RANGERS-JAYS: BEYOND DOC, ROCK-SOLID IT'S NOT

Monday -- Jays 6, Rangers 1: Would that a vintage Roy Halladay complete-game five-hitter could have allowed the working press to file and assemble for the trip to Cleveland.

That is happening: Gustavo Chacin has landed on the 15-day disabled list, meaning Dustin McGowan is likely to be summoned from Syracuse. Oh, speaking of The 'Cuse, another pitcher who's been throwing well down there for the Chiefs, reliever Matt Roney, got a 50-game ban for testing positive for, wait for it, "a drug of abuse," whatever the hell that means.

The Tao of Stieb sees a bit of a contradiction in J.P. Ricciardi wanting to slap Roney with an additional punishment for his positive drug test at the same time Chacin is on the roster after a drunk-driving arrest during spring training. As the late, great Bill Hicks once said, "It's OK if you drink your drug."

Or as The Tao notes: "... would anyone even care if Roney had done all of those drugs of abuse all at once on the mound? If he could do that and still get guys out, we'd take him any day over some of the crucifix-kissing chuck-and-duckers in the Jays bullpen."

As for McGowan, the right-hander might take Chacin's turn in the rotation on Thursday vs. the Indians. He's put up a 1.64 ERA in five Triple-A starts, although that has not helped grow the ranks of the Facebook group Dustin McGowan Is Not A Bust.

Sunday -- Jays 7, Rangers 3: It's tough to get on the Jays for a lack of killer instinct after they failed to really bury Rangers righty Brandon McCarthy when he was pitching like the plate was high and outside.

Baseball, though, isn't like other team sports. Gritting your teeth and giving 'er when the opponent is reeling is likely to result in striking out on an off-speed pitch or popping out. Fortunately for the Jays, they got two-out hits and chased McCarthy after three innings with a 5-1 lead. Brandon McCarthy's ERA now sounds like the frequency for an AM all-news station -- nine-ninety.

Tomo Ohka, whom incredibly enough now has two straight wins, survived a second inning where he gave up three hits and two walks, but only one run. Hank Blalock was thrown out easily on a stolen-base try, the Rangers hit two at-'em balls to Aaron Hill and Kenny Lofton had a RBI double turned into an infield hit after the ball ricocheted off third base. Ohka settled down well enough after that. He's basically the righty version of Chacin, where any inning where the other team doesn't put up a crooked number is a minor victory.

Today's good Jays read: Todd Devlin's The 500 Level has a retrospective on Willie Mays Aikens, the one-time Royals first baseman (and briefly, a Blue Jay) now in a U.S. federal penitentiary serving a 20-year sentence on a drug conviction that seems fairly draconian and points to a racial bias in sentencing.

Saturday -- Rangers 9, Jays 8 (10 innings): At least Adam Lind has been a blessing in disguise -- six runs scored in the past four games, and home runs in both of these games against the Rangers.

Other than that, the Jays played just well enough to lose -- and John Gibbons managed just well enough to lose. The Tao of Stieb asks a reasonable question: Why is Brian Tallet on the team if he can't be trusted to face a lefty batter with the game on the line? Lefty Brad Wilkerson kept the Rangers alive with a two-out two-run single off Jason Frasor in the ninth inning. Yes, the LOOGY (Lefty Out for One Guy) is annoying, but so are nonsense losses.

Friday -- Rangers 5, Jays 3: Josh Towers threw strikes, but they were up in the strike zone and bad things happened.

Towers is headed to the bullpen -- the Jays not only gave him less rope than in 2006, but this actually have an option of sorts in Victor Zambrano. That is a better option than rushing Casey Janssen to the majors was last season, just not by much.

The Rangers' all-star infield trio of Blalock, Mark Teixeira and Michael Young are all overdue to break out. Besides, the Jays just never seem to play well at home against the Rangers, so last night was half-expected.

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