7/31 - First off, sorry for the lack of updates these past few days. Anyhow, the Jays currently find themselves third in the AL East, four games behind the first-place Yankees, after losing three of four to the Mariners. The highlight of that series: Esteban Loaiza got his first win as a Blue Jay in game one, getting Jim Fregosi his 1000th victory as a manager. Also of note, Carlos Delgado keeps on crushing the ball, as he now has a major league best 40 doubles on the year. Meanwhile, Raul Mondesi has been placed on the 15-day DL with a sore right elbow, and Shannon Stewart is day-to-day with a bruise above his left eye after getting hit by a lost fly ball in the sun in Saturday's game. As you all know, today at 4 p.m. EST is baseball's trading deadline, and hopefully the Jays will make a couple of deals for the stretch run. Toronto is reportedly very interested in Colorado pitcher Pedro Astacio, with Tampa Bay's Steve Trachsel also as an alternative. Matt Clement of the Padres is also a possibility.
Update: Well, at the deadline the Jays pulled the trigger for Trachsel and reliever Mark Guthrie from the D-Rays for top 2B prospect Brent Abernathy and a player to be named later. Later on, the Jays fell to the A's 6-1 and are now 4½ out of first.

7/27 - Yesterday, it was all 'wells' as David Wells (W, 16-3) picked up his major-league leading 16th victory on the season, helping the Jays past the Indians, 8-1. Wells went the distance with his fifth complete game, allowing only five hits while striking out a season-high 11 batters. Brad Fullmer led the offense, hitting two two-run homers off Cleveland starter Bartolo Colon (L, 9-8). Fullmer's long-ball total is now at 20, which makes Toronto the fastest team in big-league history to have five players with at least 20 dingers. Audio clips from both Wells and Fullmer can be found at The Sounds. Onto other news, assistant general manager Dave Stewart has taken over the pitching coach duties, as Ray Langford was fired a couple days ago. Oh yeah, the Jays did acquire someone from Philadelphia yesterday. Sure, Curt Schilling went to the Diamondbacks, but guess who Gord Ash got us - Rob Ducey! It was only a minor blip on the transaction wire, and I can't really say anything more about it, except for the fact that the Phillies attained the infamous player to be named later. Good job, Gord, now how about some more big names?

7/23 - Mark McGwire. Ken Griffey Jr. Sammy Sosa. Just a few of the big names who have fewer home runs than Tony Batista this season. Batista hit his 31st homer today, as the Jays triumphed over the Orioles, 4-1, and kept alive their streak of at least a home run in their last 22 home games (a new club record; the AL mark is 23). On the mound, Frank Castillo (W, 7-5) outpitched Mike Mussina (L, 6-10) in winning his sixth straight decision. Castillo, in his first start since July 9 because of tendinitis in his elbow, allowed only one run in 5-2/3 innings of work. Billy Koch (S, 24) pitched the last two innings for the save. The Jays remain 1½ games back of the Yankees.

7/20 - Carlos Delgado hit his AL-leading 31st and 32nd homers, while Tony Batista's 28th shot of the season broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth, as the Jays bailed out David Wells and beat the D-Rays, 6-5. Wells, who has struggled in his last couple of starts, lasted only 4-1/3 innings, allowing five runs while K'ing three. After he went out, though, the bullpen stepped in and held Tampa Bay without a hit the rest of the way. Billy Koch (S, 23) pitched the ninth for the save. Delgado's first homer hit off a Hard Rock Cafe window restaurant (how many times has he done that?) in right field, and his second was to left-center. Thus far, he trails only LA's Gary Sheffield (33) for the ML home run title.

7/19 - The Jays have acquired pitcher Esteban Loaiza from the Texas Rangers in an attempt to bolster their starting rotation. Dealt away were Triple-A Syracuse pitcher Darwin Cubillan and Tennessee Double-A All-Star second baseman Mike Young. Loaiza, the 28-year-old right-hander, was 5-6 with a 5.37 ERA for the Rangers in 20 games this season.
Update: Kelvim Escobar (W, 7-9) pitched eight strong innings, and Billy Koch (S, 22) wrapped it up, as the Jays beat the Devil Rays, 5-2. Escobar allowed only two hits, four walks, and two runs, while striking out eight batters. Brad Fullmer led the offense, with two hits, including his 17th homer of the season, and three RBI. Carlos Delgado went 2-4 with two runs driven in. The Jays now move into a temporary tie with Boston for second place in the AL East, as the Red Sox game was rained out.

