Yes, yes, the Yankees have advanced to the American League Championship Series. That's fine. Over here at Minor Matters, however, we care naught for things that concern the big club.

That means today, even with the Bombers off until Friday, big things are going on. The Arizona Fall League begins at 12:35 p.m., when the Phoenix Desert Dogs (which houses the Yankees players) meet the Mesa Solar Sox.

As I mentioned earlier on the blog, the Yankees on the Desert Dogs roster are:

C - Austin Romine
2B - Jose Pirela
OF - Brandon Laird
P - George Kontos
P - Craig Heyer
P - Ryan Pope
P - Manny Banuelos

In today's matchup, Romine, the Thunder's catcher, will face his brother Andrew, an infielder in the Angels system. Without looking it up, I am fairly certain this is the first time the two have met in a professional setting.

Also featured on the Mesa roster are:

- Justin Wilson, the Altoona lefty who sent the Thunder from the Eastern League playoffs.

- Brett Jackson, who, along with Laird was the other minor leaguer to complete a cycle with a walk-off home run. Carlos Gonzalez accomplished the feat in the MLB.

- Chris Carpenter, a Cubs farmhand who was drafted by the Yankees in 2007 (18th round).

- Matt Rizzotti, a slugging Phillies first baseman who hit an astonishing .343/.430/.985 with 17 home runs and 76 RBIs split among three levels.

- Brad Holt, Mesa's opening starter and a Mets prospect who struggled mightily with control (79 walks in 95 innings) and saw his stock fall dramatically.