Violence

The last time the Minnesota Twins played the Blue Jays, it was July 8th. Toronto belted five home runs that evening -- one of them by Jose Bautista, his 23rd of the season  -- en route to an 8-1 victory. Thursday night, three months later at beautiful Target Field in downtown Minneapolis, Cito's armed forces did one better. Six bombs, two of them from Bautista, his 53rd and 54th; his 29th and 30th home runs since the All-Star break.

Since that very All-Star break, the Toronto Blue Jays have hit more home runs -- 117 -- than the Seattle Mariners (100), Oakland Athletics (102), and Houston Astros (107) have hit all season, and as many as the Los Angeles Dodgers. I feel like we should be passing around cigars, or something. I know, an inordinate amount of home runs aren't the playoffs, but that doesn't mean they can't be celebrated. Because the numbers are frankly ridiculous.

From La Velle E. Neal III, in the Minnesota Star Tribune:

"On Thursday night at Target Field, [Francisco] Liriano suffered from a malady that most pitchers get when facing Toronto, the most powerful team in baseball."

The Toronto Blue Jays, the most powerful team in baseball. Say it again: The most powerful team in baseball. It sounds better when somebody else says it, but I like it. It's got a nice bloody ring to it.

More from Mr. Neal III:

"The Blue Jays' six homers gave them 253 for the season, the fourth most in history. That included two by soon-to-be AL home run king Jose Bautista, who has 54 this season. He homered to the opposite field for the first time this season and became the second player to homer into the third deck at Target Field with a grand slam in the seventh inning."

Jose Bautista, American League Home Run King. Jesus, I love the sound of that. And, take note: Bautista doesn't just hit home runs into the third deck, he hits grand slams. That's just how he rolls. Bautista bullied Twins pitching last night, forcing the shell-shocked home side to pick on DeWayne Wise.

If you read some of the comments to the Star Tribune article, a vulnerable Twinkies fan base is, well, losing their shit. And the way innocent baseballs were flying out of what's supposed to be a pitcher's haven, I can't blame them. The Blue Jays were ruthlessly violent Thursday night, even prompting Pat Tabler to say that Travis Snider "gangstered all over" his 8th inning bomb. Now, I'm pretty sure "gangstered" is not a word, but that's exactly what Snider did. Props to Tabler. He's finishing the season strong.

As is the aforementioned Snider. If Bautista taught us anything last year, it's that September matters. Snider's line in 24 September games, and 92 at-bats: .304/.319/.543. Six home runs, and 9 RsBI. Sure, Travis has struck out 24 times, but you can't help but coo at that .543 slugging percentage. More importantly, a .371 September wOBA, and 134 wRC+.

The home run record is held by Seattle, 264 in 1997. Toronto needs 11 to tie, in three games. Nothing about this team, especially that record falling, would surprise me anymore.

"I never get tired of seeing them," said Cito Gaston.

Me either, Cito. Me either. And I'm going to miss the bombs over the winter.

Image courtesy Carlos Gonzalez, Minnesota Star Tribune.

They grow up so fast ...

When, many years from now, we look back upon the career of Ricky Romero, I have a feeling we'll turn the page to his performance Tuesday night in the Bronx. For it was masterful; poignant. A young pitcher, doubted by so many for so long, coming of age on baseball's brightest stage.

How's this: Romero two-hits the star-studded New York Yankees; Travis Snider (among others) deposits a changeup into Yankee Stadium's right-centre field bullpen; and Yunel Escobar ends the game with a defensive gem from the hole at short.

Yeah, I can get used to that, too.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 56-51, yet here I am, asking you to pinch me.

And don't look now, but Cito's boys are playing 1.000 baseball when Adam Lind gets the start at first base. Undefeated, yo.

27 Outs: Toronto

The picture above comes to you courtesy of Fuck Yeah Toronto, who are absolutely correct when they say: "Because if you don't love Toronto, you probably have no soul."

