So today Roy Halladay -- that's "HLH" to you, Bauxites -- fires a gem against the Bosox and I started idly wondering if it "heralded" his return as the finest ballplayer named Harold ever to pitch in the major leagues.

Of course, Doc's real first name is "Harry," not "Harold," so the answer is "duh, no." Alas. But according to our friends at Baseball-Reference.com, no less than 133 men bore "Harold" as their given first or middle name into a major league ballgame. Most, it seems, went by "Hal" (including at least one hurler who might've kept Halladay from the aforementioned "best" label anyway) and four Hall of Famers.

But it's at Cooperstown that the line must be drawn ...

A rainout for New Hampshire and a winless night on the farm. But there is an update on Ricky Romero.

Do not mess with the Fighting Blue Jays.

Lansing provided the only victory of the night, as ex-Jay Chris Michalak earned his second victory of the year by shutting down the Syracuse bats.

Forbes magazine has come out with their annual rankings of the value of baseball teams and it is good news for the Jays and Rogers.  According to Forbes the value of the Jays increased by 34% last season to US$286 million and the Jays made an operating profit of almost US$30 million in 2005.

The Blue Jays couldn't keep it going yesterday afternoon against Mike Mussina, after knocking Randy Johnson up and down Front Street. The result is a simple two-game split, leaving both teams at the .500 mark they entered the series with, and further behind the Red Sox.

Now, while the Advance Scouts are generally some of the best work on this site (he says humbly), I was thinking the other day: do we ever look back at them after the fact? Not to point out the flaws, of course, but to see how helpful it was. The fact that I'm reviewing an Advance Scout that I didn't write is purely coincidental; I assure you I am a fan of Bruce Wrigley's writing -- I actually have a book of his from a few years ago and I endorse it heartily. So that's not the point here -- it's simply a fun exercise in hindsight.

On to the Advance Scout Review!

Two extra inning games and a bunch of early starts yesterday, including a shutout for the 'Cuse and a "Thrilla In New Hampsha." A 2-2 night for the farm.

Not quite so good as the day before. The Jays lose 3-1 to a dominant Mike Mussina and the Yankees.

The Yankees strike early, but the Jays hit back harder and go on to a 10 – 5 win.

Yesterday I noted that Ryan Patterson had high batting averages in ever place that he's played so far.  Well, he didn't hurt his average any last night as he hit two home runs.

The farm teams went 3-1 on the night with the lone loss coming in extra innings.

Take it away, Bruce Wrigley:

I don't like Mondays, I want to shoot the whole day down

Casey Janssen figures out AAA in his third start. Jason Phillips already knew how to handle it. Chi-Hung Cheng continues to increase control of his curveball.

W-A-M-C-O embarrasses The Commish and Glyndwyr wyns again.
Barfield leader is a Tool.
Wedding Singers sing "We Are The Champions" (this week).

Here's my first impressions of (most of) the 2006 Blue Jays.