Simply put, the Jays will have to find strength in adversity. After following their rousing sweep of Seattle with consecutive empty series against the Angels and Rangers, Toronto finishes its whirlwind tour of the AL West with a two-game mini-set in the East Bay, starting tonight. Unfortunately, the Jays picked a tough time in the schedule to drop six straight; their next two series are in the toughest ballparks in baseball to steal wins -- Network Associates Coliseum and Yankee Stadium.
The Jays did, however, catch a small break: Tim Hudson is unable to pitch tonight, so Kirk Saarloos will spot-start. Read about Kirk in this week's Scout, which also includes a Canadian finding his groove, a rather public feud between a rising rookie and a combustible veteran, and an aging utilityman who always seems to give the Jays fits. Remember, tomorrow's ballgame is a 3:35 (EDT) matinee.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Swingin' A's have won four of six after a costly four-game losing streak ... In the battle between risk-averse teams, Oakland leads the Jays in the race for second-last in the AL by a single stolen base (31-30) ... Thanks to the disappointing seasons of Barry Zito and several of the Oakland relievers, the A's' team ERA has swelled to 4.10 -- still good enough for second in the AL, behind Boston ... Oakland has been a marvelous home team this year at 30-13. Only the Yankees have been tougher at home ... The A's are an incredible 23-4 in their last twenty-seven home games ... Their home ERA unsurprisingly paces the league at 3.57, but interestingly, the A's hit much better at the spacious Coliseum (.285/.363/.466) than they do on the road (.263/.322/.409) ... Oakland plays a ton of one-run games, in which they are 16-13 ...
* The A's have suffered through an injured Mark Ellis and Eric Chavez, an ineffective Barry Zito and Chad Bradford, and an injured, ineffective Arthur Rhodes. Tim Hudson: "[I]f you told me all those things would've happened and we'd be [in contention] right now, I'd have taken it. In a heartbeat" ...
* On Saturday, the A's wore throwback uniforms as a tribute to their guests of honour -- the 1974 World Series Champions, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the culmination of their three-year stranglehold on the World Series ... Sal Bando was asked about whether he enjoyed the "special treatment" extended by Oakland management. Bando, evoking the combative reputation of the team: "When you live among them, they don't seem so special" ...
* Tonight's starter, Kirk Saarloos, has given up only one earned run and one unearned run in 13 1/3 IP since his recall by Oakland in late June ... Saarloos is making a spot start for the injured Hudson ... Righties are hitting a microscopic .087 off him so far -- a major contributor to his 0.68 ERA ... He will use his defence; he's only struck out four over his three appearances with the A's ... In his last start, he went 6 2/3 strong innings against Cleveland, limiting them to two hits and an unearned run. Before that, he shut out the Angels over five innings ...
* Welcome back, Eric ... Eric Chavez has put up a robust .417/.576/.667 line, with nine walks and only three strikeouts, since his return from a broken hand ... He's played typically outstanding defence since his return -- witness his sensational diving stop and strong throw from the seat of his pants against Cleveland in his first game back ... He's hit in all seven games since his injury ...
* A healthy Jermaine Dye is a real asset ... In hitting .304/.361/.554 in July, Dye has knocked in 13 runs in his 14 games ... Dye clobbers lefties at .341/.435/.615 ... He's one of the many A's who enjoys home cookin'. He hits .331/.406/.592 at "The Net" ...
* The "Pickin' Machine," Scott Hatteberg, is 0 for his last 7 and has slumped in July (.182/.302/.277) after two very solid months ... He hasn't homered in his last 18 games ... His 36/17 BB/K ratio against righthanded pitching remains exemplary ...
* Mark Kotsay is having another hot month, as he's put up .357/.413/.500 numbers in July after a very productive June ... His OBP with the bases empty is .384, solid for a leadoff man ...
* It seems like Eric Byrnes has been swinging harder of late ... In June and July, he's notched seven of his eleven homers -- but his BB/K ratio has been an unsatisfactory 6/33 over those two months ... Byrnes tattoos lefties at a .351/.422/.635 clip ...
