It remains one of the great baseball movies of all time, Bull Durham, starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins even though it was released 25 years ago, back in 1988.

One of the truly memorable scenes features a steamy encounter between Durham’s No. 1 baseball groupie, Annie Savoy (Sarandon) and the veteran minor-league catcher Crash Davis (Costner).

Annie, it seems, has made it her life’s work to mentor young minor-leaguers like young prosopect Nuke LaLoosh as they pass through on their way to The Show.

In this memorable scene, with humour and understated electricity flowing through the dialogue Annie challenges the aging, idealistic Crash to tell her what it is in life that he truly believes in.

We enlisted the help of members of the current Blue Jays bullpen, led by closer Casey Janssen, with the help of key contributors Darren Oliver, Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil and Neil Wagner to re-enact the Costner speech. They clearly had fun with it.

More Blue Jays coverage on Thestar.com

THE ESSAY

The phenomenon that is Munenori Kawasaki: How do you solve a problem like Kawasaki? In a matter of days, no later than the series opener vs. the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Jose Reyes will return to his position at shortstop for the Blue Jays. There is no arguing it is his position when healthy. Reyes is under contract to the Jays for another four seasons, plus an option, guaranteeing him another $91 million. Plus, when healthy, he’s one of the best.

Meanwhile, the man filling in for the all-star Reyes while he was out of action two months with the horrific ankle sprain is 32-year-old Munenori Kawasaki, a light-hitting, sure-handed shortstop who has done an incredible job, given his natural shortcomings — weak bat and an average throwing arm and range. But, just as he did in Seattle in 2012, Mune has become a cult hero at the Rogers Centre.

The natural thing to do when Reyes returns would be to send Kawasaki back to Triple-A Buffalo to continue playing every day, just in case the Reyes ankle breaks down or there is a need at one of the other infield positions due to injury. That would be the natural, the easiest thing to do.

Why is it easy to ship him? Kawasaki has options remaining and is one of the few Jays players that can be sent to the minors and brought back up as you need him without going through MLB waivers. That’s bad for him, but good for the Jays.

MORE ON THESTAR.COM

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Jays delay Jose Reyes’ return

Jays bullpen surprisingly dominant

Ever since it became obvious that Reyes would be returning to the lineup shortly, Kawasaki has put on a full court press, representing himself as his own counsel in the court of public opinion and winning every argument. On Friday, in one of the most fan-energizing games of the year, Kawasaki lined a single to centre for an RBI in the fifth inning, giving his team a 3-1 lead. Then in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 6-4, the diminutive one slashed a high fastball into the O’s bullpen to tie the game.

As teammates pushed him back up the dugout steps and onto the field, a curtain call for his first career homer, Kawasaki put his hands together in front of him and bowed quickly in all directions. Then when Kawasaki came to the plate with two men on and one out in the ninth inning, with a chance for a walkoff, the crowd of more than 35,000 whipped themselves into a frenzy. As the crowd chanted Kah-wah-sah-kee, the cameras showed a dugout full of fired-up teammates, with Edwin Encarnacion chanting along, encouraging teammates to do the same. How do you send him down?

Despite Kawasaki not speaking either of the two official languages of the Jays’ clubhouse — English or Spanish — the ability to communicate is clearly there. On Saturday morning, players straggled into the clubhouse with no batting practice scheduled, greeted by a thoughtful gift on their chairs from Kawasaki. He had procured blue t-shirts with a Japanese phrase on the front and the translation, “Let’s Go” in English and Spanish on the back. How do you send him down?

As J.P. Arencibia chirped his little Japanese friend, he pulled on his gift shirt and tried to yank it down to reach his belt, flexing against the overly-tight fabric that was clearly two sizes too small. “Hey Mune, is this what they call Japanese XXL?”

Arencibia laughed, but kept the shirt on. He then watched quietly as the hulking Steve Delabar entered the clubhouse and also tried his gift shirt on. When the reliever looked puzzled and started tugging, trying to get it to fit, Arencibia erupted in laughter. How do you send Mune down?

Easy. Other than the Friday game-tying home run, other than an earlier game-winning double that produced a walk-off victory for the Jays, on May 26, ending up with a post-game interview for the ages, other than the in-game formal bows to teammates like Melky Cabrera that are returned in kind, other than the affection his teammates have shown him, including Reyes when he was in the dugout while still on the DL, other than all that stuff, Kawasaki remains only a fringe major-league performer. Still, how do you send him down?

