It's no surprise to see Billie's Bashers and gashouse gorillas atop the early leaderboard in what is now called the Alomar Division of the BBFL, but they have company. Chatsworth Halos and hannibal's cannibals share top spot after the first long "week" of head-to-head play. Our defending champion, the renamed Austin Senators, stumbled out of the gate, much like the real Jays, Phillies and Mariners. It is, of course, a long season, and these early results don't mean much.

I don’t pretend to know what you want
When you come around and spin my top
Time and again, time and again
No fire where I lit my spark
I am not afraid of the dark

"Hooking... hooking... there she goes!"

Try to read that line without imagining the voice of Jerry Howarth, now in his 23rd year of broadcasting Blue Jays baseball. We're delighted to have him step into Da Box to answer your questions.

And so my inaugural Minors Roundup begins…

Summer, thankfully, approaches. (How do I know? We're all bitching about Tosca's pitching changes.) And with summer comes summer vacations and summer reading lists - for many, their time to reacquaint themselves with the printed word.

I recently had a request from a reader for a list of books that were "must reads" for someone who is just emerging into baseball fanaticism. I stumbled through a couple of selections, but wasn't satisfied with what I could come up with on short notice. So I sat down and thought about it, and pared the list to five essentials. If possible, I'd like the other readers to add their own selections. Remember, this list isn't for experts, and not for complete neophytes, but for the fan who is starting to become seriously absorbed in the game.

Three Red Sox homeruns were too much for the Jays to overcome in a 4-1 loss.

As if Pedro's medium octane wasn't enough yesterday, today the Jays face the supreme octane of Curt Schilling, who is making his Red Sox Fenway Park debut. Miguel Batista takes the mound (and gives it back each half inning) for the Jays.

Batista again struggled in the first inning, walking three and allowing an RBI double to Manny Ramirez. It's a holiday, so I expect the board will be lite today, but fire away if you're near your computer. It's a magnificent day here in the "rainy" Northwest: plenty of sun, temps in the high 70s. I'm enjoying it, and I hope your day is as pleasant.

Syracuse, New Hampshire, Dunedin, and Charleston were all in action again last night. Those of you who were disheartened by the poor pitching performances of David Bush, Josh Banks, Jamie Vermilyea, and Danny Core on Thursday night will find this update more to your liking. Oh, and members of the Big Vito Fan Club will also be pleased.

The Jays picked up their first win on Friday with a 10-5 decision over the Red Sox.

TV clickers in Toronto will get a workout this evening as a rare matchup of Cy Young winners interests a few of us even more than the hockey game downtown. Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez both bring question marks with them to the Fenway mound; Doc gave up three homers to the Tigers on Opening Day, and Pedro's fastball was missing early against Baltimore. Roy's got that weird April split, and there are concerns about Martinez' shoulder. I'm expecting them both to pitch well, deep into the game.

It's the starting nine for the Jays; Cesar Crespo (!) leads off for the Sox and Kapler, Bellhorn and Reese are also in the depleted lineup. Let's hope the Jays' bats stay in a good groove and the fielders make the routine plays. A series win would be sweet.

Welcome to 2004! The minor-league baseball season got underway last night, and all four of the Blue Jays’ top farm teams saw action. We’ve got pitching duels, slugfests, extra-inning nail-biters and a brand-new fun feature to track the best prospects in the system. Batter’s Box is very happy to renew its in-depth coverage of Toronto’s minor-league system. Here we go:

A beam of light comes shining down on you,
Shining down on you.

The Jays are embarrassed, and didn't show pluck
In getting swept. I'll try and change up their luck.
So after seeing things go from bad to worse,
I'm writing the Advance Scout intro in verse.

As the Pedro-Doc matchup quickly approaches,
Be thankful we have no old bald-headed coaches.
Let's erase the taste of the Opening Day rout...
Without further ado, on to the Advance Scout!

You could argue that the Blue Jays were tripped up by the oldest canard in the sporting lexicon: caught looking ahead. With this three-game series in Boston early in the schedule, it might be understandable if Toronto had taken the Tigers for granted, contributing to their three-game SkySweep. Then again, this year's 0-3 start now makes the Jays 18-30 over their last three Aprils, and counting. Mike Barnett thinks the Jays' hitters are over-anxious and getting themselves out; less clear is how Detroit touched the top three Jay starters for 20 runs in three days. But no matter. Today is the challenge.

Mere days after the big-leaguers broke the seal on the 2004 season, baseball's minor-league players are gearing up to do the same! If this spring resembles previous ones, you can expect a lot of rainouts and snowouts in the north and east over the first month or so of the season; Syracuse lost an entire week of games last April. Here in Ottawa, unused tickets to Lynx games in April and May can be redeemed for other games in July and August. If you've ever been to Lynx Stadium in April, you'll know why.