* Tomorrow's starter will be Victoria, B.C.'s own Rich Harden ... Harden pitched a career-best eight innings on Thursday allowing just two runs on four hits in his victory over Chicago. He retired the first thirteen batters he faced ... Harden credited his success to his ability to keep his fastball down: "I can go out there and get a lot of groundball outs if I'm concentrating on what I need to be doing...I just kept hitting my spots" ... Harden's fastball hit 95 mph on the gun on Thursday, even as late as the eighth inning ... Harden has struck out six or more batters nine times this season, and strikes out nearly a batter per inning ... A hard thrower, he's especially tough in his roomy home park (3-2, 3.56, 19 BB, 42 K in 48 IP) ... Ken Macha explained that his biggest concern with the young Canadian relates to his tendency to get rattled during jams: "When he's given up runs and had something happen to him, he's lost concentration a little bit" ... As such, Tuesday might be the day for the Jays to cash in some runners in scoring position ... Damian Miller has been impressed in Harden's ability to cut back on his overthrowing ...
* Rookie of the Year candidate Bobby Crosby has stumbled this month (.211/.250/.386) after an outstanding June ... His plate discipline, in which he appeared to be making great strides, has regressed in July (3 BB, 14 K) ... Crosby's 12 homers pace all AL rookies ... Crosby made a tentative play on Saturday, declining to relay a potential double-play ball so as to avoid the break-up slide. When Mark Redman subsequently gave up a home run to Aaron Rowand, he openly screamed at Crosby, who didn't appreciate it: "I don't care if I'm a rookie...you don't do that" ... Redman and Crosby cleared the air in a private meeting before Sunday's game. Redman was satisfied with the meeting, but had some choice words for the media for making "a big deal of this" ... The rookie redeemed himself yesterday, hitting a key two-run homer that wound up being the difference in the team's 5-3 win ...
* His veteran double-play partner, Mark McLemore, is just 1 for his last 11 (.091) ... Mac has struggled mightily in July, going .182/.217/.227 on the month ... Although he switch-hits, he's been sheltered against lefthanded pitching. He's just 1 for 11 from the right side ... He's been awfully pesky against the Jays in his career, going .314/.410/.414 in 121 career games against Toronto -- by far his best career numbers against any opponent against whom he's played a meaningful number of games ... His BB/K against the Jays has been an infuriating 69/44 ... He'll be 40 in October ...
* Old friend Bobby Kielty has been 7 for 22 (.318) in limited duty in July, which has helped him eke out more playing time after frankly being a bust this season in Oakland ... His hitting from the left side continues to be inept at .195/.304/.287, with 25 Ks in 87 at-bats. In any event, he hasn't batted lefthanded at all recently, given a minor rib injury that only affects his lefthanded swing ...
* Erubiel Durazo has snapped out of a slump by hitting in five of his last six games (.348) ... Nine of his eleven dingers have come off righthanded pitching ... A career .386 hitter with the bases loaded, he's hit two grand slams this season ...
* Submariner Chad Bradford has been leaving the ball up more than normal this season, and it's hurt him ... He's given up five home runs in 39 IP, and lefties have tagged him at a .310 rate ... He's been successful at home, limiting batters to a .219 average ...
* After a significant hot streak, veteran catcher Damian Miller is just 1 for his last 12 (.083) ... Billy Beane has to be delighted with his more-than-serviceable .291/.350/.453 numbers on the season ...
* Backup backstop Adam Melhuse has hit in his last five starts (.333) ... Melhuse has been strangely weak with runners on base at .196/.241/.333 this season ... Melhuse was a 13th-round pick of Pat Gillick and the Blue Jays in 1993 ...
* New closer Octavio Dotel has converted his last three saves without incident after getting off to a rocky start as an Athletic ... Since he joined the A's, he's yielded a .327 batting average and a 6.59 ERA ... He has, however, struck out 20 batters in his 13 2/3 IP since the trade ... Dotel fanned Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko to slam the door in yesterday's matinee. Macha pulled Mark Mulder in the ninth to a chorus of boos. Macha's comment to Dotel on the mound conference when the closer arrived from the bullpen: "Do you have my back here?" ... Dotel on his favourite pitch: "If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die with my fastball" ...
