John Wasdin makes his Toronto debut in a tough spot, facing the mighty Yankees while his new mates are in a collective funk, losing 10 of their last 12. The only win by a Jays starter in the last 16 games went to that Halladay fellow, so let's not expect miracles. Wasdin says he's a better, more mature pitcher than when a Red Sox broadcaster hung the unfortunate nickname "Way Back" on him for the spectacular long balls he allowed. We'll see. It was a win-win trade, or at least no-lose: the Pirates got a speedy, NL-style center fielder who had absolutely no future in the Toronto system, while the Jays got another veteran arm to audition as a rotation stopgap. There's no questioning Wasdin's success in the PCL this year, but these are the Yankees, not Tacoma or Fresno.
Andy Pettitte's on the hill, off a brilliant start against Boston, so Carlos Tosca is tilting his lineup to the right. Frank Catalanotto gets the night off, which means a rare Jayson Werth sighting. Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, Carlos Delgado has been very successful (.405 lifetime) against Pettitte, including five homers, two already this season. At least Shannon Stewart won't give away any more runs, because he's the DH again. Does anyone think J.P. was watching the same game as me the other night? Stewart usually pouts when he is asked to DH (or bat anywhere but leadoff) and he's 1-for-14 in his last three games, but he's owned Pettitte in the past -- 5-for-8 this year and .447 career. I have no idea what to expect from Shannon, or anyone else in a Toronto uniform. I do know that after effectively sweeping the Jays out of the playoff race, the Red Sox are suddenly their biggest fans.
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