Division Leaders:

 team .................. G  W  L  GB  (week) R-RA
1.  Seattle Mariners.... 61 42 19 0.0 (5-1) 38-10
T2. Minnesota Twins..... 61 35 26 7.0 (4-2) 31-26
T2. Boston Red Sox...... 61 35 26 7.0 (4-2) 46-32

Wildcard:

 team .................. G  W  L  GB  (week) R-RA
1. New York Yankees..... 62 35 27 0.0 (2-4) 29-28
2. Oakland Athletics.... 61 34 27 0.5 (2-4) 19-39
3. Toronto Blue Jays.... 64 34 30 2.0 (2-4) 37-43
4. Anaheim Angels....... 60 31 29 3.0 (4-2) 51-25
5. Kansas City Royals... 60 30 30 4.0 (3-3) 36-34

Projected Playoff Matchups: Seattle vs New York; Minnesota vs Boston

Huge primates are much more agile than enormous sea mammals. My Toronto Walrus edged the Sub-Urban Shockers 10-2 last week, and when I checked the standings this morning, I expected to be within seven or eight games of first place. Incredibly, I lost ground on the leader, as the mighty Gashouse Gorillas, led by Snellville Jones and the ghost of Pepper Martin, laid a 10-1 whupping on the Moscow Rats.

Baird Brain, AGF, Billies Bashers and (here come the Welshmen) Mebion Glyndwr would round out the qualifiers for the championship round of the playoffs if the season ended today. It doesn't, of course, and in head-to-head, amazing turnarounds are commonplace. Jonny German, who does a great job compiling our unofficial Roto stats each week, climbed from 18th place up to 14th with an old-fashioned K-Town Mashing (10-2) of the Eastern Shore Birds, and a run of two or three big wins can vault any team into serious contention. The first-round byes for finishing first or second are a nice reward, but as long as you finish in the top six, the regular season standings don't mean much in the quest for the Grail, I mean T-shirt.

According to mlb.com, Carlos Delgado is now first in All-Star voting among AL first basemen, having just passed Jason Giambi.

Details are here.

I spent the weekend watching the Mariners play like, well, the Mariners, and I also had a brief glimpse of the Roger Clemens/Kerry Wood match-up Saturday. All I can say about Clemens being denied his 300th is this pulchritudinous platitude: Boo-hoo …

The Jays try to shake off last night's disappointment this afternoon, while the Reds will be fired up from their latest miraculous comeback. Cincinnati starter Jimmy Haynes isn't quite as bad as his 0-4, 9.42 suggests -- since returning from the DL May 27, he's got two no-decisions, allowing two runs in five innings at Atlanta, and holding the Yankees to three runs in six innings at the Smallpark. Still, you have to expect the Toronto bats to do some damage, as usual. Cat, Delgado and Myers have all had success against Haynes in the past.

Kelvim Escobar was superb through four innings in his last start, allowing a fluke infield single and no walks while striking out five. Then, in the fifth, he started shaking his right hand while pacing nervously around the mound between pitches, and (not being very patient with Kelvim) I thought, "oh, boy, here we go again." Sure enough, he coughed up the 2-run lead his mates had given him against Card's ace Matt Morris, and he was gone after six, taking the loss. What I didn't know is that Escobar's hand wasn't numb because of the (possibly psychosomatic) nerve problem that bothered him in his last stint in the rotation. After the game, he explained -- when batting in the top of the fifth, he got jammed fouling off a Morris fastball, and it really stung.

If it isn't postponed because of rain, like the games in Philly and New York, the Jays will send occasional starter Doug Davis to the hill against the Reds, who are desperate to get a good start from anyone. Tonight it's B.C.'s own Ryan Dempster, who is going to be activated from the DL. There was some talk of sending the slumping Felipe Lopez down, but I believe they decided to give up on Joey Hamilton instead.

The Toronto hitters, particularly the 2-3-4 men, had a great night in the series opener, and their production should continue, but it's hard to imagine Davis shutting down the Cincinnati bats like Doc did last night. If they do get to play, this could be a high-scoring affair. There are a couple of televised distractions this evening, like Funny Cide attempting to win the Triple Crown less than an hour from now, and the Devils trying to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in Anaheim. We have friends visiting, so I won't be providing a play-by-play, and may not see much of the ball game.

It's off topic, but did you see what Joe Torre did to Roger Clemens this afternoon? Seventh inning, leading 1-0 on a three-hitter and having thrown just 84 pitches after a bleeder single by Sosa and a walk to Alou on some very close calls, Rocket Man got the hook! Juan Acevedo promptly served up a three-run jack to Eric Karros on the very first pitch. Unbelievable; when a guy's going for his 300th win, don't you let him get out of his own minor jams? I keep hearing Elton John in my head: And I think it's going to be a long, long time...

Apologies for the belated Advance Scout entry. As Coach so ably predicted, the Jays' bats returned with a vengeance in Friday night's opener at Great American Ball Park. Toronto's hitting can only be contained by an excellent starter, and at least in the rotation, Cincinnati has nothing resembling an excellent starter.

The Reds can mash, especially at home, and can catch the ball. But a weak-hitting bottom of the order and dreadful pitching except for the three relievers at the back end of the bullpen make for a sub-.500 club. Much has been written of how lucky they've seemed to be, given the respectability of their record relative to their awful run differential; the Jays would do well to jump on Dempster and Haynes early to avoid the late-inning magic that Cincinnati's been able to conjure up this season with surprising regularity.

On to the Advance Scout!

