Prior to tonight’s game, Blue Jays assistant general manager, and local contract expert, Alex Anthopoulos held court for a few minutes with us reporters, providing us with another lesson in Baseball Transactions 101. Today’s lecture was on “draft-excluded” players.

The subject came up due to the promotion of right-hander Dirk Hayhurst. Had it not been for Hayhurst’s contract situation, he likely would have made the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. He wowed manager Cito Gaston this spring in seven appearances, striking out 13 with no walks over eight innings.

I’ll do my best to briefly sum up why Hayhurst could not make the team back then:

Hayhurst was added to the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster after Aug. 15 last season, excluding him from being exposed to other club’s during the December Rule 5 Draft. Toronto then claimed Hayhurst off waivers on October 6, meaning Hayhurst had to be put on its 40-man list.

Now, because Hayhurst fell within the “draft-excluded” category, due to the Padres’ placing him on their 40 when they did, the Blue Jays were not allowed to remove him from their own 40 through outright waivers. The only option would be to release him, giving Hayhurst a chance to look for a job with other teams.

When the Jays had a chance to acquire Matt Bush via trade from San Diego in February, they explained the situation to Hayhurst. Toronto wanted to release him, clearing a spot on the 40, but then planned to re-sign him to a Minor League contract right away. Since he’d be released, the club wouldn’t be able to re-sign him with a Major League contract until May 15.

Basically, Hayhurst could have pursued work elsewhere, or head into spring with the Jays on a Minor League contract knowing that he couldn’t make the team, and that Toronto couldn’t possibly promote him until at least May 15. Hayhurst chose the latter, re-signing on Feb. 13, expressing to the Jays that it meant a lot to him that they wanted him in the first place.

So, Hayhurst went into camp knowing he couldn’t win a job, but with a chance to show the Jays something. That’s what he did, and that’s something Gaston remembers. Asked on Wednesday why Hayhurst got the call over, say, Jeremy Accardo, Gaston cited Hayhurst’s performance during the spring, and the fact that he showed loyalty to the organization.

With Triple-A Las Vegas, Accardo currently has a 3.60 ERA in 17 games, in which he’s allowed 23 hits and compiled 19 strikeouts versus seven walks over 20 innings with a .280 oppponents’ batting average. Hayhurst had a 5.11 in 15 games for Vegas, but his numbers are skewed by a rough stint as a starter.

Hayhurst made five starts out of necessity to open the year and posted a 6.75 ERA in those outings. As a reliever, the right-hander was much sharper, limiting hitters to a .239 average with 16 strikeouts, five walks and a 3.44 ERA over 18 1/3 innings across 10 games. More than anything, it was his showing this spring that won Gaston over.

Today’s lineups:

LOS ANGELES ANGELS (25-25)

1. Chone Figgins, 3B
2. Bobby Abreu, RF
3. Vlad Guerrero, DH
4. Kendry Morales, 1B
5. Juan Rivera, LF
6. Maicer Izturis, 2B
7. Gary Matthews Jr., CF
8. Jeff Mathis, C
9. Erick Aybar, SS

Starter: RHP Jered Weaver (4-2)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (30-24)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Kevin Millar, DH
9. Rod Barajas, C

Starter: RHP Casey Janssen (1-1)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

One thing Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston and his coaching staff keep a close eye on is how they use their ace, Doc Halladay. Take a look at the Major League leaderboard right now, and you’ll find Halladay atop the world in innings with 82, and that number will rise tonight.

Gaston and the Jays don’t always look at the innings total, though. With Halladay, that can be deceiving.

“You have to go with pitches instead of the innings, because he does throw a lot less pitches,” Gaston said. “Doc, when he’s on, he’s got great control and that’s about 95 percent of the time he goes out there. You go by pitches.”

Entering tonight, Halladay leads the game in innings, but he also is first in the American League with just 14.3 pitches per inning and eighth in the game with 1,171 pitches thrown. There are three pitchers with over 1,200 pitches (C.C. Sabathia, Kevin Millwood and Chad Billingsley) and each are at least four innings behind Doc.

That’s the way Doc works: pitch to contact, induce ground balls, only go for the strikeout when the situation dictates it.

Take a look at the 10 starters with the most pitches thrown last season and their P/IP average and see how Halladay stacks up: Sabathia (3,814; 15.1), Tim Lincecum (3,682; 16.2), A.J. Burnett (3,650; 16.5), Matt Cain (3,607; 16.6), Johan Santana (3,598; 15.4), Halladay (3,559; 14.5), Gil Meche (3,555; 16.9), Justin Verlander (3,528; 17.6), Bronson Arroyo (3,436; 17.2) and Ervin Santana (3,429; 15.7).

