ESPN Buster Olney Blog

The Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels, the Yankees and some other teams must wait for pitching reinforcements to arrive. It feels like a scene from one of those old Westerns, when a small band of holdouts preserves its bullets and just tries to buy time before the cavalry shows up. J.P. Ricciardi, the Blue Jays' general manager, laughed when he heard that analogy. "We're not even waiting for the cavalry," he said. "We're more like the Alamo at this point."

But help could be on the way for the Blue Jays, who have put together a strong 14-7 start despite having lost five starting pitchers to the disabled list. Jesse Litsch met with Dr. James Andrews on Monday and was told he has no ligament damage -- no structural damage -- so he will immediately begin a throwing program and could return within a month. Casey Janssen is already into the intermediate steps of his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury, and he could return sometime in mid-May. Ricky Romero, recovering from an oblique strain, could pitch in the rotation by the end of May.

Shaun Marcum, who underwent Tommy John surgery in September, will throw in a bullpen this week. If he doesn't suffer any setbacks, he might climb a major league mound sometime in July or August.

Ricciardi doesn't plan to pursue any of the current free-agent pitchers -- the likes of Pedro Martinez, Paul Byrd, et al. "The kids are our future, so we're sticking with them, and they've played great," Ricciardi said. Toronto's offense is dramatically improved this season, as the Blue Jays lead the majors in offense. Meanwhile, pitchers such as Brian Tallet have stepped up into the rotation void.

Reinforcements will be needed eventually, and they should start arriving about the same time the Blue Jays begin the Red Sox-Rays-Yankees portion of their schedule on May 12 with a three-game home series against New York.

David Purcey got knocked around Monday night in Kansas City, Ken Fidlin writes.

Elsewhere, the Yankees are similarly scrambling for answers in their bullpen. Phil Hughes has been summoned to the majors to pitch Tuesday night, but the Yankees are not discussing any major restructuring of roles -- that means no switch of Joba Chamberlain to the bullpen.

And the Angels will continue to go day-to-day plugging and filling in their rotation as they wait for Ervin Santana and John Lackey to come back sometime in May. Several talent evaluators said on Sunday and Monday that they believe that the relative mediocrity of the AL West will allow the Angels to hang in the race. One evaluator wrote in an e-mail, "I still think the Angels will win this division if Santana and Lackey return in true form. The Bobby Abreu acquisition should prove to be a big one and Torii Hunter has stepped up offering significant power in the middle of the lineup. Scot Shields is a mess right now, but he has shown that he can bounce back when he loses his delivery like he did a year or so ago. This prediction is more of an indictment on the rest of the division, though.

"I am not sold on Seattle with all the holes in their lineup and their erratic bullpen (lots of power arms, not a lot of strike throwers). An early look at Oakland leads me to believe that they are asking a lot of their young starting rotation to take stress off of a bullpen that has already lost its closer in Joey Devine. If Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi don't offer more sock, they are probably in trouble."

• Barry Bonds was on hand to see Barry Zito pitch Monday. Within this notebook, Bonds acknowledged he has cut back on his strenuous workouts.

Folks ask all the time: Will Bonds play again? The answer is fairly clear at this point: No. He will turn 45 in the summer, and it has been about 19 months since he has appeared in a big league game.

Before Bonds showed up, Zito Twittered before he pitched on Monday, Gwen Knapp writes.

• Kevin Millar has been serving the same role in Toronto that he did in Boston and Baltimore. He's a positive clubhouse influence who helps others get through the long season and, along the way, racks up his share of hits. Millar is hitting .344, with three doubles and a homer.

• The Rays have played better defense than they did last season in the eyes of general manager Andrew Friedman, and their bullpen has given them decent work. But the Tampa Bay offense has been erratic so far, and the starting pitching has been inconsistent.

Yet Friedman thinks the team will work out its kinks. "Nothing has changed about the way I feel about this team since Opening Day, except we're in a bigger hole," Friedman said. At 8-12, the Rays are 4½ games out of first place after their 7-1 win over Minnesota on Monday night. Jeff Niemann allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings.

Some bright spots for the Rays' offense: Jason Bartlett just pounds the Twins, and he's hitting .371 this season. Carlos Pena has hit nine home runs.

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