Congratulations to Roy Halladay, our 2003 Batter’s Box Blue Jays Major League Player of the Year.

All the way back in October, we asked the Batter’s Box faithful to vote for our Batter’s Box Blue Jays Players Of The Year awards. Dozens of voters responded, each picking one Player of the Year from the Blue Jays, and one Player of the Year from the Blue Jays’ farm system.

Sick of the trade talk? We here at Da Box understand, so Scott Lucas and I have opened new threads. I won't speak for Lucas, ever, but no A-Rod discussion is allowed in my thread. Instead, let's return to unsubstantiated/gut-level predictions for some 2004 Blue Jays. No thinking or research required here (welcome to my world), just ol'-fashioned hunches.

With the current thread approaching a tick-like bloat of 150 posts, it's time for a new thread. Potential topics for discussion:

Is the Onion not only the most accurate newspaper in America, but also the most prescient? Who is that guy at far-right?

How much is the deposed Dan Evans to blame for the Dodgers’ current situation, and what can new GM Paul DePodesta do NOW to improve the team so late in the offseason?

I got engaged on Sunday, just as my favourite team was trading the best player in baseball to my least favourite team. Should I get married this fall or next spring?

Here's a site many of you will enjoy. At JockBio.com -- their slogan is "Get a Life!" -- the latest baseball feature is on Vernon Wells.

This detailed biography was written by Andy Collins, a former sportswriter who now works for a Syracuse ad agency and is a SkyChiefs season-ticket holder. It's especially good as a chronicle of Wells' long journey through the minors. About the only thing missing is Vernon's current role as Blue Jays player rep, which underscores his status as a respected team leader.

There are numerous other sports bios on the site, which also offers its books and memorabilia for sale. Among a couple of dozen on baseball players is a Carlos Delgado feature. In addition to the bios, check out the 'Facts', 'What They Say' and 'My Say' buttons for more information and quotes. Oh, and please don't blame me if you spend a couple of hours there. Our mission here at Da Box is to reduce productivity, one workplace at a time.

No division in baseball has improved more than the AL East this winter. Most observers already considered it the best in the game, and with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, Javy Lopez, Miguel Tejada and Rafael Palmeiro among the newest stars on display, it's not getting any easier for the budget-minded Blue Jays. Can they compete with the big spenders?

Batter’s Box caught up with J.P. Ricciardi last week in his last scheduled visit to Toronto before April. During a whirlwind day, between morning TV interviews and an evening with more than 400 season’s ticket holders, the Blue Jays GM found time to talk to us about the club’s offseason moves and take a look ahead to Dunedin and the 2004 season.

The recent February ennui thread featured a long discussion about the benefits and risks of various drafting strategies, with a few tangents into using minor-league performance to project major-league success. This wasn't the first thread we've had on this subject, and they all tend to get rather repetitive:

Person A: X is true.
Person B: There is no evidence for X. Y is true.
Person C: Y is obviously not true.

[I've partaken in these discussions many times myself, so cut me some slack on the parody.]

Here are some paraphrased assertions from the February ennui thread; we've all heard them stated and denied many times over:

With Spring Training rapidly approaching, and Opening Day not far behind, it's time for many of us to prepare for our fantasy drafts. With most of us in a league or 2 (or more) I'm sure there's a lot of expert analysis in these parts. If you have any fantasy advice, tips, or questions (and aren't afraid to disclose them) feel free to post them in the thread.

In a blockbuster deal that appears to have been struck relatively quickly, Alex Rodriguez has been dealt to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and at least one additional player.

North of the Mason-Dixon Line, most coverage of the swap is centered around the impact on the Evil Empire, whose payroll is now close to $200 million. Largely looked over is what this does for the Rangers. John Hart just got his club off the hook for around $120 million in payments over the next 17 years and in doing so, still managed to acquire a legimate All-Star to complement Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira. The offense will take a bit of a hit but Texas can use this newly found budget room quickly improve its woeful pitching staff and hopefully return to the playoffs quicker than it would have with ARod.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice a couple of new additions to the Box Navigation area on the left. Thanks to the efforts of Gerry McDonald, we've added an organizational Depth Chart, with links to various player pages. It's not 100% accurate, of course, but it's a start. After spring training, it will be modified to reflect who is actually on the rosters, and we'll keep it updated when there are promotions and demotions throughout the season. Obviously, there are no listings yet for Auburn and Pulaski, which will feature mostly players selected in the June draft.

We're also pleased to present a new Frequently Asked Questions page, courtesy of Craig B., the inimitable Answer Man for Da Box. The Analysis link is now called Analysis/Stats, and includes a handy link to Jonny German's recent "Where's Where" of Internet baseball stats. Finally, we invite anyone who wants to get to know the Batter's Box contributors a little better to check out our all-new Roster page, where we share our favourite players, most unshakeable baseball beliefs and other information. We're going to try to get future interview subjects to answer similar questions, and welcome everyone to do the same in this thread.

I somehow got the dates mixed up, and thought that the voting was to start on the 15th of February. It turns out it was supposed to end on the 15th of February. Mea culpa. So I've changed the dates of voting from February 16th to the 18th, to give us a few more days to discuss possible rule changes. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Voting Period Has Started - Current Owners Get Your Ballots in ASAP!

In a news item that may have been overlooked in Canada, the United States has charged four people, including Barry Bonds's personal trainer, with running an illegal drug distribution operation. (Thanks to Mike Green for pointing out the Foxsports.com story on another thread.) It was big enough in the U.S. to be the lede on one of National Public's Radio's hourly news updates, and in this article, Shaun Assael of ESPN's The Magazine offers his opinion. I have serious doubts that Barry Bonds has ever done anything that would possibly harm his body. He's much too intelligent, and he's already good enough; he does not need more of an edge than he already has. Others, though, may feel that need, and they might consider the juice or legal supplements as the answer.

If I ever run for office, I will make sure that Lincoln and Washington's birthdays are separate holidays again here in the states. President's Day my a--. But this holiday is more than just celebrating famous U.S. presidents like Abe Lincoln and FDR; it's also about celebrating some of the medicore ones, like Fillmore and Taylor, Ford and Hayes -- or Harrison, who died in 40 days.

There are some people, regrettably, who do not get Monday off. For them I am truly sorry, for either their company is too stingy, or they have not found the greatest person in the world -- my wife -- to support them while they search for their place in the universe. (Keep away; she's mine.) For some people, though, I am not sorry. I like to call those people "major-league baseball players." Yes, finally, for some teams, it's the start of spring training. Like every Bauxite, I view this news with great joy; I am tired of speculation and rumor: let's get it on already.

The Blue Jays held their annual bash for season-ticket holders tonight at Alice Fazooli's. A lively crowd of more than 400 enjoyed the complimentary food and beverages, then a Q & A session, with Paul Godfrey and J.P. Ricciardi among the head table guests.

Speaking by telephone from Florida, Carlos Tosca said, "Our number one goal, our priority this year, is to get into the playoffs." The skipper believes it will take between 94 and 96 wins, and seems confident that he has the talent. "The biggest key for us to be able to do that is to stay healthy," he explained. "The one thing that we are unable to do that those other ball clubs can, is reload in the middle of the season. If we stay away from key injuries, I don't see any reason why we won't be in the pennant hunt. I will not be satisfied this year if we don't get into the playoffs."

According to the ever-interesting Peter Gammons, the Los Angeles Dodgers have hired Paul DePodesta to be their new General Manager. While Pete's rumour mill is usually about as reliable as the Weekly World News, he rarely gets a news story wrong, so the hiring seems like a go. This opens up any number of interesting points.