TORONTO — Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news? Well, I guess it’s up to me, so I’ll get the bad out of the way: Vernon Wells is expected to miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring.

That’s not good. So Wells is back on the DL and sidelined until some time in August. No word on who the Jays are going to be calling up, but scanning the Minor League report here, Matt Watson seems a likely candidate. Wayne Lydon and Buck Coats are also options. Travis Snider could be a darkhorse, but I doubt Toronto would want to start the clock on him so soon.

The good news? It doesn’t look like Dustin McGowan will need surgery on his sore right shoulder. He has a tear in hsi rotator cuff, but the MRI revealed no new damage when compared to an MRI McGowan had on his shoulder near the end of last season. It’s normal wear and tear, so his shoulder may just have some inflammation right now.

Just to be safe, Dr. Timothy “I performed Tommy John surgery on B.J. Ryan” Kremcheck is going to take a gander at McGowan’s MRI results on Monday, with an appointment with the pitcher to follow probably some time next week. McGowan is out at least a month and maybe longer. Don’t expect him back on a mound until mid to late August.

For now, Brian Tallet will make a spot start on Sunday. Following the All-Star break, David Purcey may get the call to fill in for McGowan. Shaun Marcum will be due to return shortly after the break as well, so that will help. If A.J. Burnett isn’t dealt, that’s a rotation of Roy Halladay, Burnett, Jesse Litsch, Marcum and Parrish/Purcey in the second half.

There’s still plenty of talk about Burnett being dealt before the trade deadline, though. The Jays have reportedly sent assistent GM Tony Lacava out to scout Phillies Minor Leagues in anticipation of Philadelphia coming calling on Burnett’s availability. The two sides have engaged in talks yet, but Toronto is getting ready to listen for sure.

Today’s lineups:

BALTIMORE (44-45) at TORONTO (44-47)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

ORIOLES
Brian Roberts, 2B
Nick Markakis, RF
Kevin Millar, DH
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Ramon Hernandez, C
Melvin Mora, 3B
Jay Payton, LF
Adam Jones, CF
Brandon Fahey, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-7, 3.61)

BLUE JAYS
Joe Inglett, 2B
David Eckstein, SS
Alex Rios, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Rod Barajas, C
Scott Rolen, 3B
Brad Wilkerson, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Adam Lind, LF

PITCHING: LHP John Parrish (1-0, 1.50)

ANAHEIM — On a relaxing Sunday afternoon here at Angel Stadium, a whole mess of Blue Jays were lounging around the clubhouse, watching the All-Star rosters being announced. Roy Halladay was over at his locker, just back from a run, getting ready to go hit the weightroom.

Needless to say, Doc was busy working when it was revealed that he was named to his fifth American League All-Star team. Halladay is the lone Blue Jays representative this season — a year after Alex Rios was the only Toronto player at the Midsummer Classic. Doc’s selection is well-deserved — he’s been a machine this year.

Nothing else really going on. Gregg Zaun caught wind of the fact that I have been running a lot and asked me if I got my run in today. Yep, 12 miles this morning. He told me he ran cross country way back in the day. Someone nearby in the clubhouse laughed and asked why, “Because my mom wouldn’t sign the permission slip for football.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (42-46) at LOS ANGELES (52-35)
at 3:35 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Joe Inglett, 2B
Marco Scutaro, SS
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Scott Rolen, 3B
Gregg Zaun, DH
Rod Barajas, C
Adam Lind, LF

PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (8-4, 3.69)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins, 3B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Vladimir Guerrero, DH
Torii Hunter, CF
Garret Anderson, LF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Juan Rivera, RF
Jeff Mathis, C
Erick Aybar, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jon Garland (7-5, 3.99)

ANAHEIM — Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo have a double date with Dr. Lewis Yocum here tonight. Janssen’s hoping to get the go-ahead to begin throwing for the first time since season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in March. Accardo wants some peace of mind about his right forearm strain so he can breathe easier in bullpen sessions.

