Back it up, clap it up, switch it up, change it up
Do that thing for me, Do that thing for me
Flip it up, give it up, I'mma grip it up, while you rip it up
do that thing for me

Two wins, three losses, and that's that.

It's a matter of some debate whether or not Leo Durocher actually ever said "Nice guys finish last," but thanks to an idea from my inimitable, irascible dear ol' dad -- and this whole Hall of Names concept is his fault originally, as you may recall -- we are now going to test the theory overall.

Unfortunately, nobody named "Nice" has ever played big league ball. However, we have plenty of choices among the Friends, Buddys, Goodmans, Allies and Saints out there.

Or do we?

The Blue Jays needed this one. Ted Lilly against Wandy Rodriguez is by far the best match-up the Jays will get this weekend. Could Ted out-pitch the rookie?

What, you need me to answer that?

Only a brief Advance Scout report today, as the Jays travel to Minute Maid Park to take on the Astros for the first time in meaningful games.

Notwithstanding the former "Ten-Run Field" moniker of the retractable-roofed stadium, the Astros rely heavily on their starting pitching. True, the 'Stros will throw Clemens and Oswalt at the Jays this weekend, but a middling bullpen and the worst offence in the majors seem to present an opportunity for the Jays to win the series. Expect some pitchers' duels.

On to the Mini-Advance Scout!

Today's photograph is The Dude, Eric Hinske. And it's a little bit weird...

A pair of two home run games, a pair of great starts in Dunedin, and a pair of bullpen losses. Plus some in-person reporting from Buffalo.

The Jays had the day off yesterday, but it has been 2 weeks since the last bullpen report, so it's that time again. No rest for the weary.

Here I sit so patiently
waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
going through all these things twice

As we continue to work our way through a 25-part series outlining all-Hall-of-Names teams for each letter of the alphabet (we'll figure out something to do with "X" later), it only makes perfect sense that we would get around to "A" as the ... 10th letter of the alphabet?

Sure, why start with the first letter? Lead off with the lead-footed Richie Zisk (just about literally, as we did start with the All-Z team) and jump around until landing on "A." Which is where we are now.

Incidentally, did you know that Hank Aaron is no longer the first player listed in the official Baseball Register? ...

The inaugural Batter's Box Group Interview, with baseball historian and sports journalist Alan Schwarz, concluded nearly five minutes ago ... and here's what was said:

Since it's an off day, here's another picture of Nick Johnson for Jonny German. It also features everyone's favourite backup catcher:

A reminder to all Batter's Box readers: our chat with Alan Schwarz, author of The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics, is tonight, June 9, at 7:30 PM Eastern. You can continue to post questions to at the Alan Schwarz chat thread through 8:15 Eastern as the chat is scheduled to end around 8:30.

The easiest way to get to the live chat is to use Batter's Box's own Java applet. It will automatically use your Batter's Box account name -- if you have one and you're logged in, but a Batter's Box account isn't required to chat. Tonight's chat is in a slightly different format than the usual game chat in that it will be moderated by our own Joe Drew. Read on for details.

While J.P's first two first-rounders were in the lineup at Wrigley Field yesterday afternoon, his first two second-rounders were in Syracuse and Akron. And one of them did well, while the other...did not. Those were the only two games last night in a 1-1 evening for the affiliates.

On May 29, Roy Halladay took the mound against the Minnesota Twins in the Rogers Centre. Two hours and eight minutes later, Matt LeCroy swung and missed at Halladay's 99th pitch, completing the two-hit shutout. Halladay's game score that game was 93, the highest game score to date this season. Halladay is also in a tie for second-highest game score this season (with Brad Radke), from his complete-game 3-hit shutout of the Yankees on April 29.

Well, that Halladay didn't show up yesterday. Just like his last game, Roy struggled to shut out his opponent. Unlike in Oakland, though, Roy received no run support from his 7 batters and Huckaby, and he get saddled with the loss.

According to Lee Sinins' ATM Reports (BBRRS: titanium), the Phillies have traded 2B Placido Polanco to the Tigers for RHRP Ugueth Urbina and INF Ramon Martinez.

In a wholly unrelated incident, and as I posted earlier in another thread, Jamey Newberg (BBRRS: diamond) reports that the Rangers have designated their 2005 Opening Day starter, Ryan Drese, for assignment. Late Add: The Dallas Morning News has confirmed this move.

News comes in threes, right? So what's the next transaction to hit the wire? And what do you think of these two?