Game Notes: Cy Ramirez vs CY Dickey

Despite his track record of success against the opposing lineup, Jake Odorizzi allowed six earned runs, six hits, and walked five batters in last night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Odorizzi was lifted after only recording one out in the fifth inning, matching his injury-shortened start in early June as the shortest of the season.

The Blue Jays needed only six runs as they would go on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the series opener by a score of 6-2. With the Blue Jays' victory, the team is now tied with the Rays for second place in the American League East. The teams are four and a half games behind the first-place New York Yankees.

In today's game, the Rays will send Erasmo "Cy" Ramirez to the mound to face off against former National League Cy Young winner, R.A. Dickey.

First pitch is at 1:05.

The Book on R.A. Dickey

At the ripe age of 37, the knuckleball throwing right hander was the toast of the baseball world as he took home the 2012 National League Cy Young award. A professional baseball journeyman prior to the season, Dickey posted a 20-6 record and a 2.73 ERA en route to his hardware.

Having just completed an award winning season, and with his contract fixing to expire at the conclusion of the next year, New York Mets general manager, Sandy Alderson, made the no-brainer decision of trading his breakout ace.

The Blue Jays were their trade partner, and upon Dickey's arrival the two parties agreed to a two year, $25 million contract extension that would keep him in Toronto through the 2015 season.

Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Dickey has been unable to reharness his Cy Young winning magic in his first three seasons in Canada. This season has been particularly bad, as he has posted a 4.87 ERA and a 5.13 FIP in his first 18 starts of 2015. His -0.1 WAR (Fangraphs) makes his $12.5 million salary one of the worst values in baseball.

Equally unfortunately, is what the Blue Jays had to give up to receive their new ace. As part of the seven player trade the Mets shipped Dickey and backup catchers, Mike Nickeas and Josh Thole, up north. Meanwhile, they received John Buck, Travis d'Arnaud, and Wuilmer Becerra.

Oh, and Noah Syndergaard.

Many analysts questioned this trade from the very beginning, but it certainly has the potential to be one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory.

Here's a look at Dickey's arsenal in 2015:

Other Rays' Notes

--Second round pick Chris Betts will need Tommy John surgery. Injuries must be a pre-requisite to joining the organization.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A twist to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rays?src=hash">#Rays</a> signing of 2nd rd pick C Chris Betts - he&#39;ll have Tommy John surgery, right elbow injury discovered during team physical.</p>&mdash; Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) <a href="https://twitter.com/TBTimes_Rays/status/622395960828801024">July 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Betts was limited to DH during senior HS season by what <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rays?src=hash">#Rays</a> and he said was a forearm strain. Agreed to above slot bonus of $1,485,000</p>&mdash; Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) <a href="https://twitter.com/TBTimes_Rays/status/622398065673138176">July 18, 2015</a></blockquote>

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