No matter what happens today, the Jays have achieved a passing grade in the midterm. If some crazed optimist had told you exactly one month ago that the 7-15 Blue Jays would be guaranteed no worse than a .500 record and a split in this series after today's game, you would have laughed.

Can Cory Lidle make it seven in a row? Will Stewart, Wells and Wilson continue to own Boomer? I have no idea, but it will be fun to watch.

The Moose is 16-7, 2.92 against Toronto lifetime, 2-0 already this year. Only Frank Catalanotto (.464 in 28 AB) has had any real success against him; Cat was 2-for-4 in the third game of the season, and had one of just three Jays hits on April 15, when Mussina was superb, striking out nine. If there's any hope for the boys in blue, it's that Mussina hasn't been as dominant in his last two starts as he was going 7-0 with a 1.70 ERA to start the campaign. Both Anaheim and Texas got to him for four runs, about the most the Jays can expect tonight.

On the mound for the good guys is Kelvim Escobar, making his second start since 2001. The failed closer lasted just three innings against the Royals, walking three, striking out three and allowing two hits. Because he goes so deep into counts, he required 61 pitches that night, and should be ready to stretch out to 80 or 85 tonight, if he's effective. The proud owner of a fastball that hits the upper 90s, an equally nasty slider, a devastating splitter and a back-breaking changeup, Kelvim likes to show them all to every batter. He will undoubtedly need help from the bullpen at some point tonight, and while Tanyon Sturtze might be the first man up, it's also likely we'll see Doug Creek at some point; the erratic lefty hasn't worked in a week.

Not yet, advised Steven Goldman in yesterday's installment of the Pinstriped Bible on YESnetwork.com: "For the 2003 Yankees, the moment to embrace the 'Don’t Panic' mantra is now."

Of course, when he wrote that, Steve didn't know how serious Bernie Williams' knee injury is, or that Jorge Posada would get hit by two pitches last night (one on his unprotected ankle bone) or that Andy Pettitte would continue to get clobbered. The Bombers, 3-7 duds in their last 10 games, have escalating problems in the bullpen, at DH, on the bench and in the outfield. If the Blue Jays get to Mussina this evening, panic might be the appropriate response.

Corey Thurman comes off the DL, New Haven plays to a fleet of empty seats, Dunedin's bats finally come around, and the Alley-Cats get more good pitching.

Roy Halladay is 0-2 against the Bronx Bombers this year, with a 5.84 ERA. After an unbelievably bad April, Doc has stepped up his game, not walking a man in his last two starts while striking out 13. He's also reduced his alarming tendency to give up home runs, as his curve ball has been biting better lately. His #1 nemesis Bernie Williams has been in a brutal slump, and is taking the night off, but there's still plenty of danger in the Yankee bats, and Doc will need his best stuff.

Andy Pettitte is going in the opposite direction. He's been very hittable in his last three starts, all losses. He does have a win and a no-decision in two previous starts against the Jays this season, but historically has trouble with Stewart (.438 in 48 AB) and especially Wells (1.462 OPS). Pettitte is also one of Carlos Delgado's favourite lefties -- three HR, three doubles and a .441 OBP.

A well-rested Frank Catalanotto is in right, batting second. Hinske sits, with Dave Berg filling in at 3B. I hope the Jays stay relaxed; they were their own worst enemies while going 1-6 in the two April series. Toronto is five games better than the Yankees this month (12-6 compared to 7-11) but a loss tonight might stir up those bad memories. On the other hand, a big win could set the tone for a very satisfying weekend. If you're looking in the TV Guide, it isn't listed, but TSN has picked up the open date, so for the first time this year, we'll listen to the dynamic duo of Rod Black and Pat Tabler.

Former Blue Jay Pat Borders is 40 and still playing in the minor leagues, for the Mariners AAA affilliate, the Tacoma Rainiers. And he's still having fun. That's noteworthy. On Wednesday night, Borders went 1-5 with a single as the host Rainiers fell to the visiting Sacramento Rivercats, 6-3, under the pleasant gray skies of the Pacific Northwest. That's not noteworthy. I should add that Borders singled against A's phenom Rich Harden. That's not noteworthy all by itself, but yours truly was there to see it. I file this scouting report for Batter's Box.

Pedro Martinez has a sore back. Jose Contreras has $32 million; belated compensation for all that great pitching he's done in Cuba. Jason Giambi is pining for his "personal trainer and glorified go-fer". The Yankees also invested heavily in Jeff Weaver, trading Ted Lilly, Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin for an expensive fruitcake. The AL East race is a soap opera. The Blue Jays, relatively healthy and free of distractions, are watching the drama with interest.

