White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen recently issued a warning, saying his team would retaliate on a two-for-one basis if he believed one of his players was hit intentionally with a pitch. On Thursday, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston was asked about Guillen’s comments and he had this to say.

“I don’t think there is a manager in the league that’s not going to protect his guys.”

That being said, Gaston quickly added that he does not agree with the macho-baseball “tradition” of hitting a player with a pitch after somebody launches a home run. On Wednesday night, Jays reliever Brandon League hut Kevin Youkilis one batter after Victor Martinez belted a homer off the pitcher.

Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher immediately issued warnings to both the Red Sox and Blue Jays, which was fine with Gaston. The manager just wanted to make it clear to Fletcher and everyone else that League absolutely did not hit Youkilis on purpose. League hit him with a splitter — a dead giveaway that it was not intentional.

“If this kid is going to hit you, he’s going to hit you with about a 97 [mph fastball],” Gaston said. “He didn’t hit him with a fastball. I guess the league is just a little jumpy on all the things that have happened lately, so they issued warnings right away.”

That is just fine by Gaston, too, because he believes things got out of hand in the past.

“You know what? I think it’s better nowadays,” Gaston said. “I used to go up after someone who just hit a home run and get knocked down all the time. To me, I didn’t hit the home run, so don’t knock me down. If I strike out, and I throw my bat at you… you know?

“So, I never agreed with all that [stuff] that used to go on about throwing at people anyway. Now, I think they have more of a handle on it and I think it should be stopped. You’re jeopardizing someone’s career by hitting them in the head with a ball and they can’t stand out there and throw a bat at you, so I agree with [the umpires].

“I’m glad it’s that way. It should’ve been that way a long time ago. You can say it’s tough … baseball or whatever. It was stupid and senseless the way they used to do it. Somebody hit a home run, they hit the next guy. Does that make any sense?”

Not really, no.

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (68-51)
Second place AL East, 7.0 GB

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

Starter: LHP Jon Lester (9-7, 3.71)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (55-63)
Fourth place AL East, 19.5 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Rod Barajas, C
5. Kevin Millar, 1B
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Jose Bautista, LF
9. Travis Snider, RF

Starter: LHP Brett Cecil (5-1, 4.35)

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

~JB

One of the areas that the Blue Jays will be re-evaluating this coming winter is the situation behind the plate. Entering the year, the club hoped that catching prospects J.P. Arencibia (right) and Brian Jeroloman would be big-league ready some time this year, or at least by 2010.

Given their performance this season, the Jays are now thinking the young catchers might need a little more time.

“I dont think they’ll be ready for next year,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said on Wednesday. “I think it’s going to take another year or so to step up and be ready.”

In 96 games with Triple-A Las Vegas, Arencibia has hit .227 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs, posting a .277 on-base percentage. In 95 games at Double-A New Hampshire, Jeroloman has batted .226 with six homers and 28 RBIs. Jeroloman has reached bast at a .341 clip.

This offseason, the Blue Jays will have to decide whether to try to re-sign free-agent catcher Rod Barajas. Backup Raul Chavez is eligible for arbitration. Barajas might seek a multi-year contract and Toronto needs to decide whether it’s willing to do that in light of the development of the young catchers.

“That’s one of the things we’re going to have to look into for next year,” Gaston said. “Is Rod going to be back? Is Chavez going to be back? Are both going to be back and let the kids play another year in Triple-A? Or, do you go out and get a different catcher and you keep one of the two guys you have here now.”

Yup, that about covers it…

Come early September, the Blue Jays plan on shutting down rookie starters Brett Cecil and Marc Rzepczynski due to innings limits. Gaston said the club has not decided who will slide into the rotation down the stretch. Brian Tallet will likely be one of the replacements, as he’s been all year, and the Jays will need to look to the Minors for the other. “There’s a good chance” that David Purcey might be one of the guys, according to Gaston.

