It pains me to watch the Red Sox when they are playing in Toronto's SkyDome. The place is so cavernous and empty. Now, on Tuesday night I could sort of understand with the Maple Leafs playing in the playoffs right down the street, why attendance was low. However, the Maple Leafs didn't play Wednesday night and there were only 16,000 fans in the seats. Amazing. That is less than half of Fenway's capacity, which is one of the smallest parks in the league. Now, I realize that the Blue Jays are struggling right now having lost their eighth home game, but 16,000 fans? Ridiculous. With thousands of seats available maybe I'll start a bus tour for May 13, the next time the Red Sox head up to the Great White North. That is sure to be one long, four-game visit.

The Globe's Gordon Edes tells us that there are blue days in Toronto.

I often wonder why Major League Baseball even bothers having baseball teams north of the border. It's not that I don't like Canada, but the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays do not attract many fans to America's pastime. Plus, I do not like the SkyDome. Baseball should be played outdoors on grass; the SkyDome has neither. It's time for Major League Baseball to find new homes for these teams. Perhaps in San Juan, Puerto Rico where the Montreal plays half of its home games.

Tim Wakefield is brilliant; I never want to see the knuckleballer leave Boston. This man gives you lots of innings and will do anything to help the team win. His recent performances have me wondering who the staff ace is. Wakefield is 2-0, with an ERA of 2.37 and 13 strikeouts. Great numbers coming from the fourth starter.

What about Doug Mirabelli? He makes the best out of the back-up role. I wish Mirabelli batted against Ted Lilly every night. Against the pitcher, he is hitting over .500 with three home runs, two last night. I'm not the only won who's noticed. The Toronto Sun writes about the "Knuckle sandwich". The Toronto Star's Dave Feschuk writes about Mirabelli and Wakefield in his article "Catcher knuckles down". The Globe also reports about Mirabelli's success. It's nice when the back-up catcher gets recognized. I love the fact that he bats without wearing gloves. Tough.

By the way, when did David Ortiz develop speed? I've seen him stretch a couple of singles into doubles and he scored a run Wednesday night on a passed ball. Wow. However, I worry about him sliding head first into second base. We need him. I hope they covered that in the base-running meeting the Globe says the team had. Hmm, I wonder what prompted that?

Curt Schilling is back on the mound tonight and should put up some big numbers against the Jays. He is going to be this year's Cy Young Award winner. I'll be watching, however painful the emptiness makes it. Man, I wish I had the time to travel to the game. Cheap seats are available if you are willing to make the drive. Where else can you smoke a Cuban cigar and watch baseball for less than $20? Well, maybe in Cuba.

This weekend we look forward to another match-up vs. the Yankees. I can't wait. It will be a little different in New York, but I expect similar results. Our pitching is just too strong right now. According to the New York Post Torre is pondering starters for Sunday's game vs. Pedro and the Red Sox. Right now they don't have many options. Perhaps they can make a trade before Sunday's game. Don't laugh.

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