Barajas on fire with 5 HR in last 6 games

If Rod Barajas' performance in the previous six games can be attributed to return to full health following his nagging hamstring injury, or because he is he is angling for a raise in a contract year, the Blue Jays will gladly take the results they've gotten from their catcher in the past week.

Barajas smacked two more home runs Monday against Texas, marking 5 long flies in the past 6 contests to go along with a total of 12 RBI in his hot stretch at the dish. The 33 year old has now amassed 60 runs driven in on the campaign, matching a career high set in 2005.

The blue birds catcher the past two seasons, Barajas has dealt with problems with his hamstring for the better part of two months and struggled mightily in 37 contests preceding his offensive outburst, suffering through a tail spin that saw him post just 20 hits in 119 at bats for a paltry .168 batting average.

The 11 year veteran is set to become a free agent at the conclusion of the season, and with the Jays having no obvious candidate to replace him as the starting catcher in '10 (top catching prospect J.P. Arencibia has scuffled in AAA this year), he might just be handed another contract to stay with the ball club, but the more likely scenario would see him ply his trade with another team.

Lind drives in 8 RBI, one off club record

With a masterful performance Monday in Texas, Adam Lind continues to show that the future will be very bright for the 26 year old left fielder. Lind drove in an incredible total of 8 runs Monday, aided by his first career grand slam and a stellar 9th inning in which he blasted a solo shot and ripped a 3 run double in his second plate appearance of the frame. Lind's career game saw him finishing just one RBI away from matching a 31 year club record of nine runs plated in one contest.

Lind has been a regular contributor to a stumbling Jays offense all season, racking up 27 HR and 89 RBI, and even by his lofty standards, he might never amass 8 runs driven in over a course of one game again. With the pair of long flies, the part time designated hitter now is four homers away from catching Aaron Hill's club record of 31 for Blue Jay home run supremacy.

Lind will likely serve as the team's cleanup hitter next season, and the exciting thing is he might just be scratching the surface of his potential, because Manager Cito Gaston believes Lind still has a lot to learn in the batters box. Indeed, the future is bright for Lind, and hopefully, by extension, the Blue Jays.