When the opposing outfielder forgets the count, hangs onto the ball in blissful ignorance for five seconds while his teammates scream at him and still ends up with a double play, you kinda get the feeling it just wasn't meant to be your day.

It has been an unusual year for Dunedin. Prospects have come and gone faster than a Grade 7 romance. Zach Jackson, Dustin McGowan, David Purcey, Casey Janssen, Ryan Roberts, Clint Johnston, Chip Cannon. Thanks for the memories. It was real. Still, the Baby Jays find themselves in early August in a race for the second-half division title, 1/2 game behind first-half champ Lakeland and a game ahead of the hard-charging Fort Myers Miracle.

Towers battled valiantly through 6 innings, but Al Leiter took a day off from being washed up to shut the Jays down for 5-2/3. Torre had to call on Mo for the final out, but the offence once again missed several earlier opportunities to get into it.

All pitchers are liars or crybabies.
-- Yogi Berra

Today's sermon: These memes need to die.

Shaun Marcum got back on the rails last night, while Casey Janssen keeps on trucking. Hmm, maybe I need a travelling holiday. The farm boys, as my spouse calls them, went 2-4 on the evening.

A baker's dozen -- or should that be Dusty Baker's Dozen? -- major leaguers whose last or family names begin with letter "D" have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; just one of them didn't make it primarily as a player, that being the Hall of Names D-team's manager, Leo "the Lip" Durocher.

The relative paucity of Cooperstown residents -- recall our recent "C" team had no less than thirty men, including 23 players, inducted -- makes for a bit a scramble to put together this All-D team; and not even a man nicknamed "The D-Train" will make it, though perhaps Dontrelle Willis will get some consideration when we get to an All-W team. Nor can we make an exception for one of the most recent Hall of Famers, Ryne Dee Sandberg ...

Randy Johnson is the Ugliest Man in Baseball. He was Born To Lose. And lose he did, as the top of the Jays lineup got on base again and again and again. The Big Unit was crumpled and folded, and it was wonderful to see.

Oh, and SHEA HILLENBRAND STOLE HOME!!! And I was there! And someday I'll tell my grand-kids....

Any time you think you have the game conquered, the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose.
-- Mike Schmidt

That's the sound of offensive explosions reverberating all the way through the Blue Jays' system, including an incredible 9th inning for New Hampshire, an amazing 10th inning for Auburn, and yet another stupendous performance by Adam Lind. All this, and Josh Banks pitches his best game of the year. Could anything ruin this night? Only some spoilsports in Pulaski.

Gustavo Chacin was uncharacteristically wild, walking a career high six batters in just five innings of work, and the bats couldn't get anything going against the immortal Aaron "Biggie" Small.

The Instant Replay has been transformed! It has undergone a metamorphosis!

Updated at 3:30 AM!

This is the series many of us have been waiting for!

That's right, it's time for a good old fashioned caption contest. Prize to be determined, but rest assured, it'll be as "fabulous" as the junk I usually give away.

Your subject: a mound conference between Huckaby and Speier.

Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it.
-- Whitey Herzog

Can't anybody here play this game?
-- Casey Stengel

Evidently not.