The affiliates managed just two wins on the night. What else is new?

There was lots of free baseball on the farm yesterday, but given how things are currently going I’m not sure how much people really wanted more ball. Of the seven games, four went into extra innings and there was a total of thirteen free innings. It didn’t make much difference to the bottom line and the affiliates only won two of the seven games in an unremarkable day on the farm.

Auburn were no hit through eight and two thirds.  It should have been a complete no-hitter except for an error by Mahoning Valley in the ninth.  But then two singles ruined the moment and the no hitter was gone.  New Hampshire were no hit until the sixth inning and they finished with two hits in eleven innings.  The GCL Jays didn't score until the ninth inning.  Dunedin and Lansing were rained out.  Las Vegas were the exception, they scored twelve runs.  Travis Snider got back in the groove with three hits including a home run and a double.

Luis Perez stated his case for a promotion with a strong start for New Hampshire and Dunedin made just enough contact at the plate to earn the only two wins in the system on Tuesday.  The rest of the affiliates didn't fare as well thanks to a come from ahead loss, two extra-inning setbacks and a no-hitter.

All 6 games on the evening were decided by 3 or fewer runs, while 4 were decided by a single score. The affiliates went 3-3 on the night, and guess what? Shaun Marcum is back!

When things aren't going so well for the Jays, I usually immerse myself in the minor leagues and think about what might one day be.  Sunday was a decent enough day for that as the affiliates went 4-2 and featured a few notable performances from promising youngsters.

Joe Inglett had five hits and six RBI's on July 4th to lead Vegas to a big win.  New Hampshire won 2-1 behind Kenny Rodriguez first AA start of 2009.  Dunedin, Auburn and the GCL Jays also were winners, Lansing the only losers on Saturday.  Among the prospects David Cooper, Moises Sierra and Trystan Magnuson are all hot right now.

The affiliates went 3-for-4 on the night, which wasn't too bad considering how they've performed on Friday nights in previous weeks. Both New Hampshire (!) and Dunedin had nice offensive outbursts.

The weather didn’t completely let up as two of the eight scheduled games were either cancelled or postponed. The other six games went ahead as the affiliates went 4-2. There were several fine pitching performances, including a fantastic game by Brad Mills in his return to Triple-A, and an offensive explosion at Double-A.3

Five of eight scheduled games were rained out.  Both Florida teams had doubleheaders scheduled after rainouts on Monday but a second day of rain gave them a second day off.  The three affiliates who did play all won.  Las Vegas wielded the lumber for 16 hits, and benefitted from good middle relief as did New Hampshire.  Lance Durham had a big night for Auburn. 

And that's pretty much it.  Two rainouts limited the affiliates tally to a 1-3 night on the farm.

The lower level teams each played a doubleheader on Monday, going 3-1. New Hampshire got rained out for the second straight day, and Lansing had the day off for the second straight day, while Marc Rzepczynski continued his fine season for Las Vegas.

The Jays' affiliates had an off-day, a postponement, and a suspension. In the remaining 3 games, they went 2-1.

Dunedin won a doubleheader 3-1.  That is they won game one 3-1 and game two by the same score.  Every other affiliate lost.   Fabio Castro had another poor start as Toronto's surplus of young pitchers shrinks again.  Mills, Castro, Cecil, and Purcey have each had their struggles this season.  This is common with young pitchers which is why the Jays say they are targetting 2010.  Dave Delucci had two more hits and is now 6-11 in his last three games, with four of those hits being of the extra base variety.

The Jays' affiliates had more rain-outs (2) than wins (1) on the night. Enough said.