Boomer didn't last night; will Arroyo ... be un-Roy like? (uh..)

In a word... not like Roy.

It sounds awful, but the Lugnuts behind late homers from DP combo Peralta and Klosterman rallied from a 4 run deficit to an extra-inning victory. The farm affiliates were a perfect 3-0.

Frank Catalanotto is one of the nicest people i've ever come across. Here he is getting a jump on Tony Armas at the Rogers Centre this past weekend:

If you've been paying attention to draft coverage you're probably familiar with hitters the Jays could potentially take in Round 1 - Gordon, Tulowitzki, Zimmerman, Braun and Clement (although the first three are likely to be taken prior to the Jays pick).

But after that pick when the Jays select in the early to mid-rounds, beginning with their 3rd round pick somewhere around pick 88 (depending on whether Drew and Weaver sign prior to the draft) and every 30 picks thereafter, who might they be interested in?

Is there a better thing in this life than to crush your enemies? To hear the sweet music of their cries and lamentations, the wailing of their women?

Conan like tonight's game. Plenty good.

Well, the recent All-Z team didn't turn out too badly (and if you're wondering, yes, this is leading up to something -- a Batter's Box Challenge, in fact -- this coming off-season). But as we work our way (backwards for now, though we'll probably jump around a bit as we proceed) through the alphabet, we ask ourselves the eternal question, "Y Not?"

That is, what kind of Hall of Names team can be built using only the 93 men to have reached the MLB level whose last/family name begins with the letter "Y"? And unlike our previous Z-team, we actually have a Hall of Famer -- actually, four of them! -- to start with.

Reed Johnson shows off his man strength with 2 HRs tonight, including a walk off HR to win the game 9-6.

The defending champs come into town for their second three-game set at the Rogers Centre, which means that this is officially no longer the Early Part Of The Season. And if you told the Jays' brass that on May 24, they'd be tied with the Yankees and just 2 1/2 games back of the Red Sox, they'd obviously be beside themselves. Notwithstanding the fine start by the Orioles, they'll still take it, and the Jays have to realize that this is a legitimately big series and a chance to make some local fans take notice. Unsurprisingly, Doc will take advantage of yesterday's holiday to leapfrog Ted Lilly in the rotation, thus ensuring an opportunity to inflict his mastery on the mighty Bosox.

The press in Boston, at least, has taken notice. Noted Boston Globe curmudgeon Bob Ryan recently praised the competitiveness of the O's and Jays in print, observing that "[f]inally, we'll have division games other than the ones with You-Know-Who we can savour."

This week's Scout features a slumping shortstop, a mashing catcher and a struggling world champion far, far from home.

On to the Advance Scout!

Well, here it is: the first Photo of the Day from this past weekend against the Nationals. I figured I'd start off with the new guy getting his pants dirty as he slides into third base:

Alone behind locked doors
And have scrambled eggs for breakfast
And sit and read the box scores

One win for the Toronto farm, and woulda, coulda, shoulda.

The Rogers Centre may get a little more crowded than usuual for this mid-week set as Boston comes to town, likely accompanied by a sizable contigent of Boston fans making the trip for the series. There probably won't be as many as there usually is for a weekend series, but there will still be a good number of loud Bostonians in the stadium.

Sure, it's unusual to devote a new Batter's Box thread to a move from a non-Canadian organization.

But how often does a team designate its all-time franchise saves leader, a recent All-Star and a guy with 10 saves in 20 appearances through May 23, for assignment?

Danny Graves flipped a fan the bird and now he's gonna be a street free agent within 10 days unless someone -- paging Mr. Steinbrenner? -- trades for him and his US$6.25M salary. So, is Graves worth a shot, and if so, by who? And what would you give up for him, if anything?

Hot Glyndwyr burns another opponent.
Pistol whips WAMCO while Europe holds off Posse.
Baseball North backs into first place thanks to sour Papaya.

We've selected the six finalists in the Batter's Box Splashy Headline Contest. The winner of the tickets is up to you -- make sure you vote in our new poll!

Read on to see our finalists.

A home run yesterday deserves an off-day photo of the day today, don't you think? The new material from the weekend should start appearing tomorrow if I have enough time to process some of it today.