AL Leaders

I don't think anyone could argue that the past week has been pretty great in Blue Jays baseball.

A couple of things that have impressed me so far have been the production and contributions from the bottom of the lineup and the pitching. Throw out two bad innings and the pitching has kicked ass so far. And, how awesome was the first full rotation of the rotation? Pretty fricken' great!

Congrats to Casey Janssen for being the winniest pitcher in baseball so far (3 wins) and having the best innings pitched to wins ratio (1:1). Not bad for a guy who was dealing with subpar health all last season. So I say...Yay Casey! and yay Jays pitching in general!

Going a little further along the hitting line though...I will say that the Jays have had some pretty good timely hitting. Now, let me temper that by saying that it's almost slightly naive to believe the Jays will be able to keep up with this homerun hitting pace. (Not that I would mind if they did!).

Now, my definition of timely hitting has always been this: the ability to get a hit (any kind of hit) when it's needed to either extend the inning or the game, score the tieing or go-ahead run, or scoring a run in a very, very low scoring game/pitcher's duel. Basically, being able to put lumber to leather and not make a out when your team needs it the most.

So what point am I trying to make about this past week of Jays hitting? True, without the number of homeruns they hit they probably wouldn't be 5-1 (woooo!) right now. But, they got the hits to win they needed when they needed them. There have been some situations (bases loaded) that haven't been capitalized on as much as everyone would like, but the offense is still managing to find a way to get things done and a put a check in the win column. Personally, I don't need a blowout every game or ever really. Just enough runs to put you ahead by a comfortable margin* and to secure the win is all I'm lookin' for.

I'm headed to the HOME OPENER tonight...sportin' the retro Jays jersey. I'm so excited and glad that it's going to be nice out. I might be pushing my luck for the Dome to be open tonight, but...who cares! I'm hoping the Dome's open tonight. What's a little lakeside breeze in a enclosed field compared to the open field in April at the Ex? Nothing...that's what I thought.

Good or bad Jays fans, I think this season is going to be a special one; whether for individual player stories and accomplishments or for the Jays as a whole is yet to be seen. Either way, we're in for a treat.
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Brian "Wolverine" Tallet heads to the mound tonight for start #2 against Jake Peavy and the Chi Sox. The Sox are currently 2-4. It should be interesting to see the reaction Rios gets in his '10 return to Rogers Centre. Game time is 7:20 with plenty of fanfare going on before.

GO JAYS!
JaysGirl5

*A comfortable margin: this can vary depending on who's pitching for us, who we're playing and where. Obviously playing teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Texas, etc. you'll need a larger margin especially on the road. In these cases a blowout's not a bad idea.

P.S. Anyone else thinking Tallet might be the tallest pitcher to ever start a home opener for the Jays? Hmm...I just might have to look in to this.