But never see the stars
And sleep all day
On a chainlink bed of nails

Thanks to everyone who commented on my latest article at The Hardball Times, "The Importance of Strike One (Part One)". I finished Part Two this morning - there is some very interesting data indeed - and it should be up next week.

Since we've been way late with these lately, I thought I'd post this really early for a change.

Two games today, both at 8:00PM

Pedro Martinez vs. Jon Lieber in Game 2 of the ALCS
Brandon Backe vs. Woody Williams in Game 1 of the ALCS

Until then read Spencer Fordin's article about the six Jays players who were taken off the 40 man roster.

Be sure to catch the pre-game show with Mike Wilner starting at 7PM on The Fan 590. Tonight's guest is Orlando Hudson.

Not too many positives come out of a season where you end up with 90+ losses. However, one of these positives is a high draft pick in the following year's draft.

The Syracuse Skychiefs are the Blue Jays top farm team, the closest team to the big leagues and the source of many of the call-ups the Blue Jays needed in 2004. Not counting the September call-ups, there are nineteen players who played in both Syracuse and Toronto this season. The injury bug that hit the Jays put a strain on the Chiefs from which they could not recover.

This is the day Theo Epstein had in mind when he visited Curt Schilling at his home last winter to sell him on the Sox. Game 1 against Mike Mussina and the hated Bronx Bombers goes tonight.

I was hooked to a machine
Just to keep my mouth from spouting junk
Must have took me for a fool
When they chucked me out of school

Brewing alternatives?
What's in the bottom drawer
Waiting for things to give?

It's the 5th and deciding game between the Astros and Braves. Oswalt vs. Wright is your pitching matchup. Will the 'Stros find a way to win a series, for a change?

Ken Caminiti, former Astro, Padre, Brave and Ranger, has passed away from heart failure at the age of 41, according to ESPN.com.

Caminiti was a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. He was the 1996 National League MVP after leading the Padres to the NL West title.

Today's games:

1:00PM EST Atlanta (Ortiz) at Houston (Clemens)
4:00PM EST St. Louis (Suppan) at L.A. (Perez)

Houston and St. Louis each lead 2 games to 1.

Two teams - the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers - face elimination today.

Atlanta and Houston are tied and although the Astros are at home, neither Clemens nor Oswalt takes the mound today. Should the Astros lose, will Garner start Clemens and Oswalt on short rest in Games 4 and 5?

Minnesota will almost certainly send Johan Santana to the mound today and Brad Radke tomorrow in New York if the Twins win Game 4. Both will be starting on short rest, but that's the only realistic hope Minnesota has. So far the series has been eerily similar to last year's ALDS.

Yesterday, it looked like an easy win for the Red Sox until Mike Timlin walked Darin Erstad after getting to a 1-2 count. He then grooved a pitch to Vladdy who tied the game. David Ortiz was the extra-inning hero - he hit a 2-run walkoff homerun off surprise reliever Jarrod Washburn to sink the Angels.

Collectively, Da Box got this one wrong.

50.0% Twins in 5
30.0% Yankees in 5
17.0% Yankees in 4
13.0% Twins in 4

If you were to believe what you read in Batters Box recently there is no hope for the Blue Jays. The low payroll dooms the team to eternal mediocrity. JP's signing and trading record is poor. There is no-one to replace Delgado. There is no-one to replace Hinske, and on and on. Several posters have suggested they do not see how the Jays can escape last place. Just remember the old saying "you are never as bad as you look when you are down". So what is the blueprint for success on a low payroll? Does JP have a plan? Is the light at the end of the tunnel a train?