JAYS-A'S: FEELING MUCH BETTER NOW

Wednesday, 4 -- Jays 10, A's 3: It would figure that Troy Glaus' heel problem would flare up on a day where everything else is falling into place.

For those who bag on Frank Thomas, he probably set up that four-run first inning with a good spoil on a decent 1-and-2 pitch down and away that was probably the secret ingredient in that four-run first vs. notorious Jays killer Joe Kennedy. That was the kind of pitch that's often good for getting Mr. Big Hurt McBrickypants to hit a double-play ball, but Thomas stayed alive and walked to fill the bases. Kennedy continued unravelling until he got the mercy pull after four walks and four runs (two on a Matt Stairs' opposite-field double) in just two-thirds of an inning.

Dustin McGowan recovered well from a rough start in Seattle and went through the A's like a multiple-choice test in some bird course where every answer is A. It was the kind of game that almost makes one feel good to be young and a Jays fan.

Cue Claire Cleary in Wedding Crashers: "You're not that young." True, life is short -- too short to watch and see on the off-chance Goober over there in the dugout will figure out a way to blow a seven-run lead.

Tuesday -- A's 3, Jays 1: It's only fair to assume Glaus tried to tag up and go to second base on a fly ball in front of the warning track in the seventh inning since Frank Thomas was running out of chances to hit into a double play in the usual fashion.

Laugh, because you can't cry. Jesse Litsch has allowed one earned run over 15 innings in his past two starts between the Jays and The 'Cuse, but ended up with a no-decision and a loss, this time due to two unearned runs and a lack of run support. It's still fair to ask if a shakeup that involves jettisoning a certain Texan is called for, since from afar the Jays' failure to grind out professional at-bats isn't funny anymore. The A's Joe Blanton (1.48 ERA, 0.80 WHIP across his past seven starts) remains the hottest pitcher in the AL after going the route on a four-hitter, but how many teams did you see any Jays hitter try to work a count against him?

Monday -- Jays 11, A's 7: The Great Magnet and Vernon Wells' power stroke (two home runs) came through to bestow a second straight victory on Josh Towers.

That tricky twin-killing to end the eighth inning might be the first time in the John Gibbons era the Jays execute a play that requires making four accurate throws in succession. On a grounder to the right side with two on, Mark Ellis tried to get a caught in a rundown between first and second base so Dan Johnson could score and pull the A's within three runs. Royce Clayton threw to the plate and Johnson was a dead duck in the standard 4-3-6-2-5 double play. Counting the pitcher, that means everyone got to touch the ball on that play, so no one had to feel left out.

Evidently, the biorhythms were just off the charts for the whole organization -- Victor Zambrano somehow threw six-plus innings of one-run ball (despite eight hits and two wild pitches) in a blowout win for Syracuse and Russ Adams was 9-for-14 during the Chiefs' series in Norfolk. Crazy.

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