Is it too soon to proclaim the Athletics as the present day 1969 Mets? After several years of struggle, Oakland has suddenly and unexpectedly produced a high quality baseball team. As I write, they are on the verge of sweeping the Rangers and winning the division over the team that has led the AL West almost from wire to wire.

Ben Francisco hardly got into a game during his half-season in Toronto. Nevertheless, he’s starting in right field for the Tampa Bay Rays as they squaring off against the White Sox in Chicago, facing elimination. The Rays have handed the ball to David Price, while the White Sox, currently two games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, are starting Jose Quintana. The Tigers are in Minnesota with Anibal Sanchez and Liam Hendriks on the mound.

The Jays have 69 wins with six games left, three more against the Yankees and three with the Twins. But this team is not going quietly into the night, Omar Vizquel created a brouhaha today with some comments.

Chad Jenkins starts today in a big test for him. Jenkins is likely to start in the last game of the season against the Twins. He could do well in that game, the Twins will be hacking to get out of town ASAP and Jenkins sinker could be hit into the ground again and again.

Baseball America has begun listing the top 20 prospects from each minor league.  The Arizona Rookie League was yesterday and today we see two Blue Jays in the GCL top 20.  BA will also have a chat following each list.  This thread will list all the Blue Jays making the lists over the next couple of weeks.

	GCL	Appy	NW	MidWest	FSL	EL	PCL
	#3 - DJ Davis, CF #12 - Alberto Tirado, RHP	#8 - Roberto Osuna, rhp #10 - Santiago Nessy, c #14 - Daniel Norris, lhp	#20 - Taylor Cole, rhp	#5 - Noah Syndergaard, rhp #6 - Aaron Sanchez, rhp #11 - Justin Nicolino, lhp	#11 - Jake Marisnick, CF	#9 - Jake Marisnick, CF	#2 - Travis d'Arnaud, CA #8 - Anthony Gose, CF #14 - Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
Webster Awards	Alberto Tirado, RHP	Christian Lopes, 2B/SS	Javier Avendano, RHP	Justin Nicolino, LHP	Daniel Barnes, RHP	Ryan Goins, SS/2B	Adeiny Hechavarria, SS

The Jays win, the Jays win, the-e-e-e-e Jays win!   Ricky Romero got a win, his first since June.  I believe that puts the Romero plus Morrow combined win total since June at three.  The Jays are playing out the string and the commentary suggests it gives the Jays a chance to look at the kids.  well they are getting a good look, but it doesn't give us a lot of hope for the start of 2013.

Meanwhile Shi Davidi has a three parter on what happened with Travis Snider and there are some good insider stories in part one.

You've all noticed that the Orioles have played .750 ball (27-9) in one-run games this season?

At this point, we can be pretty certain of the identities of nine of the ten teams that will proceed to the post-season. The murkiest situation is in the AL Central, where the White Sox hold a two game lead on the Tigers. However, all but one of Detroit's remaining games are against Minnesota and Kansas City. The White Sox have to play the Angels and Tampa Bay seven times before this thing is over. I wouldn't count the Tigers out just yet.

The Blue Jays, after a rainout on Tuesday in New York, get ready to battle the Yankees in a doubleheader on Wednesday before the series finale on Thursday.  They will be without shortstop Yunel Escobar, who has been suspended for three games after having a homophobic slur on his eye black during this past Saturday's home game against Boston.


Yunel Escobar, between Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo and Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, after an RBI single at the Dome April 11.  Will Escobar be back in Toronto next season after this recent controversy?

The new Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays is the Buffalo Bisons.  The Buffalo News reports that the two sides have signed off on a two-year Player Development Contract for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

Buster T. Bison and his ball club welcome Toronto with open arms, marking the return of the Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate to the International League after a four-year absence.

At last, at long last, the end is here. The third and final installment of The Replacements, which covers all the relief pitchers who were added to the roster in mid-season.

Doug Davis is the Blue Jays minor league field coordinator.  As usual Doug joins us at the end of the season to share some insights on players. The Jays have a lot of younger prospects in the lower levels and that's where most of my questions went.

Congratulations to the regular season champs: W-A-M-C-O in the Alomar Division, Yonge St Bomber in Barfield and the Chilean Grasshoppers in Carter. .

The end is near. It's part two of the Replacements. This installment covers the starting pitchers who were called into service after the season was underway.

The Buffalo News is reporting the International League's Buffalo Bisons are talking to the Jays about becoming its new Triple-A affiliate in 2013.  Sunday marked the first day that major league and minor league teams could hold discussions about new Player Development Contracts.

The Blue Jays could have its Triple-A prospects playing at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo for at least the next two seasons if they reach an affiliation agreement with the Bisons this week.

And now we look at the Replacements, the men who were summoned to join the team in mid-season.