Maybe we all should have known -- even as early as January -- that the 2004 Blue Jays would suffer through a cursed season. After all, the schedule maker did not exactly give Jays fans across Canada a rush of anticipation when he scheduled their July 1 matinee extravaganza to be...*sigh* in Tampa Bay. Not only is it a road game, but it's in drab Tropicana Field, home of the Devil Rays -- simply the most frustrating, get-every-bounce opponent the Jays have faced in recent years. Call them the "Brewers For A New Generation," in honour of those inferior Milwaukee clubs who always seemed to bring their A-game against Toronto.
That said, St. Petersburg fans are breathing new life into the former "ThunderDome," thanks to a surprisingly resurgent home side. They're hitting, running, pitching and getting a little lucky -- and their completely unexpected 15-2 run has actually vaulted the team to the fringes of the wild card race. After shutting down Tampa Bay last week, Doc endeavours to do the same tonight. Let's see if the Jays can begin to restore the Rays to their rightful place at the bottom of the division; the pitching matchups suggest that three of four is a definite possibility.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Incredible but true: The 2004 Tampa Bay Devil Rays are the first team in Major League Baseball history to rally above the .500 mark -- which they did for a day on Saturday -- after being 18 games below .500 in the same season ... They were 10-28 in May ... Prior to yesterday's loss (and Boston win), Tampa Bay had incredibly pulled to within four games of the Red Sox ... Lou Piniella, after Reed Johnson snapped the club's 12-game winning-streak with his game-winning broken-bat hit: "You can't keep something like this going forever" ... The D-Rays have made hay in interleague play, going 13-2 -- with a series still to come, next weekend in Miami ... The Devil Rays recorded their 36th win in their 71st game this season. Last season, it took them 100 games to win 36 ... Tampa is 8-2 against first-place clubs this season ...
* Tonight's starter, Victor Zambrano, is on pace for a ridiculous 154/187 BB/K season ... Zambrano matched Doc virtually pitch for pitch in their matchup last week. Although he issued his customary four free passes, the Jays only mustered four hits off him ... Zambrano's eight innings of work was a season high, which is unsurprising considering how many pitches he throws per inning ... Strangely, Zambrano holds lefties to just a .217 average, despite a 37/29 BB/K ratio against lefthanded bats ...
* Although our old friend Jose Cruz Jr. had a monster game in his Thursday return from a leg injury, he went 0-for-11 this weekend ... Cruz on the 19-13 fiasco: "I don't remember scoring that many runs in a Little League game" ... Cruz continues to produce from the right side of the plate, hitting .309/.460/.559 against lefties ... With his 165th career homer, Junior tied his father's career total ...
* Our own Mr. Zaun is the only catcher to nail Carl Crawford stealing in his past ten attempts ... Crawford continues to swing a hot bat. He had hit in 12 of 13 games (.446) before finally taking an 0-for-3 yesterday ... Prior to yesterday's defeat, he had racked up seven consecutive two-hit games ... However, he did draw a long-overdue walk yesterday -- and scored a run ... Despite the comparative weakness of the bottom of the D-Rays' order, Crawford has still driven in 15 over his last 15 games ... All three of his homers and all eight of his triples have come against righthanded pitching. He's slugging just .370 against lefties ...
* Rocco Baldelli has been DHing lately, and he's continued to hit ... He's 7 for his last 15 (.467) ... He hammers lefties at a .358/.434/.552 clip ... Baldelli is battling a deep thigh bruise, which is limiting both his ability to play centre and his daring on the basepaths ...
* Citing the "momentum" of the Rays' incredible hot streak of late, Piniella has publicly lobbied for midseason trades -- to bolster his team, not contending teams ... Piniella: "We can really keep them excited...That's why I'm saying if we can improve our baseball team, I would encourage us to do so" ...
* I'm sure Coach is broken up over the .195/.280/.340 production being put up by Robert Fick thus far ... Although Fick doesn't play any position well, his ability to competently handle first base -- and to catch in a pinch -- make him a good roster guy for the Rays ...
* Julio Lugo went 1-for-10 this weekend after his five-hit tour de force last Thursday ... Strangely, the shortstop can't hit at cozy Tropicana Field. He's just .214/.271/.351 at home ...
