If you pull up ESPN's hitting stats by position, the default sort order is by batting average. Not my choice, needless to say, but enlightening anyway. I wanted to look at AL third basemen, and there's Scott Rolen at the top of the heap with his .332 BAVG.

And the guy bringing up the rear? Alex Rodriguez himself.

Cito Gaston has taken an occasional bit of heat for his unbending  adherence to his plan to keep Scott Rolen hale and healthy. But he's obviously done a far, far better job of caring for his third baseman than Joe Girardi has. Rodriguez had surgery in March - it didn't completely correct the problem with his hip, the idea was to get him back into the lineup after two months and have another surgery after the season to fully fix the problem. Girardi said he'd let Rodriguez decide if he felt well enough to play. Rodriguez returned from his injury on May 8 and went straight into the lineup. Day after day after day.   Rodriguez, like just about everyone, wants to play every day. And so he has.

It's been a disaster and it's only getting worse. He's hit .143 this month (9-63) and while he did hit .260 in May, one five hit game in Texas accounts for much of that (he hit .208 the rest of the month.)

Now they're talking about giving him one day off every week...

"Cito Gaston has taken an occasional bit of heat for his unbending adherence to his plan to keep Scott Rolen hale and healthy."

From who?! I remember Gibby taking heat for resting regulars when the offense was slumping, but nobody has been complaining about Rolen's day game rests. And the last time they had the day game after night game Rolen still started.

The Jays have a lot more off days in august than the did in April and I've been wondering for a while if Cito won't play Rolen a lot more often from now through Labor Day than he did early on.

There are 4 more "day game after night game" (DGANG) events between now and the break and the last one is the last day before the break. Another is followed by an off day (as the game this last Sunday was) so I could see Rolen sitting maybe two of those.

After the break, there's a DGANG the first Saturday (and an off day the following Monday) then 8 more before the August 27 off day. 4 of those 8 preceed an off day and another is Saturday August 8 after the Jays had off days on both the 4th and the 6th and anticipate one on the 13th.

So I could see the potential that Rolen only sits 3 times between the break and August 29.

Between August 30 and September 17, there are 4 DGANG games among 19 games in 18 days. Rolen will probably sit for all of those plus one half of the double header.

From there to the end of the season there are three more, including the last game...whether or not Rolen plays or sits in all those probably has to do with how in the race we are.

All in all, withe 90 games to go Rolen could play in as many as 80 of them. IF in fact Cito is thinking what I think he's thinking.

-------------------------------
Another fun point about the standings:

the Jays are tied with the Yankees despite the fact that the jays have had a nine game losing streak and the Yankees have had a nine game winning streak. Without their respective streaks, the two teams are:

TOR - 39-24
NYY - 29-32

Also worth noting that the Red Sox have an 11 game winnings streak. (without which they are otherwise six games over) and the Rays have no comperable losing streak either.

The optimistic part in me hopes that those teams each have a long losing streak in them still, which would really be nice.

Of course, we'd have to avoid another one.  If these pitchers come back, we just might.

Through 72 games, only 35 Home games, Toronto finally has 30,351 fans to a Brian Tallet game.  Of course, only 803,223 fans even bother to show up to this point in the season.  Without 2.0 - 2.5 million fans through the gates this year, don't expect any more money  - than the minimum it takes to pay the players, next year.  Toronto has the worst fans - this is a fun team to watch.  72 games into the season, decent prices, young players to see, everyone who said wait until 2010 should be fired.  Idiots.. 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/mlb-power-rankings.htm

How ridiculous are these power rankings when Toronto and New York are tied, but NY is ranked #3 and the Jays #10. Tampa is #12. Now, I'm just itching to get to the July and August schedule to see the Jays take on the other AL East teams to see who can take advantage of the head-to-head, zero sum games.

As for the zero sum games left vs. the Jays' direct competitors (only counting TB, NY and Bos), there are 10 games before the All-Star Game, and there will be 35 after the All-Star Game. The Jays have a really great opportunity to make a playoff push if they upgrade. JP will have to really figure out if this team can take on the best of the AL East before he decides to move some of the coveted prospects.

JP gave updates on the injured pitchers today.

Summary:

McGowan - Setback, may not pitch in major leagues again

Marcum - Pitching simulated games, should be pitching in minor league games in July

Litsch - Might start throwing next spring training

Ray - Still not ready to throw in a game

Janssen - Still a ways away

 

OK children - now it begins.

