Scott Carson

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

Lead-off man for the Jays, Fred Lewis.

Three hitters have been front and centre this month for the Toronto Blue Jays, in the middle of just about every rally, and their names aren't Aaron Hill, Adam Lind and Vernon Wells.

Without them, who knows where the Blue Jays would sit in the standings and the team certainly wouldn't be the offensive juggernaut that they have been through the first 47 games of the schedule. And all there hitters were basically cast-offs from other organizations. It makes you wonder what the general managers of the other teams that gave up on these players failed to see.

Jose Bautista -- Until arriving in Toronto in a minor deal with Pittsburgh for mid-level catching prospect Robinzon Diaz in August of 2008, Bautista had bounced from the Orioles to the Rays to the Royals to the Pirates, all within the 2004 season. He had, basically, turned into a utility player with a little more power than the average bench dweller. But in Toronto, especially after Cito Gaston returned and took a liking to Bautista, he has finally been given regular playing time and the results have been spectacular. He's currently tied with the Paul Konerko of the White Sox for the major league lead with 14 home runs, has hit in every spot except eighth and ninth in the Blue Jays batting lineup and has provided solid defence both in right field and at third base.

Edwin Encarnacion -- The third baseman, and his contract, were forced upon the Blue Jays at the 2009 trade deadline when the Reds sent pitchers Josh Roenicke and prospect Zach Stewart to Toronto for Scott Rolen. The deal would not have happened without Encarnacion heading north of the border. Throughout his uneven career, double-E has shown above-average power (26 HR in '08), but his fielding has been suspect (64 errors from 2006-08 led all MLB third basemen) and has been injury-prone (four trips to the DL in the last five seasons). But with the Jays, under the hitting tutelage of Gaston and Dwayne Murphy and fielding guru Brian Butterfield, Encarnacion has turned it around and become a key cog in the Blue Jays machine. As he showed on the weekend in Arizona with five of the longest home runs we've seen all season, he is a powerful force in the bottom third of the order. And you no longer have to hold your breath when the ball gets hit his way at third.

Fred Lewis -- Designated for assignment by the Giants after starting this season on the disabled list, Lewis was picked up two weeks into the season for $75,000 and was immediately planted into left field -- allowing Adam Lind to return to his more comfortable role as Designated Hitter -- and atop the Blue Jays’ high-octane batting order. Since then, Lewis has added some much-needed speed to the roster, played stellar defence, closing on balls that would otherwise fall in, and has shown surprising power, especially when he gets pitched in the inner half. The best news is that the Jays have Lewis under their control for four seasons. This may prove to be rookie GM Alex Anthopoulos' most shrewd and economical pick-up of the season.

Finding diamonds in the rough is never an exact science. For every player stolen, the flame-outs are tenfold. For the Blue Jays, they have struck gold three times, which has allowed them to continue the rebuild without costing them much in return. Let's hope this practice continues.

Purcey's last chance?

There has been much debate about the first round draft record of former general manager J.P. Ricciardi. There has been the good -- Aaron Hill and Ricky Romero; the not so good -- Russ Adams; and the undecided -- Travis Snider. Then there is David Purcey, chosen 16th overall in the 2004 draft, a year when they could have chosen Phil Hughes (23rd overall), now fast becoming a mainstay in the Yankees rotation, or Dustin Pedroia (65th overall), the 2008 A.L. MVP and in the middle of many Red Sox rallies. For Purcey, the jury is still out and the clock is definitely ticking on his uneven career.

Recalled on Monday after left-handed starter Dana Eveland was designated for assignment, Purcey's career hasn't exactly turned many heads. To date, he's only pitched a grand total of 21 games -- all starts -- going 4-9, with a 5.81 ERA. He has shown flashes of brilliance -- twice striking out 10-plus hitters -- and wildness -- six starts with 5-plus walks.

This season with Las Vegas (AAA), Purcey has been used as a reliever, something that I always felt would be his best role. As a starter, the opposition hit him at a .217 clip the first time through the order, but that number jumped dramatically to .317 the second time through. This tells me that he would be best utilized as a once-through-the-order long man, who has the type of stuff and strikeout-ability to keep the opposition in check in the middle innings, especially if the starter left early. Clearly his days as a starter are over. This may be his best chance to stick, long term, in the Majors.

Bad day to be an ace

On Sunday, the final games of the first round of Interleague play were tough for Philadelphia's Roy Halladay, Kansas City's Zack Greinke, Seattle's Felix Hernandez and the Yankees' CC Sabathia. The four aces combined to go 0-4, 8.57 ERA, allowing 34 hits in 21 innings. Halladay getting beat around by the Red Sox shouldn't have come as a shock. He's now 14-15 all-time against Boston and his ERA climbed to 4.39, a full run higher than his career number. Every pitcher, no matter how good, has an opponent made of kryptonite and the Red Sox are Doc's.

Around the horn ...

I hadn't seen the Diamondbacks in person for over a half decade, but one thing is for certain: if they could ever get any pitching, they have more than enough offence to challenge for a World Series title...

One has to wonder how long Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik has left running the Mariners. He signed Chone Figgins to premier free agent money to jump ship from the Angels when, clearly, the switch-hitting speedster is just a very good complimentary player. Teams like the Mariners, with a mid-market budget, have to spend their money shrewdly and the Figgins signing is proving to be far from that ...

Has the sand finally run out of the hourglass on Ozzie Guillen's tenure as White Sox manager? His team sits six games under .500 in the A.L. Central, seven games back of the front-running (and clearly superior Twins) and just 2.5 games out of the basement. It appears Guillen's act has finally worn thin with the players and, especially, GM Kenny Williams.