Scott Carson

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

Fans arrived in full force to welcome home the AL East leading Blue Jays on Monday night.

Quit fretting over when the Jays' collapse will begin and enjoy the unexpected success.

It was nice to see a full house for the home opener at Rogers Centre on Monday.

When the Blue Jays last played in Toronto the J.P. Ricciardi era was winding down and the crowds had dwindled to levels never before seen in these parts. The hand-wringing followed as many predicted that this was the beginning of the end, the Jays would go the way of the Expos and leave town.

Not even close.

Toronto sports fans, saddled with losing teams at every venue in the city, were just saying enough is enough. The Maple Leafs, the one team that everyone apart from me can't do without, was set to embark upon another season that would end in failure. The Argonauts were stumbling through a horrible 3-15 season which saw them win just one of its nine home games. Toronto FC, the soccer club that is beloved by just enough people to fill BMO Field for every game, failed to qualify for the post-season for the third time in its three years of existence. And the Raptors, for all the promise that was fed to the ticket buyers, stumbled badly down the stretch and now are life and death to claim the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA's East Conference; which would make them a first round sweep for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This is why the fast start for the Blue Jays - five wins in the first six games before dropping the home opener - has caused this long-suffering sports scene to sit up and take notice. For a city with very deep pockets, and willing to shell out hard-earned money to watch a winner, it couldn't come at a better time.

Now, before you all break your fingers typing out a rebuttal to that last statement; no, I don't think the Jays are a playoff contender. But you can't deny that it has been very enjoyable watching this team thus far. They have been in every game right until the end and, if not for Jason Frasor's two blown saves, they might be 7-0 right now.

(They could also be 1-6 if not for some late inning heroics by the hitters, having won four of their games in come-from-behind fashion.)

The pitching has been far better than anyone could have imagined. On offence the two home runs on Monday pushed the club in to a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the major league lead. What is really surprising, next to the current record, is how the club has been so successful despite hitting just .180 (9 for 50) with runners in scoring position and with all-star second baseman Aaron Hill having played in just two games.

These are indeed enjoyable times to follow the Blue Jays. Yes, I know it's eerily similar to last year's start, where they rocketed out of the gate to win 27 of its first 41 games, only to run into the bigger kids on the playground and play at a .397 clip the rest of the way. But why not enjoy it for what it is? Not much was expected of this team, so in a market where losing has become all too commonplace jumping on the band wagon is encouraged.

After all, you can always get off whenever you please.

I STAND CORRECTED

When putting together the MLB division previews for this website, I predicted that the Jays would finish in the basement of the A.L. East. I'd like to change with humble apologies. After seeing the Jays sweep Orioles last weekend in Baltimore, there is no way they finish behind the O's. Not with the O's bullpen and certainly not with Dave Trembley as manager. Sure they have some good, exciting young players in Matt Wieters, Nock Markakis and Adam Jones, but they have a horrible pitching staff and he skipper who micro-manages like he's Carlos Tosca. Bad combo.

EARLY CLOSER DEBATE

Following Frasor's second final inning hiccup of the season, I thought I'd dial up his and Kevin Gregg's career numbers when called on to save a game. Decide for yourselves, but the pure numbers tell me that Gregg should be getting ball to close out wins. And remember, I don't make these numbers up, I just report them.