They played some gritty baseball last weekend, taking two of three from the Bronx Bombers, coming from behind and taking advantage of some rare Yankee mistakes.

Although the Yanks are sometimes called the Bombers, they haven't dropped a lot of bombs lately, which really surprises me because they are usually one of the best second-half teams. But the Jays have gained momentum and are creating some problems for other teams as we near the end of the regular season.

Despite some mediocrity in the Toronto offence during the first half of the season, the second half gives me a reason to be optimistic for the future of this team, especially with the front office’s commitment to bringing back Cito and the coaching staff next year.

Having played against those darn Yankees and been a Yankee, it has been an honour to play in the House that Ruth built.

As a kid, like so many others, I dreamed of one day wearing pinstripes, patrolling right field like Reggie Jackson, but how would I know that my dream would really come true?

Roy Halladay looked as sharp as I have ever seen him, his pitches had good movement down in the zone and he worked both sides of the plate. Yankee hitters had no chance.

Halladay must have taken his teammates out to dinner the night before because they usually don't give him a lot of run support, but he had runs to spare this time. The Jays bats came alive again – pounding out 21 hits in front of over 37,000 fans. Amazing.

Yes, I know that time is running out, but that’s why you play a full 162 games. The Yankees are struggling, and although Minnesota is leading the American League in batting with men in scoring position, the Twins tend to only win at home. So, to me, the wild card is still up for grabs, so let’s just see what happens.

The Jays have been playing some exciting baseball over the last 10 games. They’ve won three in a row and seven out of 10. We have been waiting for the offence to be consistent all season and now with a healthy Vernon Wells in the lineup, they could be a force to be reckoned with down the stretch.

It was a tremendous weekend for me being a part of the Old Timers’s Game last Saturday. What an honour to be in the dugout with so many Hall of Famers, legends and all-stars! Just think, I am sitting there looking at Reggie Jackson,Yogi Berra, the newest Hall of Fame inductee Goose Gossage, Don Larsen (the only man to pitch a perfect game in the history of the World Series) and so many more.

The stadium was packed with fans of all ages who came to cheer their heroes on. It was an hour and a half of pure love of the game and the only word I can use to describe the scene is "AWESOME". As we were introduced, all 72 of us - the most Yankees ever assembled together - lined up from home plate down both foul lines.

A.J. has electric stuff and he is a bulldog on the mound, which is intimidating to hitters. With some pitchers, you see players just dig in, get comfortable and get ready to crush the ball. But with A.J., you don't see many hitters running up to home plate to face him. When he is on top of his game, he can match up with any pitcher - yes, I said any pitcher in baseball.

The Jays kept battling from behind with some tough at bats and gutsy play - now that was a good old-fashioned, knock-down, drag-out ballgame. It just kept going back and forth until the late innings. And Toronto’s hitters FINALLY picked up the pitchers this time.

Hey, they were due, the pitchers have been carrying this team all season long and to be quite frank with you, they have carried the load for the past few years.

Did you see Josh Hamilton in the first round of the home run derby? He put on a video game-like display with 28 bombs. You've got to be kidding me!

For those fans who had not heard the background story of Josh Hamilton and his struggle with drug addiction, they got to see a young man determined to turn his life around, and boy has he ever. Just think, he didn't play baseball for the last three years and can dominate Major League pitching the way he does? Now to me, he is "The Natural.”

Then we have the all-star game and no one expected it to be the battle it turned out to be.

How good is he?

How about this stat … he’s the first rookie catcher ever to start an all-star game! Now that’s impressive. But I have a theory that there is a farm somewhere in the hills of Puerto Rico where they raise catchers just like San Pedro in the Dominican Republic raises big league shortstops!

Just think about it, all three Molina brothers are Puerto Rican (each has a World Series ring), and of course Carlos Delgado came to the Jays as a catcher. Where is he from? Yep, you got it, Puerto Rico. For some, this may be a surprise, but not really for me. Let me tell you why.

Just look at the Chicago teams, the Cubs and the White Sox are kicking some butt this year. Growing up in Joliet, Ill., just outside of Chicago, I was a huge fan of both teams.

Now, some people say you can’t be a fan of both teams, but why not? I loved my hometown teams and had heroes on both: from Ernie Banks (Mr. Cub), Billy Williams (Cubs) to Dick Allen of the White Sox. The excitement for both the Cubs and White Sox fans seeing their teams go head to head during the season takes the rivalry to another level. Oh, I would have loved it! Can you imagine the trash talking in the stands? It must be crazy.

The Jays won't have an offensive outburst like this every game because they will be facing some real tough pitching, but a game like this builds much needed confidence.

It’s day TWO of the draft and my youngest son Jeremy is still waiting to be selected by one of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams.

Day one was silent at my house. No calls and a very tense time for the family. By the way, I am in Toronto, leaving my wife to handle the draft issues alone. Never fear though, I am always a phone call away, if I have service or am not on the air, or in a meeting.

We just don't know what to think. Josh, my oldest son, is calling constantly from Buffalo to see what's happening, our Canadian-born daughter Jessica is calling from work and Jeremy, well, he is asleep.

Just think how many great power hitters there have been since baseball began and now there are six players to reach that mark. So, I guess for all of you who think hitting a home run is easy, you can see by that stat alone how hard it really is.

But think of where Junior (OK, that is what I call him, but don't even ask what he calls me!) would have been had he just stayed healthy. He was asked after the game, how long would he play and with a big smile on his face, he said "As long as I am having fun.”

In the fifth inning, the call to the bullpen came for the only lefty the visitors had, Darren Oliver. He is one tough cookie.

He got Matt Stairs on three nasty pitches, one painted the outside corner and Oliver got the call. So when Lyle Overbay took a 3-1 fastball to the opposite field to drive in Alex Rios - who also went the other way in his at bat - it was good to see that he learned what to look for from Stairs’ at bat.

Wilkerson also took a 0-1 cutter with two outs to the opposite field. It was a big four-run fifth for the Jays as they sent eight batters to the plate in the inning.