The Jays' last homestand begins with their season-long nemeses from St. Petersburg. Toronto's 5-10 record against Tampa Bay probably hasn't cost the Jays a shot at contention in and of itself, but the 1-5 stretch against the D-Rays in late July and early August was what cemented the Jays' spoiler status for the 2003 season.
Tampa staggers into town with lineup full of frosty bats, and face some awfully long odds in thawing the lumber against a always-motivated Doc Halladay tonight. The remaining three matchups are more interesting, particularly Josh Towers gunning for a future with the Jays and a duel between surprising Doug Waechter and sizzling Kelvim Escobar.
Today's Advance Scout features some middle-of-the-order slumps, a talkative speed-burner in the middle minors and a Triple Crown that Victor Zambrano would rather not be wearing.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Tampa Bay needs to go at least 3-4 over its last seven to avoid their third straight hundred-loss season ... The Rays' biggest weakness has been control on the mound, or lack of it. The Devil Rays are threatening to be the first AL club since the '81 Blue Jays to lead the Junior Circuit in walks issued, hit batsmen issued, and wild pitches ...
* Lately, Tampa Bay has also been in a deep offensive funk, and they got outscored 15-2 in their three-game set with the Yankees ...
* Tonight's opponent, Rob Bell, gets to play sacrificial lamb ... Bell has an uninspiring 37/40 ratio, and September opponents have been tagging him at a .350 rate ...
* Tomorrow's opponent, Victor Zambrano, is being held back a day in order to dodge Doc tonight ... On Wednesday, Zambrano tossed seven innings of three-hit shutout ball, despite walking 5 Bosox ... Walks have been Zambrano's Achilles' heel all season. He's issued 101 free passes, while striking out just 124 ... Like Rays among AL teams, Zambrano leads all individuals in walks, hit batters and wild pitches. Should he win this dubious Triple Crown, he'd be the first pitcher in nearly 60 years to do it (Hal Gregg, '44 Brooklyn) ... That explains his 4.26 ERA, despite a .216 opposing batting average ... Lou Piniella wants the pitcher to report to spring training ready to cut down his walks and HBP: "There's no question about his stuff. It's good...He's got to harness it" ... Interestingly, Zambrano does get it cranked up against top opposition. His last eight wins are against the Red Sox (twice), A's, Blue Jays (twice), Mariners, Braves and Yankees ...
* Lance Carter has only made four appearances in September, as the Rays got some complete games earlier in the month, and have been simply losing of late ...
* Rocco Baldelli has only stolen two bases since August 24 -- and they both came in the same game, against John Flaherty at Yankee Stadium ... Flaherty nailed him on his third attempt of the game ... A native of Woonsocket, R.I., Baldelli homered at Fenway Park on Rhode Island Day last Wednesday ... Baldelli misread a play on Thursday, believing Carl Crawford would be caught in a rundown. As Crawford retreated to third safely, Baldelli steamed into third, getting tagged out easily. "Kind of a bonehead play," admitted Baldelli ... There's not a lot of credibility to the Rays' Rookie-Of-The-Year campaign for Rocco. Despite Piniella and Rays management insisting that Hideki Matsui is no "rookie," Piniella gladly lobbied for Sasaki and Ichiro in Seattle -- and the Rays boasted of Rolando Arrojo's second-place finish in their inaugural season, despite his 10 years of Cuban professional experience ...
* Marlon Anderson is 0 for his last 10 ...
* Al Martin's .357 slugging percentage is the lowest of his career since his twelve-game cup of coffee with the '92 Pirates as a 25-year-old ...
* Aubrey Huff has finally cooled off, going 5 for his last 34 (.147) ...
* Travis Lee is also in a major slump, going 3 for his last 29 (.103) ... His glovework has remained steady, though, combining good range with just three errors ...
* 20-year-old reliever Chad Gaudin turned in an outstanding relief effort last Thursday at Fenway Park, allowing just a run on two hits in five innings of work ...
