The Jays seem to have finally shaken their SkyDome jinx. Unfortunately, they face a curse that foiled them last weekend -- not once, but twice: The White Sox One-Run Magic.
One might think that a team that excels in one-run games to the tune of winning eleven of twelve might have a dominant closer. Instead, Damaso Marte has been shaky, and Billy Koch has converted more than his share of comfortable leads into one-run nailbiteers. One might also think that a firm, experienced skipper might be at the helm of a one-run juggernaut. But instead, it's rookie manager Ozzie Guillen, who has been haphazardly substituting and making pitching changes seemingly based entirely on instinct. To Guillen's credit, though, his Sox play hard, and the clubhouse is harmonious.
So what's my point? Point is, the bubble's bound to burst. Here's hoping the Jays break through against nemesis Jon Garland tonight for a close victory, followed by some big offence in the weekend games. Should be an entertaining series.
On to the Advance Scout!
* After taking three of four from Toronto, the ChiSox ventured down to Camden Yards, where they took two of three ... While their loss was a 10-3 drubbing, both of their wins came by one run. Their record in one-run games is now an incredible (and unsustainable) 11-1 ... Manager Ozzie Guillen: "We always keep winning, that's all I care, no matter how my heart is going to be after this season" ... Guillen called his charges' 3-2 win over the Jays on Sunday "the best game we played all year" ... Although the Sox won 6-5 on Wednesday night, it snapped the Pale Hose's 15-game streak of hitting at least one home run ... The team record was 17 games ... Chicago leads the AL in homers with 40. Texas is second with 37 ... Nevertheless, Guillen believes that only Juan Uribe is hitting as well as, or better than, he's capable of over the season ...
* Tonight's starter, Jay-killer Jon Garland, is 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA against Toronto ... His career totals? 36-41, 4.58 ... The Jays touched Garland for ten hits, but he managed to keep the ball down and scatter those hits on Sunday, as he only gave up two runs in seven innings ... Guillen on Garland: "As long as his ball sinks the way it can sink, he can get out of [jams]" ...
* Old friend Billy Koch always makes things interesting ... His line over his last two appearances: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 2K -- and somehow, two saves ... Carlos Tosca argued that Koch was the beneficiary of some generous strike calls in his Sunday save ... He didn't have such luck on Monday, when he walked the bases full with two out and allowed a two-run single to Melvin Mora, before finally being bailed out by a fine play by Juan Uribe, robbing Miguel Tejada of a game-tying hit ... On Wednesday, entrusted with a 6-4 lead, Billy loaded the bases with no outs ... But Koch escaped with a 6-5 save after giving up a sac fly to Javy Lopez, and then two meek groundouts from Jay Gibbons and Luis Matos ... Koch's velocity, triple digits as a Jay, has dropped to around 94 mph. Koch has vowed to get his heater up to 98 mph soon ... Koch blamed his shaky outings this week on "aiming" the ball ... Koch on his nerve-wracking performances of late: "It's not fun having to bite your nails down to bloody stumps watching me pitch. I apologize to everyone out there" ... Aaron Rowand: "Billy's been getting the job done, and that's about all you can say" ...
* At the plate, Uribe continues to swing a ridiculously hot bat in his first tour of duty in the American League ... He's hit in ten of his last eleven games (.419) ... He's fourth in the batting race at .372 ... Uribe fantasy owners (like me) beware: Before this season, he was a career .345 hitter in April and a .188 hitter in May ...
* The streaky Paul Konerko is just 1 for his last 15 (.067) ...
* Clash of the small sample sizes: Saturday's starter, veteran lefty Scott Schoeneweis, has a 1.83 ERA on the road, but a 7.15 mark in day games ... His last start was against the Orioles on Monday, and he was masterful, allowing just one run on two hits in seven strong innings ... Schoeneweis feels he's "a more complete pitcher" now than he was in his swingman days with the Angels ...
* The Big Hurt trails only Mark Bellhorn (!) in the AL walks category, with 25 ... Ever the patient hitter, Thomas is getting on base at a .471 clip ...
* Magglio Ordonez busted out of a mini-slump with three hits on Wednesday night ... Mags doesn't think he can, or should, shoot for the home run title: "I would rather hit .300 and 40 than 50 and .260, because you're giving your team more of a chance to win...You're getting on base more and taking your walks, and that helps the team more" ...
* Sunday's starter E----n L----a, who frankly didn't deserve to win against the Jays last Thursday, was tagged for eight runs (four earned) on ten hits in just five innings last Tuesday, walking three and striking out two in his first loss of the season ... L----a was also inept at keeping Baltimore's speedsters anywhere near the bag. Melvin Mora stole off L----a once -- and Brian Roberts swiped four bases -- second three times, and third once -- on the ex-Jay's watch ... Guillen was obviously troubled by Roberts' unbridled thievery, but also impressed: "I love to watch people play ball like that, even against me...That makes baseball exciting" ... Meanwhile, part-time infielder (and recently demoted) Kelly Dransfeldt muffed a routine groundball on Tuesday, leading to four unearned runs ... L----a, always a stand-up guy for his teammates: "Today the big key was the ground ball that Dransfeldt missed" ...
