The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, virtually since the beginning of their existence a Newman to the Jays' Jerry, will provide the opposition as Toronto plays some badly-needed home games. Tampa Bay arrives in an offensive funk, and since their pitching has been consistently (and predictably) so-so, it's translated into a lot of recent losses after their franchise-record June.
It's been a busy, three-Scout week, but this edition features some freezing bats, some blazing speed, some not-quite-ripe rumours of both buying and selling at the trade deadline and a potential megadeal for a teenager who has yet to see action at the big league level.
On to the Advance Scout!
* After going on their much-discussed tear in June, Tampa Bay has fallen back to earth ... They're 5-12 in their last seventeen, including dropping five of six to the Yankees. Since May 20, the D-Rays are an impressive 33-15 against teams with nicknames that don't rhyme with "hankies" ... Until their two-game sweep at the hands of the Twins, only New York had succeeded in taking a series from Tampa over their previous 17 series ... Sound familiar? In a four-game set with the Orioles, Tampa was just 5 for 38 (.132) with runners in scoring position ... Tampa's recent problems have been almost entirely hitting-related. Piniella had been mandating additional batting practice for the entire lineup. But he's called off BP for tonight, in a move to shake the Rays out of their slump ... Tampa Bay has only scored five runs five times in their last 20 games ...
* Tonight's starter will be old friend Mark Hendrickson ... Lurch's control has been typically solid this year. He's only issued six walks over his last seven starts ... He's only walked three lefthanded batters all season. Lefties are hitting just .216 off him ... Piniella: "He's quietly having a real nice season" ... He followed a rough start at Yankee Stadium with a gem on Sunday against the Orioles. He pitched a complete game, allowing just two runs on four hits while walking one and fanning six ... Lurch had one complete game as a Jay, but it was a rain-shortened shutout at Yankee Stadium that I had the pleasure of attending (thanks for the hanging curves, Jeff Weaver) ... That was Tampa Bay's only complete game this season ... Lurch was pitching on extended rest last Sunday, what with the All-Star Break and some time to rest his stiff neck ...
* Lightning-fast leadoff man Carl Crawford comes north on a twelve-game hitting streak (.333) ... He's walked just once in his last 20 games. He's tallied six triples over that span ... He's 16 for his last 19 in steal attempts, and is 40-for-52 on the year to lead the majors ... Crawford's 14 triples put him on pace to be the first big leaguer since Kiki Cuyler in 1925 to hit 25 triples ... Crawford led off Wednesday's game with a home run, before misplaying two key hits in left field during the Twins' eight-run fourth inning ...
* Also fleet-footed, 23-year-old rookie outfielder Joey Gathright is getting his first taste of big-league action ... Gathright, who has vowed to steal 100 bases with a .400 OBP as a Devil Ray one day, is 4-for-4 in steal attempts ... He's just 2 for his last 12 (.167) ... Piniella: "With Crawford in the leadoff spot and Gathright in the ninth spot, there isn't any more speed in baseball" ...
* Hard-throwing Jesus Colome had been lights-out since his return from injury in early June, but he's had back-to-back meltdowns in his last two outings ... After surrendering a two-run homer to Ruben Sierra (grr) on Monday, he loaded the bases in yesterday's matinee before yielding a grand slam to Nick Punto (!) ...
* Catcher Toby Hall is hitting .364 in July ... Hall has been a good contact hitter, but he hasn't developed the power many had forecast for him. He's slugging just .396 on the season ... He hits lefties well at .340/.386/.480 ...
* Old friend Jose Cruz Jr. has but one home run in July, in which he's hit .217/.316/.348 ... As with the Jays, he's a steadier hitter from the right side, where he puts up a .277/.429/.482 line ... He hits just .218 away from Tropicana Field ...
* There's no place like home for short man Travis Harper ... Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, he struggles badly on the road. He's racked up a 5.66 ERA away from St. Petersburg, with three of his four homers and 11 of his 16 walks having been allowed on the road ... Harper took the loss yesterday, when he surrendered a homer to Michael Cuddyer leading off the eighth ...
* Tomorrow's starter, journeyman Rob Bell, has been better than expected in Tampa ... He's really quite tough on righthanded hitters, who hit .209 off him with an impressive 4/20 BB/K ratio. The corresponding numbers for lefties are considerably worse (.298, 14/11) ... He's never had an ERA below 5 at the end of a season. But thanks to his three quality starts so far, he's (barely) better than that so far ...
* Classy veteran Tino Martinez is hitting just .216 in June, with only three extra-base hits ... He's put up impressive numbers away from the Trop at .282/.372/.524 ... The Blue Jays have always succeeded in pitching to Tino, who's just .233/.311/.395 all-time against Toronto -- his worst average against any AL opponent ...
