Oh, those pesky Devil Rays.

Tampa has a banged-up lineup that should be contained by the Jays' starters this week -- although all bets are off in Joe Kennedy starts, as far as the Jays are concerned. The cross-body-throwing lefty has been pure Kryptonite to the Blue Jays since he entered the league.

As for the rest of Tampa Bay's pitching staff, the "Tigers Conundrum" applies: Does a weekend against the Tigers soften up a pitching staff before a series against actual big-league hitters, or does it inject a little confidence into the rotation that will help them out against a squad like the Jays? Time will tell.

Though it's far from a foregone conclusion, a sweep will position the Jays above .500 and might start a little buzz around the GTA and the baseball world. Let's hope the Jays keep up their league-leading approach at the dish...

On to the Advance Scout!

Next to Doug Creek, only Jeff Tam has suffered more slings and arrows early in this 2003 Blue Jays season. But as this item in today's Star indicates, he's slowly starting to turn things around. Frankly, Tam, Creek, Miller and the rest of this pen need to do just that: there's no one in Syracuse ready to take their place, and the Jays certainly aren't going to go trade for bullpen filler in a rebuilding season. Then again, if the starters keep going 6 innings or more every time out, the relievers won't be run out there so often. There's reason to believe the worst is behind this staff.

If only Joe Kennedy could face Toronto every start: he'd be in the Hall of Fame. As it is, he'll get his chance tonight to go 6-0. The Jays counter with former D-Ray Tanyon Sturtze. All zeros after one.

Jays Even Ultimate Series, 2-2
Toronto Crushes New York, 11-2

Ultimate Series: The Concept
Recaps: Game 1 * Game 2 * Game 3 * Game 4 Below
Box Scores: Game 1 * Game 2 * Game 3 * Game 4

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Here's all you really need to know about the fourth game of the so-called Ultimate Series: the first three hitters in the Toronto lineup each had three hits. The entire Yankee lineup combined for one.

As you might have heard by now, the next four Wednesday home games at Skydome have been designated "$2 Wednesdays." All available 200- and 500-level seats in the stadium have been purchased by a company called Expedite Plus at full price; those tickets will then be sold for $2 each. It's a follow-up to the Blue Jays' own recent "stick it to the WHO" event, whereby all available seats were offered (and quickly bought) for $1 each. In addition, thanks to Coca-Cola and Skyservice Foods, all soft drink and popcorn orders will get free refills.

Folks, something rather odd is taking shape here.

An 11-1 rout of the slumping Nation Builders propelled Snellville Jones' Gashouse Gorillas to a 5 1/2 game lead after six weeks in the Batter's Box Fantasy League. Springfield Isotopes and my Toronto Walrus are tied for second, a half-game ahead of Baird Brain. All of us are rooting for Spicol's Red Mosquitos, back over .500 after a 7-3 win, to bite the Gorillas this week.

As unsurprising as it is welcome, news comes today that top Jays pitching prospect Jason Arnold has been promoted to AAA Syracuse. Arnold was 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA; in 35 IP, he allowed 18 H, 11 BB and 33 K (24% K/BF). As the saying goes, he had nothing more to prove at Double-A. Perhaps anticipating the move, the Syracuse Post-Standard just published a brief profile of Arnold. One step closer to the Toronto rotation....

Even in the high-octane AL, there are interesting pitching matchups, like Zito-Clemens I and II, or today's. Jarrod Washburn wasn't 100% at the start of the season, but he's rounding into form. Though his seasonal K rate is way down, he struck out five in a complete game 6-hitter last time out. The lefty dominated the Jays the only time they met in 2002, combining with Troy Percival on a brilliant 3-hit shutout. Roy Halladay, the 1-0 loser that day, can expect a little more support this afternoon. If he avoids getting hurt again by nemesis (6-for-9, 1.556 OPS) Garret Anderson, Doc can win the rematch.

Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. But Carlos Delgado is on fire, and has been since last September. This column by Larry Millson explores Delgado's fast start, an article remarkable in and of itself for being perhaps the first recorded use of the term "OPS" in the Globe and Mail. But I think there's more going on here than just Carlos finding his touch again:

- He's completely healthy for the first time in a long while.
- The malaise surrounding the organization is being stripped away.
- He's got hitters surrounding him (Wells, Phelps) who actually inspire concern in opposing pitchers.

Any other suggestions? And any guesses on how long he can keep this up?

No, not for the Blue Jays -- for your Toronto Maple Leafs, the ones who aren't playing golf at the moment. Those of us outside Toronto will miss the Leafs' first home game of the Intercounty Baseball League season today at Christie Pits, but if you're in Melonville and have time on your hands, go catch the game. At a time when columnists and talking heads are constantly bemoaning how baseball "just isn't a game anymore" and so forth, the ICB League is a genuine throwback. Go Leafs Go!

Shades of last night's storyline (thanks for picking me up, Gitz) -- Toronto lefty tries to stifle world champion lineup that faced him just five days ago. Mark Hendrickson was a little tentative at first against the Angels, then appeared to be getting better in the middle innings. He could receive a quick hook again tonight, as Kelvim Escobar, on his sixth day of rest, will be ready to take over.

According to the Yahoo preview, Mike Bordick will start at 3B, with Eric Hinske getting a night off. Josh Phelps returns after his first mini-vacation of the year. Anaheim righty Ramon Ortiz didn't finish the fourth inning against the Jays last week, so he'll be faced with an even bigger challenge than Lurch.

Thanks to Jason for linking to this in another thread. It's from the Toronto Star, but not the sports section. On the front page of A&E, opposite an enormous colour photo, Peter Goddard asks local design professionals about the Blue Jays logo and name. I like what Parallel's Evan Clifford (an Ursula Franklin Academy grad) said:

"I'm 21. I live in Toronto. I fall into the exact demographic the Jays want. But as I say this, I can't remember what the Jays' logo looks like. That's not positive branding. Changing the logo as many times as this team has is brand destruction. I bet everyone living in New York City knows what the Yankees logo is."

There's another great quote, from artist Jaclyn Shoub, that I hope the marketing guys read:

"Making uniforms snazzy just doesn't work. We don't want the Jays to turn out like the Raptors, looking like some junky arcade thing. What the Jays are trying now is like CBC morning radio trying to become hipper. In both cases it's a total disaster."

Yesterday's action in the Pacific Coast League included a couple of boxscore names that should look familiar to Blue Jays fans:

Tacoma 15, Colorado Springs 10
P.Borders, C 6 1 6 3 .395

Edmonton 9, Las Vegas 7
R.Knorr, C 5 1 2 1 .255

Time to start scanning Baseball America for word of Sandy Martinez and The Other Kevin Brown.

In games played by current members of the Jays minor-league organization:

Aaron Sele makes his first start of the season. Even at his best, Sele is rather hittable. The Jays will score some runs, but, as always, the question is if they will prevent them. Enjoy the game, night owls of Toronto.

Today's column by Richard Griffin in the Star doesn't bash the home team, it takes the entire game to task, especially the AL. Griffin makes some good points, which echo my sentiments: juiced baseballs, bigger (juiced?) hitters, and watered-down pitching have reduced strategy and made the walks-and-homers philosophy essential. Baseball will never return to the days of 1968, when pitchers ruled the earth and nail-biting 2-1 games were commonplace, though a few steps back in that direction would be a good start. I'm glad the Jays are among the teams built to outscore the opposition, but 16-5 games (like NY-Seattle last night, in a "pitcher's park") aren't very exciting.