* Mark Hendrickson: Old friend Lurch is 4-0 over his last six starts ... Throws a fastball with good command, and a low-80s curve ... The curve is far more effective against lefties. Righties tend to pick it up well ... Generally keeps his fastball down, but there's not much movement on it ... Is 2-3, 5.06 all-time against the Jays ... Shea Hillenbrand is 7-for-18 all-time against Lurch (.389) ...
* Aubrey Huff: Seems to bring a "heavier" swing these days. He's as balanced as ever, and he's driving the ball with more authority ... Very good low-ball hitter and he stays down on pitches well ... Has hit more homers in Toronto than at any other opponent (12) ...
* Joe Borowski: Boston finally snapped his scoreless innings streak, which had reached 21 2/3. His first 21 innings with Tampa Bay were scoreless. Incredibly, Fred Norman pitched 26 consecutive scoreless innings after his acquisition by the pennant-winning Reds in 1973 ... Prior to his acquisition, the D-Rays posted an ugly 8.37 eighth-inning ERA ...
* Jorge Cantu: Already up to 93 RBI ... Brings a Hillenbrand-like approach to the plate, taking hard swings at strikes ... Thinks up the middle, and hits the ball with authority ... Prefers the ball up in the zone ... Battling Miguel Tejada for the league lead -- in grounding into double plays. Nevertheless, he's less glacial than Shea on the basepaths ...
* Carl Crawford: Likes the ball in and can turn on fastballs, even good ones, if they're left on the inside part of the plate ... Will go with outside pitches well ... Although he's generally a superb baserunner (14 triples, 37-for-43 on the basepaths), Crawford was embarrassingly deked by Alex Cora on a fly ball to right. As Cora was selling the illusion that the ball had fallen in for a hit, Trot Nixon doubled the speedy Crawford off first. He's sometimes too confident in his wheels ... Fine glove man in left field who's not afraid to get his uniform dirty ...
* Seth McClung: Will be activated to make the start on Saturday. He's been on the bereavement list after the passing of his grandmother ... Good downward trajectory on his pitches ... Controls his curveball fairly effectively, but his mid-90s fastball is prone to wildness both within and outside the strike zone ... Almost turns his back to hitters during his follow-through, leaving him in particularly bad fielding position ... His high-70s curveball is a nice change of place, but its movement is early enough that it can be driven if anticipated ...
* Eduardo Perez: Showy, fiery player who looks like he's having fun ... Crushes high fastballs from lefties ... A hustler ...
* Julio Lugo: A tough out at the plate, he's a good two-strike spoiler ... Probably the only Tampa player with a consistently good sense of the strike zone ... Will put it in play, although he's a bit pull-happy ... Lunges a bit at the plate, but it doesn't seem to hurt his production ... Good range, plus a good release and throwing arm at short ...
* Scott Kazmir: Good sign for Tampa Bay: Kazmir has only allowed 11 home runs all season ... That said, he's been hit hard in his last two starts (though he's kept it in the park) ... He doesn't spot his low-80s change very well. It sails on him sometimes ... His arm angle is tough on lefties, but against righties his curve doesn't stay down enough to be consistently effective ... Anxious defensively and isn't comfortable fielding his position ... Still just 21 years old ...
* Jonny Gomes: A ton of power (12 second-half homers), but still working through some holes in his swing. He's prone to pull his head off of low breaking stuff ... Leads all rookies with 19 longballs on the season ... Not an adept baserunner ...
* Alex Gonzalez: Still has gap power when he connects, but he still doesn't control the strike zone ... Chases down and away, like he always has ... Defensively, his hands aren't what they once were ... Strange stat: He's the active Major League leaders in home runs without a grand slam (136) ...
* Toby Hall: Good plate coverage, but he's too anxious at the plate. Too often, he'll take a tough pitch and put it weakly into play ... Long swing, but still capable of driving fastballs ... Dreadfully slow on the basepaths ...
* Travis Lee: Hitting .361 with eight homers since the All-Star Break ... Often takes one-handed swings at pitches up in the zone ... Prefers the ball down, and stays with those pitches well ... He's baseball's all-time leader in fielding percentage among first basemen (.997) ...
* Trivia Challenge: Jorge Cantu became just the third Mexican to hit 20 big-league homers in a season. Who were the first two? ...
