Every game day, 162 times a year, Will Hill and the Blue Jays PR staff prepare pre-game notes for the media. I am sharing them with you, because... because we won't have a Game Report appearing until tomorrow? Nah - I just thought you might like to see them.

And this is part two...

Towers and Hillenbrand deliver the punches, as the Jays finish off the sweep.

Your observations?

Magpie made a comment yesterday that made me think.

More new material from this past weekend against the D-Rays for photo of the day. Today's photograph features Russ Adams, watching the game unfold from the dugout:

There's only one cure for what's wrong with all of us pitchers, and that's to take a year off. Then, after you've gone a year without throwing, quit altogether.
--- Jim Palmer

Chip Cannon hit a homer. New Hampshire had little on the way of offense at home. A last-place team from the St. Petersburg area beat up on the Blue Jays. No wins for you!

The Jays really throttled the Mariners last night, exploding for three home runs off beleaguered Mariner starter Ryan Franklin (5.2 IP, 8 R, 5 SO, 0 BB). But that's not what everybody cares about. We want to know whether the Jays will sweep Seattle, whether the Jays will make any moves before the waiver deadline, whether the Jays have a chance at the post-season this go-round, and whether Eric Hinske really has it figured out, magically turning back into the beautiful carriage we all thought we were getting in to in 2002.

Well, I've consulted my Magic 8 ball, and I'm afraid the answer to all those questions is the same: Outlook not so good.

As you all learned in your perusal of Batter's Box over the past 24 hours, yesterday was my birthday, and we tried something new in the Hall of Names arena, with a piecemeal all-July 20 team. And as promised, we continue this narcissistic trend with a followup ... the all-Mick(ey) team.

Now, there have only been 45 Mickeys (or Micks) to play major league ball, but three of those have made it to the Hall of Fame, including of course a particular Yankee CF you've all certainly thought up already. What it doesn't include ...

Last night the Jays wore their road caps with their home jerseys and scored 12 runs. What's in store for us tonight?

A 9-4 win, that's what!

Some days, all you have are replacement reporters. And that's me. Yesterday, the farm affiliates went 2-3.

Eyes, boring a way through me
Paralyse, controlling completely
Now there is a fire in me
A fire that burns

The pitcher has to find out if the hitter is timid. And if the hitter is timid, he has to remind the hitter he's timid.
--- Don Drysdale

OK, I know I promised a picture of a guy who'll rock you like a hurricane today, but after Eric Hinske's magnificent two-homer performance last night I had to put up a picture of The Dude.

There was a request a few weeks ago for a comparison between Hinske's early season stance that seemed to have made a difference and what he's doing now. Well, here you go:

In his team’s 12-10 victory last night over the visiting Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman Eric Hinske broke out of a lengthy slump by hitting two home runs, one of them off Seattle starter Aaron Sele, who had trouble locating his pitches. The home runs silenced the booing that Hinske has been receiving for several weeks, even though he says he hasn’t heard it.