So, Monday night I went to a game between the Rochester Red Wings and Gwinnett Braves. The pitcher was somebody who they claimed was Jair Jurrjens. However, I don’t think it was actual him. Jair Jurrjens, after all, is a star pitcher from Curacao. I saw him during his rookie season, where he ended up third in RoY voting.  He was somebody who pitched in the All-Star Game last season who finished 2011 with a 2.96 ERA. Who had a HR/9 of 0.8 in his career. He had some injury problems, including last season, but definitely one of the better pitchers in baseball.

That man, I believe, was kidnapped over the winter and replaced by this guy:

It’s an identical twin of Jurrjens, who has a glorified BP fastball and who gives up 11 hits and 6 earned runs to a team that, while recently resurgent, is in last place in their division. And, the thing is, if not for him Houdini-ing his way out of a few innings (such as the first inning, where the Wings got a man to third with no outs but were unable to bring him home), it would have been an even bigger massacre.

So, if anybody out there knows where the real Jair Jurrjens went, please let the Braves organization know. It’s sad to see such talented pitchers lose their stuff, get sent down and then try to make their way back up to MLB as shadows of their old selves. We’ve seen it happen to Dontrelle Willis recently, and to other pitchers in the past. And it remains sad to see.