* Wednesday's opponent, Doug Waechter, got taken deep by both Josh Phelps and the O-Dog in his last outing against the Jays ... But Tampa Bay has surely been encouraged by the poise of the 22-year-old, who's gone 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his first five appearances (four starts, one relief appearance) ... Piniella: "I like the way he competes and I like his stuff" ... Waechter battled with Jose Contreras on Friday, keeping his team in the game and taking a hard-luck 2-1 loss ... Waechter on his most recent duel: "I felt like I had a good outing, but I just wasn't good enough" ...
* Gatineau's Pete LaForest is struggling as a September callup, going 205/238/256, with one walk and 11 K's ...
* 24-year-old lefty Jon Switzer is getting a rough initation to the big leagues ... He got rocked in one inning of work against New York on Saturday, and then got tossed for beaning Derek Jeter ... This followed previous beanings of Jeter, LaForest and Bernie Williams. Switzer pleaded innocent: "There's nothing to 'fess up to...The pitch got away from me" ...
* After a strong August, righty Brandon Backe has been tagged in each of his three September appearances ...
* The Jays brought Thursday's opponent, Jorge Sosa, back to earth after back-to-back gems with their 6-5 win on September 10 ... Since then, he's reverted to the form of a 5-12 pitcher with a 58/70 ratio ...
* Feast or famine: Adam Piatt sits at 188/229/469, with five extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts in 32 at-bats as a Devil Ray ...
* Damian Rolls is 5 for his last 13 (.385) ...
* Once-touted catcher Javier Valentin has done very little to elbow his way into Tampa Bay's future plans ... The switch-hitter has been an abysmal 150/209/200 since the All-Star break ... Poor Valentin also bore the brunt of Roger Clemens' fury yesterday, as he got drilled after the beanball war continued between the Yankees and D-Rays ...
* Travis Harper, who had been a bright light out of the bullpen this year, has been touched up for eight runs in 8 2/3 relief innings in September ...
* Lou Piniella finally returned Carl Crawford to the leadoff spot in yesterday's game, after demoting him to the 9-hole ... Crawford has just two walks and 11 K's in September ... Another of the cold bats, Crawford is 4 for his last 33 (.121) since his 13-game hitting streak was snapped ...
* Surprising outfielder Joey Gathright, a 32nd-round pick in 2001, won the organizational award for best minor-league player, hitting .334 in A and AA ... The brash Gathright has set a goal of 100 steals for next season -- something that Rickey Henderson said was unlikely to happen again in the majors. Gathright also said he could "take" Carl Crawford in a footrace ... Scott Autrey, 14-7 with a 2.78 ERA in A and AA, won the pitching prize for Tampa Bay ...
* Financial matters: With $15M to spend this offseason, Piniella concedes that the D-Rays aren't in the running for a marquee starter. Piniella says that Tampa Bay will target a middle-of-the-order hitter and a back-of-the-bullpen reliever ... Carl Everett and Tom Gordon are among the rumoured targets ... The Rays are being urged by the local media to make an offer to Gary Sheffield, with a hometown discount being a faint possibility ... Piniella has requested that the club sign a player early in the signing period to make a statement to both the heretofore indifferent fans and to other potential free agents ... Chuck LaMar, attempting to avoid inflating fans' hopes for Gary Sheffield: "We're not worried about name-recognizable players...We're worried about winning players and winning more games" ...
* Rob Bell is quite a fashion maven, and was delighted that Baldelli finally asked him for fashion advice in Boston ... Bell, who was happy to take him shopping, described Baldelli's sartorial sensibilities as "fraternity house haute couture" and "banker casual" ...
Probable Batting Orders
* Note: Mark Hendrickson is not scheduled to start this series.
vs. RH
7 Crawford
6 Lugo
8 Baldelli
9 Huff
3 Lee
4 Anderson
DH LaForest
2 Hall/Valentin
5 Rolls/Sandberg
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Bell vs. Halladay
Tuesday: RH Zambrano vs. Towers
Wednesday: RH Waechter vs. Escobar
Thursday: RH Sosa vs. Lidle
Bullpen Usage
Long: Gaudin R, Reyes R
Short: Kennedy L, Switzer L, Backe R
Setup: Harper R, Malaska L
Closer: Carter R
Tampa staggers into town with lineup full of frosty bats, and face some awfully long odds in thawing the lumber against a always-motivated Doc Halladay tonight. The remaining three matchups are more interesting, particularly Josh Towers gunning for a future with the Jays and a duel between surprising Doug Waechter and sizzling Kelvim Escobar.
