Today's photo is of Alex Rios warming up in the on-deck circle:

The 2005 draft is in the books. While we can sometimes get a feel for the players drafted from various publications, other times we're left with comments like 'body like Joe Randa'.

To try and get a better feel for the draft picks we went straight to the source - Blue Jay scouting director Jon Lalonde.

Just two games for the Blue Jay farm on the eve of the short season, and neither came out in favour of the good guys.

Today I will continue my look at the Blue Jays through the numbers by examining fifteen numbers connected to the Blue Jays in the range of 35-70. All stats were taken prior to this evening’s game.

As we continue our whirlwind tour of that wacky thing we call "the alphabet," it's time to construct a team entirely made up of players whose last/family name begins (or began) with the letter "K." This leads us to wonder, of course, if they'd fare well against the previously-published All-O squad -- regardless, we can rest assured that it'd be an O-K game to take in.

And no, this team will not be known as the "K Marts" (with blue light, er, light blue uniforms) -- we'll have a better name encircled by the time we get through this process; and given the multitude of options, our team uniform colours seem much more likely to be Kelly (or Kell or Kelley) green ...

Ted "The Tease" Lilly strikes again! An 11-2 win.

Aaron Hill? Good ballplayer or good ballplayer? Or all of the above?

And how about Eric Hinske? Yes, he's still two for his last three million, but you look for the good things where you can find them.

It's a nice four-game set against the division leaders for fans to sink their teeth into. Tuesday features Pete Walker's debut in the rotation after a stellar year so far in the pen. Wednesday sees Chacin face Daniel Cabrera and Doc hopes to end the series with a bang on Thursday.

Life doesn't get any easier for the scuffling Jays, who battle a couple of first-place Beltway clubs this week.

On the other hand, it's a four-game set that provides a real opportunity to make up ground within the division if the Jays can get their bats going -- and the return of proud Father's Day celebrant Vernon Wells will help. Of course, this will be difficult, since the Orioles are playing relaxed, smart baseball and are supporting their decent starting pitching with a fearsome lineup (even absent Javy Lopez).

This week's Scout features a somewhat slowing breakout season, a very lucky knight and a proud first-time recipient of an ejection.

On to the Advance Scout!

Your Division Leaders at the Halfway Point:
Alomar: Austin Senators (85-37-10, .682, up 9.5 games on Toronto Walrus)
Barfield: Pistol Nine (81-46-5, .633, up 3.0 games on Team Junior Felix)
Carter: Magic 9 (81-47-4, .629, up 1.5 games on Pohnpei Papayas)

While the history of the BBFL is perhaps slightly less rich and colorful than the National League, it does offer some insight into how well teams can expect to perform in the second half. In reviewing the inaugural, one-division league of 2003 and the two-division format of 2004, I’ve unearthed the following revelations:

Here's a preview of our coverage of Alan Schwarz's Learning Annex talk about his book The Numbers Game this past Saturday at the Rogers Centre:

Those Nats just aren't going away. They have a 2.5 game lead over the Phillies and are on pace to win 94 games. Can it continue?

The Syracuse Skychiefs won two more games to make it eight wins in a row despite Shaun Marcum's shortest appearance of the year. The bullpen lost a game for the Fisher Cats while Lansing won the last game of the first half, a nothing game as far as the playoffs are concerned.

As I am writing two game reports in a row, I decided it was time to examine the Blue Jays through the numbers. The Jays have played 69 games so far this season, so I’ll find something to connect to the team having to do with the numbers from 1 through 69.

She throws like a girl. Who cares. Maybe she can hit...

The Jays had a hazillion chances to score some runs - the Brewers issued seven walks. Oh, it was ugly. There was Hinske's golden sombrero. There was Reed Johnson going 0-5 (does this man need some rest or what?). Alex Rios, 0-4. Ken Huckaby 0 for June...

Hi Dad!!!