Shall we?

1. Jose Bautista, the talk of the town, is on pace, after hitting another home run Sunday afternoon, to finish with 49 round-trippers. That would be two more than George Bell's team-record 47, way back in 1987. If JoBau does indeed set the new Blue Jays standard, his season will have to go down in memory as the most unexpected in Toronto sports history. I for one am delighted he wasn't moved, and is still a Toronto Blue Jay.

2. You know who doesn't get enough love? Pitching coach guru Bruce Walton. I'll be honest: I don't miss Brad Arnsberg at all. And I definitely thought I would.

3. I'm undecided, for his last home game as The Manager on Wednesday, September 29, between a simple, and to the point, "Thanks Cito" sign, or one that reads "CitoCity Forever."

4. I can't believe we're already in August. And you know what's going to suck about this month? The fact the Blue Jays have to face, in this order, the: New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland A's, Red Sox, Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Rays. As of today, the morning of August 2nd, none of those teams are under the .500 mark. The Angels are a game over, and the Tigers and A's are both 52-52. The month will be an interesting barometer moving forward, that's for sure.

5. The Houston Astros traded their Roy. And I imagine Astros fans are feeling like we did when we traded ours. Our condolences, National League friends; we know what you're going through.

6. I like to think that when both Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman were dealing with the Astros, and making their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, they were channeling their inner Clay Davis: "You think I have time to ask a man why he giving me money? Or where he gets his money from? I'll take any motherfucker's money if he givin' it away!" I'm not so sure I like this new baseball world, where money has to be traded in addition to the talents of the likes of Roy Halladay, Berkman, and Oswalt.

7. Want: Berkman to bomb in Yankees pinstripes. Nothing personal, just business.

8. Do not want: Alex Rodriguez to hit number 600 against Toronto.

9. If Jesse Litsch and Brian Tallet don't pitch for the Blue Jays in 2011, or ever again, I won't be mad.

10. Brett Wallace for Anthony Gose; the trade. A stunning example, when you consider it was a prospect-for-prospect trade, of how much blogs, and the internet in general, have changed the game. Wallace, who never played a game for the Toronto Blue Jays, was, the day he was dealt, already a household name. He was the "first-baseman of the future;" prospect porn of the highest order. The new Vivid star, so to speak. I saw him play, back in May, out in Las Vegas. He went 1-for-3 with a double, and a run scored. What impressed me most about Wallace, however, was his taste in music, choosing to walk up to bat to T.I.'s "I'm Back." We'll keep track of what he gets up to while we wait for Anthony Gose. The only 19-years-old and playing in A-ball Anthony Gose. The young man who has been compared to Carl Crawford. At the end of the day: I have complete faith in Alex Anthopoulos. He's already earned it, in his first season on the job. If Gose was his man, Gose is now my man. The higher the ceiling, the higher the reward.

11. A hearty thank you to my man @AnswerDave for this gem: #gosefacekillah.

12. Welcome back, Travis Snider. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

13. David Purcey pitched another scoreless inning Sunday afternoon. Yes, I did just use "David Purcey," "pitched," "another," and "scoreless inning" in the same sentence. Believe it. In 22.1 frames this season, the former first-round pick, drafted 16th overall in 2004, is sporting a tidy 1.61 ERA, and 0.94 WHIP. Yeah, the WHIP blows me away, too. I mean, it's Purcey. He's struck out 19, and hasn't walked a batter in his last six appearances. More impressive: his .207 BABIP (which he will no doubt have trouble maintaining), and 3.77 FIP. May he never start another ball game again.

14. Lyle Overbay's July numbers: .301/.369/.527, along with five home runs and 12 RsBI. And he hit .282, with a .378 OBP, in June, too. If he keeps this up, I have to believe Anthopoulos will at least make him an offer to stick around. After the type of season Adam Lind has had, I'm not sure how wise it would be to simply hand him the keys to first base.

