In his AL Central preview, Alex noted that the Minnesota Twins like to beat the stuffing out of the bad teams, especially the ones in their own division. I thought the whole subject deserved a closer look.

Loyal Bauxite Lyle McRae (lylemcr) just recently  celebrated his first anniversary here on Canada's  Place for Baseball Talk. And now, here's a new thread based on his most recent (and just 20th career!) post ...

Look at the Jays' current 40-man roster. Which players who will be on the roster on Opening Day, will no longer he a Blue Jay come Aug. 1?

Could be a trade, a release, a season-ending injury ... you tell us the circumstances, or let them remain a mystery if you prefer. So take a moment, and list your top five candidates on the 40 who will no longer be a Blue Jay by Aug. 1 ... ready? Go! (And thanks, @Lyle!)

My five are ..

Okay, gentle Bauxites, time for ANOTHER happyfuntime game of Predict the Jays '11!

This time, we're swinging for the fences with this two-part (or is it really 11-part?) question ...

1. How many home runs will the team hit in 2011?
2. Who will the Jays' top ten home run hitters be, and how many will each hit?

This is harder than you'd think. I have a top three combining for 100 and the next seven combining for 70 more. That's right, I see the Jays in 2011 hitting a monster numhber (comparatively) of homers ...

 

Forecasting playing time is fun, isn't it?

Reality check, kids....

So Matthew E got us started on predicting the playing time at third base for the 2011 Jays. Now let's take a step back (or, more accuratbely, forward and to the left) and see how Bauxites think the Jays' 162 pitcher starts this season will be divided up.

There are many options, including, but perhaps not limited to  ...

Edwin Encarnacion drills a two-run shot over the fence and Jonathan Diaz plates the winning two runs with a walk-off single in the ninth.

Phillies 6 - Blue Jays 3.  At least we can say that the Jays' bats showed the first signs of life for 2011.  Sloppy is as sloppy does.  We had more errors than hits through the 7th inning.

One of the last of the Boys of Summer, and a familiar voice and face to Expos fans in their early days, has passed on.

What are you doing under there?

There are seven Jays Spring Training games available from the good people at MLB advanced media this year.  Starting Sunday March 6th against the Pirates.  Altogether there are 150 games being shown this spring, starting this Saturday with the Yankees and Phillies (Colon against Hamels).  The games are available as a freebie if you pony up the $15 for the At Bat app on Apple devices.

With pitchers and catchers already in camp and the balance of the squad arriving on Friday, Dunedin began the annual welcome of the Toronto Blue Jays to this delightful Florida coastal town just west of Tampa Bay.   The traditional welcome of the Jays is the address by a Toronto executive to the Dunedin Council of Organizations (DCO), a 100 strong group of local opinion leaders, community activists and volunteers.

Okay, it's Valentine's Day, so 'fess up ... who's your all-time baseball "crush"?

Not your favorite player, necessarily; not even necessarily a player on your favorite team. In fact, let's make that a rule -- step outside the "family" boundaries of your favorite team(s) and tell us who that one player is who, for whatever reason (one you might not even be able to articulate) you just could not help yourself, you had to root for him.

For me? That's easy. It was The Red Baron himself -- Thurman Clyde "Rusty" Greer ...

I dislike second-guessing the manager. I really do. Usually, I can understand his reasoning even if I don't necessarily agree with it. I can figure out what he's probably thinking. I'm also aware that he knows lots and lots of stuff that I don't know.
 - Me, while ripping John Gibbons a brand new orifice for a decision I didn't like a whole lot.

Answer me these questions three
Ere the other side you see
---- Tim The Enchanter

Here's a Pinch Hit from intrepid correspondent Ron.