Make no mistake: The Jays have a real opportunity to gain ground over the next three days.
* General: At 26-50, the Rays are further below .500 than at any point last year ... The Rays were 39-38 at this point last season ... Have lost six straight at Tropicana Field, and it only gets tougher from here: They don't play a sub-.500 team until after the All-Star Break ... The club can score runs; they just can't prevent them. At all. The team is on pace to surrender more than 1,000 runs -- a dubious feat that only eleven teams have "achieved," most recently by the '99 Rockies ... The team is batting .294 with runners in scoring position, second-best in the AL ... Rocco Baldelli's elbow ligament surgery went well and he should be ready to go for 2006 ... Sadly, the Jays are 26-32 all-time at Tropicana Field. Only in 2000 have the Jays performed better than .500 at the Trop ... Lou Piniella went on a chair-tossing tirade when accused by a New York reporter of deliberately letting Travis Harper get hammered in the Yankees' 13-run inning last week: "You think I'm going to have a pitcher beat up like that intentionally?" ... Old friend Trever Miller still isn't ready to come back from his hamstring injury, leaving the D-Ray 'pen leftyless. Doug Waechter has been moved to a setup role to shore up the 'pen, and Seth McClung was outstanding in getting the start yesterday ... Delmon Young and B.J. Upton were named to the Future Stars game ... Ex-Tiger Eric Munson was recalled from AAA Durham, and the infamous Alex Sanchez was claimed by San Francisco ... Several players, most notably Eduardo Perez and Aubrey Huff, were stunned to hear that Dewon Brazelton had been recalled. The D-Ray locker room was highly unimpressed with Dewon's decision to take a two-weak unexcused leave of absence rather than report to AAA. Brazelton addressed his wary teammates in a closed-door meeting this weekend ...
* Hideo Nomo: Still has the most uncomfortable-looking delivery in baseball ... Seems to tip off his splitter by fidgeting in his glove for the right grip ... At 86 mph, the splitter is gopherrific when it's left up in the zone ... Tries to throw his splitter in on lefties and away from righties ... Never a quick worker, but he really slows down with men on base ... Throws a high-70s change that looks tantalizing before dropping sharply ... Look for the change with two strikes ...
* Nick Green: Quick, level swing and he can turn on inside fastballs ... Uses the whole field ... His problem at the plate involves balls down in the zone. He seems to pull off breaking pitches, leaving him vulnerable around the knees ... Struggles with fastballs away ... Good baserunner ...
* Scott Kazmir: Still just 21 years of age ... Poised beyond his years, but worries excessively about runners on first ... Throws an mid-80s curve that breaks late, but not always sharply ... Lively Low-90s four-seamer with which he challenges righties up and in, then up and away ... Throws a tough sinking fastball down and in on lefties. It's hard to pick up, since he hides the ball well ... Second among AL rookies in strikeouts ...
* Jonny Gomes: Seems burlier than his 6'1", 205 lb listing. He resembles a younger, trimmer Pete Incaviglia at bat ... Dead red hitter with good power to all fields ... Loves fastballs up and is capable of muscling them out of the park ... Chases breaking pitches down and away. He's significantly weaker against curves and sliders ... Prone to lunging out on his front foot, especially when he's thinking fastball and gets something offspeed ...
* Toby Hall: Was enjoying a fine season before his current -- and dreadful -- 1 for 28 slump ... Pitchers have started pounding him away and he hasn't adjusted ... Lately, he's been popping up pitches up and away and rolling over pitches down and away, harmlessly grounding to the left side ... Not an intimidating plate-blocker on close plays ...
* Danys Baez: Has converted his last five saves after blowing three straight ... Does not hide the ball well, as he cocks his wrist at head level well before the delivery ... Low-90s fastball that he has to spot well. It's better up and out of the zone, where hitters struggle to catch up to it ... Works righties down and away with his heater, which he throws all over the top ... Pitched remarkably on Thursday, considering that his one-year-old daughter Daniella was struggling with a 104-degree fever in a New York hospital ...
* Carl Crawford: Lightning-fast out of the box, and he's extremely difficult to double up on grounders ... Turns singles to doubles and doubles to triples. I mean, he is quick once he gets going on balls in the gap ... Spray hitter with some pop ... Prefers the ball down ... Does not recognize lefthanded breaking stuff well at all. Regularly fooled by lefty sliders ... Hitting .295 in June, but with only three walks ... Signed to a reasonable contract through 2008, with escalating club options in 2009 and 2010 ... Slick-fielding outfielder, and he's back in his more comfortable perch in left ... Understands the leftfield corner in Tropicana and how to play it ... Another tremendous stolen base percentage (23-for-27, 85%) and with four more steals, will become just the fifth player in history to rack up 150 steals and 500 hits before age 24 ...