As troublesome as the Yankees' bullpen and 1B problems are, the Mets are in an even bigger mess. GM Steve Phillips has a stalker, Mike Piazza might be out for the season (at least 8-12 weeks) and David Letterman has enough material to fill a season's worth of monologues and Top Ten lists.

Mark Hendrickson isn't your typical 6'9" flamethrower. When he's on his game, Lurch uses finesse and control to keep hitters off balance, changing speeds and hitting corners. He induces ground balls with his slider and popups with a deceptive changeup, but he doesn't strike out enough batters to impress some observers. All he's done so far this month is win, and he's made just one poor start in his last eight. Most of the White Sox hitters have never seen him, usually an advantage to the pitcher.

Mark Buehrle is another lefty whose K rate is less than expected from an ace, but he was 39-21 heading into 2003, and picked up this season where he left off, going 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA in his first three starts. What happened next, nobody knows. He's lost six in a row, and was truly awful last time against the Twins, giving up 10 hits and a couple of walks in just 3.1 innings, for nine earned runs. Unless he makes a dramatic reversal tonight, the Jays' hitting machine should get back in gear.

Carlos Tosca is loading up with RH bats -- Reed Johnson plays RF and bats second, Tom Wilson is behind the plate, and Dave Berg makes his first start in a while, giving O-Dog a rest. Chris Woodward also returns after nursing a tender shoulder. This lineup makes Cat, Myers and Hudson available to pinch-hit, a tactical edge if it's close in the late innings. It's another radio-only game, as Sportsnet has Memorial Cup hockey.

Here's an idea I've been kicking around for a while. I had a slow afternoon at work, so I wrote it up. Think of it as either (a) a morality play directed at Toronto's baseball writers, or (b) a desecration of one of Charles Dickens' finest works. Either way, enjoy.

On a muddy diamond at Stan Wadlow Park, in the rain, the East York Goliaths defeated the Ursula Franklin Academy Flames 8-2 this afternoon to advance to the league semifinals and secure a spot in the provincial qualifying tournament. Unfortunately, we hit some "atom" balls and made several throwing errors, squandering a fine start (and a massive two-run homer) by captain Jesse Shreve.

It was a tough season for our little school, up against the city powerhouses, though I'm very proud of our fine showing in the 4-1 loss to Leaside. I'm pretty sure we'll be back in Tier II next spring, as it will be a rebuilding year with a very young team. I want to thank all the graduating seniors -- gentlemen, it has been a pleasure to coach you.

The Jays' waiver-claim lefty has a tough assignment tonight, trying to continue the club's winning streak and facing off against Hose ace Bartolo Colon. Davis had two strong outings against the World Champion Anaheim Angels (no matter how many times you say that, it still sounds odd), but got hammered by Tampa in his last appearance. Carlos Tosca thinks Davis pitched better than the result; we'll see tonight. The White Sox have some fearsome right-handed bats. Mike Bordick will again start for Chris Woodward (shoulder).

Hey, Toronto's above .500 and 13-4 in May! Life is currently good.

A very quick update today, catching you up on significant developments from last night's games:

I spent some time today staring at the Blue Jays' statistics so far this year. (Since it's a rainy workday, and I needed to cheer myself up, I spent more time on the hitting stats than the pitching ones.) Here's a few interesting numbers for you:

I promised I wouldn't pimp my A's "column" much, and so far I've stuck to it. To that end, Tuesday's update is not my best effort by any measure, noteworthy only in that I continue to pitch Batter's Box and Aaron's blog. The blogging community is fairly new, and I don't know what people expect when they launch their own blog. Whatever the case, it's worth promoting the ones that are good; BB is a good one, and so is Aaron's.

On top of the standings by eight games, after a 10-2 chest-thumping of Red Mosquitos. To maintain hope, the rest of us should compare Snellville's Gashouse Gorillas to the New York Yankees -- you know, the former 18-3 "greatest team ever" that has since come back to the AL pack at a 9-13 clip. For now, the Jones boys are cruising along at 34 games over .500 and a .702 win percentage, and they play the 19th-place team this week.

Billie's Bashers, in second place after a 10-1 victory over the slumping Garces_not_on_roids, could play the Red Sox role. Springfield Isotopes and Baird Brain, currently third and fourth, can be Oakland or Seattle. My Toronto Walrus team, back to fifth after getting clobbered 9-3 by the Chatsworth Halos last week, is starting to look a little like the K.C. Royals.