Easy. Although he has reached base 61 times in 59 games, Kawasaki has a .228 average and a .670 OPS. He has made five errors and has only played shortstop. Suggestions have been that he could stay with the team that they could move him over to become the starter at second base. The argument against that is that Emilio Bonifacio and Maicer Izturis have both stepped it up defensively, both have larger guaranteed contracts and no options to be sent down. So, how do you keep Kawasaki?

The easiest way to keep him would be to take advantage of the fact the Jays are carrying eight relievers and that the starting pitchers are consistently going deeper into games than in the first month-and-a-half. Does any team in that situation need eight men in the bullpen? Not really, but there are problems in selecting who to ship out. The only reliever with an option remaining is righthander Neil Wagner, however he throws 96-98 mp/h and has become a right-handed specialist with value.

That would mean if you sent either lefthander Juan Perez or righthander Dustin McGowan to the minors, they would need to clear waivers and be outrighted off the roster.

Perez has been very good, if somewhat underused and might be the logical pick, although it is likely some team would claim him. Placing McGowan on waivers would be an interesting gamble. Would any team take a chance on a pitcher that has five years of arm woes and has gallantly fought his way back to the majors? Especially since any claiming team would be responsible for $2.8 million in guaranteed future money.

Either way, it might be a good idea to keep Kawasaki around even if only as insurance should Reyes’ ankle remain a minor issue, in which he needs days off occasionally but is solid enough not to have to go onto the DL. As for Kawasaki, a bigger question than how do you keep him becomes how do you send him down? He demonstrates every day that baseball is a game, a point we often forget.

BLUE JAYS CORNER

THE WEEK THAT WAS (3-0 vs. Rockies; 3-0 vs. Orioles): There were old heroes and new heroes in an undefeated 6-0 work week for the Blue Jays, blending hot bats and unlikely new power sources, with the continued excellence of a bullpen that combined to go 3-0, with three saves and a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 innings.

Highlights of the Rockies series: On Monday, Brett Cecil had retired 25 straight batters in relief, when manager John Gibbons asked him to walk Michael Cuddyer intentionally, ending his bid for a totally unofficial perfect relief game of 27 straight outs. Maicer Izturis then drove in the game’s only two runs in the eighth.

On Tuesday, Rockies lefthander and B.C. native Jeff Francis had an unfortunate start, giving up four first inning runs, as Esmil Rogers, this year’s Carlos Villanueva-type swingman for the Jays cruised as a starter. Francis was removed from the roster after the Rox left town on Wednesday.

In Game 3, the Jays completed the sweep, with Mark Buehrle going five innings for the 5-2 win. Adam Lind’s three-run homer in the first was the big blow.

Highlights of the Orioles series: Friday, the Jays played one of the most energizing games of the season, in front of a crowd of more than 35,000 winning 7-6 with a walkoff ninth inning single by Rajai Davis. But the biggest blow, one that would have blown the roof off the Rogers Centre if it had been on, was the two-run homer by Mune Kawasaki that tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.

On Saturday, the Jays’ impenetrable bullpen finally yielded a run, a game-tying homer off of lefty Darren Oliver in the eighth. But Oliver then picked up the win, when Jose Bautista snapped out of his slump with a two-run homer vs. Darren O’Day that included a chirpy tour of the bases directed by Joey Bats at O’Day for the previous night’s strikeout celebration. It was cathartic for Bautista.

Finally, on Sunday the Jays got to veteran Freddy Garcia early and often, as Josh Johnson went six innings for his first AL win.

For the week, the Jays’ bullpen worked 16 2/3 innnings, allowing a pair of home runs, with seven hits, four walks and 22 strikeouts. The Jays pen has now logged an incredible total of 76 innings in the past 19 games. Over that stretch, Jays relievers have posted a 1.02 ERA, with 39 hits, 24 walks and 70 strikeouts. The Jays have won 16 of those 20 decisions, with the bullpen going 7-2.

The Jays have risen to two games above .500 for the first time since being 51-49 on July 28 last season. The last time they were three games over .500 was 38-35 on June 25, 2012.

Since May 26, the Jays have lost just one series, that being the two of three in San Diego.

THE RANT

Bigger news: Jays win 11 straight or Leafs get new goalie? On a steamy Sunday morning, as the Blue Jays headed to the ballpark seeking a record-tying 11 straight wins, the Maple Leafs’ GM Dave Nonis pulled the trigger on a trade with the Los Angeles Kings for their backup goalie, Jonathan Bernier.

