The Jays pay their first visit ever to McCovey Cove and SBC Park, where I had the pleasure of attending a game back in 2002. It's a beautiful place to catch a game and the second-nicest park in the majors. (If you haven't made it to Pittsburgh, you really ought to go.)
Barry Bonds, still ludicrously dangerous at the plate at age 39, leads the Giants into this three-gamer with his club very much alive in the wide-open NL West at one game over .500. Coming off a long road trip, one might think the Giants could be prone to a first-game-back letdown, but the nasty Jason Schmidt gets the ball tonight. Although Miguel Batista will almost certainly have to continue his heroic recent efforts tonight, the Jays have more favourable mound matchups tomorrow and Thursday.
On a more sombre note, Jerry Howarth mentioned in his Batter's Box interview that he was really looking forward to seeing SBC Park in his native Bay Area. I'm sure that he won't enjoy the series quite as much without our friend Tom Cheek able to join him. If you haven't already done so, please add your best wishes to Tom in our dedicated thread.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Giants finally come home after a marathon road trip through Phoenix, Denver, St. Petersburg and Baltimore, in which the G-men went 7-7 ... Until yesterday's off-day, the Giants had played 20 games in 20 days ... Owing almost entirely to Barry, the Giants lead the NL in OBP with a .350 average ... Amazingly, the club's 15 stolen bases are last in the majors, trailing the Jays by three ...
* Is it a lack of defensive range, or a change in park effects? For some reason, the Giants gave given up more hits than any other NL staff except that of the beleaguered Rockies ...
* Recently, the previously-automatic bullpen has started to slip ... After preserving 22 consecutive eighth-inning leads, the Giants fell victim to a Tampa comeback on Wednesday and a Baltimore comeback on Saturday ...
* Tonight's starter, Cy Young candidate Jason Schmidt, will likely be tough -- very tough -- on Blue Jay bats ... Schmidt has followed a spectacular May (5-0, 1.53, 54 K in 47 IP, .142 BAA) with two more solid starts in June ... Impressively, lefties are hitting a feeble .149 off him ... In six of his last eight starts, he's whiffed at least eight batters, including single-game totals of 10, 11 and 13 -- the latter coming in a complete game one-hit shutout masterpiece at Wrigley Field ... In that much-discussed start, Jason Schmidt threw an incredible 144 pitches ... Trainer Stan Conte defended the decision, in which Felipe Alou and pitching coach Dave Righetti considered his input. Conte explained that Schmidt was still throwing so well that the only reason to take him out was because of "what people would say in the media. That's no reason to take out a pitcher" ... Ironically, Schmidt was pulled after 118 pitches in Tampa Bay, leaving with a shutout -- and the bullpen frittered the game away ...
* OK. The Barry Bonds barrage of numbers ought to be fun ... After a "slump" in May, Barry's June has been a ho-hum .406/.648/.813 month ... Memo to the Jays' righthanded starters: Duck. He hits .422/.671/1.048 against righties ... That's right, his slugging percentage is comfortably over 1.000 against righties -- never mind his OPS ... Giants fans also no doubt approve of his ridiculous .643/.792/1.571 production in his six games against the hated Dodgers ... Barry's bomb in Sunday's matinee was the 676th of his career ... Exactly 500 of his dingers have come in a Giant uniform, which he's worn since 1993 ... In the first game of the clubs' Saturday doubleheader, Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro became just the third pair of players with 500 or more career homers to go deep in the same game. Mays and Banks turned the trick in 1970, and Mays and Aaron did it in '71 ... Always terse, Bonds expressed his disdain for doubleheaders: "I'm exhausted, but I'll sleep when I'm dead" ... Unsurpisingly, Lee Mazzilli and his staff walked Bonds five times on Saturday's nightcap -- four times intentionally. Bonds on the frustration of not being able to hit: "It drains you" ... In case anyone questions whether he's the most cerebral offensive player in baseball, please note his 88/12 BB/K ratio and the fact that the 39-year-old has managed to swipe three bases without getting caught ... Only twice has Bonds managed five official at-bats in a game ...
* Journeyman outfielder Michael Tucker is having an excellent June at .318/.436/.636 ... Although he hasn't even attempted to steal a base this season, Tucker's .381 OBP has bumped him up to the leadoff slot ... Tucker was recently voted the Giants' player rep, with Dustan Mohr assisting him. The Giants needed to elect a new representative, since incumbent Chad Zerbe, um, didn't make the team out of camp ...
