This is it. A mere 1.5 games behind the Red Sox, the good guys have a
golden opportunity to swipe second place in this weekend's four-game
set at the RC. But there's a catch: to liberate the
metaphorical princess that is the AL East silver medal from the clutches of Boston, they'll need to slay a metaphorical dragon
- four straight righthanded pitchers...
It's the last home series for the Jays before three-gamers in Detroit and the Bronx. Will they clinch second place and force Boston to accept the Robert Goulet Memorial Trophy?
On to the Advance Scout!
Note: It's September. There are far too many relievers to document in chart form here.
Julian Tavarez: In case you've been living under a rock the past year, it's back to "Joo-lian" again ... The confrontational righty is still an effective groundball pitcher at age 33. Wait a second - he's only 33? When did this happen? ... Is a lefthanded batter ... He's a sinker-slider righty who has made four starts for the Bosox since being called into emergency starting duty for the Alex Rios Game that fateful Thursday at Fenway ... He's made it through five innings three times in a row ... Alex Rios is 3-3 with a triple and a walk against Tavarez ...
Devern Hansack: Win, lose or draw, the headline writers are going to love that name ... He's a 28-year-old (or 24, or 26, depending on who you believe) Nicaraguan righty making his major-league starting debut Saturday ... Hansack was signed as a minor-league free agent by the Red Sox before this year. He was originally signed by the Astros in 1999 and bounced around their system until 2003, when he posted a 4.52 ERA at A Lexington and was released. Without an agent, Hansack returned to Nicaragua and played in the pro leagues at home until the Sox came calling, impressed by his ability to miss bats ... Hansack had a very low line drive rate and solid K/BB numbers in Portland (those numbers are shown below). I doubt he'll figure into the Sox rotation next year, but stranger things have happened ...
Kyle Snyder: Shut down the Jays in the best start of his career a month ago ... Big righty and former first-round pick of the Kansas City Royals. He's been plagued by injuries throughout his career, battling through a torn labrum and Tommy John surgery to get where he is ... He just turned 29, so Father Time is against him, but he's been reasonably effective in his most recent stint as a big-league starter. He doesn't throw all that hard, but he has a nasty lollipop curve that gave the Jays' righties fits last time out ... Is a switch hitter ...
Tim Wakefield: He's back! ... Wake hasn't faced the Jays this year. However, his typically low LD rate has helped him post a decent 4.50 ERA in his 21 starts this year ...
David Ortiz: Hit homers #51 and #52 off Johan Santana and Matt Guerrier yesterday to become the Boston single-season longball king ... He got a hug from Johnny Pesky after slugging #51 ...
Mark Loretta: Northwestern alum is a line-drive machine: 23%, 27% and 27.8% the last three seasons ... He isn't a threat to go deep, even at Fenway - only 4 homers this year ...
Mike Timlin: Is the nominal closer right now. He's still a big, powerfulish, sinkerballing righty, which makes him a solid pick to be a closer at Fenway, but I'm skeptical about how he'll do on the road in less favorable environments ...
Manny Ramirez: Not playing anymore, according to Tavarez: "He's done. Take my word, I know. If he has one more at-bat, I'll give you one thousand dollars." ...
It's the last home series for the Jays before three-gamers in Detroit and the Bronx. Will they clinch second place and force Boston to accept the Robert Goulet Memorial Trophy?
On to the Advance Scout!
Note: It's September. There are far too many relievers to document in chart form here.
Julian Tavarez: In case you've been living under a rock the past year, it's back to "Joo-lian" again ... The confrontational righty is still an effective groundball pitcher at age 33. Wait a second - he's only 33? When did this happen? ... Is a lefthanded batter ... He's a sinker-slider righty who has made four starts for the Bosox since being called into emergency starting duty for the Alex Rios Game that fateful Thursday at Fenway ... He's made it through five innings three times in a row ... Alex Rios is 3-3 with a triple and a walk against Tavarez ...
Devern Hansack: Win, lose or draw, the headline writers are going to love that name ... He's a 28-year-old (or 24, or 26, depending on who you believe) Nicaraguan righty making his major-league starting debut Saturday ... Hansack was signed as a minor-league free agent by the Red Sox before this year. He was originally signed by the Astros in 1999 and bounced around their system until 2003, when he posted a 4.52 ERA at A Lexington and was released. Without an agent, Hansack returned to Nicaragua and played in the pro leagues at home until the Sox came calling, impressed by his ability to miss bats ... Hansack had a very low line drive rate and solid K/BB numbers in Portland (those numbers are shown below). I doubt he'll figure into the Sox rotation next year, but stranger things have happened ...
Kyle Snyder: Shut down the Jays in the best start of his career a month ago ... Big righty and former first-round pick of the Kansas City Royals. He's been plagued by injuries throughout his career, battling through a torn labrum and Tommy John surgery to get where he is ... He just turned 29, so Father Time is against him, but he's been reasonably effective in his most recent stint as a big-league starter. He doesn't throw all that hard, but he has a nasty lollipop curve that gave the Jays' righties fits last time out ... Is a switch hitter ...
Tim Wakefield: He's back! ... Wake hasn't faced the Jays this year. However, his typically low LD rate has helped him post a decent 4.50 ERA in his 21 starts this year ...
David Ortiz: Hit homers #51 and #52 off Johan Santana and Matt Guerrier yesterday to become the Boston single-season longball king ... He got a hug from Johnny Pesky after slugging #51 ...
Mark Loretta: Northwestern alum is a line-drive machine: 23%, 27% and 27.8% the last three seasons ... He isn't a threat to go deep, even at Fenway - only 4 homers this year ...
Mike Timlin: Is the nominal closer right now. He's still a big, powerfulish, sinkerballing righty, which makes him a solid pick to be a closer at Fenway, but I'm skeptical about how he'll do on the road in less favorable environments ...
Manny Ramirez: Not playing anymore, according to Tavarez: "He's done. Take my word, I know. If he has one more at-bat, I'll give you one thousand dollars." ...
