The Devil Rays aren't just a nuisance to Toronto anymore. After taking two out of three from both the desperate Mariners and the surging A's, Tampa Bay has officially earned its spoiler credentials during their current homestand.

In so doing, the D-Rays have surged to above .500 since the All-Star break -- no mean feat for a club virtually bereft of experience, and one that pays roughly as much to players not playing for them as they do to their current roster. See, e.g., Vaughn, Greg; Grieve, Ben. Tampa hasn't expanded its roster much, with a postseason berth for AAA Durham outweighing the opportunity to look at fresh faces, and strong starting pitching of late obviating the need to bring in bullpen reinforcements.

The Jays have not matched up well against a speedy Tampa club that runs a lot, but not to excess; their stolen base percentage is still among the game's best. They also have the misfortune of facing two red-hot pitchers tonight and tomorrow night, although Thursday looks like a great opportunity for Doc's 20th. He'll square off against the inconsistent Jeremi Gonzalez.

This week's Advance Scout features a Canadian catcher, a leadfooted slugger with a steal of home to his credit, and a local boy on the mound tonight for whom everything's gone right in his budding career.

On to the Advance Scout!

Second in a 10-part series

Looking back, it all seems pre-ordained. A baby boy born in Montreal on the anniversary of the first National Hockey League game ever played grows up dreaming of a career in ... football? But multiple knee surgeries take care of that, so he moves on to writing about his country's favourite sport ... baseball?

Okay, so maybe some things aren't exactly obvious. But before Geoff Baker turned 30, he'd already garnered three nominations for the National Newspaper Award while working for The Gazette, Montreal's English language daily. And oh, by the way -- he'd won two of them, one in 1995 for Spot News Reporting and the other in 1998 for Sports Writing.

When Baker took home the second of those awards, his boss -- Gazette sports editor Dave Stubbs -- told Concordia University's community newspaper, the Thursday Report, "There was no reason to be surprised that he won again. Geoff has a terrific future ahead of him."

Turns out that future prominently featured the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Star.

Last Wednesday, I wasn't sure the pitching matchup at SkyDome would be a classic, mostly because of Kelvim Escobar's inconsistency at home. He wasn't bad, pitching into the seventh inning, and leaving a 3-3 tie in the capable hands of Jason Kershner (who got the W) and closer Aquilino Lopez.

Mike Mussina is a great pitcher, but the Jays made him work very hard last week -- 122 pitches in six innings -- so he didn't figure in the decision. Though he's 16-9 with a 3.08 ERA in his career against Toronto, he's been less dominant in 2003 -- 2-2, 3.82 in five previous starts. In Yankee Stadium, Moose shut them out on three hits in April, then the Jays prevailed May 23 behind Escobar, making just his second start of the year.

Familiarity is often an advantage to the hitters in these situations, but both pitchers have such great stuff, they aren't easy to hit even when you know what's coming. Today could be an even better duel.

Today, the Jays and Yankees make up the July 22 game, when truly frightening weather washed out the Jays' opportunity for a two-game mini-sweep at Yankee Stadium. The Jays come into town having won five straight at the intersection of the B, D and 4 trains. Can they pull out the season series against mighty New York in today's matinee?

Just a short report today, as this game is a whistle-stop en route to the real test of whether Toronto is enjoying a September resurgence: A three-game against their bugaboo opponents in Tampa Bay. A busy day at work means no hooky for me, but I might sneak a peek at the ol' Internet from time to time...

On to the Advance Scout!

Baseball urban legend Steve Dalkowski, rumoured to be the fastest pitcher ever, threw out the first pitch at the Orioles - Mariners game yesterday.

Dalkowski who apparently lived even faster than he threw never made it to the majors, but he served the game well in other ways, being the model for Sidd Finch and 'Nuke' LaLoosh. Rumour has it his fastball reached 110mph, his speed being matched only by wildness, his most famous stat is striking out 262 in 172 innings in the California league while walking the same number. My own favourite Dalkowski number - he once threw a complete game one-hitter, that he lost 9-8.

Twelve teams remain in action this week, but the battle for the league championship T-shirt has reached the semi-finals. Thanks to David Wells, I'm still in it.

Shaking off a month-long slump, my Toronto Walrus defeated Baird Brain 7-4. Jurgen is a worthy adversary, and it could have gone either way -- we began Sunday's action in a virtual tie. Had Boomer not spun seven shutout innings, I might have lost WHIP, ERA (the #1 tiebreaking category) and the match. The Yankees would be squirming, too. Todd Zeile, my emergency pickup when Mike Lowell went on the DL, came through with 6 RBI and 375/444/938 to lead the Walrus hitters, with Marlon Byrd scoring 11 runs in a 345/457/621 week.

