It continues to amaze me how many people completely miss the fundamental premise of Moneyball. It's not just casual fans and blowhards who haven't actually read the book themselves. It's also analysts and journalists employed full-time in the baseball industry.

Don't forget that Jonah Keri of Baseball Prospectus will be in Toronto on Sunday. If you haven't been to one of the previous get-togethers with Will Carroll, you've missed some great baseball discussion and a lot of fun. This one is at Shoeless Joe's (on Eglinton just east of Avenue Rd.) starting at noon with a Q & A, followed by food and the Jays game -- some tall lefty is supposed to pitch for Arizona.

Although attendance is limited to 30, there are a few spots still available, so if you're interested, RSVP to Jonah and we'll see you there.

A born-again poor man's son
On the air America
I modeled shirts by Van Heusen-yeah

The thrill of interleague play is that you can see such National League stars as Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Shea Hillenbrand and others who've never played in the American Lea... umm....well, at least you get to see different uniforms. The Arizona Diamondbacks slither into Skydome tonight, sending knuckler Steve Sparks to the mound against Pat Hentgen; a pitching duel is likely not in the cards. Roberto Alomar is still out with a hand injury, so he'll be spared another cascading chorus of boos at the ballpark where he built his career.

We started this a few months ago with the All-February Team -- and now it's time for the All-June team. Hey, we'll catch up with March, April and May some other year. For now, let's work up a squad made up entirely of players born in the month named for the Roman goddess of marriage (I didn't know that either), Juno.

And apologies to former Philadelphia A's reliever June Greene, but even with a June 25 birthdate, that 18.38 career ERA probably isn't going to earn a spot on this team.

Now, for the rest of the team, tentatively named (for the awesome logo possibilities, somebody feel free to take a shot at it) the "June Cleavers" ...

Sometimes, I like to take notes when I go to a game on my own. Here are my notes from Thursday night's game.

It's really not a huge surprise that former Jay Paul Quantrill picked up his fifth win in relief for the Yankees last night. What may surprise and dismay Torontonians is that after Kevin Brown left the game with lower back stiffness, it was another former Jay -- the inimitable Tanyon Sturtze -- who stepped in to throw four innings of two-hit relief. In fact, Sturtze's June totals are stunning: 2G, 8.2IP, 7H, 1ER ... okay, there's the 6BB/5K to worry about.

But it brings to mind a question: what former Jays have gone elsewhere and completely caught you off guard with their success? Guys like Shawn Green don't count -- no surprises. Neither do the Mark Whitens of the world -- no success. Sturtze probably won't stay in that camp. But who belongs there?

Most of us around Da Box are excited to see the newest crop of Jays about to take their first baby steps into professional baseball. The vast majority of us are getting to know these players for the first time; these are players about whom we have the stats, but know almost nothing else other than what Baseball America or other scouting sites have told us.

But to others all over the U.S., these players are as familiar as their local ballfield. All of these players come from college programs that have their own rabid fans and followers. So I decided to seek a few out and ask them about some of our newest Blue Jays... what they are like as players. And I'm happy to say that many have answered the call. This morning, we have our first installment, as Tim Robertson of SimmonsField.com (a great site about Missouri Tigers baseball, where he's known as "Trripleplay") stops by to tell us about third-round pick Danny Hill. Take it away, Tim, and thanks!

Gone bust - Tight wad - Slow recovery
Axe job - Flame thrower - Ironbar and gun
Betting shop - New owner - A walk in the sun

The first two games of the interleague series between Los Angeles and Toronto have seen masterful pitching performances from Jays starters Ted Lilly and Miguel Batista. Tonight, Josh Towers tries to continue that run against a Dodger squad in dire need of some offence. Lefty Kaz Ishii takes the mound for LA, which means Frank Menechino leads off and plays second base. Eric Hinske sits in favour of Chris Gomez, and Frank Catalanotto grabs some bench while Reed Johnson and Alex Rios man the corner outfield spots. Josh Phelps is back at DH, batting 7th -- but at least he's ahead of Howie (Home Run) Clark.

The Associated Press is reporting that catcher Kevin Cash has been taken off the DL and put on the active roster. To make room for Cash, the Jays sent struggling reliever Aquilino Lopez to AAA Syracuse. The Jays currently have three catchers on the big league club, but the current roster will be subject to even more changes as space will need to be made when Delgado, Hudson, De Los Santos, et. al. come off of the DL.

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In the meantime, we ask that you please not feed the trolls. Posting to certain threads has also been disabled for the time being.

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Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it
All change -- don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue

From 1998-1999, Jose Lima went 37-18 with a 3.65 ERA for the Astrodome-based Astros. Since then, he's gone 29-38 and hasn't had an ERA below four and a half (usually way, way above) till this year's limited action. He's living proof that the label "20-game winner" just doesn't have the, shall we say, cachet it once did. He's also 0-1 in one lifetime Skydome start with a 13.50 ERA. All of which to say, despite his 8 innings of shutout ball against Arizona late last month, this is a game that the Blue Jays and Miguel Batista should approach with confidence. Slugging Howie Clark again plays first base; Josh Phelps again sits. Today's question: should Phelps be playing his way out of his funk, or is he simply playing himself deeper into it? What's up with Josh Phelps?

Dick Scott, the Blue Jays Farm Director, has a busy week ahead of him. He has to assign all the new draftees to their short season minor league teams. He also has a group of players in extended spring training who need a team. Players in EST include John Wesley, Jermy Acey, Amos Day, maybe Chris Leonard, DJ Hanson, and of course James Pidutti.