Janssen said today that he doesn’t see why he wouldn’t be cleared, considering how well his workouts have been going. Talked to pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, who caught Accardo in a long-toss session on Friday and said he doesn’t think Accardo will need Tommy John surgery — the worst-case scenario.

In a perfect world, which this is not, Janssen will be cleared and on pace to fight for a job with the Jays next spring. Accardo will be told there’s no ligament damage in his arm and he’ll continue his program with the goal of getting back in the bullpen within the next few weeks. We’ll know more later…

As for the ol’ lineup, Jays skip Cito Gaston did some tweaking today, moving Mighty Joe Inglett into the leadoff spot and giving Brad Wilkerson the nod in left (Adam Lind is the DH). If the new top of the lineup produces some tonight, Gaston said maybe he’ll stick with Inglett in the No. 1 hole for a while.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (41-46) at LOS ANGELES (52-34)
at 9:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Joe Inglett, 2B
Marco Scutaro, SS
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Brad Wilkerson, LF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
Adam Lind, DH

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay (9-6, 2.90)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins, 3B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Maicer Izturis, SS
Vladimir Guerrero, RF
Torii Hunter, CF
Garret Anderson, DH
Gary Matthews Jr., LF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Mike Napoli, C

PITCHING: RHP John Lackey (6-1, 1.44)

ANAHEIM — No bank robberies to report on today. But, on my flight down from Seattle, I did spy some of those California wild fires that are an annual summer occurance here. It was a bit, well, wild to see the smoke rising from the hills as my plane headed toward SoCal.

Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans. It’s a lovely day here, too, bright and sunny with one little puff of what can hardly be considered a substantial cloud in the sky. Great night for some fireworks — too bad I’ll probably be in the clubhouse for the display. Maybe I’ll make it back to the pressbox for the grand finale.

Baseball? Well, Jeremy Accardo is in town with the Jays and scheduled to meet with Dr. Lewis Yocum — an arm specialist who doubles as an Angels team doctor — about his forearm injury. Accardo said he’s throwing off a mound and he only feels a twinge in his arm when he drops his arm slot. He’s hoping the visit with the doc is for peace of mind more than anything.

Casey Janssen is also with the team here, but it’s status quo for the injured righty. Yocum was the doctor who performed shoulder surgery on Janssen back in March. Nothing much else going on with the Jays — unless you consider trade rumors to be something much.

Reports are that the Jays are searching for a shortstop, using A.J. Burnett as bait. Manager Cito Gaston has been cycling Marco Scutaro, David Eckstein and John McDonald in and out at short. The Jays could certainly benefit from a shortstop with some more offense who could play every day. One report out of Baltimore also indicated that the Orioles are also interested in Eckstein.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (41-45) at LOS ANGELES (51-34)
at 9:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Marco Scutaro, SS
Joe Inglett, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Rod Barajas, C
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Adam Lind, LF

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett (8-7, 4.74)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins, 3B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Maicer Izturis, SS
Vladimir Guerrero, RF
Torii Hunter, CF
Garret Anderson, DH
Gary Matthews Jr., LF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Jeff Mathis, C

PITCHING: RHP Jered Weaver (7-8, 4.30)

SEATTLE — There are a bunch of behemoth softball dudes on the field right now taking huge hacks here at Safeco Field. And boy are they making this park look small. Matt Stairs would certainly not look out of place in this Home Run Derby.

There’s been some monster shots off the windows of a restaurant on the second deck in right and one that nearly bounced off the Safeco Field sign that towers over the upper deck in left — right up by the tracks for the retractable roof. Wild stuff.

Speaking of tracks, Jays skip Cito Gaston was weaving some tales of his days playing ball back in the 1970s. He brought up a time when he played for a team in Leone, Mexico and travelled to a stadium where train tracks literally ran through the ballpark. Twice a game, time had to be called while a train passed through the outfield.

