It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much

?Japanese submarine slammed two topedoes into our side, Chief. Was coming back from the Island of Tinian Leyte. Just delivered the bomb, the Hiroshima bomb.

Aaron Reynolds has put together some terrific Batter's Box desktops for all us Blue Jays fans. These deserved their own thread, so here you go!

For those of you using (shudder) Internet Explorer, click on the desktop you want (and make sure you have the right size), wait for the image to load, right-click on the image and choose "Set As Background" from the menu.

At this point, it's obvious what's wrong with the Jays, occasional bullpen misadventures notwithstanding: they're not hitting. Their hit totals in their last eight games (shown in reverse order) are a frightening tale of futility at the plate: 3, 7, 5, 12, 4, 6, 8, 9. (The 12, oddly enough, was against the Yankees.)

The question: should J.P. Ricciardi have seen this coming? Does he deserve to be blamed for his team's offensive futility, or have injuries, bad luck, and unexpected declines in performance led to the Jays' offensive woes?

Yeah, I know, no one wants to do Cheer Club because they're so depressed. Well, too bad!

I can pay the phone bills
I can cut the lawn, cut my hair, cut out my cholesterol
I can work overtime
I can work in a mine

For a team that concentrated very heavily on pitching in the 2002 and 2003 amateur drafts and has called up two of its top hitting prospects already this season, the Toronto Blue Jays still have an abundance of interesting hitters in their farm system.

Weak Bulletin Board Fodder

"What we can't do now is let down. We have to go to Toronto and try to finish off this road trip strong." -- Orioles left fielder Larry Bigbie

I swear that I don't enjoy torturing baseball fans. Rehashing Kerry's year might seem like that to you, but for me, it's a simple quest for understanding what went wrong.

Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the Lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show

I posted this in an old Minor League Roundup, but actually it goes better as an article, even if it's a jumbled bunch of notes and scribblings.

When the Indians were in town for Simcoe Day last week, Cliff Lee threw his glove into the stands after being removed. On that occasion, two bad innings did him in - he allowed 4 runs in the first and 2 in the fifth. Some thought that a demotion to AAA was imminent.

Lee stayed in the rotation and started very well against the White Sox, posting 5 straight zeroes before allowing 5 runs in the 6th. The Indians rallied from a 5-3 deficit by scoring 3 in the 9th inning to take Lee off the hook.

Ted Lilly takes the hill for the Jays. He's looking for his 7th consecutive start of 6+ innings. He started the year by failing to pitch at least 6 full innings in 8 of 9 starts.

Our own Mike D. will be in the Jake tonight, wearing a white Blue Jays shirt and sitting near third base. 10,000,000 points to the first poster who spots Mike.

You'll be ok follow your heart
You're in harms way
I'm right behind

Justin Miller makes his long-awaited return to the starting rotation. Coming off a zero run effort last night, the Jays offence will have to deal with staff ace C.C. Sabathia. Carlos Delgado is the lone lefthanded batter in the lineup, with Frank (Mighty Mouse) Menechino subbing for Hinske (who's mechanics seem out of whack) and Chris Woodward taking the departed Josh Phelps's spot as DH. Kevin Cash bats ninth to give Gregg Zaun a needed night off.

This column examines young Orioles pitcher Danny Cabrera. What can we expect from him in the future, and is this a name the Jays will be haunted by for years to come?