* Robert Fick is hitting .314 in July after struggling badly all season ... His .348 slugging this season is easily a career worst ... He's especially dismal against lefties, who stymie him to the tune of .125/.263/.313 ... On Monday, Fick's routine flyball to left turned into a two-run double as Lofton and Matsui misplayed it. Fick: "The way my season is going, it kind of helps" ...
* Geoff Blum has also been unproductive at the plate this season ... Even though the majority of the switch-hitter's at-bats have come against righties, that's been his weak side. He's only hitting .189/.244/.327 as a lefthanded hitter ...
* Closer Danys Baez has been a nice investment for Tampa Bay, as he's converted 19 of 21 save opportunities ... The D-Rays rallied to win in both of the games where he blew the save ... Righties hit just .171 off the versatile reliever ... Baez earned a spotless (and clutch) four-out save against New York on Monday night ...
* After posting back-to-back months of OBP better than .350, Rocco Baldelli has been mediocre in July (.250/.280/.375) ... The speedy 22-year-old has only tripled twice this season, and has yet to steal his tenth base ... He rakes lefties at a .341/.413/.524 rate ... Rocco blasted his first career grand slam in yesterday's matinee ... Baldelli suggested that the team has lost some of the positive clubhouse vibes that fueled their unprecedented winning streak in June: "It's just not happening" ...
* Aubrey Huff has rediscovered his power in July, hitting .292/.378/.542 ... Still, he's well off his power numbers from his last two seasons, each of which featuring a slugging percentage of .520 or better ...
* Fading veteran Rey Sanchez has been limited to a .200/.238/.275 line in July ... He's been a pretty easy out away from home at .236/.265/.309 ...
* Short man Bobby Seay has allowed five of his seven inherited runners to score ...
* Sunday's starter, Victor Zambrano, continues to defy the odds ... Zambrano has a respectable 9-6, 4.39 record despite walking a whopping 93 men in 123 innings ... He's walked at least four batters in 12 of his last 16 starts ... By keeping the ball down, he gets by. He's allowed just two homers over his last ten starts, and he went 50 1/3 IP without a longball before Gary Sheffield went yard on Tuesday ... He's tough on righties, who hit just .219 off him ... His walks don't even tell the full story of his wildness. He's plunked an additional 15 batters, and is susceptible to the wild pitch ...
* Starter Doug Waechter, who has been recovering from a strained tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand, has just started throwing off the mound again ... Swingman Seth McClung has reached AA ball on his rehab assignment, as he's almost all the way back from his Tommy John surgery ...
* 22-year-old infielder Jorge Cantu made his big league debut last week ... He's having a bit of trouble adjusting to the strike zone, as he's struck out eight times in 19 at-bats without a walk ... On Sunday, he notched his first major league hit, an RBI single. Cantu: "I thought about it after the game, and I was like, 'Whoa, I contributed'" ...
* The trade winds are swirling in Tampa, but you might need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows ... Tampa has been rumoured to have interest in Juan Gonzalez (haven't they learned their lesson about fading sluggers?), or a deal in which they'd swap prospects to Arizona for Shea Hillenbrand and Danny Bautista ... Then again, whispers have also emerged of the D-Rays trying to ship Baldelli to Philadelphia for Ryan Madson and Ryan Howard, with owner Vince Naimoli allegedly killing the deal. GM Chuck LaMar refuted that story, saying that no trade talks have progressed to the point where he proposed the deal to either Naimoli or Piniella ... The D-Rays will be targeting Brad Radke in free agency this offseason ...
* It's risky, but interesting. Rumour has it that LaMar is negotiating a nine-year deal with minor-league shorstop B.J. Upton ... Still only 19, Upton's a bit raw, having committed 23 errors in his first 57 games with AAA Durham ... No.1 overall pick from 2003 Delmon Young has been productive with the Alley Cats' rivals, the Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs, racking up 71 RBI thus far ...
Probable Batting Orders
Note: The Jays are not scheduled to start a lefthander this series.
vs. RH
DH/7 Crawford
8 Baldelli
5 Huff
6 Lugo
3 Martinez
9 Cruz Jr.
4 Cantu
2 Hall/Fordyce
7 Gathright/DH Fick
Pitching Probables
Friday: LH Hendrickson vs. Batista
Saturday: RH Bell vs. Towers
Sunday: RH Zambrano vs. Bush
Bullpen Usage
Long: Sosa R
Short: Carter R, T Miller L, Seay L
Setup: Colome R, Harper R
Closer: Baez R
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