The May 2005 Royal Panes Hall of Names entry bemoaned the fact that top Pirates pitching prospect Zach Duke had not yet reached the majors (nor had Prince Fielder) and thus was not eligible for the squad.

The best young Pirate-developed lefty since John Candelaria has changed all that with a 1.23 ERA and 21:4 K:BB ratio in his first three big league starts this month. (Incidentally, has anyone nicknamed this guy "Duke of Hurl" yet?) And that makes him eligible for today's team -- what, we just finished up All-Willie and All-Mickey teams, and you couldn't see the All-Duke team coming a mile away?

Of course, Zach is only the third player in big league history to bear the surname "Duke," so we'll need a little leeway ...

The Jays try to build on their momentum from a fine series against Seattle as they travel to the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex for a weekend showdown with the Royals. The Royals feature an impatient lineup, but two of their three starting pitchers are coming off dominant performances and there are some lively arms in the 'pen. It should make for some interesting baseball, and Lilly vs. Greinke could be a nice matchup on Sunday.

This will be my last Advance Scout column for a little while, as I head off on vacation. But fear not, Bauxites -- Lucas, Rob and Pepper Moffatt will all contribute pinch-hit Scout reports with their usual aplomb over the next four series. It won't skip a beat.

Today's Scout features a brawlin' (but appealin') righty, a proud papa and a young ace starting to trust his stuff again.

On to the Advance Scout!

Just in time for Ricky Romero's debut, Batter's Box presents its exclusive interviews with the Auburn Doubledays!

Last Saturday was a lovely afternoon in New York, and I went with friend/Jays fan/Bauxite Kevin Janus to KeySpan park on Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY, to meet the D-Days prior to their game with the Brooklyn Cyclones. And not even the subsequent pea-soup fog and Auburn defeat could dampen our enthusiasm for some of the choice quotes we were able to obtain.

We enjoyed meeting the D-Days. We think you will, too.

According to this press release, the Toronto Blue Jays have traded The Minister of Defense, John McDonald, to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later.

Most one run games are lost, not won.
- Gene Mauch

The Toronto Blue Jays have a 5-14 record in one-run games.

A pair of photographs for you today. First up, the guys in 518 making a big impression:

And if California slides into the ocean
Like the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing
Until I pay my bill

You argue with the umpire because there is nothing else you can do about it.
- Leo Durocher

The come-back kids ensured a minor league sweep as the affiliates went 5-0. Dunedin won in the bottom of the ninth, Lansing scored two to win in the bottom of the tenth, and Pulaski scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, another in the bottom of the eighth, a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie, and a run in the bottom of the tenth to win. Syracuse pitching did not blow the lead and Auburn won from the front.

Well, that is how you hope everything is going to work out when Josh Towers starts.

If you're paying attention, you know that one of the Hall of Names stories that ran earlier this week was an All-Mickey team; as we follow it here with what is essentially an all-Willie team, you can guess the next logical step, right? If you know anything about New York City baseball in the 1950s, it should be obvious, especially with the added clue that it's all leading up to a very special musical rendition of Baseball's Hall of Names soon to follow.

But we're not just giving this team the Willies, as it were ...

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.