Ugh. I don't think when JP was planning this season he was expecting that, in late April, the Jays would be rolling out an offense containing three catchers and Joe Inglett, no surprise the offense was it's usual lackluster self last night.

Adam Lind has a .987 OPS at Syracuse and appears to be perfectly healthy. He is hitting .355 with a .581 slugging percentage. The Blue Jays are struggling offensively and starting bench players at DH and the corner outfield positions. Why?

Two and two on the day.  Syracuse and Dunedin mirrored their parent by losing and getting five and three hits respectively.  Starters David Purcey and Gus Chacin could not be blamed for the losses.  New Hampshire won behind a good start from Ricky Romero and a first star performance by Chris Gutierrez.  Lansing scored two in the eighth to record a come from behind win.

I didn't realize Banks was available, but apparently the Jays had to make room for Shawn Camp, and Banks was subsequently claimed by the Padres.

Apparently Banks was less valuable to the Jays than Tracey Thorpe, Jean Machi, Russ Adams, and Sergio Santos. Not to mention Gus Chacin, Bill Murphy, and Buck Coats.

Brilliant.

It used to be a big deal.

Recently, WPA has become a favourite stat to evaluate relievers. Care to guess which reliever is leading the majors so far in WPA?

So the Jays release Frank Thomas over the weekend. Naturally, you'd think that would open up a spot for an excellent propsect, who already had a taste of the big leagues, is left handed on a RH heavy team, can play the OF so Stairs can DH more, and is hitting .379/.431/.621 in AAA.

I realize Lind had a stiff neck over the weekend but he's played 2 games now, going 4-8, and is seemingly good to go. What am I missing here? I expect he'll be called up, but I would have expected that yesterday too and the Jays don't always appear to be the most rational bunch.

The Chiefs played a big role in the affiliates going 2-and-2 last night.  Syracuse and Lansing had the bats going, New Hampshire and Dunedin - not so much!!  For an explanation of the above title, click here.

We're going to Disney World!

Batters Box caught up with JP Arencibia a week ago in Fort Myers.  Arencibia talked with us about the draft, working with Greg Zaun and catching BJ Ryan.

Travis Snider was called up to New Hampshire yesterday and went 1-5 in his debut.

You'd think that Adam Lind is next in line for a promotion as he was back from a sore neck last night and went 2-4.

Jays shut down by Armando Galarrage!?!

It seemed like just a week ago that I was wrote about the Jays having little success against inexperienced pitchers.

Brett Cecil talked with Batters Box just over a week ago, the day before his second start.  Cecil has had two very good, albeit abbreviated, starts since then.  Cecil will build up his stamina over the next month and if things go well Cecil could be in AA in mid-season.  One of the interesting answers in this interview is that Cecil became a closer in college because he threw the hardest of the pitchers.  That's a simple way to pick your closer.

Yeah, I'm retired from Batter's Box.

Yeah, I posted something a couple of weeks ago.

Don't get used to it.

Last night, long time Bauxite Robert Dudek said this:

"It's very likely that Frank Thomas still has something left in the tank. I'll wager even money up to $100 that he exceeds a .260 GPA this season."

Some of us remember the last time that Robert and I made a bet about a decision that the Jays brass made. Is it time for a second round?

Well now, home entertainment was my baby's wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on