Morrison Shines in Final Tune-up of Pre-season

Maxwell who?

For 60 solid minutes Friday night, Kitchener Rangers netminder Mike Morrison had the Rangers faithful forget about Colorado Avalanche property and last year's playoff hero, Brandon Maxwell, who is away at NHL camp duty.

Morrison made 37 saves in a steady and reliable effort in a 4-2 decision over the Niagara Icedogs in the final pre-season game before the going gets tougher next Friday night in the season opener versus the Saginaw Spirit.

The Hamilton native, who on many occasions got a rousing show of applause by the appreciative Auditorium audience, kept his opponents guessing, without success, as to why they just couldn't find a chink in the supposed back-up goaltender's armour.

Oh sure, Matt Baldassara put one home between the big goalie's legs on a 2-on-1 rush in the second, and Andrew Fritsch potted one into an empty net with mere minutes remaining, while being left all alone in front of Morrison.

But by the time Fritsch's tally came around, the damage had been done.

The Rangers struck four times after the opening tally by the Dogs.

Just seconds after Baldassarra's strike, Rangers forward Eric Ming lost his balance in front of the Icedogs' net, but was able to get a shot away while plummeting backwards to the ice. The shot sailed over goaltender John Chartrand's right shoulder, knotting the game at ones.

Midway through the second, Ben Thomson welcomed the fresh-faced Icedogs keeper, Michael Gallardi who replaced Chrartrand, with another spin-o-rama shot that gave the Rangers the lead they would eventually never surrender.

Gabriel Landeskog and Zach Lorentz scored singles to put the blueshirts up for good at 4-1.

Morrison matched Chartrand in a scoreless first period, and even surrendered the game's first goal, but outlasted Chartrand and Gallardi, and outwitted numerous Icedogs who cut loose their chains, but were denied multiple breakaway attempts by the 17 year-old (more breakaways than Rangers coach Steve Spott would have liked to allocate his Rangers defensive corps for one game).

If Spott and co. had any lingering or creeping doubts that Mike Morrison wasn't the man for the job in a Memorial Cup-year backup role, the keeper kicked that thought to doggy heaven with his performance.

Just ask Andrew Shaw, whose wrister, which was labelled for just underneath the crossbar, was caught by a screened Morrison in the third stanza.

Shaw looked skyward and offered an expletive to the rafters.

That's what made Morrison stand out.

He could give it to you like Montreal keeper Carey Price, square to the shooter and positionally sound to make his job look easy, or he could flash some leather and go Hollywood, a la Martin Brodeur.

Morrison's steady play throughout last season and this year's strong pre-season has most likely given Spott a lot of reassuring sleep-filled nights and a lot to think about when it comes to his crease tandem.

Who knows, he may even steal some starts from that Maxwell guy along the way.

Scrappy Affair with Icedogs Results in Tie

John Chartrand saw his opportunity and took it.

The Niagara Icedogs keeper bolted his doghouse crease for the bench as he saw the linesman's arm shoot up. The right arm.

His team was going on the power-play. Or so he thought.

What Chartrand didn't see was the ol' switcheroo that the striped official decided to pull after the keeper booked it across the ice in a 3-3 draw between the Kitchener Rangers and the Icedogs Saturday night.

As fast as the arm went up, it went right back down again and the opposite arm was elevated in place of its partner just seconds before, signalling a high-stick infraction, a very different call, with very different implications.

But all Chartrand saw was the righty.

And as Gabriel Landeskog flew down the ice and saw a goalie-less net staring at him in the face, the Rangers winger must have thought the generous dogs were throwing him a bone in pre-season hijinx.

But alas for the big Swede, the whistle blew and his empty-netter dreams were dashed as soon as they had materialized.

As soon as the mix-up was clarified and the tender realized his gaffe, his doggy brethren were able to have a good chuckle at their mate's misfortune.

The boys in blue at the opposite end of the bench weren't so pleased.

Landeskog would sink one past Chartrand by the time the evening was over however, as he flipped a tic-tac-toe pass from Michael Cattenaci above Chartrand's right shoulder to mark what would be the Rangers' only lead of the night at 3-2.

Chartrand would probably have taken riding the pine over giving up the tying 2-2 marker that came earlier by Ben Thomson, who stole the puck from a defender on the penalty kill and ripped off a shorthanded tally 10-12 feet away that surprised and eluded the big keeper earlier in the frame.

