Bob Elliot has posted a helpful article detailing the over 20 names that the Jays have already or will be interviewing to be the team’s manager in 2011.

Okay, we here at Da Box -- for good reason -- have not posted a "Game Thread" since the Canada/South Africa World Cup game in March 2006. The last major league game thread was in May 2005. So let's see how this goes.

The Yankees are in the ALCS, and I take it as a given that every Bauxite here (except me) wants them to lose horribly and tragically. They're playing the (holy crap!) Rangers, my hometown team. For the record -- no, I haven't actually decided to root for one or the other, but rather will be in the awkward fan position of wanting both teams to do well. Hometown vs. long-time favorite? That's a no-lose, and I will definitely have a dog in this year's World Series hunt.

Most of the expert projections I have heard and read so far lean to the Yankees, giving them a position-by-position edge pretty much everywhere except CF (Hamilton over Granderson), RF (Cruz over Swisher) abd DH (Vlad over anyone the Yankees toss out there). Everyone gives bullpen and bench to the Yankees, and most give rotation that direction, too. I might disagree at shortstop, catcher (Posada has really fallen off a cliff, and I don't mean Lee, but speaking of Lee), maybe about the rotation too.

A final question -- and I don't know the answer or have any idea how to look it up. Tonight's starting pitching matchup, initially speaking, pits C.C. Sabathia against C. J. Wilson. Is this the first time in baseball history that a post-season game has posted two double-initial monikered guys against each other? Magpie, any thoughts?

Personal projection: the Rangers run wild on Posada, get two wins from Lee and one each from WIlson and Colby Lewis, and the Rangers advance to sure annihilation by the Phillies. (Can't quite break the long North Texas haseball habit of gloom and doom ...)

It's that time of year again... the time when I discover Da Box readers are way smarter than me so what am I doing writing anything.

Dane Johnson is a regular visitor with us here at Batters Box.  We last talked with Dane in June and while Dane was in town recently for the end-of-season awards we sat down with him to talk about the 2010 season.

... is two million people in North Texas simultaneously saying "holy crap!"

Rangers win ... Rangers win!
Wait ... Rangers win? Rangers win???

The only team in the history of major league baseball to have never won a post-season series has ... well, won a post-season series. A series in which the home team posted an inglorious 0-5 record.

As a North Texan, I have nothing further to say. There are no words. Justin Smoak can become a 14-time All-Star in Seattle, and the Cliff Lee trade is still worth it.

P.S. I'm not sure yet, but I think I'll still be rooting for the Yankees in the next round. Shhhh. Don't tell my wife!

Doug Davis, the Blue Jays Minor League Field Coordinator was in Toronto recently for the Webster Award presentation.  Batters Box managed to get some time from Doug to discuss the 2010 season.

Doc vs. The Freak

In my humble opinion, they're the two best pitchers in major league baseball right now. Given a choice between the two of them to start a pitching staff, factoring in age, current cost, etc. -- hell, I don't have a single clue which one I'd go with.

The 2010 National League Championship Series (NLCS) looks to start with a matchup of Tim "The Freak" Lincecum for the San Francisco Giants facing off with Roy "Doc" Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies. Could there possibly be a more exciting starting pitching matchup in this year's post-season? (Sorry, Cliff Lee, apologies Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels).What do you foresee in this year's NLCS, Bauxites?

Long-time (and original) Bauxite Mike Green recently posted thus,
Jimmy McMath passed away recently.  Short career, but great name, and what town would have a high school named "Druid"?

Putting aside the second part of his post (for now, anyway), I was of course struck by the phrase "but great name" -- and indeed it was. It made me wonder, from a Hall of Names perspective -- and I got nothin' here, really -- have there been enough players with names that sound like high school core courses to fill out a whole schedule, or even a whole roster?

I'll be thinking that over in Kelly Shoppach class. Surely you can be more creative than that, Bauxites ... whatchagot?

So the other day I was watching the Braves and Giants and listening to the announcers wax poetic about wonderful Rookie of the Year co-favorites Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. And suddenly, in a Hall of Names dither, I found myself wondering, "Is Posey the first 'Buster' in major league history?" I couldn't think of any others, but (continuing and perpetual) thanks to our friends at BaseballReference.com, I discovered I was quite wrong about that.

In fact, there have been no less than 19 major league Busters in the history of the great game, one of whom even managed for a brief spell. (It's true, there hasn't been even one before Posey since 1958, and most were far earlier in the game's canon.) Now, 19 ain't near enough to fill a full roster, but let's see if we can't at least work through a full lineup card and sort out some pitching options; let's meet the team that will bear the name (sorry about this) ...

Alex Gonzalez and the Atlanta Braves saved us from the prospect of three sweeps in the first round of the playoffs.  It was an improbable win for the Braves in many respects.  They were down 4-1 with Brian Wilson, San Francisco's closer, on the mound and Atlanta's offense is one of the weakest in the playoffs.  Once the Braves tied it Billy Wagner has to leave with an injury and their fate rests with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound, the Farnsworth who not known as a big game pitcher.  That view looked to be confirmed when he hit Freddy Sanchez.  The Braves options looked bleaker when Buster Posey was up with the bases loaded and one out.  Posey grounded the ball to Troy Glaus, who has not played much third this season, and Glaus passed up on the play at home and went around the horn for an inning ending double play.

The Top 30 prospects series demonstrated the strength of the Blue Jays minor league system compared to the past couple of seasons. Several prospects were left off the Top 30 list who would have been comfortable inclusions a year or two ago. Given the depth of the system, the Minor League Crew decided to profile some additional prospects worth keeping an eye during the offseason and coming year. This list is in alphabetical order and shouldn't necessarily be considered the next 9 best prospects in the system. Rather, these are names that we highlighted, some familiar and some not so familiar, who are some of the players who could move onto the Top 30 list at the end of the 2011 season.

The 2010 off-season for the Blue Jays has begun with infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir being claimed on waivers by the San Diego Padres.  The POTD captures the Mississippi native against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, during interleague play at the Rogers Centre earlier this season.

Today we wrap up our 2010 Blue Jays Top Prospects 30 with numbers 10-1. For 30-21 click here. For 20-11 click here.

... is pretty good.

Welcome to Doctober!

Today we look at the prospects rated at 20 though 11. For prospects 30-21 click here.