Who is JP going to get? Another starter? We've only got about 10 of those. Another reliever? We've got loads of them. An outfielder? A SS? a 3rd baseman?...

Clearly - the ONLY weakness (wot with Wells slowly returning from the dead and Rios now and then acting like a ball player) is a DH (or DH platoon) that scares the you know what out of the opposition.

In HOUSE -

6' 4" 230 pound, Dopirak at AA is KILLING LEFTIES - 354/403/708/1.110!

and 6' 1" 240 pound, Ruiz at AAA is KILLING RIGHTIES - 342/402/613/1.015!

This team is IN THE RUNNING this year because of our IN HOUSE PITCHING depth - I believe the organization OWES its in house hitters the chance to show what they can do when called up. These two guys DESERVE the chance.

JP - call them up and forget getting some outsider unless at least one of these two can't cut it!

My guess is that JP is keeping a keen eye on DH/LF possibilities in the trade market. But it will probably take a while for the market to shape up for someone like Nick Johnson (probably the ideal acquisition for Toronto). And the Jays' surplus of pitching has diminished with all the injuries, making it tougher to pull off trades.

I'm confident JP will target the right players (last year he had his sights set on Ibanez). The question is, will it be too late by the time those players hit the market in earnest? Despite the resurgent offence, the Jays have needed help at DH for a while, and the need is all the more pressing with upcoming series within the ultracompetitive AL East. One more big bat would make a huge difference.

While a DH platoon might make sense the problem is clearing out roster space for it.  Dopirak and Ruiz (if the Jays would give them the shot which is doubtful) don't really play anywhere but 1B/DH and _maybe_ LF in a pinch as I understand it.  To open two slots for guys that limited when you already have Lind and Overbay isn't easy.  Millar would obviously have to go and probably Adams (you need a backup SS and 3B and Adams isn't a good option at either position).  Not a major loss in either case and Adams would be in AAA if needed but I doubt the Jays would do that.

More likely is a trade and, as many have suggested, Nick Johnson just makes too much sense.  Washington is going nowhere (over 15 games out of the division lead and wild card already) and Johnson is a free agent post 2009 making $5.5 million which won't break the bank but would help Washington's budget.  Send a couple of prospects and you just might get him depending what Washington wants for an injury prone DH/1B stuck in the NL.

Toronto finally has 30,351 fans to a Brian Tallet game

$5 Tuesday will do that.  How many did we get tonight 15k?  

Not sure what is missing for the non hardcore Jays fan.  I guess winning something in the past 15 years might have helped.

I'll call BS on that. If winning was what it took they should be seeing a steady increase (except in the wake of the nine-gamer)

no one comes to a game in 2009 because the team was a contender 4 or 5 years ago.

Part ofthe problem is the dreath of Boston/NY games so far...But I don't think you'll see regular big crowds in other games unless you are SERIOUS contenders around labor Day and after.

no one comes to a game in 2009 because the team was a contender 4 or 5 years ago.

No but people will come if the Jays consistently are in the hunt for the playoffs or heaven forbid actually make the post season.   Look what happened to the Raptors after they beat the Knicks that year.  Tickets all of a sudden became a hot commodity.

"no one comes to a game in 2009 because the team was a contender 4 or 5 years ago."

Well your more wrong with this statement than you are right. People don't come to the ballpark on any given day because of what happened in seasons past. Winning seasons do have create fans though, how many people became bluejays fans during the early 90's because of the excitement. If we didn't have those great teams in our past there would be less Jays fans today.

Boston is 2nd last in the AL in defensive efficiency? How did that happen? I understand SS has been a concern, but where was their team ranked last season and how has their fortune fallen? I don't understand how nor who measures defensive efficiency but is there any other detail to explain their poor ranking? Or is it like explaining a magic trick?

Defensive efficiency, unless someone is reporting it differently than I understand it, is simply the % of balls in play (not walks, HRs, HBP) turned into outs. It's a very basic stat on a team level (much harder to assign balls to particular fielders, but simple to assign all balls to the defense in general), and I have no idea why Boston would have dropped off so badly. A lack of foul ground would hurt a team slightly ( I don't think foul balls count unless someone makes a play on them), but that's the same every year.

Here's a nice quote from Vernon Wells -- showing that he's still managed to keep his sense of humor:  "Feeding off a lot of the positive energy in the stands last night. Fans started cheering my new nickname - Boo."

