It's an unusual, and rather inappropriate, locale in which to hold what will likely be the last-ever Pearson Cup showdown. Instead of playing in the air-conditioned comfort of Olympic Stadium, surrounded by those familiar once-futuristic yellow moulded plastic chairs, the Jays and Expos will instead renew their rivalry in hot, sticky and soggy Hiram Bithorn Stadium, where Carlos Delgado will unfortunately not perform in front of his friends and family. Rain is a very real possibility for today and tomorrow; stay tuned for some possible doubleheader action (which would kill the Expo bullpen).
The Jays face a reeling Expos club that was bombed in dropping three of four to Philadelphia this week. This weekend, David Bush makes his big-league debut against a legitimate workhorse, the Doc takes on a recent patient and Ted Lilly squares off against a young Canadian with nowhere to go but up in his major league career.
Oh, and memo to the Jays' staff: Careful with that second baseman. He can hit a little.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Expos' pitching, which has been the only area of the club keeping the 2004 season from becoming a true debacle, fell apart in the team's four-game set at Citizens Bank Park this week. In dropping three of four, the Expos yielded an average of 11 runs and 14 hits over the series ... Frank Robinson will be desperately hoping for Livan Hernandez to demonstrate his trademark durability tonight. His bullpen is sorely overtaxed after the Philadelphia series ... Wednesday's comeback win snapped a 37-game losing streak for the 'Spos when trailing after seven innings ... The Expos "lead" the Rockies by two games in the race for the #1 overall pick next year, when the "alternating" draft order will be scrapped ...
* His monster Sunday notwithstanding, old friend Tony Batista had a truly dismal June, going .158/.170/.379 with two walks and 12 Ks ... Batista's 5 RBI on Sunday matched his career high ... Batista remains optimistic that he'll right his ship in the second half: "By the end of the season the numbers will be right there" ...
* It took 141 pitches, but tonight's starter, Livan Hernandez, went at least seven innings last Sunday for the twelfth time this season ... He's demonstrated good survival instincts this season, holding opposing batters to just a .230 average with runners on base -- and a .143 average with the bases loaded ... Hernandez explained after Sunday's game that he actually has mixed feelings about receiving strong, early run support. He wound up struggling in the middle innings because the early lead left him "relaxed a little" ...
* Orlando Cabrera's disappointing season continues, particularly against righthanded pitching ... He's only hitting .211/.267/.291 against righties ...
* Juan Rivera also has a time with righties, who are unfortunately in the vast majority in major league baseball ... Righthanders limit the stocky ex-Yankee to a .225/.303/.300 line ... Rivera did, however, come through with the go-ahead single on Wednesday night off the tough Tim Worrell ...
* Leadoff man Brad Wilkerson has homered in four of his last five games ... He's knocked 16 out of the park this year, and he's been really swinging for the fences, not always to positive effect. He's struck out 30 times in his last 27 games ...
* The patient Nick Johnson has hit in six of his last seven games, with eight walks and five runs scored over that span ...
* Rocky Biddle, The Man Who Should Never Have Closed, has surrendered two runs in each of his last three appearances, swelling his ERA to 8.31 -- atrocious for a reliever ... Lefties are hitting a rousing .404 off Biddle, including six home runs. His WHIP against lefties is a stratospheric 2.21 ...
* Long man T.J. Tucker has also given up runs in each of his last three outings ... Although he has excellent control, Tucker has been pounded by lefthanded hitters at a .343 clip ...
* Saturday's starter, Tony Armas Jr., rebounded from a shaky return to the active roster with an outstanding start two rotations ago, tossing six shutout innings while striking out seven and only giving up three hits ... Armas is attempting to come back from significant shoulder surgery that kept him out of action for a calendar year ... Because his shoulder was feeling stiff, he missed his scheduled turn on Tuesday. He should be OK to go tomorrow ...
* After yielding six runs on six hits and five walks over a staggering 101 pitches in 3 2/3 innings on Monday, Sun-Woo Kim was demoted to the bullpen ... Control has been an issue for the inexperienced Korean, who's walked 34 batters in 61 2/3 IP on the season ...
* Rookie reliever Joe Horgan bounced back from a nightmarish four-run inning on Tuesday night to earn his first major league win on Wednesday, which he vultured after retiring a lone batter ...
* Backstop Brian Schneider is 0 for his last 11 ... Strangely, the plodding catcher has already hit three triples, including one in Friday's game at the Dome ...
* A Burley fave, Jose Vidro is officially on fire ... He's on an 18-game hitting streak (.443), with six homers, 16 runs, 17 RBI and 10 multi-hit games over his roll ... Nine of his ten homers have come from the left side ... He's hitting just .171 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, but all of his Puerto Rico games came during his early-season slump ... Vidro has decidedly mixed feelings about playing in front of his hometown friends and family this week: "For me it's a little bit easier than for the rest of my teammates because I get to go home and see my family...But we spend more time playing on the road than other teams. I don't think it's fair and I don't like it" ...
