I've spent the past couple of nights trying to figure out how to put one of those site meter's on my site with no luck.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd greatly appreciate it.
 
I'm off to a rehearsal dinner.  Have a good weekend everyone.

No game yesterday so news is a little slow in that regard.  Big story in baseball right now is of course the trading deadline.  As best I can tell it doesn't look like much is going to happen with the Jays.  If Delgado waives his no-trade clause (which doesn't look likely) then I don't expect anything major to happen.  Franky C. looks like he'll be here on Sunday and Batista and Lilly aren't going anywhere.  I wouldn't mind seeing Lightenberg get dealt but there hasn't been much talk there.  Philly needs a reliever so that could be a possible location.
 
Honestly, I'm OK if the Jays don't make any moves.  I'd like to see Delgado get dealt as I think he could bring back some pretty good swag but I like Franky C. and would like to see him in the lineup next year.  Injuries have really taken their toll and this team could be very good next year. 
 
By the way, anyone else notice how quiet the A's have been during the trading season?  They are normally the talk of the town as Billy Beane tries to make one of his blockbuster deals.  Other than when the Dotel deal when down, not much is coming out of the Oakland camp.

Before I forget, I've got a wedding this weekend so I'll be quiet for the next couple of days.  I'll be back on Sunday with some comments on whatever happened at the July 31st trade deadline.

A few thoughts from last night's game.  Good to see the Jays finally pull out a close one against the Yank's.  They could have just as easily swept the Yank's but I guess that is the difference between a first place and a last place squad.  Batista pitched another solid game.  Our pitching really has been very good of late.  If Delgado stays with the team the rest of the year and everyone stays healthy this team could really string some wins together.
 
Regardless if it would have worked or not, it was the wrong move to pinch run for Delgado in the 8th.  There were two outs and there was a pretty good chance the game was going to go into extra innings.  If there's one out I can see it, but you don't remove your cleanup guy in that situation.  His spot was on deck in extra innings before Wells hit it out remember. 
 
Speaking of pulling Delgado.  Was anyone else surprised Tosca didn't put Phelps in at first base?  Man, has that guys star fallen.  I really thought he was going to pull an Adam Dunn this year and hit about 40 HR's.  Now, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him traded in the off season.
 
Next year's bullpen:  Vinnie Chulk, Brandon League (3.07 - 67IP - 51SO in AA) and Jason Frasor.  Mmmm yummy.  Those are some good young arms.
 
Speaking of next years arms.  If JP trades Lilly or Batista I'll be seriously pissed.  They're good, relatively young and pretty cheap.  Eventually this team has to compete.  A Halladay, Lilly, Batista top three (I love David Bush but I want to see the way he pitches for the rest of the year before I get overly excited.  But the early returns are very, very good) will be very good next year as long as everyone is healthy.  I'm all for trading Delgado and the Cat but not the pitching.

Covering a transaction from a couple of days ago the Blue Jays traded Terry Adams to the Boston Red Sox for minor league third basemen John Hattig.  Hattig has been assigned to AA New Hampshire.  Hattig is a solid hitting prospect but certainly not a blue chipper in the mold of Alex Rios.  This trade does two things for the Jays.  First, it clears them of what salary (signed for $1.7 million.  A little less than half of that will be left.  No reports of the Jays picking up any of his salary) Adams has left on his contract as he's not really the type of guy that's needed on a last place team.  Hopefully that cash is stashed away and used next year to bring in a player.  Second, Hattig is a switch hitting 3B that provides a little cover for the struggling Eric Hinske.  I was as high as anyone on Hinske going into the season but have become very frustrated with his 1-4 with little power nights at the plate.  Hattig has shown some power (12 HR's) and has the good plate discipline that Ricciardi likes.  I'll keep an eye on him to see how he fares the rest of the way.  Hattig could turn into a semi-useful player or he could disappear.  Either way, not bad swag for a aging middle reliever.

Couple things from last nights game.  I missed the first couple of innings as I was coming back from work and only heard them on the radio but it sounded like Lilly struggled with his command a little bit. When I picked the game up in the top of the third he seemed to be pulling it together thought.  He pitched much better the rest of the way.  After a shaky start he's been pretty solid. 
 
I've seen him pitch twice now but I like Frederick.  Doesn't throw a lot of fastballs but he has one heck of a slider.  I think he'll help the squad out.  No more than a 1-2 inning guy though.  Nakamura on the other hand, I don't think has the stuff to get good hitters out.  I've seen him make some young guys look ridiculous but the veterans are going to hammer him.  Good God Sheffield hit that ball hard.
 
Rios is going to be good (really going out on a limb there).  He doesn't yet and probably won't have a ton of walks but his pitch selection last night was fantastic.  He'd get into an 0-2 hole and battle back and hit a hitters pitch, not a pitchers pitch.  The exact opposite of Cash who just don't have a clue when it comes to recognizing a pitch.  Cash just looks lost.  Back to Rios.  Good heads up running as well when he turned a single to center into a double (actually, Bernie's arm turned it into a double). Good to see him being aggressive and taking a good risk.  Anyone with any speed should run on Bernie.

OK, onto the fun stuff.  I really don't like the look of this thing but it will have to do for now.  As I get more time I'll be updating, changing and doing all sorts of other things to make the site a little easier on the eye.  For now, bare with me.

Like the first day of school, I guess everyone remembers their first entry into a blog.  There are lots of blogs out there and starting my own was always something I wanted to do.  Today, I did it.  There will be some good and definetly some bad but hopefully everyone has a little fun.  No one is here to read mushy stories about writing and sports so I'll keep it simple.  I started this blog to talk about my beloved Blue Jays and to dabble in some other baseball subjects.  I hope to keep it entertaining and thought provoking.  Feedback of any kind is very much welcome as it is always the key to a good blog.
 
With that said.  In the immortal words of some guy in a tux. . . Let's get it on!