>>>>>>>>< really big snip >
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>I have to admit. While the Jays are not tearing up the league, they sure have been a fun team to watch this year. And now that we have a for real center fielder in Colby Rasmus and a third basemand (not that Bautista doesn't play a terrific third, but he likes right field better and with his arm, that's where he belongs) in Brett Lawrie, this could be a pretty good looking team next year. All we need now is a bullpen. I think the fun has just started.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>That the Jays are over .500 in that division proves they are good. It's no treat competing against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays. What Toronto needs is a new division. Either of the other AL divisions would do. The Angels and Rangers are decent and that's the end of the story for the Central and West combined.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>This is probably going to sound really masochistic, but I don't want a different division. If you can do it in this division, then you've done something. I like it right here.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>It has diminished my enjoyment of baseball -- even though this season has been a renaissance -- that a handful of rich teams have such an unfair advantage. It's no guarantee, as any fan of the overspending and underachieving Cubs or Orioles can assure you. But year in and year out the Yankees and Red Sox, and now the Phillies, sign the highest profile free agents and scarf up the highest profile players at the July 31 roster deadline. Hunter Pence, who is already making a noticeable contribution to the Phillies, as if they needed it, is the latest example. God love Tamar but I hope the Phillies never win another game. Roy Halladay -- bought him. Roy Oswalt -- bought him. Cliff Lee -- bought him. Hunter Pence -- bought him. Is there a pattern here? At least the Giants' crappy hitters are home grown ;-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I can't speak for the others, but as far as Halladay is concerned, he signed for less than he could have had. He just really wanted to play in Philly. When he was with the Jays, he signed for less than market at least twice because they lied to him and said they were building a winning team.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>It wasn't until Anthopoulos took over that it became plausible. Real smart guy. And the payroll still leaves a lot in the bank just in case.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Yes, you are masochistic ;-)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Halladay's desire to play in Philly may prove wise. They are clearly the best team in baseball at the moment. It will shock me if anyone other than the Phillies, Yankees, or Red Sox win it. And I'm not that bullish on the Yankees.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If you don't live in New York, it is your job to hate the Yankees. This has been the job of non New Yorkers for decades, and it's no less our job now. You are allowed to like the odd player from time to time, but anything more than that is treason.
>>>>>
>>>>>Having spent about the first 40 years of my life as a passionate Red Sox fan, antipathy for the Yankees has always come naturally ;-)
>>>>
>>>>Me too. When I was a kid, we had a Triple-A team here in Toronto called the Maple Leafs (like the hockey team is now) and that team was a Boston farm club. Sparky Anderson was 2nd base. Shortstop too from time to time if I recall correctly.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Now there was a baseball guy. Like many of the best managers, he had a playing career but not an especially distinguished one. Second and short also seem to be fertile positions for future managers. (Conversely, I think we are still waiting for our first big league manager who was a DH ;-) )
>>>
>>>The Brewers continue to delight me. They waxed the Cardinals again here last night to open up a 5 game division lead. Of course no team stays as hot as the Brewers are (13 wins in their last 14 games) and they are a notably streaky team. There's still a lot of baseball to be played. Still, this has been a really nice season for them and I like where they're sitting now.
>>>
>>>There was an amusing moment in last night's game, Tony La Russa getting himself tossed in the 9th inning over a call at first base. Pure La Russa gamesmanship IMO. Fire up the troops. La Russa, BTW, had a brief playing career, a few years in the minors and 132 games in the bigs. He played second and shortstop and had a career batting average of .199. I have never particularly liked him -- cold as ice and an overmanager IMO -- but I certainly respect him. Earlier this season he managed his 5000th game in the majors. Run that one through the calculator a couple of times. That's over 30 seasons. The only other member of the 5000 club is Connie Mack, who managed until he was a very old man and may in fact still be managing in one of those places like Baltimore or Seattle where no one is paying attention.
>>
>>Baseball is still the best sport on the planet. But now it's time for me to get my white shirt on, get out to the center field stands and start stealing signals again. Little do they know I'm giving false information. That's why so many Jays have batting averages smaller than their hat sizes.
>
>I was going to bring up that story from espn.com but am making a point to be nice ;-) Of course I have no way of knowing but it made the story seem credible that major league players claimed to have seen signs stolen by fans in the Jays' bleachers (albeit anonymously) and the striking disparity between home and road offensive stats. Something about Jose Bautista's home run stats sets off a red flag for me. Just a suspicion. I stress that I have no proof.

The Toronto Star printed comparison stats for Teixeira, Granderson, and Bautista - home and away, and they all do better at home. And all by about the same percentages. To me that's perfectly natural. You've got to be more comfortable at home. J.P. Arencebia said it best. I don't have the exact quote, but it was something like, did anybody think he'd be hitting .200 if he was getting stolen signals.

The White Sox; what a sad bunch.

>
>Ripped from today's headlines --
>
>http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/7008485-574/jays-slugger-jose-bautista-says-white-sox-pitcher-threatened-him.html
>
>Cardinals fans are falling apart here, or at least the sportswriters are. I try to look at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch web site once a day and the guy who seems to be their lead sports columnist wrote that tonight's game is a must-win game for the Cards. Get a grip, dude.