Not for the Blue Jays, of course, but for three of their minor-league affiliates. It's a far cry from previous years, when Toronto farm teams slogged their way through uninspiring and uncompetitive seasons. This year, the New Haven Ravens (AA), Dunedin Blue Jays (High-A) and Auburn Doubledays (Short-Season A) are all battling for their respective leagues' pennants. We'll bring you semi-regular updates of their progress over the next couple of weeks. New Haven is playing New Britain (Twins) in the Northern Division Championship Series, while Dunedin will be playing the Fort Myers Miracle (also the Twins) in the FSL's Western Division. I'm not yet sure who the Doubledays are playing; their season ends on the 6th.
A few brief minor-league notes: Guillermo Quiroz is still recovering from the collapsed lung he suffered recently. He's coming along well and isn't expected to carry any long-term effects from the incident, but he very probably won't be suiting up for New Haven through the playoffs. It's faint praise to say that you have to admire a guy who catches a game and cranks a home run with a collapsed lung. If his health permits, Quiroz should open 2004 at Syracuse, and what he does there will tell a lot about the Blue Jays' catching plans for the foreseeable future.
Some key final stat lines:
Gabe Gross, Syracuse: 182 AB, .264/.380/.456, 16 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 31 BB, 56 K
Alexis Rios, New Haven: 514 AB, .352/.402 /.521 , 32 2B, 11 3B, 11 HR, 11 SB, 39 BB, 85 K
David Bush, New Haven: 7-3, 2.78, 14 GS, 81 IP, 73 H, 19 BB, 73 K, 21.9% KBF, 4 HR
Dustin McGowan, New Haven: 7-0, 3.17, 14 GS, 76 IP, 78 H, 19 BB, 72 K, 22.2% KBF, 1 HR
BTW, the Jays' September callups are Brian Bowles, Dan Reichert, Vinny Chulk and Howie Clark.
John Neary and I will be co-producing a mammoth end-of-year review of all the key Jays' prospects in the system; look for it around mid-to-late September.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030902120448999