Go ahead, take a spoon and try
I can tell you it's a herculean task
Go ahead, it's okay to cry
What you're chewing on's the truth
And that's the hardest thing
To wash down with a glass of lemonade

The Jays are finding out that the Rays are a tougher nut to crack than they might have thought at the beginning of the season. I don't believe Tampa Bay is a .500 club and 90 losses by the end of the season is what I expect to happen. But right now, with the players available to the Jays, there's no doubt which of the two is the better team.

I'm trying a new kind of trade analysis out today. Yesterday, the White Sox sent Miguel Olivo, Jeremy Reed and Mike Morse to the Mariners for Freddy Garcia and Ben Davis, plus an undisclosed amount of cash.

The Jays' recent rash of injuries (is that the proper collective noun) have led me to wondering: is this the worst the Jays have ever had?

(Warning: this is not an exceptionally scientific study. Amendments cheerfully welcomed.)

There's a wild finish ahead. With ten weeks left in our regular season, no team is a cinch to make the championship playoff round, not even my Toronto Walrus, still the front-runner after a narrow 6-5 decision over second-place AGF. Baird Brain, by defeating Jick's Rays 7-4, moved into a third place tie with Moscow Rats, who split 6-6 with hannibal's cannibals. Mebion Glyndwr edged Billie's Bashers 6-5, so they remain in fifth and sixth. Five other teams are bunched within five games of playing for the jersey.

it's just business, cattle prods and the I.M.F.
I trust I can rely on your vote.

The two staff aces - Doc Halladay and Victor Zambrano - duel in what is expected to be another tight, low-scoring game along the lines of last Wednesday's clash. That contest saw the Jays claw back and win 2-1 on a Reed Johnson single, breaking up the Rays' 12 game winning streak. Zambrano struck out only 2, against 4 walks and threw 128 pitches, while Doc held Tampa Bay to 1 run through 7, striking out 8.

My Halladay bobble-head will be paying close attention.

Come to the Dome today and say what will finally, probably, be a final au revoir to les Expos. Montreal's best chance of avoiding a sweep comes today, as staff ace Livan Hernandez takes the hill against Pat Hentgen. The Jays have suffered some terrible luck this year, but they've also suffered from some terrible performances. As Canada Day approaches, Pat Hentgen is 2-7 with a 5.84 ERA, 15 HRs allowed in just 74 innings, and more walks than strikeouts in barely more than 5 innings a start. It seems fair to say, at this point in the season, that even with modest expectations, Hentgen has been a bust at $2.2 million. It's too bad his Jay career is winding down this way, so root for him to reach back and find some glory this afternoon.

He was not red
He was chrome... and he said
Come with me

Batista throws seven strong, Menechino and Johnson go long, and Montreal falls to 24 below .500.

Well, that was fast. Beltran to the Astros ... Boone to the Indians and Freddy Garcia to the White Sox.

The Sox sent catcher Miguel Olivo, prospect Jeremy Reed and minor league infielder Michael Morse to the Mariners for Garcia, catcher Ben "Salary Dump" Davis and, of course, cash.

Discuss.

Are left to die on the diamond
In the stands the home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles

After surrendering a ghastly nineteen runs Thursday, Toronto allowed just one run on eight hits Friday night. Eight hits? Colour me unimpressed. After all, just last night...

The three biggest names on the rumour mill regarding mid-season transactions have clearly been Carlos Beltran, Freddy Garcia and Aaron Boone. And then, as the saying goes, there was one ... Garcia.

Beltran to the Astros; Boone, in the worst-kept secret in MLB since Roger Clemens unretired, to the Indians. The Tribe issued the following release this afternoon:

CLEVELAND -- Free agent Aaron Boone turned down opportunities to play elsewhere and agreed Saturday to a two-year contract with the Indians. The deal includes an option for 2006.

Today's match-up features Miguel Batista, 5-5 for the Jays, vs Scott Downs, making his 2004 debut for the Expos. Pre-season this match-up would have looked to be a juxtaposition: an up-and-coming team versus one whose very existence is in jeopardy. What we actually see today is two teams trying to scratch out wins in perhaps the last wholly Canadian Saturday afternoon MLB game ever.