* Willie Harris has been quite the banjo hitter this year, with no home runs or triples and a .337 slugging percentage ...
* Aaron Rowand continues to struggle with just a .239 average ... He did, however, come through with a clutch RBI pinch-hit double on Wednesday night ... He's been splitting time with slap-hitting Timo Perez, who has only one walk and two strikeouts in 35 plate appearances ... Timo's .265/.278/.324 line is a tad wanting ...
* OF/1B Ross Gload, who's been given the opportunity to add a rare lefthanded bat to Chicago's attack, is 0 for his last 12 ...
* Joe Crede has hit in seven of his last eight games (.364), with four homers, seven runs and seven RBI in that span ...
* Lefty short man Damaso Marte is just 2 for 5 in save situations after he surrendered a game-tying bomb to Carlos Delgado in the opening of last Saturday's doubleheader ...
* Old friend Cliff Politte has had three perfect outings thus far -- and two of them came in last weekend's series with the Jays ...
* 35-year-old "Mr. Zero," the soft-tossing Shingo Takatsu, has put up zeroes in the run column in his last seven appearances ... Not only are righties hitting a measly .080 off the Japanese relief legend, but Takatsu has only walked one righthanded batter all season ... Guillen on the righty's shaky spring training: "He had been Mr. Three [or] Mr. Two" ...
* 25-year-old backstop Miguel Olivo has been impressive with the bat ... He's hit in five of his last six (.350) ... Olivo smashed a three-run homer off Ted Lilly last weekend ...
* Good ol' Sandy Alomar Jr. left Wednesday's game with a cramped hip ... Alomar tried a bizarre trick play on Monday. After Roberts got a huge jump off Scott Schoeneweis, Sandy deliberately skied his throw to second, attempting to convince Roberts that the batter had popped up the ball ... If it were to have any chance of working, Willie Harris would have to have played it like a pop-up. Instead, he simply retrieved the ball, dumbfounded; he had no idea what Alomar was up to ... Alomar pulled it off with a better acting job from Joey Cora, who called for it like it was a pop-up, in AAA fifteen years ago ... A nonplussed Roberts subsequently stole third ...
* Dan Wright, that lovable, easy-to-hit starter, has finally been sent down to AAA Charlotte. With a slew of off-days, the Sox don't need to name a fifth starter for about a week ... Guillen has already ruled out a move from the 'pen to the rotation for promising lefty Neal Cotts: "I'm not going to fix something that's not broken" ... Cotts doesn't mind the decision: "If they like me better down there, that's fine with me" ... The inside track belongs to 23-year-old Felix Diaz, Chicago's return for Kenny Lofton from the Giants. Diaz is 4-0, 2.01 in Charlotte with nearly a strikeout an inning ...
* Jose Valentin struggled mightily against AAA pitching, going just 1 for 27 (.037) ... Nevertheless, he's back with the big club. Valentin will play against righthanded pitching at short, but hot-hitting Uribe won't be bumped; he'll spell either Harris at second or Crede at third ...
* Kris Honel, Chicago's first-round pick in 2001, has had a promising minor-league career -- but after feeling shoulder soreness on opening day for AA Birmingham, he hasn't appeared in a game ... His fastball is now topping out in the low 80s ...
* Meanwhile, Joe Borchard, whom the Sox paid an enormous $5.3M bonus to persuade him not to try his luck as an NFL quarterback, continues to languish in AAA at age 25 ... He's hitting .221 for Charlotte with 20 Ks, and most acknowledge that he's been passed by Jeremy Reed within the organization ... Kenny Williams thinks he's pressing: "Joe feels like and knows he should be doing better down there, and that's compounding the problem" ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
4 Harris
6 Uribe
9 Ordonez
DH Thomas
7 Lee
3 Konerko
5 Crede
8 Rowand
2 Olivo
vs. RH
4/5 Uribe
6 Valentin
9 Ordonez
DH Thomas
7 Lee
3 Konerko/Gload
5 Crede/4 Harris
8 Rowand/Perez
2 Alomar/Olivo
Pitching Probables
Friday: RH Garland vs. Lilly
Saturday: LH Schoeneweis vs. Batista
Sunday: RH L----a vs. Miller
Bullpen Usage
Long: Adkins R, Cotts L
Short: Jackson R, Takatsu R
Setup: Marte L, Politte R
Closer: Koch R
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