After a five year stay in Toronto, Lyle Overbay is heading back to the National League after inking a one year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates last month.

Overbay gets ready for action against the Orioles on 80's Night at the Dome July 26th.

A quick look at the rosters as they stand for the AL East teams.

After two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers -- Trevor Hoffman never did look quite right in that uniform -- baseball’s all-time saves leader (with 601!) has announced that he's hanging 'em up before the 2011 season gets underway. As one wire service put it so aptly, he's "thrown his final changeup, deciding at age 43 to retire and return to the San Diego Padres in a front office job." Hey, he's been "retiring" hitters regularly for so many years -- it's about time he took a stab at this "retiring" thing hissownself!

I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain
I'm coming on like a hurricane
My lightning's flashing across the sky
You're only young but you're gonna die
I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives
Nobody's putting up a fight
I got my bell I'm gonna take you to hell

The Cincinnati Reds have signed former Jays outfielder Fred Lewis to a one-year deal worth $900,000 according to MLB.com.  He joins World Series MVP Edgar Renteria as the veteran shortstop also signed on with the Reds.

Fred Lewis takes off his gloves as he prepares to take to the field against the Los Angeles Angels at the Dome April 18th.

In yesterday's thread about the greatest Jay of all time, greenfrog described Roy Halladay as the most "all-around enjoyable Blue Jay to watch."

Magpie suggested Tony Castillo (as well as Jesse Barfield, Tom Henke, and Paul Molitor). He also thought this might be a worthy thread.

I agree.

The Star today has a feature on the greatest Blue Jay in light of Roberto Alomar's election to the Hall of Fame.  Dave Perkins and Richard Griffin, as well as four nameless fans, pick their greatest Blue Jay.  The six Jays mentioned in the story are Dave Steib; Carlos Delgado; Roberto Alomar; Roy Halladay; John Olerud and Cito Gaston.

Not mentioned are Tony Fernandez; George Bell; Jesse Barfield or Jimmy Key.

So I was skimming Bert Blyleven's Baseball-Reference.com page the other day, contemplating his upcoming Hall of Fame induction (conclusion: borderline "belongs" but I'm glad he's in -- I'm a "Big Hall" guy) when my eyes began to scan the "Transactions" list near the bottom of that page. By quick count, Bert was involved in five trades involving more than 30 other players (a few of whom never did make it to the big leagues) ... with that realization, my Hall of Names brain immediately leapt to "could we possibly build a full roster from that list?"

Not only CAN we, but it's really an outstanding team overall ...

A week or so ago, Mick "the King of Names" Doherty noted that this is the Slow Season around these parts, and it might be fun if we were to recycle some pieces we'd done before.

You know. Something to do, while we stare out the window and wait for spring.

Did you know there are still 91 free agents available on the MLB winter market? Sure, some of these guys are going to  either retire by choice (Andy Pettitte?) or "retire"  through lack of interest.

ABut amost 100? Really? Yes, it's true. And while it's also true that most of the big names and stars (not always the same thing!) have been snapped up, we could build two pretty decent 25-man rosters (divided by league, of course) with careful attention to that list. Let's take a look at one version of what's possible, then we'll have a few quick questions for you to consider and answer.

A good question was asked in the Roberto Alomar HOF thread about what the Jays got for their stars back in the 1992-1995 period when the super team was taken apart. Good ol' Baseball Reference has a full list of transactions and draft picks so we can check and feel sad about how little was gained for so much.

The big news just came in. Robbie Alomar is now officially the first Blue Jay in the Hall Of Fame thanks to his "consistence excellence", according to the HOF dude. Alomar got 90% of the vote while Blyleven received 79.7%. Barry Larkin, Jeff Bagwell and Jack Morris are among those who didn't make the cut, and we'll update the vote totals when those become available.

Dirk Hayhurst has announced he won’t be returning to the Blue Jays organization for 2011. However, he left an undeniable mark on the Toronto sports scene during his two years in the organization and I am sure most Blue Jays fans won’t forget Dirk Hayhurst for a long time.

Question of the Day ...
What baseball-related "New Year's resolutions" should various members -- players, management, front office -- of Team Blue Jay carry into 2011? Be as creative and inventive as you like (but let's stay away from the snarky and rude, hey?)

Sidebar question of the day ...
What baseball-related resolutions do YOU have in 2011? (Note, as long as you're writing about yourself, snarky and rude are just fine!)

Know someone who was borrn yesterday, Jan. 1, 2011 (1-1-11)? Well, don't start projecting that youngster into a Blue Jays uniform just yet -- it's pretty unlikely! Here's what I mean ...

Originally published Dec. 31, 2004. This story has been slightly modified and re-edited for today's encore presentation here.

It's New Year's Eve, from Toronto to here in D/FW, out toward Cali, and by the time most of you read this, it will be the new year in places like Seattle, Vancouver and Honolulu.  In that spirit, see if you can't find a minute or two today to offer New Year's wishes to your fellow Bauxites, using the below format (yes, that's still the challenge!), made possible by the miracle workers at Baseball-Reference.com:

First, some advice ... if you need a little pick-me-up in order to find your bliss on New Year's day ...