Jeff Blair reports that Reed Johnson has been placed on the DL due to his back injury.  Adam Lind will be recalled and will be here tomorrow.  Thanks to ramone for the tip.

Hey, Halladay and Bonderman tonight!

A little macabre perhaps, but it is Friday the 13th.  Brian Pettway's walk-off blast was a highlight of a 2-2 night for the farm affiliates.

The Tigers and Jays renew acquaintances, and this time, they'll do it in a proper baseball environment: a dome. None of this "cold" business. This series features a clash of aces, a clash of sub-12% K rates, and two weekend pitching matchups that look one-sided on paper but should actually be much more interesting than they first appear. Also, Gary Sheffield tries to rectify his wiggle, and Brandon Inge tries to reassert his offensive superiority over Neifi Perez...

On to the Advance Scout!

Life is bare/ gloom and mis'ry everywhere/stormy weather. David Purcey and Aaron Tressler helped beat back the despair for minor league watchers with fine pitching performances as the farm affiliates went 2-1. Purcey's fine outing was especially good news for the organization.

Four games against the defending AL champs? Should be good.

In a series of polls that drew more than 1,300 votes, the Batter's Box community projected -- and here's a shock! -- the 2007 World Series title to be won by the Toronto Blue Jays. Oh, those Jays weren't picked to win the AL East, no sir, but the championship? Indeed!

Let's take a look at how it broke down ...

As a rule, you want to have more Runs up there on the scoreboard than Errors. When you have it the other way round... well, it seldom works.

Two starts, two strong appearances for Dustin McGowan.

Lyle Overbay was 1-18 against Odalis Perez when he faced him in the second inning last night.

A 1-for-4 night by the minor league affiliates in my debut as a Minor League reporter wasn't what I had in mind.  Things didn't go so well in the upper minors but the good stuff is at the lowest rung. 

The Gashouse Gorillas, Baseball North and the Megalomaniacs lead the way in the early going.

The first-place blue birds return home to raise the curtain on the 19th season of baseball at the Dome, having survived a rollercoaster series in Tampa Bay minimally scathed. Hopefully they enjoyed it, because when the goosebumps-inducing pregame ceremonies are over and a raucous crowd welcomes redemption-bent A.J. Burnett to the hill, the Jays will find themselves battling a team whose personality resembles that of the very annoying Rays of about two years ago. Like those Rays, the Royals are still a couple of years away from unleashing the full brunt of their youth movement on the AL, but they do have a few highly-touted youngsters getting their feet wet. They also have more than enough scrappers and veterans to put up a fight against anyone when their pitching cooperates. What are the odds of that happening? Actually, in this series, better than you might think. There are no easy games in the AL.

On to the Advance Scout!

Hello, hockey fans in Canada and the United States.

I trust we now have your undivided attention?

Two wins in three contests. The Syracuse bullpen lost the game while Dunedin won in the ninth. New Hampshire flirted with disaster but Lee Gronkiewicz saved the day. Adam Lind, John-Ford Griffin, Wayne Lydon, Chip Cannon and Eric Kratz hit home runs.