Here is the place for Winter League news.

Battersbox regular Jabonoso brought to our attention good news on Ismael Ramirez. He's pitching very well in Venezuela- 23.1 innings, 14 hits, 1 homer, 3 earned runs, 5 walks and 22 strikeouts. He made front page news on the league's website. Check out the photo of him!

Okay, so former University of Michigan quarterback Drew Henson -- he started at UM ahead of a fellow named Tom Brady -- made his NFL debut yesterday and gave desperate Dallas Cowboy fans a glimmer of hope for the future. Henson, as most of you know, is the former New York Yankee "third baseman of the future," who concluded his career in pinstripes 1-for-9 with three strikeouts and a career OPS+ of -40. At the same time -- and in the same metropolitan area, no less -- 6'10" RHP Chris Young signed a multi-million dollar extension with the Texas Rangers, who had to outbid the Sacramento Kings for the former Princeton center. Which brings us to our ...

Question of the Day: Who is the most memorable multiple-sport athlete of the last century, and more importantly, why? (Note: "most memorable" doesn't always equate with "best" or even "most talented.") Who didn't play multiple sports who should have, or in retrospect, chose the wrong sport?

The prior Hijack thread is past its due date. So, a brand new shiny one for your posting pleasure is here.

It's been a slow baseball news day. The Expos were officially renamed the Washington Nationals. With their early free agent signings, the Nationals are not off to a stellar start. It makes one long for the Senators.

According to his agent, Matt Clement is the Blue Jays' top priority this offseason.

An open thread to talk basketball of all kinds. We're going to try this again and see how it goes.

The great philosopher Bum Phillips once said of legendary NFL coach Don Shula: "He can take his'ns and beat your'ns, or take your'ns and beat his'ns."

Given Wednesday's "draft" of all-time teams ended with Jack Bauer and Morris Buttermaker being chosen to lead the respective squads, we come to the current ...

Question of the Day: Who is the greatest tactical manager in the history of the game? Think of it this way ... you have your choice of two absolutely evenly-matched teams, any era, and get first choice of a manager for the seven-game series. Who do you pick and why?

Today is the deadline for finalizing the 40 man roster for Rule 5 purposes. The Jays currently have 32 men on their roster, including late-season and post-season additions Russ Adams, Gustavo Chacin and Seong Song. Here is the roster. Who will be added, and how many spots, if any, will be left open on the roster?

At last, something moderately useful in a Gammons column, the most recent of which he provides a running list of "players teams would love to unload to rid themselves of the salaries. They are, pure and simple, bad contracts" ...

Sammy Sosa. Preston Wilson. Kevin Brown. Jason Giambi. Kenny Lofton. Cliff Floyd. Mike Piazza. Tom Glavine. Byung-Hyun Kim. Ryan Klesko. Jason Kendall. Andruw Jones. Shawn Green. Darren Dreifort. Arthur Rhodes. Jose Vidro. Pat Burrell. Mike Lieberthal. Charles Johnson. Chan Ho Park. Matt Lawton. Paul Konerko. Eric Hinske. Edgardo Alfonzo. Ray Durham. Juan Encarnacion. Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Jay Payton. Jeff Bagwell. Jose Guillen. Tim Salmon. Bret Boone. Joe Mays. Kazuo Matsui ... the list goes on and on.

Note: This thread quickly morphed into "Jose Guillen: Underappreciated All-Star or Satanic Overpaid Clubhouse Monster?" Join the fun!

Okay, Percival signs for a hundred billion dollars, Cris Guzman is headed to the Hall of Fame, Tony Batista is no Vinny Castilla ... the Hot Stove has been all about free agents in recent years. So take a step back into your childhood and answer today's ...

Question of the Day: What's the first baseball trade that you remember really catching your attention? Nothing here about lopsidedness or results ... the one that made you go "whoa! that's interesting"?

Troy Percival signs a 2 year $12 million contract with the Tigers. So, who's next?

Okay, based on yesterday's QOTD thread, today we'll host a different kind of fantasy draft, following on the concept"You're picking an all-time All-Star team for one short series. You oppenent gets first pick of the pitchers. You get first pickof the position players. Who's your choice?"

The GMs are in place; the rules follow. So today's ...

Question of the Day: Who will Mike take first?

Blah blah blah Barry Bonds blah blah blah National League MVP blah blah seventh time overall. Blah-blah should've won at least two others. Blah. Let the great argument begin:

Question of the Day: Barry Bonds -- greatest player ever? This is not a yes/no question and is not a true/false quiz; the format is short answer essay.

Here's another way to look at it: You're picking an all-time All-Star team for one short series. You oppenent gets first pick of the pitchers. You get first pickof the position players. Who's your choice?

As the CBC is currently conducting its Greatest Canadian contest, we here at Batter's Box feel that we ought to offer our readers the baseball version. Although our version offers less production value, public debate and patent absurdity than the original, it has the potential to provoke what Batter's Box is all about - fine baseball conversation from a Canadian perspective.

It's time for a fresh Hijack Central.

A few signings today. The Washington fill-in-the-blanks signed a left side of an infield today, signing Christian Guzman and Vinny Castilla. Castilla signed a $6.2 million, two-year contract and Guzman signed a $16.8 million, four-year deal.

Former Blue Jay Cory Lidle was re-signed with the Phillies for 2 years and $6.8 million.

**** Hijack of Hijack Central ****

My review of the best baseball reference annual around - The Bill James Handbook 2005 - is up at The Hardball Times (Robert Dudek).

Now pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays ... Spike Lundberg.

Be honest, the name sounds a little bit like one created for a character in the latest Major League movie, but instead of "Wild Thing" blaring from the stadium speakers as Ricky Vaughn trots in from the bullpen, it's the haunting notes of "That Old Black Magic" (by Spike Jones, natch) filling the stadium as the crowd roars its approval.

Could that scene be coming to a SkyDome near you as early as Summer 2005? Well, David "Spike" Lundberg, a lanky 6'1" right-hander recently signed by the Blue Jays, certainly hopes so.