WHITE SOX-JAYS: ALMOST BACK TO .500! (BUT NO OVERBAY)

Sunday -- Jays 4, Sox 3: Is there some organizing principle which is keeping us from enjoying the good vibes that come from being only two games below .500?

Lyle Overbay is out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand — talk about timing, he'd had a great game on Saturday — and that takes all the gloss off a comeback victory over the White Sox (who should have "WARNING: FRAGILE" stamped on them these days). Along with the Overbay injury (and Shaun Marcum coming out after three innings due to wonky back), this weekend was0 about how bad Chicago is aching, especially their bullpen, although every team needs little victories over the Long Season. Rookie lefty John Danks pitched just good enough to lose, throwing well but struggling with his command, cashing his cheque after only five innings.

It's been a while since the Jays had a two-out rally like the go-ahead three-run seventh which Adam Lind capped with a bases-clearing double. Lind needed that after his boneheaded baserunning mistake which cut the sixth inning short. That was good to see, since he and Matt Stairs are now both everyday players from here till Canada Day.

Saturday -- Jays 9, Sox 3: The backup catcher debate — keep Sal Fasano or Jason Phillips just got ramped up that much more after The 'Stache played a big part in the Jays' late-inning barrage.

Fasano came in hitting .121 — with 16 strikeouts in 33 at-bats — but like the blind pig finding an acorn, factored in all three of the Jays' scoring innings, rapping out a RBI single and beating out a bunt to speak the three-run, go-ahead rally in the seventh. Jamie Campbell practically wanted to bear his children by the end of the game. Roy Halladay raved about working with him, which in Toronto, is the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Is Fasano really better than Phillips? He works hard, but can he really hit enough to hold down a major-league job?

All in all, you can't underrate how much Chicago's bullpen woes played a part in the comeback, but with Marcum throwing tomorrow, everything seems semi-rosy.

Friday -- Sox 3, Jays 0: It really grinds on a fan to see a team get two good games from their hammers in the starting rotation -- just now some talking ahead on Sportsnet referred to A.J. Burnett's 12-strikeout night as spectacular, and it was -- and only have a split to show for it.

Chicago's Javier Vázquez (3-3) was full value tonight and that season line coming in, a 4.50 ERA next to a tidy 1.14 WHIP, should have been an indicator that he was due to a win a low-run game. Still, there should be some tough questions posed about why about why the Jays can't bring anyone home from second with two out or why they almost never seem to get the leadoff man aboard in any inning. They can't win a game without the long ball, and some questions should be asked about how much this reflects on hitting coach Mickey Brantley.

We nearly dropped our Shawarma plate when Sportsnet put up a graphic showing the Jays were second in the American League in home runs in May. This is anything but a good-hitting team. Bottom line, Burnett held Chicago to three runs and that should be enough to win on most nights.

What we said before still stands:

"This shapes up as one of those 2-1, 3-2 games that the Jays should win, but will probably lose since the ball always bounces for the team with the smarter manager. Remember, Ozzie Guillen, in his shortstop days, once pulled the hidden ball trick two days in a row vs. the same team. There's no truth to the scurrilous rumour that John Gibbons, in his playing days, fell for 'two 10s for a five' gag three days in a row."

Thursday -- Jays 2, Sox 0: Where's that guy who told us we couldn't watch the Jays game and catch a full episode (a rerun, admittedly) of The Office? Roy Halladay had a characteristic night with seven speedy shutout innings and it was over by 9 p.m. Eastern, with time to spare before catching up on the goings-on at Dunder-Mifflin.

Mark Buerhle might have actually been better than Doc tonight. The stat wizards at the Elias Sports Bureau should dig up the last time a pitcher lost without having to deal with a single baserunner. Those homers by Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas were the Jays' only hits. Buerhle never had to throw from the stretch and he lost. With that kind of luck, it's no wonder that he's never had a 20-win season.

Just kidding. He did win 19 a few years ago. Before you start with Dave Stieb hard-luck comparisons, one of Buehrle's analogs according to baseball-reference.com is actually, wait for it, Roy Halladay.

Lynx fans take note: Luis Terrero, who played in Ottawa last season, could be getting a lot of playing time over the next little bit depending on the severity of Darin Erstad's ankle injury.

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