Thomson had an adventurous outing that saw the large sophomore record a goal, an assist, and an unexpected flight through the air after Dogs' defenceman Matt Petgrave leaned into a hipcheck that sent Thomson sprawling into the air, perhaps retribution for Thomson's earlier Pitbull-ish check that sent him to the doghouse for interference, and sent Thomson's number 15 into the memory banks of Petgrave.

Despite the two teams not seeing each other often (they only clash twice in the regular season), the game had a surprisingly physical flair to it, with many players having a bone to pick with their opponents.

Both Matt Braun and Chad Lowry engaged in separate scraps that sent both hitting the showers early for the mandatory pre-season fighting game misconduct versus two of Niagara's naughty dogs.

The sentiments may just be echoing the bitterness between head coaches Steve Spott and Niagara's Marty Williamson who publicly bickered over a he-said-he-said trade that went south for the Rangers when ex-goalie Mavric Parks was sent to Williamson's Barrie Colts.

Don't look for Spott to be trading with the Icedogs anytime soon.

Matt Tipoff continued his strong pre-season with a tip-in goal from a backhanded pass from Thomson in the first.

Johnson Andrews, Andrew Fritsch and Mitchell Theoret rounded out the scoring for Niagara.

The Rangers will finish the pre-season with a rematch with the Icedogs on Friday and will open the season on Friday the 24th versus the Saginaw Spirit.

Will Ye' No Come Back Again?

Ah, the beginning of the OHL regular season. That time of year when each club should be getting a good grip around this year's crop of returning players, new recruits, and teeth-cutting rookies.

A time to really evaluate just where the group stands in comparison to the close combatants in their division and maybe sneak a peek at their cross-conference foes' records to see who else came out of the gate flying.

An opportunity for the team to gel and mould into the defining shape it will take by the time the trade deadline rolls around come January.

This should only take, what... a couple weeks, max, right?

Think again.

Early season hype, speculation and months of hockey withdrawal all contribute to frustration, questions, anxiety, and hopeful (perhaps sometimes wishful) thinking when the calendar flips to those early days of fall.

But unlike fans of the NHL, whose general managers, coaches, and owners can put the final stamp of approval of where a player in their system gets to lace them up, fans in the O encounter a plethora of variables that will affect where their favourite skaters land once all the dominoes are felled.

National Hockey League training camps, world junior tournament preparation training, and late-notice call-ups to the big leagues all disrupt the regularly-scheduled programming of life in the CHL.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the first 2-3 weeks of the schedule, typically late September, and early-mid October.

Why? Well because the NHL is doing the exact same thing at the exact same time, teams in the O are doing them. Evaluating new talent and deciding the best place for these players to play typically takes weeks and more than often sends the resulting awaiting minor teams' coaches into a hair-pulling frenzy, having their team wait in "how-good-will-we-be" limbo.

And this is exactly the reason why it's so darned hard to predict and prognosticate just where the heck teams in the OHL will finish the crossing line when all is said and done. And for the sake of 2010-2011, who gets the two tickets to the Memorial Cup in Mississauga in May (the Majors have already locked up one by hosting).

The 2007-2008 London Knights were victims of their own success when both of their star forwards, Patrick Kane and Sam Gagner, drafted first and sixth respectively, showcased their stuff to garner an immediate full season in the NHL. That meant bye-bye London.

The 2009-2010 Windsor Spitfires had their top forwards from a year ago practically fall back into their lap when Scott Timmins, Dale Mitchell, Kenny Ryan, Adam Henrique, and Greg Nemisz were sent to the salivating Spits during their second Mem-Cup winning season.

The question now becomes, will the 2010-2011 Kitchener Rangers become the 2007 Knights or the 2009 Spits? Or will they fall in the middle and receive about half the return when their investments hit the NHL ice this week.

Best-case scenario: everyone comes back, one jolly juggernaut, ready to capture that Memorial Cup that eluded them so bitterly in 2008, plus one; Jerry D'Amigo who may join the blueshirts mid-season depending on his performance in the pro ranks.

The worst-case scenario may have fans, and even coach Steve Spott re-evaluating his gun-ho plans for the season, and the unstoppable train that looked like the 2010-11 version of the Rangers would become at best, a meek Pontiac Sunfire; apprehensive about competing with the big boys, despite looking like one.