* Backup infielder Marco Scutaro has been making solid contact in July, hitting .348/.362/.457 on the month ... Macha is working with Scutaro to make him comfortable at shortstop. Crosby is in need of a rest, having played 61 consecutive games at short ...
* Tim Hudson played catch on Friday without undue pain ... The diminuitive ace was scratched from the All-Star Game with an oblique injury ... Veteran lefty Chris Hammond's strained pitching shoulder is feeling better and he's expected to start a rehab assignment in the near future ... Mark Ellis is playing catch again, but is still a long shot to play this season ... Esteban German is progressing from his oblique injury ...
* The A's succeeded in getting Huston Street's name on a contract on Friday. He'll start at Class A Kane County ... Kurt Suzuki also signed on the dotted line ... Beane also acquired journeyman lefty Adam Pettyjohn from the Giants for cash last weekend ...
* The Contra Costa Times reported that another hard-throwing reliever is at the top of Beane's midseason shopping list. Guillermo Mota is apparently no longer available, since the Dodgers will be a buyer gearing up for a playoff run rather than a seller ... Saarloos might be said hard-throwing reliever once Tim Hudson returns to the rotation ... Rich Aurilia is also mentioned as a possibility to add much-needed infield depth ...
* In this, his Hall of Fame induction year, Dennis Eckersley told the Oakland media that the home run he allowed to the Jays' Roberto Alomar in 1992 was more painful than the Kirk Gibson home run in 1988, since he felt like he was pitching at his absolute highest level in '92 ...
Probable Batting Orders
Note: The Jays will not be starting a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
8 Kotsay
4 McLemore
5 Chavez
9 Dye
3 Hatteberg
DH Durazo
6 Crosby
2 D Miller/Melhuse
7 Kielty/Byrnes
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Saarloos vs. Towers
Tuesday: RH Harden vs. Bush
Bullpen Usage
Long: Mecir R
Short: Duchscherer R, Lehr R
Setup: Rincon L, Bradford R
Closer: Dotel R
The Jays did, however, catch a small break: Tim Hudson is unable to pitch tonight, so Kirk Saarloos will spot-start. Read about Kirk in this week's Scout, which also includes a Canadian finding his groove, a rather public feud between a rising rookie and a combustible veteran, and an aging utilityman who always seems to give the Jays fits. Remember, tomorrow's ballgame is a 3:35 (EDT) matinee.
On to the Advance Scout!
* The Swingin' A's have won four of six after a costly four-game losing streak ... In the battle between risk-averse teams, Oakland leads the Jays in the race for second-last in the AL by a single stolen base (31-30) ... Thanks to the disappointing seasons of Barry Zito and several of the Oakland relievers, the A's' team ERA has swelled to 4.10 -- still good enough for second in the AL, behind Boston ... Oakland has been a marvelous home team this year at 30-13. Only the Yankees have been tougher at home ... The A's are an incredible 23-4 in their last twenty-seven home games ... Their home ERA unsurprisingly paces the league at 3.57, but interestingly, the A's hit much better at the spacious Coliseum (.285/.363/.466) than they do on the road (.263/.322/.409) ... Oakland plays a ton of one-run games, in which they are 16-13 ...
* The A's have suffered through an injured Mark Ellis and Eric Chavez, an ineffective Barry Zito and Chad Bradford, and an injured, ineffective Arthur Rhodes. Tim Hudson: "[I]f you told me all those things would've happened and we'd be [in contention] right now, I'd have taken it. In a heartbeat" ...
* On Saturday, the A's wore throwback uniforms as a tribute to their guests of honour -- the 1974 World Series Champions, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the culmination of their three-year stranglehold on the World Series ... Sal Bando was asked about whether he enjoyed the "special treatment" extended by Oakland management. Bando, evoking the combative reputation of the team: "When you live among them, they don't seem so special" ...
