Five games don’t make a successful comeback, but the second coming of Cito Gaston has certainly proved to be an offensive tonic for the Jays.

While there are still wrinkles that need ironing, the Jays have put the "new school" approach - work the count, talk a walk, go the other way - out with the trash. By returning to the jump-on-early-in-the-count-strikes, hit-the-ball-hard-everywhere, don’t-be-afraid-to-pull-the-ball approach, the Jays are still competing no matter how many runs behind.

Wednesday night’s extra-inning loss - after they battled back from a rare five-run deficit with Roy Halladay on the mound - gave fans a glimpse of what this team is capable of. Sure they went just 2-of-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners stranded, but they were in this game throughout, something that would not have happened just a week ago.

The confidence that Gaston has shown to Adam Lind has instantly paid dividends; five for his first 11 at-bats with two home runs and four RBI since being promoted from Syracuse. The same holds true for the make-shift middle infield, Marco Scutaro and Joe Inglett, who have combined to go 10-of-20 with fvie RBI and helped fill the void with Aaron Hill out indefinitely. In fact, since Cito and the other "Space Cowboys" arrived from parts unknown, six Blue Jays regulars are hitting well above .300, with the most impressive performance coming from Alex Rios.

In the seven games prior to the dugout changes, Rios was hitting an uninspiring .250 with as many hits as strikeouts (six). In the first five games under the watchful eyes of Cito and Gene Tenace, Rios has gone 11-of-24 (.458) with four doubles, his first home run since May 1, and is 4-of-6 with runners in scoring position. But more impressive than those numbers has been the display Rios has been putting on in batting practice. The ball is jumping off his bat and on most occasions ending up deep in the second deck in left. Clearly, the new school approach had messed up his power stroke and don’t be shocked if he now goes on a tear, the type of tear that can carry a team a long way.

Gaston also appears to be old school when it comes to handling his pitchers. The days of pitch counts being paramount when deciding to pull a starter look to be gone. Playing a hunch and going with your gut is the new/old way of doing things. Sure it might blow up once in a while, but that’s what managing is.

I’ve always felt that managing by the book always gave the losing skipper an easy out when facing the post-game media. ("Well, the book said to do this. I guess it didn’t work out tonight.") This is why Halladay threw a season-high 121 pitches despite clearly not having his best stuff. At that point in time, Halladay was Gaston’s best option and he gutted it out to give his team the best chance to win. In this age where starters are coddled, it’s refreshing to see the view that sometimes the best pitcher at that point in the game is the guy already standing on the bump.

(By the way, Halladay’s gutsy performance, a mere five days removed from taking a line drive off his head, was definitely old school. Funny how it was hardly noticed by the American sporting media, who would have made his start after the headshot headline news if Halladay pitched for the Yankees or Red Sox. Sorry for showing my Canadian inferiority complex.)

Will this change in philosophies get the Jays back into a playoff race this season? School is still out on that with the team being double-digit games back in the AL East and seven teams ahead of them in the wild-card race. At least they’ve become an interesting team to watch again, something that didn’t seem possible about a week ago.

For the first time in many moons, there’s a buzz around the ballpark.

EYE ON THE REDS

I’m going to keep my eye on the Reds the rest of the way. Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are great-looking young hitters and Brandon Phillips is a special player. His media-fuelled feud with J.P. Ricciardi aside, Adam Dunn is entertaining to watch. Ken Griffey, Jr. can still put fans on the edge of their seats when he digs in and Edinson Volquez, who the Rangers had to sacrifice to get Josh Hamilton, is leading or near the top of most important pitching categories. There’s a lot to like here, especially for a guy who followed the Reds (Johnny Bench was my favourite player and is why I caught for most of my youth) during the 1970s. If they could pick up a solid, veteran No. 2 starter, either this season or in the off-season, the Reds should rocket up the ladder in the NL Central.