Big series for the Jays this weekend, as the Cheer Club endeavours to get the Fighting Jays back in the win column after dropping four of five.
* General: The O's, like the Jays, just got swept in a two-game series at home by a well-heeled AL East rival ... Have pummeled the Yankees by an aggregate score of 47-26 over six games ... Despite getting shut out on back-to-back nights by the Bosox, the O's still lead the AL in slugging (.449) ... They've now gone 21 consecutive scoreless innings ... The O's are openly interested in acquiring Todd Helton, but Helton's blanket no-trade clause will make any deal complicated ... Minor leaguers Gary Cates Jr., Rafael Diaz and Richard Salazar were all suspended for steroid abuse ...
* Miguel Tejada: Level swing with power to all fields ... Loves fastballs ... Will go with the pitch and doesn't have any obvious "cold zones" within the strike zone, except he doesn't love pitches in and at the knees ... Can sometimes be induced to chase pitches down and out of the strike zone ... A fine fielder with a strong, accurate throwing arm ... Recognized as the team leader in this, his second season in Baltimore ...
* Melvin Mora: Closed stance ... More power than you think; he can take knee-high pitches deep, even to centre or right-centre ... Likes the ball down and sometimes will sit on breaking pitches ... Still capable of executing bunts and hit-and-runs, despite his high-OPS status ... Keeps his head on the ball well when down in the zone ... Will chase pitches away. He's very whiffable with outside pitches if you manage to get two strikes on him ... Has dramatically improved his third base defence ...
* Daniel Cabrera: A large dude at 6'7" ... Does not always have good control over his slider, which can hang or otherwise significantly miss its target ... His two-seam fastball is not particularly tough on righthanded batters ... Decent four-seam fastball which he likes to pound up in the zone ... Much more effective when he throws pitches on the outer half of the plate ... Always seems to get run support ... Praised by Lee Mazzilli for finally "throwing" in his last start, after being too fine in his previous two outings ...
* Brian Roberts: On pace to be the AL Player of the Month ... Very quiet feet in the box; nice economy of movement at the plate ... Seems to hit everything on the fat part of the bat this season ... Slightly less sweet of a swing from the right side, but he's seeing the ball well even against lefties ... Despite his power surge, still plays like a "dirtbag" ... 6-for-7 on the basepaths thus far ... Good range to his left at second base ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate and can be frozen on the outside corner ... Outer plate coverage is only decent ... Sosa on Roberts: "Everything he eats, I'm going to eat" ...
* Sammy Sosa: Approaching 600 career homers ... Has homered in 42 major league ballparks ... Likes the ball up and can pull high heat, even if it's on the outer half ... Hasn't stopped hustling in the outfield ... Likes pitches down and in but not down and away ... Swings for the fences, even with two strikes ... Can be fooled by sliders down in the zone ... Absent-minded baserunner on occasion ...
* Rafael Palmeiro: Schoeneweis's target for the weekend ... Loves pitches up and in ... Just 5 for his last 36 ... Dead pull hitter that faces exaggerated shifts ... Will swing over pitches that sink ... Can be frozen by lefthanded curves ...
* Jay Gibbons: Likes fastballs down and in, which he can turn on with a Shawn Green-like swing ... Good power and can punish mistakes ... Helpless against pitches down and away in the strike zone ...
* Luis Matos: Rakes lefthanded pitching ... Very good push bunter and will surprise defenses by laying it down ... Will hit up-and-away pitches to right ... Will sometimes roll over outside pitches ... Prefers the ball down and doesn't like to offer at high strikes ...
* Steve Reed: Hard to believe the sidearmer is 40 ... Has to keep the ball down, because his pitches have kind of an arc movement ... Kind of like a Kent Tekulve delivery ... Likes to coax grounders with sinkers that start knee-high ... Given his delivery, you'd assume he'd freeze righties with frisbee sliders. But he instead runs two-seam fastballs in on them ...
* Erik Bedard: Slow, methodical delivery reminiscent of a less fluid Jimmy Key ... Good heat but a habit of leaving breaking pitches up in the zone ... Seems to get down emotionally after surrendering hits ... Good cutting action on his fastball ... Big, looping curve ...
* Rick Bauer: Has been a gas can to lefthanded hitters ... Straight, hittable fastball that he hasn't spotted as well as he's needed to ... When he's on, he can backdoor righthanded hitters with a two-seamer ... Good downward motion on his slider ...
* Javy Lopez: Tries to pull everything, and is often successful in doing so ... Very strong hands and wrists, and can yank low pitches out of the park ... Likes offspeed pitches up ... Pitch him down and in and you can get him to swing over breaking stuff ... Can be tied up with fastballs up and in ... Late-inning roster juggling left Lopez playing first last week. He admitted to hoping not to face any grounders ...
* Sidney Ponson: Sir Sidney is not a sure bet to start on Sunday afternoon. Has yet to receive Canadian work authorization in light of his drunk driving arrest in Florida ... Increasingly prone to hanging curves as he tires during games ... Throws a tailing two-seam fastball that can be very hittable when up in the zone ... Most effective in on the fists of righthanded hitters ...
* Todd Williams: Has been brilliant as a setup man this season ... That WHIP against lefties is no misprint; the righty has retired all twelve lefthanded hitters he's faced ... Slings pitches at a three-quarter-arm angle ... Outstanding changeup that's hard to pick up out of his hand ... Tight movement on his two-seam fastball ...
* Larry Bigbie: Good ability to inside-out high pitches ... Play him to hit up the middle ... Chases pitches down, where he's prone to taking his head off the ball ...
By now, you've heard of the fantastic start Brian Roberts is off to, and he's backed up by a bevy of powerful bats. The good news for the Jays is that other than the back end of the O's bullpen, there are some shaky arms set to face the home team.
