The Jays' nine-game road trip concludes in the ninety-three-year-old home of the World Champs, with a Patriots' Day morning affair followed by a night game tomorrow. If the Jays split the series, it'll have been an excellent Oakland/Texas/Boston jaunt on balance. If they manage to take the pair, it'll have been an absolutely superior road trip.
The Red Sox have come alive, winning their last four over the Yankees and D-Rays. What's worrisome in scouting the Bosox is that they are winning with three key hitters -- Millar, Manny and Mueller -- who are not swinging the bat anywhere near their expected level. The rest of the lineup is rounding into the patient and powerful form that makes the Boston batting order so dangerous. Let's see how accurate my scouting reports prove to be for some of these batsmen.
Now's the time to get to Curt Schilling, who will only get stronger once his fastball starts moving today. The good news is that a razor-sharp Doc gets the ball against Bronson Arroyo in a more favourable matchup in the finale of this mini-series.
On to the Advance Scout!
* General: Boston's four-game winning streak hasn't been just because of hot hitting. The Red Sox neither allowed a home run nor committed an error over the four victories ... The Bosox took eight of nine from the Jays, including their last eight, at Fenway last season ... The Jays have won all three previous Patriots' Day matchups at Fenway ... Boston has yet to surrender a first-inning run all season ... Wade Miller will make his second Class-A rehab start after an encouraging debut last week ...
* Curt Schilling: His fastball looked a bit straighter than usual in his season debut against the hated Yankees last week ... He left his splitter too high in the zone, too often ... Likes to climb the ladder on lefthanded hitters, daring thim to chase his high heat ... Struggled but still threw strikes in his admittedly rusty start. Now's the time to get to him, because he'll get better as he pitches more ...
* Trot Nixon: Waits very effectively on righthanded breaking stuff -- throw him fastballs instead ... Good power to right and right-centre ... Will try to pull outside pitches -- righties should run two-seam fastballs away from him ... Cannot hit lefties and is automatically pinch-hit for in any high-leverage situation against LOOGYs ... Stance similar to Brian Giles ... A fine defender in right who doesn't give up on gappers or looping liners ...
* Edgar Renteria: Can really hammer lefthanded breaking pitches when he's sitting on them ... Will go with fastballs between the middle and the outer half of the plate and drive them to right-centre ... It's tough to get him to chase, but by the same token, you can freeze him with pitches on the corners ... Righties should throw him curves away, where his plate coverage isn't so good ... Does not have fantastic range up the middle ... His walk total took a dive last season and he's drawn just one this season ...
* Kevin Millar: All nine of his hits this season have been mere singles ... Trusted by Francona even when he's slumping (as he's been in April), he has the green light on 3-0 counts ... Upright stance and he likes to take offspeed pitches back up the middle ... Will chase pitches down and away ... Also chases fastballs up and away. Don't pitch him inside ...
* Johnny Damon: It doesn't look like he has quick hands, but it's hard to find a fastball in that he can't turn on ... Will pull pitches down the rightfield line, even if they're over the middle of the plate ... Can be frozen by lefthanded breaking stuff ... Struggling against lefties so far ... You can induce him to chase offspeed pitches down and out of the strike zone ...
* Jason Varitek: Should be hitting higher in the order ... From the left side, level swing and he keeps his head down on the ball well ... From the right side, a long but quick swing with considerable power ... Fidgety feet in the batter's box ... Will chase pitches down in the zone and has not been selective this season ... Can be jammed. He doesn't like strikes in on his fists ...
* Jay Payton: Endeared himself to the Fenway faithful by taking Randy Johnson deep ... Hits off his front foot somewhat but is strong enough to drive the ball ... Will chase high fastballs, but can make contact on pitches out of the zone up ... Vulnerable to backdoor pitches, as he doesn't like it away ... Can be overpowered with good heat ...
* David Ortiz: The menacing Papi loves fastballs in, which he lashes past Pesky's Pole with regularity ... Has hit four career homers off Doc ... Righties should work inside only with breaking stuff. You might get him to read the pitch as a fastball and fool him ... Doesn't like down-and-away strikes ... Might be worth saving SS for this guy, even though Schoeneweis could neutralize Nixon earlier in the lineup ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Will leave pitches up and occasionally hang his breaking stuff ... As a corollary to his "hanging curve" problem, he likes to drop 12-to-6 curves into the strike zone on unsuspecting righties ... Inconsistent movement on his pitches ... Long, high leg kick that doesn't have an easy comp ... Runs a two-seam fastball in on righthanded hitters ...
* Mark Bellhorn: Is a righthanded spray hitter but a lefthanded pull hitter ... Likes fastballs down ... Obviously very vulnerable to the strikeout, as he's already whiffed 18 times (with four walks and no homers). Often takes on 3-2 pitches, where it sometimes seems like he's hoping for a walk rather than reacting ... Throw him pitches on either corner -- he's likely to take it for a strike ...
* Manny Ramirez: Awakening from his early-season slumber ... Snapped the longest season-opening home run drought of his career with a two-homer performance on Saturday ... Mediocre breaking pitches wind up in the Monster seats ... The outside corner is not safe when Manny's up ... Can sometimes be frozen with up-and-in pitches of all varieties, but the margin for error is slim ... Selective, even when he's slumping ...
* Bill Mueller: Just seven singles and one double thus far ... From both sides of the plate, likes pitches away and will drive them to all fields ... Will lay off pitches -- even strikes -- inside, where he's less comfortable ...
