It doesn't get any easier for the good guys this weekend. Next up are the White Sox, who like the Jays have lost 12 games since the all-star break. Unlike the Jays, they've won four of their last six, and they're only half a game behind Boston.
This week's Scout features the wit and wisdom of Ozzie. Everything else is meaningless, possibly including Sunday's tasty pitching matchup. Live from Waterloo/Toronto...
On to the Advance Scout!
General: Did not acquire Robbie Alomar this year, so they got his brother instead ... Kenny Williams didn't have any last-minute deals planned, as he didn't even have his cellphone on him during brunch on the 30th. Speaking as someone who's had a cell for three months, it never leaves my pocket, so he really wasn't kidding about not trading for anyone ... The bullpen has pitched the fewest innings in the majors but have had to work lately, with some short starts ... Have used over 50 different lineups this year ... Responding to Detroit's Andy Van Slyke saying he would punch Guillen if he ever showed him up in the dugout like Ozzie did with Buerhle, Ozzie responded "I don't waste my time on somebody, don't bother me. First base coach? Ha ha ha. Just make sure you pick the right helmet at the right time." ... They have 165 HR this year, which is 14 ahead of second-place Cincinnati and 20 ahead of AL runner-up Toronto ... Dustin Hermanson finished his rehab and the White Sox had to call him up, disable him or release him. I doubt they'll call him up ... 8 games behind Detroit after a rainy loss on Wednesday night ... Still no word on who will cover this series for the Chicago Sun-Times, and you all know the big Cowley-sized reason why ...
Jon Garland: Has been dealing with a sinus infection (and drowsiness-inducing pills) lately, but will be off the medication and have an extra day's rest for Friday's game ... Wasn't great last time out (July 29 vs Baltimore), but threw 8.1, 7.0 and 7.1 innings in his three starts previous, with only two total runs allowed ... Pitched in relief to get some work before the break on July 8 (0.1 IP, 3 H) for the first time since Sept. 7, 2004 (also 0.1 IP, 3 H) ... Dodges Russ Adams, who's homered off him three times ... Lyle Overbay has taken Garland deep twice in five plate appearances ...
Javier Vazquez: Is falling apart the third time through the order this year. Opponents are hitting .218 the first time, .228 the second... and .371 the third. (And .429 the fourth.) ... Has given up fewer than five runs just one in his last six starts ... Hasn't gotten an out in the eighth since May 6; hasn't gone more than six since June 3 ... Like Garland, pitched in relief before the All-Star Break, but for him, it was the first time since -- get this -- Sept. 6, 1998 with Les Expos ... Is fourth-last among AL ERA title qualifiers in LOB%, which simply means he lets many of his baserunners score ...
Jose Contreras: It's easy to win when you face the Royals, which is what he did on Monday ... In 28 career innings at the SkyDome/Rogers Centre, has struck out 26 with an ERA under 3 ...
Brandon McCarthy: Despite recent rotation struggles, the pitching coach isn't planning on moving this 6'7" former starter into a starting role: "Brandon is a nice piece of our bullpen right now. I don't even like the thought of pulling him from that spot." ... It's certainly tempting, as he has 380 strikeouts the last two years, and his minor league totals are 536 in 470.2 innings ...
Juan Uribe: Benched in favour of Alex Cintron once lately. Why? Ask Ozzie: "It's like you tell your kid to show up at 10 o'clock and all of a sudden it's 10:05. It's like, 'Well, it's only five minutes later.' Well, it's five minutes later, but why didn't you show up at 9:55? I mean, that kind of thing." Now you know ... The real answer is his effortless attempts to play defense, but I prefer Ozzie's version ... He should play this series, though, and he has no noticeable splits -- very low OBP but good pop vs. both LHP and RHP ...
Jim Thome: Peoria native sat out Monday with a sore wrist, Tuesday with back spasms and Wednesday because...I don't know, it was just too damned hot? ... Says the back spasms are part of a "freak thing" and insists the pain "is not from the past" ... In a great example of meiosis (no, not that meiosis), "both Konerko and the White Sox would like to see the winning continue but the injuries stop for the team captain" ... A battler -- sees 4.2 pitches per plate appearance, fifth-best in the AL ... Hits the ball very, very hard: his 27.3% HR/fly rate leads the AL. Maybe it's just the US Cell factor ... Second only to Travis Hafner in runs created per game ...
Paul Konerko: Missed a few games recently, including Wednesday, after fouling a ball off his shin last Friday and going in for X-rays... However, both him and Thome should be in the lineup for this series ... Striding-to-the-plate music is "Harvester of Sorrow" by Metallica. Not that it matters with this series taking place at the RC, but you've gotta admit that's pretty intimidating ... This is stolen from last August, but spot the outlier in his SLG by year since 2003: .399, .535, .534, .552 ...
Jermaine Dye: Is having a thoroughly awesome year. Here are his raw rate stats: .316/.389/.635; those last two are better than Vernon Wells' OBP and SLG. Has probably been a tad hit-lucky and benefited from his homerrific surroundings at US Cell, but still, what a year ... Has an excellent arm in right field ...
Mike MacDougal: Acquired from the Royals in exchange for a couple of prospects ... Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal (yes, Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal) made an All-Star Game and a name for himself in 2003, when both he and K.C. were not terrible ... Was actually pretty good last year, but nobody cared. Welcome to a winning team ... Most similar player through 2005 is Lance Carter, which is both funny and funnier ... No, those are not just his Chicago stats in the chart -- he was limited to 4 IP with each team due to a right shoulder strain ...
David Riske: Acquired from Boston for lefty Javier Lopez on June 15 ... Probably pretty close to the bottom of the bullpen depth chart, despite his reasonably good ERA. He has been quite ineffective against lefthanded batters ...
A.J. Pierzynski: The confrontational catcher is a line-drive machine (26.5%) with a very good .320 batting average and minimal platoon splits ... For the third year in a row, his caught stealing percentage is hovering in the low 20s. Garland and Contreras both pitch to contact frequently, so look for Gibbons to play a little Ozzieball (oh, the irony) ...
Brian Anderson: A righty batter (Rob Mackowiak is a lefty), but despite what the chart says, Anderson will probably start at least two games against the three righties the Jays are trotting out ... He's a gifted fielder, but his .208/.271/.352 career line isn't quite in Aaron Rowand territory ... To be fair, his .313/.328/.469 July is absolutely sufficient. Whether his August will be that good is another matter ...
Pablo Ozuna: A versatile 31-year-old gloveman who has played every position except pitcher and catcher since breaking in with the Marlins in 2000 ... Bats righthanded ... In limited playing time (123 PA), he's batting .351/.388/.447 this year, way ahead of his career .263/.306/.313 line ...
Bobby Jenks: A perfect fit for US Cell and the Chisox' excellent infield defense. Racks up strikeouts (10.17 per 9) and groundballs (57.5%). He dominates in pretty much the same way A.J. Burnett does - blazing fastball, sharp curveball - and his ERA is selling his FIP significantly short for the second year in a row ... Has blown just two saves ...
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