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As Opening Day draws inexorably closer, one's thoughts turn unavoidably to the greatest sports-related travel itineraries in North American sports: Baseball road trips.
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I'm Jonny G., and I don't own a TV.
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It was reported in the Globe and Mail today that Pete Walker's contract has been sold to the Yokohama BayStars of Japan's Central League.
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Can the Cubs reverse the Bartman Curse this season?
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Sorry kids, no Pixies or Haircut 100 references today. I do have some Jays articles, tho.
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Top prospect lists always catch my attention. Over the past few months I have seen lists from Baseball America, John Sickels, and yesterday Baseball Prospectus. I always check the lists to see how Blue Jay prospects rate and wonder if the Jays, as an organization, have a strong system. However my excitement is tempered by the knowledge that these lists, and organization rankings, have little meaning from a major league perspective. No matter how many "names" your team has on a list there are no guarantees. Many of us are excited with the thought of Alexis Rios, Guillermo Quiroz, Dustin McGowan and Gabe Gross becoming Blue Jay regulars by 2005. But then reality hits me upside the head saying "nothing is sure", and the realization that, on average, one or two of them will crash and burn.
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ESPN offers its first Power Rankings today and the Blue Jays merit ninth place. In Buster Olney's opinion, the "Jays will cause problems for the Red Sox and Yankees, but a couple of pitching injuries would be devastating."

The Jays' AL East foes New York and Boston top the list, followed by the Phillies and Cubs, with Detroit logically anchored at the bottom.

A few other thoughts:



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Only after you've read Jonny German's splendid piece on the Padres should you read what the local fishwrap is saying about the Jays. What are they saying about the Jays anyway?
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With 98 losses in 2003, the Padres have bottomed out and are ready to start rising to the top of the NL West.
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(This is the final installment of our conversation with the Jays reporter at MLB.com. Part One appeared Monday, Part Two yesterday.)
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(Second in a three-part series, concluding tomorrow. Part One appeared yesterday.)
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When I was younger, the time between the end of one Jays' season and the beginning of the next was of indeterminate length, a span which contained within itself school and Christmas. These filled time effectively, but never truly filled the void.

Now I fill the same period with school, Christmas, and work; the void within me remains empty, bereft of substance. But like the fat man's stomach, growling loudly at the sight of a Tim Horton's sign, the void knows it will soon be filled.

Baseball is coming.
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Once again, it's one of my throw out a bunch of articles and see what sticks threads. Here's what various media outlets are talking about when they're talking about the Jays.
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Barry, Brian, and a waterfront ballpark: a winning trio -- but for how long?

On December 8, 1992, Toronto traded Kelly Gruber to the California Angels for Luis Sojo. That same day, the Blue Jays also signed Danny Cox and Dave Stewart, the Tigers granted Jamie Moyer free agency, the Yankees nabbed Steve Howe, and the A's picked up Storm Davis. In other news, the San Francisco Giants signed Barry Bonds to a six-year, $43.75 million deal, making Bonds the game's highest-paid player. With new skipper Dusty Baker writing "Bonds, LF" onto the lineup card every day, the Giants soared, going from 72 wins in 1992 to 103 in 1993 -- which sounds impressive until you place it next to these unpleasant facts: there was no Wild Card yet, and the Braves, in the NL West then, won 104 games. Yes, Virginia, there is life, and it sucks.
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Some folks like the Blue Jays' farm system more than others. At Baseball America, the Jays don't yet rank in the organizational Top Five; we'll have to wait till the 2004 Prospect Handbook is released to see where the club placed. But over at Baseball Prospectus, Toronto has made some true believers: a whopping six of their Top 50 Prospects are in the Blue Jays system.