The Blue Jays are on a roll but the Leafs and Habs have problems in goal.

No need to thank me for the Toronto Blue Jays recent success. Since calling for the head of manager John Gibbons, the Jays have answered my criticism by ripping off five consecutive wins.

Actually, I wasn't the only one in the media mob contemplating a managerial change. However, I truly believe that the negative coverage did serve as a wake-up call to the organization. People are fed up with all the constant whining about how tough it is to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. This season, the Jays finally stood up and claimed they were ready to compete with the super powers and when they got off to a lousy start, the fans and media let them have it.

But that's a good thing.

The Jays do have a solid roster and expectations should be high. When things go south in New York and Boston, people want answers and if the Jays want to play with the big boys, they'd better get used to the same sort of scrutiny. Besides, contrary to what Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi might think, there are lots of folks in Toronto who know a thing or two about the game. Ricciardi recently defended Gibbons by pointing out that his skipper is pulling plenty of strings during a game that people just don't understand.

Give me a break, J.P.

Believe it or not, you didn't invent Blue Jays baseball. For example, you might remember a certain team that won back-to-back World Series titles. A lot of Toronto baseball fans know a championship club when they see one and correct me if I'm wrong, but during Ricciardi's seven-year regime, there hasn't exactly been an abundance of pennants flapping in the wind.

In addition, Ricciardi needs to be careful about his condescending attitude towards the media. It's no big secret that he considers most of us to be a bunch of hockey-loving puck heads. But the fact is that baseball writers such as Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun and Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star are among the most respected scribes on the Major League beat and Ricciardi should give them their due.

With that said, J.P. also deserves to take a few bows. His decision to hold off on canning Gibbons looks like a good one, as the Jays have rebounded from an awful start to stay in the A.L. East picture.

And what can you say about the pitching staff Ricciardi has assembled?

One word: Wow!

So, soak up the sunshine, J.P. But as much as you might dislike it, the critics are ready to pounce the first time things go south again.

That's what life in the big leagues, and in a big league market, is all about.

Gainey's big goof

While we're on the subject of general managers, it's time for Bob Gainey to take some heat for the Montreal Canadiens untimely demise in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Sure, Carey Price was absolutely awful. But the fact is, Gainey put his rookie in a terrible position at the trade deadline by shipping veteran goalie Cristobal Huet to Washington for a second round draft pick.

Plain and simple, Bob blew it big time. However, a lot of people continue to blow smoke in an attempt to cover Gainey's gaffe.

Broadcasting on the Fan 590 in Toronto during deadline day, both myself and co-host Mike Hogan were shocked at Montreal's move. We believed that the only possible explanation was that Gainey had to be stockpiling draft choices in a bid to pry Marian Hossa away from the Atlanta Thrashers. It was no secret the Habs coveted the talented sniper and were prepared to offer a major package to get him. Thrashers television analyst, Darren Eliot, was right in the middle of all the action and said that if the deal did go down, Johan Hedberg would join Hossa in Montreal. That made perfect sense, since Hedberg would take Huet's place as the veteran goaltender to provide insurance behind Price.

In the end, of course, the Penguins shocked everybody by landing Hossa and the Canadiens were left out in the cold. But because Gainey is such a revered figure in the hockey world, no one took him to task for leaving Price all by himself between the pipes. Instead, a lot of media people claimed the move was a stroke of genius, saying that handing Price the number one job would give the kid a ton of confidence.

Yeah, he sure looked confident as he floundered against Philadelphia. Price simply couldn't stop the puck and if the Canadiens would have had the luxury of turning to Huet, (Who, by the way, played some great hockey in Washington) the Habs might still be alive.

And all of Gainey's apologists wouldn't have to work so hard, either.

Why isn't Pogge playing?

Like Montreal, there's also some controversy swirling around the goaltending situation with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Justin Pogge has been anointed as the Leafs goalie of the future. But for the last few weeks, he's been riding the pine with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League playoffs. The Marlies have played nine games in the post-season and Pogge hasn't been given a single start. Veteran Scott Clemmensen got pounded for five goals in game one of the Marlies series against Syracuse and Pogge still didn't get the call for Game 2.

So, what's the problem?

According to sources, the Leafs feel that Pogge has some growing up to do. At times, he's displayed a cocky attitude about his future role with the Leafs and his work ethic hasn't always been up to snuff. With that in mind, the organization wanted to deliver a strong message regarding their expectations for Pogge.

In addition, Marlies coach Greg Gilbert truly believes his club has a better chance of winning with Clemmensen in the crease. Thanks to hard work, group sales and a few free tickets, the Marlies saw a big attendance boost during the regular season. However, their playoff crowds have been disappointing, underlining the fact that the Marlies still have a long way to go before establishing a foothold in the Toronto market. But winning a Calder Cup would definitely increase their profile and the team believes Clemmensen gives them the best shot.

As it turns out, however, even Clemmensen hasn't been able to solve a red-hot Syracuse club. The Crunch have lost only once in regulation time since the middle of February and took a quick 2-0 lead on the Marlies in their second round playoff series.

So, will Pogge finally get the start in Game 3 on Tuesday?

If he does, you can chalk it up as evidence that the Maple Leafs message may be finally getting through.