So our beloved Blue Jays went out on a six-day road trip to California and Florida (!), returned home for a weekend series, headed back out to the West Coast for seven games without the benefit of an off-day, and returned home for seven games before hitting the road, again without an off-day. Oh, and the last 14 games of this difficult schedule were against two of the best clubs in baseball, each locked in airtight two-tiered playoff races. The Fightin' Jays battled, and emerged with a 6-8 record against Oakland and Seattle after last night's comeback attempt fell just short.
Now things begin to get hard.
Fortunately, it's just a two-game set against a Red Sox lineup that is downright scary. Never mind their stats, which are excellent; Boston's top-to-bottom batting order, particularly against righties, frightens me more as an opposing fan than anything I've seen since the '95 Cleveland squad that (not coincidentally) also featured the menacing bat of Manny Ramirez. Lurch and Doc have their work cut out for them tonight and tomorrow night.
I hesitate to post this article above Coach's excellent interview with J.P., but time marches on here at the Box...
On to the Advance Scout!
* Boston comes in smoking hot, having swept Seattle right out of town in four ... The Red Sox are not only tied for the wild card with Oakattle (Sealand?), but have crept to within five games of New York in the East ... Boston has sold out its last 33 home dates ...
* Curmudgeonly Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe doesn't buy the underdog role in which the Sox have cast themselves ... Shaughnessy: "The Red Sox clearly are one of the most talented units in the American League...Time to outfit the fellas with No Excuse jeans" ...
* Speaking of hot, my Andujar preseason pick, David Ortiz, has turned on the power as he's finally settled into his niche with the club ... Look out, Jays: The tall slugger has homered in three straight games, and four of five ...
* Manny Ramirez is on a tear, and is on a six-game hitting streak (.435) ... He checks in tonight at a cool 319/421/579, with 82 walks and 79 strikeouts ... Enjoying his sixth straight 30-homer season, Ramirez became the first Boston player to turn the trick in each of his first three seasons with the club since Jimmie Foxx ... Manny suffered a bizarre brain cramp on Saturday. Ramirez broke for second on a 3-2 pitch to Ortiz, who drew a walk on the pitch. In the course of running, Ramirez' batting helmet flew off; when Manny calmly ambled over to pick up his lid, the Mariners easily picked him off ... Kevin Millar has christened Ramirez "Big Dog" -- and frankly, he's more deserving of the appellation than Glenn Robinson ...
* Tonight's opponent, Tim Wakefield, recently expressed his perspective on pitch counts: As a pitcher (albeit a knuckleballer), Wakefield says that he feels much more exhausted to throw 90 pitches in, say, five innings, than if he were to throw 100 pitches or more over a complete game ... "If I'm in a game, and it's three up and three down, and I get a chance to come in and rest, I feel a lot better at 100 pitches than if I'm in a game where I go to full count a lot of times. In that type of game, I'm wiped out" ...
* With Pedro Martinez's inflamed throat, Grady Little has been able to re-jigger his lineup to best face the Yankees this weekend: Lowe, Pedro and Wakefield ...
* Johnny Damon has regained his spot at the top of the potent Red Sox lineup with his 318/406 performance in August ...
* Trot Nixon, enjoying a superb season, has slumped at the plate a bit in August (.197) ... The one thing keeping him from being a complete star player: He doesn't have "splits," he has an abyss ... 327/418/625 vs. righties, 203/273/354 vs. lefties ... He continues to supply the Red Sox with excellent right field defence, which is particularly important at Fenway Park ...
* Bill Mueller keeps chugging along at 328/404/561 ...With 40 doubles (!) and 16 home runs, he's smashed through his career highs of 29 and 10, respectively ... With four more of Bill's bombs, the Red Sox will tie the record of seven 20-homer men -- shared by the '96 Orioles and, of course, the 2000 Jays ...
* Tomorrow's opponent, Jeff Suppan, finally came through with a respectable outing on Friday night, allowing just six Seattle baserunners in 6 2/3 innings of work ... Otherwise, he's been a disaster since his acquisition at the deadline, getting shelled by the Angels, Orioles and Mariners ... A hopeful sign: Jason Varitek posited that Suppan's solid start was due to improved pitcher-catcher communications ... Suppan credited his success to changing speeds more often ...
* In Mike Timlin's last six outings, he's boasted the following line: 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K ...
* Jason Varitek continues to have excellent slugging for a catcher at .536 ... His 21st homer on Friday was a career high ...
* Nomar is slugging .553 and is coming off back-to-back three-hit games ... He's struck out only 49 times, while registering 67 extra-base hits, including 12 triples ... He's scored 100 runs or more in each of his six full seasons ...
* Scott Williamson has yet to be used in the "closer" role, as the Sox continue to go to Byung-Hyun Kim to finish ballgames ...
Williamson did, however, strike out Bret Boone with the tying run in scoring position in Friday's seventh inning ...
