Jays - Yanks: Is it way too late to demand retribution?

As we headed into the this week's Jays-Yankees series, our thoughts turned briefly to A-Rod and his "mine" or "ha!" tomfollies, perhaps because of Howie Clark's recent designation for assignment. We were wondering if it is way too late to throw at him, at least even just once?

There was the pitch that Lil' Litschy threw behind Rodriguez on Monday afternoon, which we found somewhat less than satisfying. And then: Enter the Gas Can.

Wednesday - Jays 15, Yankees 4: The Jays went nutty-cuckoo with the doubles tonight, racking up nine off Yankees pitching. We have to admit that we were thoroughly impressed with the Jays' approach tonight, driving the ball gap-to-gap and keeping the line moving with patience and smart hitting. (It's enough to make us tear up, just a little.) Frank Thomas continued his hot streak, going three for five with three RsBI, two doubles and a run scored. The three driven in bring his total in that category to 14 in the six games since he sat in Tampa. Moreover, Thomas has now taken over the team lead from Alex Rios, a feat that would have seemed unlikely a week ago.

On the other hand Troy Glaus still looks lost at the plate. In spite of a couple of walks that led to runs, he struck out twice, and has not driven in a run since July 30. Since his two homer game on July 16 versus the Yankees, Glaus has seen his OPS sink from .952 to .805.

Tuesday - Yankees 9, Jays 2: Perhaps we enjoyed tonight's 9-2 loss a little too much. Of course, all of the pushing and polite shoving and Matt Stairs glaring from the third base dugout didn't do a lick of good on the scoreboard, as the Jays promptly went to sleep at the plate for the rest of the night. (Except for Frank Thomas, whose swing looks remarkably quicker over the past week.)

The Gas Can ignites it all: For the uninitiated, we've taken to calling Josh Towers the Gas Can, if only because he is infinitely combustible, and generally not in a desirable manner for the Jays. Tonight, Towers not only lit it up on the field by plunking Alex Rodriguez, but he also threw a little more petrol on the fire by calling out Yankees first base coach Tony Pena as a "quitter" for his mid-season exit from the Royals a few years back. Which should go over well.

Monday - Yankees 5, Jays 4: In spite of the loss, it was another good game at the plate for Frank Thomas, who drove in a pair and just missed a homer. On the other hand, Troy Glaus' season continues to spiral down. Glaus's last homer was July 22 in Minny, and since then, the big guy has four hits (in 44 at bats). He also hasn't had multiple hits in a game since hitting two singles against Seattle.