Suddenly the question was being asked: Which is the bigger event for Toronto sports fans, the Jays’ win streak or the Leafs’ new backup goalie? The consensus in an unofficial poll came back: Fans believed it was the Bernier trade. Come on!

Get real! You have got to be kidding! Leafs fans are delusional and, conversely, Blue Jays fans are often too passive, too apologetic about their passion for their baseball team. Maybe they just don’t want to get into it with Leafs fans, seemingly fighting an unarmed opponent.

Jays fans may defer too much to the puck-head fanatics in blue and white. Jays fans must believe it’s unpatriotic, un-Canadian to downplay anything hockey, especially Leafs hockey, in any way. There is absolutely no way that a Leafs trade for a second NHL goaltender on June 23, with camp still at least two months away, no way that a backup goalie trade should overshadow the Jays’ run.

Maybe the problem is that most Blue Jays fans are also hockey fans, while many Leafs fans and fans of the NHL are not cerebral enough to appreciate baseball. I’m not saying all Leafs fans, but there is a neanderthal portion of Leaf Nation that claims baseball is boring, baseball is too slow and baseball sucks. Solid arguments, boys. And it’s usually the vocal minority that is making the noise in answering online hypothetical questions like was asked Sunday, comparing the Bernier trade with the Jays.

The two events should not even be on the same page. The Jays tied a franchise record with 11 straight wins on Sunday and finished off the weekend with a crowd of more than 45,000 giving them a three-game total of 123,947 fans at the Rogers Centre for three games of the weekend vs. the O’s.

Bernier is 24 years old, was selected 11th overall in the 2006 draft from the Lewiston Maineiacs and in his six NHL seasons, has a record of 29-20-6 in 62 games. That’s just over 10 NHL games played per season. What is there to get so excited about the Jays should have to take a back seat in the minds of the city’s sports fans? Jays fans have no reason to take this ridiculous assertion seriously.

Honestly, Bernier, the saviour of the immediate future, has played in just one post-season game with the Kings — 30 minutes in relief of Jonathan Quick. Of course, it can be pointed out to Leafs fans that over that same six NHL seasons, they have, themselves, only experienced a total of seven playoff games.

The Jays have already drawn 29 crowds at the RC bigger than any crowd the Leafs drew this year at the Air Canada Centre. Yeah, yeah, cost of tix, building capacity, whatever, but facts are facts. Even The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, believed as a youngster that summertime was for baseball. Come on Leafs fans, it’s Jonathan Bernier. Wait until he does something before anointing him the starter. Is he even better than James Reimer? Don’t forget, you had Tuukka Rask and gave him away.

The Jays are going for 12 straight on Monday night in Tampa, while Bernier is still months away from stopping his first puck.

STAR INTERVIEW WITH ADAM LIND

Richard Griffin: When you got sent down to Vegas last year on outright waivers, what was crossing your mind at that point in time?

Adam Lind: Some pretty deep stuff, I guess. My future in the game. What’s next in life. My kids, my wife, because when you get outrighted, taken off the roster, your insurance is gone. What happens if we have a medical emergency. The game of life, family things, that’s really what was going through my head.

RG: We talked last summer about the distractions. Two years ago your wife was becoming a U.S. citizen and couldn’t join you in Toronto. Then there was playing first base. Then there was the criticism that you weren’t in good enough shape. Could you just go down a list of them.

AL: That’s just part of not doing your job to expectations that’s been set for you. When you do well, you’re in good shape. When you do bad, you know how it is. I mean LeBron James is going through it right now. Obviously, I’m not at that level, but it’s all about how great he is, then all of a sudden they lose a couple of games in the most competitive series that basketball has to offer and all of a sudden people are all over him, like he’s not good anymore. That’s just the nature of the media and critics and professional sports.

RG: Media support is day-to-day like a pulled hamstring.

AL: (Laughs) Yeah.

RG: When you start a season doing well like this, was there a point in your career when you would have taken it more fror granted and said, ‘Oh well, it will keep going.’ Right now I assume you’re thinking it doesn’t necessarily have to stay like this.

