2004 was a great honeymoon year for the National’s and their new city. Fans came out in droves to RFK stadium, with attendance averaging close to 35,000 a game. The team was not expected to do much at all, but got off to a good start and then rode a hot streak of one-run wins to first place in June. They weren’t good enough to stay there long, and when the one-run voodoo turned on them in July they gradually slipped back to finish at 81-81. Still much better than had been expected going into the season.

Canada's triumph over the U.S. yesterday left them on a high. Will their confidence lead to a victory over Mexico? Or will tonight find a complacent Canadian team hurt by a Mexican romp?

Join Batter's Box Roster members, including Coach Kent himself, for drinks, food, and camaraderie at Philthy McNasty's (276 King Street in Toronto - the old Peel Pub location) today at 8:00 PM for the inaugural 2006 Blue Jays Beer Club meeting. (The reservation is under the name "Batter's Box.")

Please RSVP in this thread if you're coming!

John Sickels has been posting his 'Top 20' prospect lists for each team over at his website. He finished up the final teams this weekend so I decided it'd be interesting to try to quantify his rankings.

There was an upset in the first competitive WBC game this morning as South Korea beat Japan 3-2 on a 2-run 8th inning homer by Lee Seung-Yeop. Chan Ho Park, who has looked relatively impressive in the tournament, retired Ichiro Suzuki for the final out as he picked up the save. There was a defensive gem as South Korean right fielder Lee Jin-Young made a diving catch with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the fourth. That play kept South Korea in the game.

The 2005 Met team performed about as expected, scoring 722 runs and allowing 648, but posting only 83 wins, despite the solid run differential. Like the Jays, the Mets responded this off-season by upgrading the bullpen, with the acquisition of Billy Wagner the highlight. Wagner’s arrival, along with the fire sale acquisition of Carlos Delgado from the Marlins, have fans of the lesser New Yorkers feeling as optimistic as they can be. Will it be enough to end the Braves’ dynasty?

There is no simpler team in the majors to write a preview of than the San Francisco Giants. If Barry Bonds is healthy, the Giants will compete for the NL West crown. If he is not healthy, they will be under .500, positing to their fans the merits of attending a game in the 59-degree, foggy, windy evenings in the China Basin as opposed to attending a game in the 59-degree, foggy, windy evenings at Candlestick Point.

Well, that was easy! You may now enjoy the rest of the day, exonerated from my pith.

Today's Preview, the Cardinals, is a Pinch Hit. It was submitted by (and in fact, solicited from) frequent poster and notorious Durazo apologist Newton.

St. Louis: No Longer a Full House but Still a Winning Hand

Coming off an impressive 100 win season in 2005, the Cards' roster underwent significant turnover during the offseason. With three new positional regulars, a new member of the starting rotation, and a re-tooled bench and bullpen, can the Cards reach the century mark again in 2006? Let’s take a look, shall we.

Houston couldn’t best the White Sox in the World Series but had an equally amazing run. Can they do it again minus (for now) Roger Clemens?

The Blue Jays play their first spring training game today against the Tampa Bay Rays, have they dropped the Devil yet? It has been five months since the Jays played a serious game, by opening day it will be six.

Welcome to the newest member of the Batter's Box roster, Matthew Elmslie. As one member of the editorial staff opined in an e-mail recently, "In addition to being an author on Blue Jay Way, Matthew has been one of our favourite contributing readers on Batter's Box for as far back as we can remember."

Of course, any time we add a new name to the lineup, I start thinking in terms of the Batter's Box standard "Hall of Names." And Matthew Elmslie, well, that gives us two or, uh, tree good possibilities. That's right, it's time to meet ...

Ace? Check. Winner? Check. Dominating? Not exactly, but two out of three aint bad. After a solid year in 2005 with the Braves, Tim Hudson is probably the best current starter in mid-career if we count Pettitte and Pedro Martinez as being in late career. Does he have a chance at the Hall?

It's spring! So it's time for Batter's Box to throw out our first pitch. Here begins our series of season previews, with a look at the defending world champion Chicago White Sox!

Speak up. Is there anyone out there who had ever heard that phrase before this past October?

Today is not February 29, though I suspect many of you will write that date at the top of a check or the outside of a bluebook before turning it in at some point.

Who knew -- or frankly, even suspected -- that date would also provide an interesting, if not quite complete, lineup of players born as "leap babies" and who leapt all the way to The Show? There are even a couple of All-Stars, which is more than many dates that show up more than once every four years can claim.

Let's meet this short but interesting list of February 29th's Hall of Names roster, which we will of course dub ...

Has everyone forgotten my challenge to Aaron? I sure hope so because 2005 wasn't pretty for me, and 2006 looks worse.

39 of the 52 returning BBFL owners partook in Democracy's Greatest Adventure: the annual voting on rule changes. Owners resoundingly approved two changes to league administration and defeated two proposals regarding game play.