The following is a list of Rangers making the trek to NHL camps abroad, the impact they're expected to have, and their chances of returning.

1) Jason Akeson #19 - One of three expected overagers to be playing on the team, Akeson is a free agent invite to the Anaheim Ducks' rookie camp. He'll be looking to impress the Ducks' brass with his powerful shot and strong skating ability despite his diminuitive stature at 5'10. The camp runs from Sept. 12-16 and takes place in Penticton, BC. Akeson has not signed a pro contract with the Ducks, and is still exclusive Rangers property. He should be back in time for the season opener on Sept. 24.

Chance of Returning: 95%

2) Andrew Crescenzi #20 - Another free agent invite, this time by the Leafs, the Rangers' fourth-line centre will get plenty of face time with both former Ranger Nazem Kadri and current public enemy No. 1; Michael Liambas. Liambas of course drilled Ranger Ben Fanelli head first into the boards last year. Crescenzi is expected to use his long stride and reach to his advantage during camp and will try to impress enough for a future contract with Toronto (they have a habit of signing free agents and skipping the significance of the draft). Crescenzi should be back by the home opener since the camp runs Sept. 11-14.

Chance of Returning: 100%

3) Jerry D'Amigo - Depending on where Brian Burke sees this guy's ability as of now, the American sniper will most likely see AHL duty this year. The only way this guy will end up in Kitchener is if he bombs out of the minor pros, similar to Dale Mitchell last year. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but still unlikely.

Chance of Reporting: 20%

4) Brandon Maxwell #30 - Playoff-hardened and seasoned by a year, Maxwell has no excuses not to shine this year for Kitchener. Will he shine for Colorado? The Avalanche's rookie camp runs Sept. 12-20, so theoretically he should be back by the home opener. However, Maxx's pedigree and ability to occasionally shine in big moments could have him invited to the main camp. If that happens, Maxwell could either end up in the NHL as a backup (extremely unlikely) or in the AHL since he was drafted out of the USNTDP. In all likelihood, look for Maxx to be back with the team in late September, perhaps after the opener.

Chance of Returning: 80%

5) Jeremy Morin #61 - Ah yes, the Jeremy Morin saga. In all honesty I have about as much a chance as knowing where this guy ends up as Spott does at the moment, but here's my 2 cents. The Blackhawks' placement of this guy will come down from an NHL ruling stating where he is eligible to play. The Hawks' depth is solid up front, but Morin is definitely ready to take his spot in the AHL (despite some die-hard Rangers fans telling themselves his speed and skating isn't good enough-get over yourselves, it's good enough). If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say we've seen the last of ol' snipe 61 unfortunately.

Chance of Returning: 10%

6) Tyler Randell #11 - An injury-plagued season for the big guy kept him from being a factor last year, but look for that to change as an (assumedly) motivated Randell should have even more incentive to do well this year to keep his contract with the Bruins going. I guarantee they won't re-sign if he keeps up his play from last year. A bit of a wild-card, Randell could be sent back immediately after rookie camp which lasts Sept. 12-16, or could stay awhile into the main camp, as he unexpectedly did last year. Look for him to be back in early October. If he plays like Milan Lucic in camp, then expect him to stay longer than usual. I'd still place my bets on seeing him in Rangers rags this year however.

Chance of Returning: 90%

7) Jeff Skinner #53 - Skinner has a more realistic shot at being returned to the Rangers than Morin does, however, Carolina Hurricanes' GM, Jim Rutherford's approach to Skinner's chances at making the big club should worry some. He's stated Skinner will have every opportunity to make the top 6 (if he's not there, he'll be sent back), and the most telling aspect to me is that Rutherford has said "if he plays the way we think he can play, he'll stay with us". Rangers fans know what Skinner is capable of and his strong lower body strength and scoring ability could be enough to make himself stick in the big show. If he's back, it won't be until mid-October.

Chance of Returning: 50%

8) Cody Sol #41 - The new face of the D, Sol will join ex-teammate Ivan Telegin at Thrashers' rookie camp Sept. 13-16. Sol could very well earn himself an invite to the main camp as well, as the Defence at the camp could leave something to be desired. Sol may stay a bit longer, but he should be back by at least late September barring any miracles.

