Blue Jays Report: Things got a lot better for the Blue Jays yesterday. Not only did they get a win, with just off the DL Alex Rios leading the way. They got another good outing from Shaun Marcum, granted it was a bit short because of the power outage in Oakland that halted the game. BJ Ryan got the two inning save, working himself in trouble in the eight inning but getting the double play ball to end the inning. And even more good news, Gustavo Chacin will be making a rehab start in Syracuse on Sunday, which means he should be back soon. Also the Red Sox lost, so the Jays picked a game on them.

So the trade deadline is Monday, and it will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Jays do. Do they pick up a starting pitcher with Chacin coming back. Do they pick up a short stop to take over for light hitting John McDonald? Do they try to pick up some help for the pen. I expect maybe the pen is where the Jays might make a move. I would to surprised if they did anything big, but maybe a small deal to try to help out that pen.

Bisons Report: The Bisons got a split of the double header yesterday, losing the first game 6-3, but coming up with a 2-1 win over the Louisville Bats  in the night cap. Also in the IL North Rochester lost, which lets Scranton catch them for first pace, with Ottawa four games behind, and Buffalo four and a half.

Andy Marte got the call to the big leagues, going 0-3 in the Tribe’s 1-0 win (more on that in a second). Really he did not deserve a callup, only hitting in the .270′s and very bad play at third. But seeing he is the Tribe’s top prospect in Buffalo, we knew the call up was coming. Also in that game, Jeremy Sowers pitched his second straight complete game shutout. The first Indians rookie to do that in 35 years. It kinda makes you wonder why Sowers was not up in Cleveland sooner in the season. Tomorrow I will be in Cleveland at the game. The Jake is one of my favorite ballparks, so with the Herd out of town and the Jays on the road, it seemed like a good time to go to Cleveland for a game.

New York-Penn League Report: The Batavia Muckdogs returned home to get a 9-4 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in a game that had almost a 2 hour rain delay. 1,058 fans were in the stands in Batavia to see game. The first place Jamestown Jammers lost to the Williamsport Crosscutters in front of 1,799 fans in the PA city.

Bisons Report: I hurry from work down to the ballpark, which takes about forty-five minutes. I noticed it was cloudy, but I thought nothing of it. So I work my way through the crowds out front, grab a cheese steak when I get in the stadium and head for the club level. I knew Sharon was going to be late, so I went in the press box to grab the Ks, and what did I notice on the field? The tarp. So we had an hour of light rain, and then about 2pm the sun came out and we were ready for baseball. Louisville put two up in the top of the first, but the Bisons tied it up on a Lou Merloni home run and then added another in the bottom of the inning. Both teams when scoreless in the second, but Louisville scored three times in the top of the third to take a 5-3. The Bats still had no outs in the top of the third with the bases loaded when it started pouring. The players were called off the field and the tarp went back on. Even my buddy Jessie had to help pull the tarp on the field this time. But then it stopped raining and I dried the seats off one more time, the tarp was pulled again, and the field groomed. But before play could take place, it started raining again and the tarp went back on. Then Jessie’s dad Tim showed up, and asked if I could take Jessie home if the game was called because he has to leave. So a few minutes later they started putting the 1988 Bisons highlight video on the big board (1988 was the year the then Pilot Field, now Dunn Tire Park opened). But a minute into the video, the power went out in most of the stadium. Power was restored a little while latter, but then Jessie called to say she had went home with her dad when the power went out. Finally at 5pm, they called the game. So I got to see the tarp removed and put on more the baseball. The game will be picked up tomorrow in the top of the third. That game will be followed by a seven inning game. And seeing the way double headers have went this season for the Bisons, one of the games will go fourteen innings.

While I am waiting for the Jays game tonight, I am watching the Kansas City Royals vs the Baltimore Orioles. Why you may be asking? Because sometimes it is nice to just watch a baseball game and not be rooting for someone. Whenever I watch a Jays game I am rooting for them, not just enjoying the game. And when I watch the Yankees, Red Sox, or White Sox I am rooting against them because of the playoff race. I will probably rooting against the Twins now too because they are in that wild card race too. But I don’t care about the O’s or Royals, they are both going no where, so I can just watch it for the beauty of the game.

Blue Jays Report: What a way to end a series with the Yankees and a great way to bounce back after a tough loss on Saturday. I had my headphones with me and Dunn Tire Park listening to the game, and it makes it much easier to tell everyone the score when the Jays are pounding the ball out of the yard, seeing everyone but me and my little buddy Brian are Yankees fans.

So can we talk about Vernon Wells as a MVP candidate now? I would say he had a heck of a series, from the first game to the last. Starting pitching was strong all series long. If only the pen would not have fallen apart Saturday we would be talking about a sweep. But the best part of the weekend was Eric Hinske, a guy who looked like would be on his way out of Toronto, had a heck of a series and looks like he will be getting lots of starts down the road with Shea in San Francisco. I expect Hinske will be the starting DH, and he can give Glaus a break and third, Overbay a break at first, and he can play left field. Yeah he is getting paid a lot, but I think he is worth it if he plays like he did this weekend.

Now it is on to the west coast, and probably the hardest road trips of the year. Yeah the teams in the AL West are not as good as the Jays, but all the travel and time change takes it toll on players.

Bisons Report: For the second straight game the Bisons blew a lead in the top of the ninth. Syracuse scored three times to take a 6-4 lead over the Herd. But unlike last night, the Bisons cashed in their baserunners in the bottom of the inning and came out with a 7-6 win. The Bisons finish up against Syracuse tomorrow and then have a huge series with Louisville, which they pretty much have to sweep if they have any thoughts about getting  back in the playoff race.

New York-Penn League Report: The Batavia Muckdogs shutout the Boston Red Sox farm club the Lowell Spinners 4-0 today in a game I did not think would ever be played. When I was leaving the Bisons game the skies were really dark and when I made it back to my dads which is close to Batavia it was really dark and looked like lots of rain was on the way. So I decided not to head over to Batavia because I figured the game would be called. As I type this the Jamestown Jammers are beating the Brooklyn Cyclones 12-1 in Jamestown, in a game that was probably delayed by rain too.

Tonight on Baseball Tonight they were discussing if A-Rod should be traded. Yes, he had a bad week, and if he were some guy who just came up from the minors he would be back in the minors. But if he were just your average player and had a week like he did, nobody would even notice. But he is A-Rod, the best player (or top two with Pujols) in baseball, and he is playing in New York. If he were still in Seattle or Texas and he had a week like he did, he would get mentioned, but I don’t think they would spend the first ten minutes of the show talking about it. So why would the Yankees trade the best player in the game? I have no idea, he had a really bad week, and while I liked all the E-Rod jokes, and the K-Rod jokes yesterday, he will be back to hitting homeruns and playing solid at third. Yeah the crowd in New York is tough, and the media can be tougher, but it was ONE FREAKING WEEK PEOPLE, CHILL OUT. There is only two other teams that could afford him and still have money to spend on players around him. And I really don’t think the Yankees are going to trade him to the Red Sox or Mets. And I don’t think any lower budget team will trade for him after seeing what happened to Texas when they spent all their money on him. So A-Rod will be in New York for a long time, probably the rest of his career.