Three wins and two losses as New Hampshire score fifteen runs, not that Ricky Romero needed them.  Dunedin and Auburn each earned ninth inning wins.  Syracuse futility streak has reached ten games. 

The minor league season has just over two weeks to go, a little more for Auburn, a little less for the GCL Jays.  If the season ended today three Jays affiliates would be in the playoffs.  Dunedin and Auburn lead their divisions by 2 and 3 games respectively.  The Midwest league has the most generous allocation of playoff spots, eight in total, and Lansing are looking good to be one of them.   New Hampshire are two games out of a playoff berth.   Syracuse and the GCL Jays have no hope of a playoff spot. 

Yesterday, young Diamondacks righty Micah Owings put on a positively Ruthian display of hitting and pitching, holding the Braves to three hits -- all solo homers -- over seven innings, while hitting two homers and driving in six runs hisownself. Owings is 7-for-14 with two doubles and three homers in his past five games and has evened his rookie W-L record at 6-6. Does this power/pitching modus operandi already make him, at the age of just 24 (25 next month), the greatest M.O. in major league history?

Well, the answer to that, of course, is "Mel (Ott) No!" Young Owings isn't even the best M.O. currently active (and we don't mean "Mo Rivera") as there is a fellow named ...

There were lots of close games on Saturday, Syracuse lost in the bottom of the ninth, New Hampshire lost in the bottom of the eleventh.  Dunedin won in ten and Lansing won in the ninth.  In the ninth inning of the Lansing game, with the scores tied, Dayton walked Travis Snider with a runner already on first moving the go-ahead run into scoring position.  That decision turned out to be a bad one.  The bottom two teams also won, Kevin Ahrens hit a three run home run in the GCL while Brett Cecil and Brad Mills pitched well for Auburn.

Toronto’s highest and lowest level affiliates lost, but the four teams in between all won Friday night. On a night of no jaw-dropping performances or outstanding pitching lines it was a mixture of solid and well-timed hits and strong relief pitching that were the main factors in many of the victories.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it or is it not the Accepted Wisdom that if you want players with high upside you should be looking at high schoolers in the draft? At least with respect to position players.

When did this happen, anyway? Is it a new thing? Should we take it seriously?

Quietly, the Orioles have gone 18-13 in the second half. Their 2008 batting order is starting to take shape - they got to Mariano Rivera twice in the same series earlier this week. The O's also seem to have the makings of a decent pitching staff, as Jeremy Guthrie has been one of the best bargain-basement pickups in baseball and Garrett Olson earned his ticket to Baltimore faster than anyone anticipated. The Jays will see both of those guys this weekend, as well as (groan) Steve Trachsel. Hey, at least it's not Daniel Cabrera, right?

A long, long time ago, Mick presented his all-July 20 team, and it was pretty good. He's done other days too (like August 9, December 25, April 14, and the devilish June 6s.) But, were any of these teams the best? So, it's Friday and time for a challenge.

As the season winds down, we take our second last look at the hitters. The farm affiliates went 3-3 on Thursday.

One of these days - maybe tonight, who knows? - Scott Downs is going to come into a game with runners on base. And a graphic will go up on the screen, obliging Jamie and his amigo de soir (that's a mixed something) to make some sort of comment to the effect that Downs has allowed just 6 of 30 inherited runners to score this season.

The Dunedin Blue Jays, I mean. The farm affiliates went 3-1 last night.

Two more HRs for Travis Snider, making it 5 in 5 games.

Intrepid correspondent Robert Romano has provided this excellent Pinch Hit about the care and feeding of the polyester baseball cap. You can't get this kind of information just anywhere.

The Angels of Anaheim have the second-best record in baseball, but they're only 3 games ahead of Seattle. The Jays can do their part to help the Mariners make the playoffs by beating up on the Angels, a team against which they've won 37 of their last 54 home games. Los Angeles will send out their two weakest starting pitchers in the first two games of this series, but those two guys have a combined record of 10-1. Thursday's pitching matchup is a must-see.

Phil Rizzuto, known as "The Scooter," died this morning. Rizzuto was the oldest living Hall of Famer; he played for the Yankees throughout the 1940s and 1950s, won seven World Series rings and played in five All-Star games. He had been in declining health for several years and was living at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J.

He is also believed to be the only member of Baseball's Hall of Fame to perform on a best-selling album, as a voice in "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" on Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell album.

Holy cow, Scooter, you'll be missed in Batter's Boxes all around North America.

High-school hotshot pitcher Rick Porcello has apparently been signed to a 4 year major league contract with the Tigers for 7.3 million.  Does this make sense?  Hmm, let's see.  $1.825 million per year.  2 year development time.  50% chance of flameout/arm problem (the Roger Salkeld/Brien Taylor Experience). 25% chance of inconsistency/arm problems (the Kerry Wood Syndrome), 25% chance of greatness (the Dwight Gooden Goldmine).  $8-$12 million per year for mediocre starting pitching on the free agent market as your alternative.

Economists, start your calculators.