News

Turning around the 2008 Toronto Blue Jays became a little tougher for Cito Gaston Saturday, with news the team had placed right-hander Shaun Marcum on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain.

Marcum will be examined Monday by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. He has already seen the Blue Jays specialist, Dr. SteveMirabello.

"He's been nursing it for a couple of weeks now," pitching coach Brad Arnsberg said. "We knew there was something in there but it never altered him from pitching. He always took the ball and we kept guarding it and we told him we had the option of shutting him down if we felt he needed it."

The Blue Jays recalled Adam Lind from Triple-A Syracuse to take Marcum's spot on the roster. They will bring up a pitcher from Syracuse, likely John Parrish or Kane Davis, in time for a start next Saturday and keep A.J. Burnett and Jesse Litsch on their regular turns.

That means A.J. Burnett will start on Tuesday, followed by Roy Halladay on Wednesday, Litsch on Thursday and Dustin McGowan on Friday.

Marcum was, in the words of Arnsberg, "throwing the ball as well as anybody on the staff," and the best-case scenario is that he will miss just two starts. Marcum is 5-4 with a 2.65 earned run average that was second in the American League going into Saturday. His opponents batting average (.198) was best in the league.

Gaston was philosophical about the loss of Marcum. On Friday, just hours after taking over from John Gibbons, he learned that he will not be able to count on second baseman Aaron Hill any time soon as Hill was ordered by a Pittsburgh-based concussion specialist to refrain from baseball-related activity for another two weeks.

"It could have even been worse if Doc would have been gone," said Gaston, referring to the fact that Halladay took a line-drive off his head - just above the right temple - in Friday night's 1-0 loss to the Pirates. Halladay had a CAT scan after the game and checked out fine and was out in the field jogging when Gaston showed up for Saturday's game.

The line drive, by the Pirates Nyjer Morgan, glanced off Halladay and found its way into the glove of Scott Rolen for the final out of the seventh. Halladay said he felt dizzy as he walked off the mound, but was fine in the clubhouse. He said he'd seen the replay - just once - and when asked what he thought shrugged and said: "At least he (Rolen) caught the ball.

"I'd rather take a ball off the head than give up two runs," Halladay said.

Lind won't sit on the bench and rot under Gaston. Lind was hitting .328 with 17 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 50 runs batted in at Syracuse and Gaston said: "This kid is having a great year down there and he's hit everywhere. I think he's one of the kids who's going to be a part of the future of this club, so he's going to get a chance to play."