I'm listening on the radio at work. Josh is at first base today!

It's about time. Hopefully this is the start of playing 90% of the time for Phelps.

2-0 for the Rays in the 2nd, and Hendrickson just got nailed in the ankle by a bat. They're checking him out now, he's trying to put weight on his foot.

Hendrickson is okay.

I've missed Josh...hope he's in a lot more for the rest of the season, too.

Less than three hours to go... Kelvim's still a Blue Jay. Are we happy?

...or maybe he's not okay. Someone's warming up in the 'pen.

I don't know how I feel about Kelvim. He's so damn inconsistent... I'd feel bad for him, personally, if he were traded -- I heard him somewhere talking about how much he loved the Jays and Toronto and how he's played here for his whole career and couldn't think of playing somewhere else. I felt bad for Stewart on that level, too, but I think that the Stewart trade has worked out well for both teams and both players.

I don't know that I'd miss him as a player if he were traded. It would certainly relieve the apprehension that I feel every time it's his turn to pitch.

Sturtze has stopped warming up, so it looks like Hendrickson really is okay.

Trivia from the radio broadcast: Eric Hinske, John Wasdin and Bobby Kielty have the same birthday (August 5).

I recall, from my long-ago math studies, that a group of 25 people is more likely than not to contain two people with the same birthday, but three is rather unusual.

Of course, the Jays are likely to soon only have two people on the roster who have the same birthday...

What happened in the top of the inning? Phone rang and I missed the whole top. They sounded really excited about something.

I immediately thought of making a sign for the August 8 game that reads "Happy belated birthdays, Eric, Bobby and John", but I think I should maybe wait until the day before the game to actually print the sign.

Sturtze is in so the game is pretty much over.

I'm usually not home. What's on TV this time of day?

Well, make sure to add on your belated birthday card
"Did You Guys Share the Same Cake and Candles, Considering You Collectively Blow."

Oooo...Josh. HR.

There might be a game here.

Well, we seem to be trying to rally here, 7-6 D-Rays going into the ninth.

While you can make cases for Josh and definitely Wasdin stinking this year, Hinske has been really quite good lately. Playing with a broken hand was a bad idea.

2-3-4 due up in the bottom of the ninth, down by one. If only I had a visual (but with the radio team announcing...)

Eric Hinske does what Eric Hinske does best.

*sigh*...a sweep from the freakin' D-Rays!

I definitely think the Yanks have a championship calibre infield... Posada-Giambi-Soriano-Jeter-Boone. That's potent.

Are We Gonna Take It Any More?

It appears that yes, we are going to take it.

Looks like we're gonna take it...right into the offseason :p

I'm kinda disappointed there wasn't at least one move, mainly because I'm tired of seeing the same team lose three days in a row to the D-Rays. I know that's not reason enough for a trade, but I can be selfish :-)

Any idea what exactly the Yankees have left on the farm? I know they picked up two minor leaguers from LA today but the number of kids that have left the Yankees over the past 3 years has got to number in the 50's.

The D-Ray magic against the Jays is potent. Today was atom-ball day, as Toronto hitters blasted frozen ropes right at outfielders, early, often and to every field. I thought Wells had kept the hit streak alive and tied the game with his ninth-inning bullet, but there was Crawford. Earlier, Phelps had scorched one to right, Kielty and Delgado hit lasers up the middle, and there were several other shots hit right at people. Hinske's fifth-inning GIDP was a smash at Lee's feet that could have been an RBI double if it was a stride to the left or the right.

It's not easy to leave 18 runners on base in nine innings, or to go 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, which is what they did until Myers' pinch single. It requires a total team effort, and it helps when the opponents have horsehoes wedged into an uncofortable part of their anatomy.

Getting swept by the Rays is no fun, but there were some positive things. The company was good, with "rodent" joining Robert Dudek, Mike Moffatt, Craig B. and me, plus there were about 15,000 kids filling the 500 level and 200 outfield with colour and noise. O-Dog had a good day, Phelps got to play (he butchered his first chance at 1B then settled down) and don't let the 0-for-3 mislead you; Hinske had some very good at-bats. Tanyon Sturtze was outstanding (really) and they may have made an accidental discovery -- he threw a game's worth of warmup pitches in the bullpen (Moffatt cracked that two of them were gopher balls) from when Lurch got hit with the bat until he finally came in three innings later. Maybe he needs that much work to get ready. Trever Miller also looked sharp.

Imagine if the Jays ended up missing a wild card spot by a game or two this year and it was because they couldn't beat the D-Rays. Let's hope the breaks even out next year, when it might even matter.

John, thank you *so* much for putting Twisted Sister in my head right before a long weekend.

http://economics.about.com
(Moffatt cracked that two of them were gopher balls)

I *knew* you were going to quote me on this. I really hope I don't meet the Jays or the Toronto media now, because if they've read all my messages someone is bound to slug me. :)

I had a blast.. it was nice to finally meet Coach and rodent and to catch up with Craig and Robert again. I think I managed to convince Craig about my 5-year contract plans and Coach provided the Keith's. All that prevented it from being a perfect day was the fact the Jays lost.

Hannah was quite jealous that she didn't get to go and says she'll be there next time.

Mike

Jordan: I'd say that I'm sorry, but I'm really not, and I don't want to lie ;)