We are in the depths of a baseball-less winter but pitchers and catchers will be reporting to camp in less than 30 days.  The minor league camp won't start until March but let's start thinking about the lineups for the 2012 season.  There is no hurry so we will do this over the next week or so.  Today I will look at the catchers.  Infielders, outfielders and starting pitchers will follow over the next few weekdays.

Blue Jays second baseman Kelly Johnson shared a few thoughts on not only baseball but the NFL playoffs on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Friday afternoon.

Three members who began the season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011 ended the year with World Series rings.  Today's POTD focuses on the lucky trio.

Blue Jays web site now lists 23 Non-Roster Invitees for 2012 Spring training.  The list includes 13 Pitchers and 10 Position players.

For those of us with mlb.tv and a hankering to watch some baseball on a cold winter night Bill James has published his top 100 pitcher duels of last year at Grantland. No. 16 is Ricky Romero against James Shields on April 16 and there are three other Jays games featured including Henderson Alvarez beating Josh Beckett on Sept 5th - my favourite game of last year.

Apologies to Yu Darvish and all, but in the day's most fascinating transaction, the Colorado Rockies will sign 49-year-old rehabbing lefty Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal.

Forty-nine. Rehabbing. (He missed ALL of 2011.) Sure, he's left-handed and has 267 (267!) big league wins, and I have always been a fan. But really? Jamie Moyer?

More than one-third of the players on Colorado's curremt 40-man roster were not yet born when Moyer debuted with the Cubs in June of 1986. I'm willing to wager a fair number of Bauxites weren't either. (Identify yourselves!)

So the primary question is, how is that 55-mile-an-hour "fast"ball going to play in Coors?

We're rooting for you Jamie -- and when I say "we" I speak for the tens of  thousands of baseball fans who don't want to be older than every single major league baseball player on an active roster ...

So, seriously -- good luck. Thirty-three more wins and those HOF voters will REALLY have something to debate!

 

Yu Darvish and the Rangers agreed on a six-year, $60 million deal just before today's (Wednesday's) deadline. Story

The Toronto Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Carlos Villaneuva by signing the right-hander to a one-year deal worth just over $2.2 million. 

UPDATE - The Jays have also come to terms with second baseman Kelly Johnson on a one-year contract worth $6.3 million and outfielder Ben Francisco will get just over $1.5 million for 2012.  The above link from BlueJays.com has been updated.

Here are the answers to last week's challenge.

After the Yankees spent much of last season trying to pry perennial Cy Young contender Felix Hernandez from the Mariners with a package headed by catching uber-prospect Jesus Montero, the M's finally convinced the Bronx Bombers to change the asking price and the two teams have completed a different deal, sending Montero to the AL West in exchange for a different young ace with Cy Young potential, 22-year-old Michael Pineda. 

The timing on dealing baseball's (probably) best catching prospect is odd, given the extremely recent retirement of long-tim Yankee catcher Jorge Posada. But what say you all, Bauxites? Who wins this one-for-one "challenge" trade? In 2012? Long-term?

 Update: Sunday morning, the revamped NYY rotation took a minor hit as veteran Bartolo Colon reportedly inked a deal with Oakland.

Jays left fielder Eric Thames is part of the team's Winter Tour that is sweeping through Eastern Canada this week to spread the Blue Jays gospel.  He had a few interesting things to say during an interview on TSN 1050 in Toronto Thursday afternoon.

Today's POTD features the game played on Roberto Alomar Hall of Fame Day at the Dome.

Even though Ryan Madson has found gainful employment for 2012, agent Scott Boras is taking issue with the Philadelphia Phillies after the free-agent closer signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati for $8.5 million.  Boras claims the Phillies backed out of a four-year, $44 million deal with his client before signing Jonathan Papelbon away from the Boston Red Sox.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says no such offer was made.

Ryan Madson saved 32 games for the Phillies in 2011, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.37 ERA along with 62 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings

The Blue Jays wore red and were left seeing red in the end on Canada Day.

No, it's not Brett Lawrie.  To make room for Darren Oliver the Blue Jays have designated Mark Teahen for assignment.  The Blue Jays will trade or release Teahen after the prescribed waiting period, which is ten days I think.

Teahen's status change is not a surprise, there is no spot for him on the 2012 squad.  I assume AA has been trying to deal him with no success.  The Jays might still deal him to the team that will absorb the most of his salary but don't expect anything back unless the Jays eat all of his contract.  Teahen has value to some teams but not as his current salary of $5.5 million.