But What Do I Know? … Eric Thames, Ryan Dempster, Warren Cromartie

My weekly opinions, observations and rants about some Canadian baseball stories (Please follow me on Twitter: @kevinglewsports):

 If Eric Thames is going to be one of the Jays outfielders of the future, why did he DH for 10 of the 13 games during his big league call-up? Surely it can’t be because Corey Patterson represents a better defensive option in the outfield.

 Sechelt, B.C. native Ryan Dempster now owns 106 career wins, tying him with Kirk McCaskill (Kapuskasing, Ont.) for the second-most by a Canadian. Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) has the most with 284.

 Former Montreal Expo, Warren Cromartie, has made some noise on Twitter in recent months about putting together a reunion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Expos. “Cro” was a popular member of that club, which was the only Expos team to advance to the post-season. You can follow Cromartie on Twitter: @Cro_Talkin49

 The more I watch Corey Patterson and Rajai Davis in the Jays outfield, the more I feel that the Jays should call up DeWayne Wise from Triple-A Las Vegas to serve as a late-inning defensive replacement.

 Hopefully Victoria, B.C. native Michael Saunders can find his batting stroke in Triple-A. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound outfielder played 45 games with the Mariners this season, but was demoted on June 2 after his batting average dipped to .168.

 It looks like shortstop prospect Justin Jackson has finally found his game in Class-A Dunedin. Selected 45th overall by Toronto in the 2007 draft, the 22-year-old infielder didn’t hit higher than .243 in his first three pro seasons, but this year, he’s batting .312 in 46 games and owns a .417 OBP.

 Nice guys don’t finish last. No one took more abuse from Jays fans than Eric Hinske. But the former American League Rookie of the Year is one of the good guys in the game and has proven to be a good luck charm for teams that have signed him. He has played in the post-season in each of the past four seasons with four different teams (Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Braves) and now owns two World Series rings. He’s also hitting .300 with six homers in 45 games with the Braves this year.

 Is hitting in the big leagues that much more difficult than hitting in Triple-A? Apparently it is for Jays first base prospect, David Cooper. In his 13-game, big league stint this year, he hit .121. In 36 games in Triple-A, he’s hitting .401.

 At least two former Montreal Expos have sons that are eligible for this year’s big league draft. Bill Gullickson’s son Craig is a left-handed pitcher out of the University of Georgia, while Devin Shines, the son of Razor Shines, is a first baseman/outfielder out of Oklahoma State.