On a side note, farewell to the Seattle Supersonics. Being a big NBA fan, I think it’s a travesty that there won’t be a team in this town. At least the city was able to retain the team name and history in the deal. Hopefully it won’t be too, too long before the Sonics are back. Watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls beat Seattle in the 1996 Finals, when MJ won it on Father’s Day after losing his dad, is one of my favorite sports memories.

Back to baseball…

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (41-44) at SEATTLE (32-51)
at 10:10 p.m. ET at lovely Safeco Field

BLUE JAYS
David Eckstein, SS
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Rod Barajas, C
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Adam Lind, LF

PITCHING: RHP Dustin McGowan (6-6, 4.26)

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Miguel Cairo, 2B
Raul Ibanez, LF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jeremy Reed, CF
Richie Sexson, 1B
Jeff Clement, DH
Kenji Johjima, C
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

PITCHING: LHP Jarrod Washburn (3-7, 4.30)

TORONTO — Happy Canada Day everyone. The Mariners were kind enough to have a nice little pregame ceremony to honor this holiday, complete with a flyover by four NORAD jets, including a pair from the U.S. and a pair from Canada.

Also on the field were military from both nations. On the Canadian side, one of the RCMP officers was a woman named Martha Cormier, who happens to be Matt Stairs’ sister. She’s stationed at the RCMP’s Kelowna detachment.

Hey, if you’re not going to be in Toronto for Canada, this is the place to be. People flood down from Vancouver to see the Jays and actually make this place pretty pro Blue Jays. Honestly, this crowd of Jays fanatics seems louder than the fans who frequent Rogers Centre.

“Happy Canada Day,” Jays skip Cito Gaston said. “It certainly helps that we have some fans here. Hopefully, they’ll be cheering us on like they did last night. If you can’t spend it at home, this is a great place to spend it.”

Did I paraphrase Cito’s quote or what? But, it’s true. On Monday night, there were chants for Cito, a fine rendition of the Mar-co Scu-ta-ro chants, and at one point, there were loud cries of Hall-a-day! Hall-a-day! And believe me, the raucous Toronto fans didn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s kind of a weird thing, especially on the road,” Halladay said. “Obviously, being close to Canada here [will bring out the fans], but it’s a different feeling to go into a road city and be able to hear fans from your own town.”

As for my day today, I enjoyed a nice five-mile run along Puget Sound this morning and as I was heading back into downtown with my earphones in and Arcade Fire blasting from my ipod, I noticed that there were a handful of helicopters overhead, which seemed odd. As I got closer to the street my hotel was on, there were cop cars and ambulances blocking my path.

Turns out that some bozo tried to rob a bank in West Seattle and the chase with the cops ended near my hotel. Last year, I had that huge gas pipe explosion near my hotel in New York. This year I get close to a big shootout in Seattle. While standing by and watching the happenings, I spotted a man wearing a Michigan State hat.

We got to chatting and it turns out that he knows some people in the Tigers organization and he works in the ticket office at MSU. We talked some baseball and he even invited to buy me a coffee so we could talk ball some more, but I was itching to get out of my workout clothes. So it was nice to me you, Richard. I’ll take a raincheck on the coffee.

Also, asked David Eckstein today about a recent report that said he’d been fielding grounders at second base. He said no one told him to work out at second and he never fielded grounders, just turned some double plays. With he and John McDonald and Marco Scutaro splitting time at short, he just rotated over there on his own one day to help out during practice.

“It was funny,” Eckstein said with a laugh. “My wife even called me and said, ‘I read that you were fielding grounders at second base?’ I wasn’t. I did turn a couple double plays, but no one asked me to go over there. I did play second base until I got to the big leagues.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (41-43) at SEATTLE (31-51)
at 10:10 p.m. ET at lovely Safeco Field

BLUE JAYS
David Eckstein, DH
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Scott Rolen, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C
Adam Lind, LF
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (8-4, 3.82)

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Jose Lopez, 2B
Raul Ibanez, LF
Jose Vidro, DH
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jeremy Reed, CF
Richie Sexson, 1B
Jeff Clement, C
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

PITCHING: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-1, 2.66)

SEATTLE — I’m always on the lookout for signs of the apocalypse. Buying t-shirts on CNN.com with your favorite headlines comes to mind. Check out this beauty to the right.

