Yes, you read that right. No, Mick is not paying me to compose bulletin-board material for the New Yorkers. The Jays are fresh off a three-game sweep of the hated Devil Rays, while the Yankees were beaten up (literally and figuratively) in losing 2 of 3 in Fenway. The Jays are slowly but surely getting back into the good groove they were entering when the injury avalanche struck last month, while the Yankees are missing Jay-killer Jason Giambi (out, sadly, with a potentially life-threatening illness) and don't seem to be a team quite equal to their record. Toronto will be focused on this series to regain some face and enact revenge for last week's indignities in Yankee Stadium, while the pinstripers may still be thinking about the BoSox series. The time will never be righter.
No other GM faces a dilemma this week with the magnitude of the one Gerry Hunsicker faces.
Another week, another narrow — and fortunate — decision for my front-running Toronto Walrus. Mebion Glyndwr stormed into second place with a strong Sunday and a 9-3 victory over the Moscow Rats. AGF lost 9-2 to Garces_not_on_roids and fell from second to fourth in the standings, as the Red Mosquitos stung the gashouse gorillas 10-2 to take over third.
Pat Hentgen retires, and Dave Bush starts, as the Jays go for the sweep. Bush had a little trouble with the running game in triple A, so I wonder if Kevin Cash will get the start.
For a new affair
She knew it would finish
Before it began
Something tells me you lost the plan
Reader Phil asks I have a question on waivers in MLB. Say a player is put on waivers. The CBA says that if a player is released, then the team must pay him a termination fee, which during the season, is the balance of his contract. If that player is picked up, is the original team off the hook completely?
The Jays have plugged in a couple holes caused by the trading of
Terry Adams to the Red Sox and the retirement of
Pat Hentgen by calling up the following players from Syracuse:
- Sean Douglass
- Toronto: 2G, 4.0IP, 3BB, 4K, 0HR, 0.00 ERA
- Syracuse: 18G, 89.0 IP, 37BB, 74K, 7HR, 4.75ERA
- Mike Nakamura
- Toronto: 17G, 23.0IP, 5BB, 23K, 5HR, 7.43 ERA
- Syracuse: 18G, 33.1 IP, 10BB, 41K, 2HR, 3.78ERA
Douglass will be the starting pitcher tomorrow against the Yankees, Nakamura will be used as a reliever.
And we'll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience
According to the Portland Sea Dog broadcast team Terry Adams and cash has been traded to the Red Sox for AA 3B John Hattig. Hattig is currently hitting .298/.413/.523 in the Eastern League.
Spencer Fordin of MLB.com
has reported that Jays starting pitcher Pat Hentgen has decided to call it a career after posting a 2-9 record this season. Pat is generally regarded as one of the good guys of the industry, so I'd wish to wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
Let's play two. The sun is shining, and the Jays won last night. Happy 40th Birthday, Barry Bonds! As my coffee cup says, heavy breathing is not necessarily a sign of passion. Congratulations, Paul Molitor, on your induction!
On with the game. Josh Towers and Rob Bell bring matching 4.97 ERAs to the hill. Will the day off help the O-dog emerge from his slumbers?
So you're looking for the thrill
And you know just what it takes
And where to go
Batter's Box reader Marc has taken a crack at the ongoing debate between drafting high school versus drafting college players. Always an interesting (and controversial) topic. Enjoy!
The third place Devil Rays come to Toronto to face the last place Jays. At the beginning of the season Tampa was expected by most to spend another year in the basement and the Jays were the popular 'surprise' team by many experts expecting to challenge for the wild card spot in the AL.
The Blue Jays have always had good luck beating El Duque, so we can hope for the best this time around. Hernandez beat Detroit last week but wasn't all that impressive; still, he's 2-0 since his callup after going 2-1 at Columbus.
