Hutchison bumped from rotation again
Spot on 25-man playoff roster in jeopardy for inconsistent 25-year-old right-hander
ATLANTA— The Blue Jays are sparing no individual feelings as they attempt to move forward and win the AL East. They do what is best for the whole.
Right-hander Drew Hutchison, the club’s opening day starter at Yankee Sta- dium in April, has become the sixth starter in a five-man rotation.
Hutchison had been scheduled to start against the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 on Thursday at Turner Field, the finale of the road trip but manager John Gibbons called the 25-year-old into his office on Sunday morning in New York and delivered the news. Marco Estrada will start the Thursday game on four days’ rest, while right-hander Marcus Stroman will start on Friday against the Red Sox.
“You take it like anything else,” Hutchi- son said before Tuesday’s game. “I want to do everything I can to help us win. I just have to go out there and pitch to my capabilities. Mentally you just continue to stay locked in and continue to do what you need to do to stay sharp to be ready to go.”
What would be circumstances that might lead to Hutchison being asked to start again over the final 18 games of the schedule?
One possibility would be if Mark Buehrle’s left shoulder, which received a cortisone injection on Tuesday, has not fully recovered and the inflammation returns. A second would be if Stroman, who looked good versus the Yankees, suffered any sort of a physical setback. Stroman has made just three pro starts in almost a year.
This is not the first time Hutchison has been removed from the Jays’ rotation this season. He missed an eight-game, 10-day road trip in Au- gust, optioned instead to Triple-A Buffalo where he made one start.
Hutchison’s splits this year have been awful. He is 11-2 with a 2.91ERA at the Rogers Centre while averaging 61⁄ innings in 15 starts. On the road
3 he is 2-2 with a 9.44 ERA, averaging fewer than five innings in 11 starts, during which opponents have compiled a glitzy 1.044 OPS — on-base plus slugging percentage.
“It drives me more crazy than you,” Hutchison said. “It just comes down to executing pitches. When I’ve done that, even on the road, I’ve had success. When I haven’t, I haven’t. Over- all it’s just been weird for that to happen. As it did last year — the opposite for most of the year.”
This decision leaves Hutchison’s projected post-season role in serious doubt. He could find himself left out when the Toronto roster is cut back to 25 players. In the playoffs, there is a need for just four starting pitchers. Even if Gibbons carried eight relievers, the Jays roster is stacked with professional bullpen help, guys that have done it all their lives and are doing well. Hutchison was asked about his level of disappointment.
“There’s not time for that, you don’t have time for personal things like that,” Hutchison said. “I need to be ready to go tonight if my name’s called, so there’s no time for that. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. I’m not going to make excuses as I (haven’t) all year.
“You just have to be ready to go for what you need to do to help us contribute, help us win.”
Gibbons said that the Jays never at any time considered going to a sixman starting rotation. They now have their five starters for the stretch drive, plus Hutchison as the sixth man.