Chance of Returning: 90%

Hopefully your uneasiness has been lifted, or at least made more clear by this guide. Now, by no means am I stating these percentages to be facts, simply educated hypotheses on where these guys will end up once all powers that be have had their say.

Despite a September 23 season-opening date, it won't be until late October where Rangers fans can truly feel good about the assets they have (or lack thereof).

The K-W Kid Strikes Again

The Brampton Battalion are infamous for their puck-stifling defence, belligerent back-checking, and suffocating trap-style of play.

Trouble is, no one bothered to tell these new guys.

Zach Lorentz and Eric Ming were the lone goal-getters in a 2-2 draw with the Brampton Battalion Sunday afternoon in a post BBQ matinee.

Playing a team where not only is it dangerous to surrender the first goal to risk losing the game, but also risk losing the audience to an "Inception"-induced unconscious state (without the anesthesia or dream thieves), Lorentz's tally seemed to jolt the Rangers and their fans awake in the second period.

Captain-for-the-day Jason Akeson spotted the streaking Kitchener native Lorentz coming off the bench and sent him in alone on Battalion goaltending incumbent Jacob Riley (looking to take over from the departed Patrick Killeen) and Lorentz made no mistake with a bobbling puck, backhanding it between the wickets of Riley's pads.

Lorentz's marker seemed as good a time as any for the Rangers to come alive, and within seconds, Lorentz made another beautiful play, passing a seeing-eye puck to linemate Eric Ming who flipped the puck into the open net behind Riley.

And bam, the Rangers' two goals for the day were notched by their fourth line, a phenomenon that will need to continue from the blueshirts' depth if the team wants to make it deep into the playoffs.

Lorentz's two-point day followed a strong outing Friday night where he scored his first of the pre-season with a tip in front of the net.

The local boy is so far making a strong case for himself to be in the opening day roster come September 24th with three points in two games.

And with the Rangers' NHL draftees away at camp in late September and early October, Lorentz, Ming and fellow linemate Keli Grant will need to produce with the absences of Tyler Randell, Jeremy Morin, Jeff Skinner, Cody Sol, Julian Melchiori, and goaltender Brandon Maxwell all away with their respective NHL clubs.

Mike Morrison took the reins for the Rangers' goalkeeping duties on Sunday and once again proved that he belongs on a championship team, letting only two goals get by him on 28 shots.

The first was a tip in front by Craig Moore on a Battalion powerplay with just under a minute left in the second stanza. The second was on what seemed like a harmless rush from Sam Carrick, but the Toronto Maple Leafs' draftee showed why he will again be one of the league's premier forwards with a snipe shot that found a hole above Morrison's right shoulder pad.

Cody Sol recorded his first fight as a Ranger and after throwing a couple punches managed to get on top of his green-clad Battalion opponent. Spott brought Sol in mainly for his defensive prowess but also for his physical game and will hope to see more from his hulking blueliner as the season progresses.

Ryan Murphy seemed to take note as he laid out an uncharacteristic thunderous hip-check in the first period that sent the Battalion forward head over heels along the left wing. That garnered a large ovation from an appreciative crowd who knows the puck-whiz more for his water-bug velocity and puck-threading abilities than for his physicality.

The Rangers will visit the Battalion in Brampton on Monday for a rematch before traveling to Niagara for a date with the Icedogs on Saturday.

Rangers' Morin Puts on a Show in Possible Curtain Call

Well, if it was to be Jeremy Morin's last game in a Kitchener Rangers uniform, the 19 year-old left-winger made sure he would leave an impression for the Aud faithful who may possibly be deprived of No. 61's dazzling display of dominance in an 8-3 rout of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL.

Morin's NHL-drafted team, the Chicago Blackhawks, could make Morin a Mo-show in Kitchener this year and place him with their AHL affiliate in Rockford. It all comes down to an NHL ruling which will clarify where players drafted outside the OHL, but signed with an OHL team, can play as a 19 year-old.

The fogginess surrounding Morin's immediate future didn't stop the Rangers' sniper from putting on a show however.

Morin (pictured) put on a tantalizing display of his lethal release and notched two goals and two assists in a game which featured the Rangers' marksman up to his old tricks. His snapshot that can rival possibly anyone's in the AHL, let alone the OHL was on frequent display, but the top forward also broke out a couple of dekes which left his opponents' defencemen and the crowd wondering what just happened.

