Josh Towers will start tomorrow. Juan Acevedo was released, and Dan Reichert gets another chance. In the National Post, Cory Lidle admitted to John Lott that he's the latest Jay to have played in pain for too long, calling it "a bad decision":
"I could have had this taken care of a month and a half, two months ago," he said. "Yet I kept saying, 'Next time it'll be fine.' "
See all my previous rants about crossing the line between courage and foolishness.
Today, Kelvim Escobar faces the potent Texas bats. With the trade rumours behind him, the Jays' #2 starter tossed eight shutout innings in his latest. On the other hand, there's his weird split this year: 5-1, 1.97 on the road; 2-5, 6.19 in the unfriendly confines of the Dome. He's never beaten the Rangers, but he'll probably be great, if he can avoid "bad inning" syndrome.
Bobby Kielty is one of three potent righty sticks on the bench for Carlos Tosca -- he's been in a funk from the left side. A rest is a good idea; sharing two jobs with Sparky and Cat makes sense. Alternating L-R bats, once considered essential, appears to be a thing of the past, with three righties at the top of the order and Catalanotto following Hinske.
The flirtation with .500 continues. The lead over Baltimore is a half-game.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030809020904999