Another sign that we might be nearing the end is the cheeseburger-in-a-plastic-bag meal offered to me on my Continental flight from Toronto to Seattle. Talk about yuck. Nooooo thank you. I sat out and opted to buy some fruit when I landed in the land of Starbucks. The dude sitting next to me wolfed down two of those suckers, stinking up my row in the process.

But I digress…I’m here and so are the Blue Jays and we’re all in one of the greatest cities in the U.S. of A. As far as road cities go (and I exclude Chicago because that’s where I be from), Seattle is in a dogfight with San Francisco for my second favorite stop. Boston is my favorite hands down. New York is New York, but for my tastes, it slides in at No. 4.

Speaking of New York (I’m just chalk full of tangents today — must be the jetlag), Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston would love for his club to reach the .500 mark by the time the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium rolls around. So, that means Toronto needs an 8-4 record over the next 12 to meet that goal.

With three here against last-place Seattle and another three against Baltimore, mixed between series against the first-place Angels and the resurgent Yankees, an 8-4 record might — might — be attainable. Honestly, I don’t think the Jays will do it, seeing as that’s the equivalent of winning each of the next four series. We’ll see.

I also think it’s a bit early to start heralding Cito and his boys as the team saviors. So far, the Jays have gone 5-4 under Gaston, flashing a much-improved offense against three National League opponents. I want to see if the offense we’ve been seeing more of lately holds up against teams like the Angels of the AL East.

Gaston downplayed the fact that his team has faced lesser opponents so far.

“All these teams have Major League Baseball players. To me, any given night you can be beat by anyone. Any given day you can be beaten. I know that [the American League is] supposed to be better than Cincinnati and better than the Braves, but I just think they’re all big-league teams. You’ve got to take them one by one and it can happen, teams go through bad times. After the All-Star break, it’s a new day too. I don’t see it [as facing lighter competition], I just see them as Major League players — all of them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here. There are tougher teams [ahead], but we’ll just take it one day at a time.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (37-42) at SEATTLE (31-50)
at 10:10 p.m. ET at lovely Safeco Field

BLUE JAYS
David Eckstein, SS
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, LF

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay (8-6, 3.12)

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Jose Lopez, 2B
Raul Ibanez, LF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jeremy Reed, CF
Richie Sexson, 1B
Jeff Clement, DH
Kenji Johjima, C
Willie Bloomquist, SS

PITCHING: RHP R.A. Dickey (2-3, 4.79)

TORONTO — In honor of Cito Gaston’s favorite lineup, which is making an unprecedented (this season at least) fourth appearance in a row, I’m going to forget all about the importance of sample sizes and provide you a glimpse of what this local nine has done since Gaston took over the manager’s chair a week ago:

1. Marco Scutaro, SS: .320/.414/.320, 2 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB
2. Joe Inglett, 2B: .471/.571/.706, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB
3. Alex Rios, RF: .429/.448/.714, HR, 5 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R, BB
4. Vernon Wells, CF: .308/.310/.346, 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R
5. Matt Stairs, DH: .333/.462/.444, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
6. Scott Rolen, 3B: .273/.429/.773, 3 HR, 2 2B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B: .320/.370/.400, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB
8. Gregg Zaun, C: .188/.316/.375, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
9. Adam Lind, LF: .357/.438/.786, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB

TEAM TOTALS: .306/.385/.475, 8 HR, 13 2B, 37 R, 25 BB, 28 K

Man, if only Gibby would’ve found this lineup among the 60-odd combinations he tried. Granted, Jays fans shouldn’t start crying playoffs until there’s a sample size large enough to call a trend, and rolling this lineup against some American League foes will be a better test as well.

