How often do the Fisher Cats win?  Rarely.  How often does Tim Collins give up a run?  Almost never.  What are the odds of both happening on the same day?  157,823,719,444:1.  Well, it happened.

It was a rather forgettable 2-4 night on the farm. Brett Cecil and Marc Rzepczynski made starts, but neither was particularly strong and its not performances like last night’s that have put those two at or among the top pitching prospects in the organisation. The more impressive pitching lines came in more limited duty, with Jared Potts providing fine relief and Celson Polanco rescuing a ninth inning that turned ugly quickly. Chase Lirette also made his first appearance of the year. There were a few good offensive performances, but instead of looking to Travis Snider and Scott Campbell, we need to turn out heads to a young, slick-fielding shortstop prospect and a first baseman trying to revive a once-promising career with Dunedin.

Curtis Thigpen had six RBI's including a grand slam as Syracuse won.  Antonio Jiminez replaced Robby Diaz in the middle of the GCL game and drove in the tying run in the ninth and the winning run in extra innings.  Dunedin and Auburn also won.  New Hampshire and Lansing could only register two hits each.

Eight games: Four wins and Four losses. One Canadian hurler's stock is up, while another Canuck's is down.

A couple of wins and a couple of rain-outs.  Syracuse won in the ninth with a manufactured run courtesy of Wayne Lydon and Danny Sandoval.  The GCL Jays had a big win with an assist to Robinzon Diaz.  Ricky Romero pitched five good innings, out of six.  That "other" inning gave him the loss.  Auburn lost despite a couple of hits from David Cooper.  Lasning will take a 4-0 lead into the fourth inning when they resume play today. 

The affiliates were 3-4 on the night with the top two clubs going 0-3 as New Hampshire had yet another disappointing night, which is becoming a bit of a broken record.

Brett Cecil continues to pitch well in AA a year after being drafted.  So does Marc Rzepczynski who needs to be pitching, at least, in Dunedin.

The affiliates went 2-3 on the night.

A farily nondescript day on the farm.  Six close games, three wins, and no real standout performances.  I don't really blame you if you don't click on 'More'.

Syracuse lost by a run, but they were the only one as the affiliates went 4-1 with a rainout in New Hampshire. Dunedin had a walkoff win, while Manny Rodriguez powered Lansing to a victory and Robinzon Diaz led the GCL Blue Jays to a win. The Doubledays had their best offensive night of the season, with eleven runs in a blowout victory over State College.

Ricky Romero delivered another good start as New Hampshire won.  Auburn also won but Syracuse and Dunedin lost easily.  Lansing had to play through a couple of rain delays, and made five errors, and lost.  The winless GCL Jays lost a pair, both in the last inning.

The New Hampshire offence exploded against the New Britain pitching staff to ensure that Brandon Magee would get his first win of the year, no matter how poorly he pitched. New Hampshire performance was the highlight of a 1-4 night for the affiliates, as three of the Jays farm teams were doubled-up by their opponents and the fourth just missed being double-up by one run. Two days ago I gave all three stars to pitchers, but yesterday was a day for the hitters to shine and collect all three stars.

Four wins, New Hampshire won behind a very good start by Brett Cecil and a home run from JP Arencibia.  Lansing won with a good start by Marc Rzepczynski, ably supported by Edgar Estanga and Tim Collins.  Syracuse won with an average start from Davis Romero, Kevin Mench finally showed up and hit a home run.  Dunedin did not get good pitching but won anyway.  Auburn got good pitching from Joel Carreno but lost.  The GCL Jays lost, again.

The Toronto Blue Jays scored as many or more runs in the first inning yesterday as each of their minor league affiliates did during their entire games. I’ve not checked conclusively, but I believe that has to be a first for 2008. There were few noteworthy offensive performances, but Jonathan Baksh and Brad Emaus continued to swing hot bats, while Eric Eiland and Kenneth Wilson are doing well as leadoff hitters in the lower minors. However, the story on the night was pitching, with Robert Ray and Luis Perez throwing absolute gems and Michael MacDonald and Kenny Rodriguez pitching very well, too.

David Cooper hit his first pro HR last night as the affiliates went 2-3 with a rain out yesterday

In four games the affiliates combined to allow 7 runs.  Unlike their Major League counterparts, they scored a bunch as well to go a perfect 4-for-4.