Scott Rolen's return to the Blue Jays lineup makes this team a better team but until the lineup starts hitting, they will struggle to get wins.  The lineup shakeup by John Gibbons on Sunday could be considered a success as the team walked away with a victory but it is not like the team really tore the cover off the ball. 

Gibbons has said he will bat David Eckstein in the second spot in the order for the forseeable future leaving Alex Rios to bat in the leadoff spot.  I like moving Eckstein out of the leadoff spot as I think he'll be more effective in the two spot given he doesn't strike out a lot and can hit to all fields.  I can't say I'm a fan of Rios in the leadoff spot as he is probably the team's most consistent hitter and should be in a spot to drive in runs.  Unfortunately, the Blue Jays do not possess a typical lead-off hitter so Rios is the next best thing. 

The Blue Jays face Jon Lester in tonight's opener in Fenway.  With Lester being a leftie, the chance of Gibbons using the same lineup as Sunday is low.  But what will he do? Not sure but here would be my lineup for tonight:

1. Stewart, DH

2. Eckstein, SS

3.  Rios, RF

4. Wells, CF

5. Rolen, 3B

6. Hill, 2B

7. Barajas, 1B

8. Lind, LF

9. Zaun, C

Now the team is exposing itself to a potential problem if Zaun gets hurt as Barajas is at first and no other catcher is on the bench.  However, a simple switch to Barajas at catcher and Overbay can come in for Zaun.  This lineup also gives the team two solid left-handed bats on the bench (Stairs, Overbay) if Boston brings in a right hander from the bullpen after Lester is done for the night.

However, my best guess for tonight's lineup is as follows:

1. Rios, RF

2. Eckstein, SS

3. Rolen, 3B

4. Wells, CF

5. Barajas, C

6. Hill, 2B

7. Overbay, 1B

8. Stewart, DH

9. Lind, LF

We'll see if I'm even close.  This will be a tough series given the Jays swept the Sox at the Rogers Centre earlier in the month.  The Sox will be looking to return the favour and end their losing streak after getting swept in Tampa.

7:00 p.m: Turns out I was pretty close on the lineup for tonight.  Zaun is catching instead of Barajas and batting ninth.  So if you took Barajas out of the fifth spot in the lineup above, move everyone below him up a spot and insert Zaun in the ninth spot, you have tonight's lineup.  

1. Rios LF

2. Eckstein, SS

3. Rolen, 3B

4. Wells, CF

5. Hill, 2B

6. Overbay, 1B

7. Stewart, DH

8. Lind, LF

9. Zaun, C

If Scott Rolen wasn't coming off the DL tonight to make his debut with the Jays, I'd definitely not be tuning in tonight as they open their series against the Royals.

Other commitments prevented me from watching or listening to the game last night but I did get home to catch the ninth inning.  Down 5-3, the Jays managed to get the tying run in scoring position with only one out.  A glimmer of hope that the team could end this slump.  I honestly was thinking positively at this point as Tampa had carted out their aging closer, Troy Percival for the third straight game.  Things were looking up but then Marco Scutaro struck out on a 3-2 fastball and David Eckstein flew out to end the game.  It was almost laughable. 

But it is still early right?

What I am looking forward to is tonight should be the first time this season that we'll see a healthy Jays lineup.  No Joe Inglett, No Marco Scutaro, No John  MacDonald, No Robinson Diaz in the starting lineup.  Nothing against these players but they are not everyday players.  Diaz might be some day but not at this point.  I'm also hoping they'll call up Adam Lind for tonight's game but no word yet of this happening.  In my opinion, he should have been called up a number of days ago but the Jays were holding off because he was battling a bit of a sore neck.  It looks like Inglett will probably be sent down to make room for Lind.  I don't mind Inglett as a bench player but with Lind up, the Jays have a stronger lineup.  Lind will play everyday in left with Stairs and Stewart platooning at DH. 

I'm just hoping that nobody gets some sort of ailment or the sniffles and give John Gibbons the excuse to give them the night off! 