AL: You know if it stays like this, that’s MVP calibre numbers. I mean I’d love to be that, but I’ve been around long enough, you guys know how my seasons go. Hopefully this is the year it changes, but I’m just going to do my best to be as consistent as I can for the rest of the season and help this team win ballgames which is the most important thing. If I keep that in my head and not thinking about the rest of the season, just trying to win tonight’s game, that will help me and help the team in the long run.

RG: Are there pitches right now, especially from lefthanders, that you spit on as they go by, that you would have swung at in the past, where you say this is a big part of the reason why I’m a better hitter now.

AL: Yeah, well (Tuesday vs. Jeff Francis) was tough. It was really slow, but besides that I feel like I’ve had great at-bats against the lefties.

RG: Your seasons are cyclical — you go through streaks — but your career also. When Gibby was here the first time you got off to a bad start in ’08, got sent down, Cito came in, you got called up and went on a hot streak, had a good finish, then a great year the year after. Has the difference in hitting philosophies through the years affected you?

AL: It’s hard to talk about that. I don’t want to blame anyone else. I’ve not necessarily been down that road, but we’ve discussed things like that...

RG: Yeah, at spring training...

AL: Yeah and I don’t even want to get into that.

RG: Just in general, not dwelling on personalities and how they’ve approached you, but you go from, when you first came up, you seemed to take the ball the other way a lot and then Cito had the mission of going up with a plan and attack whatever pitch you think is the best pitch in a sequence. And then (under Farrell) it was let’s get to middle relief because that’s the weakest part so we’ve got to work deep into counts. You’re the same hitter but there’s different messages. Is that...

AL: I think some of it’s just maturing and understanding you’re not going to have good swings every at-bat. You’re going to get out. You’re going to take bad swings and get hits. You’re also going to take good swings and strike out. It’s an acceptance thing of realizing you’re not going to get a hit every time. You think you should, but let’s be honest, it’s not going to happen. Just being able to move on to the next at-bat is as important as the at-bat that you’re having right now. You’ve got to forget about it, if it’s a home run or a strikeout with the bases loaded. Your next at-bat’s the most important one because it’s the one that you can control at that moment.

RG: Your last experience with John Gibbons ended with you being sent down. When he was named this winter, what was your immediate thought?

AL: Like everyone else, I was a little shocked because I don’t think he was on anyone’s radar. It was a completely different staff. The staff (in ‘06-‘08) had Gibby’s mentality. I was a rookie floundering in the ocean, needing some guidance somewhere. Gibby’s a great manager with the bullpen and veteran players, but at that moment in my career I needed someone to sit down and talk to me about succeeding, playing, whatever it might be in the big leagues. I wasn’t necessarily getting that.

RG: So when Chad Mottola was named hitting coach and Dwayne Murphy was still here, was that comforting that you had two guys that knew you?

AL: Without a doubt. I think a hitting coach – I don’t know how pitching coaches are – but a hitting coach is part psychologist, part friend, part coach. . . . You need to be able to have some communication both ways and not be judged by your hitting coach.

RG: That just proves that baseball is much more than just a physical contest. . . . Has becoming a father changed your personality, in any way that relates to playing the game?

AL: It’s added more responsibility. I feel more of a sense of being a team player, at home and here in the clubhouse. The thing I’ve noticed the most about having two kids now is how fast...I have so many more responsibilities at home and things that need to be taken care of. Then you come to the yard and play and it’s like June 18 already and the season’s just flown by.

RG: Does that allow you to separate the emotions of home life and professional life more than it did in the past because you can’t be thinking baseball when you get home?

AL: I don’t know if “separate” is the word, but as soon as I get home baseball is not even...I mean you’ve got diapers, you’ve got dishes, you’ve got bottles, you’ve got milk, you’ve got the dog. There’s a lot of other chores that need doing, so talking about your swing to your wife or your kids...

RG: When you come into this clubhouse now with many more veterans than in the past, do you as a guy who’s been here a longer time, do you still have a responsibility, an ability to talk to the newcomers to this team?

AL: Our team has become much closer over the past month. I mean winning helps but it’s tough at the beginning because no one knows each other. People have personalities. We’re beginning to come together as a team and we’re realizing our roles and we’re only going to continue to get better, especially when Jose comes back. He’s going to set it off.

RG: What’s been the major difference in the last month? You talk about guys coming together. What started that ball rolling?

AL: In my opinion, it was consistency in our lineup. We know where we’re going to be every day. Spring training was hard. Half our team was gone and it’s spring training anyways. As soon as Opening Day comes, things change. But that is the most important part. We know where we’re going to be every day. We finally found our groove in a way that we know who we are as a team.

