Auburn were the only winners this night but they did win big with good pitching and hitting.  The starting pitchers for the top three teams had bad nights, Jamie Vermilyea, Michael MacDonald and Billy Carnline as each of those teams lost handily.  Lansing had good pitching but no offense while Pulaski made a late run only to have the tying run be thrown out at the plate to end the game. 

Lansing had the day off, three teams wish they weren't shut out, and I wish my Internet connection was faster. I should have driven to Syracuse to get the scores; it would have saved time.

The lone minor league win last night was a dramatic one as David Smith hit a walk off home run as the affiliates went 1-4-1 on the night.

Syracuse gave up 21 hits yesterday, the most they have allowed all season, and won in a cakewalk.  Richmond and Syracuse combined for 26 hits in the game.  There were a lot of ugly innings but most were allowed by the affiliates and the Chiefs were the only winners.  Dunedin, Lansing, Auburn and the Chiefs all allowed the opponents to score in double digits.

Last weekend my wife and I spent a few days in New Hampshire, a trip that included four Fisher Cat games.  Merchantsauto.com stadium, otherwise known as the home of the Fisher Cats, is new and beautiful and a great setting for baseball.  During my visit the Fisher Cats were playing Portland, the RedSox AA affiliate, and the park was full with 7000 fans of both teams.  On our last night we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, just over the left field wall.  We had to have a room with a ballpark view and it is a treat to look out your hotel room window and see a gorgeous ballpark.  This trip summary is the first of a series of New Hampshire stories this week.  Tomorrow we will have an interview with Jesse Litsch, Wednesday an interview with Fisher Cat pitching coach Dave LaRoche, and Thursday an interview with Michael MacDonald.

Lydon continues to shine on Green Days, as the farm affiliates went 2-4 on Saturday night.

Aside from Dunedin splitting a doubleheader, Pulaski was the only team who didn't lose last night, and they did some crazy stuff.

The farm affiliates went 2-3 on the evening.

At the all-star break Syracuse are last in their division, again, a source of great disappointment for the players, the teams few fans in Syracuse, and the Blue Jay organization and their fans.  In broad terms, to be successful a baseball team needs to be above average in two or three of hitting, pitching and fielding.  The Chiefs are above average in none of these categories and, as a result, the team's record at the break is 40-50, eleven games back of the division leader.

It was the All-Star Break for both the Triple-A and Double-A teams last night, leaving four games (and four wins). It's easy for the organization to sweep when Syracuse doesn't play. (And if you can believe it, not one of the six teams played on Tuesday. Let's see if we still remember how to do this.)

April was bad. May was good. June? Not so much.

Since our last update at the end of May, the Lugnuts have completed the first half of the season by qualifying for the playoffs in second place just behind West Michigan. There have been a number of personnel changes on the club, particularly to the pitching staff.

The Blue Jay farm chalks up 3 wins against 2 losses.

As of Monday afternoon Dunedin sat tied for first place in the West Division of the Florida State League with the Tampa Yankees. They also finished the first-half in a tie for first place with Minnesota’s affiliate, the Fort Myers Miracle. Dunedin lost their last three games of the year to finish at 38-32. Fort Myers also last their last game, blowing a chance to win the West Division, as Dunedin won the tiebreaker.