* Cagey veteran Marquis Grissom hits lefties hard at .367/.415/.612 ... He's been sick to his stomach -- literally -- since his trip to Puerto Rico to play the Expos in late May. He still hasn't kicked the intestinal virus ... Grissom recently revealed that he feared the illness would be diagnosed as something much more serious. He underwent a frightening colonoscopy to determine if he was afflicted with cancer ... Annoyingly, Grissom suffered a strained hamstring on a check swing last Saturday. He vowed to work with the training staff to stay off the DL ... Grissom: "I've just got to monitor this, keep tabs, try not to overextend myself with a lot of diving and crashing into walls. If I just play conservatively and be smart I can do it" ...
* Old friend Scott Eyre has been generally used as a LOOGY, but that's too bad; righties are hitting just .077 against him ... Eyre's problem this year: Incredibly, five of his eight hits allowed have left the park ... That explains the discrepancy between his .133 BAA and his less impressive 3.86 ERA ...
* Tomorrow's starter, Kirk "Woody" Rueter, has struggled this year ... The easily-recognizable lefty has been tagged by righthanded hitters to the tune of .338, and his overall BB/K totals sit at an unsatisfactory 26/25 ... He's unfortunately been full value for his 2-6, 5.53 totals ...
* Rubber-armed setup man Felix Rodriguez has already made 35 appearances ... Although he's a hard-throwing righty, he holds lefties to just a .178 average ...
* Part-timer Damon Minor has hit in his last six starts (.381) ... After racking up ten dingers last season, Minor's slugging just .311 with zero longballs in limited action this year ...
* The man opponents love to hate, A.J. Pierzynski, has rebounded from a terribly slow start to post .359/.479/.564 numbers in June ... He may be working himself into the #5-hole in the Giant lineup ...
* "The Fonz," Edgardo Alfonzo, occupies that spot now and does next to nothing to make opposing managers reconsider walking Bonds ... He's slugging a paltry .353 ...
* Neifi Perez's bat has lived up to his infamous status in the BBFL thread .... He's at .232/.268/.305 on the season, and his OPS hasn't crept above .600 since April 18 ...
* Unfortunately, Cody Ransom has not offered much in the way of middle-infield alternatives at the plate, hitting a paltry .185/.290/.296 ...
* But good news for Giants fans: Ray Durham is expected back today. He had been on the DL for the last three weeks with a strained left hamstring ...
* Once-touted Pedro Feliz has shown good pop with 12 doubles and 11 home runs, but an utter lack of plate discipline with an 8/47 BB/K ratio ...
* Wednesday's starter, Dustin Hermanson, is tough on righties, who hit .220 with only 4 walks against 25 Ks ... But the sideburned slider specialist is less effective against lefthanded hitters, who have hit .301 with twelve walks and seven home runs off him ...
* Dustan Mohr has walked but done precious little else since his move to the National League, as evidenced by his unusual .184/.351/.322 line ... The "just throw him strikes" axiom appears to apply with particular force here ... Mohr earned the golden sombrero with four Ks on Friday night ...
* Watch for backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba coming off the bench against lefthanded relievers this series. He hits lefties well at .300/.364/.667 ... All three of his home runs have come against southpaws ...
* Somehow, Matt Herges has converted 16 of 19 save opportunities despite getting hammered by lefties (.404) ... Give Herges credit, though: In the opener of Saturday's twinbill, the closer entered into a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the bottom of the ninth and preserved the tie score in a game the Giants eventually won ...
* Righty reliever Tyler Walker earned his first career save on Sunday ... His two scoreless outings against the Orioles snapped a nightmarish stretch in which Walker gave up nine runs in his previous five appearances, swelling his ERA from 1.88 to 5.23 ... Lefties hit just .222 against the burly short man ...
* Todd Linden, the Giants' sandwich pick in 2001, has but three singles and a double in 23 at-bats (.174) ...
* The perpetually disappointing Jeffrey Hammonds was released outright by the Giants last week. The Orioles appear interested in signing their former backup outfielder ...
* J.T. Snow is expected back within the next couple of weeks. After arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late May, Snow has already begun a light exercise program ...
* The news is less positive for Robb Nen, who hasn't even touched a baseball in a month ... His surgically repaired right shoulder still feels tender, and he may not pitch this season ...
* Kudos to the Expos for putting their feet down ... After a San Juan rainout, the Giants thought the 'Spos would jump at the chance of playing a home/away doubleheader at McCovey Cove. But instead, the Expos voted resoundingly to invite San Francisco north of the border on a mutual open date in August ...
