“There are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies and statistics.” Mark Twain

Twins (22-24) vs. Blue Jays (21-25)

Scratch below the surface of the two teams scheduled to square off this weekend at the dome and you will find a few similarities, at least in terms of where they figured to be in relation to the playoff hunt. Both teams, based upon slightly different circumstances, came into 2007 with lofty expectations. The Jays, with pitching and a potent offense were supposed to contend in the East and had hoped to be a balanced team in 2007. But, after losing starters Ted Lilly and Gil Meche in the off-season, they tried to patch those holes with retreads like Tomo Ohka, Victor Zambrano and John Thomson, who were brought in with low-risk contracts. Throw in a slew of injuries and an uneven offensive, and the Jays find themselved already 10 games in back of Boston, and in third place, a smidge behind the Yankees. Like the Twins, a primary issue seems to be that talent wise, at least on paper, they appear to be only the third best team in their respective divisions and each team has a razor thin margin of error if they hope to make the playoffs.

Things Looking Up?
Things don't look quite as bleak as they did a couple of weeks ago. The Jay's pitching and bullpen have picked up some slack and the offense has shown some much needed signs of life. They come to Minnesota having won eight of 12, following a brutal nine-game losing streak.

The Injury Bug
At press time, Toronto had nine players on the DL, and ten total players who have spent time on the DL so far this year. In NY, that’ll get the training staff fired, but our neighbors to the north do things a little differently and give their trainers three year contract extensions for managing a virtual M.A.S.H. unit. Losing your closer and your staff ace, is not a recipe for playoff contention in a tough division. Throw in the fact that several key cogs in the Jays arsenal (Glaus, Thomas and Burnett) are also prone to spending at least some time on the DL during the year, and you wonder just how they expected to remain healthy enough to contend.

At least one blogger, David Moro from the Jay’s Nest, when speaking primarily about the pitching staff, nailed it with this meaty quote from February 2, 2007:

"The main problem is that JP has assembled (outside of Doc) perhaps the most injury prone talent the league has ever known (well, outside the Red Sox staff, that is). Both Chacin and Burnett are coming off injury plagued months on the DL and the bottom two hurlers are working off injury plagued YEARS.
What If: No one can stay healthy outside of Halladay(bad)? What if Halladay is the one who gets hurt this time (worse)?. Every team needs a bit of luck on the injury front every year. The Birds under Ricciardi have never been fortunate in this area. Get those rosary beads out now, people. Pray hard. Pray very hard for health (and twice more on Sunday’s!)."

Sizzle, Sizzle.
Does this sound familiar?

"Usually on a team, there's a couple of guys going through rough times at the plate and the others pick them up. But this time, we all sucked." -- 1B Lyle Overbay, on the Jays' lack of scoring the past three weeks.

J.P. Ricciardi told the press at the end of spring training, "If we have to worry about our hitting, we're in deep doo-doo." Ricciardi attempted to bolster the Jays offense by signing Frank Thomas in the off-season to a much-debated two-year, $18 million contract to anchor the line-up and wear out opposing pitchers. Thomas along with Lyle Overbay, Troy Glaus seemed to be a formidable offensive nucleus, but, as usual, Glaus was hurt, Overbay stumbled a bit from last year, and the Big Hurt lumbered out of the gate and is hitting .091 over his last 7 games.

Here’s a look at Thomas through 43 games in 2006 vs. 2007

Avg. HR RBI OBP
Oakland, 2006 .229 12 29 .353
Toronto, 2007 .228 5 18 .345

Put those numbers in context with this nugget from the High Cheese Blog by Canadian National Post baseball reporters Jeremy Sandler and John Lott.

“Manager John Gibbons found some solace in the fact that Thomas rebounded big-time after a slow start last year, and that he maintains a good on-base percentage, largely through walks. Thomas finished 2006 with 39 homers and 114 RBIs while batting .270.

Thomas, who turns 39 next Monday, opened the season as Toronto’s regular cleanup hitter. Gibbons had him batting sixth (as recently as) Tuesday night.

Of course all this probably means Big Frank will awake from his slumber to feast on Twins pitching. Thomas hit a milestone shot to help the Toronto Blue Jays rally for a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night. It was his 493rd career home run, tying Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 21st on the career list. The solo shot left him two homers short of matching Edgar Martinez for most by a designated hitter (243)

Pillow Talk
The Big Hurt's troubles have not only been on the field, it seems those wacky Canadians, especially the ones who approve advertisements in Canada, are not fond of Frank's work on the small screen.

