Eleven (and Nine and Ten)

The Blue Jays won. Again.

They swept a series. Again.

But this time, it was a little different. Prior to this weekend series, people with opinions about baseball said this series with the Orioles was a major test for the Jays.  The Jays were 12-20 against the East. Winning streaks are fun, but if a team can't win against their own division, it's all kind of pointless.

The Orioles are a good team, and the Jays wins in the first two games were hard fought. After two tough losses that might have gone either way, laying a beat down on the O's was all the more satisfying.

"They whupped us," said Adam Jones, who went 1-for-4. "This series, they came out and they were competitive. We ran into a good team, you have to tip your cap sometimes."

I knew the Jays were making an impression when I read the O's message board, and  discovered some serious hilarity. Conspiracy theories, persecution complexes, hatred for players on both teams- it was almost SOSHian.

There was a lot of complaining about how lucky the Jays are- and they are right. Winning streaks come with some luck.

But the 2012 Orioles, with their run differential and their record of one run wins, were maybe the luckiest damn team in the history of baseball. Some self-awareness is likely too much to ask for.

As for the Darren O'Day/ Jose Bautista bitch fest 2013, the whole thing is pretty funny. From what I take from it, O'Day got a little excited striking Bautista out on Friday. He probably whooped it up a little, and maybe have even said something along the lines of "Sit down!" which Bautista, being Bautista, took exception to.

Bautista getting a homer off O'Day the next game was poetic. The mature thing was to maybe not engage rounding third, but what is fun about maturity? Bautista is someone who plays with a lot of emotion. His bat had been a little quiet since the game tying homer in Chicago that started this win streak and maybe needed a little jolt. Thanks for poking the sleeping giant, O'Day.

What's the general feeling?

"I've been waiting for this since the season started," Encarnacion said. "I believe in this team. I knew that things had to change, that things had to become good for us. So this is the way right now."

Pretty much.

Kawasaki, Toronto folk hero, hit his first career to tie the game on Friday and danced on the team plane to Tampa.

With Jose Reyes set to come off the DL, it's up in the air what is going to happen with Kawasaki. He's a favourite amongst his teammates and fans alike. He bows, he cheers in Japanese and Spanish and plays with a lot of joy. And he's got Encarnacion doing this:

Is it weird to think of a major league baseball player as a mascot? That's apparently what a lot of Mariner fans suggested when Seattle released Kawasaki last year.

“That’s pretty much what we're feeling,” pitcher Mark Buehrle said Friday to the National Post. “Obviously, not knowing what’s going to happen when Reyes comes back, but I think a lot of guys here would put some money together to pay his salary.”


The Jays' bullpen recreates the Bull Durham speech for for the movie's 25th anniversary. Well played, boys.

And finally, a Red Sox blog has discovered "Farrell Ball".