Ever fantasized about being Tony LaRussa?  You haven't?  I cannot imagine why not. And today is your lucky day, because not only do you get to be that masculine god, but you get to manage National League style.  We're going to do this one in 3 parts, with questions every few hours. We'll start with a relatively easy one.

The affiliates finished 3-1 as David Purcey struggled in his start against Pawtucket, but everyone else finished well. Purcey had control issues and let his walks hurt him, but he also allowed a surprising stolen base. Another first-round pick, Ricky Romero, made his second start of the season and performed well enough to earn a star.

Is this TDIB? Is it a report on the Jays and A's? You're asking me?

The real big news yesterday comes from the Bronx...

There are very few plays in baseball more exciting than one player smacking into another at home plate.  Perhaps I only think that because I was raised in the Great White North, where every sport is judged better when people smack into one another.

Anyhow, here's Chone Figgins smacking into Bengie Molina -- feel free to try to narrate the internal monologue of one, the other or both.

I have never had two more different experiences as a spectator than a pair that I had this year. Both involved Theo, my son. One was fantastic, and the other was a nightmarish train-wreck.

Double, double, single, walk, grand slam and I figured it was all over. How wrong I was.

For the second week in a row, the Thursday MLU was delayed and almost cancelled due to technical issues. Fear not, however, my painfully slow Internet connection eventually went through and here you are. Four wins and one loss.

Like they say in The Highlander, there can be only one. Well, The Highlander was a terrible movie and there are three Molinas.

In case you're wondering if Jobu is running Photo of the Day today, he's not. But here's Bengie Molina:

Michael MacDonald threw 8 scoreless innings as the affiliates went 2-1 with a rainout.

Stop me if you heard this before, Syracuse had a disappointing month.  The Chiefs ended April at 10-13, which is below expectations.  Syracuse did have the best pitching in the IL, plus they outscored their opponents in April by 5 runs, but they were 2-7 in one run games and that led to a losing month. 

The mightly Photo of the Day magic worked for Aaron Hill last night, as he tripled and scored a run.  Today's feature subject is red-hot and doesn't necessarily need the help, unless it's help getting him onto the All-Star ballot.  Have you voted today?

And more to the point, have you voted for Alex Rios today?

The Dunedin Blue Jays currently have a 16-14 record and sit in third place of the West Division of the Florida State League. The D-Jays are 1.5 games of Fort Myers. In this monthly review we’ll recap seven Dunedin prospects that caught my eye and see what this month has revealed.

If baseball were indeed 75% pitching, the Orioles' future would look very bright. Fortunately for the home club, it is not.

When you have more than one Molina brother, you know what you're going to get in terms of Jays-Angels coverage: Jobu. Somewhat relieved that he didn't have to write about a Roy Halladay no-hitter (or a Jeff Weaver no-no), here's Mr. Buscemi himself with another one of his articles:

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This report isn't my fault, I SWEAR!