* Aubrey Huff: Still bothered by a badly bruised right knee ... His power fall-off has been startling ... His swing looks as picturesque as ever, with a fluid left-center-to-right-center emphasis ... Stays down on low breaking balls very well ... Does not like the ball up and is vulnerable to a Halladay-style curve dropping into the zone ... Not a natural rightfielder, and it shows; he still looks awkward out there ...
* Jorge Cantu: Slugging .647 in June ... Power to all fields, and he's a hacker ... High-ball hitter who can drive breaking stuff. He's not just a first-ball, fastball guy ... Can unsurprisingly be induced to chase up the ladder ... Pound him down with breaking stuff, where he's less likely to drive it with authority ... Only 7 walks, compared to 37 strikeouts ... Determined and rangy at second base ...
* Damon Hollins: Good weight transfer at the plate. He doesn't resemble him at all, but he derives power from his lower body in a way reminiscent of George Bell ... Prefers the ball out over the plate and will chase away ... Another D-Ray who chases the high cheese ... A hustler out of the batter's box ...
* Mark Hendrickson: Old friend Lurch still puts the ball in play with low strikeout and walk rates ... His fastball up is not overpowering, and it's a source of real problems for him when he doesn't nibble with it properly ... Works righthanded hitters relentlessly away. The Jays shouldn't go up there thinking pull ... Throws a big, looping curve that is tough when he starts it belt-high or lower ... Likes to throw a change with sinking action on two-strike counts, hoping to induce grounders ... Not likely to duplicate the ex-teammate success of Chris Carpenter or Esteban Loaiza ...
* Julio Lugo: Goes the other way effectively on outside strikes ... Can be induced to chase breaking stuff away ... Prefers the ball down and struggles with overhand curves ... Hangs in well on the DP pivot ... Heads-up, sneaky baserunner who's an impressive 20-for-24 on the basepaths. Watch out for him catching outfielders napping on seemingly routine singles ...
The Jays face a speedy but utterly pitching-poor Devil Rays squad that failed to build on the momentum of having shakem off an embarrassing 20-11 loss to win a four-game series in the Bronx. Other than the typically reliable Danys Baez, there is simply no pitcher on this roster that ought to be able to overmatch the Blue Jay bats. Should the Jays avoid the Tropicana Field gremlins that have haunted them since the Tampa franchise was born, they should win this series going away.
This week's Scout features a lightning-quick duo, a slumping backstop and a young pitcher who needs to make serious amends to his teammates. And no, I don't mean Travis Harper.
On to the Advance Scout!* General: At 26-50, the Rays are further below .500 than at any point last year ... The Rays were 39-38 at this point last season ... Have lost six straight at Tropicana Field, and it only gets tougher from here: They don't play a sub-.500 team until after the All-Star Break ... The club can score runs; they just can't prevent them. At all. The team is on pace to surrender more than 1,000 runs -- a dubious feat that only eleven teams have "achieved," most recently by the '99 Rockies ... The team is batting .294 with runners in scoring position, second-best in the AL ... Rocco Baldelli's elbow ligament surgery went well and he should be ready to go for 2006 ... Sadly, the Jays are 26-32 all-time at Tropicana Field. Only in 2000 have the Jays performed better than .500 at the Trop ... Lou Piniella went on a chair-tossing tirade when accused by a New York reporter of deliberately letting Travis Harper get hammered in the Yankees' 13-run inning last week: "You think I'm going to have a pitcher beat up like that intentionally?" ... Old friend Trever Miller still isn't ready to come back from his hamstring injury, leaving the D-Ray 'pen leftyless. Doug Waechter has been moved to a setup role to shore up the 'pen, and Seth McClung was outstanding in getting the start yesterday ... Delmon Young and B.J. Upton were named to the Future Stars game ... Ex-Tiger Eric Munson was recalled from AAA Durham, and the infamous Alex Sanchez was claimed by San Francisco ... Several players, most notably Eduardo Perez and Aubrey Huff, were stunned to hear that Dewon Brazelton had been recalled. The D-Ray locker room was highly unimpressed with Dewon's decision to take a two-weak unexcused leave of absence rather than report to AAA. Brazelton addressed his wary teammates in a closed-door meeting this weekend ...
* Hideo Nomo: Still has the most uncomfortable-looking delivery in baseball ... Seems to tip off his splitter by fidgeting in his glove for the right grip ... At 86 mph, the splitter is gopherrific when it's left up in the zone ... Tries to throw his splitter in on lefties and away from righties ... Never a quick worker, but he really slows down with men on base ... Throws a high-70s change that looks tantalizing before dropping sharply ... Look for the change with two strikes ...