Among that group, only Sabathia (253) had more innings and complete games (10) than Halladay (246; 9), but Halladay was first among the 10 with a 5.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio and his 394 groundouts led the American League. He also finished fifth overall with 206 strikeouts, despite throwing fewer pitches.

This season, Gaston has kept Halladay on the hill for 100+ pitches in nine of his 11 starts. Doc has topped out at 119 (4/26 @ CWS) and his fewest was 95 (5/22 @ ATL). Halladay has also logged at least seven innings in each of his outings so far, averaging just 3.60 pitches per plate appearance.

“If Doc can get us through eight innings, or seven innings, with 110-115 pitches, that’s great for him,” Gaston said.  “If he feels like he can go another inning, most of the time I’m going to let him go another inning. Sometimes I won’t, but most of the time if he feels strong about it then you let him go. Let him at it.”

That being said, Gaston also keeps in mind that later in the season, if the Jays are still in the running for a playoff spot, he might want to have Halladay healthy and ready to go on short rest. Toronto did that with him last season. What Gaston doesn’t want to ever do is put Halladay at risk of injury, though.

“You certainly have to tkeep an eye on him,” Gaston said. “I know Doc’s a free agent after next year. Whether he decides to stay here or leave, he’s one guy you’d like to stay here healthy or leave here healthy, because he deserves to be that way with what he’s done for this organization.”

Today’s lineups:

LOS ANGELES ANGELS (25-24)

1. Chone Figgins, 3B
2. Bobby Abreu, RF
3. Vlad Guerrero, DH
4. Torii Hunter, CF
5. Kendry Morales, 1B
6. Maicer Izturis, SS
7. Mike Napoli, C
8. Gary Matthews Jr., LF
9. Howie Kendrick, 2B

Starter: LHP Joe Saunders (6-3)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (29-24)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Jose Bautista, LF

Starter: RHP Doc Halladay (8-1)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

Chatted some with Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi this morning and covered a few different topics. One being the July 31 trade deadline. While that’s still two months down the road, Ricciardi did say that he’d “owe it to the players” to pursue help at the deadline if the club was still performing this well.

What would Ricciardi go after? He said he feels pitching hasn’t been an issue up to this point, so he’d be more inclined to go after “another thumper” for the middle of the lineup. Obviously, it would depend on who is available and how much ownership would be willing to expand the payroll to bring somebody in.

Also asked him about recent commens from Andy MacPhail, the Orioles president of baseball operations. MacPhail was quoted as saying something to the effect of Baltimore wanting to avoid having what happened with Travis Snider with O’s catching prospect Matt Wieters (Snider made the club on Opening Day, but was recently demoted due to struggles).

In hindsight, Ricciardi said there are no regrets about bringing Snider north with the Jays.

“No, we took the best team we wanted to in April and Travis had a great Spring Training and deserved to be on the team. This is part of his development. There’s no predictor that every guy is going to come here and stay here.”

So, how long will Snider be at Triple-A?

“It’s all about development. It’s all about him adjusting to some of the things he wasn’t doing up here and getting regular at-bats. We weren’t giving him regular at-bats. He wasn’t playing against lefties — it was more of a platoon situation. He’s a young kid. He shouldn’t be in that spot. He should play and that’s what we want him to do.”

More on both topics later on bluejays.com.

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (28-22)

1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. J.D. Drew, RF
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
9. Nick Green, SS

Starter: LHP Jon Lester (3-5)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (29-23)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Jose Bautista, LF

Starter: LHP Ricky Romero (2-1)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

Casey Janssen rolled his eyes and laughed a little on Friday night. The reason? Someone brought up the fact that when he struck out Boston’s Kevin Youkilis in the seventh inning, that was Janssen’s first strikeout since returning to the Jays — only took 12.1 innings.

“Geez. I didn’t think I was ever
 going to get one,” Janssen said with a smile. “My game is pitch to contact. It was nice to get those at the end, but I still have to pitch my game.”

For those of you who were following my in-game updates on Twitter, I mentioned that Janssen has been taking pitching to contact to new heights since coming back to the rotation. In his two outings, Janssen has thrown 186 pitches, including 117 for strikes. Among all those tosses, he’s only created seven missed swings.

Along the way, Janssen has allowed 19 hits over 13 innings with two strikeouts and two walks.

I stopped over by Janssen’s locker this morning to chat with him some about his style. He’s never been a strikeout pitcher — I first covered the righty when he was with Class A Lansing in 2005, when I was still at Michigan State. Pitching to contact is his game, but he admits he needs to improve on his missed swings.

