Scott Carson

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 18th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.

Vernon hit four home runs in his first three games.

First of all, let's get the Blue Jays out of way.

For those of you who dropped in for my web chat earlier this week -- and at one point there was well over 100 of you -- thanks. It was quite enjoyable to make contact with many of you. Most questions came wrapped around opinion which tells me that the passion for this team is still strong. While I feel that many fans are going to take a wait-and-see attitude before shelling out their hard earned $ to come down to the Rogers Centre, from what I've witnessed this first week, pleasantly surprised might be an understatement.

The starting pitching, universally considered to be a weakness following the trade of long-time ace Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies, has more than held up its end of the bargain. In the series win over the Rangers, Shaun Marcum, Brian Tallet and Ricky Romero held one of the top offensive line-ups in all of baseball to just 11 hits in their combined 20 2/3 innings of work. Pretty impressive.

Offensively, removing the red-hot Vernon Wells -- who I'll discuss in depth later -- from the equation, the bats have been cold. Jose Bautista, perhaps their hottest all spring, left his bat behind in Florida. He had just one hit in his 15 plate appearances in Arlington.

Also, second slot hitter Aaron Hill had just one hit to show for his nine times to the dish in the first two games and then had to shut it down for a couple due to a hamstring strain. Nothing to worry about here, just a precaution to keep Hill from turning a strain into a pull and having to be shut down for a longer period of time. The fact that the Jays were able to win two of three in Texas, without their first two hitters in the order contributing, makes those wins all the more impressive.

Then there was Wells, who basically squared up every ball thrown over the dish. His home runs in each of the first three games marked the first time in franchise history that a Blue Jays hitter had turned that feat, and the four home runs set another franchise mark. Healthy for the first time in many moons, Wells finally has a strong base underneath him and, with shoulder and wrist injuries fully healed; he is driving the ball like the Wells of 2003 and 2006. His start will, at least, guarantee that he can be introduced on Monday night at the Rogers Centre and not feel the wrath of the boo-birds who rained insults down on him at every chance over the past three seasons. From what I've seen over this first week, Wells, if healthy, should be able to put up some big numbers this season. The whole key, for the success of the team in general, remains health.

So far, so good. A lot of you asked me during the chat if the Jays would be able to avoid a 100-loss season. I believe, as I said on Tuesday, that this team has enough talent to miss hitting those depths.

Around the horn

I've never been one of those that get all wound up about prospects -- probably because I don't have the time to play in a fantasy league. But after seeing the Atlanta Braves' 20-year-old slugger Jason Heyward blast a home run in his first career major league at-bat, he certainly looks like the real deal. Maybe Bobby Cox might not retire after all...

Glad to hear that the new owners of the Chicago Cubs are going to do some cosmetic renovations around Wrigley Field. Just as long as they aren't noticeable. If there is one major league stadium that should always look the same, whether watching it on TV or looking through a book of old pictures, it's Wrigley. I’ve been there as a fan (in 1990) and in a working capacity (2005) and it still remains the most impressive ballpark to walk into, with the ivy on the outfield wall and its' neighbourhood locale and with seats on the roof across the street behind the bleachers. Somehow adding private boxes just wouldn't seem right...

Kind of ironic that on opening night in Texas, both Roy Halladay and Brandon League, the two pitchers traded this off-season, picked up the first wins of the season for the Phillies and Mariners respectively...

No problem with umpire Joe West coming out and saying that the amount of time it takes the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to play their games is "pathetic and embarrassing." Having sat through too many games involving those teams that last well over three and a half hours, I concur. And as usual, the voice of his generation Curt Schilling, now a TV-type with ESPN, came to the players’ defence. I guess when you make tens of millions of dollars, sitting in the dugout eating sunflower seeds for four hours seems okay. For the rest of us working stiffs, not so much.