So it’s far too early to start annointing Cito and Gene Tenace and their revolutionary “see ball, hit ball” approach as the saviors of this season. There’s a loooong way to go yet. Gaston would like to simply reach .500 before the All-Star break. For those counting at home, the Jays need to go 10-5 over the next 15 games to reach that goal.

Today’s lineups:

ATLANTA (39-41) at TORONTO (38-42)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

BRAVES
Gregor Blanco, CF
Ruben Gotay, 3B
Kelly Johnson, 2B
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Brian McCann, C
Greg Norton, DH
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Brandon Jones, LF
Brent Lillibridge, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jair Jurrjens (7-3, 3.20)

BLUE JAYS
See Above.

PITCHING: RHP Dustin McGowan (6-5, 4.21)

…well, you know the rest of the saying. I can’t help but post about the NBA Draft today. Those of you who read regularly know I’m a big Bulls fan, seeing as I grew up in Chicago.

So today the Bulls had the No. 1 pick and decided to go with the hometown special, picking Chicago’s own Derrick Rose. Here’s hoping it works out better than Eddy Curry in 2001.

I was kind of hoping the Bulls would go after Michael Beasley out of Kansas State. I thought he was a better fit, personally, and I don’t usually like sticking with the hometown fave. No doubt, Rose is solid. I just hope this isn’t a Jason Williams redux — he was supposed to be the next big point guard, too. Granted, his motorcycle had more to do with derailing that prospect than anything else.

Kudos to the Raptors for pulling off the Jermaine O’Neal trade. If healthy, he and Bosh should be quite the tandem. I followed the Raps some up here this past season and even got out to a couple games at the ACC — once to see if Dwight Howard’s arms are actually as big as they appear on TV and once to see if the Bulls were really as bad as I was reading. Yes, and yes.

Oh, yeah, baseball. Jays are up, 7-1…

TORONTO — The same lineup three games in a row? Is that legal? It sure didn’t seem it when John Gibbons was running the show. Then again, the offense was doing zilch when Gibby was around and he kept trying to find the right mix. Cito Gaston has had — what those things called, runs? — so he keeps rolling out the same order.

Yeah, yeah, bases loaded no outs, no runs. 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Loss. All on Wednesday night. But, shoot, five runs in a loss was almost unheard of earlier this year — let alone another game that included more than one homer. I mean, one homer has been hard to come by for the Jays.

Gaston said he likes what Voodoo? Mighty? Joltin’? Joe Inglett has been doing out of the No. 2 spot so he’s kept him there. Inglett’s showing has helped convince Gaston to keep Marco Scutaro at short. But, Scutaro’s play has also kept him in the mix, too. Gaston said he still plans on getting David Eckstein back in there soon.

Cito said he might’ve switched the order up some tonight, but he didn’t think it was fair for the guys who have been sitting to have to come in and face Edinson Volquez right out of the gates. So, same lineup it is. Two more times, and this will be tied for the most used lineup of the season.

Oh, and in case any of you have been out of the loop, John Parrish is starting for the Jays on Saturday. It was officially announced today, even though we’ve been writing it for a few days now. With the Triple-A Chiefs, the 30-year-old lefty has gone 10-1 with a 2.74 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 35 walks in 82 innings. Not too shabby.

Today’s lineups:

CINCINNATI (36-42) at TORONTO (37-42)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

REDS
Jerry Hairston, SS
Adam Dunn, LF
Brandon Phillips, 2B
Ken Griffey Jr., DH
Joey Votto, 1B
Jeff Keppinger, 3B
Jay Bruce, RF
Corey Patterson, CF
Paul Bako, C

PITCHING: RHP Edinson Volquez (10-1, 1.71)

BLUE JAYS
Marco Scutaro, SS
Joe Inglett, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
Adam Lind, LF

PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (7-4, 4.06)