The Jays lose, but overshadowing the loss is the injury to Gregg Zaun. This game report will take a brief look at his replacement, Andy Dominique, and then will touch up a couple of other players in the news yesterday.

The starting pitchers turn in five very good starts, two of them shutouts by Cameron Reimers and Shawn Marcum. Casey Janssen allows one run and gets promoted. Brandon League and Davis Romero pitch well, but don't win.

Yep, the Royals are coming to town starting tonight, and though it's not quite as obvious as the Jays vs. Rays Hall of Names teams we engaged back on April 6, all All-Royal team seems in order.

This may not be what you're expecting, though ...

Sox up 1-0 behind the 'smart ball' of hitting the ball out of the park.

A late homer was the highlight of a 1-2 day for the farm affiliates, as the offences struggled to score runs.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justice is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom.

Hi Mom!

This fortnight will belong to Miguel Batista. Comments on Batista's pitching approach, delivery, stuff and command will be welcome. Of course, any other comments on the bullpen and John Gibbons' trigger decisions have a home here too.

The White Sox have won six in a row. As the immortal (because he never really existed) Jean-Luc Picard once said, "The line must be drawn here!"

The parent club might have experienced some bad luck last night, but the farm system needed no karmic assistance at all: a rare and welcome organizational sweep was punctuated by a power outburst in Dunedin and a couple of simply superb pitching performances. It all started, as everything seems to these days, with a late grab for power in Ottawa.

Tonight we saw something we had yet to see this season. Besides the chat. The Blue Jays gave Dave Bush a lead to work with.

It's taken parts of three years to get here, but at long last, we've reached the final installment of our 12 "all-month" teams for Baseball's Hall of Names roster.

This team, unlike all the other month teams -- in fact, unlike all the other month teams combined -- has a wide variety of major league players who bear the name of the month itself. I mean, we appreciate you June Greene, thanks for stopping by the booth, Don August, but the fortuitously named "May Bee-Knots" (a no-prize for anyone who designs the uniform logo!) is captained by its best player, a man born in May, who also made his MLB debut in May, who also is the greatest center fielder ever to play the game ... a man named Mays. Nice start.

But before we get into formulating the team wearing the emerald birthstones, let's look a little more carefully into this all-"May" name thing ...

And now here comes the best team in baseball -- improbably, it's the White Sox, who are off to a much faster start than anyone expected. But as Gwyn points out in his excellent AL Central Report, and as Mike D confirms in another superlative Advance Scout, the ChiSox are playing somewhat over their heads these days. Now would be a good time for the Jays' bats to wake up against some overachieving Chicago starters. The ageless El Duque Hernandez opposes the rapidly improving Dave Bush tonight in a matchup somehow reminiscent of 1980s Expos broadcasts.

Don't forget, the countdown to IRC Game Threads is on -- Monday, May 9, marks the debut of Batter's Box's coolest new feature.

Another series, another red-hot opponent for the Jays.

The White Sox come to town, and I think even their most ardent supporters would admit that they're fortunate to be sporting a league-best 21-7 record; they've benefited from a soft schedule, an incredible 12-3 record in one-run games and consistently superb pitching from up and down the staff despite rather modest run support. It can't last, can it?

That said, even the most bitter detractors of the Pale Hose would have to admit that this is a team capable of playing .500 ball the rest of the way; if they do so, they'll finish 88-74 and certainly in the hunt for supremacy in the milquetoast AL Central. Like it or not, the South Siders will be a factor in 2005.

This week's Scout features a slumping slugger, a startling starter and an innings-eater extraordinaire. After a poor series at the plate in Baltimore, the Fighting Jays will have to scratch and claw against a pitching staff that keeps the ball down and uses its defence. Might we see another 1-0, late-inning situation?

On to the Advance Scout!

Continuing our Photo of the Day extravaganza, here's one of my favourite players, Frank Catalanotto, from April 9th:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2005

TORONTO -- In its continuing effort to provide the best possible tools to the best of Canada's baseball fans, Batter's Box Interactive Magazine is introducing a new "Game Chat" option beginning with the Monday, May 9 game at Kansas City.

"It's a decision we've come to after months of discussion," said Batter's Box Senior Editor Jordan Furlong. "The Batter's Box roster sees this as an opportunity to expand our usefulness in two critical ways."