BLUE JAYS ON THE BRAIN

Czechs 2, USA none .... And here you thought Soccerroos were something you wore as a kid.

• Jays-Obsessed: A four-game set with the Orioles gets underway tonight with yet another pitching matchup between Casey Janssen (5-3, 3.07, .92 WHIP) and Anna Benson's husband (6-5, 4.64, 1.35 WHIP) The rest of the series is as follows:
  
  

  Tuesday: Roy Halladay (7-1, 2.93, 1.01 WHIP) vs. Canada's own Adam Loewen (0-0, 7.80, 2.00 WHIP)
  Wednesday (gulp): Josh Towers (1-8, 9.00, 1.93 WHIP) vs. Rodrigo Lopez(4-7, 6.51, 1.53 WHIP). Bet the "over" on this one.
  Thursday: Theodore Lilly (5-7, 4.46, 1.54 WHIP) vs. Daniel Cabrera (4-2, 4.13, 1.74 WHIP)

  The Jays would do well to take 3-of-4 here. All bets are off on Wednesday if there is a trade between now and then that keeps Towers out of the rotation.
• Richard Griffin, the Toronto Star's master of the blatantly obvious, points out that the Jays need to get veteran pitching help. Fair enough -- the Jays do need help. However, this is the kind of fools Griffin plays readers for:
  
  

  Fans talk about career 49-game winner (A.J.) Burnett as if he was a messiah
  coming off the DL to lead the Jays to the promised land. Consider that Burnett
  missed one injury season ('03) with the Marlins and that was the year they won the World Series over the Yanks.

  Not only is that pretty spurious reasoning, but where are these "fans," you speak of, Mr. Griffin? I'd like to think I have my ear to the ground more than someone who, not to stereotype, probably enters the stadium through a special media entrance and sits in the press box. When it comes to fans' opinion of the A.J. Burnett saga, the word that comes to mind isn't messiah. Take the last three letters off, and you've got some idea. At best, if Burnett can pitch the rest of the season without pain, he might be a decent No. 2 starter, and hell of a lot better than what the Jays are running out there right now.
• The Hardball Times has updated Win Shares through June 6. Here are your league all-star teams:
  
  AMERICAN LEAGUE
  C Ramon Hernandez, Orioles
  1B Jason Giambi, Yankees
  2B Jose Lopez, Mariners
  3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (by a smidgen over the A's Eric Chavez)
  SS Derek Jeter, Yankees
  LF Carl Crawford, D-Rays
  CF Curtis Granderson, Tigers
  RF Alex Rios, Blue Jays
  DH Jim Thome, White Sox
  SP is a virtual dead heat between Jose Conteras, Mike Mussina, Scott Kazmir and Johan Santana
  RP Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox.
  
  Couple of notes: It's just a lucky coincidence that the top three AL outfielders in Win Shares Above Bench each play a different position. This is through June 6, so Rios' recent slump might have dropped him back in the pack a bit. Also, in total Win Shares, the unheralded Hernandez leads the league with 13.7, just ahead of Thome's 13.4. Not that anyone should expect a catcher on a fourth-place club who came over from the National League to garner serious MVP consideration.
  
  NATIONAL LEAGUE
  C Johnny Estrada, D-Backs
  1B Albert Pujols, Cardinals (of course)
  2B Chase Utley, Phillies
  3B David Wright, Mets
  SS Edgar Renteria, Braves (Arizona's Damion Easley is tied for the lead in Win Shares Above Bench despite his part-time status)
  LF Alfonso Soriano, Nats
  CF Carlos Beltran, Mets
  RF Bobby Abreu, Phillies
  SP Brandon Webb, D-Backs
  RP Brian Fuentes, Rockies
  
  Incidentally, if you're wondering how the Reds have come out of nowhere, catcher Dave Ross is a big reason. The 29-year-old Ross is on his fourth team in four years and is making just $500,000 for the season, but his hitting -- an 1.142 OPS in his first 71 at-bats -- is good enough to put him second in WSAB among National League catchers.
• Game 3 between the Oilers and 'Canes goes tonight. (The broadcast starts at 8 p.m., but the puck will drop around 8:20. Just a heads-up.) Work commitments will prevent another live blog, but should this series go seven, there will be one next Monday.
  
  Anyways, don't be surprised if Edmonton evens up the series heading back to North Carolina; but Edmonton's faltering power play and overtaxed penalty killers might keep them from pulling off the series win.
• Not exactly what you want to wake up to on a Monday afternoon: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was hurt in a motorcycle crash less than 90 minutes ago. Reports say his injuries aren't life-threatening, but how much do you want a bet he'll wear a helmet from now on? (Deadspin has more.)

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.