The Lugnuts win big, but the rest of the farm scores a collective 13 runs while allowing 30.

No.

Well, he tried.

Technical difficulties have gobbled up the Advance Scout report for the Yankees series. Sincere apologies, folks.

Here's the chart breaking down the matchups for this crucial four-game set.

New York is waiting for you and me, baby
Waiting to swallow us down
New York, we're coming to see what you're made of
Are you as great as you sound?

It's not often a team finds itself down by 15 runs....

For those of us who need a little inspiration, here's Justin Speier:

With the end of the season just over two weeks away some of the Jays affiliates are chasing playoff spots. Syracuse rode Gabe Gross' hot bat to beat Ottawa. The Chiefs need to win again today in Ottawa to set themselves up for a four game showdown against division leading Buffalo this week. New Hampshire were swept by Portland but are still in a playoff spot. Dunedin and Auburn would also be in the playoffs if the season ended today. And Josh Banks walked a batter, his first since June.

With the minor league season entering the final two weeks it was a good time to catch up with Omar Malave, the manager of the Dunedin Blue Jays. Malave is a long time Blue Jay having been signed in 1980 as a free agent out of Venezuela. Malave played in the Jays minor league system until 1989 when he ended his minor league career hitting .220 between Knoxville and Syracuse. In 1990 Malave joined the Jays team in Medicine Hat as a coach and he has been a manager at all levels of the Blue Jay system since 1991. This is Malave’s second year managing the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League.

Well that was no fun.

Initially Speaking, That Is

An interesting twist on the Hall of Names (initially speaking) ... who are the best double-initial players for each of the first 23 letters of the English alphabet?

Put your mind at ease -- that's not a random stopping point; there has never been a major league player whose last name began with "X" and none of the "Y" and "Z" players had alliterative first names. (Jimmie "Double X" Foxx, though a worthy Hall of Famer, here obviously is not a true Hall of Namer.) Well, unless you count RHRP George Washington "Zip" Zabel, who was 12-14 for the 1913-15 Cubbies -- that's your alliterative double-initial Chicago CCubs. (Come to think of it, some of the others -- I.I. and Q.Q. won't exactly be a walk in the park either.)

The Cubs, of course, are the only non-Pennsylvania-based team to have an alliterative name; that is, unless you cheat just a little and count the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim along with your Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.

But we're not interested in teams here. We're looking for the very best alliterative, double-initialed players from AA to ... uh, WW. And as always, a few rules ...

Meh. The Jays are swept in Detroit.

This one was like Friday, only worse.

I am starting to function
In the usual way
Everything is so provocative
Very, very temporary

That must have been painful to watch.

Pop. Pop. Fizz. Fizz. The farm affiliates got good pitching out of the pen, and went 3-3 on the evening.

A lot of big (or at least recognizable) names have reportedly cleared waivers.

Even if nothing ultimately comes of it, it's fun to think about who you'd target, what you'd be willing to give up (and, very differently, what the other club might expect you to give up!) ... hey, if it's time to quietly start up the 2005 Post-Season Blue Jay Bandwagon, it's time to think about who could help the most.

Here's a look ...

The Tigers once more proved a resilient and irritating foe, prevailing in 13 innings. On a night when even the Royals might eke out a victory, the Jays managed exactly one hit after the fifth inning.