Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits.
---Casey Stengel

Headline in today's Sunday Star: "Palmeiro balls belong together". I'm all in favour of the separation of church and state, but that's as far as I go. The farm affiliates went 3-2 on Saturday, with one postponement and one suspended game due to rain.

No shortage of chances today - The bullpen stopped Tampa over the final 5, and the Jays mounted threats in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Without ever quite getting it done.

Tomorrow, Pete Walker tries to salvage a split of the Tampa Bay series.

I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn't throw it past me, none of them.
--- Hank Aaron

There's a lot of pressure when you play Tampa Bay. You're supposed to beat Tampa. Losing to Tampa is profoundly discouraging. So, yeah! Good game!

A mixed bag for the Blue Jays' farm teams last night, with the highlight game in the Florida State League featuring terrific performances from a talented young lefty and a solid hitting machine in the outfield.

The good guys scored early and often and they needed most of it. It took a while to get it done, but a win is a win. Gregg Zaun and Vernon Wells had three hits apiece, and Aaron Hill's hitting streak is up to 13 games.

I know, I know, I'm probably about to jinx him into an 0-for-100 slide, but as I write this, Rafael Palmeiro is sitting on 2,999 career hits.

Well, I sure would, anyways:

Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off.
--- Bill Veeck

It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.
---Gore Vidal

Long before his career as an accused in a murder trial and a rental car company ad actor, O.J. Simpson was an electrifying halfback for U.S.C. and then for the Buffalo Bills. For the Bills, he was "The Juice", and his offensive line was "The Electric Company" because they "turned on the Juice". Upstate New York needs to relocate O.J.'s offensive line to bring some consistent power to the area. The farm affiliates went 3-3 on the evening.

Okay, we're going to talk about two things today, and the first is last night's game. Last night's terrible, terrible game.

The thought of having to re-live that game, think about it a whole bunch, analyze it and then write about it, well, that just about killed me. However, I unwound by watching insurance company videos of a Jaguar X-Type crashing into a concrete barrier at 40 miles per hour. Try it -- it's very helpful.

This week, the Boston Red Sox have made or have plans to make two trades, in each acquiring a 6'5" RHRP named Chad -- Bradford from the A's and Qualls from the Astros.

There is no truth to the subsequent rumour that they are hard after Blue Jay Chad Gaudin or that they have any chance at acquiring NL Saves leader Chad Cordero.

The truly remarkable thing about this confluence of Chadness ...

Do I really have to write the Game Report on this one?

Seven out of ten.

That's what the Jays have to achieve, at minimum, over their long-anticipated ten-game stretch against the bottom-feeders of the American League, starting with Tampa Bay coming to town. Yes, the Jays are battling significant injuries. But so are the D-Rays, who have been so woeful on the road that Lou Piniella ordered his charges to show up one hour early tonight for a "fundamentals review session." The D-Rays can hit, but they can't pitch or field, and Toronto must take full advantage if they want to remain relevant in the AL East. It can be done, even sans Doc.

This week's Scout features a brash young power hitter, an old friend with his job on the line and some pretty good ideas from a long-suffering fan base.

On to the Advance Scout!