Feisty '02 team/
Lost mojo. Tried to recoup/
With pricey shopping

Welcome to tha' O.C.! Our 2004 Preview Series now turns to the suddenly free-spending Anaheim Angels.

Today I vow that any Black Sabbath references I make will not look like I'm taking shots at Jays broadcasters. No offence was intended, Mr. Cheek!

Time for some Jays articles!

Mlb radio is broadcasting the first two hours of the Jays-Pirates tilt. The first 5 Jays have reached in the first, but Noah Hall was gunned down at the plate on a Josh Phelps double - the Jays lead 2 zip. Top pitching prospect Dustin McGowan gets the start.

Tom and Jerry and Mike are broadcasting the Dunedin affair versus the Yankees. That game is available to Gameday Audio subscribers. I am one, but since I am completely boycotting the Yankees (and this is not the last you'll hear of it, although there is no cabal) this year, I'll be listening to the Pirates-Jays game.

Not Your Father's Cardinals

In the summer of 1961, if it was daylight, I was playing ball. Most nights, I pretended to be asleep while listening to broadcasts on the earphone of my transistor radio and reading by flashlight about the Pastime and its history. I was a good reader for an eight-year-old, and there weren't enough books in the local library to satisfy my curiosity about Ruth, Cobb and DiMaggio. I liked aggressive players and "characters," so the Gashouse Gang had special appeal.

Fun fun fun in the Batter's Box!

Baseball's version of Ahasuerus will continue to wander in 2004.

I try. I hunger!

Thanks to the miracle of technology and the relatively advanced state of sabermetrics, evaluating a pool of ballplayers statistically, even one as large and disparate as the NCAA, has become pretty easy if you want to pour in the skull sweat, and can find the data.

I am expecting to win a coffee at "Roll Up The Rim" one of these days.

Whisper it, but maybe you can rebuild in the Big Apple.

The unbeaten Blue Jays take on the Yankees in Tampa this afternoon, and it's on Sportsnet. Yesterday, the Bombers delighted a crowd of more than 10,000 by beating the Phillies 7-5 on a Jason Giambi grand slam. Alex Rodriguez looked great at third -- who would have expected anything else? -- and Gary Sheffield threw out a runner at the plate.

It's also spring training for the broadcast crew, so I'll go easy on them today. If you're not in range of the TV, you can listen live on The FAN 590, where the pregame show begins at 12:30 with Tom, Jerry and Mike.

When Joe Jackson wrote "You Can't Get What You Want ('Til You Know What You Want)", we doubt he had the Pittsburgh Pirates in mind. The team could never decide if wanted to try for one last gasp at a division title, or rebuild. In trying to meet both goals, it accomplished neither. The team has averaged a 71-91 record over the last 6 seasons and has finished higher than fourth only once since 1998.

A circumstance when you make your dreams. A song you've heard dozens of times although you may not realize it. Here are some Jays articles, however, that should be new to you:

"We think this is our worst club over the next five years. You'd better beat us now." -- A's General Manager Billy Beane, after his club lost to the Yankees in five games in the 2000 ALDS.

"I beg to differ." -- Hack writer John Gizzi, March 5, 2004.

The 2004 Oakland A's: 20 Questions With John Gizzi (JG) and an Anonymous Interviewer (AI)

Someone leans in my direction, quizzing on my story selection