This one hurts, and I don’t mean just for him.

Jesse Litsch, who started the season as the Jays’ number-2 pitcher and the only pitcher other than the immortal Roy Halladay to have started regularly in 2008 as well, is going under the knife. Yes, he is getting the dreaded Tommy John surgery and could be out up to 18 months after the inflammation subsides and rehab is completed.

Let’s be real, this is another huge blow for a team who keeps struggling to put all the pieces together to make a pennant run. Litsch had an exciting 2007, developed into a dependable every-fifth-day kind of guy last year, and had the makings of another solid year before he bowed to the injury.

Litsch isn’t a fireballer and nobody in southern Ontario was going to confuse him for A.J. Burnett. But he has a great repertoire and above-average command, shown by his career ERA of 3.67. The Jays have done an admirable job patching up their already-thin rotation with great efforts by Brian Tallet, Scott Richmond, et al. They’ve also seen two of their young guns, David Purcey and Brett Cecil, get rocked hard on the biggest stage. Casey Janssen is back and looks great, and if we cross our fingers, we might even get Shaun Marcum back before September.

Still, it stings to see such a promising young talent join Dustin McGowan on the list of pitchers Toronto fans won’t get to enjoy until 2010 at the earliest.

Jesse, we hardly knew ye.