Whatever it is, it ain't gonna be "Free"!
Okay, let’s see if I have this straight … according to ESPN.com’s not-very-user-friendly MLB Baseball Free Agent Tracker, there are 214 players who are/were free agents this off-season, some via non-tender, many via traditional contractual terms, with the occasional Cuban refugee tossed into the mix. (though they are two of the Top 10 ESPN.com ranks, they are not considered in this exercise.)

If I am counting right, 67 are no longer “on the market” as 55 have signed with a major league club and another dozen have inked minor league deals.

Every year, as Christmas passes, we ask gathered Bauxites to share with everyone here -- taunt us, really -- with what your best baseball-related Christmas/Winter holiday gift was this year.

Whether it be a new Rawlings ball glove, Louisville Slugger, or new set of cleats, season tickets in your favourite section of Rogers Centre, a complete, mint condition 1976 Topps set of 660, a traditional Strat-O-Matic baseball game or the new EA Sports MLB edition -- or whatever -- 'fess UP! What'djaget???

Hey, I got nothing. I'm examining how complicated the schedules of the past made a manager's life.

Seriously.

For now is certainly the winter of my discontent.

Anyway - Roy Halladay finishes his Blue Jay career (not that I've actually reconciled myself to this!) a solid second (sometimes third) in pretty well every significant career pitching category. And that, assuming I eventually get over what's happened this month and am able to look at all of this with a clear eye and a cold heart, is probably just about right where he stands in the overall picture.

Alex Anthopoulos participated in a web chat with fans yesterday though the official Blue Jay site.  He answered about forty questions with several interesting answers.

Well, the regular season ended over 2 months ago, but it's never too late to re-visit the crazy predictions we made way back in March. These are the results of the Batter's Box Record Prediction Contest. Click through to find out who will be taking home the inaugural title of Da Box Resident Seer (and can someone come up with a better title?).

We now have our shortstops for 2010.  Blue Jays ink veteran shortstop Gonzalez (no, not that one, the active one) for $2.75 in 2010 and $2.5 in 2011 (club option) while Blue Jays, McDonald reach a deal for 2 more years for $1.5 per year.

Alex Anthopoulos has completed his due diligence with the players, coaches, other GM and agents and he held a conference call today to answer questions about his plans.  The conference call can be heard here.  The call is 35 minutes long.

It's easier than you might think.

Yes, yes, it's stupidly early for an odds-on look ahead, but the world of gambling never sleeps. According to Bodog.net, the odds for each MLB team to win the 2010 World Series are as follows ...

Jordan Bastian has twittered changes to the Jays coaching staff for 2010.

Cito Gaston will manage one more year then retire after 2010.

Brad Arnsberg has moved on to the Astros as the new pitching coach and Gene Tenace has retired.

Bruce Walton comes out of the bullpen to be the next pitching coach, his job in the bullpen will be taken by Rick Langford who has been a pitching coach in the minor leagues for many years.  Last season Langford was the pitching rehab instructor.

Brian Butterfield goes back on the field to be third base coach as he switches jobs with Nick Leyva.  This gives Cito one of his old pals on the bench with him.

Dwayne Murphy moves from first base coach to hitting coach.  Murphy is another coach who has spent time in the minor leagues.  And Omar Malave is promoted from Dunedin manager to first base coach.

Alex Anthopoulos's first order of duty is to come up with a philosophy for the team.  What is a team philosophy you ask?  Beeston and Anthopoulos stated in their first Saturday press conference that the organization first needs to define a philosophy and from there decisions regarding payroll and free agents and roster composition can be made.   The philosophy covers how the team will compete, it is a baseball equivalent of a business plan.  Alex and Beeston were supposedly meeting over the last couple of weeks to determine the philosophy.  This week they might be presenting it to Rogers.  So we at Batters Box, at no charge to the Blue Jays, will help define what the philosophy should be.

There has been a lot of discussion in other threads about what the Jays should do but a lot of it is based around specific players such as JJ Hardy or Hanley Ramirez that the Jays could target.  However a philosophy cannot be based on what other teams might be willing to do, it has to be more abstract than that, it is what will wo do, in general, to make this team competitive.  Here are three offerings from members of the roster.

Short is a big issue for 2010.  Scutaro cannot be counted on we'd have to assume (the Jays would do full medicals to know a lot better than us I hope) so what do they do?

Things are quiet in Blue Jay land.  Alex Anthopoulos continues to work on his plans for league domination.  There have been a few news items recently with AA saying the Jays would like to bring back Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas and last week AA was on the road inspiring the troops.