I used the word 'devilish' in relation to a post discussing the Rays, does this mean I'm going to get sued?

A rough game last night for the Blue Jays.  Roy Halladay was cruising for most of the game but gets roughed up in the sixth for four runs and that was all she wrote.  Matt Stairs provided the only offence for the club by hitting two homeruns and driving in all three Blue Jays runs.

The offence is a mess right now.  The Jays hitters seem to be working their way into good hitter's counts but are then missing very hittable pitches.  They either foul them off, hit the ball of the end of the bat, pop out or hit the ball hard but right at somebody.  Not sure what the solution to the problem is but another night where the team goes 0-for with runners in scoring position, I may have to take a "Jays vacation". 

I take a "Jays vacation" every once in awhile when my frustration level with the team gets so high that it affects all other aspects of my life.  For instance, last night I had to go pick my wife up in downtown Ottawa after she had been out for dinner with friends.  The Jays game had just ended and as I was driving down to get her, I was listening to Mike Wilner's post-game show on the radio.  I picked my wife up and she kindly asked how the Jays did and I told her they lost 5-3.  Her response went something like this:

"They lost with Halladay on the mound? What is wrong with him? He only has two wins this season!"

I, having watched the game and seen that Roy pitched well except for one inning had to defend him.  I went on a rant the whole way home about how the offence is pathetic and when Halladay does give up four runs the team should be able to win.  I went on to say that the team was lucky to even score three runs in that game and went on and on and on.  I got home and realized, I don't need to subject my wife to this.  She just asked an innocent question based on the fact that the Rays had scored five runs when Halladay had started the game.  Thankfully my wife shares the same frustration with the team right now and realized that my anger was not directed at her.  But as you can see, the Blue Jays right now are affecting my emotional state and I may have to take a brief 'Jays vacation'.

It's almost a must-win tonight in Orlando. Hopefully Dustin McGowan can get the team back on track and maybe, just maybe, the bats will wake up tonight.

Oh how I love it when the Jays play the Rays. The history, the drama, the heated rivlary. All right I'm kidding.  Usually a trip to Tampa results in frustration for Jays fans as the team somehow will lose the series to the perennial American League punching bags. 

I thought this time it might be different as the Jays have played well on the road so far this season and they weren't flying to Tampa to play the Rays but were flying to Orlando to play at Disney World's Wide World of Sports.  Isn't there something wrong when a major league baseball team has to play a regular season game in a Class A ballpark?  How can this team survive in Tampa? 

Well the change of scenary didn't help as the Jays dropped the first game of the series 6-4.  From the outset, it appeared Mickey Mouse took over as manager. It was clear John Gibbons was mailing this one in as he thought last night was a great time to rest one of his best hitters in Alex Rios.  You know this is a wise move when your offence is sputtering and you have your fifth starter on the hill against the opposing team's number one guy.  I may have only played for the East Mountain Cobras in Hamilton and not the New York Mets and I may not have ever managed in the big leagues (or any league for that matter) but I don't think John Gibbons gave his team the best chance to win.  Yes I'm well aware that not all players can play all 162 games but resting Rios with Litsch on the mound last night was ridiculous.  I have a hard time thinking this team can be a contender when they have Joe Inglett and Marco Scutaro in the starting lineup. 

Why did the team release Frank Thomas if they weren't going to use this lineup flexibility to their advantage? I thought the idea was to use the DH spot to get Stairs in the lineup more and allow guys like Rios and Wells to get a night off in the field?  Why didn't Gibbons start Stairs in left, have Rios DH and plug Inglett into right.  I'd take Stairs and Rios in my lineup over Stairs and Stewart.    This is where the release of Reed Johnson hurts the team.  Stewart can't play right field.  Johnson could play all three outfield positions.  If Stewart could play right (his throwing arm is horrendous), you could have plugged him in right with Stairs in left and had Rios in the DH spot.  Joe Inglett would have never needed to see the field!  Sorry for beating up on Joe but there is a reason he has found trouble staying in the show. 

