by Leigh Sprague

We have a Pinch Hit today from Leigh Sprague, who will be familiar to you all from his posts on Batter's Box. Welcome Leigh! He writes "suffering a horid case of BWS (Baseball Withdrawal Syndrome), I decided to dive headlong into the Manager Stats on Baseball-Reference.com..."

Well we've hit the mystical 116 comments in the old HC thread, so I'm opening another for discussion of today's events from the Louisiana swamps.

USA Today reports that Dan Plesac has decided to retire. He went out on top: the Phillies wanted him back, and were about to offer him salary arbitration.

Something I didn't know: he was the last pitcher to record an out at Veterans Stadium (the Phils are moving to a new park in 2004).

Plesac goes out of the game the way he did everything else - with class. I, for one, wish the two-time Blue Jay the best of luck in everything he does after baseball.

According to reports first broken on The Score and ESPN, now confirmed by The FAN 590, the Jays got their man. Miguel Batista becomes the nominal #2 starter in a vastly improved Toronto rotation.

The former Diamondback righty, a capable replacement for the departed Kelvim Escobar, brings a very different presence to the clubhouse. Financial details haven't been announced yet, but it's supposedly a three year deal, and you can be sure that it's for a few million less than Escobar received from the Angels.

In a series of clever moves that began last summer, J.P. and company have also bolstered the bullpen, brought a popular former Cy Young winner home, added a promising lefthanded starter and scored a couple of high draft picks. The net cost? Shannon Stewart, who wasn't going to return anyway, considering the wealth of outfield talent in the system. Just two more minor moves are expected; another reliever and a backup infielder will be signed with the remaining $2-3 million in the budget.

Despite a payroll that may be less than 25% of what the Yankees will spend, the 2004 Jays could make their AL East rivals very nervous. I can't wait for spring training.

This just in -- Mike Wilner will be joining Bill Hayes to take baseball calls on The FAN 590 for an hour, starting in just a few minutes at 8:00. It's 416-870-0590 or 1-888-666-0590 to call in with your questions, and according to R Billie, there's a breaking report on The Score that the Jays have signed Miguel Batista! Let's hope Mike has the details.

If you can't get the station, you can listen live on the Internet by clicking the above link.

Geoff Baker confirms some of the rumours that have been floating around in a few threads here : The Jays are trying to sign Miguel Batista before this weekend's baseball winter meetings.

Apparently J.P phoned Batista's agent just before his appearance on The Fan yesterday and has "has offered the Batista camp deals ranging from two to three years in length and varying in annual salary", Batista is looking for 3 years and $12m +.

Matthew Elmslie, an astute Jays fan and frequent visitor to this site, takes a thoughtful look back at the Gord Ash era in his latest column at Blue Jay Way. This isn't entirely about the ex-GM; it's an entertaining recap of the highlights and lowlights, on and off the field, during his tenure. There are many other great lines I could have quoted, but this summary of Ash's weaknesses had me nodding in agreement:

Gord Ash does not understand certain realities about how baseball games are won and lost. He doesn’t understand the importance to an offense of plate discipline. He doesn’t understand how players’ talents decline with age. He doesn’t understand how talent is distributed among ballplayers. He hasn’t shown any special ability to identify real prospects. And he doesn’t understand that rebuilding has different stages, and that the stages can’t be skipped over.

I had given up on the Blue Jays ever returning to Gillick-era glory under the man Elmslie calls "out of his depth," only to have my optimism rekindled when Paul Godfrey made his best decision as team president. Though there's been a positive, exciting change in direction over the past two years, it's too soon to put the Ricciardi plan in a similar box -- I hope Matt doesn't write that piece for quite some time.

The Winter Meetings in Nawlins (that's "New Orleans," for those of you unfamiliar with the Cajun of Loozyana) are just 24 hours away, and all signs are that it's going to be a barn-burner. A probable new Boston home for Alex Rodriguez, the predictable subsequent eruptions from Mount Steinbrenner, and a Guerrero-centric shopping spree in Baltimore figure to be the backdrop of one the busiest and most entertaining meetings in years. It will not be lost on Bauxites that all three of these developments concern the AL East -- but them's the cards the Jays have been dealt. By the time these meetings end, Toronto should have come away with one or two free-agent pitchers, perhaps conducted or laid the groundwork for trades, and generally should have all but completed their roster construction for 2004. Hang on to your collective hat, folks -- the Mardi Gras of Winter Meetings oughta be a whole lot of fun.

It's almost that time of year again: the Rule 5 Draft takes place this Monday during the Winter Meetings in New Orleans. Baseball America gives us a preview of the proceedings and highlights four organizations -- including the Blue Jays -- who could lose multiple players. For myself, I wouldn't consider any of the listed players to be irreplaceable, so if they go, no real harm done.

In terms of acquisitions, the consensus seems to be that this year's crop isn't nearly as talented as last year's, when the Jays had two legitimate keepers in Aquilino Lopez and Jason Dubois (and potentially a third in Gary Majewski) but could only keep one (the right one, as it turned out). Moreover, this year's Toronto roster is stronger than last year's, so the chances that a 25th man could stick around unnoticed all year are fairly minimal anyway. Unless the Jays snag a real keeper -- someone worth either stashing on the roster or working out a deal to acquire full-time -- don't expect to see a whole lot coming out of the Rule 5 this year.

Spencer Fordin (along with Tony LaCava and Dick Scott) looks at Alexis Rios in his newest article on MLB.com.

Thanks to Homsar for the heads-up!

This would not be a good day to cross George Steinbrenner's path. Not only is the handshake deal betwen George and Gary Sheffield in serious jeopardy, making a Yankee run at Vlad Guerrero a sudden possibility, but now comes news that lifetime Yank Andy Pettitte is about to sign with the Astros. If confirmed, this would be a serious hit to the one area that the Yankees have spent the winter trying to upgrade: the pitching staff. And it comes just one day after Bartolo Colon, a possible Pettitte replacement, went off the market. A Jeff Weaver-Kevin Brown deal would seem very likely, and who knows what else the Yankees might do on the eve of the Winter Meetings (Kevin Millwood? Sidney Ponson? Miguel Batista?) Hang tight....

Thanks to several Bauxites who spotted this remarkably candid and detailed interview of JP Ricciardi by Marty York. JP confirms that Miguel Batista is a Jays target; perhaps surprisingly, so is Sidney Ponson. Read on for more.

Matt Welch has a look back at the whole Moneyball saga and throws in a few nice shots at Griffin and Baker.

There are not enough good writers like this writing about baseball, it's always a refreshing change to read something like this. Welch is a long standing Bill James reader and demonstrates a faultless grasp of sabermetrics while giving the Griffins and Morgans of the world a good 'fisking'.

It looks like the rumoured Colon deal has been finalised.

The CBC reports a four-year, $48 million US deal . Somewhere Roy Halladay's agent is printing the article...

If Colon is worth that much - what price HLH ?

In a twist on its usual prospect ratings, Baseball America has turned its eye to the next wave of potential General Managers in baseball, with this Top Ten list compiled by Josh Boyd. The list includes some familliar names, including the Phillies' Mike Arbuckle, who might well have ended up in Toronto had JP Ricciardi not been available, and former Jays Scouting Director Tim Wilken, touted as a possible successor to Chuck Lamar in suddenly-intriguing Tampa Bay.

Speaking of Josh Boyd, we're very happy to announce that Josh has agreed to speak with Batter's Box about the Blue Jays farm system! We'll be conducting the interview this week, and hope to have one or more articles ready to go by as early as next Monday. Keep watching for more details on another Batter's Box exclusive interview!