Boston behemoth Manny Ramirez -- that's "Man-Ram" to mortals like you and me -- hit his 500th home run today, becoming the 24th major leaguer to get to that milestone. You know what?

Yawwwwn.

Okay, that's an exaggeration. But seriously ...

There is a terrific piece on the front of the Globe Sports sections today on the BCPBL by Mathew Sekeres. 

I'm not sure how to prove this or even look it up, but the Jays may have come close to a historical MLB first the other day when Jesse Litsch shut down the A's, 12-0. One of the two Jay relievers to clean up after Litsch's 7 innings was none other than Jesse Carlson, who threw a shutout eighth inning. If Carlson had actually finished the game (okay, and if it had been nine runs closer), it might have been the first game in baseball history where one Jesse started and notched the win while another Jesse relieved and gained the save.

There have actually been ...

Our friends at Future Redbirds organized a team blog mock draft. So writers of blogs of (most) teams made picks based on who they thought the team they cover would take.

Here's how things shook out and what I think the Jays would do given what happened in the top 16 picks.

The good: John Parrish whose six shutout innings lead the Chiefs to an easy win.  JP Arencibia who stayed red-hot with three hits.  And Marc Rzepczynski and Edgar Estanga who combined on a shutout.

The bad: Gustavo Chacin who gave up six runs in 3.2 innings putting Dunedin in a hole they couldn't get out of.

The ugly: Ricky Romero, eight hits and six runs allowed in three innings, as well as Jamie Vermilyea who followed Romero by giving up eight runs in 2.2 innings, ruining a 16 hit outburst by the offense.

And now some pitchers.

Well that was pretty neat and tidy. The Jays now sit at 30-26, their best record of the season, and are three back of Tampa for the division lead, two back of Boston for the wild card. Jesse Litsch was masterful and now hasn't allowed a run in 16 innings. Rod Barajas hit three doubles, Shannon Stewart was 3 for 5 with a homer and six Jays had multi-hit games as the good guys rapped out 17 hits and 13 runs, both season bests.

Four games played and the affiliates scored a total of six runs. Enough said...

Doc was dominant again last night, out lasting Rich Harden and going 8 Innings while giving up just one run.  A lil bit of offense from Stewart and Rios was all that was needed to wrap up a 2-1 win and move within 4 games of Tampa bat and 2.5 of Boston.

Ball players have been calling the official scorer to complain for... oh, more than a century. Still doesn't make it likeable.

Three wins!  Syracuse and Dunedin had easy wins, the Chiefs rode good pitching and lots of hitting to victory, while Dunedin used three two-run home runs and a great start by Robert Ray.  New Hampshire had to go elevn innings to win, Lansing lost as Randy Boone finally struggled.  It was another day, another shortstop for the Chiefs as Danny Sandoval joined the team and immediately contributed.

I'm sure it'll come as a surprise to Ichiro but Progressive Field, previously named Jacobs Field, was rated number one in a fan survey conducted by SI.com when it comes to the overall ballpark experience.  The Rogers Centre ranked 18th.

The draft doesn't end after round 1!

(Or should that be "End of an E.R.A."?)

The Dodgers have designated RHSP Esteban Loaiza, Blue Jay expatriate, for assignment -- to make room for the arrival of stud rookie LHSP Clayton Kershaw.

The 36-year-old Loiaza, 2003 recipient of the inaugural Batter's Box Andujar Award (meh, we only gave it out twice), is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA and 77 ERA+ in seven appearances (three starts) for LAD in '08.

Is this the end of the road for the man tagged Lord Voldemort ("He Who Must Not Be Named") here on Da Box?

15 days and 11 stadia later, I'm on my way home to sunny Ontario. What may await me in the world of baseball upon my return?