Here's part II of my bandwidth-choking thread on Blue Jays minor league hitters. Have fun!

Here, for your enlightenment, enjoyment, or whatever, is info on every Blue Jays hitting prospect I could think of since the dawn of recorded time. Needless to say, this project grew to be rather larger than expected! (Eventually, I'll do the pitchers too, but not right away.)

I've divided the list into two parts - A-K and L-Z - as I don't want to choke a single thread. Hopefully the formatting will work out - I tested it in another thread, and on two browsers, before posting it here. Scream if there are any problems!

Each player has a Buzz Factor listed, which is a non-scientific estimate of the amount of hype the player generated, from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

Hope you find some of this useful, and enjoy!

Yes, I'm hurting for good headlines today. The Globe & Mail's Jeff Blair chimes in on the Jays' recent flurry of pitching acquisitions with an interesting article and chat with JP Ricciardi. It's quite good, but for a brain cramp that led him to call Adam Peterson a southpaw, and includes this insight from JP: "We were four wins from 90 [last season] with what was, let's face it, a Band-Aid staff." He's right about that, and if a legitimate #2 can be added (names tossed around here have included Kelvim Escobar, Ben Sheets and, if you really stretch the definition, Miguel Batista), the Jays could catch fire. But the article spends more time talking about the help on the way from the minors. JP makes the interesting assumption that while David Bush will open the season at Syracuse, Dustin McGowan should start at Double-A and quickly move up. It's a good reminder that McGowan's just 21 and needn't be rushed. I have a feeling that there's at least one big trade in store for the Jays this winter, and that it will send some prize minor-leaguers out the door. But if such a trade brings back that #2 guy, it's more than worth it. That's why you collect prospects, after all.

Baseball's off-field life can sometimes be fairly likened to a circus, and this week is no exception. The Mets did the right thing and fired Bill Singer for acting like an idiot and embarrassing the organization. The Brewers are in far deeper trouble, trying to fire their team president, a highly respected Milwaukee businessman who protested the team's plans to chop payroll to $30M -- a decision that itself has stirred the anger of the local press and politicans. And finally, an alleged rift between Alex Rodriguez and Buck Showalter in Texas has supposedly been exacerbated by the firing of a clubhouse assistant who doubled as A-Rod's valet and personal assistant. Why can't I have a gofer? Here I am doing all my own errands like a chump. (Thanks to Jeff for the A-Rod tip.)

A busy day for the Blue Jays garnered a great deal of press. Geoff Baker at the Star reports that both Hentgen and Lilly are happy to be in Toronto, though Ted's belief that "we have a very good shot at winning the division" is a tad optimistic. Mike Rutsey at the Sun notes that JP still hopes Escobar will come back as the #2 guy, though that seems a longshot at best. The Oracle at Baseball Primer echoes the popular sentiment that the Kielty-Lilly trade was the classic "good deal for both sides." And the best report came from the Score Bard, who penned these Schultzian lines:

Beane's outfield was so bad he felt he
Should make it less Lucy Van Pelty,
While JP's poor mound
Was too Charlie Browned:
And thus was born Lilly-for-Kielty.

I thought I'd add to the other-sports-on-quiet-winter-days mix by seeing if any Bauxites are up for chatting thoughtfully about the NBA.

I'll be attending what will surely be yet another road bloodbath for the Raptors, this Saturday afternoon in the Meadowlands. First question: Will the Raptors crack 70 points? Next question: Are there any options in the Raptors' rotation to make them at least a passable offensive club, or do they need to make a trade? I actually like the Raps' chances to make the playoffs in the East this year -- the conference is even more East-ern than normal this season.

Remember, in these threads, a charge will not be called if you're standing within the semi-circle!

For all your threadjacking needs.

Time for the first intermission. "Two Minutes In The Box" is for hockey and hockey-related subjects. No butt-ending.

According to a published report in today's Toronto Sun, but first broken by watchful Bauxites in the Hijack Central thread, Pat Hentgen is returning to the Blue Jays in 2004 on a one-year contract, rumoured to be in the range of $2.2 M. If confirmed, this is terrific news for the Blue Jays, for a number of reasons. First, Hentgen, while not the Cy Young winner of his youth, is still a pretty solid pitcher who's steadily recovering from surgery and should be counted on as a reliable #3 or #4 guy. Second, he's a fan favourite who, while he won't sell any extra tickets, will generate very positive feedback and warm-and-fuzzies among both fans and sportswriters. Third, he's from all accounts a stand-up guy who should function as an additional mentor to the younger pitchers. And finally and perhaps most important, he had several suitors but chose the Blue Jays -- and that should send a message to both the current players and the other free agents out there. The off-season has gotten a terrific start in Toronto.