7/18 - Despite Shannon Stewart's ML record-tying four doubles, the Jays dropped to the New York Mets, 11-7, and fell into third place in the AL East. Stewart went 4-5, on a night the Royals' Johnny Damon also tied the same record. In this one, however, Mike Piazza delivered the big blow, hitting a grand slam that broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning. Chris Carpenter (L, 7-9) took the loss, as the Jays now find themselves 1½ games back of the New York Yankees. After the game, Carpenter said he'd work hard to improve. You can find the clip at The Sounds. The Jays wrapped up interleague play with a record of 9-9. On a couple of roster notes, shortstop Alex Gonzalez has been placed on the 15-day DL, and right-hander Pasqual Coco has been called up. Coco made his Major League debut on Monday, starting in place of Frank Castillo (day-to-day with pain in his right elbow) in the Jays' 7-5 loss to the Mets.

7/14 - Thursday, the Jays fell victim to the 100th career win of Philadelphia's Curt Schilling (W, 5-5), as the Phillies won, 8-5. Jays starter Chris Carpenter (L, 7-8) gave up all eight runs in his seven innings of work. All of Toronto's runs came on homers, as Carlos Delgado hit his AL-leading 29th, Tony Batista connected for two to raise his total to 26, and Brad Fullmer also went yard to give him 15 on the season. Despite the loss, the Jays remained in a tie for first place with the Yankees, who dropped to the Marlins, 11-9.

7/12 - The Jays have a day off today, before getting back into it tomorrow against the Phillies. Last night, David Wells pitched two shutout innings with a pair of K's in the AL's 6-3 win over the NL. "I enjoy the spotlight for the fact that I'm not afraid to fail," said Wells, making his second All-Star start. "I want to be the hero. If I lose, I can accept that as well. When you go out there, a lot of guys can't accept failure." Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado had a double in his only at-bat, and Tony Batista was 0-1 with a strikeout.

7/11 - Joe Torre announced yesterday that David Wells will be starting the All-Star Game for the AL, facing NL's Randy Johnson. Wells leads the majors in wins, with 15, and has a 3.44 ERA. "It's an honour to be here representing the Toronto Blue Jays," Wells said at the press conference. You can hear more of what the Jays lefty said at The Sounds. Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado lasted into the semifinals of the annual Home Run Derby Monday night, before being eliminated by Ken Griffey Jr. Delgado homered five times in the opening round, but then struggled in the second round in a head-to-head battle with Griffey, homering only once to Junior's three. Check out Video Clips to see one of Delgado's longballs from the Derby.

7/9 - Yesterday, David Wells (W, 15-2) picked up his ML-leading 15th victory, as the Jays topped the Expos, 6-3. Wells, halfway to the 30-win mark, told reporters he "[doesn't] even think about it, it's not in [his] thought process." He allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings, and then left it to Billy Koch (S, 20) for the eighth and ninth. As for the offense, Raul Mondesi (who also recorded 10 putouts in the game, one shy of the record for a right fielder) smashed his 22nd homer of the season, a three-run shot that gave the Jays an early 3-0 lead. However, Jose Cruz Jr's 20th shot was the bigger one, as it sealed the deal and made the Jays the first team in big-league history to have four players with at least 20 homers by the All-Star break (Carlos Delgado has 28 and Tony Batista has 24). "The guys were giving me a hard time about it," Cruz said. "I was trying my hardest to get a ball up and hit it good, and here we are, and here it is." Well done.
Update: The Jays hammered the Expos today, 13-3, to go into the All-Star break on a winning note, in a first place tie with the Yankees. Tony Batista, who went 3-5 with 3 RBI in the game, has been named to the midseason classic as a replacement for Cal Ripken Jr at third base.

7/6 - Sorry about the lack of updates for some time now, I've been extremely busy. Anyway, the Jays have seen their AL East division lead cut to a half game by the Yankees, with the Red Sox right behind them as well. The pitching has struggled as of late, giving up a total of 24 runs in the last two games against the indians, both losses. On a bright note, David Wells and Carlos Delgado have been named representatives to the All-Star Game, to take place in Atlanta on next Tuesday. On an ending note, I'm sure all of you have by now seen the Sports Illustrated issue featuring an article on David Wells, written by Jeff Pearlman (who also wrote the infamous John Rocker article). If you haven't, take a look at the cover photo above, and take note that the article talks about Wells being fat, and not much else. Anyway, Wells had a few things to say about the article, cover, SI, and Pearlman. Check out the audio clips from ESPN Radio's "Dan Patrick Show" at The Sounds.

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