* Setup man Luis Ayala has tossed six consecutive scoreless outings, allowing just two hits and zero walks in 6 2/3 innings, while striking out seven ... He struck out five of the six men he faced on Tuesday, offering some badly needed mopup relief ...
* Chad Cordero has also come through with six unblemished outings in a row, earning a win and four saves in that span ... Cordero holds righties to a mere .191 average with a WHIP of 1.04 ...
* Terrmel Sledge has put together two fine months in a row ... After hitting .316 in May, Sledge put up solid .294/.390/.510 numbers in July, with an 8/7 BB/K ratio ... His season line continues to be deflated by his going 1 for his first 34 (.029) to start the season ...
* Carl Everett, who has battled a tight hamstring and a sore ankle, played defensively last night -- a sign that he may finally be getting over his various hobbles ... Always weaker from the right side, Everett has only mustered a .194/.265/.258 line against lefties ...
* Sunday's starter will be Georgetown native Shawn Hill, who was greeted very rudely by the Phillies ... Philadelphia roughed the 23-year-old righty up for eight runs in just 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut ... Robinson attributed his rocky performance to nervous energy: "He started to overthrow...He was probably trying too hard" ... Hill: "I honestly don't know what happened. I just started yanking the ball a bunch...Hopefully, it's the first and the worst. That was awful" ...
* Though he carefully couched his words, Frank Robinson took a shot at the parsimony of the Major League Baseball co-owners when he explained why he had no opportunity to rest regulars, despite Montreal's onerous travel schedule. "We can't do much, period...We don't have the personnel here to be able to rest guys...That's not a knock on the guys on the bench, we just don't have anybody" ...
* Longtime Expos French-language commentator Jacques Doucet was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame last week ... "Circuit pour Walker!" ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
8 Wilkerson
6 Cabrera
4 Vidro
5 T Batista
7 Everett/Carroll
9 Rivera
3 N Johnson
2 Diaz
1 [pitcher]
vs. RH
8 Wilkerson
6 Cabrera
4 Vidro
3 N Johnson
5 T Batista
7 Sledge
9 Rivera
2 Schneider
1 [pitcher]
Pitching Probables
Friday: RH Hernandez vs. Bush
Saturday: RH Armas Jr. vs. Halladay
Sunday: RH Hill vs. Lilly
Bullpen Usage
Long: Tucker R, Vargas R, Kim R
Short: Horgan L, Biddle R
Setup: Ayala R
Closer: Cordero R
The Jays face a reeling Expos club that was bombed in dropping three of four to Philadelphia this week. This weekend, David Bush makes his big-league debut against a legitimate workhorse, the Doc takes on a recent patient and Ted Lilly squares off against a young Canadian with nowhere to go but up in his major league career.
Oh, and memo to the Jays' staff: Careful with that second baseman. He can hit a little.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Expos' pitching, which has been the only area of the club keeping the 2004 season from becoming a true debacle, fell apart in the team's four-game set at Citizens Bank Park this week. In dropping three of four, the Expos yielded an average of 11 runs and 14 hits over the series ... Frank Robinson will be desperately hoping for Livan Hernandez to demonstrate his trademark durability tonight. His bullpen is sorely overtaxed after the Philadelphia series ... Wednesday's comeback win snapped a 37-game losing streak for the 'Spos when trailing after seven innings ... The Expos "lead" the Rockies by two games in the race for the #1 overall pick next year, when the "alternating" draft order will be scrapped ...
* His monster Sunday notwithstanding, old friend Tony Batista had a truly dismal June, going .158/.170/.379 with two walks and 12 Ks ... Batista's 5 RBI on Sunday matched his career high ... Batista remains optimistic that he'll right his ship in the second half: "By the end of the season the numbers will be right there" ...
* It took 141 pitches, but tonight's starter, Livan Hernandez, went at least seven innings last Sunday for the twelfth time this season ... He's demonstrated good survival instincts this season, holding opposing batters to just a .230 average with runners on base -- and a .143 average with the bases loaded ... Hernandez explained after Sunday's game that he actually has mixed feelings about receiving strong, early run support. He wound up struggling in the middle innings because the early lead left him "relaxed a little" ...
* Orlando Cabrera's disappointing season continues, particularly against righthanded pitching ... He's only hitting .211/.267/.291 against righties ...
* Juan Rivera also has a time with righties, who are unfortunately in the vast majority in major league baseball ... Righthanders limit the stocky ex-Yankee to a .225/.303/.300 line ... Rivera did, however, come through with the go-ahead single on Wednesday night off the tough Tim Worrell ...
