It must suck to be a Red Sox fan, having been deprived of a World Series title for almost 35 months now. On a more serious note, the season is clearly over in Boston -- they are eight games behind New York after a month that Ben Affleck would like to forget, and they're slowly losing their mind. That is, their outfield.

Injuries have played a large part in this decline, as they've lost their three and four hitters, their shortstop, a corner outfielder, a couple of starters, and their No. 1 catcher. Sorry, I'm supposed to be talking about the Red Sox here. Okay, fine. But it's not going to be pretty.

On to the Advance Scout!

So near, yet so far. Jays lose in the tenth.

Dunedin was rained out, Lansing was (almost) blown out and Pulaski is done for the year. The non-Auburn teams went 1-3; the D-Days swept a doubleheader.

I'm still somewhere out in the wilds of Northern Ontario.  I'm probably sick of it by now.  But you're still getting Photo of the Day -- here's Johnny Mac, bunting:

Love him or hate him -- I admit, I tend to the latter -- Curt Schilling has been one of the truly great (and I don't use that word lightly) pitchers of this generation. He's won World Series rings with more than one team, including a legendary melodramatic contribution to the Red Sox' first title since the Last Supper was being cooked. (Incidentally, Schillng is 8-2, 2.06 in 15 post-season starts. Nice Cooperstown bullet point, that.)

Today, Schilling became the 14th pitcher in major-league history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts. So here's my question ...

When and why did this Formerly Huge Milestone become basically an oh-by-they-way No Big Deal (not even the lead story on ESPN.com!) number?

Gustavo looks a lot better than he did in his first start back from the DL, but C.C. looks like an ace and Gus has to leave with an injury.

The red hot Adam Lind can now be considered white hot after a 4-4 night including his 24th HR of the year.

Runs were aplenty last night as the affiliates went 2-3.

B.J. Ryan hurls a pitch -- and yet I am out in some desolate part of cottage country in a cabin with no electricity. How did I manage to do Photo of the Day while away from all modern technology?

The Toronto farm splits six.

The Jays were again undone by poor starting pitching and the double play.

The regular season ends this week. In the Alomar Division, the six Championship bracket teams are virtually carved in stone, whereas ten teams separated by only seven games are fighting for six Consolation bracket spots. The top-level postseason bracket in Barfield is likewise almost fully decided. The Carter Division has the most entertaining battle for the Championship bracket. Both the Alomar and Barfield Divisions have one team guaranteed relegation, one nearly certain, and two other teams struggling to avoid the last demotion spot.

I'm still on vacation, but you're still getting Photo of the Day!  Now that's what I call service.

Today's photo illustrates that funny thing A.J. Burnett does with his hand after delivering a pitch:

Canada beat Venezuela 7-5 in 10 innings today at the COPABE Olympic Qualifiers in Cuba.

I'm flying solo this week -- the inimitable Alex Obal turned in his radar gun for a canoe paddle. It's not like he'll miss anything in the Indians-Jays series, involving a third-place team and a fourth-place team. But, hey, Joaquin Andujar's "youneverknow" warning must be recognized. After all, who expected a complete game shutout from Runelvys Hernandez?

This Scout features some interesting starters, Buffalo Bison after Buffalo Bison and a couple of my absolute favourite players.

On to the Advance Scout!

Entering the 2006 season, former Jay hero Carlos Delgado had played more than 1,500 career games without a playoff appearance, second most among all active players behind only the ill-fated Jeromy Burnitz, whose current employer in Pittsburgh doesn't appear likely to break that streak. Delgado's streak, however, appears likely to come to a screeching halt as his New York Mets are running away and hiding from the rest of the AAAA National League.

Actually, 13 players in the history of the Great Game have more than 2,000 career appearances without so much as a sniff at the post-season. leading the way, as many would guess, is the indomitable Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks at 2,528. But then -- Luke Appling, Mickey Vernon and Buddy Bell come between Banks and his old teammate, Ron Santo. Others on the 2000+ career games without a playoff appearance list include Joe Torre, who has more than made up for his ring-less playing career as a manager in the Bronx, and Hall of Famers like Harry Heilmann and George Sisler.

In fact, thanks to this new feature at BaseballReference.com ...