The third place Devil Rays come to Toronto to face the last place Jays. At the beginning of the season Tampa was expected by most to spend another year in the basement and the Jays were the popular 'surprise' team by many experts expecting to challenge for the wild card spot in the AL.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, virtually since the beginning of their existence a Newman to the Jays' Jerry, will provide the opposition as Toronto plays some badly-needed home games. Tampa Bay arrives in an offensive funk, and since their pitching has been consistently (and predictably) so-so, it's translated into a lot of recent losses after their franchise-record June.

It's been a busy, three-Scout week, but this edition features some freezing bats, some blazing speed, some not-quite-ripe rumours of both buying and selling at the trade deadline and a potential megadeal for a teenager who has yet to see action at the big league level.

On to the Advance Scout!

The Blue Jays have always had good luck beating El Duque, so we can hope for the best this time around. Hernandez beat Detroit last week but wasn't all that impressive; still, he's 2-0 since his callup after going 2-1 at Columbus.

5-1 and nearly a clean sweep, as New Hampshire's 2-1 ninth-inning loss was the only blemish suffered by the minor league affiliates last night.

He didn't care about the loot
Jan had told him many times it was you to me who taught
In Jersey anything's legal as long as you don't get caught

'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine

The Fan 590 has announced a few roster moves. The short version is as follows:

• Bobby Estalella moves from the 15 to the 60 day DL, freeing up a space on the 40 man roster.
  
• Bob File sent to the minors, freeing up a space on the 25 man roster.
  
• Kevin Frederick called up to the big club and added to both the 25 and 40 man roster.

Thanks to Smack, and Rob, and James W for the heads up.

A few days ago, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed a lower-court ruling and found that a fan seriously injured by a foul ball while lining up at a concession stand at a Newark Bears game could sue the team and the concessionaire that served him. The court held that stadiums must provide protection for fans not in their seats watching the game, such as those at concession stands.

The Heat may have Shaq, but the Blue Jays have the heat and they were bringin’ it last night. A former teammate of David Bush took his own no-hitter late into the game while two other former teammates, one praised, the other scorned, pitched gems of their own.

And we know what we want
And the future is certain
Give us time to work it out

First place meets last place. The Yankees are 24 games over .500, the Jays 13 under. All-star Javier Vazquez, 6-2, 2.97 so far in the Stadium, has held all opponents to a .184 AVG there, and the Toronto bats haven't exactly been booming this season. Pat Hentgen has had a dreadful year, and returns from banishment to the bullpen only because of an emergency.

On paper, it's ridiculously one-sided. However, Vazquez hasn't lasted six innings in any of his three July starts and was roughed up by the Tigers in his latest. And Hentgen, never exactly a Yankee-killer, did make quite a remarkable second-half turnaround last year, including a win in the Bronx, after it looked like his career might be over. It could be worse for Pat; Derek Jeter and Jason Giambi aren't in the starting lineup. There's always hope, so they may as well play the game.

Congratulations to our friend John Gizzi and his wife Cindan on the birth of their first child, a daughter. Annabella Molly Gizzi, weighing 8 lbs., 1 oz., arrived at 6:11 p.m. last Wednesday, July 14. Mother and daughter are doing fine; knowing Gitz, it will be no surprise if his baby girl is a lefty.

Health and happiness to you and your family, John.

In August of 1998, I moved to Manhattan. Within a week of my arrival, I attended a "Circle Line" cruise around the Hudson and East Rivers with my new NYU classmates. As we emerged from under the Brooklyn Bridge, my friend Dan motioned toward the Financial District and observed, "Just think of the unimaginable resources we're looking at right now."

Last night, as I was perusing the Yankee roster (and, for that matter, disabled list) on my desktop on Rivington Street, I was struck with an analogous feeling. What an insane collection of accumulated talent and experience!

Nevertheless, Joaquin Andujar's "youneverknow" axiom remains as true as ever for the Jays in their two-day whistle-stop to the Bronx. The Yankees appear to be the class of the American League, but they're not without their flaws. Their starters have underperformed and/or been injured; their lineup features superstars, yes, but some of these superstars are declining, aging, slumping or hurting -- read all about it in this edition of the Scout. Plus, they might be looking ahead to Boston this weekend...

On to the Advance Scout!

I was reading last night's game thread on the train this morning and I saw that you have apparently abandoned your home run call, "What do you think about that". I would hate to think that it was because of the ribbing you get for it here on the Box.

"What do you think about that" was just starting to grow on me.

4 wins, a rainout, and a second-dip drubbing for the Toronto farm system on Walk-Single-Homer night.

Chance reflects on them a while
Love screams so quietly
Slipping back on golden times
Breathing with sweet memories