But What Do I Know? … Jon Rauch, Rene Tosoni, Willie Upshaw

My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories:

 I was once told to never trust a man with a neck tattoo. Just wondering if that applies to Jays closer Jon Rauch. Yes, he has five saves in six opportunities, but he has also allowed three homers in 11 innings. Over the course of his career, Rauch has tossed an average of 74 innings per season. If he continues at his current pace, he will serve up a whopping 20 homers this season.

 Congratulations to Minnesota Twins outfielder, Rene Tosoni (Toronto, Ont.), who singled in his first big league at bat off of Tampa right-hander Jeremy Hellickson on April 28. In six games with the Twins, he now has four hits in 20 at bats.

 From the Where Are They Now? file: ex-Blue Jay Willie Upshaw is managing the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.

 Thanks to Adam Morissette at Baseball Canada for his update on Vancouver native Trystan Magnuson, who is closing games for Oakland’s Triple-A club in Sacramento. In 14-1/3 innings, he has stuck out 15 and fashions a 1.88 ERA. The 25-year-old right-hander was dealt to the A’s by the Blue Jays as part of the Rajai Davis deal in November.

 There aren’t any Canadians on the Detroit Tigers this year, but there are three Canucks – Cale Iorg (Toronto, Ont.), Max St. Pierre (Quebec City, Quebec) and Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) – suiting up for their Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens.

 I’m not sure about Adam Loewen (Surrey, B.C.), but I’ve read that the two other Canadians playing for the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas – Brett Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) and Scott Richmond (North Vancouver) – are big Vancouver Canuck fans. You can also bet that former goalie Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) hasn’t missed a second of the Canucks’ playoff run.

 After every loss by Jays starter Jesse Litsch, it seems like the explanation is that he threw one bad pitch. The problem is he seems to toss that pitch to a batter than can hit it 400 feet, when there are runners on base.

 Congratulations to Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) and his wife, Kristen on the birth of their baby boy, Garrett David Bay, last night. It’s the couple’s third child.

 Congratulations to Tim Wallach, the man who played the most games for the Montreal Expos, on being elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1979, Wallach’s second season at Cal State Fullerton, he hit .392 and knocked in 102 runs, which is still a school record.