About a month ago, Batter’s Box visited Jerry Uht Park in Erie to watch the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate take on the Tigers’ farm club. We’ve already published interviews from that trip with pitching coach Rick Adair, first-round draft choice Aaron Hill and second baseman Dominic Rich, and we also spoke to two young Canadians who aspire to represent their country at the Olympics this year.

Two wins last night that could easily have been 4, if not for some terrible defence by the Fisher Cats and a set of silent bats in Dunedin.

Another 8th inning bullpen implosion turned a tie game into an 11-5 loss to the Red Sox.

There was much gnashing of teeth among the faithful and not-so-faithful after a second consecutive bullpen blowup. Can Lilly tame the Sox and the Monster? How deep into the game will he go?

Zaun and Menechino (SS) start tonight. Ortiz sits, Kapler is playing right and Mirabelli is the DH for the Sox.

I decided to split off a separate thread for RSVPs and ticket questions for the Insurrection on Monday, July 26th. I've already reserved a large-ish block of tickets, and the sections behind that are being held for us. You can buy your own tickets in 518 if you like, but we'll save a large amount on the tickets if we buy them as a group. The more we buy, the better the price.

Either way, please RSVP in this thread if you need tickets (and please also write how many you'll need) or if you'll be coming but already have tickets. If you've already RSVPed in the other thread, please do it again here, to help with my disorganization.

Three wins in four games is excellent compared to how things have gone over the past few weeks. And the wins were good wins with lots of hitting and strong pitching.

Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time

Odds and ends from around the Canadian baseball world:

The Jays renew acquaintances with the Red Sox in short order after last weekend's four-game set. After taking two of three from the Devil Rays during the week, Boston sits a half-game back of their bitter rivals from the Bronx. Hopefully, Toronto took advantage of yesterday's badly needed off-day to regroup, shake off their disappointing losses against the Twins, and focus on making themselves relevant again this season. Though it won't be easy, a series win at hostile Fenway would be a great first step in that direction.

This weekend, the Jays face three pitchers coming off starts with which they were most satisfied. On the other hand, the feared Bosox lineup features three key injuries and some notable slumps. Enjoy this version of the Scout, and please have a safe and enjoyable Victoria Day weekend!

On to the Advance Scout!

A month has passed since the first look at college pitchers eligible for the draft. Now we have an additional month of statistics, plus the added bonus of Craig Burley's adjusted stats for 2004, in addition to 2003.

Tonight the best the Jays have takes on arguably the best team in baseball (note: the stats seem to be about a week old).

I've decided to initiate a new ritual - during every road game Roy Halladay pitches this season, my Halladay bobblehead will be facing the TV screen, overseeing the action as it were. I'll also have my Hinske and Delgado bobbleheads at the ready when their namesakes are at bat. If you have these bobbleheads, I invite you to do the same.

In three starts versus the Fenwaymen this season, Doc's numbers are:

20 Innings, 22 hits, 7 runs (all earned), 2 homers, 5 walks, 20 K, 30 GB/22 FB, 85 Batters Faced. His pitch counts were 110, 107 and 124 respectively.

Tragic news for the sabermetric community today as it was learned that Doug Pappas has passed away in Texas.

There's a gun in your hand
And it's pointing at your head.

Okay, it's not that bad. But sheer frustration was the order of the day for the Blue Jays and their fans, as a feel-good victory turned into a tear-your-hair-out loss on a ninth-inning grand slam. No doubt the Jays’ on-field and front-office personnel feel worse about this than anyone else. But the vultures are circling:

Slugfests and pitching duels in the minor leagues last night, leading to a split for the organization's four farm teams.

There've been lots of newsworthy events in the minors this season - chief among them being TJ surgery for "former" top pitching prospect Dustin McGowan.

Let's see who the BB readership and authorship think are the best prospects at this moment in time. Points will be awarded for each ballot on the following basis: 25-22-20-18-16 and decreasing by one to 20th place (1 point).

My list is as follows: 1) Quiroz, 2) Rios, 3) Bush, 4) Hill, 5) Rosario, 6) Banks, 7) Gross, 8) Peterson, 9) Adams, 10) McGowan, 11) Marcum, 12) Ryan Roberts, 13) Vito, 14) League, 15) Rich, 16) Mastney, 17) Justin James, 18) Felix Romero, 19)Tingler, 20) J-F Griffin

A rare 12:35 pm weekday start time for your Toronto Blue Jays, who set out for Boston after this game. Justin Miller looks to extend his string of good starts; opposing The Illustrated Man is righty Kyle Lohse. Orlando Hudson's hitting #2 today, and Eric Hinske and Josh Phelps are back in the lineup; Gregg Zaun gets the day-game-after-a-night-game start. Hey Torontonians: it's sunny and 20 degrees! What are you still doing at the office? Get down to the Dome and get yourself a ballgame, a beer and a tan! Vamoose!