The World Champs come to town for three of their eighteen meetings with the hometown heroes. The teams have been mirror images of each other this season, with the Jays having been denied a sweep by a late-innings collapse and the BoSox avoiding a sweep at the hands of the hated Yankees by rallying -- again -- against Mariano Rivera.
* General: The Red Sox took 14 of 19 from the Jays in their championship 2004 season ... The last time the Sox played the Jays in a Toronto home opener? 1991, when Roger Clemens and the defending AL East champion Bosox won 6-2. Of course, it would be the Jays who would take the '91 division crown ... Strangely, the Sox have been outscored 6-0 in third innings ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Today's opponent is the versatile Arroyo, who pitched exceptionally well in the '04 postseason ... The O-Dog has had little to bark about against Arroyo, as he's 0-for-8 all-time ...
* Mark Bellhorn: Good ol' Bellhorn is at it again, having made exactly zero outs on balls in play. He's singled four times, doubled once, and fanned seven times in his 12 plate appearances ... He's hit in all three games this season ... Bellhorn loves pitches out over the plate and can hit them for power ... But he can be pitched to, and indeed overpowered, with inside strikes ... He's pesky and selective, but can be tempted to chase breaking balls down ...
* David Wells: Tomorrow's starter, Boomer hasn't won in SkyDome since April 2002 ... Hard to believe, but with 212 victories, is the fifth-winningest active pitcher in the bigs ... He's still an effective nibbler, working the outside corner carefully with fastballs and changes ... His fastball away sneaks up on righthanded hitters, surprising them with its speed ... He won't walk batters but will occasionally hang curves -- that's where he's really vulnerable ...
* Kevin Millar: Mill-ahh departed Wednesday's game with leg cramps. He'll play, though he may not play defensively this series ... Although he doesn't seem to have good balance at the plate, he has quick hands and good bat control ... Pound him up and away and you can coax pop-ups ...
* Manny Ramirez: The reigning World Series MVP went just 1-for-New York this week ... He obviously has an excellent approach at the plate, and gets tremendous plate coverage. He can really drive the outside pitch ... He got frozen on back-door breaking pitches against the Yankees, but those were excellent pitchers throwing excellent pitches ...
* Edgar Renteria: The highly-regarded Colombian went 0 for his first 11 with the Red Sox, but notched two hits on Wednesday including a key jam shot into left that scored two runs off the struggling Mariano Rivera ... Likes the ball away and will take an inside strike ...
* Jason Varitek: The ESPN Magazine cover boy is the first full-time Red Sox captain since Jim Rice served in the late '80s ... Don't be surprised to see Doug Mirabelli start one of the afternoon games ...
* Matt Clement: Sunday's starter will be the offseason apple of J.P.'s eye ... He's held opponents to just a .243 average over his career ... Has a compact stretch delivery somewhat reminiscent of David Cone ... Great movement on his sinker and slider ...
* Matt Mantei: The hard-luck kid has had a rocky introduction to life in the Boston bullpen, after persevering through major surgeries on his elbow (2001) and shoulder (2004) ... Mantei got taken very deep by Hideki Matsui on Sunday night, after throwing a fastball down but over the middle ... His control has been all over the place in his two outings this season. The Jays would be wise to be very patient ...
* Mike Timlin: Old friend Timlin isn't slowing down. His 76 appearances in 2004 was a career high ... Still prone to leaving breaking balls up ... Very good sinker that causes lefthanded hitters to swing over his pitches ...
* Keith Foulke: Foulke changes speeds very effectively, but fell behind Derek Jeter in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday afternoon and had to throw a fastball for a strike -- which was deposited in the seats ... His fastball seldom hits 90 mph, but he spots hit well and it seems much faster after a few of his changeups go by ...
* Curt Schilling: Schill is hoping to make his debut against the Yankees next week. In his AAA rehab start, he said he felt strong but got rocked for seven runs on eleven hits in six innings ...
* David Ortiz: For a seemingly lumbering guy, he has tremendously quick hands and a deceptively level swing ... Do NOT pitch him inside! He's capable of turning on any fastball, even if up and in ... Can sometimes -- though seldom -- be frozen by a lefthanded slider, or a righthanded two-seamer away and off the plate ...
