Two game-winning homers, a fine start for Josh Banks and a Fisher Cat rout were the highlights of a 3-1 Saturday for the Jay farm affiliates.

Halladay returns from the DL leading the Jays to a 15-4 victory over Arizona.

When Rob Neyer agreed to discuss his new book (co-authored with Bill James), The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers A Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers and Pitches, with Batter's Box, the bottom-line question was put forth:

"Is this book-length biography of 'Pitchers, Pitches and Pitching' headed for a Hall of Fame career on the bookshelves of baseball fans, prominently displayed next to James' Abstracts and Neyer's Lineups?"

The one-word answer is ...

… well, maybe. Okay, that's two words. But this book isn't really comparable to previous issues from Neyer or James, so it's a bit like asking if Dennis Eckersley belongs in Cooperstown.

Man, I'm glad I wasn't following this game last night. The bullpen gave up 3 runs in the 9th as the Jays lost to the Snakes 3-2.

It's a rare and enjoyable occasion when I get to attend a game in person that features Blue Jays prospects, but that was the case last night as the Skychiefs visited Ottawa. So now, whenever someone sarcastically demands whether I've ever actually seen any of these prospects that I write about, I can say, "Why, of course; I saw three of them in June." Today's report focuses heavily on the AAA game here in the NCR last night; Dunedin had the night off while New Hampshire won and Charleston lost.

I haven’t seen any papers yet today (it’s 5:30am as I begin to write) but after witnessing Jason Frasor’s performance last night, a pitching outing marred more by bad luck than outright failure, I’ve no doubt that some Toronto writer is going to whine about this Blue Jays squad not having a true closer. The reality is, though, that closers are made, not born, and the few men fortunate enough to have this title for a major league team have all been made from different kinds of material.

Okay, that's a stretch. Today's Diamondbacks-Blue Jays features young Arizona starter Andrew Good versus Toronto ace Roy Halladay; if the bats can come awake again, the Jays should be able to end their brief two-game losing skid fairly easily. There may not be a more underrated double-play combo in baseball right now than middle-infield Snakes Scott Hairston and Alex Cintron. The former is hot and the latter is slumping, but they're emblematic of an Arizona team that is reinventing itself from the inside, faster than many thought they could. Howie Clark is at first base and batting second for the Gray Jays; Alex Rios is batting ninth and is overdue to break out.

It continues to amaze me how many people completely miss the fundamental premise of Moneyball. It's not just casual fans and blowhards who haven't actually read the book themselves. It's also analysts and journalists employed full-time in the baseball industry.

Don't forget that Jonah Keri of Baseball Prospectus will be in Toronto on Sunday. If you haven't been to one of the previous get-togethers with Will Carroll, you've missed some great baseball discussion and a lot of fun. This one is at Shoeless Joe's (on Eglinton just east of Avenue Rd.) starting at noon with a Q & A, followed by food and the Jays game -- some tall lefty is supposed to pitch for Arizona.

Although attendance is limited to 30, there are a few spots still available, so if you're interested, RSVP to Jonah and we'll see you there.

A split for the minor league teams last night.

A born-again poor man's son
On the air America
I modeled shirts by Van Heusen-yeah

In rushed the scout. "I'm sorry I'm late, good sir", he said, "but news of the strangers from the cloudless kingdom was hard to come by". As exhaustion overtook him, he held out the papers at arms length. Sadly for him, just then he collpased in a heap and drew his last breath. I took his notes and saw that they were in disarray.

I sighed and reflected - this is a major editing job. So I set to work as best I could.

On to the advance scout ....

The thrill of interleague play is that you can see such National League stars as Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Shea Hillenbrand and others who've never played in the American Lea... umm....well, at least you get to see different uniforms. The Arizona Diamondbacks slither into Skydome tonight, sending knuckler Steve Sparks to the mound against Pat Hentgen; a pitching duel is likely not in the cards. Roberto Alomar is still out with a hand injury, so he'll be spared another cascading chorus of boos at the ballpark where he built his career.

We started this a few months ago with the All-February Team -- and now it's time for the All-June team. Hey, we'll catch up with March, April and May some other year. For now, let's work up a squad made up entirely of players born in the month named for the Roman goddess of marriage (I didn't know that either), Juno.

And apologies to former Philadelphia A's reliever June Greene, but even with a June 25 birthdate, that 18.38 career ERA probably isn't going to earn a spot on this team.

Now, for the rest of the team, tentatively named (for the awesome logo possibilities, somebody feel free to take a shot at it) the "June Cleavers" ...

Sometimes, I like to take notes when I go to a game on my own. Here are my notes from Thursday night's game.