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (67-51)
Second place AL East, 7.0 GB

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. J.D. Drew, RF
3. Victor Martinez, C
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Casey Kotchman, 1B
8. Nick Green, 2B
9. Alex Gonzalez, SS

Starter: RHP Clay Buchholz (1-3, 4.45)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (55-62)
Fourth place AL East, 18.5 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Travis Snider, RF

Starter: RHP Roy Halladay (13-5, 2.65)

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

~JB

He’s back. After watching box score after box score show that Travis Snider was mashing at a ridiculous rate with Triple-A Las Vegas, the Blue Jays decided to bring the kid back to Toronto on Tuesday.

Snider’s production — .337 with 14 homers and 40 RBIs in 48 games for Vegas — might have netted a call-up earlier, but the Jays were keeping a close eye on his service time. Why not? The team is not in the running and holding him back could save millions.

By waiting until Tuesday to promote Snider, he will likely fall a few days short of reaching Super Two status after the 2011 season. What this means is he would not have an extra year of arbitration eligibility. It made complete sense for the organization to handle the situation this way.

When Snider was up witht he big league club earlier this season, he played against right-handed pitching. Now, manager Cito Gaston said he’ll play against “everybody.” Snider did not like seeing Alex Rios go, but he said he is looking forward to taking advantage of the chance to play in right field on a daily basis.

We also chatted with GM J.P. Ricciardi today about the Jays’ unsigned Draft picks. Check bluejays.com later tonight for more on that and for Snider’s comments on being called up. The Jays optioned Joe Inglett to Triple-A to clear room on the roster for Snider.

Today’s lineups:

BOSTON RED SOX (66-51)
Second place AL East, 7.0 GB

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

Starter: RHP Josh Beckett (14-4, 3.10)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (55-61)
Fourth place AL East, 17.5 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Travis Snider, RF

Starter: LHP Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.70)

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

~JB

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Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (55-60)
Fourth place AL East, 18.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Joe Inglett, RF

Starter: LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 4.38)

TAMPA BAY RAYS (62-54)
Third place AL East, 11.5 GB

1. Jason Bartlett, SS
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Ben Zobrist, 2B
5. Carlos Pena, 1B
6. Willy Aybar, DH
7. Gabe Kapler, RF
8. Dioner Navarro, C
9. B.J. Upton, CF

Starter: RHP Matt Garza (7-8, 3.80)

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

~JB

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (55-59)
Fourth place AL East, 17.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Kevin Millar, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Jose Bautista, RF
9. Raul Chavez, C

Starter: LHP Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.85)

TAMPA BAY RAYS (61-54)
Third place AL East, 11.5 GB

1. Jason Bartlett, SS
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Ben Zobrist, 2B
5. Carlos Pena, 1B
6. Willy Aybar, DH
7. Gabe Kapler, RF
8. Dioner Navarro, C
9. B.J. Upton, CF

Starter: LHP Scott Kazmir (6-7, 6.50)

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

~JB

There is a new “No. 15” in town. It’s only been a few days since Alex Rios was sent to the White Sox on a waiver claim, but veteran Kevin Millar didn’t want to waste any time in grabbing his former digits.

“It’s gonna save my career,” said Millar, showing off his new jersey on Friday at The Trop. “Thirty was brutal.”

Asked if he talked to Rios about a possible switch during the spring, Millar replied: “Nah, I figured I was just the old guy coming in on a minor league contract.”

Millar said he’s been “15” for the most part since the ninth grade. He pulled out his first baseman’s glove and showed us the “ONEFIVE” stitched into the side and then pulled out a bat that still had “15” written on the handle.

One reporter kiddingly asked if Rios left any hits behind with his number. Millar smiled wide and kept to his jokester ways, responding, “He left ’em all. That’s why he’s in Chicago now.” Here’s hoping donning “15” can give Millar a boost. With “30” on his back, he’s hit ..236 with six homers and 27 RBIs through 59 games for the Jays.

