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TORONTO – The Blue Jays wrapped up a nine-game homestand with a 7-4 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon and afterward, boarded a plane for the long flight to Californias Bay Area. It will be in Oakland, on Thursday night, where the club begins a 10-game, pre-All-Star Break road trip which will be a grind, both in terms of miles logged and quality of opponents. After four with the Athletics, the Jays travel down the pacific coast for three with the Angels and then across the southern part of the continent, concluding with three against the Rays in St. Petersburg. Then comes the Midsummer Classic in Minneapolis, where general manager Alex Anthopoulos expects trade discussions will begin to heat up. “We still have a month. A lot can change,” said Anthopoulos. “We started out June 5-0 and obviously we did play well down the stretch. I think you reassess at the All-Star Break and this trip will be part of it. As long as youre in the hunt is probably an important way to look at it. Knock on wood; unless we go on a long streak where we dont win some games and our competition goes on a streak, as long as youre still within reach, then its going to be a battle.” The Blue Jays approach the break in a unique position, legitimate contenders for a playoff spot for the first time in a generation. The lineup is veteran laden, built to win now. Jose Bautista is 33 years old, turning 34 in October. Edwin Encarnacion 31 and so is Adam Lind. Yet, theres understandable hesitancy to part with pieces viewed as part of the future core, including star pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez, whos now toiling at Triple-A Buffalo. Anthopoulos wades into unfamiliar territory but he approaches this deadline no different than those previous, willing to make any trade to improve his ballclub. There are no untouchables. He wont divulge priority areas so as to not create a competitive disadvantage in trade talks. The bullpen and an additional infielder, be it a second or a third baseman (Brett Lawrie can play the other spot), should be points of emphasis. He would be willing to acquire a third baseman. “Lets say theres an all-star calibre player, a great player, there, I think wed be open to doing that,” said Anthopoulos. “That makes the team better. But I dont want to make that a story. Thats not the plan. Were not close to doing that. Were not actively pursuing that. Bretts our third baseman. Hes got the positional flexibility to play all over the place.” The starting rotation has been a pleasant surprise this season. Mark Buehrles 10 wins and 2.50 ERA have led the way. J.A. Happ, with seven more effective innings on Wednesday, has solidified himself after missing the start of the year injured and returning out of the bullpen. Drew Hutchison has run hot and cold but is a promising young pitcher. Marcus Stroman has fit in well and R.A. Dickey is logging innings even though the results have been mixed. The organization believes Sanchez, 23, has turned a corner with the Bisons after struggling for parts of this season with his command. Hes changed his arm slot slightly, staying better on top of the ball as a result. Anthopoulos didnt deny Sanchez could contribute to the Blue Jays down the stretch. “To me, if he can do it again, Im convinced that they got him right on track and hell be ready if we have a need,” said Anthopoulos. HOFFMAN AND PENTECOST SIGN The Blue Jays locked in their two first-round picks from last months amateur draft. General manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed that Jeff Hoffman (ninth overall), a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher out of East Carolina University and Max Pentecost (11th overall), a 21-year-old catcher who attended Kennesaw State University, signed for their bonus slot. Hoffman cashes in slightly more than $3-million; Pentecost comes in just shy of $2.9-million. Hoffman underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in May. Its club policy that no pitcher appear in a competitive game until at least one year after the procedure was completed. Hoffman is in Florida, in the early stages of his rehabilitation. Pentecost is in Dunedin, getting back into baseball shape after his college season ended about a month ago. Pentecost is waiting for his passport and when it arrives, hell report to the Blue Jays short season affiliate in Vancouver. Comprar Stan Smith Baratas .com) - Damian Lillard poured in 40 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-111, in overtime on Tuesday. Stan Smith Baratas España . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. http://www.stansmithbaratas.es/ .com) - Nino Williams posted 18 points and seven rebounds, as Kansas State edged No. Stan Smith Rebajas . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season. Stan Smith Baratas Online . Some will say that Martin is too sensitive while others will say that it is part of the way football is in the locker room. But to have to absorb what was said to him for any rational and intelligent person is too much. Tomorrow, for fun Im going to begin our tour team profiles. Youll get to know each crew member, and what they do from morning till night … Their gig is not an easy job and I think giving you the opportunity to see what their day is like will be quite interesting and informative. Check back tomorrow for more updates, and Ill let you know how tonights show went. L.A.M.F. JB Wednesday, November 19 What an outstanding show in Quebec city last night! The band has hit Midshore stride only shows in… Feeling invincible! Always nice to catch up with old friends, and hey, whenever you have the opportunity to have laundry on the road by the singer himself, you just cant pass that up - Thanks JM! We left at 2am after the gig and our outstanding lead to bus driver Randy tracked through 1070 KMs in record time. So yesterday, I promised to spice this diary thing up a little bit by doing profiles on members of the team that you normally dont get to know very well … The first member up to bat is James Welsh. On this run James is taking care of all drums and percussion and all bass and keyboards for both Stuart and I. Born: December 25, 1980 Age: 33 Occupation: Backline technician Question: So what got you interested in working with bands on the road? Answer: I was always working on guitars and other instruments at home and I always love traveling on my own time so its cited to do both at the same time. Question: How long of you been doing this as a career? Answer: Overall Ive been at this for 15 years but professionally over the last six years solid. Question: What is the most interesting thing that is ever happened to you while touring on the road, and with what band was it? Answer: Probably the most interesting thing Ive ever gotten to do touring was go to Afghanistan with the band Default. We did a show for the troops and spent a week on the base, got to travel around and meet all the different soldiers and see what they do day to day and what they were doing over there. Well, there you have it crew profile No. 1 done. James was a splendid candidate - tomorrow you get to meet none other than Bruce Nicol, the infamous guitar tech extraordinaire. Well, we just arrived in Halifax and its time for me to go run off the beers I drank last night.dddddddddddd Catch you tomorrow ... L.A.M.F. JB Thursday, November 20 Just playing a little catch up here … Last night I was fortunate enough to go see Sarah McLachlan for the second time in a few weeks… Our good friend Brent Clark is her lighting designer and has done work with The Tea Party many times in the past. Having friends in the industry has a lot of perks and this is definitely one of them … The lighting show was truly outstanding and I have always been such a huge fan of Sarahs, that its a pleasure to see her working with full band, acoustically or at a production like this in her hometown of Halifax. This morning was a bit of a run around as the band had both television for the Maritimes and Q104 rock radio as well … Im on the bus right now warming up for our show at the Olympic Hall. Some pretty cool staging although, its not tall enough to support our amazing album artwork backdrop … Pretty geeked about doing another show in Halifax I must say. Something pretty cool happened today also while we were shopping at a music store across the street from the venue. A young guy, a drummer, was trying to buy some sticks but didnt have enough money, so I asked him what weight and model he used and it was very similar to mine. I told him to put his money away, and followed me to the venue. I gave him three pairs of sticks and put him on the guest list, because it really sucks when youre young musician and you can afford the tools you need to make your art, and then when you finally do make it everything seems to come for free or at a discounted price … It was a nice feeling to say the least. I was going to profile Bruce, the guitar tech today but he works so hard that hes had to crash before the show and grab a well-deserved nap. Come to think of it, I think Ill spread these profiles out a little bit more anyway so I dont inundate you with nothing but crew profiles over the next few days … We have three weeks more after all! Ill check in tomorrow once we are in Moncton for the casino show… Ill let you know how tonight show goes but I can guarantee you already its going to be outstanding! ;) Follow me on Twitter here: @burrowsdrums L.A.M.F. JB ' ' '