Boston is 2nd last in the AL in defensive efficiency? How did that happen?

Bay is somehow worse than Manny. Jacoby isn't very good and far worse than Crisp. Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek are a year more decayed. Dustin Pedroia is a hideous midget.

All guesses, but educated ones.

<i>McGowan - Setback, may not pitch in major leagues again</i>

Well THAT is certainly horrible news for a Thursday morning....

If anything, Ruiz gets called up and Dopirak goes to AAA to replace him.

Speaking of Johnson though, is he really the answer for DH? His power numbers are nothing to write home about. Great average and OBP, but it seems we'd be gaining another Overbay when we really need another Lind. It would be an upgrade over Bautista and Adams, but is it the best we could do?

Overbay has an OPS of .929, so I'd take another Overbay in a hearbeat. 

The real question is whether we're going to have to give up a Brett Cecil to get Johnson, or if we'd be able to do it with a combination of lower level prospects.

My doctor brother-in-law told me that McGowan's diabetes would likely slow down his healing process from the surgery.  Obviously the surgery itself has its own inherent risk on top of that.

My comparison was more on the power numbers.  Just looking at Johnson's power numbers over his career and the highest he's had is 23.  He's also been extremely injury-prone.  Although a move to the AL and the DH might help in that regards.

My overall point was that we should be trying to do a little better.  He would definitely be an upgrade over Adams/Bautista, but I suppose I was hoping for someone with 30 HR potential who we could slot in the 4 spot.

We also should not give up any of the top level prospects for Johnson, especially not Cecil.  I would be comfortable with Purcey for Johnson.

I agree with the health concerns.  But if healthy Nick Johnson is a great hitter.  He is as talented as anyone out there.  This guy could of been the best hitter of his generation but injuries robbed him of the chance.

The most important stat is on base percentage.  Nick Johnson has a career .400 obp (well .399) despite battling injuries and hitting in tough parks his whole career.  35 doubles, 20 homers per 162 games played is good enough power.

We also do have a kid with 30 homer potential.  Just because he hit a slump and a back injury is no reason to give up prospects for Jermaine Dye.  If healthy I'd still go with Snider over a trade.   If going the trade route I'd rather have Nick Johnson then Dye or Holliday (assuming good health ofcourse).

I missed Tuesday's game.  With 30K attendance on Tuesday with Tallet pitching and 15K attendance last night with Richmond pitching, I am guessing that there was a promotion happening on Tuesday.

UZR suggests that the major culprits for the Red Sox' below average team defensive efficiency are Lowell, Bay and Lugo in that order. Lowell has been a good defensive third baseman over his career, but it is certainly possible that at age 35 he is a poor one.

I should have read the thread.  $5 Tuesday is the answer for the higher attendance.  With the rising Canadian dollar, the club ought to be lowering ticket prices at least for Monday-Thursday games in the non-premium seats.  You do have to adjust your thinking to the times. 

BBRef tells us that the AL has a 106-91 record this year in interleague play, and has outscored the NL 934-834.  NL hitters not doing much against AL pitchers (4.23 runs/game).  Hmm.

Bay is somehow worse than Manny. Jacoby isn't very good and far worse than Crisp. Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek are a year more decayed. Dustin Pedroia is a hideous midget.

Educated guesses indeed, and good ones. The fact that they've elected to play the season without a shortstop may also be a problem.

By the way, Yankees fans call Pedroia "Ratboy." Works for me!

You're right that we shouldn't give up on Snider anytime soon, I never intimated that Snider should be offered.  If Johnson can be had for a bullpen pitcher or lower minor leaguer than pull the trigger for sure.  I just don't want JP to overpay is all.

Jerry Howarth just called Brandon League "a key contributor to the Jay's success this year".   Have I missed all of League's good games because in my mind he is totally unreliable.

Also, what's the verdict on BJ Ryan?  He has somehow managed 10 straight appearances without being charged with a run although a few of those were only 1/3 of an inning.  He is still allowing a bunch of base runners so I wouldn't say he has turned the corner on his comeback.  

The Jays bullpen is looking very weak at the moment.

At the moment, yeah, but Accardo is day to day and Down should not be out for that long.

For a half-season of Johnson, I would not want to even give up Purcey. Spare-parts at most, Purcey, being a left-hander for an injury prone 1b/DH type just sounds like a trade that would almost certainly look terrible in a year or two.

