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.

Time to start a brand new Trivia Challenge, as the other thread was getting rather long.

As before, the rules are simple. A question is asked; the first person to get the correct answer (once the original questioner or another party confirms the correct answer) then gets to ask the next question.

The honour system is in effect. That means NO looking the answer up via any internet sources (or Lee Sinins' Encyclopedia!), and you are asked on your honour to abide by that. The extensive use of skull sweat and old-fashioned paper books is allowed.

The 2005 SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) convention will be held in Toronto August 4-7 at the Holiday Inn on King at 370 King Street West. The Yankees are in town August 5-7, so we should have a real party. Mark your calendars, everyone!

Da Box's own minor league guru, Gerry McDonald, reminds us that Wednesday of this week brings Baseball America's Top 10 Blue Jay Prospects list. So let's get out ahead of the curve for the next couple of days and tackle this ...

Question of the Day: Who should be on this list? Who will be on it but probably shouldn't? Let's see if we can reach a Batter's Box Consensus Projected Top 10 before it's actually posted Wednesday.

Curious about the best bullpen arms in Japan? Well I was, so I decided to try to find out who they were. I examine some good arms that could be appearing in the majors in the next few years, and I also quickly look at Denny Tomori, who was rumoured to be linked to the Jays a few weeks ago.

TSN reports that the Jays have claimed former top pitching prospect Seung Song off waivers from the Expos.