HOF Watch: Pat Hentgen

Pat Hentgen was a beloved longtime Blue Jay in the '90s and will have his first-and possibly only-year on the HOF ballot this year.

Hentgen had some great moments- after spending part of 1992 in the Toronto bullpen, he joined the starting rotation for good in 1993 and went 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA. He added a win in Game 3 of the World Series as the Jays beat the Phillies. In 1996, he went 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA en route to the AL Cy Young.

For the rest of his career, though, Hentgen was consistently average. Pat had four more seasons as a rotation workhorse but never regained the heights of 1996. An arm injury in 2001 brought his age-32 year to a sudden halt and he went under the knife for Tommy John surgery. He was back on the mound by the end of 2002 and he had one last decent year in 2003 at the age of 34 as he went 7-8 with a 4.09 ERA. Hentgen returned to Toronto for one final year but went a disappointing 2-9.

Hentgen's final career line was 131-112 with a 4.32 ERA. His career was a good one but falls well short of Hall of Fame standards. He does have some credentials-particularly the CY and the Series ring but also 3 all-star appearances- that may earn him a few votes if Toronto writers want to give him a tribute on the ballot. He's almost certain to fall off the ballot right away.

Hentgen, like so many other pitchers, had flashes of greatness but couldn't dodge the injuries that ended his career. Even without the injuries, though, Hentgen's days were always numbered: he only struck out 5.6 batters per nine against 3.4 BB/9. With middling stuff, Hentgen had to be aggressive and rely on his stuff- a quality that perhaps rubbed off on a young Roy Halladay, whose first year as a Jay was also Hentgen's last before the trade that sent him to St. Louis. Hentgen's aggressiveness allowed him to rack up big innings totals as he led the majors in innings in both 1996 and 1997.

Though he won't be a hall of famer, Pat will be fondly remembered by Jays fans as a key cog in the 1993 World Series and for always taking his turn on the mound as his career progressed. Thanks for the memories, Pat!

The Tragic Case of Marc Savard

Team Canada is now well into its preseason selection camp for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Without a doubt they have as good a collection of talent as anyone, save perhaps the Russians, who will be sending one of their strongest teams ever. For all the scoring power on the Russian team, though (including three of last season's top four scorers in Ovechkin, Malkin and Datsyuk) Canada has incredible scoring depth up front, taking ten of the top 20 spots in last year's NHL scoring race, while Russia only has five (Kovalchuk and Semin being the other two).

Such is team Canada's depth that they felt it unnecessary to invite a player who finished ninth in league scoring last season. He was 22nd the year before, but also finished ninth in scoring in both 05/06 and 06/07. He's become the league's unknown superstar. And while it's fair to say Canada isn't lacking for offensive centremen, it's a little galling that he doesn't even merit an invite to training camp.

You could make the argument that Savard is a product of good linemates, but I don't buy that. While he has been blessed with some strong supporting casts, he outscored his next-best Boston teammate, Phil Kessel, by 15 points last season. Last year, he led the team by a margin of 22 points. He is in many ways a second coming of Adam Oates - an unglamourous passer who racks up points by dishing the puck to scoring wingers. In that sense, he's perfectly suited to playing for Canada, where he'd have no shortage of quality scoring wingers.

You could make the argument that he's a product of the new NHL and will struggle in clutch-and-grab international hockey, but that position fails too. In two pre-lockout seasons he was a point-a-game player, while he has been no disappointment in high-pressure playoff games, scoring 19 points in 18 games.

The only possible explanation is that Canada's management don't see another place for a scoring centre. At this point Crosby, Getzlaf, Thornton and Richards are all strong options, not to mention Staal, Lecavalier and Carter (among others). Simply put, Savard lacks the defensive chops to put him ahead of that group, and isn't suited to moving to the wing the way Carter or Marleau might be.

Why not invite him over Andy MacDonald or Jordan Staal, though? Over Derek Roy, who managed just 70 points last year? Savard is getting a raw deal because he's played nearly his entire career as the quiet star of American teams. There is one last problem - he hasn't played for Canada since an appearance at the world u-18 tournament years ago. He missed the playoffs again and again after starring with the Thrashers but never threw his hat in the ring for a spot with Canada's World Championships teams, a move that has earned dedicated but perhaps less talented players like Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth automatic invites to training camp this year. Savard can only wonder if that might have made a difference as, at age 32, he will watch these Olympics from the sidelines knowing he will never get a chance.

Blueberry Muffins

Made blueberry muffins this morning...i simply googled for a recipe and here's what canadianliving.com offered up:

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup (175 mL) milk
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) blueberries

Preparation:

In bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, cream butter with sugar; beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in milk (mixture may appear curdled). Make a well in centre of dry ingredients; pour in liquid and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon into large paper-lined or well-greased muffin cups, filling to top. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until tops are firm to the touch.

Turned out nicely - quite basic but a snap to make and they were awfully tasty.

Other recipes i've tried for blueberry muffins mix it up a little more, adding banana, bran, orange or other flavourings. This one was decidedly vanilla, but hey, it's breakfast. No need to get too crazy! I'll use this recipe again.

Oh, Cito...

After playing 23 innings in the past two days, you could say the Jays were counting on Ricky Romero to put in a long outing today (Sunday June 21). Cito used eight pitchers on Thursday, seven on Friday and had to use starter Scott Richmond in relief Saturday. Yet after Romero tossed seven innings on 118 pitches for Sunday, Cito used four relievers to close out the last two innings. In the eighth, he pulled Jeremy Accardo after one batter and six pitches; Brandon League got the next two outs on four pitches to end the frame. Rather than send League back out for the ninth, Cito chose to send in Jesse Carlson (who has now pitched four of the last six days) while holding a seven-run lead. Carlson wasn't able to get out of the inning and Jason Frasor had to come in to get the final out.

It's easy to scratch one's head at Cito's seemingly needless burning of his relievers; the team at least has an off-day tomorrow, but with so many injuries on the pitching staff, you'd think the team would be paying extra attention to taking good care of the arms. The sensible thing to do would have been to give the two innings to a single pitcher.

I can understand Cito may have been reluctant to use any one guy for several batters given that pretty much everyone had to pitch both Thursday and Friday. This would have been much more avoidable had Cito been more careful about his pitching management on those days. More than once, he missed obvious double-switch opportunities and had to pinch-hit for pitchers while they presumably still had another inning in the tank. There has been much said about Cito's opposition to pitchers batting in interleague; that doesn't excuse his ignorance of its strategical implications.