Nation Builders, owned and managed by Scott Lucas, defeated Gwyn Price's Mebion Glyndwr 7-5 in another close contest. You could say that the difference between Josh Phelps (8 RBI, .824 SLG) and Jay Gibbons (1 RBI, .211 SLG) decided it. Scott faces the regular-season powerhouse Gashouse Gorillas in a sudden-death showdown; the Walrus takes on second-place Billie's Bashers. The winners will meet in a two-week final, beginning next Monday.

First in a 10-part series.

To suggest that denizens of The Batter's Box are -- oh, to choose a word at random -- "obsessed" with the work of Toronto Star columnist Richard Griffin might be a bit of an overstatement. Might be.

Of the first 950 threads posted in the short but active history of Da Box, the name "Griffin" appears in 269 of them, a healthy 28 percent. Oh sure, if we go back and check, some of those search results might refer to John-Ford Griffin, or maybe even Alfredo Griffin, but consider this for a moment ...

In those same 950 threads, a certain highly-regarded "new wave" GM is mentioned in 267. That's right -- at first glance, Griffin's OBP ("On Box Percentage") is higher than the venerable J.P. Ricciardi's.

So, there seems to be a fair amount of interest among Boxers -- Zombie-Like Cult (a moniker adopted from a Griffin turn of phrase) and otherwise -- in this Griffin character. To be honest, he's taken more than his fair share of heat in this space, although that comes with the territory of being a newspaper columnist.

Still, maybe it's time to get to know more about him than his OBP.

Kudos to the New Haven Ravens, who knocked off the New Britain Rock Cats 2-1 in the deciding match of their five-game series last night to advance to the Eastern League Championship Series. The Ravens did something their parent Blue Jays don't do very often -- beat Eric Milton. The rehabbing lefty threw four solid innings, but gave up a mammoth home run to recycled Jays prospect Anthony Sanders and an RBI double to Shawn Fagan, giving the Ravens a lead they never relinquished. Sanders' homer, only the fourth to ever clear the centrefield wall at Yale Field, travelled an estimated 500 feet. Chris Baker, of all people, threw 7 shutout innings for the victory, while Adam Peterson issued a hit, two walks and a wild pitch, but escaped a jam in the 9th inning to preserve the win.

For a meaningless September series between our third-place Fighting Jays and the toothless Tigers, this has been a dandy. Compared to Roy Halladay's genius yesterday, and Bobby Kielty's exciting pinch-hit game-winner, today's finale is sure to be a dog, complete with a chorus of baying hounds. Looking after my hyperactive mini-Schnauzer would make it impossible for me to enjoy the game, so we're staying home to watch on TV. Some of the players' pooches, including Chris Woodward's Sarah, will be there. Reed Johnson told me he'd bring his pal Shooter into the dugout every day, if it was allowed.

On the field, Josh Towers can stake his claim on a 2004 job with a good performance. He was terrific against the Mariners on August 20, scattering six hits and allowing just two runs (one earned) in a complete game victory, to improve to 2-1, 3.98 as a starter. Just four days later, asked to work out of the bullpen and understandably disappointed, he had a nightmare inning against the A's, but in two subsequent relief appearances, notched a win and a save in 6.1 solid frames of work. Considering Mark Hendrickson's recent struggles, Towers could move up to #4 for the rest of September, but even as #5, he should get two or three more opportunities this season.

Great headline; wish I could take credit for it. John Lott's excellent feature on Aquilino Lopez is a must read.

"He's shy, but he's a bright kid," (J.P.) Ricciardi says, perhaps momentarily forgetting Lopez is no longer that 22-year-old the Mariners thought they had. "He can explain the pitching process. After he struck out Bret Boone [to end a game in Seattle], he told me he knew everybody in their dugout had told [Boone] to expect a slider. So he threw him a fastball."

Thanks to the BB reader who alerted me. I often miss Lott's work, because I rarely read that paper, but I will be visiting TruNorth Baseball more often. It's a great resource, with links to many interesting articles we may have overlooked here. There's even a mention of our "fascinating and wide-ranging" J.P. Ricciardi interview, and you can get lost in the archives. Check it out.

