We're finally here, Gentle Readers: The first three of nineteen -- count 'em, 19 -- games with our divisional opponent, the Orioles. Their hitting might cause a problem or two for the shakier members of the Jays' staff, but Baltimore's rotation might make the Toronto brain trust a little more forgiving in their critiques of the unbalanced schedule.
Offensively, the O's have surprised. The Flanagan/Beattie Franken-GM have preached patience at the plate, and most Orioles not named Deivi have responded. According to Peter Gammons, the Orioles gave up on Sarge's son because Gary Jr. wouldn't buy into the new philosophy.
And then there's Melvin Mora. There have been naysayers posting here at the Box, but I stand by the following: Mora has played like an All-Star, he will be an All-Star, and he should be an All-Star. Yeah, I was probably also one of the guys who guffawed when some "sucker" wound up with him in the 19th round of the rotisserie draft. But all Mora's done is work counts, rip line drives all over the field (and even out of the park on occasion), and supply reliable defence no matter where he's played.
But the Orioles have surrendered some serious hit totals, mostly from the starting staff; Oriole hurlers have been tagged to the tune of .280 by opposing hitters -- and they have yet to face the Jays!
Memorial Stadium and its "Oriole Magic" did in Toronto clubs time and again in the '80s, but Camden Yards has been one of the Jays' favourite opposition venues since it opened. Ponson will be a challenge in the shadows of Thursday's 3:00 matinee, but starts by Halladay and Escobar similar to what they've shown recently should get the Jays' road trip off to a flying start.
On to the Advance Scout!
* From the Baltimore Sun's "Scouting Report" on the Jays today: "So much for Toronto being penciled into third place again this season. The Blue Jays have jumped into a fray usually reserved for New York and Boston" ...
* The Orioles are 4-8 in interleague play thus far, even though they just took two of three from mighty Milwaukee ...
* Last Wednesday, the Orioles rallied back from 6-0 and 7-2 deficits to pull to within a run, but a rain delay of nearly two hours in the eighth killed the O's momentum ...
* Melvin Mora had his 23-game hitting streak snapped by the Brewers on Friday, although he walked, got hit by a pitch and scored ... Last Thursday, his 23rd game of that streak was a dramatic one, as he homered in his final at-bat to keep it going ... Said Mora, "I'd have taken a blooper. I wasn't looking for a homer -- that was extra"... He has 21 multi-hit games, including a ridiculous seven in a row in late May ... It's hard to argue with 360/465/585 ... He's become a fan favourite, with extended ovations during at-bats ... Plus, he's committed just one error despite playing five positions, including 14 games in the middle infield ...
* Tonight's opponent, Omar Daal, will likely bear a striking resemblance to fresh meat to Jays hitters ... He's been touched up for 97 hits in just 74 and two-thirds innings ...
* Although he missed three weeks due to injury, B.J. Surhoff has contributed about as well as could be expected at 321/366/438 ...
* Old friend Tony Batista snapped out of a 2-for-20 funk with three hits on Sunday, including a home run ... He's already committed 10 errors at third ...
* Jay Gibbons, selected by the Jays in the 14th round in '98, is red-hot, on an eight-game hitting streak and going 14-for-26 (.538) over the last seven ... He had three homers and and two doubles over the weekend, and is slugging .508 ... He hit his first career grand slam against Milwaukee on Friday night: "I can't remember ever hitting one in my life" ... With 50 RBI, he's on pace to smash his career high of 69 ... Gibbons: "That's my job, to drive in runs" ... For what it's worth, Gibbons leads the major leagues in RBI's out of the 5-hole ...
* Tomorrow's opponent, Rick Helling, tossed five shutout innings on Thursday's multiple-rain-delay game against the Cubs ... The former power pitcher has just 40 strikeouts in 74 innings ...
* Thursday's starter, Sidney Ponson, has had a lot of run support, but is nevertheless holding opposing hitters to a .231 average en route to a 9-3 record ... His last two starts have been outstanding, allowing just one run in each ... In his last start, the roly-poly Aruban retired the first hitter, endured a rain delay of nearly two hours, and then threw six strong for the victory ...
