David Purcey pitched the Chiefs to a win yesterday.  Roger Clemens could not a win pitching for the Fisher Cats right now, and neither did Ismael Ramirez.  Dunedin lost while Lansing were all wet, again.  Plus we talk with Sergio Santos and Ryan Houston.

The Oriole's hopes of a sweep are dashed… in game 1 of 3.

Do not mess with the Fighting Blue Jays.

Forbes magazine has come out with their annual rankings of the value of baseball teams and it is good news for the Jays and Rogers.  According to Forbes the value of the Jays increased by 34% last season to US$286 million and the Jays made an operating profit of almost US$30 million in 2005.

Here's my first impressions of (most of) the 2006 Blue Jays.

Craig wrote an interesting piece on the slowest runners around. It's a good read and the kinds of things that sabermetrics should be about, but often is not.

The chirping of the birds outside the window was the sole incumbrance to my steadfast refusal to acknowledge that it was, in fact, a beautiful day outside. It was a hot July afternoon in 1993 and the conditions for were ideal for a swim at Peltoma Lake, a popular weekending spot for a few dozen families in rural southwestern New Brunswick. My thirteen year old id knew that there were girls outside and, unaware that it would later experience a five year Jordan Bulls-like period of dominance over my ego and superego during the high school/university years, was anxiously imploring me to put on my swim trunks and attempt interaction.

But I could not do it. The reason? The epic Jays/Athletics stratomatic series that my friend and I were playing in the cottage was about to crest in a game seven. Susie on a beach towel never had a chance against Juan Guzman on three days rest. And so it went. These are the choices that we make, and undoubtedly, if you are reading this, you experienced similar instances of budding baseball nerdness interfering with normal adolescent development.

Normally, I multitask when watching baseball. But I can't do that on opening day, especially this opening day. So I took notes. Here they are, only lightly edited.

On Friday and yesterday the Jays offense, pitching and defense went under the readers microscopes. Now it is time to draw a line in the sand. How many games will the Jays win in 2006?

It all starts tomorrow, and Blue Jays fans are filled with an optimism not seen around these parts since... oh, about two years ago.

On Friday the Jays offense was subject to the detailed analysis of the Bauxites. Today it is the turn of the pitching and defense. Tomorrow we will feature our predictions for the Jays in 2006.

Test your prognostication skills in the 2006 Batter's Box Predictions Contest!

2003 Winner: Lucas (me)
2004 Winner: Simon
2005 Loser: Me again, because I forgot to tabulate last year’s results. I intend to have them by Tuesday when Toronto’s season begins.

On to The Contest!

Over the last four weeks you have read previews for 29 major league teams. This is number 30, a three volume effort. Today the roster will discuss the offense. On Monday we will dissect the pitching and defense, and on Tuesday, opening day, we will share our season predictions. On to the offense.

Here's a look at the 2006 Blue Jays. Enjoy.

The Toronto Star's JABS site (Just Another Blog on Sports) is featuring a multi-part baseball bloggers' roundtable. Da Box contributed three panelists to the brain trust: Aaron, Magpie, and Pistol.

The link to the roundtable can be found here.

Opening Day is not that far away, people!