rogers Centre.
Go O's!