The dulcet tones of Buck Martinez are returning to the Canadian airwaves.  Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the former Jays catcher/manager will be the team's new play-by-play voice for Rogers Sportsnet in 2010.

The winter meetings are essentially over.  The rule 5 draft is held this morning and then the airport rush begins.  The Blue Jays do have an open slot on their 40-man roster but it is uncertain whether they will select anyone.  Elsewhere the Halladay rumours are still going strong and the Jays might have added a speedy outfielder.  The Jays have also added a pitcher in the rule 5 draft.

It's the December Double POTD plus one today and it features a well-travelled, aspiring broadcaster in a plate appearance to forget.

Here's a thought experiment for Bauxites bored on a lazy December afternoon ...

You know how there are some players you can't think of without automatically thinking of another player at the same time? Maybe it's a double play combination (Trammell & Whitaker) ... Maybe it's a couple of middle-of-the-order guys (Bench & Perez) ... maybe it's a battery (hmmm ... nothing coming right to mind -- Ferrell & Sewell long ago, but who knows that combination these days?) ... Maybe it's a manager and a coach. And it doesn't have to be just two guys (Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz, anyone?). Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance doesn't technically qualify cuz there's no ampersand, but we'll let it slide.

So there's your conversation starter ... who are the opposite sides of baseball's most famous "&"s?

The newest member of the Seattle Mariners is the latest recipient of our December double dose of the POTD!

The winter meetings begin today in Indianapolis and the major theme appears to be fiscal prudence.  There is no suggestion that either Jason Bay, Matt Holliday or John Lackey will find a new home soon.  The Mariners signing of Chone Figgins could be the biggest news of the meetings.

The unsuspected stranger
Had better know the truth of wrong from right,
Cuz the eyes of a ranger are upon you,
Any wrong you do he's gonna see,
When you're in Texas look behind you,
Cuz that's where the rangers are gonna be

I have to admit I have a soft spot for this player who is the focus of our December Daily Double POTD.

The lanky lefty is the focus of the latest "December Double" POTD.

As several Bauxites have noted in the Scutaro thread, Texas Ranger Web stalwart Jamey Newberg has just confirmed:

Texas has claimed veteran utility infielder Joe Inglett, age 31, off  waivers from Toronto. His addition brings the club's 40-man roster total to 38 players.

Well, there won't be much time at short for the ex-Jay, not with Elvis Andrus pickin' and grinnin' ... but what kind of role do you see for Inglett in North Texas? And share your memories of Mighty Joe right here on Batter's Box ....
 

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly signed shortshop Marco Scutaro to a two year deal with an option according to the Boston Globe.  The deal is pending a physical but the linked story says Scutaro's heel has apparently.......wait for it!...... healed!  Get it?

"Double Photo Day December" continues as we profile this fan favourite in our latest visual veduta known as the Batter's Box POTD.

Which eligible broadcaster should be placed on the final ballot for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award?

Your chance to answer that question is now available ...

The inaugural Batter's Box POTD for December features back to back shots of a near catch at the wall.

(Yes, yes, inaccurate graphic and all that, but we don't have a logo for "Not yet gone, not yet forgotten" ...)

MLB's current (and historically, perhaps least-beloved) commissioner Bud Selig reaffirmed recently that he'll step down as MLB Commissioner when his contract expires in 2012.

So three questions, posed here without any contextualizing comments, as tempting as those might be:

1. Good news or bad news?
2. Who's the next commissioner? Who SHOULD be?
3. What are your personal memories -- good and bad -- of This Bud's For Baseball?

The ballot for the 2010 Hall of Fame class has been released, and debuting on the list this year are former Blue Jay heroes Pat Hentgen, Roberto Alomar and Fred McGriff. (Projection: No chance, first ballot and probably should, but won't be.) David Segui, a Jay for 95 at-bats in 1999, also appears on the ballot for the first time.

Others premerieng on this year's ballot include Edgar Martinez, Barry Larkin and Andres Galarraga, among others. Ballot holdovers include, again among others, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell and the controversy of Mark McGwire.

(Personally, I'd vote for at least five of those. And you?)