RG: When you got to spring training, you heard that you were going to get a chance to win the DH role against righthanders and lefthanders. That didn’t happen right away even though you were swinging the bat well. You started the season and even though you were swinging the bat well, hitting the ball hard, nothing was happening. Were you doubting that you would ever get that chance?

AL: I knew that they told the media I was going to get to play against lefthanded pitching but I figured that I wasn’t going to. That’s just what they tell people to buy them another month of time.

RG: Right.

AL: When we got to Philly they finally told me the news (about platooning at DH), which really wasn’t news to me. It might have been news to you. All I could do was control the scenario that I had. I hadn’t earned the right to hit against lefthanded pitching. It’s not necessarily lefthanded pitching. You want to play every day and lefties are in the game. They’re going to throw, especially in this division. And my goal to help this team is to play every day. That was what I wanted, to help this team win every day. If I’m a platoon player I’m not going to have my option picked up. Let’s be honest.

RG: Have you become better at accepting criticism, like for instance when they said that you weren’t in good enough shape to play first base and now you’re doing yoga and whatever to stay in better conditioning, maybe. You’re getting older. You’re almost 30 years old. But are you better at accepting constructive criticism.

AL: Well I don’t really read the papers...

RG: No, I’m talking about from (points up)

AL: Management?

RG: Yes, management.

AL: Well they don’t really criticize you, they just tell you what you’re going to do.

RG: Except sometimes through us.

AL: In baseball you’ve never been through it all, but I’ve been through a lot and I know what my potential can be. It’s just a matter of being consistent and doing it day-in and day-out. The yoga thing, that wasn’t to be in shape, but I guess being in shape is a by-product of trying to stay healthy. That’s why I did it. Last year was rough. My back hurt a lot. I knew at spring training I was already hurting. I knew it was going to be a long year, then we tweaked some things to my maintenance program. Then the last month of the year I was pain-free and then the doctor suggested flexibility and things like that. It’s a lot easier to play this game when you feel good than when you’re sore or in pain or have weird feelings in your hips. It just lets you think about being in a good defensive position, being ready at the plate, instead of, hey man, I’ve got to get myself ready to play again.

RG: Does a play the other day like snagging that (Carlos Gonzalez) line drive, is that as big a thrill as hitting a home run sometimes in that game situation with Brett Cecil pitching.

AL: No doubt. I’m not going to say it saved the game because it wasn’t a great play. I was just lined up in the right spot and I caught it.

RG: But you were in a defensive set position to react.

AL: Yeah, at that moment that was the most important part of the game. It was tied 0-0 with I guess you could say one of the best hitters in baseball up. He did his job and what we were talking about earlier, he did his part but we were lined up in the right position.

RG: When you were a third round pick, Top 100 in the nation, looking ahead to a career what did you see for yourself and is winning a World Series the things that’s left to do?

AL: Yeah. When I was drafted, there was a few guys from my home town been in the big leagues. I didn’t ever think about being in the big leagues.

RG: It was like a summer job.

AL: Yeah. If it happens to work out then I’m one of the lucky few. I just went from level to level, had success and here I am.

RG: Remember when you brought your coach to Yankee Stadium and the game was rained out.

AL: Yeah.

RG: Is that the sort of thing you never forget is the people that were with you coming up.

AL: Rudy Mannie helped me a lot. As odd as this may sound, he saw something in me when I was 14 and made me a second round pick in the Babe Ruth draft.

RG: So you dropped a round in the major-league draft.

AL: Yeah. I’m sure a lot of people thought he was crazy. In Babe Ruth there’s an A and a B all-star team. I didn’t even make the B-team all-star team when I was 13. I couldn’t even throw the ball from third base to first, I was so small. He did a lot of bunting and I could bunt and I was a lefthanded pitcher that could throw strikes. He drafted me in the second round and we went 16-1 and we won the league and I made the A team all-star team that year.

RG: And the first time he came to see you play in the majors the game was rained out.

AL: He’s in the grind, or was. He’s since passed. He didn’t have the luxury of being able to take a weekend off, but he got to see Yankee Stadium. A good thing that did happen, the game was rained out so we got to have a nice dinner together and spend some time together. He got to see Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter, they all went out there on the field and did some things, so he got photos. IV-Tech, that was our team, but he never wore the hat, he always wore a Yankee hat.

