Blue Jays Get Poll Position

The Real Life Major League Top 25 Poll (Plus Assorted Stragglers, Busts and Mets) braces for the second half of the season, waiting for the Padres to trade Fred McGriff for a foam tomahawk and finally go for it all . . .

1. Toronto: Don’t tell me about the Jays losing their last five in a row, or going 1-9 in their last 10, or falling a full 10 games off the pace set by Barry Bonds Inc. The Jays had seven guys in the All-Star game. They must be the best.

2. San Francisco: The City has a new mass transit system--BARRY. It runs fast, it runs far and it cost only $44 million. Two new stops--NLCS and Fall Classic--still on schedule to open in October.

3. Atlanta: And the underachiever of the year to be this low. If hitting is the problem--and a .248 team average says it is--what are Ryan Klesko, Mike Kelly, Tony Tarasco and Javier Lopez doing in Richmond?

4. Philadelphia: That chilling sensation was the ghost of ’64 blowing into town. Very bad karma here: Jim Fregosi made his managerial debut with the Angels in 1978. The man who immediately succeeded him? Gene Mauch.

5. St. Louis: The Cardinals were the ones who ran down the Phillies in the fall of ’64. Now, Rheal Cormier is no Bob Gibson, but Barney Schultz was no Lee Smith, either.

6. New York Yankees: The Yankees are a game back at the break and Buck Showalter still has his job. George Steinbrenner really has mellowed.

7. Montreal: Twenty-five years of history now and the Expos are still sweeping up after Stanley Cup celebrations.

8. Detroit: Mike Ilitch itching to trade for Dodgers’ rookie catching sensation, just to hear Tiger Stadium PA announcer say, “Now batting . . . Piazza! Piazza!”

9. Houston: Hasn’t blown a 35-3 lead all season.

10. Baltimore: Look at it this way, Cal. You take a few games off now, you maybe play a few more in October.

11. Boston: Most peculiar lab experiment here: Team loses Roger Clemens, team jumps into pennant race. Must be the reason why Butch Hobson keeps walking around the clubhouse kicking Frank Viola in the shins.

12. Dodgers: Eric Karros in ’92. Mike Piazza in ’93. At this rate, the Dodgers will be back in the Series no later than ’02.

13. Cincinnati: Firing Tony Perez made all the difference in the world.

14T. Chicago White Sox: It’s a shame, really.

14T. Kansas City: Angel nightmare, sure to come: ARLINGTON, Tex. (Oct. 3)--Gary Gaetti’s two-out pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers and their first division title since 1985, edging the California Angels by one game.

14T. Texas: Things were going to be fine just as soon as Nolan Ryan resumed pitching and Jose Canseco stopped. And then . . .

14T. Seattle: After 16 years of grunge, the Mariners are thinking nirvana in 1993. Buck Rodgers calls them the team to beat in the AL West. Need to know anything else about the division?

14T. Angels: The West is theirs to be won if can they pick up a veteran pitcher. Unfortunately, the best one on the trading block right now is Chuck Finley.

19. Chicago Cubs: Finally, the existence of the Cubs explained: Chicagoans need something to pass the time while punching all those Ryne Sandberg All-Star ballots.

20. Pittsburgh: Jim Leyland and Jim Riggleman were spotted in a bar the other night, comparing wallet photos of the guys they used to manage. They were laughing, and they were crying.

21. Florida: The best first-year expansion team of all-time. Imagine where the Angels might be with Benito Santiago at catcher, Gary Sheffield at third base and what’s-his-name as bullpen stopper.

22. Oakland: On the bright side, Bobby Witt pitches better than Canseco and Ruben Sierra hasn’t torn up anything, American League pitching included.

23. Minnesota: Once again, Chili Davis got out of town while the going was good.

24. Cleveland: Hanging in there--the Indians have 40 victories, more than Oakland, Minnesota or Milwaukee--has proven to be the best therapy of all.

25. Milwaukee: Kmak is the name of the Milwaukee catcher, not the Milwaukee oldies radio station. Or is it the other way around?

26. Colorado: Judging from the scores--7-6, 13-10, 14-7--football season now runs year-round in Denver.

27. San Diego: Be patient, Fred. Any day now.

28. New York Mets: Anthony Young deserves better.