A good strikeout to walk ratio, good whip - League's been better than some of his stats (like ERA) indicate. League's stuff has also looked better than any time since 2006.

Howarth praise that you quote is pretty light, but League been not bad. Not as good as Frasor, but still pretty good aside from a couple 3 or 5 run blow-ups.

Jerry Howarth just called Brandon League "a key contributor to the Jay's success this year".   Have I missed all of League's good games because in my mind he is totally unreliable.

Hey, it could be worse. In talking about Arroyo getting lit up against the Jays a year to the day he faced them again, Pat Tabler said that Arroyo had been "excellent since then," or some similar pablum. He probably couldn't have picked a worse time - about half a second later his numbers for this year, including the 5.5 era, came up.

June is also apparently Vernon's best career month... except not. Perhaps it was the brief interlude with Darrin Fletcher, who was insightful and had no preconceptions about the Jays, but Tabler's well worn cliches and lack of real insight were particularly grating. Then again, it might have just been the partnering with Rob Black that caused him to have an off day...

Fletcher needs to be hired fulltime. Tabler is quite possibly the most irritating guy on TV. When I see him I just mute the commentary. Jamie and Fletcher might be a winning combo though.

I do hope that JP does give this team another bat to at least show he's willing to take the risk and believes in this team. I think for too long our GM's have been hesitant and I think it impacts on our teams psyche. We've been stuck in the next year mentality, always on the cusp but never thinking that we're actually there.

League is, perhaps, the Jays' most frustrating pitcher: Watch him on a good day, and you wonder how anyone ever gets a hit off him. Then he comes in the next day and he doesn't seem to know where the ball is going.

Hmm.. how effective has League been?  He sure hasn't seemed effective as it feels like he gives up a run every time out just about.

His game logs show 10 games giving up runs vs 20 without.  The Jays are 2-8 when League gives up a run and 13-7 when he does not.  The 8 losses where League 'helped' 3 times he allowed enough runs to switch a win into a loss (if the score was 9-7 he had to allow 3 runs, if it was 7-3 he had to allow 5 runs and yes, he did both of those things) and once enough to switch a tie to a loss. 

His longest scoreless game was 2 innings in an 8-6 loss. 

His game logs show 10 games giving up runs vs 20 without.  The Jays are 2-8 when League gives up a run and 13-7 when he does not.  The 8 losses where League 'helped' 3 times he allowed enough runs to switch a win into a loss (if the score was 9-7 he had to allow 3 runs, if it was 7-3 he had to allow 5 runs and yes, he did both of those things) and once enough to switch a tie to a loss. 

 How many of the 20 games runless games were blowouts?  I'm guessing a fair share.  My perception has been that League has to led to a fair share of losses or (aborted combacks) and not preserved many wins that I can remember.  Of course that could just be my biased memory against League.   I can't remember any of the unhittable perfomances this year that others are mentioning.

Easy to check...
League scoreless games and margin of Jays win or loss...
1 run: 4 times facing 1,3,3,7 batters
2 runs: twice facing 3 and 6 batters
3 runs: 3 times
4 runs: 2 times
5+ runs: 9 times
Avg spread: 4.3 runs

League allowing runs...
1 run: twice
2 runs: 3 times
3 runs: once
4 runs: twice
8 runs: twice
Avg spread: 3.5 runs

What about leverage?  How vital was the game situation when he came in/while he was in?
When League allows runs: 1.066 (1=average leverage, higher=important, lower=blowout)
When he doesn't: 0.894

What about inherited runners?
Total runners on when League came in = 12
Total runners allowed to score = 2

So he has been nice to his fellow pen citizens it seems like.   Last year, with his 2.18 ERA, he allowed 5 out of 15 to score.  Scott Downs (who is our closer when healthy) has allowed 3 of 10 to score (all 3 in the same game shifting a win to a loss).  Frasor has allowed 6 of 14 to score.  Carlson 4 of 13 to score.  Camp 6 of 18.  Guess that is the one area he has been strong in thus making him a mid-inning guy only (ROOGY) might be the best move.

