From the Other End of the Spectrum
So we recently introduced our All-Age-39 team, following earlier looks at All-Age-40 and All-Age-41 squads. Let's look now to the opposite end of the age spectrum at a roster made up of players less than half the age of the geriatrics who made up the 39ers.

Stop for a moment and realize that in 2007, the only player in the major leagues under the age of 20 was Justin Upton, and he turned 20 in August. That should give you some perspective on how hard it is to earn a spot on this roster. So who does?

You've already thought of Doc Gooden, right? And maybe Robin Yount? But who else can fill out the ranks of a not-even-legally-allowed-to-drink (in the U.S. anyway) team like this one? Let's see ...

This is kind of a cool idea:  You can buy a piece of a ball player for a percentage of his future major league earnings.

Are we sure he has signed? The Jays have signed Rod Barajas to share the catching duties with Gregg Zaun. Barajas signed with the Jays last off-season before changing his mind the next day. This signing is a lot cheaper, $1.2 million for one year versus $6 million for two years in the previous attempt at a contract.

The Jays and the NH Fishercats have reached an agreement to extend their affiliation through 2012.

Not many members of the MLB fraternity play into their fourth decade; in fact, generally speaking, only the elite play as long as the Jack Benny Milestone age of 39.

Here on Da Box, we have previously constructed an All-Age-40 team and later an All-Age-41 team ... yes, there was a fair amount of overlap from one to the other, but less than you might think.

As we meet an All-Age-39 team, there are a lot of familiar names; in fact, we can assemble a pretty decent squad just using the "Top 10 Leader" lists for the Age 39 Players on BasaballReference.com ... okay, not "pretty fair," make that "geriatrically unstoppable" ...

Let's meet them; they're called ...

What kinds of starting pitchers do the Jays have? And how does it affect their handling of the left field and shortstop positions?

Today is Arlie Pond's birthday. Er, well, rather, it would have been his (record-smashing) 135th birthday, but he passed on back in 1930. You don't remember Pond, in fact, have never heard of him? Well ...

As usual, most of the spots are spoken for.

The Blue Jays agreed to terms with four players on Thursday night, leaving Marco Scutaro and Alex Rios as the only Jays scheduled to head to arbitration. Reportedly the team is close to agreeing to a contract with Scutaro, which would leave only Rios and I'd be surprised if the Jays didn't come to an agreement with him, as well.

The folks over at The Sporting News have noticed the nice little starting rotation the Jays have assembled. The current issue of TSN magazine boasts a two-page spread entitled "Focus on A.L.Rotations" that, among other things, ranks the league from 1-14. Let's take a look at some of the highlights of that story, which has the Jay quintet ranked fourth (you guessed that from the headline, right?), nestled between the #3 Angels and the #5 Tigers ...

Glaus for Rolen is official. The formal announcment will be today.

A recent article in the Syracuse Post-Standard says a U.S. Senator has spoken to the Mets about setting up shop in Syracuse in 2009 and according to him, the Metropolitans are interested. 

So the Glaus-for-Rolen deal has dominated the pages and polls of Da Box for a day or more now, and it has been, correctly, labeled a true "challenge" trade.

Challenge trades are straight-up, one-for-one deals, usually involving two guys who play the same position. The first such trade I can remember is the legendary My-Bobby-For-Yours deal of 1974 when the Giants sent Bonds to the Bronx for Murcer. The most legendary such deal is one that actually never happened, when (legend has it) the owners of the Red Sox and Yankees got their drink on and agreed to deal Joe DiMaggio for Ted Williams before both backed out the next, more sober day.

So here are your questions for the day ...

Count me among those that don't like a Rolen for Glaus swap.

According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, "major-league sources" say the Jays are working on a trade that would send Troy Glaus to the Cardinals for Scott Rolen. Rosenthal reports that both players have agreed to waive their no-trade clauses.