15. If Overbay is a Blue Jay next season, here's what the 2010 team looks like to these eyes: Fred Lewis, Vernon Wells and Snider, left to right in the outfield. Overbay at first, Aaron Hill at second, Yunel Escobar at short, Bautista at third, Lind the designated hitter, and J.P. Arencibia behind the plate. (I doubt John Buck would agree to platoon, so Jose Molina could be brought back, even though he'd get a few too many at-bats for my liking.) Under the assumption that Hill and Lind learn how to hit again, I don't mind if Anthopoulos doesn't dip a toe into the free agency waters; I'm fine with the build from within, and through trades, philosophy. And while it will surely be an agonizing decision whether to remove Bautista's arm from the outfield, what other options does the team have?

16. Yunel Escobar certainly knows how to make a great first impression. In 14 games as a Blue Jay, he has swept a collective city off its feet.

17. Want to know what the guys on the farm are up to? Check out the latest from The Southpaw, in their Monthly Prospect Review for July.

18. The Ack's working this long weekend over at The Tao Of Stieb, and chimes in on Kyle Drabek, whom we all hope will never, ever pitch in the Pacific Coast League.

19. Switching gears, how bloody ironic is it when Hedo Turkoglu says the Toronto Raptors organization "has problems"? Or that "nobody wants to go to Toronto," a year after he hand-picked the place? Much like after watching him play for a year, all I could think after reading the Turkish wonder's comments was: That's the best he can do?

20. I own a Chris Bosh jersey. I plan to cover up the "SH" in BOSH with tape, and add a couple more Os using a marker. Yes: BOOO. I'm glad, though, that he came on Canadian television to clarify his comments about Toronto being "different." How else would I have figured out that Toronto is part of a whole other country that is not the United States? Thanks, Chris. Enjoy Miami. And it's waffles.

21. I can't believe I'm about to make this comparison, but Bryan Colangelo heading into the final season of his contract as Raptors general manager reminds me too much of John Ferguson Jr.'s final few months as general manager of the Maple Leafs. How the hell did it come to this? Either give him an extension, or replace him now.

22. Andrea Bargnani will, like me, not miss Chris Bosh, and have a monster 2010/2011.

23. Finally, the Leafs. The fucking Maple Leafs. A few people have recently tried to convince me that the three-year, $9 million contract Toronto generously signed Colby Armstrong with is not a bad one. These people are wrong. These people are idiots. Armstrong is nothing more than a third-line winger, and I'd pick Alexander Frolov, and Alexei Ponikarovsky, over him eight days of the week. Heart, and grit, and -- for the love of God -- truculence, do not score goals.

24. If the team doesn't kill penalties at a success rate of at least 80%, Ron Wilson should be fired. Seriously.

25. If the team finishes in the draft lottery, again, Brian Burke should be fired. And a 15-year-moratorium on trading first-round draft picks should be introduced.

26. The window through which Burke can trade Tomas Kaberle without his approval is set to close in less than two weeks. Tomas might make it, after all.

27. The Toronto Argos are ... Yeah, right.

Brandon League a Mariner? Yep, League's a Mariner

UPDATE #7: (2:27 pm) According to the Drunks, Chavez was ranked Toronto's #1 prospect by The Hardball Times.

Chavez, from Tumero, Venezuela, had a very successful year in Lansing this season putting up a .283 AVG, .346 OBP, .474 SLG. As an international free agent, he was signed to a $2 million contract in 2006.

UPDATE #6: Rumour has Johermyn Chavez pegged as "the prospect." I have no idea who he is. Which is bloody awesome!!1

Rumours are flying around Twitter late tonight (12:15 am) that It's true: Alex Anthopoulos and the Toronto Blue Jays have acquired Brandon Morrow from the Seattle Mariners for Brandon League, and a prospect. Who that prospect is, I (still, at 2:40 am) have zero fucking idea. Nobody does at this point. David Cameron, from the reputable USS Mariner, has speculated that it might be Brett Wallace, which doesn't make sense to me, otherwise he would have went Seattle's way in the three-team Roy Halladay trade and it's not.

