Rob Cosby had a big day as the Fisher Cats won. Auburn came from behind to also win. Otherwise three losses made it a 2-3 day. With just over three weeks left in the season, three teams are in the playoff hunt.

The farm affiliates pulled out all the dramatic cliches en route to a 5-1 evening. Big leads almost blown in the nervous ninth. Walk-off homers. Walk-off baserunner kills. Let's hope the big boys were watching.

Baltimore loses 12-0. Bluefield loses 9-0. Oh well. At least David Newhan is out of Ottawa. A 4-2 Friday night for the affiliates.

Look here. The calendar tells me that it's August, which means that it's 3 months until Rule 5 draft. It was a non-event last year, with the exception of Kansas City's selection of Andy Sisco, but who knows what this year holds.

The farm affiliates went 3-3 on the evening with a 9th inning Doubleday uprising being the highlight.

Bad night for the pitchers, as both starters and relievers conspired to give up the go-ahead runs in 4 out of 5 games played. Only Auburn escaped with a victory last night. There were some sterling starting performances ruined when a starter went back to the mound once too often or the relievers couldn't get the job done. Some nights, both sides of the coin come up tails.

5 wins, 1 loss. Chad Mottola, Ryan Roberts, Adam Lind, Eugenio Velez, Nick Thomas, Leance Soto and Paul Franko all homered.

The Rookie level Pulaski Blue Jays kicked off their 2005 campaign with a loss to the Danville Braves on June 20. It’s been a tough season for a club that is accustomed to finding itself at or near the top of the standings. An 18-21 record through July 31 had Pulaski sitting in 3rd place, with the Princeton Devil Rays between themselves and the division leading Braves.

The Blue Jay farm takes 3 and drops 3, with more pitching than hitting.

Two wins and four losses, but two teams have moved into first place in their divisions. Zach Jackson had his best AAA start, as did Ricky Romero in high A, but Eric Fowler was better. Rob Cosby had a home run among his three hits.

Well, since Mike D's interview with these players gives more information about their character, potential and projectability than 178 plate appearances in a short-season league five steps below Toronto, there's not much I can say about this team that could improve on Mike's excellent work out on Coney Island. You're invited to read along, anyway.

As I write this, Auburn is off the pace of their previous Atlanta Braves-style seasons, as they are only 20-21. However, that is enough to top the Pinckney Division, even though the last place team is only 2.5 games worse. It will be an interesting stretch drive for Auburn -- their season ends September 8th, or about five weeks from now. But for now, let's take a look at how the Doubledays did in June and July. (This review includes the first three Blue Jay picks of the 2005 draft, if you're wondering.)

It has been an unusual year for Dunedin. Prospects have come and gone faster than a Grade 7 romance. Zach Jackson, Dustin McGowan, David Purcey, Casey Janssen, Ryan Roberts, Clint Johnston, Chip Cannon. Thanks for the memories. It was real. Still, the Baby Jays find themselves in early August in a race for the second-half division title, 1/2 game behind first-half champ Lakeland and a game ahead of the hard-charging Fort Myers Miracle.

Shaun Marcum got back on the rails last night, while Casey Janssen keeps on trucking. Hmm, maybe I need a travelling holiday. The farm boys, as my spouse calls them, went 2-4 on the evening.

That's the sound of offensive explosions reverberating all the way through the Blue Jays' system, including an incredible 9th inning for New Hampshire, an amazing 10th inning for Auburn, and yet another stupendous performance by Adam Lind. All this, and Josh Banks pitches his best game of the year. Could anything ruin this night? Only some spoilsports in Pulaski.

Five wins for the affiliates, with the only loss coming on a balk. There was a cornucopia of excellent performances last night. New Hampshire scored four runs in the first inning which might be a bigger surprise than Auburn scoring 14 or Lansing scoring 16. Two minor leaguers, Justin Singleton and Ryan Klosterman, each went 4-4. Guillermo Quiroz hit two home runs. Francisco Rosario pitched 2.1 hitless innings for his first save of the year. The best pitchers on the three lowest teams, Chi-Hung Cheng, Robert Ray and Jesse Litsch all won as they had a combined 38 runs scored for them. Both Lansing and Pulaski defeated Burlington.