JAYS FANS WILL SOON HAVE A HATE-ON FOR THIS GUY

Some stuff to chew on as you try to avoid hitting the 3 p.m. wall:

• Daisuke Matsuzaka, the right-hander for the Seibu Lions who was MVP of the World Baseball Classic (don't worry, no one expects you to remember any of that, except for the U.S. getting beat by Canada), is on his way to the majors.
  
  There's not a hope in hell that the Blue Jays can even get in the game in the Daisuke derby... coming off a season in Japan where he went 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA and 200 strikeouts, he'll go to the highest bidder, probably the Yankees, who need someone to replace Mike Mussina. It's one thing that Japanese stars can come to the majors, but about three-quarters of the teams are cut off from the elite players. So be it.
• The Yankees are saying Joe Torre will stay as manager, but you have to admit there was some plausibility to the scenario where he would have been canned the day before the World Series starts. Their great leader Derek Jeter hasn't said anything publicly to defend his manager, and Newsday's Shaun Powell says the captain's silence speaks volumes.
• He's saying what we're all thinking... Steve Young told Michael Irvin on Monday Night Football last night, "You could talk for another five, 10 minutes and you still wouldn't make any sense." (Deadspin.)

Back with more later. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.