I'm not saying that having Rios in the lineup last night would have changed the outcome, I just think as a manager, Gibbons has to pick his spots better when resting his starters.

What hurt last night the most is that Eric Hinske almost beat the Blue Jays single handedly.  Hinske was a single short of a cycle. and had two RBIs.  In fact, he even contributed to the Jays offense as well by making an error in the second inning that resulted in the Jays scoring two runs that inning. 

Jesse Litsch had a bad start and didn't get through the fourth inning before yielding to the bullpen.  He said he wasn't locating his pitches well and as a result, they were getting hit hard.  Hopefully Jesse can get his sinker working again before his next start.

Some good news is that Scott Rolen is nearing his return to the Jays.  It looks as if he'll be in the lineup come this weekend against the Royals.  I'm eagerly anticipating seeing Rolen slip into the sixth spot in the batting order (my best guess as to where Gibby will put him).  Hopefully we'll see Adam Lind get called up in the next few days as well and we should see the following lineup against righties:

1. Eckstein

2. Hill

3. Rios

4. Wells

5. Stairs

6. Rolen

7. Overbay

8. Lind

9. Zaun

Against lefties, you'll likely see Stewart playing in place of Lind and possibly Barajas instead of Stairs.  All of this is speculation of course.

Well regardless of last night's display, I'm looking forward to watching tonight's game.  The Jays will have the pitching edge tonight with Halladay on the mound against Jason Hammel who is 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in three starts.

Where has the offence gone? After a great road trip where the Jays swept Texas and split with Baltimore, the blue birds returned home to get swept in their own next by those same Texas Rangers they looked so dominant against this past weekend. 

The pitching has been decent but in the last two games, the bats have gone cold.  In the first game against Texas, sure the team scored five runs but this was more of a result of some poor pitching (walks) and defense (errors) by the Rangers than productive at bats by the Blue Jays.  The Blue Jays had no business being in that game but after getting fortunate and tying the game at five they had a multitude of chances to win the game and couldn't do it despite some clutch pitching from the bullpen.  Recent call-up Jesse Carleson looked fantastic in three innings of scoreless work.  At the end of the day, the Blue Jays batted 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Last night with Roy Halladay on the mound the team still didn't hit and Texas walked away with an easy 4-1 win.  The team doesn't seem to have any problems getting runners on but are consistently letting opposing pitchers off the hook by grounding into double-plays or striking out.  I know it is still early but this is an alarming trend.

As a result of going through their entire bullpen on Wednesday night and having to use tonight's scheduled starter, A.J. Burnett out of the pen, the Blue Jays will turn to David Purcey tonight. After a dominating Arizona fall league season and a few strong starts in triple-A Syracuse, Purcey will be making his major league debut against the Tigers.  To make room for Purcey the team place Brian Wolfe on the 15 day DL with a sore tricep muscle.  I wonder how sore Mr. Wolfe's tricep really is but it seemed like fortunate timing to have Purcey called up yesterday after the team used it's entire bullpen the night before!

The Jays face the Gambler tonight who is not exactly hot at the moment.  I believe he has lost seven straight decisions going back to last season.  Kenny could be the cure for what ails the Jays bats!  I don't have a good feeling about this series. The Tigers have struggled to start the year but they are too good of team to be playing this poorly.  Their pitching and offense have to turn it all around sometime and I'm just hoping it is not this weekend.

Pitching Matchups for this series:

Friday: Purcey vs. Rogers

Saturday: McGowan vs. Bonderman

Sunday: Burnett vs. Robertson

Monday: Marcum vs. Galarraga

The Jays miss Verlander which is nice even though he has struggled early on this season.  The Jays should have the edge in pitching matchups in two of the four games (Sunday and Monday) but Robertson pitched the Jays tough last season and they have never seen Galarraga which has been the kiss of death for Jays hitters so far this season.  It will be interesting!

Another interesting game with the A's last night.  The Blue Jays had no business winning that game as their pitchers escaped so many situations where the A's had runners in scoring position with less than two outs.  I couldn't believe it! 

