The minor league teams went 2-1 and David Smith grabs the first star. Chip Cannon, who else, hit the first minor league home run for the Jays this season.

Some disconnected thoughts on this first Saturday of the season...

After losing 2 of 3 to the Orioles, the D-Rays come into town. They're no longer the pest they once were -- the Bad Blood of Luke Prokopec is gone now, don't you know? -- and they only won one-third of their road games last year, so colour me optimistic about this series.

Scott Kazmir struggled on Monday and Seth McClung needed 84 pitches to get through three innings on Wednesday. Sure, Mark Hendrickson somehow pulled a three-hit shutout out of thin air last night, but the pitching is still not very good on this team. And, honestly, this is the kind of series we won't remember two years from now, but any three-game set with Roy Halladay is worth watching.

On to the Advance Scout!

Minor league coverage returns to Batter's Box with our first of many daily updates on the news from the farm. The four full-season affiliates opened their seasons last night, and went 2-2.

Also, we have a very special appearance by Skeeter Barnes.

Did we learn anything from this series? No not really. A baseball season has to be 30 or 40 games old before you know what you have. Sometimes you know sooner, if your team is 16-4, or 4-16, you have a good feel for the season but 2-1 tells you little. A series win is a series win and as long as the Jays keep recording them they will be fine.

Close your notebooks, everyone. There'll be no lesson, just a snap quiz. You're still at the helm of the Jays for this one.

I was at the game tonight, so let me tell you how it went.

Today is opening day for four minor league teams.   Casey Janssen gets the start for Syracuse at home.  Ismael Ramirez repeats as opening day starter for New Hampshire in an early start.  A.J. Burnett goes for Dunedin and Chi-Hung Cheng for Lansing.

After pride cometh the fall.

You couldn't ask for a better opening day matchup - the two best pitchers in the American League squaring off against one another.

Normally, I multitask when watching baseball. But I can't do that on opening day, especially this opening day. So I took notes. Here they are, only lightly edited.

A note: if you're new to Batter's Box, the Advance Scouts, in the past, "have offered a bullet-point series of notes to help Bauxites prepare for the Jays' upcoming opponents. Traditionally, this has meant a mix of local-media accounts, statistical trends of key players, and a breakdown of team lineups." Thanks to Mike D, our regular Scout, for the explanation.

Speaking of Mike, media reports indicate he has been kidnapped by a law firm in New York and forced to do their bidding for the low, low rate of $150/hour plus benefits. Or something. Anyway, with his work committments, he is unfortunately not able to provide the regular high-quality scouting readers have come to expect. But it's all right, as yours truly is here to either a) save the day or b) become the Ross Moschitto to Mike's Roger Maris.

Enough preamble -- On to the Advance Scout!

Third time's the charm.

On Friday and yesterday the Jays offense, pitching and defense went under the readers microscopes. Now it is time to draw a line in the sand. How many games will the Jays win in 2006?

2005 was going to be a big year for the Syracuse Chiefs. Coming into 2005 the Jays brought in several free-agents who looked like they would help the Chiefs challenge for a division title, Chad Mottola, Bryant Nelson, Jason Alfaro and Matt Whiteside were signed to complement Jays prospects like Aaron Hill, Gabe Gross, John-Ford Griffin, Guillermo Quiroz, John Hattig, Brandon League, and Francisco Rosario. However the best laid plans of mice, men and Dick Scott came to naught as the Chiefs never really got hot in 2005 and finished eleven games back of Buffalo. The Chiefs 2006 lineup will feature many returnees and more prospects, especially pitchers, and once again the Chiefs expect to contend in 2006.