This weekend's series features three pitching matchups that are actually rather appealing to the Jays. The key will be Roy Halladay on Saturday; he'll need to go as deep into the game as he can, since Ted Lilly will be on a tight pitch count on his return to live action on Sunday.
Please let me know what you think about the new Advance Scout format, particularly compared to its traditional style. I'm open to any suggestions and all criticism; my scouting is based on Boston's recent three-game series with the Yankees.
Without further ado...on to the Advance Scout!
* General: The Red Sox took 14 of 19 from the Jays in their championship 2004 season ... The last time the Sox played the Jays in a Toronto home opener? 1991, when Roger Clemens and the defending AL East champion Bosox won 6-2. Of course, it would be the Jays who would take the '91 division crown ... Strangely, the Sox have been outscored 6-0 in third innings ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Today's opponent is the versatile Arroyo, who pitched exceptionally well in the '04 postseason ... The O-Dog has had little to bark about against Arroyo, as he's 0-for-8 all-time ...
* Mark Bellhorn: Good ol' Bellhorn is at it again, having made exactly zero outs on balls in play. He's singled four times, doubled once, and fanned seven times in his 12 plate appearances ... He's hit in all three games this season ... Bellhorn loves pitches out over the plate and can hit them for power ... But he can be pitched to, and indeed overpowered, with inside strikes ... He's pesky and selective, but can be tempted to chase breaking balls down ...
* David Wells: Tomorrow's starter, Boomer hasn't won in SkyDome since April 2002 ... Hard to believe, but with 212 victories, is the fifth-winningest active pitcher in the bigs ... He's still an effective nibbler, working the outside corner carefully with fastballs and changes ... His fastball away sneaks up on righthanded hitters, surprising them with its speed ... He won't walk batters but will occasionally hang curves -- that's where he's really vulnerable ...
* Kevin Millar: Mill-ahh departed Wednesday's game with leg cramps. He'll play, though he may not play defensively this series ... Although he doesn't seem to have good balance at the plate, he has quick hands and good bat control ... Pound him up and away and you can coax pop-ups ...
* Manny Ramirez: The reigning World Series MVP went just 1-for-New York this week ... He obviously has an excellent approach at the plate, and gets tremendous plate coverage. He can really drive the outside pitch ... He got frozen on back-door breaking pitches against the Yankees, but those were excellent pitchers throwing excellent pitches ...
* Edgar Renteria: The highly-regarded Colombian went 0 for his first 11 with the Red Sox, but notched two hits on Wednesday including a key jam shot into left that scored two runs off the struggling Mariano Rivera ... Likes the ball away and will take an inside strike ...
* Jason Varitek: The ESPN Magazine cover boy is the first full-time Red Sox captain since Jim Rice served in the late '80s ... Don't be surprised to see Doug Mirabelli start one of the afternoon games ...
* Matt Clement: Sunday's starter will be the offseason apple of J.P.'s eye ... He's held opponents to just a .243 average over his career ... Has a compact stretch delivery somewhat reminiscent of David Cone ... Great movement on his sinker and slider ...
* Matt Mantei: The hard-luck kid has had a rocky introduction to life in the Boston bullpen, after persevering through major surgeries on his elbow (2001) and shoulder (2004) ... Mantei got taken very deep by Hideki Matsui on Sunday night, after throwing a fastball down but over the middle ... His control has been all over the place in his two outings this season. The Jays would be wise to be very patient ...
* Mike Timlin: Old friend Timlin isn't slowing down. His 76 appearances in 2004 was a career high ... Still prone to leaving breaking balls up ... Very good sinker that causes lefthanded hitters to swing over his pitches ...
* Keith Foulke: Foulke changes speeds very effectively, but fell behind Derek Jeter in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday afternoon and had to throw a fastball for a strike -- which was deposited in the seats ... His fastball seldom hits 90 mph, but he spots hit well and it seems much faster after a few of his changeups go by ...
* Curt Schilling: Schill is hoping to make his debut against the Yankees next week. In his AAA rehab start, he said he felt strong but got rocked for seven runs on eleven hits in six innings ...
* David Ortiz: For a seemingly lumbering guy, he has tremendously quick hands and a deceptively level swing ... Do NOT pitch him inside! He's capable of turning on any fastball, even if up and in ... Can sometimes -- though seldom -- be frozen by a lefthanded slider, or a righthanded two-seamer away and off the plate ...