Somehow the Blue Jays, after scoring three runs in the bottom of the first, held onto a one run lead heading into the ninth and Jeremy Accardo on the hill to close out a win they did not deserve.  Then the wheels completely fell off.  A hit batter and then a triple later, the game was tied and the A's had the go-ahead run on third and nobody out.  Accardo managed to almost escape the ninth with the game tied but with one out and runners at first and third, Emil Brown hit a chopper to Scutaro at third.  Scutaro decided to try and cut the run off at home but threw wildly and the ball went to the backstop.  The A's then ended up scoring two more runs and basically put the game out of reach.  However, Scutaro could have tried for the double play which would have been difficult to turn but at least they would have recorded one out and possibly got out of the inning only trailing by one run.  Very ill-advised and not smart baseball but as I wrote earlier, the team did not deserve to win this game anyways. Good teams find ways to win.  It seems like in the last two games the Blue Jays are finding ways to lose.  The good news is that B.J. Ryan could be back in the fold by the end of next week.

Now the Blue Jays turn to Shaun Marcum to try and salvage the last game of this series.  

On a player transaction note, the Blue Jays designated Randy Wells for assignment while calling up LHP Jesse Carleson  from Syracuse. The reasoning behind this as stated by the team is that they have been facing a lot of left handed hitters of late and needed the extra lefty in the pen.  Wells, as a Rule V draftee, has to be offered back to the Cubs (team he was claimed from) for half the price of what the Blue Jays paid for him or the Jays can maybe work out a trade to keep him. 

I can't say I watched all of last night's game against the A's but I did watch the first few innings.  Tuesday nights are movie night with the wife so baseball takes a back seat.  For the first two batters of the evening, it looked like A.J. was going to cruise but then he gave up back to back hits and one run scored before he got out of the first.  After Vernon Wells put the Jays up 3-1 in the bottom of the first, I thought A.J. would settle down and the Blue Jays would cruise to a victory.

It took about two batters into the second inning to change my thinking.  The A's were hitting A.J. all over the park, he couldn't locate any pitch but his fastball and I knew we were headed for another A.J. meltdown on the mound.  Five runs later and the Jays were down 6-3. 

The Jays' bats were facing Chad Gaudin who was fresh off the DL in place of an injured Rich Harden so I had confidence they could come back but I was concerned of whether the Jays could stop the A's bats and keep the game in range.  Well I missed the rest of the game and all the fireworks!  The Jays bats continued to hit, putting up eight runs but Brian Tallet struggled and Accardo couldn't keep the game tied and they ended up dropping the first game of the series.

What was encouraging was that the team kept battling and could have easily won the game.  What was discouraging was Burnett's awful start and the bullpen not shutting a weak hitting A's team down after the team had taken the lead. 

The Jays need to take the final two games of this series and with the A's starting two rookies in the next two games, they should have the pitching advantage.  Hopefully the bats stay hot and the Jays take the series.  If not, the team will have dropped two of their first three series which would be quite discouraging and kill the buzz this team was getting in the City of Toronto after their sweep of the Red Sox. 

You can't complain about a sweep of the World Series Champs or any team for that matter.  Of course the BoSox are probably a tired bunch after playing the first three series of the season in different time zones.  It will be interesting to see how the Jays fare against the Red Sox later in the season. 

However, it was still good to see the Blue Jays play as well as they did over the weekend.  The 3-4-5 hitters are producing when it counts and it is making a difference.  Frank Thomas is proving the doubters wrong early on and Rios looks to be poised for a huge year.  Vernon Wells seems to have returned to form as well.  It is still very early in the season but if this middle of the lineup stays strong and the team continues to get consistent pitching, this team will contend.  The team will only get stronger when Rolen and Ryan return from injuries.

I should note that John Gibbons was true to form resting Eckstein in favour of McDonald and Zaun in favour of Barajas.  Gibbons desire to get his bench players regular play is a little more acceptable this season as he has a strong bench and we're not getting Howie Clark instead of Troy Glaus as in seasons past!