The Thighs Have It
Based upon Strib baseball writer and blogger Joe Christensen’s latest report that local legend, Joe Mauer, and his sore quad, may be activated for the start of this series, I’ve decided to focus this week’s “On the Grill” on the often overlooked, but tasty, grilled chicken thigh.

While some might call the Chicken Breast, the proverbial FOTCF (Face of the Chicken Franchise) it’s a fact that dark meat chicken is better for grilling than white meat. Why? Thighs, drumsticks and leg quarters have more flavor, a higher fat content and are better suited to the direct heat of a grill. Only in America is the demand for white-meat chicken and turkey so lopsided. Although dark meat poultry has long been the centerpiece of Latin, Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, consumers in America eat more than twice as much white meat as dark (15.8 billion pounds in 2002, versus 6.5 billion pounds).

From an article which appeared in Plate Magazine, a foodservice magazine focused on culinary trends:

A preference for dark meat is not merely personal, but a matter of tradition for David Fortuna, chef/owner of Wholly Ravioli, Sacramento, Calif. Ever since his family's first restaurant was opened in 1945, its members have preached the virtues of chicken thighs. "In Italy you use all parts of the chicken," he says. "Dark meat has a more 'chickeny' flavor, and it absorbs marinades and holds sauces better than breast meat."

Ode to a Jerk
No Frank Thomas article would be complete without some reference to the fact some people think the guy's a total jerk. But in this case, we'll just avoid any direct reference to Frank's personality and focus on the other kind of Jerk. Chicken thighs are great for this recipe, because as noted, they are easier to cook and they absorb the spicy marinade better than breast meat. One other added benefit is cost -as they are much cheaper to buy. Here's a short primer on Jerk Cooking, from our favorite easy reference source, Wikepedia:

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meats (traditionally pork, but now including chicken, fish, beef, sausage and even tofu) are dry-rubbed with a fiery spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two items: allspice (Jamaican Pimento) and Scotch Bonnet peppers (among the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale). Other ingredients include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, which is mixed together to form a marinade which is rubbed onto pork, chicken, or fish.

At our house, since I do 90% of the cooking, I tend to gravitate to cooking the bolder flavors and I'm a huge fan of spices, and especially complex mixtures of spices like you find when you are cooking this style of food. I love the pungent smell of putting this together too and if you've never done it, I think you will too. These recipes are from Epicurious.com, which is a great source for pushing the culinary envelope.

Ingredients:

3-4lbs Chicken Thighs (with the bone and skin)

For jerk marinade
3 scallions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 to 5 fresh Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Make marinade:
Blend all marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Marinate and grill chicken:
Divide chicken pieces and marinade between 2 sealable plastic bags. Seal bags, pressing out excess air, then turn bags over several times to distribute marinade. Put bags of chicken in a shallow pan, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight, turning the bags over a few times to ensure even distribition. The next day, when you are getting the grill ready, let chicken stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking.

To cook chicken using a charcoal grill:
Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Light a large chimney of charcoal briquettes (about 100) and pour them evenly over 1 side of bottom rack (you will have a double or triple layer of charcoal). When charcoal turns grayish white and you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds, sear chicken in batches on lightly oiled rack over coals until well browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per batch. Move chicken as seared to side of grill with no coals underneath (the indirect method), then cook, covered with lid, until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Side Dish Ideas

Papaya Salsa

2 lb papaya (2; preferably pink-fleshed strawberry variety), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 cups diced (1/4 inch) fresh pineapple (from 1/2 small pineapple)
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Hatian Cole Slaw

Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon sugar
2 small serrano chilies, seeded, minced (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon celery seeds
8 cups (packed) shredded cabbage (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 cups (packed) shredded carrots (about 2 large)

Preparation
Whisk mayonnaise, olive oil, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, mustard, chopped dill, sugar, chilies, garlic and celery seeds in medium bowl to blend. Toss cabbage and carrots in large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Coleslaw can be prepared ahead. Let stand at room temperature up to 1 hour or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.) Serve cold or at room temperature.

Of course this meal would not be complete without a chilled Red Stripe.

Enjoy the long weekend.