Sorry kids, no Pixies or Haircut 100 references today. I do have some Jays articles, tho.

Top prospect lists always catch my attention. Over the past few months I have seen lists from Baseball America, John Sickels, and yesterday Baseball Prospectus. I always check the lists to see how Blue Jay prospects rate and wonder if the Jays, as an organization, have a strong system. However my excitement is tempered by the knowledge that these lists, and organization rankings, have little meaning from a major league perspective. No matter how many "names" your team has on a list there are no guarantees. Many of us are excited with the thought of Alexis Rios, Guillermo Quiroz, Dustin McGowan and Gabe Gross becoming Blue Jay regulars by 2005. But then reality hits me upside the head saying "nothing is sure", and the realization that, on average, one or two of them will crash and burn.

ESPN offers its first Power Rankings today and the Blue Jays merit ninth place. In Buster Olney's opinion, the "Jays will cause problems for the Red Sox and Yankees, but a couple of pitching injuries would be devastating."

The Jays' AL East foes New York and Boston top the list, followed by the Phillies and Cubs, with Detroit logically anchored at the bottom.

A few other thoughts:

Only after you've read Jonny German's splendid piece on the Padres should you read what the local fishwrap is saying about the Jays. What are they saying about the Jays anyway?

When I was younger, the time between the end of one Jays' season and the beginning of the next was of indeterminate length, a span which contained within itself school and Christmas. These filled time effectively, but never truly filled the void.

Now I fill the same period with school, Christmas, and work; the void within me remains empty, bereft of substance. But like the fat man's stomach, growling loudly at the sight of a Tim Horton's sign, the void knows it will soon be filled.

Baseball is coming.

Once again, it's one of my throw out a bunch of articles and see what sticks threads. Here's what various media outlets are talking about when they're talking about the Jays.

Some folks like the Blue Jays' farm system more than others. At Baseball America, the Jays don't yet rank in the organizational Top Five; we'll have to wait till the 2004 Prospect Handbook is released to see where the club placed. But over at Baseball Prospectus, Toronto has made some true believers: a whopping six of their Top 50 Prospects are in the Blue Jays system.

A day after the welcome news that Roy Halladay is taking minor-leaguers under his wing, Spencer Fordin reports from Dunedin that another Blue Jay hurler is sharing his wisdom with his new teammates. Miguel Batista, who calls Curt Schilling "the master of the mind game," is willing to pass on a few things he's learned. This can only be a good thing for Aquilino Lopez, who replaces the questionable influence of Kelvim Escobar with a true mentor.

Batista has earned all his knowledge the old-fashioned way: He asked for it. He's gone out of his way to pick the brains of all-time greats, and not just ex-teammates like Schilling or Randy Johnson. In a brief conversation, Batista mentioned advice he's gleaned from a trio of Hall-of-Famers: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver.

Fordin fans will be pleased to know that Spencer knocks the dirt off his cleats and steps into Da Box for a three-part interview, beginning tomorrow.

Normally I'm not big on intangibles, but you have to like to read about Halladay's leadership on the team. The Star had a piece on Halladay leading workouts with several of the Jays top pitching prospects which Doc has dubbed 'The Breakfast Club'.

You've heard the rumours, seen the telltale signs, read the writing on the wall. I'm here to tell you it's all true. No no no, not that bunk about the Cabal. Not the hearsay about Moffatt threatening to walk if the Cabal doesn't properly acknowledge his personal "Economic Impact" round here. Not even the gossip about Jordan’s... well, you know as well as I do, and it's pure fiction anyways.

Thanks to Gary Geiger Counter over at Primer for drawing this to my attention. The Providence Journal had a great article on Sunday about William E. White, who was recently established by SABR researchers as the first black player in the major leagues. It was long believed that Fleet Walker of Toledo in 1884 was the first black player, but White (who previously was a "mystery player", one of those guys from the 19th century about whom nothing was known) played one National League game, at first base for the Providence Grays in 1879.

White's story is fascinating, and definitely not to be missed. Do yourself a favour and take five or ten minutes for the article. It's worth it. Incidentally, GGC's excellent blog, Baseball History, has lots of excellent baseball history stuff in the archives.

There's been a conspicuous lack of Blue Jays talk on Batter's Box over the last few days. I thought I'd try and change that by posting some stories you may have missed.

When it comes to fielding metrics, there seem to be more and more on the market these days. The Raindrops is a Mets-focused blog. The author takes a look at various defensive metrics, using new Mets centrefielder Mike Cameron, and attempts to integrate them (and express the results in runs saved/cost versus average).

On the whole, he does a very good job. There are a few caveats to heed when you read through the article:

Now, I'm as big a Yankees fan as you'll find anywh ... well, here on Da Box, anyway. And in just over a month, I'll post the 2004 "Yankees Season Preview" as part of that ongoing Box series.

In the meantime, can someone please stop this "Is this the greatest offensive lineup ever put together?" hoo-ha? Or is there some chance that it actually might be?

Let's take a look, with a nod to what is generally considered the best offensive gathering of the last half of the 20th century (the 1976 Cincinnati Big Red Machine) and what is generally considered the best offensive gathering of the first half of the 20th century (the 1927 New York Murderer's Row Yankees).

That's right ...

That's what Greg Maddux might be humming to himself today, as the future Hall of Famer has returned to the windy city where his career began, signing a three-year, $24M contract with the Cubs. Personally, I think the deal is one year too long, but the per-season price is about right for a pitcher who's still solid, but is not the Cy Young favourite he once was. The signing also has a full-circle symmetry to it that I like.