Terry Mulholland is already looking forward to pitching again in the World Series. He's not so excited about pitching in Toronto, though.
Mulholland, the winning pitcher Sunday night in Game 2, began his warmup routine in the bullpen later than usual because he didn't like the mound."The mound out there is primarily clay, and I like to have dirt to kick around," Mulholland said. "With some dirt on the mound I feel a lot better because my back foot releases off the rubber easier."
The real mound at SkyDome wasn't much better, he said.
"That mound is also primarily clay, so I was looking for some dirt to kick around again," he said. "But I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for my control. You go out and do the job on the surface you are given."
Mulholland lasted 52/3 innings in Philadelphia's 6-4 win over Toronto. He walked two, including Rickey Henderson to lead off the first inning, and gave up seven hits and three runs.
Mulholland said his goal going into the series was to win two games. His next start would probably come in Game 6.
DH DEBATE: Decision day on designated hitter Paul Molitor is getting closer for Toronto manager Cito Gaston. He must decide by Game 3 Tuesday night what to do with Molitor when the World Series moves to Philadelphia.
There has been talk that Molitor will be switched to third base, replacing Ed Sprague, or perhaps to first base in place of AL batting champion John Olerud.
"I'm probably not going to do it until Tuesday afternoon. I want to take the next 48 hours to go over all the possibilities," Gaston said Sunday night before Game 2. "Even then, you're not sure that you're going to get it right."
Olerud batted .363 during the regular season and .348 in the AL playoffs. He hit .291 during the year against left-handers, and the Blue Jays will face lefty Danny Jackson in Game 3.
Last year, Olerud was benched in the World Series when the Blue Jays made room for DH Dave Winfield, putting him in right field and moving Joe Carter to first base.
TIME OUT: After playing 3 hours, 27 minutes in Game 1, the Phillies and Blue Jays took 3:35 to finish Game 2. The middle three games of the series are scheduled to start at 8:12 p.m. EDT; the times were moved up because CBS-TV did not want to bump the starting times of David Letterman's show.
CANADIAN CLUB: Blue Jays outfielder Rob Butler is the first Canadian on a World Series roster since Boston pitcher Reggie Cleveland in 1975. Butler is from East York, a borough of Toronto. Cleveland was from Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
There have been just five Canadians on World Series winners.