RG: The tumultuous road to this point. You’re married now with two kids. Are you as calm now, at peace as you’ve been in your whole career? I mean in your whole life.

AL: In one way, I know where I’m going to be. I know what my life is going to be from day to day. You don’t go out chasing girls and getting drunk and things like that anymore. In a way that’s probably a good thing. It keeps me fresh and on the straight and narrow, but...

RG: We can still do that as writers.

AL: (Laughs) But at the same time it’s really not that calm at home (Laughs).

RG: Well you were talking about all the duties with the kids and the dog and...

AL: Yeah.

RG: And you don’t feel any pressure to have those option years on your conract picked up. You’re confident enough in your own ability now that last year has passed where you were outrighted and nobody claimed you, you’re confident enough that those option years are just option years now?

AL: It tested a lot of things personally, like my wife was still there supporting me. She showed me a lot of character. She was there for me. She came to Vegas and there was no complaining from her. She was there and she loved me for being a Triple-A baseball player, which really isn’t too bad. She’s used to the big leagues and living here, being with her family and this and that similar style of life. And to go down there where there’s no babysitters and no waiting rooms for the games, you’re just outside the clubhouse with all the autograph seekers. No car, we’re using Travis Snider’s truck because he was on the DL. She showed me a lot of love and support in a hard time in my professional life.

RG: The day you got back to the major leagues was there a thought in your mind that this is where you want to stay because of the Vegas experience or was it just a sense of relief you were back?

AL: Well there was no sense of relief, because this is where I wanted to be and this is where I know I should be. I don’t really like that phrase because then you feel like it’s owed to you. Every day you’ve got to earn the right to play in the big leagues. Being back was like “Alright, if I don’t get it done now then this is it.”

DOWN ON THE FARM

Triple-A Buffalo (39-36): It was exactly this type of occasional, star-powered boost that the Bisons ownership had been hoping for when they joined forces with the Blue Jays as an affiliate this past winter.

Send us an injured star whenever there is a chance, they said. This time it was Jose Reyes, spending some of his injury rehab in Buffalo for a homestand instead of Dunedin or New Hampshire, the rehab practice that forever seemed to be the Blue Jays way when Las Vegas was the affiliate.

Reyes, on the weekend, started all three games at Coca-Cola Field vs. the first-place Durham Bulls, bringing a much-needed jolt of fan enthusiasm to the city’s Triple-A franchise. Including Saturday’s sellout crowd of 18,025 on Star Wars Day at the yard, with Darth Vader leading the crowd in an ominous version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the Bisons drew 41,360 for the three dates.

During his three games in the Bisons lineup, Reyes banged out five hits in 13 at-bats, (.385) with three runs, a double and a steal as Buffalo swept the series. Impressive for the Bisons and Reyes.

Top winners:

Triple-A Buffalo: Dave Bush (7-5, 3.97); Claudio Vargas (5-5, 5.45);

Justin Germano(4-6, 5.92)

Double-A New Hampshire (35-40): Ryan Tepera(6-5, 4.43); Sean Nolin (4-2, 2.77); Marcus Walden (4-7, 3.58)

A-Dunedin (38-32): Scott Copeland (6-2, 2.49);

Jesse Hernandez(4-5, 3.04); Casey Lawrence(4-6, 4.16)

A-Lansing (33-40): Javier Avendano (4-5, 4.43);

Taylor Cole(4-5, 3.96); Ben White (4-4, 3.84)

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A-Vancouver (6-4): Eric Brown(2-0, 1.54)

Markus Brisker, Justin D’Alessandro, Jeremy Gabryszwski and Joe Spano all with one win.

Rookie ball Bluefield (2-2): Chase DeJong(1-0, 0.00); Jairo Labourt(1-0, 0.00)

*The average age of the 10 Bluefield pitchers is 19.5-years-old.

Rookie ball Gulf Coast (2-0): Myles Duvall(1-0, 0.00); Corey Gorman(1-0, 0.00)

Dominican Summer League Jays (11-7): Juliandry Higuera(3-0, 1.29);

Miguel Burgos, Miguel Castro, Manny Cordova, Alberto Guzman, Francisco Rios, Dalton Rodriguez, Jairo Rosario and Hamly Suero all with one win.