Today's Advance Scout features some middle-of-the-order slumps, a talkative speed-burner in the middle minors and a Triple Crown that Victor Zambrano would rather not be wearing.
On to the Advance Scout!
* Tampa Bay needs to go at least 3-4 over its last seven to avoid their third straight hundred-loss season ... The Rays' biggest weakness has been control on the mound, or lack of it. The Devil Rays are threatening to be the first AL club since the '81 Blue Jays to lead the Junior Circuit in walks issued, hit batsmen issued, and wild pitches ...
* Lately, Tampa Bay has also been in a deep offensive funk, and they got outscored 15-2 in their three-game set with the Yankees ...
* Tonight's opponent, Rob Bell, gets to play sacrificial lamb ... Bell has an uninspiring 37/40 ratio, and September opponents have been tagging him at a .350 rate ...
* Tomorrow's opponent, Victor Zambrano, is being held back a day in order to dodge Doc tonight ... On Wednesday, Zambrano tossed seven innings of three-hit shutout ball, despite walking 5 Bosox ... Walks have been Zambrano's Achilles' heel all season. He's issued 101 free passes, while striking out just 124 ... Like Rays among AL teams, Zambrano leads all individuals in walks, hit batters and wild pitches. Should he win this dubious Triple Crown, he'd be the first pitcher in nearly 60 years to do it (Hal Gregg, '44 Brooklyn) ... That explains his 4.26 ERA, despite a .216 opposing batting average ... Lou Piniella wants the pitcher to report to spring training ready to cut down his walks and HBP: "There's no question about his stuff. It's good...He's got to harness it" ... Interestingly, Zambrano does get it cranked up against top opposition. His last eight wins are against the Red Sox (twice), A's, Blue Jays (twice), Mariners, Braves and Yankees ...
* Lance Carter has only made four appearances in September, as the Rays got some complete games earlier in the month, and have been simply losing of late ...
* Rocco Baldelli has only stolen two bases since August 24 -- and they both came in the same game, against John Flaherty at Yankee Stadium ... Flaherty nailed him on his third attempt of the game ... A native of Woonsocket, R.I., Baldelli homered at Fenway Park on Rhode Island Day last Wednesday ... Baldelli misread a play on Thursday, believing Carl Crawford would be caught in a rundown. As Crawford retreated to third safely, Baldelli steamed into third, getting tagged out easily. "Kind of a bonehead play," admitted Baldelli ... There's not a lot of credibility to the Rays' Rookie-Of-The-Year campaign for Rocco. Despite Piniella and Rays management insisting that Hideki Matsui is no "rookie," Piniella gladly lobbied for Sasaki and Ichiro in Seattle -- and the Rays boasted of Rolando Arrojo's second-place finish in their inaugural season, despite his 10 years of Cuban professional experience ...
* Marlon Anderson is 0 for his last 10 ...
* Al Martin's .357 slugging percentage is the lowest of his career since his twelve-game cup of coffee with the '92 Pirates as a 25-year-old ...
* Aubrey Huff has finally cooled off, going 5 for his last 34 (.147) ...
* Travis Lee is also in a major slump, going 3 for his last 29 (.103) ... His glovework has remained steady, though, combining good range with just three errors ...
* 20-year-old reliever Chad Gaudin turned in an outstanding relief effort last Thursday at Fenway Park, allowing just a run on two hits in five innings of work ...
