The affiliates played .750 ball Monday night with the lone blemish being a one-run loss. The other games were decided by one, two and seven runs respectively.

Mother's Day 2014 included an abbreviated schedule for Jays affiliates as Lansing, and Dunedin had the day off.  Buffalo won, and New Hampshire lost despite scoring 12 runs.

All teams benefited from strong pitching and key offensive performances to deliver four wins. Kevin Pillar had three extra base hits while Kyle Drabek made his best start of the year for Buffalo. New Hampshire won behind Kevin Nolan and Scott Copeland. Daniel Norris was excellent again and Dalton Pompey had three hits including a home run. For Lansing the bullpen held West Michigan at bay until DJ Davis could drive in the winning run.

Ricky Romero couldn't find the strike zone on Friday and wasn't long for the game. The Bisons lost despite a home run by Anthony Gose and more hits from Kevin Pillar. Deck McGuire took the loss for New Hampshire but was a little unlucky, all the runs he allowed were unearned. Dunedin lost a tight game, Dalton Pompey had two more hits. Lansing also lost behind Chase De Jong. It was tough to find three stars on a bad night on the farm.

The affiliates were 1-3 on the night. Ben White was dynamite while Aaron Sanchez had a not so great start against a rival top prospect and DJ Davis continues to struggle.

"The coroner? I'm so sick of that guy..."

Greetings from your old pal Named For Hank. You may have thought that I abandoned you, but rest assured I have been in your basement the whole time and that the calls are coming from inside the house.

So how about that AL East, huh? Awfully polite of the whole division to get off to a rocky start to give us here in Jays-nation a fighting chance for relevance. Tonight, the just-under-.500 Anaheim Angels of Anaheim start a three game set at the Rogers Centre against the barely-over-.500 Jays. If we're lucky, we'll see some Rasmus-on-Rasmus action and give one Colby-Cory bragging rights.

So what on earth is going on? How nice of you to ask...

Jays affiliates were 2-2 today, with New Hampshire and Buffalo unable to score any runs.  Dunedin and Lansing managed to win, with each of them scoring a bunch of runs in the process.

The Jays took the first two games of this extended series but the odds are more even for these next two. Toronto have the home field advantage but the Phillies are throwing their best two pitchers this year, Cliff Lee and AJ Burnett. The Jays respond with the senior members of the rotation, Mark Buehrle and RA Dickey.

Adam Lind should return tomorrow, there was no need to activate him today with Cliff Lee on the mound for the Phillies. The status of Dioner Navarro and Brett Lawrie is unknown at this point. The Jays bench will be down to one if they are unable to play.

Tuesday night saw the affiliates split four games with the two losses being of the one-run variety. One streak ended and another continued for the Bisons and another affiliate fell back below the .500 mark.

It was a perfect night on the farm as all four affiliates won. Highlights included promising performances from Adam Lind and Casey Janssen. You know it was a good night when even a 10 K performance was not enough to make the cut for the 3 Stars selection.

There is either a two game series with the Phillies starting tonight, or a four game series with the Phillies, depending on how you define a series. Some fans are depressed because the Jays are losing series. Others are optimistic because the Jays are only two games out of first place. No-one in the AL east has made a run yet this season.

Today makes the return of Happy McHapp to the starting rotation. Who knows what to expect? His return against the Phillies, in a park he used to pitch in, is probably a good thing for his comfort level. Dustin McGowan gave the bullpen a rest yesterday, let's hope Happ doesn't set that back today.

The affiliates were 2-2 today, winning and losing a bunch of close games.  Dan Johnson had a strong game for Buffalo, going 3-4 with his 5th home run of the season.

On Friday Ryan Goins drove in the winning run for the Bisons in walk off fashion. On Saturday Kevin Pillar tripled to drive in two runs for a walk off win in Buffalo. New Hampshire lost in extra innings as their bullpen blew leads twice. Dunedin lost while Lansing won behind Jeremy Gabryszwski and Matt Dean.

Ryan Goins drove in the winning run in the eleventh inning of a 0-0 game. Goins also threw out a runner at the plate with a strong throw. Sean Nolin pitched six shutout innings. This was Nolin's third straight start with zero's on the scoreboard. New Hampshire and Lansing lost while Dunedin were rained out.