The Doubledays fell last night to the Staten Island Yankees by a 3-2 score. The Yankees won the NYPL title, sweeping the best-of-three series. Nonetheless, Auburn had a fine season.

No kidding, I thought this team would be better. But there are a lot of .240 to .260 type hitters in our starting lineup, and except at the hot corner, it's an average-to-awful defense; well, at least we have more than 1200 wins from our five-man starting rotation!

Oh, and we have those knucklehead Niekro boys in the fifth starter/swing and long relief roles, so they can be ready to go a couple of times a week each if necessary.

Now, let's meet ...

Anyone who followed the Red Sox - Blue Jays series will know who I mean:

I think that headline makes sense. If it doesn't, blame computers. As you can tell (or not), the Auburn Doubledays lost game one of their NY-Penn League final to the Staten Island Yankees.

Everybody and his brother has an opinion on what Eric Hinske's deal is. It seems pretty clear that the promise he showed as a rookie is never going to develop into the star we all hoped the Jays were signing after his great 2002. (Incidentally, it also looks as though Wells might never develop into the superstar we thought he'd be after 2003 — but you'll recall that we on Batter's Box (and just about everybody else, actually) thought the Wells and Hinske long-term signings were good deals. Anyone who starts saying J.P. is an idiot for signing Hinske can be pointed to the past to say "What were you saying then?" That is the dual blessing and curse of the Internet.)

I do not aim to determine whether Hinske will ever be a good player. He is certainly a useful player, even now — except in June, of course. Instead, I want to figure out just when he becomes useful, and maybe a bit of why too.

That David Ortiz fella is pretty good.

Here's Russ Adams, delivering quite the swing:

Our next Pinch-Hit Game Report belongs to regular Bauxite Four Seamer, who ran the gauntlet of Bay Street lawyers and their billable hour targets to bring you this account of last night's Blue Jays win. Take it away, FS!

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Owing to the twin demands of career and new fatherhood, I’m almost ashamed to admit that it has been several weeks since I was last able to sit down and enjoy a ballgame from start to finish.

While we await a pinch-hit Game Report from distinguished Bauxite Four Seamer, we once more amuse ourselves in the traditional way after a defeat of the Red Sox.

You know what that means...

That's what I call quite good.

Well, he didn't look to me like he needed any extra help last night, but since the request was put out there, here he is:

Seeing as how I did not get out of class and back to my room until 8:28 last night, here's a mailed in Game Report about watching baseball games without seeing them. Yes, it's Gameday...unmasked!

Two different players with each of the three surnames in the headline combine to make up nearly a quarter of our 25-man roster of players whose last/family names start with the letter "L."

Let's get right to it, then, and meet ...

I have no idea what happened in this game. Apparently, Magpie is scared of Ortiz.

The Jays have a chance to have a real impact on the AL East playoff chase, with six home games against the Red Sox and Yankees. First up: the champs.

A relatively brief Scout this week, as it's being created while visiting family for a wedding (not mine). As is usually the case with Boston coming to town this season, Toronto faces three up-and-down starters, an inconsistent bullpen, an occasionally erratic defence...and an absolutely dominant lineup. Can the Jays keep up their strong play against the Bosox, with less on the line (at least from the Jays' perspective)?

This week's Scout features some offseason planning, some nagging aches and pains and some more of the same from the one and only Boomer.

On to the Advance Scout!