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.

I might take a train
I might take a plane
But if I have to walk
I'm gonna get there just the same

We've rounded the three-quarter turn, and we can see the finish line up ahead. Still a fair bit of ground to cover, and still some obstacles along the way. Let's see what they are.

What, you think I want to rehash last night's game? Bush was bad, League was worse. There ya go.

So the Skychiefs are visiting David Newhan's favourite city this weekend, and while I don't expect to see Guillermo Quiroz and John-Ford Griffin touring the Florentine Renaissance exhibit at the Natinal Gallery, I also don't expect to attend any of the games in person. Last night's match showed that was probably a good decision on my part.

Well, they hit a couple of homers off Dave Bush. So Brandon League came in and they hit even more homers off him.

Nothing helped. We invoked rock stars and philosophers, and the spirit of everything that has ever troubled Detroit.

It was not to be.

The Fighting Jays head to Detroit to take on a team that themselves have shown considerable fight of late, taking two of three from mighty Boston after sweeping a doubleheader with the Royals. The Jays will have to pitch well to win this series.

Detroit's team, with so-so pitching and lefty-mashing hitting, continues to receive improved support from their realistic, but increasingly impatient, fans. The leap from awful to average sufficed last year; next year, Detroit's finicky fandom won't accept another average squad.

This week's (somewhat brief) Scout features a spate of injuries, a Johnny Mac sighting and a future Hall of Famer who may be wearing out his welcome.

On to the Advance Scout!

All I can tell them is pick a good one and sock it.
-- Babe Ruth