* Nick Green: Quick, level swing and he can turn on inside fastballs ... Uses the whole field ... His problem at the plate involves balls down in the zone. He seems to pull off breaking pitches, leaving him vulnerable around the knees ... Struggles with fastballs away ... Good baserunner ...
* Scott Kazmir: Still just 21 years of age ... Poised beyond his years, but worries excessively about runners on first ... Throws an mid-80s curve that breaks late, but not always sharply ... Lively Low-90s four-seamer with which he challenges righties up and in, then up and away ... Throws a tough sinking fastball down and in on lefties. It's hard to pick up, since he hides the ball well ... Second among AL rookies in strikeouts ...
* Jonny Gomes: Seems burlier than his 6'1", 205 lb listing. He resembles a younger, trimmer Pete Incaviglia at bat ... Dead red hitter with good power to all fields ... Loves fastballs up and is capable of muscling them out of the park ... Chases breaking pitches down and away. He's significantly weaker against curves and sliders ... Prone to lunging out on his front foot, especially when he's thinking fastball and gets something offspeed ...
* Toby Hall: Was enjoying a fine season before his current -- and dreadful -- 1 for 28 slump ... Pitchers have started pounding him away and he hasn't adjusted ... Lately, he's been popping up pitches up and away and rolling over pitches down and away, harmlessly grounding to the left side ... Not an intimidating plate-blocker on close plays ...
* Danys Baez: Has converted his last five saves after blowing three straight ... Does not hide the ball well, as he cocks his wrist at head level well before the delivery ... Low-90s fastball that he has to spot well. It's better up and out of the zone, where hitters struggle to catch up to it ... Works righties down and away with his heater, which he throws all over the top ... Pitched remarkably on Thursday, considering that his one-year-old daughter Daniella was struggling with a 104-degree fever in a New York hospital ...
* Carl Crawford: Lightning-fast out of the box, and he's extremely difficult to double up on grounders ... Turns singles to doubles and doubles to triples. I mean, he is quick once he gets going on balls in the gap ... Spray hitter with some pop ... Prefers the ball down ... Does not recognize lefthanded breaking stuff well at all. Regularly fooled by lefty sliders ... Hitting .295 in June, but with only three walks ... Signed to a reasonable contract through 2008, with escalating club options in 2009 and 2010 ... Slick-fielding outfielder, and he's back in his more comfortable perch in left ... Understands the leftfield corner in Tropicana and how to play it ... Another tremendous stolen base percentage (23-for-27, 85%) and with four more steals, will become just the fifth player in history to rack up 150 steals and 500 hits before age 24 ...
* Aubrey Huff: Still bothered by a badly bruised right knee ... His power fall-off has been startling ... His swing looks as picturesque as ever, with a fluid left-center-to-right-center emphasis ... Stays down on low breaking balls very well ... Does not like the ball up and is vulnerable to a Halladay-style curve dropping into the zone ... Not a natural rightfielder, and it shows; he still looks awkward out there ...
* Jorge Cantu: Slugging .647 in June ... Power to all fields, and he's a hacker ... High-ball hitter who can drive breaking stuff. He's not just a first-ball, fastball guy ... Can unsurprisingly be induced to chase up the ladder ... Pound him down with breaking stuff, where he's less likely to drive it with authority ... Only 7 walks, compared to 37 strikeouts ... Determined and rangy at second base ...
* Damon Hollins: Good weight transfer at the plate. He doesn't resemble him at all, but he derives power from his lower body in a way reminiscent of George Bell ... Prefers the ball out over the plate and will chase away ... Another D-Ray who chases the high cheese ... A hustler out of the batter's box ...
* Mark Hendrickson: Old friend Lurch still puts the ball in play with low strikeout and walk rates ... His fastball up is not overpowering, and it's a source of real problems for him when he doesn't nibble with it properly ... Works righthanded hitters relentlessly away. The Jays shouldn't go up there thinking pull ... Throws a big, looping curve that is tough when he starts it belt-high or lower ... Likes to throw a change with sinking action on two-strike counts, hoping to induce grounders ... Not likely to duplicate the ex-teammate success of Chris Carpenter or Esteban Loaiza ...
* Julio Lugo: Goes the other way effectively on outside strikes ... Can be induced to chase breaking stuff away ... Prefers the ball down and struggles with overhand curves ... Hangs in well on the DP pivot ... Heads-up, sneaky baserunner who's an impressive 20-for-24 on the basepaths. Watch out for him catching outfielders napping on seemingly routine singles ...
