As has so often been the case this year.

It is the third and final day of the draft.  Rounds 31 through 50 are today although not every team will continue to pick through round 50.  In general teams will be looking to fill short-season rosters today and maybe pick some players who they will watch between now and August 15th to see if they want to sign them.

Minor league camp for the short season teams starts this weekend with the season starting later next week so there is not much time for the teams to get organized.  With the Jays selecting so many high school players this year some may not sign, some might sign late and the Jays might follow some to see how much money they are worth.  For more on player intentions see down below.

Brad Emaus hasn't been up at Las Vegas very long, but he seems to have figured AAA out already. Meanwhile, another Brad contributed to a victory in Dunedin on a night when two of the affiliates were resting.

Good ol' Baseball Reference has just eaten up more of my time. They added WAR (Wins Above Replacement) ratings for all of the Jays era and beyond. So, who are the best Jays by this measure and do we agree with it at all?

The good people at Information is Beautiful linked to some sports-related stuff today, here. Some of it's baseball-related, but it's this one that captured my attention. It's an attempt to display, visually and intuitively, how much fan support major league baseball teams get relative to the size of their market and their won-lost record and what have you. (The formula is given.)

...who's that team bringing up the rear?

Oh.

Bauxite China Fan requested an Eveland-discussion thread, so here ya go! Discuss!

Quick now, how many AL hitters with 30+PA this year are younger than Travis Snider?

Answer: 1 - Elvis Andrus.

How many with at least 1 PA this year? Answer- still only one.

Two excellent pitching performances and some excellent hitting helped Dunedin and Lansing to wins.  New Hampshire won despite a weak start by Bobby Bell while Las Vegas were fogged out.  Henderson Alvarez gave up one run over seven innings while Ryan Tepera did better, shutting down Bowling Green over seven innings with only three hits allowed.  On the hitting side Mark Sobolewski and Tyler Pastornicky were the stars, neither of them made on out on Saturday.  Pitchers have perfect games, hitters don't but these two had perfect Saturday's.  Eric Thames, David Cooper, Tim Collins, Daniel Perales, Travis D'Arnaud and Bradley Glenn also played well.

Ubaldo Jimenez just threw a no-hitter at a pretty good Braves line-up. As a young pitcher with a crazy motion, I'm sure some Rockies fans will be wringing their hands at the 128 pitches he needed to overcome 6 walks, but for the moment I'm sure everyone is just enjoying the moment.

So, did anyone watch the game?

Well, the good folks over at the World-Wide Leader have graced the Internets with the first in-season ranking of all 30 MLB teams.

Let's look at some of the biggest changes after Week 1; your thoughts and opinions are welcome of course.

Let's cut right to the chase ... the AL East has four of the top nine teams ranked, including your Blue Jays at a hale and hearty #8 ...

The rules are simple: 20 Bauxites enter, 1 leaves. Wait, no, that was the BBUFC tournament I hosted that nobody came to.

Monday Night Update: get your entries in by midnight Tuesday! I'm bumping this thread to the top because it's gotten buried.

It's common knowledge that the Yankees do not use Mariano Rivera in the same way that the Athletics used Rollie Fingers back in the day. Just how different are the ways that closers have been used through the years?

Just a quick thread to help everyone enjoy opening day as Wells & Lind hit home runs to start things off in a good way.

Though the main focus of this site is the Toronto Blue Jays and their farm system, I thought I'd take up a different aspect of what was the original “mandate” of Batter's Box. This was meant to be a home for baseball from a Canadian perspective, and it is worthwhile shining a light on the next crop of ballplayers that will join the likes of Martin, Morneau, Votto and Harden in the big leagues.

Baseball season, kids! That was summer in the air this afternoon! Feel the excitement! Catch the taste!