Most serious baseball fans usually end up with a short list of players who are their "favorites" for one inexplicable reason or another. Maybe it's a Hall of Famer, maybe it's a cuppajoe guy who tossed you a ball at a minor league game.

My personal list includes one HOFer, some All-Stars, a couple of 20-win guys who were neither All-Stars nor HOFers, and a couple of guys many of you will never have heard of, I suspect. Glance over my list and provide your own ... and of course, feel free to tell us why, or if you prefer, leave a little mystery to the whole deal. Here we go ...

Last week, the Toronto Star ran a feature in which they solicited readers to submit their life story in six words.  As this is my first assignment for Batter’s Box - my Spring Training if you will - I figured I should start to stretch myself out and continue with The Star’s theme in breaking down the Minnesota Twins.

 Depressing offseason.  Johan gone.  76-86 inevitable.

2007 was a disappointing year for the Dodgers as they missed the playoffs after playing in October in two of three previous seasons. Already boasting one of the best collections of young talent in the Majors, the Dodgers went out and brought in Joe Torre to lead the charge, and signed proven veteran™ Andruw Jones to anchor the outfield. Will Jones rebound from a terrible 2007? Will the Dodgers stop playing proven veterans™ and let their youngsters take over? How does Juan Pierre hold the fate of the Dodgers in his hands? All this and more, on an all new episode of Battersbox!

I don't need to tell you what the Tigers have been up to this offseason. GM Dave Dombrowski made the biggest news of the winter not involving anyone named Barry, Roger or Johan by trading a bevy of prospects and Mike Rabelo for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. They promptly locked D-Train up through 2010 for $29mil. Cabrera remains unextended, but he isn't a free agent until after 2009, so there's still time.

The Jays claimed Bill Murphy from the Diamondbacks and added him to the 40 man roster.

Casey Janssen was moved to the 60 day DL to make room.

"There's a good possibility we may not be as bad as people think we're going to be."-- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

TEXAS RANGERS '08: FIGURING OUT WHO FITS IN 2009
One year ago yesterday, in the 2007 Texas Rangers preview (entitled Anything Can Happen), we presented an interview with "the Rangers fan," Jamey Newberg, who we called (and rightfully so) "the man who has probably written and published more words about that team than anyone else in the Internet age."

Okay, enough of the pleasant reminiscing. In that preview, Newberg laid out a prediction of 86 wins for those 2007 Rangers; they actually won just 75. (But don't worry, Jamey -- in the very next paragraph, I projected 92 wins and a Wild Card playoff berth.) When Newberg projected an "impact trade in July" last season, he probably wasn't anticipating Kenny Lofton to the Indians and Eric Gagne to the Red Sox, much less Mark Teixeira, the most productive hitter in the Ranger lineup, to Atlanta. (The Projected Ranger Win Total numbers from both of us are likely to be, erm, lower this year.)

But as Blue Jays fans Of a Certain Age can assure you, hope springs eternal every -- um, well, every spring for baseball fans of all teams, so let's check back in with our old pal Jamey (yes, he does have a member's account here at Batter's Box). So once again, this'll be like the Internet equivalent of talking baseball with a buddy over a beer or two – a Molson in the one hand and a Dos Equis in the other. Let's get to it ...

Every year in this space, I write a Cincinnati Reds preview that is wildly incorrect -- when I predict a World Seris appearance, the Red Legs tank; if I foresee gloom and doom, they at least hang around on the peripherals of a pennant race far longer than one might suppose.

So in this fourth annual edition of "The Hunt for a Reds October," let's dig back into the annals of Red Leg lore and "bottom line" it; by comparing the projected 2008 edition of the Reds with their most successful forebears -- the last Reds team to win a title (1990) and the greatest team in franchise history (1975) we can at least more accurately (one would surmise) project whether or not there is a glimmer of hope for the glint of a World Series trophy shining over the Queen City in 2008. Let's see ...

After 99 years of futility, the Cubs seem to be getting serious. They've returned the entire core of last year's division champ, and added a handful of fresh bats to improve upon a respectable offense. Their pitching staff, which finished second in the senior circuit in ERA, remains intact. And the NL Central is awful.

The stars have aligned.

Could this finally be the year?

As promised, the American League!

I must confess - most of the recent action on this front, with teams struggling to reach .500 all-time, has occurred in the National League (Astros, Diamondbacks, Braves in particular.) We reprint the original team write-ups and update the AL numbers for the sake of completeness.

Way back in June 2006, I got interested in all-time franchise records. As I wrote at the time:

...here's a review of all-time franchise records, and if they're currently above .500, I want to find the moment when they climbed that mountain for keeps. And vice versa. There is the problem of franchises that have moved - I'm going to saddle them with their entire history.

I did a bit of research, had a lot of fun, and posted what I learned for the National League and the American League. And I provided an update after the 2006 season. And because there are a few teams hovering near the .500 mark even as we speak, I thought it was time to do it all again. Maybe it'll become an annual thing!

BJ Ryan returned to action today.  He pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two and inducing a ground ball.

Can't ask for more than that.

Ah the Astros. The team that once had the Ryan Express, Mike Scott, Killer-B’s, Terry Puhl (formerly the best hitter Canada produced), Jose Cruz Sr, J.R. Richard, Roger Clemens, Joe Niekro, Billy Wagner, and Joe Morgan. So, where are they today, just 2 full seasons away from their only World Series appearance? Dropping and dropping fast but with some kids in the outfield and catching who give you hope.

“We’re the team to beat…”
   -Jimmy Rollins, Spring 2007

Good call. But now, with no further ado, let me turn over the Progosticator's Poncho to a Special Guest.

Pinch-hitting, Mr Liam McIlroy. Take it away....

Team Canada has made it into the Olympics!  Billy Crystal leads off for Yanks!  Schilling on 60 day DL!  Padres in China!  Lots of !!!!