* Leadoff man Brad Wilkerson has homered in four of his last five games ... He's knocked 16 out of the park this year, and he's been really swinging for the fences, not always to positive effect. He's struck out 30 times in his last 27 games ...
* The patient Nick Johnson has hit in six of his last seven games, with eight walks and five runs scored over that span ...
* Rocky Biddle, The Man Who Should Never Have Closed, has surrendered two runs in each of his last three appearances, swelling his ERA to 8.31 -- atrocious for a reliever ... Lefties are hitting a rousing .404 off Biddle, including six home runs. His WHIP against lefties is a stratospheric 2.21 ...
* Long man T.J. Tucker has also given up runs in each of his last three outings ... Although he has excellent control, Tucker has been pounded by lefthanded hitters at a .343 clip ...
* Saturday's starter, Tony Armas Jr., rebounded from a shaky return to the active roster with an outstanding start two rotations ago, tossing six shutout innings while striking out seven and only giving up three hits ... Armas is attempting to come back from significant shoulder surgery that kept him out of action for a calendar year ... Because his shoulder was feeling stiff, he missed his scheduled turn on Tuesday. He should be OK to go tomorrow ...
* After yielding six runs on six hits and five walks over a staggering 101 pitches in 3 2/3 innings on Monday, Sun-Woo Kim was demoted to the bullpen ... Control has been an issue for the inexperienced Korean, who's walked 34 batters in 61 2/3 IP on the season ...
* Rookie reliever Joe Horgan bounced back from a nightmarish four-run inning on Tuesday night to earn his first major league win on Wednesday, which he vultured after retiring a lone batter ...
* Backstop Brian Schneider is 0 for his last 11 ... Strangely, the plodding catcher has already hit three triples, including one in Friday's game at the Dome ...
* A Burley fave, Jose Vidro is officially on fire ... He's on an 18-game hitting streak (.443), with six homers, 16 runs, 17 RBI and 10 multi-hit games over his roll ... Nine of his ten homers have come from the left side ... He's hitting just .171 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, but all of his Puerto Rico games came during his early-season slump ... Vidro has decidedly mixed feelings about playing in front of his hometown friends and family this week: "For me it's a little bit easier than for the rest of my teammates because I get to go home and see my family...But we spend more time playing on the road than other teams. I don't think it's fair and I don't like it" ...
* Setup man Luis Ayala has tossed six consecutive scoreless outings, allowing just two hits and zero walks in 6 2/3 innings, while striking out seven ... He struck out five of the six men he faced on Tuesday, offering some badly needed mopup relief ...
* Chad Cordero has also come through with six unblemished outings in a row, earning a win and four saves in that span ... Cordero holds righties to a mere .191 average with a WHIP of 1.04 ...
* Terrmel Sledge has put together two fine months in a row ... After hitting .316 in May, Sledge put up solid .294/.390/.510 numbers in July, with an 8/7 BB/K ratio ... His season line continues to be deflated by his going 1 for his first 34 (.029) to start the season ...
* Carl Everett, who has battled a tight hamstring and a sore ankle, played defensively last night -- a sign that he may finally be getting over his various hobbles ... Always weaker from the right side, Everett has only mustered a .194/.265/.258 line against lefties ...
* Sunday's starter will be Georgetown native Shawn Hill, who was greeted very rudely by the Phillies ... Philadelphia roughed the 23-year-old righty up for eight runs in just 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut ... Robinson attributed his rocky performance to nervous energy: "He started to overthrow...He was probably trying too hard" ... Hill: "I honestly don't know what happened. I just started yanking the ball a bunch...Hopefully, it's the first and the worst. That was awful" ...
* Though he carefully couched his words, Frank Robinson took a shot at the parsimony of the Major League Baseball co-owners when he explained why he had no opportunity to rest regulars, despite Montreal's onerous travel schedule. "We can't do much, period...We don't have the personnel here to be able to rest guys...That's not a knock on the guys on the bench, we just don't have anybody" ...
* Longtime Expos French-language commentator Jacques Doucet was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame last week ... "Circuit pour Walker!" ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
8 Wilkerson
6 Cabrera
4 Vidro
5 T Batista
7 Everett/Carroll
9 Rivera
3 N Johnson
2 Diaz
1 [pitcher]
vs. RH
8 Wilkerson
6 Cabrera
4 Vidro
3 N Johnson
5 T Batista
7 Sledge
9 Rivera
2 Schneider
1 [pitcher]
Pitching Probables
Friday: RH Hernandez vs. Bush
Saturday: RH Armas Jr. vs. Halladay
Sunday: RH Hill vs. Lilly
Bullpen Usage
Long: Tucker R, Vargas R, Kim R
Short: Horgan L, Biddle R
Setup: Ayala R
Closer: Cordero R