* Surprising 24-year-old Luis Matos has hit in eighteen of his twenty games this season since his May call-up ... His average finally dipped below .400 with his 0-fer on Sunday ... He's at 381/409/548, and is 6-for-8 on the basepaths ...
* Geronimo Gil (pronounce both g's like h's), is 2-for-his-last-18 (.111) and is slugging a mighty .336 on the season ...
* Fellow light-hitting catcher Brook Fordyce just had his 8-game hitting streak snapped ...
* Amazingly, Deivi Cruz has been hot, going seven-for-his-last-15 (.467) ... He has nine home runs (compared to seven all last season), with only three walks and 15 strikeouts in 215 at-bats ... Jeff Conine said that Cruz has stepped in admirably for Mike Bordick: "[Bordick] was one of my better friends on the team and steady as they come at shortstop, so sure, I was a little disappointed. That being said, though, Deivi's been outstanding. We couldn't be happier with the defence at shortstop this year." ...
* Jorge Julio has not been dominant in the closer role this season ... His problem has been control, both within and outside of the strike zone ... Although he's only surrendered one homer, he's given up 26 hits and 16 walks in just over 26 innings pitched ...
* After his lights-out 2002, Buddy Groom has diminished his trade value with some shaky outings ... He recently went through a stretch of 5 multi-run appearances out of 10 ... Opponents are batting .267 off him, after he started the season with 11 scoreless outings and a .105 opposing average ... There's no significant lefty/righty split, either ... Interestingly, Mike Hargrove left Groom in to face Richie Sexson -- because the righthanded Sexson's power numbers are significantly lower against lefties ... Groom got the K ...
* Rick Bauer got sent back to the Ottawa Lynx with the return of Rodrigo Lopez from the disabled list on Sunday ... Bauer accepted his demotion: "I've just been really inconsistent" ... Travis Driskill beat out Bauer for the mop-up job with a strong outing on Thursday ... "I'm here. That's the best thing I can say," said a relieved Driskill, whose happiness was tempered with sympathy for his close friend Bauer ... Meanwhile, Bauer finally gets a chance to start: "I always wanted to be a starter. Too bad it's the wrong place" ...
* Old friend Pat Hentgen has apparently been demoted to long relief, although he hasn't come out of the 'pen since April ... Rodrigo Lopez took his last scheduled start ...
* Bench coach Sam Perlozzo attended his mother's funeral on Sunday, and may not be back tonight ...
* Jerry Hairston Jr. won't be back until around the All-Star break with a fractured foot ...
* Marty Cordova is on the 60-day DL after extensive surgery to remove bone chips from his shoulder ...
* For Father's Day, Hargrove got an offer from his youngest daughter, Shelly, to be taken to dinner ... "I'll be paying for it," grumbled Hargrove ...
* What's Cal Jr. up to these days, you ask? ... He's the proud owner of the Low-A Aberdeen IronBirds, who play at 6,000-seat Ripken Stadium ... The team's average attendance in his first season: 6,104 -- and walk-up tickets will once again not be available this season ... Adam Loewen is expected to start what could be an excellent Orioles career with the IronBirds ... Next project for Cal: Expanding the scope of the Cal Ripken World Series for 12-year-olds ... Plans include a 15-team tournament in Aberdeen, with 10 American and 5 international teams ... The best part for the kids? Construction is underway on a Little-League-size replica of Camden Yards ... He hasn't picked a contractor for the warehouse yet -- seriously! ... Said Cal: "We've spent a lot of money changing the stadium for the little guys" ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
4 B Roberts
8 Matos
7 Mora
3 Conine
9 Gibbons
5 Batista
DH Surhoff
6 Cruz
2 Fordyce
vs. RH
4 B Roberts
8 Matos
9/7/6 Mora
3 Conine
9/DH Gibbons
5 Batista
7/DH Surhoff
6 Cruz/DH Segui
2 Fordyce/Gil
Pitching Probables
Tuesday: LH Daal vs. Halladay
Wednesday: RH Helling vs. Escobar
Thursday: RH Ponson vs. Hendrickson
Bullpen Usage
Long: Driskill R, Hentgen R
Short: W Roberts R, Ryan L
Setup: Groom L, Ligtenberg R
Closer: Julio R
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030617023011999