In his Notes at MLB.com, Spencer Fordin talks about Carlos Tosca's suspension (say it, don't spray it) and Mike Maroth's losses (thank goodness Brian Kingman's 15 minutes is up) but also lists the Howard Webster Award winners:

Syracuse - Simon Pond
New Haven - Alexis Rios
Dunedin - Jesse Harper
Charleston - Rodney Medina
Auburn - Vito Chiaravalloti
Pulaski - Robinzon Diaz
Pringamosa - Edward Rodriguez

Congratulations to all, especially B.C.'s own Simon Pond, a minor league free agent signing who has thrived in the Jays system. Elsewhere in the playoffs, Russ Adams (4-for-6, two doubles, a triple, three runs), Anthony Sanders (three doubles) and Dominic Rich (two doubles, two walks) supported David Bush's terrific start (a 3-hitter, 2 BB, 2 HBP in 7 IP) for the Ravens. Auburn lost 3-2 to Williamsport, as Shaun Marcum surrendered the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. It rained -- a lot -- in Florida.

There's lots of other baseball news, but no time to share it with you; it's a work day for me and there's a persistent little dog demanding to be walked. Talk about whatever's on your mind.

The methodical, consistent Roy Halladay will treat this like every other game, and as always, has an excellent chance to win. Maybe better than usual; Doc is 7-1 with a 2.05 ERA in his career against the Tigers, who he beat fairly easily on July 2 in Detroit, and was superb in his latest, fanning 10 Yankees in a 4-hit complete game. He seems oblivious to his Cy Young candidacy, which would be enhanced by winning 20 games and striking out 200 batters.

Though Doc's leading the majors in most of the "workhorse" stats -- innings pitched, batters faced -- he has been remarkably efficient, requiring fewer pitches per plate appearance (and per inning) than any AL starter. His 6.14 K/BB ratio is by far the league's best, and second in all of baseball to his mentor Curt Schilling.

This article was originally published Sept. 5, 2003 -- in advance of publication of the series recapping the interview(s) with Griffin and Baker. It was revised and republished as an archive for the series after all 10 parts had been published. Contact the author.

Richard Griffin. Geoff Baker. These are names nearly as familiar to Toronto baseball fans as those of Tony Fernandez and Joe Carter -- the specific comparisons will become evident later.

The work of these erstwhile Toronto Star regulars has been the subject of debate -- and let's be honest, sometimes derision -- here on Da Box. In reality, these are just a couple of Concordia guys who made it to the Star by way of Montreal. They both would pay to see Barry Bonds and Ichiro -- and if you think they’re just "paid to watch baseball," you need to think again.

In the Fall of 2003, we visited in-depth with Griffin and Baker, as they stepped resolutely into Da Box to face Coach and the ZLC. Who played the role of Carter, and who was Mitch Williams? Or does the fact that we all share an understanding of just what that question means prove that it doesn't matter?

Here's what we learned in the course of a spirited 10-part series:

Steve Simmons of the Sun talks to another great Toronto righty about Roy Halladay:

"I'd get mad if I had a bad season or a bad game," Stieb said. "That's the way I was. I took everything personally. I don't know if I could have gone through what he went through. And now look at him. He's so in control. He's absolutely commanding."

Dave knows what it's like to have awesome stuff with limited support. He figures he missed out on three 20-win seasons and a Cy Young or two because of shoddy relief, so he's sympathetic to the plight of the current ace.

"Look at that bullpen. He's on his own and inside he knows it. He's not going to get any help. So you push yourself, and you push a little harder. You don't want to rely on anyone else. You can't."

Being a one-man team is a lonely job.

With a voodoo doll on his side, Mike Maroth hopes to avoid making history tonight as the first pitcher in 23 years to lose 20 games in a season. It seems inevitable, as the hard-luck lefty should make at least four more starts this year, all against tough opposition. He's a much better pitcher than his 6-19 record suggests, and did beat the Jays here June 30, allowing just two runs in seven innings. A semi-regular reader of this space actually predicted a 20-loss campaign for Maroth back in spring training. Nice call.

Carlos Tosca loads up on righty bats, with Reed Johnson and Mike Bordick at the top of the order, and Dave Berg filling in at second base. Kevin Cash will catch Mark Hendrickson. The big fella was abandoned by his listless mates in a 5-0 whitewash at Comerica on Canada Day. His 4-5, 7.29 home split isn't pretty, and his last two starts haven't been great, but Lurch did spin seven strong innings August 21 at the Dome against Seattle. This is a game he is supposed to win, and he's still trying to establish his role for next year. Mark's only slightly ahead of Josh Towers, who has been named Sunday's starter, allowing Escobar to face the Yankees Monday on normal rest.