* Here's hoping tomorrow's starter, John Halama, won't cruise to another victory despite bringing mediocre stuff to the start ... Halama was tagged for five runs on eight hits in five innings on Thursday -- but had so much run support that it didn't remotely matter ... Despite not throwing hard, he buzzes lefties at a .156 clip. Lefthanded hitters have drawn just three walks against him, while whiffing 15 times ...
* Geoff Blum is 8 for his last 18 (.444) ... The switch-hitter, though, has been practically helpless from the left side, going .175/.233/.300 against righties ...
* Wednesday's starter, Dewon Brazelton, took a no-hitter deep into the eighth inning on Friday night before succumbing to a Mike Lowell double ... It wasn't easy for the former third overall pick. He walked six while throwing 125 pitches ... Prudently, Piniella gave him the immediate hook ... Brazelton said that he felt more pressure to keep his club's hot streak going than he did to keep his no-hit dreams alive. Brazelton: "I didn't want to disappoint my teammates or the fans of Tampa Bay...I want them to have confidence when my name is up on that lineup" ... Brazelton revealed that his right (planted) leg was starting to cramp up after throwing so many pitches, and that he may not have been able to go the distance even if his no-no were intact ...
* Flamethrowing setup man Jesus Colome has only yielded eight hits in his thirteen innings on the season -- and three of them came during his inning of work on Wednesday when the Jays pushed the winning run across ... Righties hit a mere .138 off Colome, who has plenty of tailing movement on his fastball ...
* Jorge Sosa is also tough on righties, holding them to a .197 average ... Interestingly, the lifelong AL pitcher lists himself as a switch-hitter ...
* Righties hit just .164 off Cuban closer Danys Baez, but lefthanders hit a troubling .300 ... Baez has converted 15 of 17 save opportunities -- and in both of his blown saves, the Rays have come back to win ... Baez's wife Mireya underwent a harrowing C-section last weekend, but mother and baby Daniela are doing well ...
* Thursday's starter will be a fired-up Mark "Lurch" Hendrickson, and he was having a scintillating June until his rocky outing on Saturday ... He was touched for four runs in four innings, after going at least six innings with at most two runs allowed over his last four starts ...
* Brash Joey Gathright has fulfilled his bold prediction that he'd play in the majors, after surprising many minor-league observers with his savvy ... He was taken in the 32nd round of the 2001 draft, thirty-one rounds after Brazelton ... Gathright's next prognostication? He's vowed to hit .300 with a .400 OBP, and to bring back the 100-steal season to the big leagues ... He's 1 for his first 9 with two walks, a steal and -- impressively -- four runs scored ... Even Gathright was surprised about being promoted from AAA Durham in June. He expected to be a September callup ...
* What's happened to Aubrey Huff's power? He's tallied just two doubles and two homers in his last 20 games ... If he can become any semblance of his excellent 2003 incarnation, he'll be a very valuable offensive weapon, considering his ability to play either corner of both the infield and outfield ...
* You know Thursday's matinee was a debacle when Rey Sanchez drove in his 10th, 11th and 12th runs of the season ...
* Brook Fordyce's relatively solid season last year appears to have been a mirage, as his .228/.274/.304 numbers this year are reminiscent of his awful 2002 ...
* Tino Martinez's hamstring pull and Doug Waechter's strained tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand have both progressed more slowly than anticipated ...
* It's a strange connection that the Rays have with the Jays, what with players named Bell, Carter and McGriff in the lineup. Hey, wait a minute ... That is our old friend! Freddie snapped out of an 0-for-11 drought with a single and double yesterday ...
* The city of St. Petersburg held a "Welcome Home Rally" for the Devil Rays after their shockingly successful 8-1 road trip, now that the club no longer embarrasses them ... Over 7,000 walkup tickets were sold for Friday night's game, a club record ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
7 Crawford
5 Blum
DH Baldelli
3 Huff
9 Cruz Jr
6 Lugo
2 Hall
4 Sanchez
8 Gathright
vs. RH
7 Crawford
8 Gathright/9 Fick
DH/8 Baldelli
5/3 Huff
9 Cruz Jr
6 Lugo
3 Fick/5 Blum/DH McGriff
2 Hall/Fordyce
4 Sanchez
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Zambrano vs. Halladay
Tuesday: LH Halama vs. Lilly
Wednesday: RH Brazelton vs. Towers
Thursday: LH Hendrickson vs. Batista
Bullpen Usage
Long: Bell R, Sosa R
Short: T Miller L, Carter R
Setup: Colome R, Harper R
Closer: Baez R
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040628041703999