* Wednesday's opponent, Doug Waechter, got taken deep by both Josh Phelps and the O-Dog in his last outing against the Jays ... But Tampa Bay has surely been encouraged by the poise of the 22-year-old, who's gone 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his first five appearances (four starts, one relief appearance) ... Piniella: "I like the way he competes and I like his stuff" ... Waechter battled with Jose Contreras on Friday, keeping his team in the game and taking a hard-luck 2-1 loss ... Waechter on his most recent duel: "I felt like I had a good outing, but I just wasn't good enough" ...
* Gatineau's Pete LaForest is struggling as a September callup, going 205/238/256, with one walk and 11 K's ...
* 24-year-old lefty Jon Switzer is getting a rough initation to the big leagues ... He got rocked in one inning of work against New York on Saturday, and then got tossed for beaning Derek Jeter ... This followed previous beanings of Jeter, LaForest and Bernie Williams. Switzer pleaded innocent: "There's nothing to 'fess up to...The pitch got away from me" ...
* After a strong August, righty Brandon Backe has been tagged in each of his three September appearances ...
* The Jays brought Thursday's opponent, Jorge Sosa, back to earth after back-to-back gems with their 6-5 win on September 10 ... Since then, he's reverted to the form of a 5-12 pitcher with a 58/70 ratio ...
* Feast or famine: Adam Piatt sits at 188/229/469, with five extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts in 32 at-bats as a Devil Ray ...
* Damian Rolls is 5 for his last 13 (.385) ...
* Once-touted catcher Javier Valentin has done very little to elbow his way into Tampa Bay's future plans ... The switch-hitter has been an abysmal 150/209/200 since the All-Star break ... Poor Valentin also bore the brunt of Roger Clemens' fury yesterday, as he got drilled after the beanball war continued between the Yankees and D-Rays ...
* Travis Harper, who had been a bright light out of the bullpen this year, has been touched up for eight runs in 8 2/3 relief innings in September ...
* Lou Piniella finally returned Carl Crawford to the leadoff spot in yesterday's game, after demoting him to the 9-hole ... Crawford has just two walks and 11 K's in September ... Another of the cold bats, Crawford is 4 for his last 33 (.121) since his 13-game hitting streak was snapped ...
* Surprising outfielder Joey Gathright, a 32nd-round pick in 2001, won the organizational award for best minor-league player, hitting .334 in A and AA ... The brash Gathright has set a goal of 100 steals for next season -- something that Rickey Henderson said was unlikely to happen again in the majors. Gathright also said he could "take" Carl Crawford in a footrace ... Scott Autrey, 14-7 with a 2.78 ERA in A and AA, won the pitching prize for Tampa Bay ...
* Financial matters: With $15M to spend this offseason, Piniella concedes that the D-Rays aren't in the running for a marquee starter. Piniella says that Tampa Bay will target a middle-of-the-order hitter and a back-of-the-bullpen reliever ... Carl Everett and Tom Gordon are among the rumoured targets ... The Rays are being urged by the local media to make an offer to Gary Sheffield, with a hometown discount being a faint possibility ... Piniella has requested that the club sign a player early in the signing period to make a statement to both the heretofore indifferent fans and to other potential free agents ... Chuck LaMar, attempting to avoid inflating fans' hopes for Gary Sheffield: "We're not worried about name-recognizable players...We're worried about winning players and winning more games" ...
* Rob Bell is quite a fashion maven, and was delighted that Baldelli finally asked him for fashion advice in Boston ... Bell, who was happy to take him shopping, described Baldelli's sartorial sensibilities as "fraternity house haute couture" and "banker casual" ...
Probable Batting Orders
* Note: Mark Hendrickson is not scheduled to start this series.
vs. RH
7 Crawford
6 Lugo
8 Baldelli
9 Huff
3 Lee
4 Anderson
DH LaForest
2 Hall/Valentin
5 Rolls/Sandberg
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Bell vs. Halladay
Tuesday: RH Zambrano vs. Towers
Wednesday: RH Waechter vs. Escobar
Thursday: RH Sosa vs. Lidle
Bullpen Usage
Long: Gaudin R, Reyes R
Short: Kennedy L, Switzer L, Backe R
Setup: Harper R, Malaska L
Closer: Carter R