* Tonight's starter, Kirk Saarloos, has given up only one earned run and one unearned run in 13 1/3 IP since his recall by Oakland in late June ... Saarloos is making a spot start for the injured Hudson ... Righties are hitting a microscopic .087 off him so far -- a major contributor to his 0.68 ERA ... He will use his defence; he's only struck out four over his three appearances with the A's ... In his last start, he went 6 2/3 strong innings against Cleveland, limiting them to two hits and an unearned run. Before that, he shut out the Angels over five innings ...
* Welcome back, Eric ... Eric Chavez has put up a robust .417/.576/.667 line, with nine walks and only three strikeouts, since his return from a broken hand ... He's played typically outstanding defence since his return -- witness his sensational diving stop and strong throw from the seat of his pants against Cleveland in his first game back ... He's hit in all seven games since his injury ...
* A healthy Jermaine Dye is a real asset ... In hitting .304/.361/.554 in July, Dye has knocked in 13 runs in his 14 games ... Dye clobbers lefties at .341/.435/.615 ... He's one of the many A's who enjoys home cookin'. He hits .331/.406/.592 at "The Net" ...
* The "Pickin' Machine," Scott Hatteberg, is 0 for his last 7 and has slumped in July (.182/.302/.277) after two very solid months ... He hasn't homered in his last 18 games ... His 36/17 BB/K ratio against righthanded pitching remains exemplary ...
* Mark Kotsay is having another hot month, as he's put up .357/.413/.500 numbers in July after a very productive June ... His OBP with the bases empty is .384, solid for a leadoff man ...
* It seems like Eric Byrnes has been swinging harder of late ... In June and July, he's notched seven of his eleven homers -- but his BB/K ratio has been an unsatisfactory 6/33 over those two months ... Byrnes tattoos lefties at a .351/.422/.635 clip ...
* Tomorrow's starter will be Victoria, B.C.'s own Rich Harden ... Harden pitched a career-best eight innings on Thursday allowing just two runs on four hits in his victory over Chicago. He retired the first thirteen batters he faced ... Harden credited his success to his ability to keep his fastball down: "I can go out there and get a lot of groundball outs if I'm concentrating on what I need to be doing...I just kept hitting my spots" ... Harden's fastball hit 95 mph on the gun on Thursday, even as late as the eighth inning ... Harden has struck out six or more batters nine times this season, and strikes out nearly a batter per inning ... A hard thrower, he's especially tough in his roomy home park (3-2, 3.56, 19 BB, 42 K in 48 IP) ... Ken Macha explained that his biggest concern with the young Canadian relates to his tendency to get rattled during jams: "When he's given up runs and had something happen to him, he's lost concentration a little bit" ... As such, Tuesday might be the day for the Jays to cash in some runners in scoring position ... Damian Miller has been impressed in Harden's ability to cut back on his overthrowing ...
* Rookie of the Year candidate Bobby Crosby has stumbled this month (.211/.250/.386) after an outstanding June ... His plate discipline, in which he appeared to be making great strides, has regressed in July (3 BB, 14 K) ... Crosby's 12 homers pace all AL rookies ... Crosby made a tentative play on Saturday, declining to relay a potential double-play ball so as to avoid the break-up slide. When Mark Redman subsequently gave up a home run to Aaron Rowand, he openly screamed at Crosby, who didn't appreciate it: "I don't care if I'm a rookie...you don't do that" ... Redman and Crosby cleared the air in a private meeting before Sunday's game. Redman was satisfied with the meeting, but had some choice words for the media for making "a big deal of this" ... The rookie redeemed himself yesterday, hitting a key two-run homer that wound up being the difference in the team's 5-3 win ...
* His veteran double-play partner, Mark McLemore, is just 1 for his last 11 (.091) ... Mac has struggled mightily in July, going .182/.217/.227 on the month ... Although he switch-hits, he's been sheltered against lefthanded pitching. He's just 1 for 11 from the right side ... He's been awfully pesky against the Jays in his career, going .314/.410/.414 in 121 career games against Toronto -- by far his best career numbers against any opponent against whom he's played a meaningful number of games ... His BB/K against the Jays has been an infuriating 69/44 ... He'll be 40 in October ...
