Game #144: Yankees at Blue Jays pregame
New York (81-62) at Toronto (72-71)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
Today’s lineups:
YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Jorge Posada, C
Jason Giambi, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
PITCHING: RHP Phil Hughes (2-3, 5.33 ERA)
BLUE JAYS
Vernon Wells, CF
Russ Adams, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Matt Stairs, LF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
John McDonald, SS
PITCHING: RHP Shaun Marcum (12-5, 3.74 ERA)
NOTES: 3B Troy Glaus was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Tuesday and manager John Gibbons said he could possibly be shut down for the season. … CF Vernon Wells will undergo surgery on his left shoulder to remove a cyst and repair a slight tear in his labrum. Wells said the current plan is to have the operation after the season, but the center fielder said he could potentially have the surgery before the end of the year. … SS John McDonald inked a two-year deal worth $3.8 million for the 2008-09 seasons.
AL WILD CARD RACE
entering Tuesday
1. New York 81-62 (–)
2. Detroit 78-66 (3.5)
3. Seattle 75-67 (5.5)
4. Toronto 72-71 (9)
REALITY CHECK…Since 1995, the runner-up in the AL Wild Card race has finished with an average of 89 victories. The Blue Jays would need to go 18-1 over their final 19 games to reach 90 wins
Major League Bastian 
My vote would be to shut down Glaus immediately and put Vernon under the knife immediately.
This season is gone.
Jordon, is the Glaus diagnosis still no surgury-just rest?
Sumner I am starting to lean more and more towards firing Gibby, especially after last night. You’ve been saying it all along that the guy doesn’t know how to handle a pitching staff and the light is shining. Proof was last night when Halladay, who has little chance at the cy young, and the jays have no shot at the playoffs and yet he was still out there after 100 pitches. Correct me if i’m wrong but didn’t halladay miss some of the year due to fatigue from the year before in 2004 I believe? If that happens again then the jays have little hope for the playoffs.
Read the did you know today the jays have a 63-7 record when leading after 8. last year they were 80-0. Not that the bullpen has been bad this year, but obviously they still miss B.J.
As for the remainder of the season, I would shut Wells and Gluas down. Move Rios to centre, Stairs into right and platoon Lind and Reed for the rest of the season. Russ Adams can continue to play 3rd(i’m ok with that) and Josh Banks should get a look as a starter (remove Listch whome I am not sold on)
Personally I never give up until the end, so though bleak the season is not over. There is also bragging rights. Even so, Vernon, and Glaus don’t help the team hurt. I think you take care of them, and get them ready for next season.
timothy.
How right you are fix the hurt get a new manager and get in the playoffs next year.
Halladay missed the last few weeks of last year with wrist soreness due to “too many cutters” after being overused by Gibbons for several consecutive starts once the Jays were effectively out of it.
Why does a manager overuse a pitcher like Halliday or any other pitcher for that matter,What can he hope to gain.
Why does a team play injured players while heathy players sit on the bench????.
No team can gain by doing this it can only hurt them.
Toronto is a perfect showcase for this,How many games did Glaus and Wells cost us.
How many games did Overbay Johnson and Zaun cost us by comeing back to soon.
TO MANY????.You be the judge.
Torgen/Garry
My biggest complaint about Abner is how he handles the pitchers. Perfect case in point is Halliday’s last outing. Leaving him out there for 123 pitches, when he’s already gone over 200 innings this year was nonsense.
The starters are all precious commodities and need to be treated as such-it’s the best starting rotation in baseball since the all-star break.
Where would we be if Halliday and Burnett both got seriously injured and were out until May or June of next year?
Marcum is tired which is not surprising sense he’s gone 151 innings so far this year versus 78 all last. McGowan, so far still looks strong; but Marcum needs a break for a game or two.
If we don’t have enough arms in the pen call up more-don’t abuse the franchise’s prized assets like he is.
hey sumner.
Right you are marcum is tired you could see that last time out,Did they not say they were going to try wolfe out as a starter why not last night.
As for Halliday they have to use their heads with him because if his arm was broken he would try to pitch with his left arm he has been like that from day one thats what makes him what he is # ONE.
It wasn’t just his handling of Doc that bothered me, although that did bother me a lot, as it did last year. I don’t know when Janssen started warming up (the FSN broadcast that was carried on mlb.tv didn’t mention it), but he can’t have had much time if Gibbons meant for Doc to finish the game, which means Gibbons gave himself a lose/lose decision between a starter who was over 120 pitches and a reliever who wasn’t fully warmed up yet. On top of that, it was a good chance to let Accardo get back on the horse that threw him. He needs to finish the season on a high note, or he’ll be stewing all off-season about the one he let go.
torgen-agreed
Hey. I like the news on Glaus. Apparently there is an operation and he’s going under the knife as early as Monday of next week.
They should do the same with Wells, get them done early enough so theyre both ready to go for spring training.
Auburn Doubledays, the Jays affiliate in the New York Penn league have won their playoff series and now play the Brooklyn Cyclones for the league championship with the first game going on Thursday.
I will watch McGowan pitch tonight he will be better than the Doc in the long run.