After the Cardinals dispatched the Brewers in the LCS, a considerable fuss was made of Tony LaRussa's managing of the Cardinals bullpen.

At least for one day, Derek Holland is really good.

Albert Pujols is pretty good.

The Toronto Blue Jays have taken 28 year-old righthander Jesse Chavez off the waiver wire from the Kansas City Royals.

Jesse Chavez has pitched for three major league clubs and drafted by two others.

I have an odd theory about why the Texas Rangers, despite their current 0-1 hole, at least seem like a better baseball team than the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Point #1: I think it's pretty clear who, given complete health, the best player on each team is. Albert Pujols (duh) and Josh Hamilton -- in fact, in the past couple of years, both have staked various claims on best player in baseball status. (And Albert may well still be That Guy.)
• Point #2: Pitching has been discussed earlier on this very site, and given the exceptions of of the Cardinals having the better #1 starter (Carpenter) and the Rangers having the better closer (Feliz, though holy crap, Motte can make a guy re-think that!), the staffs are pretty damn well evenly matched.
• Point #3: So here's the interesting question: who ....

Just was thinking about how dominating Bautista has been these last two years and got to thinking about which Jay had the most dominating season (vs teammates) all time? What about by position?

Okay, actuallly two questions. But they're so interrelated, they should count as one as the Cardinals (probably the least strong of the NL playoff teams) take on the Rangers (probably the stromgest of the AL playoff teams) in this year's Fall classic.

1. Which team has the least horrible starting pitching?
2. Which team has the better bullpen?

Let's give the Cardinals the edge in rotation ace and the Rangers the edge in closer. What say you all, noble Bauxites, about the other moundsmen of WS'11?

There are other matchups worth considering ...

Just Tuesday of this week, on this very site, inimitable Bauxite Thomas told the world,

Nelson Cruz continued his attempt to pry the “Mr. October” nickname away from Reggie Jackson with the first walk-off grand slam in postseason history.

While "Whoa" Nellie didn't "slam" anyone this evening, he did fire a three-run jack into the left field belachers in extra frames to propel his Texas teammates to a second-consecutive 7-3 overtime win in the ALCS. (Detroit is now Very Sad.)  And for the record, it is the first time in all of MLB history that one player has hit two extra-inning home runs in the same postseason series, so Cruz's pursuit of becoming Texas' own Senor Octubre is still very much fair game.

The Rangers, now up 3-1 in this series, look to return to the World Series this year (how preternaturally odd that sounds to anyone who's lived in North Texas for more than a year or two) -- they'd be the first AL team to do so, outside of the multi-ringed Yankees, since your 1992-93 Blue Jays.

Today's Question of the Day (essay format, no wrong answers ) ...

Behind the fearsome bat of Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals tied the NLCS at 1 game apiece. Earlier in the day, the Nelson Cruz continued his attempt to pry the “Mr. October” nickname away from Reggie Jackson with the first walk-off grand slam in postseason history. The Rangers now head to Detroit with a 2-0 lead in the ALCS.

First we'll play a little Snakes and Ladders, before looking at some matters relating to The Great Game Itself.

It has long been my custom to examine some odds and ends at the conclusion of the regular season, once the final game is in the books and I've had a chance to update my Big Honking Database.
Today we'll check in with Pythagoras, ancient Sage of Samos.

The Toronto Blue Jays weren't at their most memorable in 2002. I wouldn't even bring them up if it weren't for a few series they won in July. They lost the first game to the Red Sox in SkyDome on July 11th (10-3, with Pete Walker taking the loss), and then won the next three. On the 17th and 18th, Baltimore was in town, and the Jays took both games, and then beat the Orioles again in Baltimore on the 22nd and 24th. (What happened on the 23rd? Rainout?)

Here's why I bring that up.

Many are called but few are chosen. The Jays have approximately two hundred and fifty players under contract at the end of a season when the newly drafted players mix with the no longer rookies. Out of that number only thirty can be chosen to be on the Batters Box Top 30 list. There are many other worthy candidates who just didn't play enough to be recognized or who haven't really matured yet and as a result haven't shown their true potential. 

Last year Justin Nicolino didn't make our top 30, he was too new to the system.  Luis Perez looked to have topped out as a AAA reliever.  Both of those were able to shake-off the disappointment of not making the Batters Box top 30 to shine in 2011. Who will surprise with a break-out in 2012?  Most likely it will be one of the players listed below. If you doubt that, consider that two of the prospects included in last year's feature were Adonis Cardona and Michael Crouse. Following a list of the prospects to watch, this article will conclude with a brief blurb on every player to receive a vote on any of the eight Top 30 lists.

For the first time since 2001, there will be three Game 5’s in the LDS round of the MLB playoffs.

Welcome to the creme de la creme, the number one through ten prospects.  In case you missed it number 11 through 20 are here, and number 21 to 30 are here.

We hope you enjoyed this top 30 and the hope it brings to the future of the Blue Jays organization.   Check back tomorrow for a few who missed the top 30.