* For his part, Kim has been shaky in August with a 6.00 ERA ... Impatient Sox fans loudly booed Kim for blowing saves against both Oakland and Seattle ... Kim might have coughed up Friday night's game, too, had Nixon not robbed Ben Davis of a home run at the short wall in right ... Then again, Kim might have slammed the door on Saturday afternoon had Nixon not lost a Mark McLemore fly ball in the sun in the ninth ...
* Todd Walker's performance over his last seven games (.333) has raised his post-All-Star numbers to a mere 225/268/326 ... His reinsertion into the #2 hole has sparked his recent hot play ... But Peter Gammons reports that J.P. turned down the Bosox' request for Mike Bordick as a potential replacement ... Damian Jackson has not been serviceable as a backup at 250/283/317, and he's been caught in four of his last six steal attempts ... Jackson sprained a ligament in one of his fingers during a headfirst slide last Wednesday ... Walker: "When you get moved around, your first instinct is to do too much...I just have to get back to what I was doing, which was pulling the ball to the right side with a guy on second and no outs, and moving guys over and doing my job" ...
* Casey Fossum was sent back to Pawtucket after his spot-start victory over Oakland last Thursday, to be replaced by long reliever Bronson Arroyo ... Arroyo tossed three shutout innings in yesterday's matinee in his Bosox debut ...
* Try as he might, Derek Lowe has not yet solved the blister problem on his pitching thumb ... He left Sunday's game in the eighth after his blister recurred, despite pitching an economical gem at the time ...
* Be careful what you do in front of a camera: The Fenway Park video board operators have become fond lately of playing a home-video clip of a teenaged Kevin Millar rocking out to "Born In The U.S.A." in lip-synch -- complete with gyrations ... Like the Rally Monkey at Edison Field, the Red Sox have been winning games when the clip is played -- including Saturday, when Millar himself ripped a double just out of Mike Cameron's grasp to score the winning run in the tenth ... The clip has since been dubbed "Rally Karaoke" ... "I'm a pretty big dork," admitted Millar ...
* Legendary Red Sox radio man Ken Coleman passed away last week at age 78 ... Not only was he the voice of the Bosox, but a driving force behind the club's successful "Jimmy Fund" for cancer research ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
8 Damon
5 Mueller
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
3 Millar
DH Varitek
9 Kapler
2 Mirabelli
4 Jackson
vs. RH
8 Damon
4 Walker
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
DH Ortiz
3 Millar
9 Nixon
5 Mueller
2 Varitek
Pitching Probables
Tuesday: RH Wakefield vs. Hendrickson
Wednesday: RH Suppan vs. Halladay
Bullpen Usage
Long: Arroyo R
Short: Timlin R, Jones R, Sauerbeck L
Setup: Embree L, Williamson R
Closer: Kim R
Now things begin to get hard.
Fortunately, it's just a two-game set against a Red Sox lineup that is downright scary. Never mind their stats, which are excellent; Boston's top-to-bottom batting order, particularly against righties, frightens me more as an opposing fan than anything I've seen since the '95 Cleveland squad that (not coincidentally) also featured the menacing bat of Manny Ramirez. Lurch and Doc have their work cut out for them tonight and tomorrow night.
I hesitate to post this article above Coach's excellent interview with J.P., but time marches on here at the Box...
On to the Advance Scout!
* Boston comes in smoking hot, having swept Seattle right out of town in four ... The Red Sox are not only tied for the wild card with Oakattle (Sealand?), but have crept to within five games of New York in the East ... Boston has sold out its last 33 home dates ...
* Curmudgeonly Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe doesn't buy the underdog role in which the Sox have cast themselves ... Shaughnessy: "The Red Sox clearly are one of the most talented units in the American League...Time to outfit the fellas with No Excuse jeans" ...
* Speaking of hot, my Andujar preseason pick, David Ortiz, has turned on the power as he's finally settled into his niche with the club ... Look out, Jays: The tall slugger has homered in three straight games, and four of five ...
* Manny Ramirez is on a tear, and is on a six-game hitting streak (.435) ... He checks in tonight at a cool 319/421/579, with 82 walks and 79 strikeouts ... Enjoying his sixth straight 30-homer season, Ramirez became the first Boston player to turn the trick in each of his first three seasons with the club since Jimmie Foxx ... Manny suffered a bizarre brain cramp on Saturday. Ramirez broke for second on a 3-2 pitch to Ortiz, who drew a walk on the pitch. In the course of running, Ramirez' batting helmet flew off; when Manny calmly ambled over to pick up his lid, the Mariners easily picked him off ... Kevin Millar has christened Ramirez "Big Dog" -- and frankly, he's more deserving of the appellation than Glenn Robinson ...
* Tonight's opponent, Tim Wakefield, recently expressed his perspective on pitch counts: As a pitcher (albeit a knuckleballer), Wakefield says that he feels much more exhausted to throw 90 pitches in, say, five innings, than if he were to throw 100 pitches or more over a complete game ... "If I'm in a game, and it's three up and three down, and I get a chance to come in and rest, I feel a lot better at 100 pitches than if I'm in a game where I go to full count a lot of times. In that type of game, I'm wiped out" ...