* Old friend Bobby Kielty has been 7 for 22 (.318) in limited duty in July, which has helped him eke out more playing time after frankly being a bust this season in Oakland ... His hitting from the left side continues to be inept at .195/.304/.287, with 25 Ks in 87 at-bats. In any event, he hasn't batted lefthanded at all recently, given a minor rib injury that only affects his lefthanded swing ...
* Erubiel Durazo has snapped out of a slump by hitting in five of his last six games (.348) ... Nine of his eleven dingers have come off righthanded pitching ... A career .386 hitter with the bases loaded, he's hit two grand slams this season ...
* Submariner Chad Bradford has been leaving the ball up more than normal this season, and it's hurt him ... He's given up five home runs in 39 IP, and lefties have tagged him at a .310 rate ... He's been successful at home, limiting batters to a .219 average ...
* After a significant hot streak, veteran catcher Damian Miller is just 1 for his last 12 (.083) ... Billy Beane has to be delighted with his more-than-serviceable .291/.350/.453 numbers on the season ...
* Backup backstop Adam Melhuse has hit in his last five starts (.333) ... Melhuse has been strangely weak with runners on base at .196/.241/.333 this season ... Melhuse was a 13th-round pick of Pat Gillick and the Blue Jays in 1993 ...
* New closer Octavio Dotel has converted his last three saves without incident after getting off to a rocky start as an Athletic ... Since he joined the A's, he's yielded a .327 batting average and a 6.59 ERA ... He has, however, struck out 20 batters in his 13 2/3 IP since the trade ... Dotel fanned Magglio Ordonez and Paul Konerko to slam the door in yesterday's matinee. Macha pulled Mark Mulder in the ninth to a chorus of boos. Macha's comment to Dotel on the mound conference when the closer arrived from the bullpen: "Do you have my back here?" ... Dotel on his favourite pitch: "If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die with my fastball" ...
* Backup infielder Marco Scutaro has been making solid contact in July, hitting .348/.362/.457 on the month ... Macha is working with Scutaro to make him comfortable at shortstop. Crosby is in need of a rest, having played 61 consecutive games at short ...
* Tim Hudson played catch on Friday without undue pain ... The diminuitive ace was scratched from the All-Star Game with an oblique injury ... Veteran lefty Chris Hammond's strained pitching shoulder is feeling better and he's expected to start a rehab assignment in the near future ... Mark Ellis is playing catch again, but is still a long shot to play this season ... Esteban German is progressing from his oblique injury ...
* The A's succeeded in getting Huston Street's name on a contract on Friday. He'll start at Class A Kane County ... Kurt Suzuki also signed on the dotted line ... Beane also acquired journeyman lefty Adam Pettyjohn from the Giants for cash last weekend ...
* The Contra Costa Times reported that another hard-throwing reliever is at the top of Beane's midseason shopping list. Guillermo Mota is apparently no longer available, since the Dodgers will be a buyer gearing up for a playoff run rather than a seller ... Saarloos might be said hard-throwing reliever once Tim Hudson returns to the rotation ... Rich Aurilia is also mentioned as a possibility to add much-needed infield depth ...
* In this, his Hall of Fame induction year, Dennis Eckersley told the Oakland media that the home run he allowed to the Jays' Roberto Alomar in 1992 was more painful than the Kirk Gibson home run in 1988, since he felt like he was pitching at his absolute highest level in '92 ...
Probable Batting Orders
Note: The Jays will not be starting a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
8 Kotsay
4 McLemore
5 Chavez
9 Dye
3 Hatteberg
DH Durazo
6 Crosby
2 D Miller/Melhuse
7 Kielty/Byrnes
Pitching Probables
Monday: RH Saarloos vs. Towers
Tuesday: RH Harden vs. Bush
Bullpen Usage
Long: Mecir R
Short: Duchscherer R, Lehr R
Setup: Rincon L, Bradford R
Closer: Dotel R
