Blue Jays right-hander Dustin McGowan is feeling good this spring as he tries to make it back from shoulder surgery. McGowan threw 30 pitches during a simulated game at Toronto's minor league complex while the rest of the team had the day off. "Absolutely. I think that's the biggest one, the next two days, to see how I feel," McGowan said after throwing the equivalent of two…

Often in life, less is more.

So it is with pitcher Jason Frasor, a major contributor to the Jays’ bullpen the last six years.

Frasor, who is called on to work the white-knuckle parts of the game—he is used chiefly in a setup role but also has seen work as the closer—is coming off what is arguably his most effective season in the big leagues.

In 2009, Frasor made 61 appearances—the most he’s made over the last four seasons—and went 7-3 with a career-low 2.50 ERA. He allowed just 43 hits in 57 2/3 innings, walked 16, struck out 56 and allowed the opposition just a .209 batting average.

Looking back on the year, Frasor can easily point to one reason for his overall effectiveness: the development of a changeup, a complement to his…

Harry Leroy Halladay III (or simply Roy) will always have a special place in the hearts of Toronto Blue Jays fans. Despite being born and raised in Denver and bearing a nickname derived from a gunfighter of the western United States (Doc Holliday), Roy Halladay has become synonymous with baseball in Canada’s largest city.

If he wins enough games to get into baseball’s Hall of Fame, he will almost surely wear a Blue Jays cap and go down as a Blue Jay eternally. Although currently playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, whose nickname ‘Phillies’ means simply people from Philadelphia, Roy Halladay isn’t a Philadelphian, he’s a Torontonian.

But is he the best player in Toronto baseball history? My short answer is “yes.”

When bringing up this argument, one refers to Dave Stieb and Carlos Delgado as his main competitors in the all-history franchise player race. But I don’t think it’s close. At all.

Comparing Halladay with Stieb

Stieb may have 175 career wins as a Blue Jays, but Halladay isn’t far behind with 148 and Halladay has far fewer losses: 76 compared with Stieb’s 134. That’s a .661 win percentage for Halladay and a terrible (for a seven-time all-star) .565 record for Stieb.

They have practically identical ERAs (3.44 for Halladay, 3.43 for Stieb), but the thing with Stieb is that he never put together a truly dominant year. Sure, he had his no-hitter, but his best season was probably 1984 when he went 16-8 with a 2.83 ERA and 198 strikeouts. He never struck out 200 batters in a season. He never won more than 18 games. Only thrice did he put together a sub-3.00 ERA. As a result, he was never engrossed in Cy Young races, your average staff ace and could have easily fit in as a second starter on another team.

But with Halladay, he had his Cy Young Award, in 2003 and was a full-fledged contender for the accolade in both 2008 and 2009 with decent years in between. He’s fully capable of striking out 200 batters in a season, doing it three times. He allows a startlingly few amount of walks, 2.00/9 innings for his career. Dave Stieb regularly allowed 80+ walks and 3.21/9 innings for his career, certainly not a favourable statistic.

Both of them pitch(ed) an alarming number of complete games and were uber-consistent. With Stieb, people play the “He played for the Blue Jays longer, he was more dedicated to his club,” card. While he did play 1.4x more games than Halladay (really not that much more), Halladay still played for the Toronto Blue Jays for 12 seasons and signed multiple extensions. He was just as serious about bringing baseball goodness to Toronto as Stieb was.

When browsing a list of Blue Jays team records, the casual observer may infer that Dave Stieb is the best pitcher in team history, but really, it’s Halladay. End of discussion, onto Delgado.

Comparing Halladay with Carlos Delgado

Carlos Delgado is unquestionably the best batter in Toronto Blue Jays history. He hit the most home runs. He slugged .556, highest in team history. He scored the most runs, drove in the most runs, collected the most walks, hit the most doubles, the most total bases… need we go on?

But, is he closely comparable to Roy Halladay, now established as the best pitcher in Blue Jays history. Once again, I don’t think he’s up to par with the Doc. Playing only 9 seasons with Toronto, the records he set are obviously due to lack of long-team-history-inflation. Had he continued to play for Toronto for 4 or 5 more years and hit 500 home runs as a Jay, then sure, start the worshiping, but without it, he’s stuck in transition a bit.

Carlos Delgado had MVP numbers in 2000 (.344 with 41 homers and 137 Runs Batted In, I don’t have a clue as to how he lost to Jason Giambi, who mainly put up inferior stats across the board) as well as being MVP runner-up to A-Rod in 2003. He lost to two steroid users, ick. But nonetheless he proved that like Roy Halladay and unlike Dave Stieb, he could put together big years and had big stuff.

But Halladay played longer and had just as dominant years with the Blue Jays. You can’t blame Delgado for leaving Toronto and while Delgado maintains a very positive image in Blue Jays fans’ minds, I don’t think he was near as much as a city-wide icon as Halladay was. Fans in Toronto were proud that we had Halladay on our team. Plus, he’s a Yankees killer, 18-6 lifetime against the Evil Empire, a key reason Philadelphia wanted him.