Probable Batting Orders
Note: The Jays will not be starting a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
9/8 Tucker
4 Durham
8 Grissom/9 Mohr/9 Linden
7 Bonds
5 Alfonzo
2 Pierzynski
6/5 Feliz/6 Cruz/6 Perez
3 Minor
1 Pitcher
Pitching Probables
Tuesday: RH Schmidt vs. Batista
Wednesday: LH Rueter vs. Hentgen
Thursday: RH Hermanson vs. Halladay
Bullpen Usage
Long: Franklin L
Short: Eyre L, Walker R, Brower R
Setup: Christiansen L, Rodriguez R
Closer: Herges R
Barry Bonds, still ludicrously dangerous at the plate at age 39, leads the Giants into this three-gamer with his club very much alive in the wide-open NL West at one game over .500. Coming off a long road trip, one might think the Giants could be prone to a first-game-back letdown, but the nasty Jason Schmidt gets the ball tonight. Although Miguel Batista will almost certainly have to continue his heroic recent efforts tonight, the Jays have more favourable mound matchups tomorrow and Thursday.
On a more sombre note, Jerry Howarth mentioned in his Batter's Box interview that he was really looking forward to seeing SBC Park in his native Bay Area. I'm sure that he won't enjoy the series quite as much without our friend Tom Cheek able to join him. If you haven't already done so, please add your best wishes to Tom in our dedicated thread.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Giants finally come home after a marathon road trip through Phoenix, Denver, St. Petersburg and Baltimore, in which the G-men went 7-7 ... Until yesterday's off-day, the Giants had played 20 games in 20 days ... Owing almost entirely to Barry, the Giants lead the NL in OBP with a .350 average ... Amazingly, the club's 15 stolen bases are last in the majors, trailing the Jays by three ...
* Is it a lack of defensive range, or a change in park effects? For some reason, the Giants gave given up more hits than any other NL staff except that of the beleaguered Rockies ...
* Recently, the previously-automatic bullpen has started to slip ... After preserving 22 consecutive eighth-inning leads, the Giants fell victim to a Tampa comeback on Wednesday and a Baltimore comeback on Saturday ...
* Tonight's starter, Cy Young candidate Jason Schmidt, will likely be tough -- very tough -- on Blue Jay bats ... Schmidt has followed a spectacular May (5-0, 1.53, 54 K in 47 IP, .142 BAA) with two more solid starts in June ... Impressively, lefties are hitting a feeble .149 off him ... In six of his last eight starts, he's whiffed at least eight batters, including single-game totals of 10, 11 and 13 -- the latter coming in a complete game one-hit shutout masterpiece at Wrigley Field ... In that much-discussed start, Jason Schmidt threw an incredible 144 pitches ... Trainer Stan Conte defended the decision, in which Felipe Alou and pitching coach Dave Righetti considered his input. Conte explained that Schmidt was still throwing so well that the only reason to take him out was because of "what people would say in the media. That's no reason to take out a pitcher" ... Ironically, Schmidt was pulled after 118 pitches in Tampa Bay, leaving with a shutout -- and the bullpen frittered the game away ...
* OK. The Barry Bonds barrage of numbers ought to be fun ... After a "slump" in May, Barry's June has been a ho-hum .406/.648/.813 month ... Memo to the Jays' righthanded starters: Duck. He hits .422/.671/1.048 against righties ... That's right, his slugging percentage is comfortably over 1.000 against righties -- never mind his OPS ... Giants fans also no doubt approve of his ridiculous .643/.792/1.571 production in his six games against the hated Dodgers ... Barry's bomb in Sunday's matinee was the 676th of his career ... Exactly 500 of his dingers have come in a Giant uniform, which he's worn since 1993 ... In the first game of the clubs' Saturday doubleheader, Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro became just the third pair of players with 500 or more career homers to go deep in the same game. Mays and Banks turned the trick in 1970, and Mays and Aaron did it in '71 ... Always terse, Bonds expressed his disdain for doubleheaders: "I'm exhausted, but I'll sleep when I'm dead" ... Unsurpisingly, Lee Mazzilli and his staff walked Bonds five times on Saturday's nightcap -- four times intentionally. Bonds on the frustration of not being able to hit: "It drains you" ... In case anyone questions whether he's the most cerebral offensive player in baseball, please note his 88/12 BB/K ratio and the fact that the 39-year-old has managed to swipe three bases without getting caught ... Only twice has Bonds managed five official at-bats in a game ...
* Journeyman outfielder Michael Tucker is having an excellent June at .318/.436/.636 ... Although he hasn't even attempted to steal a base this season, Tucker's .381 OBP has bumped him up to the leadoff slot ... Tucker was recently voted the Giants' player rep, with Dustan Mohr assisting him. The Giants needed to elect a new representative, since incumbent Chad Zerbe, um, didn't make the team out of camp ...
* Cagey veteran Marquis Grissom hits lefties hard at .367/.415/.612 ... He's been sick to his stomach -- literally -- since his trip to Puerto Rico to play the Expos in late May. He still hasn't kicked the intestinal virus ... Grissom recently revealed that he feared the illness would be diagnosed as something much more serious. He underwent a frightening colonoscopy to determine if he was afflicted with cancer ... Annoyingly, Grissom suffered a strained hamstring on a check swing last Saturday. He vowed to work with the training staff to stay off the DL ... Grissom: "I've just got to monitor this, keep tabs, try not to overextend myself with a lot of diving and crashing into walls. If I just play conservatively and be smart I can do it" ...