“I’d definitely like to get better,” Janssen said. “But, my game is more about missing barrels than missing bats.”

Why the low amount of missed swings? Well, for one, Janssen doesn’t boast a go-to “out pitch.” It varies based on the type of hitter, and how he reached the point in the at-bat when a strikeout is an option.

“A lot of my game depends how I get there,” Janssen said. “If I do something away, my out pitch might be an in pitch for that hitter, and vice versa. If I’m working in, maybe I can spin something down and away.”

Janssen has five pitches: four-seam fastball, cutter, changeup, curveball and slider. When he was in the bullpen (he served as the setup man in ’07 and had 39 Ks in 72.2 IP), Janssen didn’t use his change or curve as much. Now, he has a larger arsenal to work with and he’s still working on regaining the type of command he’d like to have.

Janssen said that his cutter might be more of an out pitch against left-handed hitters, while he uses it more to create weak contact against righties. With a right-hander in the batter’s box, Janssen might turn to the slider to get a strikeout, whereas it is used more for weak contact against lefties. He’s also throwing more changeups to both lefties and righties.

Over his first two starts, Janssen said the main issue has he’s been “hitting too much white”. He hasn’t commanded his pitches like he wants to, and he’s fallen behind in counts as a result. When that happens, he can’t expand the strike zone, meaning hitters will inevitably make more contact.

PHOTO OF THE NIGHT FROM FRIDAY:

Catcher Rod Barajas, after scoring from first base in the fifth

Said Barajas: “I didn’t slide, I fell. That was my legs giving out on me. I had nothing left. If I had to run 10 more feet, the paramedics would’ve been out there giving me mouth to mouth. I hit the wall. Fortunately, it was enough to get me over the plate.”

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (28-21)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Rocco Baldelli, RF
9. Nick Green, SS

Starter: RHP Brad Penny (5-1)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (28-23)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Jose Bautista, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Raul Chavez, C
9. Joe Inglett, LF

Starter: RHP Brian Tallet (2-3)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

Anyone expecting sweeping changes to the Blue Jays’ roster or lineup card today are going to be disappointed. The bullpen — the one that has allowed 21 runs over its last 10 innings of work — remains the same. The lineup was still the go-to nine for manager Cito Gaston.

Gaston did admit this afternoon that he needs to give left-hander Jesse Carlson more of a break. Carlson, who leads American League relievers with 26 appearances and paces Jays relievers with 26 innings, has given up 10 runs over his last 9 1/3 innings.

This weekend, right-hander Scott Richmond is available out of the bullpen as well. Why skip Richmond’s turn over, say, Brian Tallet (a converted reliever), Casey Janssen (coming back from a shoulder injury) or Ricky Romero (a young rookie)? Gaston said, in his opinion, Richmond is the “fifth starter.” So, it’ll be 12 days between starts for Richmond (4-2, 3.63).

There was a minor transaction for the Blue Birds today. The club voided the option on right-hander Robert Ray and placed him on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain. Other than that, Toronto opted not to push the panic button and blow up a bullpen that, well, has blown up on them lately.

As far as lefty Scott Downs, who suffered a mild hamstring strain on Wednesday, Gaston said the pitcher is available to pitch. That’s good news for the Jays, who could ill-afford to be without their closer — what with the struggles of former closer B.J. Ryan and Carlson and all.

Here’s to avoiding loss No. 10. Jays haven’t lost that many in a row since ’94.

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (28-20)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Mike Lowell, 3B
8. George Kottaras, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Starter: RHP Tim Wakefield (6-2)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (27-23)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Kevin Millar, DH
8. Lyle Overbay, 1B
9. Rod Barajas, C

Starter: RHP Casey Janssen (0-1)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

Before heading out to dinner last night to celebrate our wedding anniversary, Mrs. Bastian and I had the Blue Jays game on to see how the good doctor was faring in Baltimore. It was 8-3 in the seventh inning, so we turned off the tube and headed out the door.

Later in the evening, my wife — knowing all too well how things have been going of late for your Birds — jokingly asked, “Shouldn’t you check to see if they won?”

We both laughed.

Caught the score online later and we were both stunned.

But, Jays fans, as bad as it has been — and, boy, it has been BAD — keep one thing in mind:

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

BOSTON         27-20    —
NEW YORK     27-20    —
TORONTO     27-23   1.5
TAMPA BAY    23-26     5
BALTIMORE    21-26    6

With 112 games remaining, it could be a whole heckuva lot worse.

~JB

A major weak spot in the Blue Jays’ lineup all season has been the heart of their order — Alex Rios and Vernon Wells in the third and fourth spots. Manager Cito Gaston has kept them in those spots all year and even as their struggles persist deep into this month, he has no plans to alter the lineup.

