Can The Jays Still Make The Post-Season?

The Toronto Blue Jays are having arguably their best season since 1998.

The question is will it be anywhere near good enough?

Every summer the Dog Days of August see the herd thinned, as fatigue and reality take their toll on teams that once mistakenly thought they were playoff contenders.

And with six weeks of baseball to be played, it’s time to find out which side of the fence Toronto really belongs on.

Less than two weeks ago the Blue Birds looked dead in the water, returning home from a brutal road trip on which they only mustered a pair of wins. Seven straight losses formed the tune of a Swan Song in the minds of most experts.

But the pundits may have spoken too soon.

After taking two out of three from the Baltimore Orioles at home, the Jays headed out on the road again and made perhaps the statement of their season, grabbing three of four from the Minnesota Twins, who just happen to have the best home record in Major League Baseball.

The Twins, one of three teams standing between Toronto and the American League Wild Card, looked helpless against a suddenly united Toronto team – and by their day off Monday the Jays were back into the hunt, eight games behind the Wild Card leading Chicago White Sox and just seven behind the American League East leading New York Yankees.

To be sure, those numbers aren’t exactly cause for celebration for Toronto faithful, but they mean it’s much too early to count the Blue Jays out. A lot of credit is due their emerging young hurlers. Brandon League’s posted a 0.93 ERA in August and is currently riding a seven-inning scoreless streak over his last three outings.

And since being acquired for disgruntled Shea Hillenbrand on July 22, Jeremy Accardo’s gone 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA in eight games. The 24-year-old is in the midst of an 11 2/3 scoreless innings streak over seven games.

So what’s next?

Looking at the club’s remaining schedule, the Jays have eight games against Boston and six against New York.

They don’t get any more cracks at Minnesota or Chicago, but they’ll have plenty against lowly teams like the Orioles, Tampa Bay Devils Rays, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. All have losing records.

What that means is the fate of Toronto’s 2006 season still lies in the team’s hands. And while they’ll need a lot of luck and a little help, it’s nowhere near impossible.

The Jays should know that as well as anyone. In 1987 they blew an 11-game division lead to the Detroit Tigers. And in 2005, the Cleveland Indians came within a series of catching the Chicago White Sox, who had a 15 ½ game lead inside August.

Of course only time will tell if the Jays are contenders or pretenders, but the comeback trail is well worn, they just need to find the path.

The journey starts Tuesday, when they play the first of three in Tampa Bay. The opener features Jays ace and Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay (14-3) against Jae Seo (3-9).