Once again, here's Rob.


Alyssa Milano, I mean, Dodger Stadium welcomes the Blue Jays this weekend for the first time since June 2002, when shortstop (!) Dave Berg hit second, Justin Miller couldn't get through the first, and Roy Halladay got a complete game win. Jays fans are thankful that only one of those events is possible five years later.

Alex's week might be brutal, but so is having to put up with interleague play. Jeff Kent agrees with me, which is slightly disconcerting. Aside from that, this Scout features the likely reality of two top-priced tickets for a Twins game; Jim and Pam's new six-player chain to Tinker, Evers, and Chance; an impatient power-less lineup; and Jamie Campbell saying "East York" a lot.

And we're off

Is it just me or do the Jays lose every Thursday?

Anyway, let's look at the quotes coming from yesterday's draft:

With the addition of some new talent to the minor league system yesterday, a depth chart incorporating some of the new talent, in lieu of the usual Friday summary seems in order. The Jays had seven picks in the first, supplemental and second rounds.

But first, a brief update. The farm affiliates went 2-2.

The Blue Jays select Kevin Ahrens, 3B from Memorial HS with the 16th pick and JP Arencibia, C from Tennessee with the 21st pick in the first round.

Tomo Okha has been designated for assignment today and the Jays now have ten days to trade him, release him, or send him to the minors.  Josh Towers is back in the rotation and will start next monday in San Francisco.  Home run hitter Barry Bonds will look forward to facing the home run prone Towers.

Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman, who nailed down his 500th career save yesterday, the first player to ever reach that milestone. (Is it a "milestone" if nobody has ever been there before?)

We recognized Hoffman here on Da Box when he set the all-time record of 479 last season; now the question is, who else will get to 500? And when? Mo Rivera has 419, but seems to have stepped off a cliff this year and may not have 81 more left in him ... is he "next"? If not, who is?

Two down in Ohio. The top farm affiliates visited Akron and Toledo and were flattened. Did I mention that it is Draft Day? Check out Pistol's superior coverage at this very website.

A look at who is being projected to the Jays:

• Baseball America: Matt Dominguez, JP Arencibia
  
• Baseball Prospectus: JP Arencibia, James Simmons
• ESPN.com: Beau Mills, Peter Kozma
  
• MLB.com: Beau Mills, Peter Kozma
  
• Toronto Sun: Devin Mesoraco, Peter Kozma
  

How frequently do teams find stud pitchers after the first (and supplemental first) round?

The Jays score 6 in the 9th to win and you want to know about the minor leagues??

The affiliates were 1-3, with two ugly losses.

Curtis Thigpen was called up to replace Lyle Overbay today, with John Thomson moving to the 60 day DL to clear space on the 40 man roster. Thigpen will likely see work initially against left-handed pitching. He has hit well against lefties each of the last 3 years, posting .283/.352/.523, .394/.491/.659 and .320/.394/.459 lines in 2007, 2006 and 2005 respectively.

Thigpen was the Jays' 2nd round draft choice in 2004.  Welcome to the Show.

This week's previews come to y'all from an Advance Scout Icon who appreciates Rays beat writer Bill Chastain almost as much as I do. Take it away, Rob Pettapiece:


Alex probably figured his week of finals was bad enough without bringing the Devil Rays into it. So here I am, and here we are at yet another Toronto-Tampa Bay series. And no, I'm not sick of scouting the Rays. Why do you ask? The MLB.com copyeditor is getting tired of this team, one would infer, since Saturday's headline read "Rays, Jackson lose in multiple ways." Read on anyway to learn more about Jonny Gomes' new career, Shawn Riggans' absurdly long scouting reports, Joe Maddon's man-love for his shortstop, and Akinori Iwamura's friend named Nuts.

On to the Advance Scout!

"Dayton", with or without an "a" , were too much for the two Jays affiliates last night.  The "always exciting" sacrifice fly turned out to be difference in each case.   A rainout and a scheduled day off at the upper levels of the farm system prevented last night from being a total disaster.  

It's still tough at the top. Billie's Bashers, Schroedinger's Cat and the London Tigers lead their respective divisions but the biggest lead any of them have is just 2.5 games as the contenders mass below.