* Matt Mantei: Not a lot of sinking action on his splitter ... His curve has been problematic but has looked sharper lately ... Will not always keep the ball down ... Can once again get his fastball into the mid-90s ... Though some viewed his acquisition as an experiment, the Red Sox seem to be committed to Mantei as a key part of the bullpen ...
The Red Sox have come alive, winning their last four over the Yankees and D-Rays. What's worrisome in scouting the Bosox is that they are winning with three key hitters -- Millar, Manny and Mueller -- who are not swinging the bat anywhere near their expected level. The rest of the lineup is rounding into the patient and powerful form that makes the Boston batting order so dangerous. Let's see how accurate my scouting reports prove to be for some of these batsmen.
Now's the time to get to Curt Schilling, who will only get stronger once his fastball starts moving today. The good news is that a razor-sharp Doc gets the ball against Bronson Arroyo in a more favourable matchup in the finale of this mini-series.
On to the Advance Scout!
* General: Boston's four-game winning streak hasn't been just because of hot hitting. The Red Sox neither allowed a home run nor committed an error over the four victories ... The Bosox took eight of nine from the Jays, including their last eight, at Fenway last season ... The Jays have won all three previous Patriots' Day matchups at Fenway ... Boston has yet to surrender a first-inning run all season ... Wade Miller will make his second Class-A rehab start after an encouraging debut last week ...
* Curt Schilling: His fastball looked a bit straighter than usual in his season debut against the hated Yankees last week ... He left his splitter too high in the zone, too often ... Likes to climb the ladder on lefthanded hitters, daring thim to chase his high heat ... Struggled but still threw strikes in his admittedly rusty start. Now's the time to get to him, because he'll get better as he pitches more ...
* Trot Nixon: Waits very effectively on righthanded breaking stuff -- throw him fastballs instead ... Good power to right and right-centre ... Will try to pull outside pitches -- righties should run two-seam fastballs away from him ... Cannot hit lefties and is automatically pinch-hit for in any high-leverage situation against LOOGYs ... Stance similar to Brian Giles ... A fine defender in right who doesn't give up on gappers or looping liners ...
* Edgar Renteria: Can really hammer lefthanded breaking pitches when he's sitting on them ... Will go with fastballs between the middle and the outer half of the plate and drive them to right-centre ... It's tough to get him to chase, but by the same token, you can freeze him with pitches on the corners ... Righties should throw him curves away, where his plate coverage isn't so good ... Does not have fantastic range up the middle ... His walk total took a dive last season and he's drawn just one this season ...
* Kevin Millar: All nine of his hits this season have been mere singles ... Trusted by Francona even when he's slumping (as he's been in April), he has the green light on 3-0 counts ... Upright stance and he likes to take offspeed pitches back up the middle ... Will chase pitches down and away ... Also chases fastballs up and away. Don't pitch him inside ...
* Johnny Damon: It doesn't look like he has quick hands, but it's hard to find a fastball in that he can't turn on ... Will pull pitches down the rightfield line, even if they're over the middle of the plate ... Can be frozen by lefthanded breaking stuff ... Struggling against lefties so far ... You can induce him to chase offspeed pitches down and out of the strike zone ...
* Jason Varitek: Should be hitting higher in the order ... From the left side, level swing and he keeps his head down on the ball well ... From the right side, a long but quick swing with considerable power ... Fidgety feet in the batter's box ... Will chase pitches down in the zone and has not been selective this season ... Can be jammed. He doesn't like strikes in on his fists ...
* Jay Payton: Endeared himself to the Fenway faithful by taking Randy Johnson deep ... Hits off his front foot somewhat but is strong enough to drive the ball ... Will chase high fastballs, but can make contact on pitches out of the zone up ... Vulnerable to backdoor pitches, as he doesn't like it away ... Can be overpowered with good heat ...
* David Ortiz: The menacing Papi loves fastballs in, which he lashes past Pesky's Pole with regularity ... Has hit four career homers off Doc ... Righties should work inside only with breaking stuff. You might get him to read the pitch as a fastball and fool him ... Doesn't like down-and-away strikes ... Might be worth saving SS for this guy, even though Schoeneweis could neutralize Nixon earlier in the lineup ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Will leave pitches up and occasionally hang his breaking stuff ... As a corollary to his "hanging curve" problem, he likes to drop 12-to-6 curves into the strike zone on unsuspecting righties ... Inconsistent movement on his pitches ... Long, high leg kick that doesn't have an easy comp ... Runs a two-seam fastball in on righthanded hitters ...
* Mark Bellhorn: Is a righthanded spray hitter but a lefthanded pull hitter ... Likes fastballs down ... Obviously very vulnerable to the strikeout, as he's already whiffed 18 times (with four walks and no homers). Often takes on 3-2 pitches, where it sometimes seems like he's hoping for a walk rather than reacting ... Throw him pitches on either corner -- he's likely to take it for a strike ...
* Manny Ramirez: Awakening from his early-season slumber ... Snapped the longest season-opening home run drought of his career with a two-homer performance on Saturday ... Mediocre breaking pitches wind up in the Monster seats ... The outside corner is not safe when Manny's up ... Can sometimes be frozen with up-and-in pitches of all varieties, but the margin for error is slim ... Selective, even when he's slumping ...
* Bill Mueller: Just seven singles and one double thus far ... From both sides of the plate, likes pitches away and will drive them to all fields ... Will lay off pitches -- even strikes -- inside, where he's less comfortable ...
* Matt Mantei: Not a lot of sinking action on his splitter ... His curve has been problematic but has looked sharper lately ... Will not always keep the ball down ... Can once again get his fastball into the mid-90s ... Though some viewed his acquisition as an experiment, the Red Sox seem to be committed to Mantei as a key part of the bullpen ...