“To me, you leave them where they are,” Gaston said. “Moving them around is not going to help anything. Moving them around is only going to maybe break their confidence. It’s a long season — guys are going to be up and down at certain times. Right now, they’re on the downside.”

One thing you can say about Gaston is he’s consistent. He’s been saying the same thing all season and he’s been staying true to his philosophy.

On this road trip, during which the Jays are now 0-5, Rios and Wells have combined to go 10-for-43 at the plate. Over the last two games in Atlanta, the pair has combined to go 0-for-16. Wells has no homers or RBIs since May 6, Rios has no homers since May 17 and no RBIs since the 18th.

In fact, take a look at how eerily similar Rios’ and Wells’ numbers have been this year.

On this trip:

Wells 5-for-21
Rios 5-for-22

Overall:

Wells: .257 (49-191)/.313/.403, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 77 TB, 11 2B, 16 BB, 46 games
Rios: .260 (50-192)/.316/.411, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 79 TB, 10 2B, 14 BB, 46 games

While there is no doubt Wells and Rios are scuffling, Gaston said he doesn’t see who else could step into those spots int he lineup. Toronto doesn’t have a legitimate cleanup hitter, Gaston likes Adam Lind in the five hole, and the manager would hate to move Wells’ and Rios’ speed down in the order.

“Who do you put up there?” Gaston said. “You’re taking two guys that have some speed and can steal some bases and moving them down in the lineup — that doesn’t make a lot of sense. We’re going to have ups and downs. We just have to ride it out and hope they come out of it today or tomorrow or some time soon.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (27-19)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Jose Bautista, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Raul Chavez, C
9. Scott Richmond, P

ATLANTA BRAVES (22-20)

1 Kelly Johnson, 2B
2. Casey Kotchman, 1B
3. Garret Anderson, LF
4. Brian McCann, C
5. Martin Prado, 3B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Diory Hernandez, SS
8. Jordan Schafer, CF
9. Jair Jurrjens, P

NOTE: I will not be making the trip to Baltimore. Catch you from the next homestand.

~JB

Following Friday night’s 1-0 loss to the Braves — a game in which Vernon Wells went 0-for-4 with a quartet of groundouts — manager Cito Gaston noticed the center fielder poring over footage of his plate appearances.

“I admired Wells last night,” Gaston said. “He was sitting there after the game and he looked at some tapes and stuff. He got on the bus and I said, ‘Did you see anything?’ He said he saw something and I saw just what he said and I was going to tell him that. Hopefully, he’s going to get it today.”

What did they both see?

“He’s just a little late — just a little late getting started,” Gaston said. “It’s not like he’s not working and trying to get better.”

Overall, Wells is hitting .262 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 45 games. Over his last 14 games, Wells is hitting just .228 with no homers, no RBIs and only two extra-base hits (doubles). He has gone hitless in seven of his last 11 games and doesn’t have a home run or an RBI since May 6. In May, Wells is batting .239.

This coming from Toronto’s cleanup hitter.

Gaston knows he could switch things up, especially with the offense in a team-wide slump right now. He admitted that options included moving Adam Lind to the third or fourth spot, and maybe even shifting Alex Rios lower in the lineup. Gaston has no plans to alter the lineup he’s used all season, though.

“To move these guys around and out of their spots, that shows panic right there,” Gaston said. “When you start moving people around, then everyone’s going to panic.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (27-18)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Casey Janssen, P

ATLANTA BRAVES (21-20)

1 Kelly Johnson, 2B
2. Casey Kotchman, 1B
3. Garrett Anderson, LF
4. Brian McCann, C
5. Martin Prado, 3B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Diory Hernandez, SS
8. Jordan Schafer, CF
9. Derek Lowe, P

~JB

We have movement — lots of it. You already heard about Travis Snider being optioned to Triple-A last night. Well, this afternoon, the Blue Jays announced that Robert Ray and Brett Cecil would be on the flight with him. Up from the Minors are utility man Joe Inglett and pitcher Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero.

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said the decision to call up Janssen and Romero now had more to do with them being ready to rejoin the club, rather than it being a reflection on anything Cecil and Ray did wrong. Cecil and Ray each had a rough outing after some strong ones, but the club feels they need more Minor League innings.

As for Inglett, he’ll see time in the outfield and he can pitch in around the infield as a backup. He probably won’t play much in this series, but the situation could change when the Jays return to the American League format. Gaston said Inglett and Lind could see time in left against righties, and Jose Bautista against lefties.