League is, perhaps, the Jays' most frustrating pitcher

The League Rules are still in effect. Here are the updated numbers for his 30 appearances:

BULLPEN   G   IP    H   R  ER  HR  BB   SO    BF
         30   25   17  10  10   2   7   21    98  

DUGOUT    G   IP    H   R  ER  HR  BB   SO    BF  
          9   8.1  16  13  13   2   2    9    42

The ERA is up to 3.60 when League comes out of the bullpen, which still beats the hell out of 14.04 when he's coming out of the dugout.

The good news, such as there is? Well, it looks like the manager is catching on to League's peculiar pattern. He sent League back out to the mound (from the dugout) 8 times after his first 23 appearances, but just 1 time in his last 7.

League's seasonal career line matches his day-to-day performance.  Up and down like a yo-yo.  Some of that is ordinary seasonal variation for a reliever; some of that is League's own ups and downs.  His FIP and xFIP for 2007 and 2008 have both right around 4.00.  That seems to be par for him.  He's an average reliever at this stage, but obviously he can do better than that.

Winning seasons do have create fans though, how many people became bluejays fans during the early 90's because of the excitement. If we didn't have those great teams in our past there would be less Jays fans today.

And yet, the very worst years for attendence were in the mid-late 90's when the Glory Days were still fresh in our memories.

Blame it on the strike or what have you but the fact remains that all the bandwagon fans bailed and the core remained, and the core that always remains is still the bulk of the current fanbase.

IMO

That's not to say that the demographic of folks who were young and impressionable in those days - Say those born between '75 and '85 - were not won over by those teams and became hard core fans. but that's not at all the same thing as saying someone goes to a Jays game in 2009 because the Jays had one winning season in 2004 or 2001 or whatever.

Those fans were won over by consistant long term success, too, btw. Not an occasional lucky year.

The reason I don't go to Rogers Centre is because it's a TERRIBLE place to watch a ball game.  It's a cold, modern facility with turf and lots of neon. I have SO MUCH more fun when I see them at Fenway.  (I live equidistant from Toronto and Boston.)

The reason I don't go to Rogers Centre is because it's a TERRIBLE place to watch a ball game.

I've done a lot of traveling lately, and it amazes me how many people from New York and Boston have told me that they love the Rogers Centre.  And not one or two people, lots of them.   I guess you never quite appreciate what you have.  (Although I agree with you that Fenway is a great experience, although not that Rogers Centre is a terrible place to watch a game)

 That was a REMARKABLE performance by Ricky Romero tonight. Very close to perfection over 6 innings. Ultimately a two-hitter over 7 innings, along with 7 strikeouts and only one walk.  Of all the MANY young pitchers who have played for the Jays this season, Romero is emerging as the best of them all. This guy is the real thing.

I know it's too early to look ahead to 2010, but the Jays rotation should be a thing of beauty next year.  Here's how I project the rotation: Doc, Romero, Marcum, Tallet and then a dog-fight between Litsch, Richmond, Cecil, Ray and Zep. By the middle of 2010, as Cecil and Zep progress, Tallet could move back to the bullpen.  And there would still be high-quality options available if Marcum doesn't return to strength as fast as I believe he will.  Next season could be even more exciting than this season.

Here's how I project the rotation: Doc, Romero, Marcum, Tallet and then a dog-fight between Litsch, Richmond, Cecil, Ray and Zep.

Doc, Romero, Tallet and Richmond? That's not very different from what we have now.

Wow.

First time I've seen Romero in person ever. Where did that changeup come from? Has he had it all year? Wow. He also benefited a lot from the Jays' infield D - if Romero is going to be penciled into the Jays' longterm rotation plans along with his 52.1% GB rate (higher after today!) then that's another reason to commit to Rolen for the future. Also, I loved his dead sprint to cover third base after his wild pitch when Utley (I think) stole second. Gamer!

Romero's stats so far compare very favorably from the recent breakout years from Danks and Lester and Saunders and pick your favorite young AL hypegasmatron lefty.

Barajas has been placed on the DL and Kyle Phillips has been called up from Vegas.

I was at the game tonight and Utley's at-bat in the seventh was interesting.  I don't know if the commentators mentioned it but after pitch one Utley stepped out, took a few practice swings, stared out into centre-field then eventually got ready to hit.  He did the same before each of the next two pitches.  Romero had been working quickly and Utley deliberately slowed him down.  It's hard to say if that had anythiing to do with his breaking up the no-no but it was an interesting game within the game.

