The Jays start their final road series of the season tonight, as they face an Orioles team that has recently been exuding confidence on the field but angst off the field, as Peter Angelos & Co. fret about the increasingly likely probability that the Expos will take up residence in nearby Washington in the very near future.
This week's Scout features plenty of D.C. talk, a surging pitching staff and its scuffling supposed ace, a cagey veteran making a difference and a Oriole regular who -- thankfully -- has turned down The Bachelor and its unique nether region of reality-TV hell.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Having sewn up their best division finish since 1997, the O's have been playing good baseball of late. They've won four straight and nine of thirteen ... Baltimore hitters have put up the AL's second-best batting average since the All-Star Break (.285), trailing only the Angels ... The season series between these two species of bird hangs in the balance this week. Baltimore leads it 8-7 ...
* Co-GM Mike Flanagan speculated this week that a Washington ballclub will cut team revenue by 30 percent. Peter Angelos has been reluctant to take a cash settlement from owners eager to put the Expos situation behind them, since he claims that the O's long-term financial health is jeopardized regardless of any short-term pay-off ... The real -- and legitimate -- concern here is over broadcast rights, which may no longer interest TV and radio affiliates in wealthy Washington suburbs ... The Washington Senators never outdrew the Orioles in their decade and a half of head-to-head competition ... The Sun's Laura Vecsey raises an interesting question -- why wasn't more of an effort made to look into New Jersey? ... Bob DuPuy visited Angelos over the weekend, and the rumoured package offered by MLB includes cash, a guaranteed resale value for the Orioles franchise and a TV arrangement that would keep the O's on Washington TV and keep the Expos off Baltimore TV ...
* If baseball returns to D.C., the Orioles say they'll reduce payroll. But they may still be in a position to add an impact free agent or two, since more than $18M is coming off the books with the long-overdue expiry of the David Segui, Omar Daal, Marty Cordova and Buddy Groom contracts ...
* Tonight's starter will be Sir Sidney Ponson, who's had a down year after the Orioles had been counting on him after last season's success ... He's had the odd good start, but he's on pace to set career-worst marks in ERA (5.30) and opposition batting average (.304) ... Ten times, he's allowed double digits in hits ... Lefthanded hitters have drawn 47 walks against Ponson, while only striking out 47 times ...
* Raffy Palmeiro has topped 20 homers for his thirteenth straight season ... He's always hit righties better, but this season he's really struggled against lefthanded pitching (.188/.257/.282), with only four home runs ... Palmeiro gave Yankee fans a thrill with a pinch-hit, game-tying homer off Keith Foulke on Wednesday, but the O's ultimately succumbed in twelve innings. That blast was the 549th of his fine career, moving him past Mike Schmidt into sole possession of tenth place all-time ... He's been battling a sore right hamstring ...
* Melvin Mora continues to rake, as he's hit in eight of his last nine (.359) ... He particularly enjoys the confines of Oriole Park, where he's put up a .361/.457/.621 line ... 108 runs, 40 doubles, 26 homers, 101 RBI and a .567 slugging percentage are all easily career highs for the 32-year-old ... Mora made a tremendous play to keep the Orioles alive on Wednesday night, barehanding a high chopper and nailing the fleet-footed Dave Roberts at the plate to preserve the tie score ...
* Javy Lopez has provided good production, especially from the catcher position. And he hasn't regressed to the form displayed in his poor 2001 or his horrendous 2002. But for the tremendous contract he received -- not to mention the fact that the Orioles stunned Pudge Rodriguez by signing Javy in the midst of their negotiations with Pudge -- has Javy proven to be the right choice? ... Lopez will turn 34 in November, and it'll be surprising if he ever comes within 150 points of his 2003 slugging percentage with the Braves (.687) ... He does deserve a tip of the cap for setting a personal best in games played this year (142) ... He drove in three on Friday ...
* Miguel Tejada, though, was unquestionably a good move. He's played every day and driven in 142 runs -- and counting ... He enters play tonight on a 13-game hitting streak (.393), in which he's knocked in 17 ... He's pounded southpaws at a .333/.403/.634 clip ... He endeared himself even further to O's fans on Friday night, when he hit a three-run, come-from-behind, walk-off blast in the ninth. Alan Trammell and none other than Carlos Delgado have called him their MVP candidate. A flattered Tejada said that he backed Carlos last year, and hopes the O's recruit the King this offseason (noooooo!!!) ... Lee Mazzilli: "He's just an amazing player" ...
* Leadoff man Brian Roberts has only stolen one base since August 3 ... He's been a less effective hitter at home, hitting just .269/.339/.336 in Maryland ... Another Oriole to have worn out the Jays this season, Roberts has put up a .366/.392/.507 line against Toronto ... With 48 doubles, he's not only broken the all-time record for switch-hitters, but he's set the all-time Orioles franchise mark. Cal Ripken hit 47 in his '83 MVP season ... In addition to his obvious gap power, Roberts is also a proficient drag bunter, especially from the left side ... Roberts also executed the club's first squeeze attempt of the year, on Saturday ...
* Wednesday's starter will be Dunedin '04 attendee Bruce Chen, who has cooled off since his SkyDome gem two weeks ago ... Still, his ever-problematic control has continued to be solid. He's walked only two batters over his last 21 2/3 IP ... He did, however, serve up three gopher balls against the Twins and another versus the Tigers in his two starts since beating the Jays ... Mazzilli wants Chen to be less "fastball-happy" and rely on his best pitch -- his changeup -- more often ...
