Yesterday it was a 2 run ninth for the Orioles that handed the Jays a 5-3 loss. The first run came on Justin Speier's first pitch in the 9th that Larry Bigbie hit out of the park.

OK, what does that headline mean? Well, you figure it out.

It's time to distract the nay-sayers and the speakers/writers of the umpteen iterations of "it's a small sample size and I know I shouldn't be concerned but ... " with another round of Anagramatics. The subject? The 2004 Blue Jays, of course.

We haven't visited this turf in quite some time, so quickly ... this is all about personal anagrams, which can tell you everything you need to know about a person in that same quirky way The Magic Eight Ball works in Washington, D.C.

The rules for personal anagrams are simple: start with the letters in a name as it is used every day and rearrange them to reveal true meaning. If nothing works very well ... cheat.

Batter's Box Rap

With the first ten games in the books and all
The Blue Jays are playing .300 ball
And because they're having such an awful time
Today's introduction will be written in rhyme.

Ho-hum. Another sweep for the Jays' minor-league affiliates. Two shutouts, a 7-1 blowout, and a five-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth capped by a one-out, bases-loaded, game-winning double by one of the Jays' best prospects. Oh, and Vito Chiaravalloti's up to .452/.561/.903 in 41 PA. Yawn.

Another ugly loss as the Jays lose 11-2 to the Orioles.

We're going to the Dome, and there is still one free ticket left. For a classic pitching matchup, no less.

A clean sweep for the organization last night, and three of the teams remain in first place in their divisions. Many of the hitters are waiting for the warmer weather to get their bats warmed up. The Jays minor leaguers are winning on good pitching and timely hitting.

And laughed at all the shoppers
And security guards trailed us
To a record shop
We asked for Mojo Nixon
They said "He don't work here"
We said "If you don't got Mojo Nixon
Then your store could use some fixin'"

I don't know where the rest of the Bauxite staffers went, so I guess I'll start the thread. Bonus points for identifying why this title was chosen.

I know I'm in the minority, but I love the Jays new home whites. They've got to do something about those caps, though.

It's been a while since we've run a "Hijack central" thread, and it's going to continue to be the case, because in accordance with new FCC mandates, I've re-named it "Weekend Open Forum." While "The Thread Formerly Known As Hijack Central" was my first choice, the new title is much less violent. True, the FCC would rather me call this "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows: Everything is Super," or "Your Mom Always Said That If You Didn't Have Anything Nice To Say, Don't Say It." But I have my limits.

I'll kick things off with this statistic: the Expos have scored 10 runs in nine games. Say that again. TEN RUNS IN NINE GAMES. For all of Bud Selig's evil machinations (as opposed to all those benevolent machinations), I don't know if we can blame Selig for this one. What the hell, let's blame him anyway.

The Orioles come to town to kick off the Jays' second homestand of the season -- which, by definition, will be much more successful than their first. Baltimore is currently part of the four-way logjam atop the curiously lethargic AL East of early April.

It's only fitting that a 4-4 club has overachieved and underachieved in relatively equal amounts. The starting rotation, which is likely to be the club's Achilles' heel throughout the season, has been shaky except for fledgling Jay-killer Matt Riley. The bullpen, in contrast, has been a significant asset thus far.

On the offensive side of the ledger, the Orioles are exhibiting the patient approach favoured by co-GMs Mike Flanagan and Jim Beattie, but have not hit for any kind of meaningful power, which has led them to strand scores of baserunners. Here, the exception has been Javy Lopez, who has been tearing the cover off the ball as an Oriole -- much like he did during his unexpected comeback season of 2003. Defensively, the O's are excited about Miguel Tejada's range and effort defensively, but jack-of-all-trades Melvin Mora is struggling to adjust to his new gig at third.

The Jays face a whole lot of inexperience on the mound this weekend, and will be countering with three pitchers with something to prove. Two wins out of three should gear the club up for Boston's first visit next week.

On to the Advance Scout!

Last year it was the Minnesota Twins who played all their games against the Jays in April.

Jason Johnson threw six shutout innings for the win on opening day in Skydome, but was roughed up in his next start by the Twins. Roy Halladay has April gopheritis again (5 homeruns allowed in 2 starts), but I don't read much into that. I expect Doc to shut down the Tigers as long as the interior defence plays well.

Question of the Day: Will Kevin Cash get the day off after a night game?

Once again there is no TV coverage for this game.

Another doubleheader was rained out for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, so the damp kitties will now be playing consecutive twinbills in mid-May; welcome to the Eastern League! Happily for Jays fans, the other three full-season minor-league clubs did take the field yesterday, including two doubleheaders. Here's what went down:

On September 27th, 2003, Will Carroll visited with about 50 or so of us a diehard seamheads. We had pizza, we had beverages, we saw Roy Halladay win his 22nd game, and everyone other than Jody Gerut and Brandon Phillips had a terrific time.

Now Mr. Carroll is coming back to Toronto!

It drives you crazy, sends you screaming for the door
Work there for a year or two and you can't get to like it
I don't work in supermarkets anymore