* Old friend Scott Eyre has been generally used as a LOOGY, but that's too bad; righties are hitting just .077 against him ... Eyre's problem this year: Incredibly, five of his eight hits allowed have left the park ... That explains the discrepancy between his .133 BAA and his less impressive 3.86 ERA ...
* Tomorrow's starter, Kirk "Woody" Rueter, has struggled this year ... The easily-recognizable lefty has been tagged by righthanded hitters to the tune of .338, and his overall BB/K totals sit at an unsatisfactory 26/25 ... He's unfortunately been full value for his 2-6, 5.53 totals ...
* Rubber-armed setup man Felix Rodriguez has already made 35 appearances ... Although he's a hard-throwing righty, he holds lefties to just a .178 average ...
* Part-timer Damon Minor has hit in his last six starts (.381) ... After racking up ten dingers last season, Minor's slugging just .311 with zero longballs in limited action this year ...
* The man opponents love to hate, A.J. Pierzynski, has rebounded from a terribly slow start to post .359/.479/.564 numbers in June ... He may be working himself into the #5-hole in the Giant lineup ...
* "The Fonz," Edgardo Alfonzo, occupies that spot now and does next to nothing to make opposing managers reconsider walking Bonds ... He's slugging a paltry .353 ...
* Neifi Perez's bat has lived up to his infamous status in the BBFL thread .... He's at .232/.268/.305 on the season, and his OPS hasn't crept above .600 since April 18 ...
* Unfortunately, Cody Ransom has not offered much in the way of middle-infield alternatives at the plate, hitting a paltry .185/.290/.296 ...
* But good news for Giants fans: Ray Durham is expected back today. He had been on the DL for the last three weeks with a strained left hamstring ...
* Once-touted Pedro Feliz has shown good pop with 12 doubles and 11 home runs, but an utter lack of plate discipline with an 8/47 BB/K ratio ...
* Wednesday's starter, Dustin Hermanson, is tough on righties, who hit .220 with only 4 walks against 25 Ks ... But the sideburned slider specialist is less effective against lefthanded hitters, who have hit .301 with twelve walks and seven home runs off him ...
* Dustan Mohr has walked but done precious little else since his move to the National League, as evidenced by his unusual .184/.351/.322 line ... The "just throw him strikes" axiom appears to apply with particular force here ... Mohr earned the golden sombrero with four Ks on Friday night ...
* Watch for backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba coming off the bench against lefthanded relievers this series. He hits lefties well at .300/.364/.667 ... All three of his home runs have come against southpaws ...
* Somehow, Matt Herges has converted 16 of 19 save opportunities despite getting hammered by lefties (.404) ... Give Herges credit, though: In the opener of Saturday's twinbill, the closer entered into a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the bottom of the ninth and preserved the tie score in a game the Giants eventually won ...
* Righty reliever Tyler Walker earned his first career save on Sunday ... His two scoreless outings against the Orioles snapped a nightmarish stretch in which Walker gave up nine runs in his previous five appearances, swelling his ERA from 1.88 to 5.23 ... Lefties hit just .222 against the burly short man ...
* Todd Linden, the Giants' sandwich pick in 2001, has but three singles and a double in 23 at-bats (.174) ...
* The perpetually disappointing Jeffrey Hammonds was released outright by the Giants last week. The Orioles appear interested in signing their former backup outfielder ...
* J.T. Snow is expected back within the next couple of weeks. After arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late May, Snow has already begun a light exercise program ...
* The news is less positive for Robb Nen, who hasn't even touched a baseball in a month ... His surgically repaired right shoulder still feels tender, and he may not pitch this season ...
* Kudos to the Expos for putting their feet down ... After a San Juan rainout, the Giants thought the 'Spos would jump at the chance of playing a home/away doubleheader at McCovey Cove. But instead, the Expos voted resoundingly to invite San Francisco north of the border on a mutual open date in August ...
Probable Batting Orders
Note: The Jays will not be starting a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
9/8 Tucker
4 Durham
8 Grissom/9 Mohr/9 Linden
7 Bonds
5 Alfonzo
2 Pierzynski
6/5 Feliz/6 Cruz/6 Perez
3 Minor
1 Pitcher
Pitching Probables
Tuesday: RH Schmidt vs. Batista
Wednesday: LH Rueter vs. Hentgen
Thursday: RH Hermanson vs. Halladay
Bullpen Usage
Long: Franklin L
Short: Eyre L, Walker R, Brower R
Setup: Christiansen L, Rodriguez R
Closer: Herges R
