It's time to knock off another alphabetic character and assemble an all-letter team for the Hall of Names; this is the 13th letter we've written (har!) meaning we're exactly halfway through the alphabet -- only we're not doing anything so wacky as, say, going alphabetically, so today let's just say we're sailing the high C's.

Would you be surprised to learn that there are thirty men in the Hall of Fame whose last or family name begins with the letter "C"?

Of course, they're not all players -- but we do have a nice starting point with the purported inventor of the game itself in Alexander Cartwright and the man who invented the box score, Henry Chadwick. Need a commissioner? Don't worry, be Happy Chandler. An umpire? Choose among Nestor Chylak, Jocko Conlon and Tom Connolly. Then, before we get to the 23 C-players, there's Charlie Comiskey ...

Four first inning runs hold up as the Jays take their second straight game over the White Sox.

Does this mean Chicago isn't the Jays toughest opponent this year anymore?

Hello, I must be going: a busy month in New Hampshire saw about a dozen players move on and off the roster, including top pitching prospects like Dustin McGowan, David Purcey, Zach Jackson and Shaun Marcum. The Fisher Cats didn’t really benefit from all this player movement, losing ten straight games at one point and falling to third place, 6 ½ games out of the division lead. A little more personnel consistency and some revived hitting (the F-Cats are dead-last in EL batting with a .245/.303/.372 mark) might help spark a turnaround for the defending champions.

I've said it before: Gregg Zaun's career turnaround has the makings of a great and inspirational book or movie. I know that if he decided to write (or co-write, as is often the case) The Gregg Zaun Story, I would be there on the first day of sale to buy a copy.

Here's a thousand words for it:

Show me a guy who can't pitch inside and I'll show you a loser.
-- Sandy Koufax

Tough night on the farm as only Auburn could scrape up a win while Ricky Romero was roughed up in his home debut in Dunedin.

Josh Towers and three home runs propel the Jays to victory. Your game report today is a double-header, notes on the game followed by the scoop on why the Jays did not make a deal at the deadline.

Towers pitched a real nice one.

The White Sox host the Jays having won four in a row (sweep of the O's). They easily sit atop the former Comedy Central division, thanks to great pitching, even better defense, and a 32-9 (!) record against their divisional "rivals." I use the pithy quotation marks because no division has a bigger gap between first and second place than the AL Central's 15 games.

Chicago is also 33-19 at whatever they call their stadium now, while Toronto is 23-29 on the road. The White Sox have been in first place in the AL Central all 121 days of the season and it doesn't look good for the Blue Jays, but this is why they play the games.

On to the Advance Scout!

Ho-Hum, Ho-hum, an average month for the Chiefs. To recap, April and May were disappointing and frustrating for the Chiefs, June was a big improvement and the team moved over .500, but July was just under average, two games under .500 as the Chiefs record was 54-55 at the end of July. The hitters took the brunt of the blame for the slow start to the year but it's the pitchers that pulled the Chiefs under .500 in July. Unless they can pull off a 13-2 run in August, Syracuse have to give up hopes of making the playoffs, they are seven games behind Buffalo, the division leader, but they are also seven games out of the wild card.

Possibly the most entertaining character on the team, here's Josh Towers delivering a strike to an unsuspecting batter:

Except maybe Casey Janssen, who is at his 3rd minor league stop this season and has yet to break a sweat. 3 wins in 5 games for the Blue Jay farm. Meanwhile, General Patton conquers July.

I'm a little bit weird when it comes to baseball. If you'll recall:

• I dyed my hair royal blue for opening day 2003
• I panicked last year and almost burned a vintage 1985 baseball cap that I found in a closet, convinced that it was bad luck
• I abused my work resources to make, among other things, a gigantic Hammer of Thor for Chris Gomez

My new project requires the participation of as many of you as I can round up.

The division leaders remain the same but the tension builds as the BBFL counts down the last five regular-season weeks.

Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

The Braves will win the NL East every year until they don't.