2005 Vancouver Canadians third base standout, Jeff ‘Buttah’ Baisley, is doing more than signing autographs in major league spring training.

He’s hitting .667 at the moment (granted, we’re talking small sample size), and today he knocked in the tying and winning runs in a pinch-hit appearance to get the Athletics home in a 2-1 squeaker over the Chicago Cubs. 

Another 2005 C’s star, Travis Buck, went 2-3 on the day to take him to a .333 average on the spring thus far, and though ‘04 C’s catcher Kurt Suzuki went 0-3 at the plate, and ‘02 Canadians slugger Dan Johnson matched that, leaving 5 runners on base, it was an all-Van City alumni result for the men in green and gold.

Not that such a thing is new this pre-season; Baisley was at it again yesterday, going 2-2 in a 14-5 romp over the Padres in which Buck too starred, along with ‘04 C’s shortstop Gregorio Petit. Dallas Braden, another ‘04 standout, went three innings in relief, giving up one earned run on 2 hits and a walk.

The previous game on Tuesday saw the A’s beat the Mariners 9-6, with Baisley AGAIN bringing the pinch-hitting glory, going 1-1 with a run driven in and one scored. Gregorio Petit also notched two RBIs on a 1-4 day, and ‘02 Canadians starter and now Oakland ace, Kentucky Joe Blanton, went four innings, conceding two earned runs - which isn’t great, but was a distinct improvement on his previous outing.

All of which begs two questions:

1) Will Jeff Baisley find himself on a plane to Japan for the opening game of the A’s season against the Red Sox

2) Will the local press eventually start realizing that the guys playing for the Canadians, though not stars yet, are stars in the making and are worth paying some attention to?