There are now 8 teams in the ML with 40 wins- 4 of them are in the AL East. I hate it when the Jays come away with a win and everyone in the division wins that day and so no ground is gained.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16831006/Rankings-062609

The current reverse engineered elias rankings from MLBTR. Barajas looks not so close to type A, while Scutaro looks like a lock for type A. After seeing what happened with Burnett compensation, I would say trade Marco (if we're out of it). After seeing teams sign Speir and Cat, I would say keep him and take the picks. It's a tough decision if you can't extend him before the deadline because the results are dependant upon what other teams do (and that Marco stays healthy). With the shortage of quality shortstops, I wouldn't chance  that another team would sign him as their best type A free agent  (I bet it would be a team with a protected first 15 pick.).

 

Scutaro is a huge part of the current Jays team. He won't be traded unless the team is clearly out of the race. One thing is for sure: barring a major dropoff in production and/or defence, some team will sign him for a lot more than $1.1M), even as a Type A FA.

The Jays would undoubtedly love to keep him, and he has been a revelation this year, but at age 33, this looks like a career year in every way (826 OPS vs 718 career, stellar defence as a full-time shortstop). We may be seeing a career year from Rolen as well (given his age). All the more reason to go for it in '09, which means that JP needs to find a LF/DH pronto, and maybe another pitcher.

Barajas has been placed on the DL and Kyle Phillips has been called up from Vegas.
Phillips has never been on the prospect lists but he continues to hit.  He is hitting .341 in AAA after hitting .308 in AA last year.  Phillips also has some pop, he slugged .455 last season and is slugging .457 this year although his isolated power is down this season.  Phillips could likely hit if he was called up to the major leagues, the problem is where to play him defensively.  Phillips is not a very good catcher and the Jays have used him as much at third base as they have at catcher.  Phillips is still error-prone at third and this defensive challenge will likely limit his ability to play in the major leagues.  Phillips might join hitters like Randy Ruiz and Brett Harper who can hit enough to play a position but not well enough to be a DH, and who cannot play defense to a major league standard. --Gerry

I suppose Phillips will catch a couple of games. Looks like he bats left, which is a plus. He's probably already caught everybody on the club except Doc and maybe Tallet. I guess they could also rush Barrett back...

Without a replacement in the cue for Barajas, it would probably be best if he was a type A free agent as it would reduce the market for his services.  If we go with Barrett and Cahvez next year, then it would be best if Rod was a B free agent, so we could get the compensation (teams might balk at compensation for him as an "A").

Romero last night... matched the scouting reports coming out of college that made him a Top-10 pick. That is why the Jays drafted him. He had a fastball that touched 94 mph and plus-command of three pitches.

The decision to promote Phillips is intriguing.  Of course it's partly because Barrett's rehab is not quite completed and he needs a few more games.  But it also says something very positive about Phillips.  We know that his defence needs work, so he's not been promoted as a defensive catcher -- he's been promoted because the Jays like his bat.  He's hit well at every level of the minors, especially in the past year.  I wonder if he'll get some pinch-hitting or platoon opportunities, in addition to the occasional starting gig as catcher, over the next few games.

An interesting lineup for the Jays in today's game: Millar at cleanup, Bautista in LF and McDonald at 3B.   With Rolen and Overbay and Barajas out of the lineup, and with Mills pitching, I don't have a good feeling about this game.

The Star reports that the Barajas 15 day DL transaction has been rescinded. He apparently feels better today.

Hypegasmatron

Eww.  I like my hype fragrant and young.  Romero's issues are control and health.  His control has been good this year, as it sometimes was in the minors.  Let's hope that he can stay off the DL for the next 3 months. 

Millar batting cleanup is strange.  Cito is pretty clearly sending a message to Rios, but frankly it's a bit passive-aggressive for my tastes.  If Rios is in the doghouse, bench him.  Otherwise, forgive him his faults and put out a lineup that has Millar hitting sixth or seventh where he belongs. 

Millar batting 4th, Mills on the mound, McDonald playing 3rd, I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling this is going to be ugly.

Uglier still.

Mills is clearly not ready. I'd take my chances with Purcey.

Millar is definitively not hitting better than Rios.

McDonald on the other hand, can hit lefties ok. Granted, it's easy to forget.

Barajas does not want to go on the DL. There's a string of lefties coming up and I can't imagine Phillips catching Doc. It doesn't change much either way.

McDonald on the other hand, can hit lefties ok

Career vs LHP: 256/305/335

I said OK, not great.