But let's hold on a second here. I'm losing focus. What you need to do right now is pray for our good friend Lloyd the Barber from Ghostrunner on First. First Doc. Now League. They were right: life isn't fair. If you read GoF, and I assume you do, you know how highly we, the community, think of League.

Moving along: Brandon Morrow. Everyone and their mother is high on this kid. He strikes out a ton of batters, and walks plenty of them as well. I'm sure he'll get along great with The Manager. At the end of the day, as long as "the prospect" isn't Brett Wallace or Travis Snider, we're good. (Except for Drew. Sorry mate.)

In a perfect world, the prospect is Lyle Overbay. He was huge in 2006. Tremendous upside, and he's a Washington boy!1

Here's what the 2010 Blue Jays rotation looks like:

Ricky Romero

Shaun Marcum

Brett Cecil

Brandon Morrow

Marc Rzepczynski

A good left-right mix, with Scott Richmond as the long-man, and Brian Tallet back in the bullpen where he belongs.

Here's what we know for certain: Alex Anthopoulos is doing work. He's putting his stamp on this team.

Playoffs!!1

UPDATE: Here's David Cameron with some insight on Brandon Morrow ...

Plus fastball, inconsistent curve, minus minus command. Has potential, still needs a lot of work. A.J. Burnett upside. But in terms of development, he's basically a Triple-A starter. Very raw.

Burnett is dead to me, so fuck him. But there's nothing wrong with raw talent. It's a good thing this team's got one Roy Halladay, and Brad Arnsberg, to teach Morrow the ropes. Oh ...

UPDATE #2: My man @dlbrows posted the following link on Twitter, from The Mockingbird, about Brandon League and his 97 MPH sinker. You know, the pitch nobody else in baseball throws. If this rumoured trade is fact, League will be sorely missed around these parts, no matter how good Morrow is. To these eyes, he was always the closer of the future.

UPDATE #3: I hope "the prospect" is not R-Zep. It can't be R-Zep.

UPDATE #4: The Seattle Times's Geoff Baker believes in Brandon League.

UPDATE #5: (1:38 am) It's not Wallace. We knew this already. Because there was no way that was happening in the first place. But it's good to know know.

"Don't even look. It's Gone."

Win #66, in game #145, might have been the best one yet. Think about it. A Roy Halladay victory in New York. Five home runs, two by Travis Snider. Adam Lind officially joining the 30 HR/100 RsBI club. And, best of all: donneybrook!1

I could go on: Brett Cecil's body shot; Cito Gaston, ready to throw down; 5-10 John McDonald, all up in this bitch like he's 6-4; the priceless look on Ricky Romero's face.

For one night, the Toronto Blue Jays were again fun to watch. Ridiculous as it may sound, I love a good brawl on the diamond. I needed yesterday to happen. I'd been waiting for it.

By the time the dust settled in the 8th inning, I'd forgiven Jesse Carlson for his subpar 2009. For once, a Toronto Blue Jays pitcher stood up for his hitters. And it was beautiful. It's one thing for Randy Ruiz to get hit, in the face no less, by a Josh Towers whatever-he-throws. It's another for Edwin Encarnacion to get plunked. But no team, especially not our AL East rival, puts a ball to the back of Lighthouse Hill without retribution. For far too long had the Jays been pushed around without shoving back. And let no one tell you otherwise; it's always more fun to push back against the Yankees.

Somebody, please, a contract for Rod Barajas; .273 OBP and all.

In the end, yes, we're all glad no one was seriously hurt. More importantly, all of Toronto is hoping Jorge Posada's feelings aren't damaged beyond repair. A ball being thrown behind him; imagine! Poor baby. Rod Black's most epic call of the season - "Don't even look. It's gone." - rings true not only to the absolute bomb Snider hit to right field last night, but also to the respect I once had for Jorge.