Your humble correspondent, fresh off a scintillating e-mail interview with Keith Law and Coach (look for the full text here at Da Box on Tuesday), had the good fortune to attend an Ottawa Lynx game Frday night in the company of both the Syracuse Skychiefs and, far better, his wife (or "Mrs. Beeah Guy," as she's sometimes known). Here's my report on the evening's festivities.

Don't expect the Jays to go hitless for seven innings tonight. Cincinnati righty John Riedling, in three previous starts (and seven relief appearances) in the Great American Bandbox, has held opponents to a .325 AVG, walking 11 and striking out 8 en route to a 6.75 ERA. A fired-up group of Blue Jays, still annoyed at being victimized by an inept umpiring crew last night, will be ready to take advantage of his generosity. It's the regular cast for Toronto, except for very capable subs Reed Johnson and Dave Berg.

Roy Halladay gets to play stopper, and with a W beside his name in his last seven starts, I like his chances. Ken Griffey Jr. and F-Lop are not in the Reds lineup, and Adam "All or Nothing" Dunn is the unconventional leadoff man, with a .205 AVG, .318 OBP and more homers than singles -- a #6 profile if you ask me, which Bob Boone rarely does.

Our Advance Scout ran into some technical difficulties today, but Mike D. will fill you in on the Ohio perspective tomorrow. Spot starter Davis faces Dempster Saturday night, and Escobar takes on Haynes in the Sunday matinee. I correctly predicted 50+ runs in the Jays-Rangers series a while back, but I'll put the over-under at a mere 42 this weekend, because I expect Doc and Kelvim to keep the Reds somewhat under control. It's a good chance for the Jays to forget the St. Louis nightmare before returning home.

In a bold move, the Yankees today acquired Ruben Sierra to, in ESPN.com's words, "help the outfield." Though it only cost them Marcus Thames, the only team Sierra is going to help is Texas, where Buck Showalter no longer has the "temptation" to play Sierra over Mark Texeira, Carl Everett or other deserving hitters. A low-risk move by the Yanks, but nonetheless a puzzling one. Rob Neyer breaks it down; follow the link. A BB regular and Coach disciple, who goes by the moniker of "A," claims in an earlier thread that Sierra could have aided the Jays because he's cheap. I respectfully disagree; Reed Johnson is a better fit, and he's even cheaper.

For those interested, analyst and author Joe Sheehan (most recently of Baseball Prospectus) will be on the Fan 590 tomorrow (Saturday) at 3:15PM EDT. Webcast devotees can catch the interview here.

Instead of the usual Notes, I am going to describe some of the mechanics behind changing and reversing calls, to try to explain why the umpiring crew last night blew their decision.

In case anyone has missed it, the Diamondbacks pitching staff is looking a lot like an army in full retreat. Their list of wounded, walking or not, keeps growing. Mike Koplove has had a cortisone injection two days ago, so did Matt Mantei (did the D-Backs get the 2-for-1 Cortisone Injection Special at Joe's Auto-Lube and Cortisone?) Randy Johnson is apparently looking to have artificial cartilage injected into his knee (I think Joe's will take care of that too). Curt Schilling has a busted hand - from two line drives, of course, and not from punching cameras. Brandon Webb is just getting back, after a tendinitis bout. Brett Prinz has an injured groin, but he's coming back soon. So how's this for a super rotation - Elmer Dessens, Miguel Batista, John Patterson, Edgar Gonzalez, and Andrew Good. And Batista is even going to be throwing out of the bullpen between starts, they are so hard up for pitching.

It doesn't look promising tonight for the blue birds against the red birds. Woody Williams is having a great season, Mark Hendrickson has been inconsistent. The Cards are playing superb defence, particularly Edmonds, Rolen and Renteria, while the Jays have been shaky, especially on bunts and anything hit to short. Lurch at bat will resemble a typical pitcher trying to defend against Karl Malone in the paint -- embarrassingly overmatched -- while Williams frequently helps himself with the stick.

I'm not suggesting the Jays concede. Carlos Tosca does have a secret weapon; Dave Berg has hit Woody pretty well, and will probably get the nod at third. Delgado and Cat can rake off anyone, O-Dog has really come around, and Tom Wilson, the likely starter behind the plate, has been in a very good groove of late. Hendrickson might even keep the St. Louis hitters off balance for six innings; they've only seen him on video.

If Toronto does lose, there will be much gnashing of teeth among the Chicken Little faction, but in the big picture, it means nothing. They would still be three games over .500, beyond even the most optimistic fan's dreams not so long ago. Over the long season, some very good teams get swept; ask the Angels, Yankees or Red Sox, to name three recent victims. Relax, enjoy the game, and don't worry -- regardless of what happens in any given series, especially one played under strange rules, the Jays are going in the right direction.

Spencer Fordin of MLB.com has posted an excellent review of the Blue Jays' draft this week. They used 64 percent of their picks on pitchers, and 86 percent on players with at least some college experience -- only seven high-schoolers were tabbed. Toronto selected just two Canadians; they had chosen Aric Van Gaalen, a 6'6" lefty from Edmonton, 16th in 2002, and after a year of junior college, took him again this year, but in the 37th round. Paul Marlow, a 6'7" righty from B.C., is another draft-and-follow candidate as a 46th-rounder.

Also from the Official Site, Fordin talked with J.P. Ricciardi about first-rounder Aaron Hill. Asked about drafting a SS in the first round for two straight years, the GM certainly didn't consider it a problem:

"For all you guys that saw Russ Adams in the spring, the feedback that I got was you liked him. I think you'll really, really like this guy," Ricciardi said to the media. "We'll keep playing both of them at shortstop. If some day they have to play together, one of them flips over. It gives us two real good athletic guys that are going to be offensive players and fit into our philosophy."