Just how bad it had gotten
And just how sick I had become

You think Toronto's baseball team has been a disappointment? What about a team that won 116 regular season games three years ago and over 90 wins each of the last two, and now sits at 18 and 31 (3.5 games worse than the Jays).

The M's replaced a young Carlos Guillen with an old Rich Aurilia and have lost on the deal. 2003 bullpen linchpin Rafael Soriano had dead arm to start the year and is now injured. Defensive anchor Mike Cameron departed in the off-season and young starters Gil Meche and Joel Pineiro have struggled. Edgar Martinez might finally be nearing the end of his shelf-life and there isn't much on the farm that will jump-start the offence.

Seattle has the worst slugging percentage in the American League and are 13th in runs scored.

If momentum means anything in baseball (and there's little statistical evidence that it does), then the Blue Jays should be heavy favourites today against the Texas Rangers. After a strong start, the Rangers are skidding badly, while the Blue Jays, who looked hopeless a couple of weeks ago, are surging and looking for their 6th straight win. It'll be hard-throwing and often erratic Justin Miller today versus crafty lefthander (are there any other kinds?) Kenny Rogers. The Jays likely will face the next 15 days without Carlos Delgado, who seems headed for the DL -- that would make 6 regulars on the injury list, if you're counting. But the Jays need look only at the recently departed Anaheim Angels to find a squad that prospers despite numerous injuries. Expect to see a lot of Simon Pond over the next two weeks -- but today, the Dave Berg Fan Club will see their man playing first and batting ninth.

Another day, another win. Behind a strong performance by El Artista the Jays cruised to a 6-2 victory over Texas.

The results of the May prospect poll have been tabulated. To keep up with the escalating interest in the Blue Jays farm system, I asked readers to submit a ballot of the top 20 prospects: 21 ballots were posted. The top two positions are unchanged from the last poll, but there's been an overhaul in the rest of the top 10. Three pitchers were in contention for the mantle of top pitching prospect left open after Dustin McGowan's TJ surgery. 25 points were awarded for each first place vote, 22 for second, 20 for third, 18 for fourth, 16 for fifth and decreasing by 1 for every place thereafter.

The Jays won their 4th consectutive game in a row, all 1 run victories. This time it was a 5-4 victory over the Rangers.

In case you haven't read the news lately, here's the latest CNN report on "one of the worst natural disasters to hit the Caribbean". Valerio de los Santos and Miguel Batista, both natives of the Dominican Republic, are understandably worried about the safety of their own family and friends back home.

I would like to have co-ordinated a last-minute food/clothing drive for tomorrow's game at the SkyDome (the last game of the homestand), but my efforts at reaching someone at 1 Blue Jays Way have failed thus far.

For now, the best way to help seems to be to make a financial donation to the Red Cross:

The Jays will aim to make it five consecutive home wins this afternoon as they meet the Rangers in a 4:05 pm start. Young Juan Dominguez gets the start for Texas, while Miguel Batista takes the hill for Toronto. A win today would give the Jays a 14-5 record at home on their last 19 games -- which, thanks to their horrible April performance, would push them one game above .500 at Skydome. The Blue Jays are making Toronto a place other teams don't want to visit. Everyone except Ed Mirvish would probably say that's a good thing.

The Mighty O-Drum makes its triumphant return to SkyDome tonight!

My adjusted NCAA statistics are still in progress and I have a top 100 over at The Hardball Times.

Clear the floor to dance
Throw the walls into the fireplace

The Blue Jays could have been swept by Anaheim. If the Angels had covered home plate the first two games, if a hard smash off Jason Frasor had found its way into right field last night, the Jays would have been looking at another embarrassing home-field wipeout. Instead, they're riding a modest but much-valued three-game winning streak, and having stood their ground in Boston the weekend before, they've essentially played the American League's best to a standstill. This team is finally showing signs of a real turnaround.

While I had an idle moment at work, I was thinking about Sparky's terrific play last night in the ninth inning.

Tried to find my mountain hideaway
Maybe next year maybe no go

Recently promoted Alex Rios will almost certainly got the start in right field tonight against Angels southpaw Jarrod Washburn, giving most Toronto fans their first opportunity to see the franchise's #1 prospect. Keep your expectations tempered -- Rios was sporting a sub-.300 OBP at Syracuse when he was called up, although he was hitting much better in May than he was in April. Tonight could be the start of the most promising Blue Jays outfield career since -- well, since Vernon Wells. But Rios is not going to look like an All-Star in 2004. Enjoy his presence, but don't get too charged up.