Jordan DeJong's hit makes a loser of the Fisher Cats. Aaron Hill has a good day. David Purcey makes his debut. Auburn clinch a playoff berth, while Juan Perez makes two starts in one day!

Last Thursday night, plate umpire Joe West called an illegal pitch (and consequently ball four) on a 3-2 pitch from Pirates starter Oliver Perez to Reggie Sanders of the Cardinals, leading off the second inning. Lloyd McClendon did his Interminable Argument Dance, even though Perez and the bench had earlier been warned about the illegal delivery. The Pirates played the rest of the game under protest; they won 3-2, making the protest moot. The aftereffects of the call, though, remain.

Sacrailiac
Spineless movement
And a wild attack

They've tantalized us before, these Blue Jays have. Mired in the depths of a very disappointing season, from time to time they've stood up to reel off several wins in a row, making their fans think that the slump is over and the real Fighting Jays are about to emerge. Alas, opposition sweeps and losing streaks have invariably followed instead, until it became clear to even the most ardent fans that this isn't just a bad stretch or series of stretches, it's a bad season from what has been, on balance, a pretty bad team. So is there any reason to think that the current winning streak will be any different?

To celebrate this summer's Olympiad in Greece, we've assembled the all-Grease team for our ongoing Baseball's Hall of Names collection.

Two nights of double digit scoring does wonders for the soul. 4th place is now within striking distance.

While the bats on the big club boomed, they fell silent for the farm affiliates on a 1-4 night.

You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me

And I'm still standing here, and you're miles away
And I'm wonderin' why you left
And there's a storm that's raging through my frozen heart tonight

Three wins, two losses, one serious thumping and a rainout: just another Friday night at the ballpark for the Junior Jays.

So that's what it feels like when your team is hitting the ball!

Remember the Orioles comeback win on Sunday at the Dome? Remember how the Orioles were saying it was their biggest win of the year? Well, for believers in the mystical concept of momentum in sports, I submit the following:

Since that game, Baltimore has lost four straight (all at home) by a combined score of 33 to 9.

Let's hope that last game was atypical and that Canada can hang with the big boys. Canada v Cuba starts at 4:30 AM Eastern. The Red and White will see another lefthanded starting pitcher, no doubt. But will that same pitcher be able to come back on 2 days rest for a potential semi-final matchup against Canada?

And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.

Three wins in four games. Brian Hall digs the long ball and Syracuse loves the French.

There are 41 games left in the regular season. If the Jays go 15-26 (my best guess at this point) they will finish with 98 losses this season. Here is the "race" for the worst record in baseball:

1) Arizona ......... 37-85 ____
2) Kansas City ... 43-75 8.0
3) Seattle ......... 45-74 9.5
4) Toronto ........ 49-72 12.5
5) Montreal ....... 50-70 14.0
6) Colorado ....... 54-67 17.5

The Orioles were swept by the Athletics. That, in all practicality, has knocked Baltimore out of the wild-card hunt.