The Jays are embarrassed, and didn't show pluck
In getting swept. I'll try and change up their luck.
So after seeing things go from bad to worse,
I'm writing the Advance Scout intro in verse.
As the Pedro-Doc matchup quickly approaches,
Be thankful we have no old bald-headed coaches.
Let's erase the taste of the Opening Day rout...
Without further ado, on to the Advance Scout!
* The Red Sox kicked off their expectation-laden 2004 season by splitting four with the Orioles … Boston hitters flashed their trademark patience, but not their pop: 25 walks over the four games, but with just a .237 average and .322 slugging … Hopefully, the Jays will benefit from a bleary bunch in today’s matinee, after last night’s 3-2 defeat lasted 13 innings and nearly lasted until midnight …
* Jason Varitek has two singles and five walks on the season, giving the powerful catcher an odd .167/.412/.167 line to start the season …
* Similarly, Mark Bellhorn sits at .154/.421/.231 with a single, double and six walks … He’s been the beneficiary of Nomar Garciaparra’s Achilles injury, playing second while Pokey Reese slides over to short … Nomar will continue to rehab, but will be in the dugout and in uniform today …
* Today’s starter, Bronson Arroyo, was named after his father’s favourite actor …
* After starting the season 0-for-9, Johnny Damon had a career night on Wednesday, going 5-for-5, stealing a base and leaping to reach above the seven-foot wall in centre at Camden Yards, robbing David Segui of a home run … Damon: “I timed it perfect” …
* After years of hand-wringing over the bullpen, Red Sox fans likely took great comfort in Keith Foulke’s three-up, three-down save in his Sox debut on Tuesday … Foulke nearly surrendered the winning run last night, though, but for a great throw by Damon to nail Melvin Mora, who was attempting to score on a shallow fly …
* Manny Ramirez has reached base twice in every game thus far …
* David Ortiz doesn’t think he’ll benefit much from being moved in front of Manny Ramirez in the order … Speaking candidly, Ortiz admitted that he is so much weaker against breaking pitches than against fastballs that he’s unlikely to see any more fastballs, even in front of Manny …
* Kevin Millar (pronounced mill-AHHH in proper Bostonian) has hit in all four games thus far (.333/.400/.556) …
* Tomorrow’s starter, Pedro Martinez, should be raring to go on Saturday … Still, he has yet to discover his usual mid-season velocity, and he barely hit 90 in his uneven, but reasonably effective, start on Sunday … Yet another Pedro scandal ensued on Sunday night, when Pedro was reported as having left Oriole Park before the game ended … An unidentified friend of Pedro said that his departure was provoked by frustration at his own substandard performance, not as a sign of disrespect to Francona … Francona and GM Theo Epstein declared the matter closed … Dan Shaughnessy, always sunshine and light, said in a recent column that Pedro would be “out of here” after the season. If so, the prickly Boston media might have had something to do with it … Shaughnessy, in a dig that Coach might appreciate: “[A]t what point…did Pedro morph into the Dominican John Burkett?” … Francona had the delicate task of resolving the matter without being perceived as “soft” on Pedro, and he largely succeeded …
* Old friend Mike Timlin was rocked on Opening Day last Sunday, but wasn’t punished by Francona … He responded favourably, with two shutout outings …
* LOOGY Alan Embree already has three hitless appearances to his credit this season … Embree has been perfectly frank about last year’s bullpen performance: “For the first month and a half, we were the cancer of this club” …
* Ellis Burks, the always-professional DH who will be 40 in September, is just 1-for-11 in his return to the Red Sox organization – but his one hit was a home run last night … It was Burks’ first home run with the Red Sox since 1992 …
* Bobby Jones did nothing to endear himself to Red Sox Nation after walking the bases full in the thirteenth last night – and then walking Larry Bigbie to force home the game-winning run … Francona empathized, since Boston had no other available pitchers … Except that they did. Ramiro Mendoza said that he was ready and able to pitch … Francona said that Mendoza had given troubling statements to the team’s training staff … Is another controversy brewing? … UPDATE: Francona was right. Mendoza has been placed on the DL with shoulder tendinitis, and Mark Malaska has replaced him on the roster ...
* Sunday’s starter, Curt Schilling, made his Red Sox debut a successful one on Wednesday, allowing just one run in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts … Schilling hit 97 on the gun, and located his fastball expertly … Schilling admitted to being nervous to make his first start for Boston – and the jitters could return on Sunday when he strides onto the Fenway field for the first time in a home uniform … Curt was originally drafted by Boston in 1986 before being traded to Baltimore along with Brady Anderson for Mike Boddicker … Was Schilling upset about getting the hook after six? Manager Terry Francona: “He lobbied a little bit, but it wasn’t one of his stronger lobbies” …
* Trot Nixon is making progress on his mildly herniated disc, but no timetable has been set on his return … He threw for the first time in two weeks under strict supervision …
* Byung-Hyun Kim is rehabbing from a right shoulder strain, and will throw twice under supervision in Fort Myers next week … Francona has said that the Sox are committed to Kim’s role as a starting pitcher …
* Bob Kraft and Tom Brady will throw out the first pitch today ...
Probable Batting Orders
vs. LH
8 Damon
5 Mueller
DH Burks
7 Ramirez
3 McCarty/Ortiz
9 Millar
2 Mirabelli/Varitek
4 Bellhorn
6 Reese
vs. RH
8 Damon
5 Mueller
DH Ortiz
7 Ramirez
3 Millar
2 Varitek
9 Kapler
4 Bellhorn
6 Reese
Pitching Probables
Friday: RH Arroyo vs. Lilly
Saturday: RH Martinez vs. Halladay
Sunday: RH Schilling vs. Batista
Bullpen Usage
Long: Jones L, Malaska L
Short: Williamson R
Setup: Timlin R, Embree L
Closer: Foulke R
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040409023941999