It was an ugly night on the farm.  Las Vegas went down early and couldn't mount any kind of comeback.  New Hampshire kept it close until the fifth when the floodgates opened.  Dunedin, like New Hampshire, kept it close, but couldn't win as Henderson Alvarez was a bit shaky again.  Lansing took a 4-0 lead to the bottom of the ninth and lost thanks in part to two errors.

 

New Hampshire trailed 5-0 after seven innings and they had only one hit in the game.  But they exploded for seven runs in the eighth and won.  The win masked a rough start by Zach Stewart.  The Lugnuts racked up 16 hits to support Chad Jenkins on their way to a win.  Las Vegas and Dunedin were losers Friday.

Bauxite China Fan requested an Eveland-discussion thread, so here ya go! Discuss!

Ryan Schimpf had four hits to lead the Lugnuts to the win.  The pitchers allowed only one hit, Evan Crawford pitched five shutout innings.  Dunedin also won with Sean Shoffit delivering the big hit and Chuck Huggins pitching well.  New Hampshire lost a close one while Las Vegas were blown out.

There was a split on the farm last night, with the middle two affiliates losing while Las Vegas and Lansing won their games. Las Vegas was powered by the top of their lineup and patience, while Lansing made their few opportunities count. Meanwhile, New Hampshire and Dunedin could not get the big hit and combined to strand 27 runners on base.

Royal blue turned out to be better than powder blue on the scoreboard this day but I'm glad the retro look has not gone away in 2010.

Okay, this is probably more of a poll question, but I haven't been able to get the [expletive deleted] poll gadget to work for me since early in '09. So anyway  ...

Your Toronto Blue Jays are 16-13 and solidly in third place in the AL East and tied for second in the Wild Card "standings." No doubt about it, they're a real surprise. But in the big picture, now that we're a month into the season, what is THE most surprising ball club in the major leagues this season?

We have MANY options ...

Any idea what kind of odds I could get in Vegas predicting a Jays no-hitter this year?

Bradley Glenn has been one of the Lansing Lugnuts hottest players over the first month.  Glenn turned 23 in April and is in his first full season as a Blue Jay.  Glenn was a 23rd round selection last season out of the University of Arizona, where he played with Brad Mills.  Like Mills Glenn was drafted as a junior but returned to school to complete his degree.

Words from valued Bauxite mamboon in a recent thread:

Right on with the name "Callix Crabbe".  A name like that should automatically earn a 30% bonus on any future contract he gets in baseball.  Callix Crabbe should indeed go down as one of the great names in baseball.  What are some other names that rival ol' Callix?  Can't think of any.

Fabulous question, deserves its own Hall of Names discussion. A few suggestions, not to say rules, as you pursue your best contributions ...

I start this post at a disadvantage because I'm not a subscriber to either ESPN or Baseball America. I'm aware that BA has ongoing previews of the best players available for the upcoming June Draft.  and that Keith law has also weighed in with a Top 100 list. but given that both are not available for free, I must leave any discussion of those expressed opinions to others.

New Hampshire's big day at the plate was the good news.  A one-run loss in regulation and an extra innings heartbreaker were the bad news in a 1-3 night on the farm.

Ernie Harwell has lost his battle with cancer at the age of 92. 

Adam Calderone was the hero in the Fisher Cats big win on Saturday.  Calderone hit a walk-off, two run home run in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Fisher Cats comeback from a four run deficit.

Yesterday, Magpie wondered who would be the next Jays' starter to throw a complete game, noting that it hasn't happened since the Good Doctor was in town. Tonight, it almost happened.