The true test for this team will be if they can match the intesity they show when playing the Yankees and Red Sox against other teams like their next opponent, the Oakland A's.  Jays fans should be treated to another good pitching matchup when Burnett takes on Harden in the series opener.  The Jays should win at least two out of three games in this series but the games still need to be be played and we'll see what happens.

A good ole fashioned butt-whoopin' today at the Rogers Centre!  Actually the game was closer than it looked but the Jays scored a bunch of runs midway through the game and put it away.

One turn through the rotation and five good starts, you can't complain about that.   Pitching looks to be the team's strength so far so if the bats can contribute like they did today, this team can be good, very good.

Loving the new additions so far.  Eckstein is contributing and Scutaro is filling in very nicely for the injured Scott Rolen.  I can't wait for Rolen to make his Jays debut.  If the team can continue to hit and they add Rolen to the lineup, they will be very fun to watch.

Great to see Frank Thomas go deep today.  Having him and Wells having strong seasons will be key to the team contending this year. 

Roy Halladay takes on Josh Beckett tomorrow in a classic pitcher's match-up.  It will be interesting to see what the Jays lineup looks like tomorrow as they have won the first two games of the series.  Last year, in situations like this, Gibbons would generally play two or three of his bench players.  If this patter continues we'll see John McDonald at short tomorrow, and Barajas catching.  The thing with the Jays this year is they have a little more depth so having Barajas in the lineup instead of Zaun is really not a dropoff and McDonald is solid at short.  However, I love what Eckstein brings to the team so if I had my way, I'd put McDonald at third in place of Scutaro rather than Eckstein. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

What a day for a home opener.  I drove down from Ottawa and arrived in Toronto around noon.  I was listening to the local all-sports station on the radio and they announced that the Blue Jays had scheduled a press confererence for 3 p.m. to announce the signing of Alex Rios to a contract extension.  This was great news but totally expected as it has been rumoured for a couple of weeks now.  The bonus was that they locked up Aaron Hill as well.  Both of these guys are the real deal so I am all for locking them up long-term.

Now as for the home opener at Rogers Centre.  I had ten of my friends there with me but we were split up into three different sections in the .500 level.  The .500 level was very interesting last night.  It was mostly filled with drunken college/university students so it was a bit of a party atmosphere.  Of course having drunk students acting pretty much like idiots for seven innings tends to wear on people's nerves after awhile so it was no surprise that a number of fignts broke out come the seventh.  It took awhile for security to break them up which was a shame because the focus of many of the fans was on what was taking place in the stands than the ballgame.

But what a ballgame it was!  The Jays looked pretty sharp in their retro uniforms.  My wife thinks they look like pajamas but to each his own I guess.  I will admit that I think they should bring back the uniforms they wore in 1992 and 93 for the Friday night games but the powder blues will sell more jerseys. 

The pre-game ceremony to induct Roberto Alomar and Paul Beeston to the level of excellence was okay but the Blue Jays really need to look at how the Yankees hold pre-game ceremonies because there is something that is missing.  I can't put my finger on it.  I think it would have been good to have a few of Alomar's old teammates there and maybe have one or two of them speak before Robbie.  Where was Cito Gaston???  Oh well, it was good to see Roberto Alomar, the most talented Blue Jay ever, honoured along with the man who helped build the franchise into two World Series titles, Paul Beeston.

The game started off as a pitcher's duel with Sean Marcum mowing down Red Sox and Tim Wakefield baffling Jays hitters.  Matt Stairs (playing in the first game this season) broke the scoreless tie with a homerun to right to lead off the bottom of the sixth.  The Jays scored two more runs and were threatening for more but Greg Zaun (who was batting from the right side against Wakefield) grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Marcum was cruising until the seventh.  A one-out walk to Ortiz started things off.  Marcum beared down and struck out Man-Ram but then gave up a bloop single to Mike Lowell setting the stage for a J.D. Drew homerun.  The homerun occurred just after I had leaned over to a friend of mine and said, "The Jays should be good here, no way Nancy is going to get a hit."  I was wrong! 

