Watching the Red Sox on TV the other day, I realized that the Hall of Names archive, now with more than 300 entries, doesn't actually have an All-Ramirez squad. Just among active players, that will include arguably the best RBI guy in the big leagues (Manny), one of the best young middle infielders (Hanley) and an All-Star at the hot corner (Aramis). This should be a hell of a ballclub, right?

Um, actually, not so much ...

Jesus Gonzalez had a big day as Dunedin won.  Syracuse and Lansing had come from behind wins and in the process took advantage of errors by their opponents.  New Hampshire took the lone loss.

Syracuse had a come-from-behind win as Bill Murphy pitched well.  AJ Wideman looked good through six innings but picked up the loss in the seventh.  Travis Snider had two more hits as he gets back on track.  Dunedin lost when the bullpen couldn't hold back the Tigers.  Lansing split a double-header.  Randy Boone and Eric Eiland stayed hot.

We might as well start in on this author now, because we've got a lot of her books to get through!

Here to save us from the doldrums of another boring AL-style pitchers' duel, Interleague Play is back at last! The Jays will open up the NL portion of their schedule in Philly's bandbox against their 3-4-5 starters.

Everything's a little upside down
As a matter of fact
The wheels have stopped

(Anders needs a pinch-hitter? Here I come, to save the day.)

Anyway, I was watching a House re-run last night (Hugh Laurie is a Living God, and has been ever since Fry and Laurie) - and what happens at the end of the episode? Why, Dr Wilson curls up on his couch with either the 1987 or 1988 edition of the Bill James Baseball Abstract. Cool!

Lansing was the only club that could pull out a win on Thursday. The day was also marked by a number of promotions.

Syracuse won in a game with 31 hits between both teams, New Hampshire won a game that had 28 hits.  Dunedin won a game in which starting pitcher Kenny Rodriguez faced one hitter over the minimum in seven innings.  Lansing won a game in which Dayton didn't have a hit after the third inning.  Curtis Thigpen, Russ Adams and Adam Lind each homered in the Chiefs win.

The Jays win their third straight beating the Twins 6 - 5.

For college hitters there's depth at 1B & 3B this year, particularly right around where the Jays will select in round 1 on June 5th.

Brad Mills is a rarity among professional baseball players, he has a degree in civil engineering.  Many pro baseball players are drafted from high school or after their junior year of college and most don't have a degree.  As Mills notes below many of those players who stay in school to complete their fourth year take a less challenging degree to compensate for the demands and the travel required for playing in a top flight baseball program.  Mills has made a very good start to his pro career and is among the Blue Jays top 30 prospects.  Mills has a 3.79 ERA in seven starts for Lansing, he has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and has more strikeouts than innings pitched, both positive signs. 

Sorry about the title. Oh well, sue me. Unless your name is Arthur C. Clarke.

The road was a kind place to the parent club and its top affiliate last night.  However, the home cooking didn't help the other affiliates as they looked lost.

Next up are the surprise leaders of the AL Central. Minnesota has a -1 run differential on the year but finds itself 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland, despite the fact that Adam Everett is tied for sixth on the team in homers. The Jays' inability to hit with runners in scoring position will meet a stiff challenge this week from a couple of starters with strand rates in the 50s.

Another strong start from Kyle Ginley following his promotion to Dunedin.