And, yes, I will continue to believe that Johnny Mac's left to the side of Joe Girardi's head was no accident. It makes the tale that much better.

"It's a beautiful thing. Especially since Carlson didn't leave the dugout when he was ejected. Showing off the welt on his head in great pride, while Jorge was in the back crying and shaking uncontrollably. I would have liked to see Wells run up on A-riod [sic] with a bat and just crack him in the back of the knee. Two problems solved, no more A-roid, and no more Wells. There's always tomorrow...."

- AE, commenter at Drunk Jays Fans

UPDATE: The lovely and talented Joanna from Hum and Chuck has video up of the fight. Go and relive it. In all its glory.

They're back...

You can't see it in that picture*, but Jesse Litsch, along with his epic gut, has man-breasts.

It's great to see that Litsch has come to spring training in the best shape of his life, ready to seize the opportunity to become the number two man in the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation, behind the one and only Roy Halladay.

Truthfully, Litsch's gut and tits don't bother me in the least right now. Not even his rotund figure can deter the optimism that reigns supreme in February.

In stark contrast, The Beej looks great, doesn't he? I can hardly wait to see his first fist pump of the season after he closes out a game. Between B.J. and Jason Blake, the fist pump is enjoying a tremendous revival in Toronto.

Seriously, though, look at Litsch's smile. It just about rivals mine. The boys of summer are back.

And the Blue Jays are winning the pennant.

*A hearty tip of the hat to Ian over at The Blue Jay Hunter for letting me post that pic. It's a beauty. Head on over to his site, and add it to the RSS reader of your choice. Ian does yeoman's work, and even brings Blue Jays heads together for a weekly chat to talk about the upcoming season. And, by "talk about the upcoming season," I mean: Doc's winning the Cy Young, Travis Snider is winning AL Rookie of the Year, and Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Lyle Overbay and Scott Rolen are all going to have monster 2009s. Playoffs.

Until 2009

First of all, fuck you, Dustin Pedroia.

Look at that smug little grin on his face. What an asshole. I'm off Pedroia. Huge.

My apologies, but I had to get that out of the way.

Well, it's all over for the 2008 edition of

our Toronto Blue Jays. We went into Boston needing to take at least three of four, and we got only one. My dream of a Jays' playoff berth has been stored away in its regular place - the depths of my soul - for another winter.

It was a most disappointing weekend, but I'm not going to shit on my team. I'm not going to shit on the offence, or the bullpen - especially my man crush Scott Downs. I'm not going to complain that the Jays, as a team, weren't able to get it done when it mattered most. Instead, I'm going to focus on the positives, and the fact that this team, left for dead so long ago, had me on the edge of my seat watching meaningful baseball in mid September.

I will, however, shit all over the umpires, and Bartolo Colon.

Shitting All Over the Umpires, and Bartolo Colon

I don't know about you, but I thought David Ortiz's slide in the 7th inning of Saturday night's game - a crushing and demoralizing defeat in which the Jays blew a 5-2 lead and lost 7-5 - was bush league. He went cleats up dangerously into Marco Scutaro's leg on what was easily a double play ball. Scoot, obviously, wasn't able to make the play and the Red Sox scored a huge run in the process. Where was the interference call? Where was Ortiz's ejection for his reckless slide? Where was the mother fucking umpire? If that wasn't interference, I'm not sure what is. Oh, and fuck you, Big Papi.

In yesterday's game, Lyle Overbay was robbed of a double in the 9th inning when he was called out by the douchebag second base umpire, whose name I'm too lazy to look up. As you can see in the picture above by the vein ready to explode in Overbay's neck, and the incredibly homosexual smile on Pedroia's face, Overbay was safely in there, and replays proved it. Overbay would have been on third base with only one out in the inning had the correct call been made. Of course, we ended up losing the game by just a run. Fuck you, douchebag second base umpire.