Breaking News! The Blue Jays have acquired Ted Lilly from Oakland for Bobby Kielty. See below for an extended discussion.

The Padres and Athletics swung a medium-sized deal today, with Oakland shipping Terrence Long and Ramon Hernandez to San Diego in return for Mark Kotsay. This seems to be a reasonably good trade for both teams: Kotsay is a superior defender who had an off-year in 2003 caused by a back injury, while Hernandez is one of the best offensive catchers outside the Piazza-Rodriguez-Posada neighbourhood. Long is one of Billy Beane's biggest mistakes, signing an extra outfielder to an expensive multi-year deal, and getting rid of Long alone probably makes the deal worthwhile for him. For the A's, Adam Melhuse can hold down the catcher's position till Jeremy Brown is ready; for the Pads, Long should really be an expensive bench bat and nothing more, which means San Diego still needs a true centerfielder. The Padres took on more total salary, but only through 2005; Kotsay is signed through '06. Close enough to break-even as makes no difference, maybe a small advantage to the A's.

Barry Bonds has become the first player ever to win three consecutive MVP awards and now owns twice as many as anyone else. He got 28 of the 32 first-place votes, with Albert Pujols (3) and Gary Sheffield (1) rounding out the top three as expected. Eric Gagne did very well, finishing sixth in the voting.

Leigh Sprague, who you will all rememebr from his August pinch-hit appearance ("Concerned About Hinske?"), steps into the Box again today with his new piece, A Civil Action. Thanks, Leigh.

I think it's fair to warn everyone that all events portrayed and quotations ascribed in this piece are fictitious and the views represented herein are Leigh's own and do not represent the views of the persons portrayed.

Also, a piece of special pleading in advance... *some* of the credit for the Jays' current group of terrific prospects must go to Gord Ash. But I think it's safe to say that most of us remember him in a different light... and so over to Leigh. :)

Anything could happen. Without leaking the results, Jack O'Connell, the secretary of the BBWAA, told Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News that ten different players received first-place votes, just the third time in the MVP award's history (and the first in over 25 years) there has been such disparity in the voting.

"This is even more of a question mark than in '99," O'Connell said, referring to when then-Ranger Pudge Rodriguez edged the Bosox's Pedro Martinez, despite not having the most first-place votes. "You're going to have people first on some ballots who won't be on other ballots.

"This is unique."

Obviously, some writers insist on overlooking players whose teams miss the playoffs, but on the other hand, that impressive RBI total, awesome first half and 4-HR game might have made the difference for Carlos. It's sure to be a controversial decision.

So the Blue Jays would like to have a reliable closer in 2004. This doesn't mean they're going to sign Roberto Hernandez to a multi-year deal, but it does mean that they'd like to have someone who can be counted on to shut down the opposition late in the game. The ideal candidate would be affordable (probably no more than $3 million for a one-year deal, preferably less) and resilient (the Jays are not devotees of the exclusively ninth-inning reliever, so someone willing and able to enter with two on and one out in the 8th and finish the game would be welcome). Here's an article detailing the best closing candidates on the market; lower-priced names like Tom Gordon, Latroy Hawkins, Rod Beck, Tim Worrell and even Armando Benitez have been tossed around by Jays fans. With such a bumper crop available, the odds of bringing in a solid pitcher for a budget price seem promising. Even if not, there are reasonable in-house candidates like Aquilino Lopez, Jason Kershner and, in a pinch, Cliff Politte. Longer-term solutions at Triple-A include flamethrower Adam Peterson and perhaps even dark horse Jason Arnold. So here's our question: who do you think will lead the Jays in saves in 2004, and how much will he cost?

Thanks to Steve Z for this entertaining interview of Roy Halladay by Denver Post sportswriter Adam Schefter. Among the highlights:

AS: Single most memorable moment from this past baseball season?

RH: It wasn't one moment. It was three from the last week of the season. We had Vernon Wells set a hits record for the franchise, Carlos Delgado had a four-home run game and I was able to get my 22nd win the day after that. Those three days were unbelievable.

AS: Why do you suppose the murder rate in Canada is so low?

RH: Probably because they're all drunk and in fistfights. They go for hockey fights instead of for the violence that we see. That'd be my guess.

The first quote reinforces what an amazing team player this guy is; the second demonstrates that there's a pretty funny young man lurking behind that polite, polished exterior we see in post-game interviews. Halladay would probably be a great guy to go drinking with.