This is the June edition of my minor league starting pitchers review. Who is hot, who is cold? Who is getting by on smoke and mirrors?

Both aces won their respective games, and now a 1:30 start to decide the Cup. Toronto would seem to have the edge, with Ted Lilly facing Canadian rookie Shawn Hill. The Jays lead 3-2 going into the finale.

Mom and Dad follow every last word
All that hollering makes me wonder
Does a whispered prayer get heard?

Gomez drove in Hinske twice, and Halladay, Chulk, and Frasor made it hold up as Toronto re-gifted a shutout back to Montreal.

Happy holidays to our American friends.

Two heartbreaking losses, and solid pitching in Dunedin, Charleston and Auburn were the highlights of a 3-4 record on Saturday for the farm affiliates.

The All-Star Game rosters have been announced and, in what is surely a surprise to me, Ted Lilly will be the lone Blue Jays representative on the American League team.

Apparently, being the reigning AL Cy Young award winner doesn't mean much to AL skip Joe Torre.

Halfway through the minor-league season, it's looking like a good-news bad-news year for the Jays' organization. Some prospects have been derailed by injuries and others by poor performance, while others have broken out and some are charging headlong up the organizational ladder. Here's the latest look at the Toronto farm system.

One humiliating loss and a rainout in the Appalachian League was all that kept the Jays’ system from a clean sweep last night. Hmm, where have I heard that before…?

...Will be there by the fire
We’ll sit and talk about Hollywood
And the good things there for hire
Like the Astrodome and the first tepee
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me

A bittersweet evening for the Jays, who were shut out by the Expos but offered a glimpse of a promising future as 24-year-old David Bush excelled in his Major League debut.

Due to technical problems, we cannot show the remainder of Bambi. Instead, we've got Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays facing off with Tony Armas Jr. and the Montreal Expos. There's no score after 2 innings. So put another packet of popcorn in the microwave and enjoy the game.

There was some confusion about what was going on with the Jays recent roster moves, but it seems to be cleared up. One of my favourite websites, Rotoworld, has announced that "Blue Jays sent outfielder Simon Pond outright to Triple-A Syracuse. Pond, removed from the 40-man roster to make room for David Bush, was able to make it through waivers."

In total we had the following moves:

1. David Bush added to both the 25 and 40 man rosters
   
2. Mike Nakamura taken off of the 25 but not the 40 man roster
   
3. Simon Pond taken off of the 40 man roster (he was not on the 25 man)
   

The Jays are coming off a 20-hit performance (tellingly, none of them homeruns) as they play their Canadian cousins in .... San Juan, of course.

Question of the day: Where would the Jays offence be right now if not for recent acquisitions Gregg (Going, Going) Zaun and Frank (Mighty Mouse) Menechino?

Second question of the day: How many national anthems will be played before tonight's game?

Two games went to extra innings, one game did not even go nine. A new player hit a home run for Dunedin, Carlos something or other. And yours truly is off to Buffalo to see the Chiefs.

Find no interest in the racks and shelves
Just a thousand reflections of my own sweet self, self, self...

It's an unusual, and rather inappropriate, locale in which to hold what will likely be the last-ever Pearson Cup showdown. Instead of playing in the air-conditioned comfort of Olympic Stadium, surrounded by those familiar once-futuristic yellow moulded plastic chairs, the Jays and Expos will instead renew their rivalry in hot, sticky and soggy Hiram Bithorn Stadium, where Carlos Delgado will unfortunately not perform in front of his friends and family. Rain is a very real possibility for today and tomorrow; stay tuned for some possible doubleheader action (which would kill the Expo bullpen).

The Jays face a reeling Expos club that was bombed in dropping three of four to Philadelphia this week. This weekend, David Bush makes his big-league debut against a legitimate workhorse, the Doc takes on a recent patient and Ted Lilly squares off against a young Canadian with nowhere to go but up in his major league career.

Oh, and memo to the Jays' staff: Careful with that second baseman. He can hit a little.

On to the Advance Scout!

A forgettable day as the Blue Jays affiliates went 2-4, with the Dominican Summer League entry picking up one of the wins. The six teams combined to score just 15 runs and no team could score more than four.

The good news is that four of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats have been selected as Eastern League All-Stars. Starters Todd Ozias and Cam Reimers and the double-play combination of Aaron Hill and Dominic Rich will play in the July 14th classic in Bowie, MD. Congratulations, all!