* Short man Todd Williams is a nice story. The 33-year-old was a 54th-round selection of Los Angeles in 1990 ... He's been terrific in September. Opposing hitters are only mustering a .077 average against Williams this month ... On the season, the longtime minor leaguer has held righties to a .213 average ...
* Meanwhile, lefty reliever John Parrish has also been outstanding this month. Here's his composite line: 7 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 K ... Opponents have hit just .196 off Parrish in the second half ...
* Jay Gibbons, who drove in 100 runs last season, has been demoted to ninth in the order, as he's slugging just .357 on the season ... He's gone 18 games without a home run ... Strangely, despite the inviting porch down the rightfield line, Jay is only hitting .211/.271/.296 at home, with just three homers ... Mazzilli says that Gibbons isn't fully recovered from the hip flexor injury that relegated him to the DL earlier in the season: "I think he's playing hurt, and you admire that" ...
* B.J. Ryan, widely considered to be the 2005 Orioles closer, has been serving that role out of necessity lately. Jorge Julio's four-game suspension finishes up today ... He's been tremendously effective this season, as the tough lefty has fanned 118 in 83 2/3 IP ... Ryan had a bit of a bump in the road last week, as the Red Sox roughed him up in consecutive outings ... Ryan was peeved to take the loss last Tuesday in Boston after leaving with a 2-1 lead with two outs in the ninth -- only to have Julio blow the save and lose the game. Still, Ryan said the right things after the game: "I pitch when they tell me to pitch" ...
* When Julio returns, Mazzilli will use him as a setup man: "He's got to get into situations where it's maybe not do-or-die on every pitch" ...
* David Newhan has walked just five times in September, while racking up 23 strikeouts ... In nine games against the Jays, he's put up a .361/.385/.556 line ... His years riding the bus in the minors have made him rather unflappable at the plate in this, his first season with over 50 at-bats. He's hit .390/.468/.561 with runners in scoring position and two outs ... Pitchers have been solving him lately by busting him inside. He's been striding too far into an "open" position, which makes him late on inside heat ...
* Journeyman Jason Grimsley has tossed six consecutive scoreless outings out of the 'pen ... His fastball is down in velocity this year, though, and he's struck out only one batter over his last nine appearances ... Grimsley's ERA is more than two runs higher (4.81) at Camden Yards than on the road ... Once a spot starter, he hasn't gone more than one inning since July 2 ...
* Good ol' B.J. Surhoff has hit in ten of his last eleven games (.375) ... He's hit .329/.376/.456 in September ...
* Centrefielder pro tempore Larry Bigbie had a lost weekend against Detroit, going 0 for 10 ... Over his last nine games, he's hit .133 with no walks and 12 Ks ... Generally, though, he's had a solid second half, hitting .305/.361/.480 ... He's been tough on Blue Jay pitching, hitting .343/.383/.488 with ten runs scored against Toronto ...
* Thursday's starter will be 25-year-old Matt Riley, who appears to have figured some things out lately ... He's posted a tidy 1.82 ERA in September, including six shutout innings on Saturday ... Although opponents are hitting a measly .134 off him since his callup, the 17 walks in 24 2/3 IP are an obvious red flag ... Riley on why it's taken him until September to blossom as a legitimate big leaguer: "It takes time to pitch up here. You don't just come up here and start dominating" ... Riley's recent philosophy has been to "let them put the ball in play," since he's been the beneficiary of good defence ... His win on Saturday was his first since April 16 ...
* There is approximately zero chance the Orioles will pick up longtime LOOGY Buddy Groom's $3M option for next season. He turns 40 next year ...
* Part-time first baseman Jose Leon strained his left calf in yesterday's ballgame and is likely done for the season ... Canadian Erik Bedard had been told he was "shut down for the season," but his pitching regimen has been successful enough that he may see relief action this series ...
* The Baltimore Sun's David Steele on the impact of the impending move of les Expos to Washington: It "means that [the Orioles'] days of providing fourth-place finishes, bloated payrolls and biennial managerial rotations free of nearby competition are numbered." Ouch! ...
* After a fan vote, the Orioles unveiled their "50 Favourite Orioles Of All-Time" yesterday. Among the ex-O's who were also ex-Jays: Roberto Alomar, Mike Bordick and Mike Flanagan ...
* The Bachelor approached Bigbie to be the next target of a bevy of reality-TV female admirers ... His initial feelings were decidedly mixed: "I don't want to interfere with anything baseball-wise. I'm curious why they want me to do it. It's kind of cool, but it's a lot of distractions that I don't think I'd want" ... He ultimately declined the offer, as he's more than content with both his current salary and his current girlfriend ...
* More prestigiously, Surhoff is the Oriole nominee for the 2004 Roberto Clemente Award, which honours sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to one's team. Surhoff is co-founder of Pathfinders for Autism, which provides and refers services to families with autistic children. One of B.J.'s sons, Mason, is autistic ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
4 Roberts
8 Raines Jr
5 Mora
6 Tejada
DH Palmeiro
2 J Lopez/Gil
3 Surhoff
9 Newhan
7 Bigbie
vs. RH
4 Roberts
9/7 Newhan
5 Mora
6 Tejada
DH/3 Palmeiro
2/DH J Lopez
8 Bigbie
7 Surhoff/2 Gil/DH L Lopez
3/9 Gibbons
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Ponson vs. Halladay
Tuesday: RH Cabrera vs. Lilly
Wednesday: LH Chen vs. Chacin
Thursday: LH Riley vs. Towers
Bullpen Usage
Long: Bauer R, Parrish L, Williams R, Borkowski R, Bedard L
Short: Grimsley R, Rakers R, Rodriguez R
Setup: Julio R, Groom L
Closer: Ryan L
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