Orioles 9 - Jays 4

1. Recaps:
   
   • Spencer Fordin:
     
     
     It may have been his last start. He may get one more.
     
     Either way, Josh Towers emptied his verbal reservoir on Thursday night, hitting all the high notes after one of his worst nights at the office. The right-hander got just six outs in Toronto's 9-3 loss, and he let the latest result color the rest of his season.
     
     "I guess it's what you'd call a roller coaster: bad, great and terrible," he said. "It had highs and lows. I was decent for a little while, but you look at how you finish, right? So I'm terrible."
     
     
     
   • Gary Washburn
     
     
     Matt Riley's dramatic and rather disappointing season came to a triumphant end on Thursday. The enigmatic left-hander labored for five innings to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-3, further perplexing an organization that is unsure whether Riley truly has the makeup to be a productive Major League starter.
     
     
     
   • David Ginsburg:
     
     
     Miguel Tejada homered and drove in three runs to boost his major league-leading RBIs total to 146, and the Orioles (77-81) rebounded from an early 3-0 deficit to get within four games of .500 for the first time since Aug. 17.
     
     Tejada's 146 RBIs are second-most in major league history by a shortstop behind Vern Stephens' 159 for Boston in 1949. Tejada has four homers and 15 RBIs in his last eight games.
     
     Newhan, Larry Bigbie and Jay Gibbons also homered for the Orioles, who have won seven of eight.
     
     
     
   • Mark Zwolinski:
     
     
     The Jays jetted home from here last night having lost twice as many games as they won on this nine-game, 11-day road trip.
     
     Toronto left Camden Yards after taking a 14-hit, four-homer beating from the Baltimore Orioles, losing 9-3 before 18,793 fans.
     
     The final weekend of a disappointing season begins tonight with a three-game set against the playoff-bound New York Yankees. But the disappointment won't end there for some.
     
     Shortly after the Jays wrap up their season Sunday, it's expected the coaching staff will lose pitching coach Gil Patterson, and possibly one or two others.
     
     
     
   
   
   
2. Fordin Notes on Gustavo Chacin and manager John Gibbons:
   
   
   Trust your feelings.
   
   That was the popular sentiment that emerged from the third-base dugout at Camden Yards on Thursday night, in the hours before Toronto's series finale against Baltimore.
   
   No, it wasn't a Dr. Phil telethon -- it was a manager talking about his future and his current state of mind. John Gibbons, Toronto's interim manager, said he's still not sure what will happen next season.
   
   
   
   
3. For more details on the Jays managerial position, be sure to read Mike Ganter's "Gibbons feels hopeful":
   
   
   John Gibbons hasn't been told anything officially yet, but he's quietly confident he'll be back to manage the Blue Jays next year without the interim tag in front of his name.
   
   Gibbons, who took over from Carlos Tosca when the previous Jays manager was relieved of his duties Aug. 8 in New York, took an 18-28 record into play last night.
   
   
   
   
4. In "Gibbons expected to stay on" Larry Millson adds his two cents:
   
   
   After this sorry season is finished for the Toronto Blue Jays, it is expected that the "interim" will be dropped from John Gibbons's title and he will be the team's manager in 2005.
   
   Fortunately for his future, the results of the past week won't influence the decision.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Ganter Notes on Carlos Delgado:
   
   
   With potentially just three games left in the Blue Jays portion of Carlos Delgado's career, the questions of what kind of sendoff the Jays all-time leader in homers, RBIs, and games played will receive this weekend in the final homestand was on the minds of many. Interim manager John Gibbons was asked if he would consider taking Delgado out midway through an inning Sunday to allow the fans to show their appreciation. "Actually I'd like to see him get 100 RBIs," Gibbons said. "What does he need now, six?"
   
   
   
   
6. Following an article yesterday in the Sun, Steve Simmons of the Star asks "Jays headed way of Expos?":
   
   
   Godfrey is too close to his job and his players and the daily baseball activity at the SkyDome to fully comprehend the severity of the Blue Jays plight. This is, forget the numbers, the lowest point in their 27-year-history.
   
   Even Carlos Delgado's status and the possibility of a new manager being named can't muster much conversation -- and worse, emotion -- anymore. It is that dry and that desperate.
   
   "When the season started, there was more buzz," Godfrey said. "The buzz went silent when the team didn't perform. This was a season if it could go wrong, it went wrong. How do we get people back? You have to play games that matter in September. We have to do that."
   
   
   
   
7. In "Few bucks ... no glory" Allan Ryan of the Star discusses the Jays payroll:
   
   
   J.P. Ricciardi says it might be impossible for the Blue Jays to win a World Series with their current payroll.
   
   In a wide-ranging interview done as his third season as the team's general manager winds down, Ricciardi said he's humbled by his team's struggles this year, but still confident in his plan.
   
   He's just not sure a championship is in the cards.
   
   
   There's a lot of good stuff in this article, so you'll want to check it out.
   
   
8. Tonight's 7:05PM EST start at the Dome: RHP Orlando Hernandez (8-1, 2.87 ERA) vs. RHP Dave Bush (4-4, 4.06 ERA). As always, more information in the game preview.