The Jays take their two-game win streak to the China Basin Retirement Castle. They'll see two soft tossers and then Tim Lincecum. They also get to deal with the Barry Bonds circus, stuck on 746 homers for two weeks and eager to break out against any righty foolish enough to stake a claim to the outside corner. And Bengie Molina.

First person to crack a joke about how Bengie is a giant gets blackballed from all Advance Scout afterparties until Bengie's next triple.

The London Tigers are still riding high in the Carter division, holding off spirited challenges from the Clownfish and New Jersey Stratuses, but there's a change at the top in the other two divisions. The Eastern Shore Birds take over at the top in the Barfield division, and the Magic 9 ride a 9-2-1 week to a three game lead in Alomar.

Howard is one of those names ... as a family name, there's Ron and there's Ken and so many more; as a first name, there's Cosell and Hughes and an even wider variety. And believe it or not, in the world of baseball, even with so many given- and family-named Howards around, the most popular placement for it is as a middle name.

So, as we have witnessed the greatness of Ryan Howard hitting a baseball 700 feet every other day or so for the last year-plus, we find ourselves asking the fateful question ... Howard -- first, middle or last?

Let's find out ...

On Saturday all the minor league teams won except for Lansing.  Sunday was opposite day as Lansing delivered the lone victory with a run in the bottom of the ninth.  Chris Reddout pitched out of a bases loaded and no-one out jam in the eighth to get the win.  Jonathan Baksh throws out a run at the plate that inning then leads-off the ninth with a single and scores the winning run.

Ismael Ramirez was taken off the 40 man roster earlier this week so of course he pitches his best game of the season on Saturday, one run allowed in five innings.  Ty Taubenheim pitched a seven inning two hitter as the Chiefs sweep a doubleheader.  New Hampshire score five runs in extra innings to win, Dunedin scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.  Lansing took the only loss on Saturday.

After tonight’s loss I don’t have the energy to write anything too detailed. Instead, I’ll prove short summaries of each game and then highlight three notable performers for each team. These performances are usually good, but occasionally are notable for other reasons. Tonight, the Blue Jays resolved to strike first, even with runs from the other team imminent, so we’ll see how their affected their results.

What's with that headline? Well, it's the answer to the riddle, "What did the man say about the bundle of loose-leaf Greek poems that needed to be straightened and stored? (Okay, sorry about that.) Actually, it's a Hall of Names look at whether or not we can build a roster (or at least a lineup) of players bearing the baseball-centric given name of "Homer."

This entry in the Hall of Names is inspired by the big league debut of one Homer Bailey, the tall and lanky Texan who scattered five hits over five innings in winning for the Reds Friday night. He's already just seven wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest Homer ... That said, let's meet ...

Once again, here's Rob.


Alyssa Milano, I mean, Dodger Stadium welcomes the Blue Jays this weekend for the first time since June 2002, when shortstop (!) Dave Berg hit second, Justin Miller couldn't get through the first, and Roy Halladay got a complete game win. Jays fans are thankful that only one of those events is possible five years later.

Alex's week might be brutal, but so is having to put up with interleague play. Jeff Kent agrees with me, which is slightly disconcerting. Aside from that, this Scout features the likely reality of two top-priced tickets for a Twins game; Jim and Pam's new six-player chain to Tinker, Evers, and Chance; an impatient power-less lineup; and Jamie Campbell saying "East York" a lot.

And we're off

Is it just me or do the Jays lose every Thursday?

Anyway, let's look at the quotes coming from yesterday's draft:

With the addition of some new talent to the minor league system yesterday, a depth chart incorporating some of the new talent, in lieu of the usual Friday summary seems in order. The Jays had seven picks in the first, supplemental and second rounds.

But first, a brief update. The farm affiliates went 2-2.

The Blue Jays select Kevin Ahrens, 3B from Memorial HS with the 16th pick and JP Arencibia, C from Tennessee with the 21st pick in the first round.

Tomo Okha has been designated for assignment today and the Jays now have ten days to trade him, release him, or send him to the minors.  Josh Towers is back in the rotation and will start next monday in San Francisco.  Home run hitter Barry Bonds will look forward to facing the home run prone Towers.

Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman, who nailed down his 500th career save yesterday, the first player to ever reach that milestone. (Is it a "milestone" if nobody has ever been there before?)

We recognized Hoffman here on Da Box when he set the all-time record of 479 last season; now the question is, who else will get to 500? And when? Mo Rivera has 419, but seems to have stepped off a cliff this year and may not have 81 more left in him ... is he "next"? If not, who is?

Two down in Ohio. The top farm affiliates visited Akron and Toledo and were flattened. Did I mention that it is Draft Day? Check out Pistol's superior coverage at this very website.