THE LIST

The Blue Jays ended the weekend by finishing off the O’s 13-5, sweeping the series on Baltimore manager Buck Showalter’s 57th birthday. The last Jays defeat came in the fog at U.S. Cellular Field the Monday before the Stanley Cup final was set to start in the Windy City. The Jays then came back to win on the Tuesday on a ninth inning game-tying blast by Jose Bautista and a 10th-inning run-scoring wild pitch.

The Wednesday game was postponed, but then the Jays flew to Texas and stunned the Rangers wit5h a four-game sweep, followed by three-game sweeps of the Rockies and O’s. Who’d a thunk it?

The 11-game streak tied the longest in club history, for the third time. Following is the Top 7 list of win streaks in team history, along with which opponents the Jays beat during the streak.

11 June 11-23, 2013 Chi. 1, Tex. 4, Col. 3, Bal. 3.

11 June 2-13, 1987Sea. 2, Bal. 3, NYY 3, Bal. 3.

11 Aug. 27-Sept. 7, 1997K.C. 1, Min. 3, K.C. 2, Bos. 4, Cle. 1.

10 Aug. 30-Sept. 9, 1998NYY 2, Min. 3, T.B. 3, Chi. 2.

9 Sept. 10-21, 1993Cal. 3, Det. 2, Min. 3, Bos. 1.

9 Aug. 23-Sept. 1, 1986Min. 2, Cle. 3, Min. 3, Cle. 1.

9 July 21-29, 1985Oak. 1, Sea. 3, Cal. 4, Bal. 1.

MLB NOTES

Jays sign 15 of 40 picks: The Blue Jays have signed 15 prospects from the 2013 First Year Player Draft, including RHP Sean Ratcliffe, one of 20 Canadians taken in the MLB draft. The 18-year-old Pickering native was selected by the Blue Jays in the 18th round. A complete list of Jays signed draft picks follows (round-overall pick, name, school, position, bats/throws, height, weight)

3-83 Murphy, Patrick Hamilton HS (AZ) RHP R/R 6’4” 195lbs

4-115 Smith, Evan Mary Montgomery HS (AL) LHP R/L 6’5” 190lbs

5-145 Lietz, Daniel Heartland CC (IL) LHP L/L 6’2” 200lbs

7-205 Greene, Conner Santa Monica HS (CA) RHP R/R6’3” 165lbs

10-295 Custons, Garrett Air Force (CO) C R/R 6’0” 200lbs

12-355 Mayza, Tim Millersville University (PA) LHP L/L 6’3” 205lbs

13-385 Locastro, Timothy Ithaca College (NY) SS R/R 6’1” 175lbs

14-415 Dantzler, L.B. South Carolina (SC) 1B L/R 5’11” 200lbs

15-445 Davis, Jonathan Central Arkansas (AR) OF R/R 5’8” 188lbs

16-475 Jansen, Danny Appleton A West (WI) C R/R 6’2” 215lbs

18-535 Ratcliffe, Sean Pickering HS RHP L/R 6’4” 200lbs

19-565 Vasquez, Christian Lubbock Christian (TX) SS S/R 5’10” 170lbs

21-625 Reeves, Mike Florida Gulf Coast U. (FL) C L/R 6’1” 205lbs

23-685 Kalfus, Brendan St. Marys (CA) OF S/R 5’11” 180lbs

24-715 Hurley, Sean Central Arizona Coll. (AZ) OF R/R 6’03” 225lbs

25-745 Silverstein, Scott Virginia (VA) LHP L/L 6’6” 235lbs

27-805 Florides, Andrew Holy Cross HS (NY) SS R/R 6’1” 170lbs

28-835 Dermody, Matt Iowa (IA) LHP R/L 6’5” 190lbs

29-865 Pickens, Garrett Delta State (MS) RHP R/R 6’1” 185lbs

36-1075 Harris, David Southern Arkansas U. (AR) SS R/R 6’1” 190lbs

37-1105 Barber, Brett Ohio University (OH) RHP R/R 6’1” 180lbs

Wright carries torch for Mets: David Wright slammed two doubles, a triple and a homer against the Phillies for the Mets Sunday, racking up two runs and two RBIs. Wright has three or more hits in six of his last 17 games and has taken over the lead in All-Star balloting from Kung-Fu Panda, Pablo Sandoval. The game is at Citi Field in New York.

Verlander no star: The odds are pretty good that RHP Justin Verlander will not be at the All-Star Game this year, as he’s struggling with a 3.90 ERA. Verlander has allowed nine runs in his last 10 innings.

