Pitchers are a different breed. They all strive for that perfect balance between power, command, and composure under pressure, all without injuring their arm. In the striving, a good number of them teeter on the edge of sanity. Many others, while sane, are just a little out there. A. J. Burnett is an upstanding member of the pitching fraternity in the latter group, with iconoclast credentials ranging from bats engraved with "Marilyn Manson" to nipple rings. Today we give him the Hall Watch treatment. He's far from a Hall of Famer, but with pitchers one never knows.

Syracuse collects the only win of 3 games played by the Toronto farm.

Okay, there's one good thing about interleague play. It lets me write "National League" in a timely fashion. As always, the Trivia Challenge rules are simple: a question is asked and once someone's answer is confirmed (by someone else) to be correct, they have the right to ask the next question.

There's only one additional request: all questions must be NL-based in some way. Let's get started...

Division Leaders at the Halfway Point:
Alomar: Edmonton Decepticons (80-47-5, one game ahead of the Gashouse Gorillas)
Barfield: Magic 9 (88-35-9, 6.5 games up on the 1-Tool Wonders
Carter: Sexy Underpants (88-36-8, 8.5 games ahead of the Wedding Singers)

A brief history of the BBFL at midseason:

When did Vernon Wells start using a Sam Bat?  It must've been some time between May 23rd (the last time I photographed the Jays prior to last Sunday's Tigers game) and June 11th.

Today's photograph is of Vernon laying off of a pitch and exhaling that gigantic breath he takes in before he swings:

There was, I'm fairly sure, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth...

I never realized how much these reports rely on boxscores until I noticed who apparently started for Syracuse yesterday. Then I saw who finished the game for New Hampshire. Needless to say, they were names I didn't expect to see.

I'm taking advantage of this off-day to share some non-Jays photographs with you.  Here are Jim Leyland and Ivan Rodriguez on the mound, chatting while they wait for Joel Zumaya to show up:

Josh Towers has been recalled to start Tuesday's game against Atlanta, after 4 Towers' classic starts in Syracuse. Vinny Chulk was sent down to Syracuse again to make room for Towers. It is easy to understand why Towers has been recalled, but Chulk has pitched very well since returning and his demotion is a mystery. Thanks to Andrewkw for the tip.

If the four-run third didn't do it for me, it was the following sequence when Francisco Rosario had two outs: walk, wild pitch, walk, HBP. It only led to one run, but still...frustration indeed. I knew there was a reason I hated interleague play.

Your Sunday brunch minor league update features A.J. Burnett's 2nd rehab start.

Some of you may recall an odd take on the Hall of Names called Happy New Year's Eve, from this past Dec. 31 (the title should've at least suggested that) in which the lyrics to the traditional new annum carol "Auld Lang Syne" provide a place for dozens of links to "lyrical" ballplayer names at Sean Forman's standard-bearing BaseballReference.com Web site.

It's summer time in Mudville (and on Da Box) and as such, also time to try it again, only with a verse not set to music, and one every baseball fan knows from the time he or she can sit at the TV to root on the Cooneys, Barrows, Flynns and Blakes of the modern game.

That's right, it's time to hearken back to ...

As promised, the American League!

Remember when Josh Phelps was going to be a monster hitter in the middle of the Jays lineup?  These days he's doing his damage as a Mud Hen.

The affiliates were 1-2 with a couple dismal performances from the bats in NH and Syracuse.

Jays lose, to the Marlins. Bummer.