* With Pedro Martinez's inflamed throat, Grady Little has been able to re-jigger his lineup to best face the Yankees this weekend: Lowe, Pedro and Wakefield ...
* Johnny Damon has regained his spot at the top of the potent Red Sox lineup with his 318/406 performance in August ...
* Trot Nixon, enjoying a superb season, has slumped at the plate a bit in August (.197) ... The one thing keeping him from being a complete star player: He doesn't have "splits," he has an abyss ... 327/418/625 vs. righties, 203/273/354 vs. lefties ... He continues to supply the Red Sox with excellent right field defence, which is particularly important at Fenway Park ...
* Bill Mueller keeps chugging along at 328/404/561 ...With 40 doubles (!) and 16 home runs, he's smashed through his career highs of 29 and 10, respectively ... With four more of Bill's bombs, the Red Sox will tie the record of seven 20-homer men -- shared by the '96 Orioles and, of course, the 2000 Jays ...
* Tomorrow's opponent, Jeff Suppan, finally came through with a respectable outing on Friday night, allowing just six Seattle baserunners in 6 2/3 innings of work ... Otherwise, he's been a disaster since his acquisition at the deadline, getting shelled by the Angels, Orioles and Mariners ... A hopeful sign: Jason Varitek posited that Suppan's solid start was due to improved pitcher-catcher communications ... Suppan credited his success to changing speeds more often ...
* In Mike Timlin's last six outings, he's boasted the following line: 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K ...
* Jason Varitek continues to have excellent slugging for a catcher at .536 ... His 21st homer on Friday was a career high ...
* Nomar is slugging .553 and is coming off back-to-back three-hit games ... He's struck out only 49 times, while registering 67 extra-base hits, including 12 triples ... He's scored 100 runs or more in each of his six full seasons ...
* Scott Williamson has yet to be used in the "closer" role, as the Sox continue to go to Byung-Hyun Kim to finish ballgames ...
Williamson did, however, strike out Bret Boone with the tying run in scoring position in Friday's seventh inning ...
* For his part, Kim has been shaky in August with a 6.00 ERA ... Impatient Sox fans loudly booed Kim for blowing saves against both Oakland and Seattle ... Kim might have coughed up Friday night's game, too, had Nixon not robbed Ben Davis of a home run at the short wall in right ... Then again, Kim might have slammed the door on Saturday afternoon had Nixon not lost a Mark McLemore fly ball in the sun in the ninth ...
* Todd Walker's performance over his last seven games (.333) has raised his post-All-Star numbers to a mere 225/268/326 ... His reinsertion into the #2 hole has sparked his recent hot play ... But Peter Gammons reports that J.P. turned down the Bosox' request for Mike Bordick as a potential replacement ... Damian Jackson has not been serviceable as a backup at 250/283/317, and he's been caught in four of his last six steal attempts ... Jackson sprained a ligament in one of his fingers during a headfirst slide last Wednesday ... Walker: "When you get moved around, your first instinct is to do too much...I just have to get back to what I was doing, which was pulling the ball to the right side with a guy on second and no outs, and moving guys over and doing my job" ...
* Casey Fossum was sent back to Pawtucket after his spot-start victory over Oakland last Thursday, to be replaced by long reliever Bronson Arroyo ... Arroyo tossed three shutout innings in yesterday's matinee in his Bosox debut ...
* Try as he might, Derek Lowe has not yet solved the blister problem on his pitching thumb ... He left Sunday's game in the eighth after his blister recurred, despite pitching an economical gem at the time ...
* Be careful what you do in front of a camera: The Fenway Park video board operators have become fond lately of playing a home-video clip of a teenaged Kevin Millar rocking out to "Born In The U.S.A." in lip-synch -- complete with gyrations ... Like the Rally Monkey at Edison Field, the Red Sox have been winning games when the clip is played -- including Saturday, when Millar himself ripped a double just out of Mike Cameron's grasp to score the winning run in the tenth ... The clip has since been dubbed "Rally Karaoke" ... "I'm a pretty big dork," admitted Millar ...
* Legendary Red Sox radio man Ken Coleman passed away last week at age 78 ... Not only was he the voice of the Bosox, but a driving force behind the club's successful "Jimmy Fund" for cancer research ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
8 Damon
5 Mueller
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
3 Millar
DH Varitek
9 Kapler
2 Mirabelli
4 Jackson
vs. RH
8 Damon
4 Walker
6 Garciaparra
7 Ramirez
DH Ortiz
3 Millar
9 Nixon
5 Mueller
2 Varitek
Pitching Probables
Tuesday: RH Wakefield vs. Hendrickson
Wednesday: RH Suppan vs. Halladay
Bullpen Usage
Long: Arroyo R
Short: Timlin R, Jones R, Sauerbeck L
Setup: Embree L, Williamson R
Closer: Kim R
