This was intended to be a Hall of Names roster made up of players whose first/given name started with the letter "Y." (See Y is for Yount, Yastrzemski and ... Yan? for the last/family name All-Y team).

However, once we eliminate nicknames (sorry, Yogi) and middle names, it appears that only only 12 players in the history of the Great Game have made the major leagues with such a first/given name; and since five are pitchers and four are catchers, while we might form a fine battery or two, a roster just isn't going to happen.

Perhaps most interestingly ...

Superficially, Tom Glavine seemed to have a ho-hum age 39 season in 2005, 13-13 with a 3.53 ERA in Shea, but 12 homers, 61 walks and 105 strikeouts in 211 innings for a crafty lefty suggests that he might have a surprise season or two left for his forties, as Warren Spahn and Tommy John did.

By Alex Godard, Alex Obal and Anders Whist

This Hall of (Place) Names challenge, as Craig Burley has coined it, has already led to one accidental collaboration, between Matthew Elmslie and Greg Williams, who independently submitted rosters for what became a combined St. Peter's Ballmouth (San Pedro de Macoris) squad.

Now Alex Godard, then just a few hours later the team of Alex Obal and Anders Whist (I guess only GMs whose names start with "A" need apply) traveled the same path, quite literally, as each independently submitted a Santo Domingo (capital city of the Dominican Republic) squad that leads us now to this team, which we dub ...

David Pinto has begun to release his defensive ratings for 2005. These ratings are based on a probabilistic model of range, comparing the number of outs recorded based on zone information with the number that would be expected from league averages and visiting player performance. The Blue Jay middle infielder statistics were very interesting. Thanks to Wildrose for the tip.

The latest player to sign a minor league contract with the Jays is pitcher James Baldwin.

Derrick Turnbow, the fine RHRP for the Milwaukee Brewers turns 28 today. This is not so terribly notable for readers of Batter's Box -- though perhaps for the readers of BrewCrewBall, Derrick's little holiday might mean a bit more.

Did you know that Turnbow currently sports a career winning percentage of .900? That's no typo -- the sturdy 6'3" waiver wire reclamation was 2-0 for the 2004 Angels and 7-1 last season in the city of sausages. And you can make a pretty good argument that he's the greatest Derrick ever to pull on a big league uniform; of course, only four men with that given name have ever appeared in The Show, so the pickings are a bit slim.

However ...

There are many different ways to rank the strength of the thirty minor league farm systems. Some pundits look at depth, others at how close the players are to the major leagues. Baseball America's Jim Callis looks at star potential and he doesn't see much of it in the Blue Jay system. As a result Baseball America has ranked the Jays as the 25th best, or if you prefer the 6th worst, minor league system in baseball.

He’s faster than a speeding rocket, more powerful than a big train, able to leap flying bats with a single bound…it’s Superpitcher.

Roger Clemens is obviously a Hall of Famer. The great starters of our time, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Clemens, are among the best ever. If the 1980s boasted the best leadoff hitters in Henderson and Raines and the 1930s had first basemen Gehrig, Foxx and Greenberg, the 90s will hopefully be remembered 50 years from now not for its muscle-bound sluggers, but for its fine starting pitchers. This time, our measuring stick for Clemens will not be the Hall of Fame, but Walter Johnson, the other reasonable contender for the crown as the best right-handed pitcher ever. As is our wont, we will briefly review Clemens’ illustrious career.

Sure, Detroit, West Pennsylvania and San Pedro de Macorís are nice places, but can they boast the first man on the moon, Opie Taylor, the host of Reading Rainbow, and the director of Howard the Duck? Or, if you prefer some sort of baseball connection, who could be more related to the pastime than Tom Selleck himself?

According to ESPN.com (and many other sources), recently deposed GM Theo Epstein has rejoined the Red Sox "baseball operations department in a full-time -- but otherwise unspecified -- position."

So the question to you Bauxites is ...

Batter's Box reader Marc Hulet has an interesting Jays-centric project in development, and he'd like your help in shaping it.

To that end, he has sent us a short, six question survey that he'd like as many Bauxites as possible to fill out:

On Friday, November 25th I had the pleasure of spending an hour talking to Toronto’s Vice-President of Consumer Marketing, Laurel Lindsay, in Kingston. Laurel, who graduated from Queen’s with a Special Field Degree in Communications in 1991, returned to her alma mater to give a talk at the Queen’s Sports Industry Conference that weekend and she generously agreed to speak to me an hour before her evening address to the conference.

Ted Lilly avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1 year, $4 million contract. Lilly can also earn up to $200,000 more based on innings pitched.

The Jays exchanged figures with Hillenbrand and Walker. Hillenbrand has asked for $6.7 million with the Jays offering $5.0 million and Walker has asked for $850,000 with the Jays offering $575,000.

Additionally, the Jays acquired LHP Brian Tallet from the Indians in exchange for RHP Bubbie Buzachero. Tallet was recently designated for assignment by the Indians.

The Blue Jays agreed to terms with Lyle Overbay and Scott Downs for one year contracts, avoiding arbitration.

Treat this thread however you want ... roundup, speculation, whatever. But share your Rance Mulliniks memories, too, as the man turns 50 today!

Batter's Box Challenge: The best (as judged by, ahem, me) limerick or haiku birthday greeting/memory to or about Rance wins a No-Prize, courtesy of your favorite interactive magazine!