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                        The worst is not
So long as we can say 'This is the worst.'
-- Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i

How bad can it get? Tune in and find out!
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It's almost six months to Christmas and teams decided to give for this half way to Christmas season. The Bisons scored their first five runs with just one hit. Erik Swanson came on in relief and decided to return the favour. Buffalo lost. Michael Dominguez was also in a giving mood. New Hampshire lost. Same for Nolan Perry who walked six in three innings. Dunedin lost. Tri-City walked the first Vancouver hitter of the game and he scored the only run to get Vancouver the win.

Its not just halfway to Christmas it's halfway through the baseball season. If we look at the hitters and ignore the complex leagues, all the hitters playing well are in AAA. Just looking at OPS first, nine of the top eleven have played in, or are in, AAA. Its the names you know, the guys in the big leagues along with Leo Jimenez, Riley Tirotta, Nathan Lukes, Alan Roden and Damiano Palmegiani. The two non AAA players are Dasan Brown and Victor Arias. Josh Kasevich is twelfth. If we look at wRC+ we add a couple of players like Jace Bohrofen and Nick Goodwin. They both have a 115 wRC+ in Vancouver which does not scream major leaguer.

Ask yourself, who is the best hitting prospect between New Hampshire and Dunedin? There are some names in the previous paragraph but none of them are today projected to be above average major leaguers.

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Weather impacted play on Saturday. Buffalo were scheduled to play two but struggled to get one game in. Dunedin were rained out. Buffalo put up a football score in their game, the completion of Fridays suspended game. Several hitters had big games. Vancouver won while New Hampshire lost in extras.
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Peyton Williams broke a 5-5 tie with a go ahead and game winning home run in the ninth inning to secure a win for Vancouver. Buffalo are in line for a win, they have an eleven run lead but their game was suspended due to rain. New Hampshire and Dunedin lost, Dunedin on an extra innings balk.
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What is to be done?
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Buffalo hit five home runs on their way to a win. Dunedin just needed one home run in the eleventh inning to win. Vancouver did not hit a home run and lost. New Hampshire were rained out.

Thursday was the end of the first half of the season. No Jays team qualified for the playoffs.

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Scranton/WB 8 Buffalo 2

New Hampshire 4 Reading 2

Vancouver 4 Tri-City 3

Dunedin 3 Daytona 2

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Few things in life are certain, but all my life I'd been pretty sure I knew who was the greatest living baseball player. Now of course, all is confusion.
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Buffalo was on the wrong end of a slugfest while Dunedin and the Dominican Jays also lost. New Hampshire and the FCL Blue Jays won one-run games and Vancouver swept a doubleheader to give the affiliates a 4-3 record on Tuesday.
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For the first time this season, it's the Bloody Boston Red Sox.
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Four games and four sets of unhappy fathers. There were a few good performances but no wins. Yariel Rodriguez pitched. Orelvis hit his 16th home run. Leo Jimenez is back but it's slim pickings.
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The affiliates all had very good starting pitching. Andrew Bash for Buffalo held Worcester hitless but Connor Cooke took the loss. Trenton Wallace pitched well but the Fisher Cats lost in eleven innings. Nolan Perry was very good but the D Jays only scored one run.

Vancouver were the exception. Ryan Jennings did well and Vancouver scored three late runs to win.

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Victor Arias was the star of the day. He hit two home runs and drove in eight runs. Dunedin split a doubleheader. That was better than Vancouver who lost both ends of their doubleheader. Buffalo won while New Hampshire lost. New Blue Jay Braydon Fisher pitched well but had a bad result.
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The Blue Jays spend the next two weeks playing Cleveland and Boston. We begin with a six game home stand, followed by a six game road trip. All very symmetrical.
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