Our own Mike Green, a former member of the roster and minor league reporter, contributes this pinch-hit.  Parts 2 and 3 to follow.....

Seeing new places is the kind of mind-altering experience that the middle aged can tolerate with equanimity.  So it was that my companion and I headed out through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York on a baseball trip.  First stop, Lansing, Michigan, for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games.

 

Now I'm no longer even pretending to keep to a monthly schedule. I feel liberated, I do.

Um, well, kind of. Two affiliates played in completely different Portlands, but got the same result: a win. A couple of rain-outs in Florida meant there were only four games last night.

Sorry for the delay.  Some technical difficulties (and work) kept this from posting this earlier.  By now you're well aware of Kyle Drabek's no-hitter.  So let's just get right to it.

The Jays reached the half way point of the season after Fridays game with a 41-40 record.  On one hand it is great to have a winning record at the half way point but unfortunately the recent trajectory has been down.  Also the fans have memories of last years fade still fresh in their minds.  Many forecastors had the Jays as a 70-75 win team, that looks like a good bet today.

The Jays had a bit of a stinker yesterday, Ricky Romero had a bad one and John McDonald showed why he is an infielder.

Jays farm clubs went 3-3 on Saturday.  Notable was the 6 RBI performance by Fisher Cats Left Fielder Eric Thames.

It was a wild night on the farm.  Dunedin had two hits through eight innings but won the game in eleven innings with four hits total.  Mike McDade hit a game tying, two-out, two run home run in the ninth to tie the game and the winning run scored thanks to two wild pitches in the eleventh.  Lansing had a comfortable 9-2 lead, that became an uncomfortable 9-8 lead, before winning 11-9.  Las Vegas won behind anoother home run from JP Arencibia.

New Hampshire lost by a run and left the bases loaded in both the eighth and ninth.  Auburn lost with the eventual winning run for Batavia coming on a bases loaded hit batter.

Recently arrived from New Hampshire, Dunedin 2B Luis Sanchez puts a broken bat to the ball.

It was a Canada Day performance in a similar vein to the big league club in the minosr, as the top 5 affiliates combined to go 1-4, scoring 6 runs between them. The DSL and GCL Jays combined for more than double that and both won. Go figure.

Dane Johnson is the Blue Jays minor league pitching coordinator.  Dane has jined us several times in Da Box.  Most recently Dane talked with us last summer.  I caught up with Dane over the phone last Sunday.

With the 51s resting, New Hampshire and the GCL Blue Jays provided the only offence on the evening. The Fisher Cats won by a run while the GCL Blue Jays posted the only victory. Meanwhile, Lansing, Dunedin and Auburn were each held to only four hits in their losses. However, there were a highly anticipated debuts from a rehabbing player and a highly publicized prospect, one of which certainly surpassed expectations.

As I write this, the Marlins and Mets are scheduled (it's raining) to play a regular season game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico. Watch your late local news -- or SportsCenter -- for updates, I guess. In the meantime, who would have guessed that no less than eleven (11!) men with the first or middle name "Hiram" have played big league baseball?

The real oddity is ...

A recently exiled Blue Jay had a big night at the plate and a Jays first round pick earned his first win in high-A ball.  Those are the highlights of a 3-3 night on the farm. 

Have you guys been watching baseball recently? Personally, I´ve been busy following the craziest tennis match of all-time and, well, this (Go The Netherlands!). But this is a baseballing website, so let´s talk baseball.

Some technical problems prevented me from posting Sunday's minor league update.  Shame for you as I had a really clever headline ready to go.  In any event, to make up for it, here's Monday's action where it seems as though every Jay farmhand had two hits last night.