AROUND THE BIRDCAGE: LHP Brett Cecil (left knee) threw in a normal bullpen session on Friday and has been wearing a brace during workouts. He’s scheduled to throw another bullpen on Wednesday and is on pace to make his next start as planned on Aug. 20. … The Jays promoted RHP Casey Janssen from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill the spot vacated when RHP Jeremy Accardo was optioned to Vegas on Wednesday. … Ran into RHP Jesse Litsch, who had Tommy John earlier this season. He no longer was wearing the brace on his arm. “I’m ahead of schedule,” he said with a shrug and a smile, “whatever that means two months into this thing. I’m day-to-day.” More like month-to-month. … C Rod Barajas has been in a little bit of an offensive funk of late. Manager Cito Gaston said it looks to him like Barajas has ben standing a little more upright in his stance. “But maybe he’s not — that’s just what I see,” Gaston said. … Former Jays C Gregg Zaun is now behind the plate for the Rays. He was traded during Toronto’s last Flashback Friday in Toronto, so Zaunie didn’t get to wave to his old home fans. Ah, well. But here’s a feature by Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times talking about how Zaun want to be the Julio Franco of his position.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (54-59)
Fourth place AL East, 17.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Joe Inglett, RF

Starter: RHP Roy Halladay (12-5, 2.73)

TAMPA BAY RAYS (61-43)
Third place AL East, 10.5 GB

1. Jason Bartlett, SS
2. Carl Crawford, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Ben Zobrist, 2B
5. Carlos Pena, 1B
6. Pat Burrell, DH
7. Gabe Gross, RF
8. Gregg Zaun, C
9. B.J. Upton, CF

Starter: RHP James Shields (7-8, 3.79)

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

~JB

How about this Lyle Overbay fellow? Seems like Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston should’ve penciled the first baseman in as the cleanup hitter a while ago. Since Toronto traded away Scott Rolen, Overbay has been on a nice offensive run as the new No. 4 man.

In eight games in Rolen’s old spot in the order, Overbay has hit .318 (8-for-21) with two homers, five RBIs and seven runs. Over his last 11 games, Overbay has hit .344 with three homers, six RBIs, 10 runs and 10 walks. Going back even more, he’s hit .317 across his last 22 games, raising his average to .264 from .249.

“Any time he stays pretty aggressive, he’s a pretty good hitter,” Gaston said. “When he starts not being aggressive, he takes a lot of fastballs for strikes and swings at bad balls to punch out on. When he’s aggressive, he’s a better hitter. It’s just sometimes he doesn’t stay that way for a long time. It goes and comes with him.”

CITO ON HIS FUTURE: Gaston said today that he’s leaning toward not managing beyond next season, which is the final year of his contract with the Blue Jays. “I’m not even looking past 2010,” he said. “We’ll see what happens at the end of next year. If they offer me or they don’t offer me, either way it’s OK. I’ll make my decision, if I want to come back or if they want me back, or I say, ‘No, I want to do something else.’ A good job around is being an advisor, too. I could play a little more golf that way.”

LIND TO PLAY FIRST? “That’s not true,” Gaston said. There were rumors that the Blue Jays were going to send Adam Lind to instructional league to work on playing first base. It was being discussed internally, but now — with Alex Rios gone and Travis Snider in the plans as the right fielder — it has become a moot issue. With Rios off the books, Lyle Overbay is likely to remain the first baseman in 2010, the final year of his contract.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (54-58)
Fourth place AL East, 15.5 GB

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

Starter: LHP Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.66)

NEW YORK YANKEES (70-43)
First place AL East, — GB

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Hideki Matsui, DH
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Nick Swisher, 1B
8. Eric Hinske, RF
9. Melky Cabrera, CF

Starter: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-5, 3.67)

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

~JB

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There’s a new big man in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. Give a well-deserved welcome to Randy Ruiz, who has been mashing all season long with Triple-A Las Vegas and is today’s DH in the No. 6 spot for Toronto.

Ruiz — a 31-year-old career Minor Leaguer — definitely earned this promotion, which fills the spot that opened when the Jays sent Alex Rios to the White Sox on Monday. In 114 games with Vegas, Ruiz hit .320 with 25 homers and 106 RBIs.

