Scott Carson

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

Jose Bautista is currently on pace for 52 home runs which would likely lead the majors.

It’s time for all of baseball to start paying attention to Jose Bautista.

In a game also being beamed back to the massive audience that tune into Yankees games on the YES Network and across Canada on the network I work for, Bautista was involved in just about every highlight of the Jays thrilling 3-2 win over the majors' top team.

He was pitched around for a four-pitch walk in the first, misplayed Mark Teixeira’s double into three bases in the third, blasted his 39th home run of the season in the bottom of the inning to give the Jays a 2-1 lead, had to track down Jorge Posada’s double into the gap that tied the game in the 6th, was in the middle of a bench- and bullpen-clearing incident in the bottom of the inning when Yankees’ rookie Ivan Nova threw over his head to the backstop that was way more up than in, picked up an outfield assist on a botched hit-and-run, and then hit the game-deciding home run in the bottom of the eighth, his sixth multi-home run game of the season.

In doing so, he joined George Bell, Carlos Delgado (three times), Jose Can-steroid-co, Shawn Green, Jesse Barfield and Tony Batista in the franchise’s 40-plus home run club. His two blasts also put him eight games clear of the great Albert Pujols for the major-league lead (and he’s hoping to join Barfield as the only Blue Jay who can claim that distinction for the year).

Why opposition pitchers continue to throw him fastballs is beyond me. The stats don’t lie on this one: 34 of his 40 home runs have come on cheese and he’s hitting .283 versus .213 against the softer stuff. I realize that they have to show him the heat to keep him honest but those should never be for strikes.

He’s started flipping his bat in an "I’m the man" manner that Toronto baseball fans haven’t seen in these parts since Bell blasted a club-record 47 bombs in 1987. And the way that he explodes on fastballs reminds me of Delgado, circa 2003.

Bautista is currently on pace for 52 home runs which would likely lead the majors and a feat that, if it were a Maple Leaf player going for the goal-scoring lead in the NHL, would be catching the attention of all sports fans in Toronto. Instead, the spectre of steroid/HGH use is floated, unfounded, by a member of the Toronto media who sticks to hockey, not a sport that he casually glances at when bored.

But let’s not get into that. Bautista’s season has taken on a life of its own, and Monday night’s dominating performance was one not seen in many moons around the Rogers Centre.

Now, about that multi-year contract, Mr. Anthopoulos ...

LESSONS LEARNED

I’m hoping that this is just a blip on the radar screen of a young player still learning to be a major leaguer. But in the last two games against AL East foes, Yunel Escobar made two glaring misplays in the field on Fenway and then got tossed by umpire Jerry Meals after the fifth (and he was followed into the clubhouse by manager Cito Gaston, after the Jays skip asked the ump what was up -- with a few expletives thrown in for dramatic effect.) What is starting to worry me about Escobar is that despite the fact that he has the skills to be a very good player, some of the actions that clearly would have chapped Bobby Cox and greased the skids for his abrupt exit out of Atlanta, are starting to bubble to the surface.

Whether it’s hot dogging on an easy ground ball at short or half-stepping down the line to first on a routine out, this needs to stop now. Hopefully Gaston, bench coach Nick Leyva, or the Spanish-speaking faction in the clubhouse can impart to Escobar that it’s not the way things roll around here.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Here’s wishing all the best to Lou Piniella, one of the most entertaining managers of this or any era, as he steps away from the Cubs' dugout to care for his ailing mother. Family always trumps occupation, no matter how cool the job, although I’m not sure how much fun managing those lovable losers in Chicago could ever be. ...

I’m hoping that the Nationals do the right thing and shut down Stephen Strasburg for the rest of the season after he left the game wincing when a tendon in his throwing arm started barking. With the team firmly entrenched in the basement of the NL East yet again, getting a couple of extra starts out of him in the name of attendance and concessions revenue makes no sense, especially when the franchise has the chance to become Tampa Bay north when all their high draft picks start coming together.

Strasburg has shown that he has the stuff and make-up to be a dominant starter, the type that leads staffs to World Series championships. Why risk all that after just a few strides out of the starting gate of his career? ...

Claiming Johnny Damon makes perfect sense for the Red Sox, who are trying to get back into the playoff race amidst an avalanche of injuries. But I’m hoping that he vetoes any deal back to Boston. They weren’t on the list of eight teams in his contract with the Tigers to which he would agree to be traded. And, quite frankly, he should leave his legendary status with the Red Sox as it currently is: as a long-haired, bearded messiah that led the team to their first World Series in 86 years back in 2004. ...

Don’t be shocked if another legendary ex-Red Sox star finds himself on a playoff contender by the end of this month. Manny Ramirez, as usual, meandered his way back off the DL with the Dodgers this week and is expected to be placed on waivers this week to see if there are any takers. The Rays and White Sox are likely suitors, but the deferred money left on his no-trade deal might stand in the way of any deal.