Wouldn't it be nice to be in a weak division, and have a young and talented team with a strong farm system? It can be yours for today. You are the General Manager of the Diamondbacks. The World Series of 2006 has just been completed (the Tigers blew away the Mets in 5 games in case you are interested), and you must plan for 2007 and beyond. Here's how Win Shares sees your club, and here are the financial details. You have just added Livan Hernandez and his $7 million salary for 2007. So, what would be your plan? Your team's 2006 payroll was $60 million, and with the success of the club, you can assume that the payroll budget for 2007 will be bumped to $70 million. If you feel the inclination to dip into the free agent pool, here is a list of possible free agents.

With only six shopping days until the Trading Deadline, look for chaos in the BBFL as owners scramble for those last-second fantasy gifts.

Here's some photo of the day respect for Brian Tallet, who spot-started yesterday in place of Theodore Roosevelt Lilly and his aching neck:

The world of baseball trades has not stopped spinning; one of the "big name" hurlers on the market has changed teams, as Washington has dealt Livan Hernandez to Arizona for a couple of minor leaguers.

Don't look now, but the Jays are closer to fourth than first after a mad, mad, mad, mad road trip and a not-so-good series with the defending champs. A weekday series with two afternoon games awaits the Orange Birds and Blue Birds, which is why this Advance Scout shows up obscenely early. We are so dedicated to our craft, we wake up before noon on a holiday.

In this Scout, you'll find a pitching rotation that keeps changing on us up to the last minute, a team that has not lost their last zillion games in a row, and a couple of names you thought you'd never see again. Naturally, it all starts with John Halama.

On to the Advance Scout!

That was Toronto's longest losing streak since Buck Martinez was the manager. Not even the Season From Hell provided this particular form of torment...

Chris Reddout pitched a one hitter over seven innings for Auburn but couldn't get the win.  Syracuse wielded the lumber in support of Josh Banks.  Ismael Ramirez had a rare off-day while Russell Savickas lowered his ERA at Dunedin under 2.00.

Happy holiday Monday! I know it's a holiday because I'm off camping and actually posted this photo of the day on Friday but set it to detonate today. Oh, the miracles of modern technology.

So here's hoping that Francisco Rosario's start on the weekend was a good one and that this photo of him is appropriate:

I can't give it up
I dose my mind
I can't get enough
I'm in no shape
I gotta turn it off
Just let it play...

In breaking with recent trends, none of our Three Stars share a first or last name. Two shutouts (one going each way), crazy names in A-ball, another homer from the first-rounder, and Casey On The Mound.

Don't cut my throat, I may want to do that later myself.
--Casey Stengel, to his barber

Well. Shall we begin the post-mortems now, or is it too early?

You know, I'm thinking it would save us a lot of time if we just changed the MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE ball icon to read FREE JASON FRASOR.

I go
Where I please
I walk through walls
I float down the Liffey

The heart of the White Sox lineup is a patient, powerful animal.

You might have noticed in yesterday's Meet the S.S. All-Stars, that we tabbed the final roster with the team name "The S.S. Minnows." This was not to disparage the team's talent level or to strip it of potential "big fish" status; instead, it was simply an homage to the name of the vessel ("The tiny ship was tossed") that stranded seven famous "castaways" on a tropical island in the 1960s.

Well, we've done it for shows like Star Trek and The Simpsons so let's go Hall of Names on one of the iconographic TV sitcoms of all time, as we build ...

Francisco Rosario was called up from Syracuse today, and is apparently scheduled to start tomorrow. Jason Phillips was designated for assignment to make room for Rosario on the 25 man roster. Thanks to Dan Gordon for the tip.