This week's Scout features a lights-out setup man, an all-around star at short and a starting pitcher that may not get past customs. Seriously.
On to the Advance Scout!* General: The O's, like the Jays, just got swept in a two-game series at home by a well-heeled AL East rival ... Have pummeled the Yankees by an aggregate score of 47-26 over six games ... Despite getting shut out on back-to-back nights by the Bosox, the O's still lead the AL in slugging (.449) ... They've now gone 21 consecutive scoreless innings ... The O's are openly interested in acquiring Todd Helton, but Helton's blanket no-trade clause will make any deal complicated ... Minor leaguers Gary Cates Jr., Rafael Diaz and Richard Salazar were all suspended for steroid abuse ...
* Miguel Tejada: Level swing with power to all fields ... Loves fastballs ... Will go with the pitch and doesn't have any obvious "cold zones" within the strike zone, except he doesn't love pitches in and at the knees ... Can sometimes be induced to chase pitches down and out of the strike zone ... A fine fielder with a strong, accurate throwing arm ... Recognized as the team leader in this, his second season in Baltimore ...
* Melvin Mora: Closed stance ... More power than you think; he can take knee-high pitches deep, even to centre or right-centre ... Likes the ball down and sometimes will sit on breaking pitches ... Still capable of executing bunts and hit-and-runs, despite his high-OPS status ... Keeps his head on the ball well when down in the zone ... Will chase pitches away. He's very whiffable with outside pitches if you manage to get two strikes on him ... Has dramatically improved his third base defence ...
* Daniel Cabrera: A large dude at 6'7" ... Does not always have good control over his slider, which can hang or otherwise significantly miss its target ... His two-seam fastball is not particularly tough on righthanded batters ... Decent four-seam fastball which he likes to pound up in the zone ... Much more effective when he throws pitches on the outer half of the plate ... Always seems to get run support ... Praised by Lee Mazzilli for finally "throwing" in his last start, after being too fine in his previous two outings ...
* Brian Roberts: On pace to be the AL Player of the Month ... Very quiet feet in the box; nice economy of movement at the plate ... Seems to hit everything on the fat part of the bat this season ... Slightly less sweet of a swing from the right side, but he's seeing the ball well even against lefties ... Despite his power surge, still plays like a "dirtbag" ... 6-for-7 on the basepaths thus far ... Good range to his left at second base ... Prefers the ball on the inner half of the plate and can be frozen on the outside corner ... Outer plate coverage is only decent ... Sosa on Roberts: "Everything he eats, I'm going to eat" ...
* Sammy Sosa: Approaching 600 career homers ... Has homered in 42 major league ballparks ... Likes the ball up and can pull high heat, even if it's on the outer half ... Hasn't stopped hustling in the outfield ... Likes pitches down and in but not down and away ... Swings for the fences, even with two strikes ... Can be fooled by sliders down in the zone ... Absent-minded baserunner on occasion ...
* Rafael Palmeiro: Schoeneweis's target for the weekend ... Loves pitches up and in ... Just 5 for his last 36 ... Dead pull hitter that faces exaggerated shifts ... Will swing over pitches that sink ... Can be frozen by lefthanded curves ...
* Jay Gibbons: Likes fastballs down and in, which he can turn on with a Shawn Green-like swing ... Good power and can punish mistakes ... Helpless against pitches down and away in the strike zone ...
* Luis Matos: Rakes lefthanded pitching ... Very good push bunter and will surprise defenses by laying it down ... Will hit up-and-away pitches to right ... Will sometimes roll over outside pitches ... Prefers the ball down and doesn't like to offer at high strikes ...
* Steve Reed: Hard to believe the sidearmer is 40 ... Has to keep the ball down, because his pitches have kind of an arc movement ... Kind of like a Kent Tekulve delivery ... Likes to coax grounders with sinkers that start knee-high ... Given his delivery, you'd assume he'd freeze righties with frisbee sliders. But he instead runs two-seam fastballs in on them ...
* Erik Bedard: Slow, methodical delivery reminiscent of a less fluid Jimmy Key ... Good heat but a habit of leaving breaking pitches up in the zone ... Seems to get down emotionally after surrendering hits ... Good cutting action on his fastball ... Big, looping curve ...
* Rick Bauer: Has been a gas can to lefthanded hitters ... Straight, hittable fastball that he hasn't spotted as well as he's needed to ... When he's on, he can backdoor righthanded hitters with a two-seamer ... Good downward motion on his slider ...
* Javy Lopez: Tries to pull everything, and is often successful in doing so ... Very strong hands and wrists, and can yank low pitches out of the park ... Likes offspeed pitches up ... Pitch him down and in and you can get him to swing over breaking stuff ... Can be tied up with fastballs up and in ... Late-inning roster juggling left Lopez playing first last week. He admitted to hoping not to face any grounders ...
* Sidney Ponson: Sir Sidney is not a sure bet to start on Sunday afternoon. Has yet to receive Canadian work authorization in light of his drunk driving arrest in Florida ... Increasingly prone to hanging curves as he tires during games ... Throws a tailing two-seam fastball that can be very hittable when up in the zone ... Most effective in on the fists of righthanded hitters ...
* Todd Williams: Has been brilliant as a setup man this season ... That WHIP against lefties is no misprint; the righty has retired all twelve lefthanded hitters he's faced ... Slings pitches at a three-quarter-arm angle ... Outstanding changeup that's hard to pick up out of his hand ... Tight movement on his two-seam fastball ...
* Larry Bigbie: Good ability to inside-out high pitches ... Play him to hit up the middle ... Chases pitches down, where he's prone to taking his head off the ball ...