And, seriously, how much of a fatty is Bartolo Colon? His neck has its own zip postal code. Motha sucka clearly has never heard of a stationary bike, or a treadmill.

The Positives

The starting pitching was pretty dope all weekend. David Purcey battled on Friday night, without his best stuff. Jesse Litsch started on three days rest and gave it his all on Saturday night, giving up three earned runs in five and a third innings. The kids were alright, man, and I'm proud of 'em.

If A.J. Burnett does walk as a free agent this summer, and he most surely will, Saturday afternoon is how I want to remember him. Pitching on three days rest the night after the Jays lost the series opener, Burnett was filthy. As The Ack so aptly put it with only a picture, "Nails."

Travis. Mother. Fuckin. Snider. He homered and doubled on Saturday afternoon, driving in five runs, and added another RBI in the nightcap. He gave notice to the Red Sox and their fans that he has, at only 20 years old, arrived, and is for real. As I like to say, Travis Snider is the truth. For guys like Adam Lind and Sniderman (hat tip to the The Ack, who coined that awesome nickname), the future is tremendously bright.

Some jackass in the comments section over at The Tao of Stieb, who doesn't even have the balls to leave his name, made the utterly foolish assertion that because Roy Halladay lost to the White Sox on Wednesday and to the Red Sox yesterday, "he is not a big game pitcher." It gets better: "Right now, Lester is the better pitcher and beat Halladay."

Doc gave up six hits and two earned runs in seven innings against the defending World Series champions, in Fenway Park. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter. But he's not a big game pitcher. And Jon Lester is better than him. You see, this is the type of nonsensical bullshit we have to put up with here in Toronto. I hate to use the word retarded, you know, for politically correct reasons, but that anonymous commenter over at The Tao of Stieb is, well, retarded.

In Defense of Downs

Watching Scott Downs fall flat on his face while the Red Sox scored the winning run on Saturday night, and essentially silenced our faint playoff hopes in the process, was gut-wrenching. He was tagged for three runs, and the loss, in the type of game he's been money in all year long.

The bullpen has been so strong all year, with Downs leading the charge. Saturday night was one lead they couldn't hold on to, and I can't find it in me to be down on the guys. No way. The pen is one of the main reasons why the Jays were able to make something of this season, and they deserve better than a public flogging from me.

As for Downs, it turns out he didn't heed the advice of trainers and doctors when he rolled his ankle a month ago on August 13th. Since his return from a week off after the injury, Downs has struggled, and it was the same ankle that led to his most inopportune, and embarrassing, fielding mishap. But I'm going to give props to Downs for playing hurt. He wanted to be out there for his team, and I can't be mad at him for that. I still have mad man love for Scotty Downs.

Looking Forward

With only 12 games left on the schedule, and an 80-70 record, the Jays need to finish strong and look to 2009. Selfishly, I want 90 wins. Ten out of twelve. It's a tall order, but I've got faith in these guys. They've proved over the last two months that they can play with anybody in the American League. 90 wins won't be enough to quiet the J.P. Ricciardi haters out there but, really, how do you fire the general manager of a team with 90 wins in the AL East? I don't think you do. Stay tuned, a Ricciardi inspired post entitled "One More Year" is coming down the pipe.

With twelve games left to play, both Burnett and Halladay will get at least two more starts. They've both got 18 wins, and it would be quite a way for A.J. to go out if both he and Doc can get to 20 wins. They've been the best one-two punch in the American League this year and I'll always be left to wonder just how scary their combination would have looked in a playoff series. For shame.

