In a large conference room at Skydome on June 7, 2004, a number of men are gathered. Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is there, along with Director of Player Personnel Tony LaCava, Assistant GM Keith Law, and Scouting Coordinators Andrew Tinnish and Alex Anthopoulous, as well as a number of Blue Jay area scouts. It’s Draft Day in major-league baseball.

The minor league teams were 7-0, what do you think about that! David Bush looks to be ready for prime time and there were numerous candidates for the stars of the day.

There's a wild finish ahead. With ten weeks left in our regular season, no team is a cinch to make the championship playoff round, not even my Toronto Walrus, still the front-runner after a narrow 6-5 decision over second-place AGF. Baird Brain, by defeating Jick's Rays 7-4, moved into a third place tie with Moscow Rats, who split 6-6 with hannibal's cannibals. Mebion Glyndwr edged Billie's Bashers 6-5, so they remain in fifth and sixth. Five other teams are bunched within five games of playing for the jersey.

it's just business, cattle prods and the I.M.F.
I trust I can rely on your vote.

The two staff aces - Doc Halladay and Victor Zambrano - duel in what is expected to be another tight, low-scoring game along the lines of last Wednesday's clash. That contest saw the Jays claw back and win 2-1 on a Reed Johnson single, breaking up the Rays' 12 game winning streak. Zambrano struck out only 2, against 4 walks and threw 128 pitches, while Doc held Tampa Bay to 1 run through 7, striking out 8.

My Halladay bobble-head will be paying close attention.

Maybe we all should have known -- even as early as January -- that the 2004 Blue Jays would suffer through a cursed season. After all, the schedule maker did not exactly give Jays fans across Canada a rush of anticipation when he scheduled their July 1 matinee extravaganza to be...*sigh* in Tampa Bay. Not only is it a road game, but it's in drab Tropicana Field, home of the Devil Rays -- simply the most frustrating, get-every-bounce opponent the Jays have faced in recent years. Call them the "Brewers For A New Generation," in honour of those inferior Milwaukee clubs who always seemed to bring their A-game against Toronto.

That said, St. Petersburg fans are breathing new life into the former "ThunderDome," thanks to a surprisingly resurgent home side. They're hitting, running, pitching and getting a little lucky -- and their completely unexpected 15-2 run has actually vaulted the team to the fringes of the wild card race. After shutting down Tampa Bay last week, Doc endeavours to do the same tonight. Let's see if the Jays can begin to restore the Rays to their rightful place at the bottom of the division; the pitching matchups suggest that three of four is a definite possibility.

On to the Advance Scout!

With the Jays winning big in the late afternoon, the stage was set for a good night for the organization. The affiliates did not disappoint, going 4-2, with the big news being the end of Syracuse's slump and John-Ford Griffin's blast to cap a Fisher Cat comeback.

Come to the Dome today and say what will finally, probably, be a final au revoir to les Expos. Montreal's best chance of avoiding a sweep comes today, as staff ace Livan Hernandez takes the hill against Pat Hentgen. The Jays have suffered some terrible luck this year, but they've also suffered from some terrible performances. As Canada Day approaches, Pat Hentgen is 2-7 with a 5.84 ERA, 15 HRs allowed in just 74 innings, and more walks than strikeouts in barely more than 5 innings a start. It seems fair to say, at this point in the season, that even with modest expectations, Hentgen has been a bust at $2.2 million. It's too bad his Jay career is winding down this way, so root for him to reach back and find some glory this afternoon.

He was not red
He was chrome... and he said
Come with me

Batista throws seven strong, Menechino and Johnson go long, and Montreal falls to 24 below .500.

Well, that was fast. Beltran to the Astros ... Boone to the Indians and Freddy Garcia to the White Sox.

The Sox sent catcher Miguel Olivo, prospect Jeremy Reed and minor league infielder Michael Morse to the Mariners for Garcia, catcher Ben "Salary Dump" Davis and, of course, cash.

Discuss.

Are left to die on the diamond
In the stands the home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles

After surrendering a ghastly nineteen runs Thursday, Toronto allowed just one run on eight hits Friday night. Eight hits? Colour me unimpressed. After all, just last night...

Only a road loss from the Skychiefs (and a rainstorm in Pulaski) kept this from being a perfect night for the Blue Jays' farm system.

The three biggest names on the rumour mill regarding mid-season transactions have clearly been Carlos Beltran, Freddy Garcia and Aaron Boone. And then, as the saying goes, there was one ... Garcia.

Beltran to the Astros; Boone, in the worst-kept secret in MLB since Roger Clemens unretired, to the Indians. The Tribe issued the following release this afternoon:

CLEVELAND -- Free agent Aaron Boone turned down opportunities to play elsewhere and agreed Saturday to a two-year contract with the Indians. The deal includes an option for 2006.

Today's match-up features Miguel Batista, 5-5 for the Jays, vs Scott Downs, making his 2004 debut for the Expos. Pre-season this match-up would have looked to be a juxtaposition: an up-and-coming team versus one whose very existence is in jeopardy. What we actually see today is two teams trying to scratch out wins in perhaps the last wholly Canadian Saturday afternoon MLB game ever.