One thing Snider said took getting used to was not playing every day. The rookie said he has to learn how to carry his routine over after being out of the lineup for a few days. Asked on Friday if the way Snider was used might have played into the slump, Gaston had this remark:

“If you sit for a week at a time, I could see that,” Gaston said. “I hear these guys talking about, ‘Well, I haven’t played in two days.’ I don’t buy that one. They can take that and shove it. That’s crap.”

I also spent some time chatting with Dustin McGowan today about his seemingly neverending rehab from his right shoulder surgery. He said he is going to be throwing from 120 feet tomorrow for the first time and he expects to be back on a mound some time next month. Asked if he felt he would be back before the end of the year, despite everything that’s been said and written, McGowan said: “I think so. Well, I guess I should say I HOPE so.” After all, ultimately, it won’t be McGowan’s decision.

Gaston added that right-hander Jesse Litsch threw off a mound for the first time today down at the Jays’ complex in Florida. The Jays have said that Litsch could be back some time next month, though the team is in no hurry to bring him back right now. They want to make sure he is indeed fully recovered from his right forearm/elbow issue.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “No voodoo this time.” — Pitcher Brian Tallet to Inglett. Last year, it seemed like every time Inglett was sent down, someone got injured and he was called right back up. That led former manager John Gibbons to dub him Voodoo Joe. “That’s right, he’s back,” Inglett said with a grin.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (27-17)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Roy Halladay, P

 
ATLANTA BRAVES (20-20)

1. Yunel Escobar, SS
2. Casey Kotchman, 1B
3. Garret Anderson, LF
4. Brian McCann, C
5. Kelly Johnson, 2B
6. Martin Prado, 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur, RF
8. Jordan Schafer, CF
9. Kenshin Kawakami, P

~JB

Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay walked by me today in the clubhouse and as he headed into the training room, I jokingly asked, “Hey, Roy, how’s your swing coming?”

He smiled and replied: “I’m not even working on it.”

What? This from the all-time franchise leader in hits by a pitcher? OK, so he’s tied for first in the club record books with only three hits. He also is tied for first all-time among Jays pitchers in RBIs, or, I guess that’d be RBI, since he only has one. Overall? Doc has hit .081 (3-for-37) with two runs (!) and 16 strikeouts.

Why do I bring this up? Because Halladay will be putting on a helmet and stepping into the batter’s box tomorrow night, when the Jays open a three-game Interleague series with the Braves in Atlanta. It’s that time of year for awkward swings from men who should just not be standing at the plate.

Also due to pitch for the Jays in the series are Scott Richmond and Brian Tallet.

When was the last time Richmond had an at-bat?

“Oh, man. I don’t know. It’s been over 10 years,” Richmond said. “I hit some yesterday out on the field — did some slashing and some bunting. Hit one off the top of the wall actually — good for my confidence.”

Does Tallet remember the last time he hit in a game?

“Yeah. Pittsburgh — 2003,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Tallet went 0-for-2.

“I was praying those would be the last two I ever had,” he said. “Oh, well.”

Overall, Blue Jays pitchers have hit .100 (24-for-240) with one homer and five RBIs over the years. The lone blast came off the bat of Mark Hendrickson on June 21, 2003 in Montreal.

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston has stressed approach and aggresiveness for his hitters. How about for the pitchers?

“Don’t get hurt,” Gaston said with a laugh.

Count Gaston among those who don’t like having American League pitchers hit in Interleague Play, too.

“I know Interleague is great — all that stuff is good,” he said. “But, it’s certainly a disadvantage to American League teams. I don’t care what they say, it’s a disadvantage. Doc can take a swing and you could lose him for I don’t know how long. Or, up there bunting, they don’t bunt. They could get hit on their fingers with a pitch. They don’t run bases. It’s just altogether not good for American League teams.”

That being the case, would Gaston tell his pitchers to just go stand up at the plate and stare at three strikes?

“We did that in Spring Training. Just don’t swing the bat. Just let it go by,” Gaston said.

Will he instruct the pitchers to do that in the regular season, though?

“We might. What’s  the chances of them hitting it anyway? Slim, right?”

Ummm, yeah. Last year, Jays hurlers went 0-for-16 at the plate. Four other AL clubs had no hits from their moundsmen.

Gaston said the pitchers could bunt in certain situations, but it won’t be a requirement.

“I’ll tell them to be careful. If they want to take three, take three and sit down.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (27-16)

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Alex Rios, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Scott Rolen, 3B
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Jose Bautista, LF

Starter: RHP Bobby Ray (1-1)

BOSTON RED SOX (24-16)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Mike Lowell, 3B
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Starter: LHP Jon Lester (2-4)

~JB