Well, that was lively.

The National League takes the day off - the action's in the junior circuit. The defending champs try to stave off elimination!

Three more games... and another managerial change. It never stops.

We had three playoff games, managerial changes, some front-office reshuffling, and a few early off-season rumours. Let's go, people!

Well, here we are, the end of another season. (Another year older, and deeper in debt.) Welcome to this, my last Blue Jays Report Card, this time covering September and the whole year in one panoramic swoop. Enjoy, if possible!

And so it begins...

In L.A. Confidential, Captain Dudley Smith tells Sergeant Jack Vincennes, “I doubt you’ve ever taken a stupid breath.” Most of the time, Alex Rodriguez is like Vincennes, if far less interesting. A perfect corporate ballplayer, seemingly incapable of an extemporaneous word, definitely incapable of adding excitement to the fine array of electronics sold by Radio Shack.

I wish I'd thought of this when there were more than two games left in the season. But what the hell... you guys have been watching the Blue Jays all year long, right?

Here's a point for discussion ... what's the biggest surprise in MLB this season? As we wind down the entire season, we can start to draw some conclusions, rather than rely on projections, so speaking as an avowed fan of the interlocking NY and pinstripes, I would humbly suggest that the biggest surprise of 2005 ...

A Batter's Box Challenge

Here is the task before you. In a single sentence, write the most shocking thing about the 2005 baseball season so far; the only rule is that it must be true.

I'm going to set the bar pretty high to start off: "Aaron Small is 6-0, 2.42 and already tied for third on the Yankees in victories this season."

React to that statement or come up with one of your own. Who's next?

Nobody rides for free
Nobody gets it like they want it to be
Nobody hands you any guarantee

While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked

Here is the latest in what may seem like a never-ending series of monthly report cards for the Blue Jays. Enjoy (or, at least, tolerate).

The future's uncertain
and the end is always near

Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master