Thankfully, the Blue Jays did not do what they did in the previous series and cough up the game in the late innings.  Instead they put two more runs on the board in the bottom half of the seventh inning.  Eckstein led off the inning with a walk.  Shannon Stewart who was pinch-hitting for Matt Stairs pushed a single through the middle leaving runners on first and second for the 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup.  I thought to myself that if the Jays didn't score a run here, they didn't deserve to win.  Rios promptly fouled out and Wells followed suit.  I was not happy.  Frank Thomas then came through with a double into the left field gap putting the Jays in the lead for good.  The team scratched out another run in the bottom of the eighth before Accardo nailed down his second save of the season.

What can you say about the starting rotation thus far? Four quality starts in a row against two of the top teams in the American League.  If this holds up, Blue Jays fans can look to a very exciting season.  We'll see if Jesse Litsch can continue the trend today against the Sox.

Looking forward to the final two games of this series.  I'm hoping to catch the last game on Sunday before heading back to Ottawa.

Okay, I haven't been able to log on to my blog for the past two days so I couldn't post on Tuesday or Wednesday.  As if I'd have nothing to say about the Jays/Yankees!!!!

I'm not going to give you a recap of the two games but will comment.  After watching both games in their entirety, I will say this: I do not fear the Yankees this season. 

Now this statement may draw a reaction.  I'm not saying the Blue Jays will finish ahead of the Yankees or that they are a superior team.  What I'm saying is that the gap between the Blue Jays and Yankees is not that wide anymore. 

The Yankees are still going to be a strong team but I won't be having the same "Gee, I hope we somehow get out of New York with at least a win and two if we're lucky" feeling before the Jays visit New York this season.  It will be more of a feeling that the Blue Jays can take two of three and possibly sweep the Yankees. 

I came to this conclusion watching last night's game.  Of course having A.J. Burnett cruising may have biased my opinion but after the team was up 3-0, I had no fear of a Yankees comeback.  Even after Mr. April hit the two run shot in the seventh, I wasn't worried. I see this as a transition year for the Yankees.  They have a mix of aging stars, superstars and youngsters.  Watching the game I went through each position on the field and compared the Blue Jays and Yankees and picked which player I'd rather have this season on my team.    In years past, when I've done this, it has been pretty one-sided for the Yankees but not the case this year.

Lets start with catchers.  Posada vs. Zaun/Barajas. This is no contest.  I'd take Posada over the platoon of Zaun and Barajas.  No need to even discuss. Pick: POSADA

First Base: Overbay vs. Giambi. The fact I have to even consider Giambi a first baseman bothers me!  I'll take Overbay in this instance.  I'd give the edge to Giambi at the plate but Overbay is a good defensive first baseman in addition to being a decent hitter.  If I were the Yankees I would have left Giambi trapped in the camera bay last night until his next at bat and had Cano cover both positions for the remainder of the game.  Giambi is slow and is injury prone and is not the power hitter he once was.  Pick: OVERBAY

Second Base: Hill vs. Cano.  This is a tough one as I hold Aaron Hill in such a high regard.  I see Hill as a future gold glove second baseman and he is solid at the plate.  However, Robinson Cano is an all-star and more accomplished at the plate.  I have to take Cano on this one but I'd love to have either on my team.  Pick: CANO

Shortstop: Eckstein vs. Jeter.  No contest even though I can't stand him. Pick: JETER

Third Base: A-Rod vs. Rolen.  See above.  Pick: A-ROD

Left Field: Damon vs. Stewart.  Two years ago, I'd pick Damon hands down.  Now I don't know.  Damon just isn't the same player he was two years ago.  I like Shannon Stewart for his bat and decent speed but he is injury prone and has a terrible arm in left.  I can say the same for Johnny Damon.  Pick: ???