The Rangers' top line, assuming Morin and top centreman Jeff Skinner are returned from NHL training camps showed just how destructive they can be in their first exhibition game. Morin, Skinner and Gabriel Landeskog combined for an astounding 10 points. The Rangers barely felt the absence of graduated forward Chris Mackinnon, or the press-box sit-outs of Jason Akeson and Michael Catenacci.

Mind you, the Huskies are a very young team, in a different league, who may have been fatigued by travel, but if the boys in blue wanted to prove themselves as favourites early on, they answered any doubters by playing a solid 60 minutes full of defensively responsible backchecking by the rookies (which shows coach Steve Spott's mantra getting through to the kids early on).

The Rangers exploded for four goals in the second period after being knotted at twos after the first, and the top trio of Morin, Skinner and Landeskog who barely saw any action in the third period gave way to the youngsters to strut their stuff.

And strut they did. Matia Marcantuoni, the Rangers' top draft pick over the summer notched his first goal in his Rangers-crested jersey by flying (the kid's got wheels) down the right wing and faking a shot before placing it neatly under the crossbar in the third.

Zach Lorentz, a local native, closed out the scoring and put the Huskies to rest with his redirected tip-in off 16 year-old Evan McEneny's point shot.

If the third frame was a forum for his rookies to entice, Spott and company has got to be pleased with what they saw. The high learning curve of the jump to the O seemed minimized with the talent and work ethic instilled in his young pups during training camp. Promises of a bright future seemed aplenty with solid contributions by McEneny, Lorentz, Marcantuoni and made the Rangers more than a one-trick pony.

Overager Matt Tipoff showed why he belongs on the club as one of three for the upcoming season with two goals of his own, and Landeskog and Skinner also scored for the Rangers.

Junior Harris recorded two and Taylor Lambke notched a single for the Huskies.

The Rangers' second exhibition game falls this Sunday when the Brampton Battalion roll into town.

The Great Danes have Arrived

The happiest country in the world certainly has reason to smile when it comes to the competitive world of sport.

Denmark, with that top honour, as discovered by the Gallup World Poll, surveying 155 countries from 2005-2009, can certainly lay claim to an inproportionate amount of worldwide success (their population peaks at 5.5 million as it stands now) when it comes to three popular sports in particular; tennis, hockey and soccer.

With Serena Williams out of the U.S. Open with a right foot injury, Danish-born Caroline Wozniacki will take the honours of being seeded #1 thanks to her recent win at the 2010 Canadian Open and her 2009 U.S. Open final loss to Kim Clijsters.

But with that seed comes the heavy weight of expectations. Wozniacki (pictured) has performed well when she has been a relative unknown entity on the WTA tour, but now the 20 year-old phenom from the town of Odense is trying to learn from her mistakes last year where she was the first Danish woman to ever appear in a Grand Slam final.

She'll be looking for more than a finalist status this year, but despite Williams' absence, she will still have significant competition from established players like Venus Williams who will be trying to win on home soil, Maria Sharapova, Francesca Schiavone, Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, et al.

While other 20 year-olds in New York worry about what time the Rockefeller Center closes on a weekend, Wozniacki will be battling these top stars for prize money other women her age could only dream of possessing in the world's largest city.

Adding to the northern country's mechanized athlete-producing machine, emerges the Danish national soccer team. Although not the finish the team would have liked at the 2010 World Cup, especially considering their draw in the group stage (they were placed with the Netherlands, Cameroon, and Japan- a manageable group), the Danish showed spurts of brilliance in their matches with precision passing and at times, impenetrable defence.

But just qualifying in the Western-European and South American-dominated tournament shows significant progress for the oft-jubilant country. The 2010 edition of the team featured a largely transitional flavour, with captain, and all-time leading scorer Jon Dahl Tomasson retiring after serving 13 years wearing the arm band. As well, young up-and-comers like Daniel Agger, 25, Simon Kjaer, 21, and Nicklas Bendtner, 22 will look to take the reigns from Tomasson and fellow team leader Martin Jorgensen. Bendtner (pictured) and Agger play for Arsenal and Liverpool in the English Premier League respectively.

Finally, Denmark couldn't be called a true northern, Scandinavian country if it didn't feature its fair share of stars on skates. Sweden and Finland have always had a rich history of superstar hockey players gracing their respective nation's sporting hall of fame, but Denmark is just beginning to tap into the gold mine of puck-crazed youngsters within their borders.