I'll be watching the final twelve games of the season with interest because this is a good baseball team. A playoff team. I truly believe that. As Mike Wilner was so kind enough to point out, the Jays' fate was determined not this weekend, but in April and June, when they went a combined 21-33. For the rest of the season, the Blue Jays sport an impressive record of 59-37. So when you hear or read someone say that Doc isn't a big-game pitcher, or that the Jays choked, take it for what it is: bullshit. This season was not lost when we couldn't close the gap in the wild card race to 7.5 games with 12 games left to play. It was lost early on in the year, when we couldn't beat the Royals, Mariners, Indians and Athletics of the baseball world.

In the end, the hole the Jays dug themselves was simply too deep to climb out of. But it was exciting as fuck to watch them do everything they could to try.

See you in 2009, with bells on, Massholes.

Remember...

To vote for Tom Cheek. Please and thanks.

Who Said Playing Spoiler Isn't Fun?

The Blue Jays are relishing the role of spoiler. They completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins last night, giving the Twinkies' playoff aspirations a big "fuck you" in the process.

It was a most entertaining series. On Tuesday, the Jays rallied from behind, erased a 5-1 deficit and won the game 7-5. And you know how they did it? By hitting home runs. Three of them. In the same game. Back-to-back jacks from Alex Rios and Jose Bautista (his was a two-run shot), and a two-run bomb from Lyle Overbay. As the cherry on top of my home run sundae, B.J. Ryan pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning for the save. Unbelievable, I know. When I woke up on Wednesday, I kid you not, it felt like Christmas morning. It just felt great to be alive.

On Wednesday night, A.J. Burnett pitched well enough to win, but the bullpen couldn't hold the 3-0 lead. In a 3-3 game in the 9th inning, The Beej allowed the Twins to plate their fourth run. Once again, however, the Jays refused to go quietly into the night. And they were led by the young phenom - the savior, the franchise - Travis Snider. Snider tied up the game in the bottom of the 9th with a clutch base hit, his third of the game, off uber closer Joe Nathan, who entered the game with a nasty 1.11 ERA and 36 saves. It was an inspiring plate appearance from the 20-year-old, especially considering he fell behind in the count.

In the 11th inning, John McDonald provided the dramatics, walk-off style, and the Jays were once again victorious. The Tao of Stieb put it best: "Oh, and don't forget Johnny McDonald driving in the winning run. That's always good for the soul." You're damn right it is, Tao.

Last night, Jesse Litsch was unhittable, going the distance on a four-hitter. Whatever Litsch worked on when he was sent down to the 'Cuse, it's working. In 28 and 2/3 innings since his recall, he's allowed only 3 earned runs. That's pretty damn impressive. Hopefully my boy Shaun Marcum can parlay his demotion into similar results.

I mentioned Travis Snider's performance on Wednesday, but he was even better yesterday. He clocked his first career big league home run, to deep centre field no less, and finished 3-for-3 on the night with 2 RsBI and a walk. I know, it's only been four games, but the kid is batting .467. If he's not causing your cock to stir a little bit in your pants, you might need one of those blue pills.

Some housekeeping:

Vernon Wells hit home run number 16 last night, in game number 86. He hit 16 home runs in 149 games in 2007. I think it's safe to say that his shoulder really was fucked up last season, hence the dramatic drop in power. It's looking more and more likely that he will reach the 20 home run mark this season, and that's impressive because of all the time he's missed. It will also help me to sleep better at night, knowing that at least one Blue Jay finished with 20 or more jacks.

Over the long weekend, David Eckstein played his final game for the Toronto Blue Jays, as he was traded to the land of the rising sun. I never got to say goodbye, so I thought I'd take a moment. I don't think Eck got a fair shake in Toronto once The Gastonian one arrived. Not that I blame Cito, who is, like the rest of us, clearly a Johnny Mac fan. But Eckstein never complained about his diminished playing time or his role on the team. As Mike Wilner was kind enough to point out, Eck put up numbers almost idential to his career stats. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. So there's no hard feelings. He was a gamer and, by all accounts, one of the classier guys around. Cheers, Eck. Stay scrappy.