As deserving as Ruiz is of this call-up, though, there’s still plenty of reason to wonder why Travis Snider wasn’t the one summoned. All Snider has done at Triple-A is hit 314 with a .654 slugging, belting 13 homers with 37 RBIs in 43 games.

The Blue Jays won’t come out and say it, but Snider is most likely being held in the Minors due to his service time. If Toronto — a team in fourth place and without a shot at the playoffs — were to call up Snider before around August 20, the club would risk having him becoming a Super Two player.

In short, this means that Snider would have a shot at earning an extra arbitration year, thus costing the Blue Jays more money in the long term. As a player, this is a frustrating way be kept in the Minors, knowing you’re playing well enough to be called up. As an organization not headed for the playoffs, it only makes sense.

“He’ll be up here some time in the near future,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said on Monday.

In the meantime, it’s hard not to root for a guy like Ruiz. Labeled as a career Minor Leaguer, and a good one at that, he has a chance to show the Blue Jays something over the rest of the season. Over his 11-year professional career, Ruiz has been cut 12 times in stints with nine different organizations before joining the Jays.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (54-57)
Fourth place AL East, 14.5 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, LF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Vernon Wells, CF
6. Randy Ruiz, DH
7. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Joe Inglett, RF

Starter: RHP Scott Richmond (6-6, 3.97)

NEW YORK YANKEES (69-43)
First place AL East, — GB

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Eric Hinske, RF
9. Melky Cabrera, CF

Starter: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-2, 3.73)

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

~JB

 Sorry for the delayed lineups, but Blue Jays announced shortly before the game that Alex Rios has been sent to the White Sox, who claimed him off waivers on Friday and will now assume his entire contract.

Just back from talking with GM J.P. Ricciardi and speaking briefly with Rios before he left the ballpark. More in a while…

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (53-57)
Fourth place AL East, 15.5 GB

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

Starter: LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 3.74)

NEW YORK YANKEES (69-42)
First place AL East, — GB

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Nick Swisher, RF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jorge Posada, DH
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Jerry Hairston Jr., LF
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Jose Molina, C

Starter: RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.50)

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

~JB

The good doctor needs some help. Ever since coming back from that pesky groin injury, Roy Halladay has not had much love from his offense. He takes the mound today against the O’s looking for win No. 12, but he can’t do it alone.

Consider…

Over Doc’s last seven starts, the man has logged 54 innings with two complete games and three outings in which he punched in for nine frames. He has compiled 48 strikeouts against eight walks, including no free passes issued to the last 73 batters he has faced.

Along the way, Halladay has thrown 68 percent of his pitches for strikes, fashioned a 1.31 grounder-to-flyball ratio and posted a 3.17 ERA (bloated by the fact that 7 ER came between innings 7-9 while Halladay tried to buy more time for his lineup to go to work).

For all of his work, Halladay has posted a 1-4 record over the last seven starts and the Jays have gone 1-6 in that span. Toronto has given Doc just 18 runs of support (2.6 per game) over that period with no more than three runs in each his last five trips up the hill.

It’s been very reminiscent of last season, when the Blue Jays gave Halladay just 23 runs to work with across his 11 losses. Today, the Orioles send rookie Brian Matusz (fourth overall pick in the 2008 Draft) to the mound as Doc’s opponent. Halladay has been great in his career against the O’s, going 19-4 with a 2.92 ERA, but he needs some assistance.

Today’s lineups:

BALTIMORE ORIOLES (46-64)
Fifth place AL East, 22.0 GB

1. Felix Pie, LF
2. Cesar Izturis, SS
3. Adam Jones, CF
4. Nick Markakis, RF
5. Aubrey Huff, 1B
6. Melvin Mora, 3B
7. Luke Scott, DH
8. Matt Wieters, C
9. Robert Andino, 2B

Starter: LHP Brian Matusz (1-0, 1.80)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (52-57)
Fourth place AL East, 15.5 GB

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

Starter: RHP Roy Halladay (11-5, 2.75)

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

~JB