So I don’t think that Delgado is at Halladay’s level, Delgado was good but not as synonymous with Toronto as Halladay has been since his arrival in 1998. Roy Halladay will easily be inducted into the Blue Jays Level of Excellence and will go down as the best Blue Jay ever.

view my Toronto Blue Jays blog here

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There really wasn’t much that caught my eye on the offensive side today. Many things to talk about though, from today’s pitching performances to my usual daily dose of useless random observations.

Max Scherzer watched his ERA rise to 30.86 today as he lasted only a third of an inning. He was pulled after allowing five runs on four hits and three walks. Over at MLB.com Scherzer has a few things to say in regards to his slow start .

I hate to keep making excuses for the kid but trust me Max Scherzer is a much better pitcher than this.

Casey Crosby made his Spring Training debut today.

He surrendered two consecutive singles, followed by two walks. He struggled with command and looked very uncomfortable in his brief appearance.

While many folks are displeased with what they saw or heard today, don’t read too much into it. Command has always been an issue for Crosby. He will work things out down on the farm and yes, he still is the real deal.

Robbie Weinhardt continues to impress me down here.

He entered the game with nobody out and the bases loaded for the second time this spring. He limited the damage by inducing back to back ground outs and striking out Brandon Hicks.

He is getting no ink from the press or fellow bloggers and I’m surprised. I am starting to feel like I am campaigning for the kid. 

Wait till y’all see this kid pitch! Weinhardt has picked up right where he left off last season. He should be at least considered for a spot this season.

Phil Coke has also been pretty solid as he pitched a scoreless inning today.

Perhaps it won’t happen as soon as I’d like, but at some point this season I believe he will join the rotation.He will quietly become a fan favorite too.

Move over Maggs hat hair give away day. The Phil Coke mullet hat hair day is vastly approaching!

Joel Zumaya scattered two hits but settled down and got out of the inning without surrendering a run. It is also worth noting that he is still injury free!

Dontrelle Willis tossed two scoreless innings again. That’s not a typo! Zero hits and one walk, also not a typo.

I wore my D-Train jersey today to the stadium and like most folks, I really want him to succeed. At this point though I treat him like Glass Joel Zumaya: carefully and with limited expectations.

Hopefully this run continues into the regular season.

Handy Links

My prayers have been answered apparently. Ryan Strieby
will be working in the outfield this season in AAA Toledo.

Casey Fien is on the move again from the Tigers to the Red Sox to the Blue Jays in just one week.

I will return with more next weekend, unfortunately I must get back to work.

*Stay Classy Tiger Nation

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Edwin Encarnacion is a funny guy, isn’t he?

Not in the sense of being a prankster, but here you have a guy who has basically fallen off the radar of just about every fantasy owner’s map, and to them, for good reason.

If you give a passing glance at his stats, they suggest he was a one-and-done kind of guy after his breakout 2008 campaign.

In 2009, his production severely took a hit after dealing with some injuries, but most will forget that and just talk about his horrible start in April where he hit well below the Mendoza line.

Enter in 2010, some new digs (well sort of) that favor right handed batters, and a fresh bill of health.

The thing is, in only 293 AB last year, Encarnacion still was on track for about 25 home runs, and an OPS of .800, not to mention he was flirting with topping his RBI production with what he was able to provide.

So why the hate?

OK, he isn’t a top elite fantasy option, but considering he is still just 27 years old and has basically been given a clean slate, you have to think he is in line to turn some heads this year.

Toronto is a dreamland for right handed batters, they have a good set of hitters that can boost any hitter’s numbers who traditionally hits in the five spot, and he is still good for some pretty good power.

Most fantasy owners have very short leashes when it comes to player trust, but with third base not being so quantity friendly , Encarnacion deserves a bit more attention, and don’t be surprised if he comes out of the gate swinging for the fences and sticks to it all year.

Hey, it’s easy to say that A-Rod, Evan Longoria, and Big Panda will have great years, but it’s far more difficult “scouting” the shallow end of the pool.

For a great preview on fantasy breakouts, busts, and sleepers check out this article series.

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Toronto manager Cito Gaston thinks Ricky Romero is a much improved pitcher now that he has some experience. The 25-year-old left-hander pitched three shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out two in the Blue Jays' 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Monday. Rivera went 13-9 in 29 starts as a rookie last season.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin pulled his groin and will be out for four to six weeks but the team…

Blue Jays left-hander Brett Cecil says he will make his spring debut Wednesday, one week after he cut his left thumb while "chopping up chickens." Cecil says he will pitch against the Phillies when they travel to Dunedin, Fla., to face Toronto. Cecil went 7-4 with a 5.30 ERA in 18 games, 17 starts, last year as a rookie and is trying to earn a spot in the Blue Jays' rotation.

Blue Jays left-hander Brett Cecil says he will make his spring debut Wednesday, one week after he cut his left thumb while “chopping up chickens.”

TAMPA, Fla. – Shaun Marcum looked impressive in his return to a major league mound.