Three prominent Danes have already made names for themselves across the Atlantic, where the NHL rules the professional hockey show domestically and abroad. Most European players will travel to North America to play for the most talented league in the world. These three Danes are no exception, and the oldest only just turned legal drinking age in America.

Lars Eller, 21, jumpstarted a wave of Danish hockey teens with incredible skill to hit the ice on this side of the pond. Eller was chosen 13th overall by the St.Louis Blues in 2007. He was later traded to the Montreal Canadiens as part of the much-publicized deal that saw playoff hero-goaltender Jaroslav Halak shipped to St. Louis. Eller scored his team's only goal in his NHL debut, a 2-1 Blues loss vs. the Calgary Flames on November 5, 2009. Eller will now be looking to adjust to a culture within a culture with his new French-Canadian team.

Mikkel Boedker, 20, arguably the most promising hockey player to come from the land of Hans-Christian Andersen, eclipsed Eller's record for being the highest Dane ever selected in the NHL draft, when he was snatched up by Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes at #8 overall in 2008. Boedker (pictured) made the immediate jump from major junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers to the NHL's Coyotes the next year as an 18 year-old. Boedker's speed and lethal snapshot makes him a constant threat on the ice.

Finally, the newest Dane to make a name for himself at the tender age of 17, Nicklas Jensen will suit up for the first time in Canada. Drafted by the Oshawa Generals, Jensen will look to elevate his NHL draft stock in the upcoming OHL season. The 6'2 left-winger is fast, has tremendous acceleration and very soft hands for such a big body. Jensen is already projected to go in the first round of the NHL's 2011 draft.

It seems the happy can only get happier in Denmark with very bright, very young, and very talented prospects carrying the country to places 5.5 million have never believed they have the business of being in.

Blue Jays' Inconsistency Has Never Felt So Good

As the regular season for the 2010 MLB campaing nears its close, the Blue Jays can be forgiven if their fans grow frustrated with a one win-two loss, or vice-versa scenario every series.

Pundits prognosticated a dreadful August with multiple series with the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on the horizon, but the Blue Jays never questioned their ability to play with the big boys. That attitude has seen them with their head barely above the water, playing to an 11-9 record (minus the August 1st Cleveland game), but the question becomes, 'did anyone even expect this team to win 5 of these games at the start of the year?'

With Halladay on a one-way flight to Philadelphia, the team officially entered 'rebuild' mode, which gives them an automatic out by exclaiming in three or four years, the Jays will contend.

The fans surely showed their displeasure at that grim prospect by staying away from the Skydo- er... Rogers Centre early on, but something happened that even team officials hadn't expected to occur this early. The birds started winning. And often.

Fans north of the 49th parallel have always needed a bit of a shove to get out to the American pastime of baseball, and there is no better enticement than a winning team.

As of August 25th, the Jays are technically that winning team, but their 65-60 record is a far cry from contending come October, and perhaps a more troubling prospect, it is not dissimilar to their record of years past. Always levelling out at .500 baseball has been this Toronto team's trademark in recent years; always hanging around, but never quite reaching the upper echelons needed to truly challenge the elite.

But something's different this year. There's a certain 'feel' going around the ballpark that has fans and players much more excited about a 65-60 record than perhaps they should be.

Maybe it's the new faces in the club. Yunel Escobar, full of raw talent arrives amidst attitude accusations, but has largely stayed out of the negative spotlight, pelting in three homeruns since his arrival.

Maybe its the largely unforeseen rise of a solid group of a stellar pitching cast, a major perceived weakpoint in April. Brett Cecil, Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, and Ricky Romero are the new make up of a young pitching squad that has the rest of the MLB whispering about a pseudo-Tampa Bay Rays ascent of talented throwers.

Maybe its the utterly inexplicable meteoric rise of MLB home-run leader Jose Bautista with 40 on the campaign so far, after last season, slicing only 13 over the fences. And honestly, when was the last time you saw the acronym 'TOR' beside the leading player on the much-esteemed HR Leaders list?

It just 'feels' good.

Add in the fact Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is gunning for younger players, and is willing to pay the price at a trade he deems advisable to his ball club and you have the recipe for a club, which already gives opposing teams fits with its 190+ homers on the year to lead the majors, a very large upside when looking into the crystal ball for years to come.