The Jays made up 1.5 games on their "fierce" rivals last night, and now sit just two games in the loss column behind the floundering D-Rays.

There are a bunch of teams with similar records right now that will battle it out for the #4 to #10 draft picks in the 2005 Amateur Draft. Arizona, KC and Seattle seem to have the top three spots sewn up, leaving Toronto to battle the D-Rays, Expos, Mets, Rockies, Brewers, Reds and Pirates for draft order position.

In other news, the Indians are two games below .500; if that doesn't change it will cost me a pair of field-level Jays tickets.

I have started an "NFL Survivor" football pool for Batter's Box over at Yahoo! Sports. The rules are very simple... pick one team per week and if your team wins, you move on to the next week's

We are going to start with Week 2, which is *next* week. Many bragging rights are at stake - so do join us. Go to Yahoo Survival Football, sign up, and choose "Join Existing Group". The Group ID number is 30077 and the password is cuttlefish.

To keep her bill collectors at bay
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
Cause that girl's got expensive taste

I have to leave soon, so please forgive the early appearance of this game thread.

Since his masterful effort against the Red Sox, Ted Lilly has had two sub-par performances. Command of his curve ball has been lacking, leaving him to rely on changing speeds. I like his chances today, especially if the Angels continue to swing away.

Toronto's remaining schedule (after tonight): at Texas (3), Baltimore (7), Tampa Bay (6), Yankees (6)

Tampa Bay's remaining schedule: Kansas City (6), Boston (6), Toronto (6), Detroit (5)

The Rays are losing 7-1 to the Yankees. If they do not rally, the Jays will be 2 games behind them for 4th place before they take the field tonight.

And never mind that noise you heard
It’s just the beast under your bed,
In your closet, in your head

Justin Miller hasn't thrown the ball well lately. The late and unpredictable movement of his fastball that was his trademark seems to have deserted him. His control hasn't improved to compensate, and that has meant lots of hard-hit baseballs. If we don't see the old Miller soon, a move to long relief might be in the cards.

Facing the Jays today is one of Coach's favourite pitchers (not!) - Kelvim Escobar. As most of us know, the K man has some of the best stuff in the league. It's his composure and command of his breaking stuff that has been questioned. The key for any team facing Escobar is to swing only at balls in the hitting zone and get his pitch count up.

Possibly the biggest difference between the National Football League and Major League Baseball is the number of games a team plays in a season. An MLB team has 162 games on its regular season schedule while an NFL team plays 16; less than 1/10th of 162. A weak NFL team can often make the playoffs with a weak schedule and a couple of lucky breaks. This leads to the question: Can a weak team like the Blue Jays make the playoffs under an NFL-style schedule?

Okay, as we've expanded our "Baseball Hall of Names" universe into the world of Pop Culture (witness the recent had the all-Grease and all-Sesame Street teams, it was bound to happen ... a Hall of Names entry for the fourth-greatest TV show of all time: The Simpsons

Actually, this entry comes to us as a special "Pinch-Hit" from Jim Turner of TorontoBaseballGuys.com, who knows how to take advantage of an off-day for the home team, as he writes, "What with no game today, I threw together a little something for the site." Take it away, Jim! (And you could've at least acknowledged me ... my name is "Doh!"erty, after all.)

That no one sees a reason for
At the heart of the travelling band
You have to understand
There's a driving need to hit the yellow line

I'm sure every Jays fan was thrilled by the contributions of the rookies on Sunday. From homeruns by Gross and Adams to Crozier's great defensive play to end the game, there was much to like.

Okay, so Ichiro is making a run at Gorgeous George Sisler's 85-year-old single-season record of 257 hits for the 1920 [Corrected - ed.] St. Louis Browns. And while Sisler played every single game for the Brownies ... there were only 154 of 'em.

And bring back all of those happy days
Put your troubles down
It's time to celebrate

Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one.
But yes, I'm still running.

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.

Walking hitters has been a problem for Jay pitchers all season. Yesterday's game was, sad to say, not the low point of the season in this regard. Today, they face the A's red-hot Canadian pitcher Rich Harden. The much-travelled Ryan Glynn starts for the Jays. Glynn has pitched well for Syracuse particularly in the second half of the season. If he throws strikes, he'll be fine. Easier said than done. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a call to take on my shoe phone.

Stranger in this town.
Where are all the good times?
Who's gonna show this stranger around?
Ooooh, I need a dirty woman.
Ooooh, I need a dirty girl.