Farrell ejected in Red Sox loss: Red Sox manager John Farrell was ejected by umpire Mike DiMuro after a key error was called on an apparent catch in right field by OF Daniel Nava. After an improvised basket catch, Nava was reaching for the ball when it dropped onto the warning track. The rule was, in fact, called correctly, in that a fielder needs to show control of the ball before an out is confirmed. Quite often the call is made before that control is exhibited, but in this case at a key moment in a 7-5 loss to the Tigers, Farrell came out to argue and was ejected

THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL HISTORY

June 24: 1947 Rookie Jackie Robinson steals home in a 4-2 Dodgers win over the Pirates. It is the first of his 19 career steals of home.

June 25: 1968 Rookie Bobby Bonds of the Giants hits a grand slam in the third at-bat of his first game in a 9-0 win over the Dodgers ... 1988 – Cal Ripken, Jr. plays his 1,000th consecutive game for the Orioles, the sixth longest streak in major-league history ...

June 26: 1916 Cleveland Indians wear numbers on the sleeves of their uniforms corresponding to numbers on the scoreboard. It’s the first time numbers were used and soon became universal ...

June 27: 1973 David Clyde, 18, drafted first overall three weeks earlier out of Houston’s Westchester H.S. makes his debut with Texas before 35,698, the largest Rangers’ crowd of the year. Clyde walked the first two Twins he faced, then struck out Bobby Darwin, George Mitterwald, and Joe Lis swinging. Clyde allowed just one hit in five innings walking seven and striking out eight in a 4-3 win. Unfortunately, Clyde’s career never took off as he posted a career 18-33 record, with a 4.63 ERA in 84 games over parts of five seasons with the Rangers and Indians ...

June 28: 1986 Phil Niekro of the Indians and Don Sutton of the Angels face each other marking the first time in the 20th century that 300-game winners have faced one another. Neither had a decision ...

June 29: 1990 Both Dave Stewart of the A’s and Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers throw no-hitters on the same day. Stewart blanks the Blue Jays 5-0, the on the west coast, hours later, Valenzuela beats the Cardinals 6-0 ... 1916 – The Cubs and the Reds [lay a nine-inning game with one baseball.

June 30: 1995 Eddie Murray of the Cleveland Indians collects his 3,000th major-league hit becoming the 20th player in history to reach that mark. He does it at the Metrodome vs. the Twins against RHP Mike Trombley in a 4-1 win ... 1978 - Just as he had been the second African American player to Jackie Robinson back in 1947, Larry Doby becomes the second Black manager in major-league history, replacing Bob Lemon with the White Sox. The first was Frank Robinson with the Indians in 1975.

MLB POWER RANKINGS (as of June 23)

Last Week Start of Spring

1-St. Louis Cardinals 1-13

2-Pittsburgh Pirates 7-28

3-Boston Red Sox 3-16

4-Cincinnati Reds 2-9

5-Detroit Tigers 5-7

6-Atlanta Braves 4-2

7-Texas Rangers 10-6

8-Baltimore Orioles 6-11

9-Oakland A’s 8-8

10-Arizona Diamondbacks 11-17

11-Toronto Blue Jays 21-3

12-Cleveland Indians 17-20

13-New York Yankees 9-14

14-Tampa Bay Rays 14-10

15-Colorado Rockies 13-25

16-San Diego Padres 15-23

17-San Francisco Giants 12-1

18-Kansas City Royals 18-18

19-Minnesota Twins 19-26

20-Washington Nationals 16-4

21-Philadelphia Phillies 20-15

22-Los Angeles Angels 23-12

23-New York Mets 28-27

24-Chicago White Sox 24-19

25-Los Angeles Dodgers 25-5

26-Seattle Mariners 22-21

27-Chicago Cubs 26-24

28-Milwaukee Brewers 27-22

29-Houston Astros 29-30

30-Miami Marlins 30-29

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Six straight home games vs. the Rockies and Orioles does not provide much fodder for “on the road again” but six wins in a row and surprisingly large and enthusiastic crowds at the Rogers Centre made it a week to remember for the Blue Jays, nonetheless.

As for my minor midget Oakville A’s, of which I am, of course, the pitching coach, our COBA season has quite closely resembled that of the Jays. We began the year with shaky defence and questionable starting pitching, but have now won four in a row, outscoring opponents by a total of 26-3 over that stretch.

The Jays are in Tampa and Boston this week and I’ll be joining them in Beantown Thursday.