Apologies once again for a rather spartan Advance Scout. I'm pulling a Joe Namath, though, and guaranteeing against the odds that the Cleveland Scout next week will be a real bang-up report.

In the meantime, enjoy the series! The Devil Rays bounced back from their lost weekend in Toronto by returning home and sweeping the hapless crew from Kansas City. The Jays are eager to smack 'em down again. Should be a good one.

A four day homestand, featuring two day games, and one of them is on a holiday!

Thanks to our own Coach and Will "The Thrill" Hill of the Jays, I had a photographic press pass to last Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

In a rather dismal season for the Blue Jays, many of us have taken a keener interest in the minor leagues. As my own knowledge of Blue Jays prospects has increased, so has my interest in the context of the stats being compiled by The Future.

Is there any better kind of science?

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains. Three wins, three losses, and two rainouts for the minor league affiliates last night.

Where we fight our parents out in the streets
To find who's right and who's wrong

A new Hall of Names today - this time, we're going with all-animal names. I won't restrict anyone in coming up with Hall of Names teams with an animal theme, but I will start us off with an all-dog-nickname team...

After only four big-league games, it’s safe to say that David Bush is more than a one-hit wonder. The rookie righthander’s 1-1 record could easily be 4-0 with a little more support from his teammates. In two of his starts, the Jays’ bats have fallen completely silent, and another time, the bullpen couldn’t hold a two run lead. One of those no-decisions was a masterpiece — eight innings of one-hit shutout. Bush took a no-hitter into the eighth before Damian Miller of the A’s singled to break it up.

Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2002 amateur draft had a tremendous college career at Wake Forest. As a junior, Bush was all-conference and MVP of the ACC Tournament, leading the Demon Deacons to the championship. He was even better as a senior, and since turning pro, has impressed everyone in the Toronto organization.

Marty Pevey, his manager in Syracuse, told reporters, "I would love to have five David Bushes."

It was a dark and stormy night. Most of the Blue Jays minor league teams had weather issues as they managed a 2-2 split with 3 rainouts and 1 rain shortened game.

Big news yesterday from New Hampshire as Finn McCool reported that Jamie Vermilyea is headed back to the bullpen with Brandon League replacing him in the rotation. In five AA starts for the Fisher Cats Jamie has a 3.14 ERA, and a perfect game, so why would the Jays move him back to the pen? I was in Binghamton to see New Hampshire last week and had the opportunity to ask Jamie about this and some other questions that were on my mind.

Sometimes I feel so clear
Just like the way we always were
So young and free from fear

So who was that bright spark who was talking about a sweep of the Yankees just two days ago? Tonight, the Blue Jays will try to avoid being swept themselves, as veteran anchor Miguel Batista faces off against resuscitated ex-Cub Jon Lieber. But in truth, the Jays could have won both of these past games: a comeback and extra-inning squeaker that could've gone either way on Monday, and a combination of no RISP hits and poor relief pitching last night. Moral victories, unfortunately, don't register in the W column. Interesting note: Alex Rios leads off tonight, as Reed Johnson moves down to the 6th spot. Rios is not a good long-term bet to bat leadoff, but as a hot hitter with wheels, he makes as much sense as anyone right now.

With the MLB trading deadline just days away (midnight on July 31st), there's a wide range of players rumoured to be on the move, though the talent level thins rapidly past the top few. From the almost certain (Randy Johnson) to the highly unlikely (Carlos Delgado), there are enough rumours to keep the hardest of die-hard trade junkies close to their computers for the next few days. This thread will be the catch-all Batter's Box place to discuss rumours, report on deals, and calculate winners and losers.

Oh God said to Abraham, “kill me a son”
Abe says, “man, you must be puttin’ me on”
God say, “no.” Abe say, “what?”
God say, “you can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me coming you better run”
Well Abe says, “where do want this killin’
Done?”
God says, “out on Highway 61.”

-Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited

Well, for me it was the Interstate 95, rather than Highway 61, which was the route to my crisis of faith.

I must preface all of this by saying that I have always been a Toronto Blue Jays fan. I was first introduced to baseball as a young child in, say, 1986 or 1987, and the rabidity of my Jays fanship has never before wavered.