Centre Field: Cabrera vs. Wells.  Sorry Melky fans but the two great catches and cheap homerun on Tuesday didn't convince me.  I'll take Wells' gold glove and 100 RBIs instead. (Not to say Melky can't play centrefield, he's excellent).  PICK: WELLS

Right Field: Abreu vs. Rios.  Another tough one as Bobby Abreu has some strong credentials and still puts up good numbers.  I think Abreu is still an elite player but is running out of steam  whereas Rios is now a two-time all-star and is emerging as an elite player.  I think Rios is going to have another good year, possibly a monster year if his power numbers increase.  PICK: RIOS

DH: Thomas vs. Matsui.  Again I though this might be kind of tough as neither is a slouch.  However when I put some thought into it, it wasn't tough at all. Thomas could go down anytime to injury and is very slow on the basepaths.  Also, questions abound as to whether Thomas has lost his bat speed in the twilight of his career.  Matsui has been an all-star in the past and could be this year as well and can play a a decent left field where Thomas may not even own a glove.  PICK: MATSUI

So far, we have 5 picks for the Yankees (Posada, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod, Matsui), three for the Jays (Overbay, Wells, Rios) and one tie (Damon/Stewart).  Last year I probably would have picked almost all Yankees in this comparison.

Lets move on to the rotations.  Toronto's rotation consists of Halladay, Burnett, McGowan, Marcum and Litsch.  Yankees have Wang, Pettite, Mussina, Hughes, and Kennedy. 

I'd take the Jays rotation over the Yankees.  I'd take Halladay over Wang.  Halladay is an ace by every definition.  Wang is good but after watching him in the playoffs last year and in the season opener I have my doubts about him.  Burnett or Pettite.  Two years ago, I take Pettite but this season I'd take Burnett.  Pettite has nothing to prove this season and was considering hanging up his spikes before deciding to return.  He's already having back trouble and has been battling injuries the last few seasons. Burnett has been dogged by injuries and inconsistency but this is essentially a contract year for A.J. and has tons to prove with fans and media after two disappointing seasons with the Blue Jays.  McGowan or Mussina.  Again, two years ago, Mussina would be an easy choice but McGowan had a breakout season last year and Mussina was terrible.  Mussina looked pretty bad last night too so this is easy, I'll take McGowan.  Hughes and Marcum.  I'll take the stud Hughes here over Marcum.  Marcum battles but Hughes has better stuff and is targetted as a top of the rotation starter.  Litsch vs. Kennedy.  Again I'll take the Yankees starter here. If Chamberlain is put into the rotation at some point this season, the Yankees might get the edge but for now...PICK: BLUE JAYS

Now for the Bullpen (minus the closers): I think the Jays definitely have the advantage here.  Once Ryan is back, they'll have Accardo and Downs in the set-up role and their middle relief corps is also solid.  The Yankees have some question marks in the bullpen.  Chamberlain is gold as a setup man but after him, I'd be a little concern if I was a Yankees fan. Hawkins was a good signing but Farnsworth scares me and frankly I haven't seen enough of the other members of the bullpen to really comment.  The Blue Jays pen was a team strength last season and kept the team in games early on in the season when the starting rotation was a mess.  PICK: BLUE JAYS

Closers: Rivera vs. Ryan: Rivera is the best closer of all-time so out of respect I'd take Rivera. However, Ryan is no slouch either.  If Ryan wasn't coming of Tommy John surgery and had put up the same numbers last season as he had the prior season, I might have a tougher time picking this one. PICK: RIVERA 

Again, last year I would have went with the Yankees rotation and quite possibly their bullpen too.  This year it is a different story.

So there you have it.  The Yankees are still a very talented team but I don't see them as talented as years past and think the Jays have a realistic chance of finishing ahead of them in the standings this season.  Will it happen? I don't know.  If I had to bet, I'd probably take the Yankees but it is not the foregone conclusion it was three years ago.  We'll just have to see.  I may end up looking like an idiot if the Jays falter and the Yankees prove me wrong. 

Game Three tonight.  A Jays win tonight would be nice considering they will have the Red Sox waiting for them when they return to Toronto on Friday.